I thank the Regional Group for bringing forward this really important motion, and the Minister for coming in and listening to the debate. This Government claims it is committed to stronger and safer communities and that it is committed to a strengthened and well-resourced Garda force. Yet, after decades of Fine Gael at the helm of the Department of Justice I see little or no evidence to back up that claim. In my constituency of Dublin Bay South, we have lost more than 100 gardaí in the past four years. That is a hu…

I would like to acknowledge and thank Deputy Funchion for bringing forward the motion, which is important. Like everybody in the House, I continuously have parents ringing my office looking for advice, support and help to find a place in childcare in their local community. Parents are desperate to find childcare. Most have conceded that affordable childcare in Dublin is impossible to find. The sky-high childcare fees and lack of places means that a whole section of society is being locked out of employment. At a ti…

Yesterday, the Garda Representative Association, GRA, made a decisive move in its ongoing dispute with the Garda Commissioner. Earlier this week, I extended an invitation to the GRA to come to Leinster House to give a cross-party briefing on the realities facing front-line gardaí and to ensure that their voices were heard. Community policing is vital in the inner city, but as a result of the new roster, it is being skinned to the bone. This is not acceptable. Front-line gardaí have told me that the number of commun…

In 2017, the then Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, declared that no child would wait more than four months for surgery. In August of this year, the Tánaiste said he wanted Ireland to be the best country in Europe in which to be a child. Those comments ring hollow for children with spina bifida and scoliosis. Courtney Manning, a disability advocate, was supposed to be having surgery this week. She now has no consultant, plan or answers. Courtney has only stress and pain. The Government clearly has no urgency and …

I thank the Ceann Comhairle and my colleagues for bringing forward this timely motion. In recent weeks we have watched fuel and prices steadily increase. Petrol and diesel prices have increased by 7.6% and 9% respectively. This Government seems hell-bent on ensuring fuel prices hit the €2 mark as soon as possible. This Government is planning two fuel price hikes in October, and these price hikes are not happening in isolation. They are happening in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis and they are suffocating work…

That is it exactly.

I was just going to say that. It is a nationwide issue. I am sure the Minister of State is aware that Fórsa members in local authorities across the State are in the middle of industrial action. As a public representative, I have seen first-hand over the years the brilliant work the estate managers and area officers do for and across communities in my constituency. I know the pressure they are under. For instance, when estate managers are moved or move themselves or go off sick, there is no replacement for them. The…

I agree that this affects all of us in the House. It is an important issue because, like Deputy Collins said, vulnerable people contact us. The reality is that management seems to be sitting on its hands and is content to allow this dispute to escalate. Staff levels are depleted - estate managers who work on the front line are not being replaced for months. That is the case in my constituency. The people to suffer are the residents in local authority housing and flat complexes in particular. It is the residents who…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act Bill to amend the Planning and Development Act 2000 and to repeal section 97(3)(b). The purpose of this Bill is simple. It is stated in the Title. It is to ensure and protect the provision of public housing. Where this is particularly relevant is in dense urban areas. The Part V exemption of section 97(3)(b) should have been scrapped when the previous Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage removed the height restrictions in the city. To …

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' Time."

I welcome the Dáil allocating time to address the unfolding horror we are seeing in Palestine due to the violence by Israel. It has been several years since I visited the Gaza Strip, but the destruction I witnessed then will never leave me. Gaza is actually an open-air prison. There is the wall that stops any movement, whether that is people coming or people going. People are only permitted to go a few kilometres out to sea. F-16 fighter jets fly overhead regularly and bombs are frequently dropped on sites in the G…

I thank all the staff for their support and professionalism throughout this term. The need to streamline the CPO process has been mentioned. This is really important because the process is not user-friendly, certainly not in Dublin City Council. Limerick was mentioned as being an exemplar in terms of dealing with derelict sites. Dublin City Council is particularly poor at dealing with derelict sites. I know of five units very close to here that have been empty for years. The entire street is effectively empty. It i…

I welcome this important motion. Deputy Ó Ríordáin captured the romance of football. I send my well wishes to the women’s football team, in particular Abbie Larkin, who is from the heart of football in Ringsend, in the Women’s World Cup, which is starting on 20 July. League of Ireland football is in a good place, but that will stop being the case if we do not invest in it. The FAI’s investment proposal is welcome. Crucially, it is based on evidence, namely, an audit of the current infrastructure. I welcome that, un…

I thank the Minister of State for being present to listen to us as we critique the recent EU Council meeting. Some two weeks ago here in this Chamber we heard in pre-EU Council meeting statements from several Deputies condemning the brutal actions of apartheid Israel and the murderous rampage it is waging on the Palestinian people. We asked that this condemnation be echoed at the Council meeting. Deputies spoke of the need for Ireland to assert its voice as one for peace on the Council and for Ireland to stand agai…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend and extend the Education Act 1998, and, for that purpose, to provide for the inclusion of information from special educational needs organisers in school planning, to provide for inclusion policies in schools and to provide recognised disabled persons organisations with a role in agreeing the composition of boards of management of a school; to amend the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 to provide for enhanced pla…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

The Taoiseach's predecessor, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, Deputy Micheál Martin, gave a commitment to open disclosure in the health services at the end of last year. This policy must also apply to Thalidomide survivors, who have been waiting on an apology for over 61 years. They deserve a just and fair deal to address their complex needs. The survivors need an apology, access to healthcare services and financial supports. There are five mothers still alive and all they and their famili…

The agenda of the upcoming European Council meeting paints a grim picture of where priorities lie. It clearly shows the one-directional path the EU has chosen to follow, which is a pathway of increased militarisation across the Euro zone. With talk of the EU defence capacity in terms of the procurement, investment and production of weapons in 2021, the EU exported in excess of €179 billion worth of arms. We should be working to reduce, not increase, arms exports. I assume at this meeting there will be no mention of…

It is great to have the opportunity to speak on this good report. A number of bathing areas across Dublin Bay are often directly impacted by poor water quality and health notices to avoid swimming are frequently put out to the public. There have also been warnings against children playing with sand on the beaches due to health risks, mainly from dog fouling, which I understand is a significant problem. Recently, large volumes of raw sewage were released directly onto the shoreline in Sandymount with no warning to t…

It is a positive project. An element of it involves the Irish Nautical Trust educating locals, including young people, in the art of navigation and boating. Such projects would have a major impact on reducing the flow of rubbish into Dublin Bay, would serve as educational tools for the local community and improve the environment. Projects like the Irish Nautical Trust's MV Liffey Sweeper should be funded centrally. Currently, it is getting money piecemeal from here and there. Google has been supportive in funding i…