This is the story of three very important schools in Celbridge, County Kildare. One is St. Raphael's Special School, in respect of which it was determined 20 years ago that it urgently needed replacement. The plans are now advancing, but whether they are advancing fast enough remains to be seen because there were some title issues, some of which are still outstanding. Our colleague has arranged a meeting with the Minister next week, and it is to be hoped some further information will be available at that. In the me…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. Unfortunately, it does not contain any extra news other than what I received in a reply to a parliamentary question about a week ago. However, it presents an opportunity to restate the urgency of the case. The urgency arises from the fact that we have been pursuing this particular objective for quite a number of years. In the case of St. Raphael's, 20 years is a long time. Two or three generations of children have come and gone through the school, and yet it is still awa…

I was reminiscing there. James Joyce was rightly quoted in the current context. If Seán O’Casey had been around two years ago when Covid-19 appeared on our shores, he would have squinted out the window and said, “The blinds is down Joxer, the blinds is down.” They were, and the challenges were huge. Nobody knew what was coming around the corner. It serves us well to remember what Deputy Creed and others have said. At a time of crisis, people with nerve are needed to stand up, do what has to be done, call on those w…

This is an old chestnut. I have raised questions about this many times over the years. It relates to former or retired members of the Defence Forces who had been awarded damages in respect of injuries incurred during their service. They are now having the awards recovered, in whole or in part, by a reduction in their pension entitlements. I feel that this is wrong and I ask the Minister to address it.

It is.

I thank the Minister. This practice is grossly unfair and arbitrary. The fact that it has proceeded as it has for so long is unfortunate. The question that arises immediately is whether the courts erred in the first stage. To my mind, they could not have erred. Even though cases have been referred back to the courts on the basis of the situation, this issue prevails. It is totally outrageous that an award made by the courts is arbitrarily undermined, questioned and turned on its head by a decision, enabled by this …

I accept that is the practice but I do not accept the validity of the practice and I believe it needs to be changed. This section of the Act is repugnant to the Constitution. Why are all awards made by the courts not challenged by whoever happens to be the payer of the pensions to the individuals concerned at a later stage? It is totally wrong that this would continue. It has caused severe hardship to an awful lot of people. The Department is effectively stating again and again that these people should not really h…

I am concerned there might be an intention, as has happened in the past, in some quarters to reduce the strength of the Defence Forces on the basis that we do not need them in a modern economy. We do need them. They provide a very important service. They provide emergency services at all times, coastal surveillance and they also respond to natural disasters. They are relied upon to do these jobs and be there for the citizens of this country. Will the Minister ensure, notwithstanding the review currently under way, …

Obviously, I entirely agree with my colleague's remarks, but there is a serious security issue as well that needs to be borne in mind in the course of this debate. We have had crises in the Defence Forces due to the shrinking of numbers and the failure to replace them for various reasons. We must put in place whatever provisions are necessary to ensure we retain numbers in the Defence Forces. This is a vital service. In war or in peace, we rely upon the Defence Forces in emergencies. We will continue to rely upon t…

Given the withdrawal of a number of the major banks from this jurisdiction and the closure of a large number of bank branches all over the country, thus reducing the visual impact of business supports and access for customers, might it be possible to in some way enhance the degree to which customers can talk to their bank without talking to a machine, which has become ridiculous in recent times?

Currently, everything is being done by way of answering machine or a machine of some description, which is depersonalising the contact that is necessary between businesses and banks, especially small businesses and traders but also personal customers. I ask the Tánaiste to use his good offices with the banking authorities to try to address that issue.

We move next to a Sinn Féin slot. Deputy Patricia Ryan has three minutes.

Next is a People Before Profit slot. Deputy Boyd Barrett has 20 minutes.

I remind Members that we will adjourn this debate at 7.12 p.m.

It is very appropriate we are having this debate. We all know from our constituency work the degree to which young people have been in need of attention, support and service support of a mental nature as well as an educational nature in recent years. Remember that we were hit by an economic crash followed by Covid, all of which put a serious dent on society. We tend to forget everything except the most pressing issue of the moment. Young people are at the age when, having come through their childhood, they are look…

Is sufficient emphasis being placed on the supply of goods and services in the update and review that is taking place in light of the issues arising from Brexit and its ongoing implications? To what extent are the Taoiseach and his Department continuing to identify the best way to offset any negative impacts now emerging? The supply of fuel, an issue that has already engaged the House today, is obviously a very pressing issue and one that is becoming more important as time goes by. Is sufficient provision being mad…

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. To what extent can he use this shared island facility to establish a greater level of confidence between the communities in Northern Ireland and between the North and the South? This is an important issue now, namely, the building of confidence to progress the rest of the objectives of the programme. Is the Taoiseach satisfied with the progress made to date? Does he propose to take further initiatives to identify more ways and means of advancing the causes set out in the program…

Like others, I wish to extend our sympathy to the family of Ashling Murphy and to the community in general. It is so sad that we are speaking on this subject this afternoon. Ours is supposed to be a more civilised society as time passes. We expect that we have learned from the past, but I am not so certain. What is emerging now is an increasingly aggressive and violent society. We should be able to understand this from dealing with our constituents when they come to tell us about the things that have happened to th…

Deputy Michael Collins is sharing time with his colleagues.

This question seeks to encourage the dialogue between the Minister of State's office and the various local authorities with a view to maximising the latter's ability to deliver as anticipated under Housing for All.