We are amid a deepening crisis as climate change continues to accelerate apace. We hear of all the rhetoric and talk from Government of a just transition for our communities, grants and supports for retrofitting of homes and for electric cars. However, that is all it is to most people - it is talk. How can the average family afford a €40,000 to €60,000 retrofit of their family homes, while the cost of living continues to rise? On top of that, we are now being told that local sports clubs are to have the primary gra…

As the Minister knows, 3,500 new homes are being planned for the Poolbeg Peninsula. We hear a lot of sound bites about the 15-minute city. That sounds great in theory but the reality is very different. As the Minister knows, you will not get up the Seán Moore Road in 15 minutes. Residents living in the new houses in Ringsend, as well as in homes in Irishtown and Sandymount, are already living in a car park, with traffic almost stationary for large parts of the day. The Government wants to kick the Luas out for anot…

I thank the Leas-Chean Comhairle. I welcome this Bill and the regulation of e-scooters. It is really important. We need some kind of structure and guidelines for users of e-scooters. The public is ahead of Government on this. Travelling through Dublin city, people are on scooters every day. They have decided they are using scooters so it is important Government regulates them and legislates for their use. I have seen presentations from some companies in this area. There are big, glossy leaflets and the companies ar…

I welcome this opportunity for the Dáil to debate the findings of the IHREC report on adequate housing. Amid this ever-growing crisis within housing, the report highlights several key findings and challenges in housing that many of us have long suspected. I represent the constituency of Dublin Bay South, a constituency with a wealth of history and rich in community. At the core of so many of these communities are various council flat complexes in the inner city. From Ringsend right across to Kevin Street and down t…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. Two weeks ago on 19 October the Israeli defence minister formally designated human rights organisation Al-Haq and five other Palestinian human rights groups as terrorist organisations under Israeli law. The other five are Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Bisan Center for Research and Development, Defense for Children International Palestine, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees and the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees. Let us be clear about this. This …

I thank the Minister of State for that response. I agree with his comments that this matter is bigger than the six designated organisations. This will impact on all civil society groups and on people being able to challenge the Israeli Government on their breaches of international law. The Minister of State mentioned raising this issue at the UN Security Council, which is all very well, but if there is no action as a result of that, what is the point of Ireland being on the council? We raise issues, wag our fingers…

I commend Deputy Harkin on her work in introducing this Bill on credit unions. I also commend the members of credit unions on the work they have done in the community over the past 60 years. They have witnessed high levels of unemployment, emigration and a city in which poor housing is rampant but they have kept communities together. As the Minister of State with responsibility for credit unions, he has done a great job listening to credit union representatives, but the time for listening is over. The time for kick…

The recent allegations against six civil society advocacy organisations in Palestine are a result of apartheid Israel's failure to challenge the work of the organisations on the basis of law and evidence. Apartheid Israel has now resorted to systematic harassment of the six organisations. I am aware of the solid and important work one of the six organisations, Al-Haq, does. This is an ongoing process by Israel which aims to dismantle all community structures that highlight the nature of apartheid Israel. We must st…

I wish to raise the issue of the updated guidance on games issued by Sport Ireland on 28 October. Last weekend alone, these guidelines created severe issues for volunteers in basketball and other indoor sports. The volunteers have been placed in the very difficult position of having to tell children they are not allowed to participate in indoor matches due to not being fully vaccinated. These people are volunteers and significant pressure is being put on them. They are having to turn young players away. At present,…

I wish to highlight the ongoing plans of apartheid Israel to expand illegal settlements in strategic locations which will cut the West Bank in two and separate Jerusalem from the rest of Palestine. Five hundred and forty new homes were approved recently in Har Homa. These settlement expansion plans are designed to disrupt Palestinian territorial continuity and bury hopes of a two-state solution. Will the Minister raise this issue with the Cabinet and ensure that Ireland uses its position on the UN Security Council …

This October marks the 36th annual breast cancer awareness month. Like previous speakers, I acknowledge all of the staff who work in the cancer screening programmes. They carry out their work with huge empathy, care and professionalism and I acknowledge this. When breast cancer awareness month was first launched, the message was simply to promote breast screening throughout the population as one of the most effective weapons in the fight against breast cancer. Screening has proven to be instrumental in the early de…

There is one issue I wish to raise that is affecting sporting communities and that is the continued confusion around the use of clubs' dressing rooms and showers. Last month, from 20 September, dressing rooms were due to be reopened across the board following guidelines from Sport Ireland, yet in late October, with the cold and dark evenings well and truly set in, a number of dressing rooms and changing rooms across the country remain shut and there is a lot of confusion. I have heard reports of different sporting …

I note that a number of items are on the agenda for the upcoming European Council meeting ranging from rising energy costs to migration, external relations and foreign policy issues. In this State, we have seen more than 30 energy price hikes announced by Irish energy suppliers since the start of the year. These sharp increases in the cost of energy are adding to increasing costs of living and having a severe impact on people across the State, from students and workers to pensioners. The ESB provided safe and secur…

I commend my colleague, Deputy Ó Broin, on his motion on renters. I also congratulate him and thank him for the work he does advocating for a better, fairer and more just approach to housing. I represent the constituency of Dublin Bay South, which stands as a prime example of how housing policies developed by Government parties have continually failed the needs of these communities. Government parties have stood idly by while Dublin City Council flat complexes have been allowed fall into disrepair and neglect. It i…

Dublin city and county seem to be moving from one crisis to another with attempts by developers to turn this city into one big hotel, while killing off more and more of the city's character, whether it is Merchant's Arch or The Cobblestone, and a lack of sporting facilities being provided for those living in the city and calling it their home. Considering the height and density of new developments in this city there needs to be an increase in the 10% green and sporting space required in developments. We have seen t…

In budget 2022, the Government has effectively signalled that it has given up on inner city flat complexes. The Government has started waving the white flag. It feels to residents and me that the neglect will continue. The Government has turned its back on Dubliners living in flat complexes. I have consistently highlighted the shocking conditions that Dublin City Council residents have to live in due to that neglect. For me and the communities that I represent, the €23 million cut to State regeneration funding, des…

I thank the Minister of State. It is important to state the vast majority of the residents of the flats complexes are hard-working, involved, active participants in their community. A huge number of them were working on the front line during the pandemic. They are committed to their community. When someone is hurt, they get behind them and stand with them. The new York Street apartments are only 12 years old. One entire block was flooded during the week. There was a major flood and residents had to be moved out to …

In 2018, a Bill was introduced to this House which would have removed the statute of limitations preventing thalidomide survivors from bringing cases for compensation to the courts. This Bill has now lapsed. It was introduced by the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers. A couple of weeks ago, it was noted in the legislative programme for the 2021 autumn session that work is under way to "provide a package of health and personal social services and other supports to survivors of thalidomide on a statutory basis". Will…

As I predicted, I have not heard anything new. What has been said by the Minister of State is the same as what has been said for the past ten years. Survivors are fed up, angry and annoyed. There is no commitment to and no hope or empathy for a group of survivors who are ageing and concerned for their futures. How can the Minister not meet this group? This has been going on for years. As I said, in 2018 he was gung-ho in his support for them and said they needed justice. Now he is paying lip service to this group. …

I represent an area of Dublin that gets a significant proportion of the coverage of the criminality and antisocial behaviour that occurs on our streets, that is, the south inner city. The people causing this ongoing trouble need to be tackled and challenged. We talk about rights, and it is important to remember that families have the right to live in their homes without fear. Garda resources need to be increased, particularly the number of community gardaí, who do a fantastic job. In the context of these statements…