Last week, I raised the lack of investment in League of Ireland football. I recently attended the League of Ireland academy’s briefing in the audiovisual room. It was clear to all who attended, right across the political divide, that there is a long-term sustainable football industry to be created in this country. It will benefit the economy, it will benefit society in general and, most importantly, it will benefit young Irish footballers. The ongoing European Championships show how international football can provi…

As a State, we are miles behind our EU counterparts in supporting the development of domestic football. Our League of Ireland academies lack funding, lack modern facilities and lack full-time staff. Irish football academies have just ten full-time staff covering them. In comparison, Portugal has 315 staff dedicated to its academies. It is little wonder Portugal is sixth in FIFA rankings. It sees the reward for investing in its young players and domestic league. If we want to be serious about our men's Irish teams e…

I welcome that such a generous amount of time has been provided for the Dáil to debate the EU asylum and migration pact. The Sinn Féin position is clear. It is that the vast majority of measures included in this EU pact are not in the best interests of Ireland. We must ensure we have sovereignty over how we manage our immigration system and that we have a system that is fair, efficient and enforced. For these reasons, we will not be supporting this pact. I strongly believe the legacy of this Government will be one …

A Cheann Comhairle, if I can just say, this will give Martin plenty of time for his fantasy football.

Yesterday, hundreds of students from five Gaelscoileanna in Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8 gathered outside Leinster House. The 520 students from these five Gaelscoileanna have no Gaelcholáiste to move on to so the families of these students are calling for a Gaelcholáiste in their community. The programme for Government clearly states that it will "provide Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcoláiste, where there is strong demand". There is clearly an established demand for a Gaelcholáiste from more than 500 students in Dublin 2, 4, 6 a…

Some 3,800 homes are due to be built on the Irish Glass Bottle site yet only 350 of them will be social housing. How can the Government justify the low level of social housing and the unaffordable but so-called affordable homes on that site? The Government needs to buy more social housing and genuinely affordable homes instead of allowing 75% of them to go to private ownership and almost certainly be bought by private vulture funds. It needs to ensure that people who live and work locally are prioritised so they ca…

I welcome the Palestinian ambassador who is with us. Today is an important day for Ireland in recognising the State of Palestine. It is the right thing to do. Ireland's formal recognition of the State of Palestine firmly reflects the support for and solidarity with Palestine among the people of Ireland. I acknowledge the presence of members of an Irish support for Palestine group in the Gallery and all the work they do. Ireland, along with Spain and Norway, have stood up against the shameful inaction from the EU. F…

Today is welcome and important. It is important that politics is seen to work. If politics does not work, militarism flourishes. We need to show Palestine that politics works because, to date, politics has failed Palestinians. We must ensure that the Government’s solidarity with the State of Palestine does not stall for another ten years while thousands more die at the hands of the Israelis. We must see meaningful actions taken to sanction apartheid Israel. We need to enact Senator Black’s occupied territories Bill…

The public housing stock is the forgotten element in the Government’s housing policy. Those living in the flats and houses owned by Dublin City Council already know that. I do not know a block of flats managed by Dublin City Council that does not have serious issues, whether public health issues, dampness, mould, neglect, leaks, floods, electrical faults or rats - the list goes on and on. There is no serious attempt by the Government to address the neglect of housing in inner-city communities. The Government regula…

I thank the Minister of State. The cost of doing business is challenging for everybody. Not even the Government would deny that. It is challenging, particularly for smaller businesses. I have raised an issue before in this House about schemes right across the country. Different local authorities have different schemes for street furniture licensing. The Minister for housing has waived the fees for tables and chairs in the areas outside the retail unit. That, of course, is very welcome. However, the section of the s…

Regarding Housing for All, as far as residents in Ringsend and Irishtown are concerned, there is only housing for the very wealthy and the vulture funds. The vast majority of homes on the Irish Glass Bottle site will not be for working families from Pearse Street and Ringsend. A deal was done with the Irish Glass Bottle Housing Action Group seven years ago for social and affordable homes but there is little or no clarity. There are to be 3,800 homes on this site yet only 350 will be social housing. Although 550 wil…

Last week, the Taoiseach announced the formation of a task force to make Dublin a more attractive and safer city. Of course, I strongly welcome the formation of this task force. It is long overdue. Much of Dublin city centre feels menacing when walking around it. I have consistently raised the concerns of the communities who actually live in the inner city. The inner city is their home and their front garden. It is where they are raising families. These communities feel utterly abandoned by Government. Last week, t…

Listening to that, I cannot help feeling the Departments of Justice and of the Taoiseach are deluded as to what is happening for families living in the inner city. In recent years, the communities of Pearse Street and City Quay have been terrorised by gangs who travel from all over Dublin to have recreational gang fights on the bridge at City Quay. The local communities, gardaí and Dublin County Council are doing their best and the residents groups in City Quay work hard to bring law and order back to the streets b…

Seven years ago, the Ringsend, Irishtown, Pearse Street and Sandymount communities did a deal with the Government for the delivery of social and affordable houses on a particular site. Families and individuals in the inner city are in desperate need of housing, both social and affordable. Inner city communities have been neglected for decades. They are expected to live in conditions that are completely unacceptable. If the flats were privately owned, there would be an absolute outcry. I was contacted by a family ve…

Earlier this week, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage made another big announcement with little substance behind it. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, said he was going to waive the fees for local businesses for outdoor seating, but he has provided little clarity around that. There was no clarity for the local businesses because there was no engagement with them. There was no clarity with the council and no clarity on what exactly will be waived or when that will happen. Currently, small bu…

The Minister of State might clarify something. My understanding is that the charge of €125 per table will be waived. However, the cost for renting the space, which can work out between €200 and €400 per square metre, is not going to be waived. Obviously, that it is a huge expense. The waiving of the charge of €125 will have a huge impact. It is obviously welcome; anything is welcome. However, the bulk of the charge will be for the renting of the square metre on the footpath and that is not being to be waived. That …

The square metre figure, however, will not increase.

It is happening now.

The children in Enable Ireland Sandymount School have very complex needs. There are serious leaks in the school building and, as a result, the children have been displaced into rooms that are not suitable for their needs. The library is out of action for the entire school. This impacts everybody in the school. The repair works are needed urgently and the school and vulnerable students are being led on a merry dance by the bureaucracy. I ask the Taoiseach to intervene and to bring common sense to this matter to ensu…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Anne Rabbitte. An Post is planning on selling off its beautiful art deco building which has been the home of Rathmines post office for almost 90 years and is an iconic building in the heart of Rathmines. In one fell swoop, the actions of An Post will mean that this building will be lost to the Rathmines community and An Post will privatise the postal services in Rathmines. This is a vital service particularly for older people and the many small businesses in Rathmines. An Post …