I appreciate the Minister's perspective and his commitment to that. Beyond the banking sector, there are businesses that will sometimes try to dictate to their customers how they will effect payment for a service or a good. Some people will say not just that they want a card payment but that it must be through a particular method - PayPal or whatever it might be. Does the Minister perhaps see a role in regulatory terms for the Government to say to businesses that they may not do that and that they must facilitate p…

Throughout the country, there are only three sites that have UNESCO world heritage status, namely, Brú na Bóinne, the Giant's Causeway and Sceilg Mhichíl. Dún Laoghaire Harbour is a site of particular significance, nationally and internationally in the context of the role that it has played in the history of this country. It is a Victorian harbour that has seen the emigration of tens of thousands of Irish people to the United Kingdom. It is a harbour that has, unfortunately, benefited from very little investment in…

No.

This is a very important debate and one that is very close to my heart. I have spent quite a lot of time in the occupied territories in Gaza and in the West Bank. I have eaten iftar with friends in Hanunas. I have sat down with people in Rafah, Gaza City and other cities such as Nablus and Ramallah in the West Bank. This is a centuries-old conflict. It is not something we will resolve quickly or anything like that. I am generally proud of what Ireland has done in terms of taking principled stance on this issue. I s…

When I stand up to speak on agricultural issues, it causes great mirth among my colleagues in the parliamentary party but it is an important issue for all of us. The sooner we realise that agriculture affects everybody in this country, not just those in rural communities, but those of us in all constituencies, the better. I come from a constituency where we have farms, even though people do not seem to know about it. Ballyman and the Scalp in the south west of the Dún Laoghaire constituency have a number of farms t…

Déanaim comhghairdeas leis na hAirí. Tá aithne agam ar an mbeirt acu agus táim ag tnúth go mór leis an obair atá le déanamh acu agus an seans atá acu chun an obair sin a dhéanamh. Go háirithe, táim ag labhairt faoi smaoineamh an Aire, an Teachta Lawless, iarraidh ar lucht taighde ar fud an domhain, go háirithe dóibh nach bhfuil seans acu obair taighde a dhéanamh ina dtíortha féin, teacht anseo go dtí ár n-ollscoileanna agus ár gcoláistí chun an obair taighde sin a dhéanamh in Éirinn. Is maith an rud é seo dúinne, d…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as ucht a bheith anseo don cheist thábhachtach seo. There are heritage harbours all over the coast of Ireland. They are extremely valuable historical and heritage assets. I want to talk about the one that is local to me, which is Dún Laoghaire Harbour. It is more than 200 years old and it celebrated its bicentenary a couple of years ago. It is a Victorian harbour of immense proportions but also of immense importance. Its heritage value does not just involve the hundreds of thousa…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I appreciate the suggestion that the Government is fully committed to the protection and preservation of our maritime cultural heritage. Regrettably, I do not think the evidence is there to support that statement. If we were serious about maintaining these important heritage harbours, we would put in place a scheme to do that, and not say that there is a load of grants that might be available at the right time and in the right circumstances. That will not solve the pr…

Tá mé thar a bheith bródúil labhairt ar an ábhar seo. Tá sé tábhachtach dúinn mar thír, ach tá sé tábhachtach domsa freisin mar Theachta Dála. The value that we have as part of the European Union is enormous, so I am hugely proud to consider myself a European but also to speak on this topic in this House, in the week when we celebrate Europe Day. I am cognisant of the fact that 91% of people in Ireland value our membership of the European Union. That is the highest rate of support that the European Union has in any…

I wish to first acknowledge the huge supports the Government has put in place for businesses to deal with the increase the cost of doing business, energy and other factors. I have been contacted by several businesses that have been miscategorised for these grants and, as such, have been denied grants they could have otherwise got. Is the Minister aware of this and if so, is there a proper appeals mechanism in place to allow them to appeal against any decision that has been wrongfully made?

I am very pleased to hear the Government has approved that appeal process. It is obviously very important. The kind of businesses denied these facilities are quite vulnerable. They are small businesses that need these supports, so I welcome that. I note it was promised some time ago, so when the Minister of State says it will be available soon, how soon might that be and could significant pressure be put on to make that happen? Can the Minister of State also confirm that in circumstances where schemes are closed an…

I acknowledge what the Government has done. These supports are important. We are talking about small businesses that employ an enormous number of people throughout the country but are not massively profitable and, therefore, are vulnerable when these grants are not given to them. The grants are important to ensure their viability. Will the Minister of State do two things in particular? I acknowledge what he said about the appeal process coming along and we have spoken about this before. I welcome that. It is timely…

This is an important issue. The irony of two men discussing a women's health issue is not lost on me. I thank Dr. Gerry Agnew, a consultant gynaecologist at St. Michael's Hospital in Dún Laoghaire, and Dr. Suzanne O'Sullivan, president of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in Ireland, for bringing this to my attention. The issue I want to raise regards treatment for stress urinary incontinence, which affects one in three women over the age of 45. It is a substantial issue. It is solved by the inserti…

I have been listening to the debate today and a great deal of sense has been talked but I think there is a little bit of speaking out of both sides of the mouth from Members in this Chamber who opposed water charges and think that is the end of the world but then complain that there is not a dependable funding stream for Irish Water or Uisce Éireann and the work it has to do. At the end of the day it is a major infrastructural element of Ireland and it needs to be funded. Yes, that money has to be provided but ther…

-----for the greater Dublin area. In fact, we depend on Blessington and other places for huge amounts of water. The point he makes is absolutely right, however, in that there is going to be an increasing demand on that water supply. We need to be putting in place measures now to ensure the water will be there. There are so many ways in which we can do that. Obviously we can find alternative water sources. Deputy Ó Muirí mentioned the plan to move water from the River Shannon, where it is in abundance, to serve the …

First, I add my voice to the support for Deputy Boyd Barrett and Councillor Melisa Halpin in Dún Laoghaire as they begin their journey to recovery. Almost ten years ago, we voted for marriage equality and proudly so. We have made great strides down that road but there are still families who do not have familial equality. Children born into same-sex couples - depending on the means in which they were born - do not avail of the same rights and have issues relating to citizenship rights, succession rights, social prot…

I welcome the Bill. It makes a lot of sense and we have all been waiting for it. I note it is one of 21 Bills flagged for priority under the first months of the new Government. That is reflected in the urgency with which we are bringing it in, and I welcome it. As the Minister of State will know, the purpose of the Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025 is to deliver a statutory provision which sets out that an employer may not enforce a commercial or contractual retirement age which is below the State …

Can we not pass legislation that is more easily read by people without reference to lots of other pieces of legislation?

Ar dtús báire, ní féidir linn a rá cé chomh tábhachtach is atá an t-ábhar seo agus an luach a bhaineann le polasaí éifeachtach anseo ach an oiread. The importance of diverting young people away from crime cannot be overstated. It is a deeply important thing and the underlying principle has to be that prevention is better than cure. Although it does not mean that people are beyond the scope of policies if they have been involved in criminality, the reality is that it is increasingly difficult to undo the damage of b…

I understood this was a motion of confidence in the Ceann Comhairle, yet almost everything I have heard in this debate has been about ancillary issues that are not relevant to confidence or otherwise. This is why this discussion feels genuinely insincere. I do not believe those who profess a lack of confidence actually have a lack of confidence. What this feels like much more is an attempt to drag on this issue, raise it over and over again and stop this House from doing the business it wants and needs to do. All o…