County Louth football success
Senator Comyn congratulated the County Louth football team on reaching the All-Ireland semi-final and noted the first appearance at that stage since 1957. The Chair then moved to the next Senator.
I do not want it to dominate my time but I cannot let today go by without congratulating the County Louth football team. We had an incredible 70 minutes of high-octane drama against County Monaghan in Croke Park on Sunday. We are now through to the all-Ireland semi-final. I cannot believe I am saying it. It is the first time since 1957, 69 years ago. I offer my congratulations to Gavin Devlin. It is hard to mention just one man but I will name Dara McDonnell, man of the match. I urge everyone in County Louth to paint the entire county red and white for 11 July. I have to give my condolences in advance to my colleague, Deputy Calleary. His county has waited 75 years to win an all-Ireland final but I am hoping the County Mayo curse will last one more year. I am sorry about that.
I was contacted by a member of the public in Drogheda about the hidden cost of getting older. There is room for a debate here about the hidden costs of getting older. This woman is renewing her driving licence. She is 75 years of age, going on 76. It is billed as a free service but it is only free until one has to provide a GP report and an eye test. It can cost between €65 and €100 for a free service and that might only cover one to three years. It might have to be renewed after that. I ask that we invite the Minister of State with responsibility for older people, Deputy O’Donnell, to the House to look at any other potential hidden costs that may exist. I noticed in the past couple of days that Louth County Council has had to put a freeze on housing adaptation grants for older and vulnerable people. It is oversubscribed for 2026 which means nobody else will get a grant until 2027. We really have to look to see if there are other hidden costs and have a debate on that.
For now, my final words are that, as I said, I hope the entirety of County Louth will be painted red and white and we will hopefully break our own curse ahead of the County Mayo curse.
