Richard O'Donoghue: Cabinet fails to represent the country
Richard O'Donoghue addressed the Dáil on government composition, rural investment, and business supports, arguing the Cabinet does not reflect the country as a whole. He praised Dáil staff for supporting him as a first-time independent TD for Limerick and said he will support the bill.
He recalled arriving at the Dáil and receiving advice to 'get lost' to learn the House. He commended the cleaning staff, canteen, ushers and office staff for their help and friendship during his learning curve as a first-time independent TD and the first independent for Limerick.
He said that in the lifetime of this government minister the biggest failure has been a Cabinet that does not reflect the country as a whole. He argued the Cabinet lacks the right mix of people and backgrounds - "if you want to bake the cake, you haven't got all the ingredients" - and so fails to represent all sectors and regions.
He criticised supports that favour new businesses while long-established firms are left without sustained help. He said the 9% measure would have saved jobs and businesses in the hospitality sector, and that many new businesses close after two years because they lack the foundations to survive.
He said rural Ireland has been neglected "from the red cow outwards," pointing to gaps in infrastructure outside Dublin and other major cities. Using the example of people from Ukraine seeking help, he said authorities found insufficient capacity outside urban centres and urged investment in community, small business, agriculture and transport infrastructure.
He told the minister that the Cabinet must represent the whole country and that the capital should be a base to bring all counties together. He closed by reaffirming his intention to support the bill.
Opening and staff praise
He recalled arriving at the Dáil and receiving advice to 'get lost' to learn the House. He commended the cleaning staff, canteen, ushers and office staff for their help and friendship during his learning curve as a first-time independent TD and the first independent for Limerick.
Critique of Cabinet makeup
He said that in the lifetime of this government minister the biggest failure has been a Cabinet that does not reflect the country as a whole. He argued the Cabinet lacks the right mix of people and backgrounds - "if you want to bake the cake, you haven't got all the ingredients" - and so fails to represent all sectors and regions.
Business and hospitality concerns
He criticised supports that favour new businesses while long-established firms are left without sustained help. He said the 9% measure would have saved jobs and businesses in the hospitality sector, and that many new businesses close after two years because they lack the foundations to survive.
Rural infrastructure and Ukrainian arrivals
He said rural Ireland has been neglected "from the red cow outwards," pointing to gaps in infrastructure outside Dublin and other major cities. Using the example of people from Ukraine seeking help, he said authorities found insufficient capacity outside urban centres and urged investment in community, small business, agriculture and transport infrastructure.
Conclusion and support for the bill
He told the minister that the Cabinet must represent the whole country and that the capital should be a base to bring all counties together. He closed by reaffirming his intention to support the bill.
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Transcript
Mayor, the first day I came here to the Dáil, I was greeted by a good Limerick man, he brought me in and his first bit of advice to me, he said, if you want to get to learn the house, get lost. And I said to him, what? He said, get lost. He said, go into every corridor, go into every place, he said, you'll eventually find out where you have to go, he said, you'll learn it very, very fast, he said, it's the only way you need to do it, he said, it'll be the experience of the house. I must compliment the staff, from the cleaning staff, to the canteen, to the ushers, to all the office staff, for the help that they've given to me, as a first time independent TD and the first independent for Limerick, it was a learning curve for me. But the support I got from the staff here was absolutely unbelievable, and we've become great friends, and they've done a lot with me and for me. But in the lifetime of this government minister, the biggest failure I've seen, and being a businessman all my life, I look at the cabinet that are there, and I look at your cabinet and I say to myself, you don't reflect the country because you haven't got the right mix. There's good people on the cabinet, there's good people from different educations on the cabinet, but you do not represent this country in a whole. So in other words, if you want to bake the cake, you haven't got all the ingredients. And that's why the government have failed to represent the country as a whole. You've represented some sectors, then you forgot about the hospitality sector, and the 9% would have saved jobs and saved businesses. You're giving grants to new businesses, opening them up, but they're only lasting two years and they're closing down. And the ones that are there for 20 and 30 years, you can't give them the supports to keep them in business. So you're giving the supports to new businesses to open up, and you said there have never been so many businesses, and then they close down after two years, because they realise, unless they had their systems from you, they couldn't stay open. But what's there to keep the businesses alive? I'm in business all my life. I'm a building contractor all my life, I'm a block layer by trade, I'm an early school lever. I have education of life. And education of life tells me that if you don't have the basic foundations to build on, and it's been shown when the people from Ukraine came here looking for help, and you tried to put them around the country, you found out that the proper infrastructure wasn't here to accommodate people outside of Dublin or outside of major cities. There was nothing. So that's where I'm saying the failure of government has come from. You haven't reflected this country as a whole. You forgot about rural Ireland, and that's from the red cow outwards. You have forgotten about the basic, what community delivers, what small business delivers, what agriculture and farming delivers, what transport delivers. You forgot to invest in rural Ireland. And if you invest in small things in rural Ireland, they will invest in you because they are self-sustainable. They won't give out. Give them the basic infrastructure that you're giving to other people. That's all we're asking. Now, Minister, yourself in your role, I respect for you in your role, but I would like for you to learn that you have to represent this country as a whole. The Cabinet has to represent this country as a whole. It's not just all about the capital. The capital is supposed to be the base where you're supposed to go out and flourish and bring along all communities, all counties equally together. So thank you, and I will support this bill. Thank you.