I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for prohibiting discrimination on the basis of a person's social and economic disadvantaged background; for those purposes to amend the Employment Equality Act 1998 and the Equal Status Act 2000; and to provide for related matters. I wish to share time with Deputy Wynne.

Equality is at the core of republicanism and a basic principle of any modern-day society. The purpose of this Bill is to ensure that people can no longer be discriminated against on the basis that they are from a disadvantaged socio-economic area, background or accent. For example, if this Bill is enacted, employers and service providers could not discriminate against a job applicant or current employee because of their accent or the socio-economic status of the area they come from. Over the past 20 years, there ha…

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

Parents of children with additional needs are battling for rights every day. The current setback is nothing new for them. One example of the ongoing battle that children with additional needs have is the 37A process for autism spectrum disorder, ASD, classes in south Dublin, which was set in train by the former Minister, Deputy McHugh, and has now finished. Following the closure of the 37A process for ASD classes no classes were established in Dublin 4 or Dublin 6 as a result of the process. Considering the enormou…

When we moved to the level 3 lockdown restrictions, it was great to see all of the swimming pools reopen. The chlorine in the pools makes them relatively safe and it disrupts the transmission of Covid. What has happened now is we have a situation where free swimming is allowable. Children can dive bomb into the swimming pool but there are no structured classes. They are not allowed. There is no control or management of swimming. If classes were allowed, it would provide a much more structured way to enjoy swimming.…

Before I begin, I wish the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, the Cheann Comhairle, all the staff and management in the convention centre and in Leinster House, and the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, a happy Christmas. I also take the opportunity, as a Dub, to wish the Dublin men's and women's GAA teams luck for the weekend. I acknowledge the huge credit that must go to the GAA for managing to organise a championship when there have been so many challenges. There are more than 60 recognised national sports governing bodie…

I will leave the final words to Feidhlim Kelly: If the GAA are allowed 30 players on the pitch, you could easily have a race on the road with 30 people, or if you took the top 20 men and women, based on times, have a cross-country race. This is not about athletics versus GAA ... but the best athletes in my group are on that elite level. All of our elite athletes should be treated equally.

The Leas-Cheann Comhairle is sounding a bit like the Grinch.

I thank the Minister of State for his response. A number of athletes have indicated to me that Sport Ireland has issued a decree that if certain athletes travel abroad to take part in competition, which they need to do in preparation for the Olympic Games next year, they will be penalised and some of their funding will be withdrawn. Can the Minister of State provide a clarification that this is, in fact, not the case? Looking at it from an Olympian's perspective, Rob Heffernan has highlighted the situation of a num…

I welcome this motion. It is important to have this discussion. Like everyone interested in sport, I am enjoying the GAA championship. Credit needs to go to the GAA for having managed to organise a championship in a year when there are so many challenges. There are over 60 recognised sports national governing bodies, NGBs, under the umbrella of Sport Ireland, all of which have elite sportspeople. Many such sports people have contacted me to express their concern that they cannot compete while the GAA has been able …

Recently the Minister said on radio, I believe on "Morning Ireland", that no one in Dublin sleeping rough would be turned away from emergency accommodation. If this were true it would be very welcome, but unfortunately this is not the case. Last week the homeless day service, Mendicity Institution, provided concrete examples of three rough sleepers who were refused access to emergency accommodation. They were told they were ineligible for homeless accommodation simply because they had no local connection. We must r…

It is great to see that the GAA is playing minor and under-20 championships. It makes complete sense and it is good for everybody. The GAA was given this exemption following contact it made with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and this exemption should be extended to soccer because the under-19 League of Ireland leads to progression to the UEFA youth league. It is very unfair on the soccer community, who are being treated like second-class citizens. There appears to be one door …

Home support services in many areas are not being renewed. Individuals are being told that from February, older residents and individuals being released from hospital will be left without care. Home support service providers in Ringsend have been told they cannot take on any new clients from February. Will the Tánaiste ensure the residents in Ringsend are not excluded from home support services?

Scoliosis patients have a certain window in which they can be treated before treatment becomes too physically, mentally and emotionally distressing. Scoliosis is a painful and disabling condition that impacts the child and the family. Sophie Redmond is 11 years old and has scoliosis. She also has issues with her knee ligaments. I was lucky enough to meet Sophie yesterday, along with her little brother, Tyler, her father, Eric, and her mother, Sam. Sophie is like a little unicorn, bringing smiles and colour wherever…

I thank the Minister of State for her response. Unfortunately I did not hear any notes of hope for scoliosis patients or for Sophie. She is representative of so many children with scoliosis and the frustration that they and their families feel. The State is robbing them of their childhood because of inefficiencies in the health system. That is not something we as a Parliament should be standing over. Like many other children, Sophie suffers from 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. This is a disorder caused when a small part…

The vast majority of people at the age of 64 and 65 are not going to get another job. Earlier today I talked to Tommy Nolan from Pearse Street who said his heart was broken from applying for jobs. It is demoralising for him. He knows he is being rejected for jobs because he is 64 years of age. At a time when citizens should be able to take the foot off the gas, this Government wants them to sign on the dole. It is a charade and the Government is forcing older people to take part in it. To make matters worse, the Go…

Dublin City Council recently published plans for the regeneration of the Pearse House flats, located just across the River Liffey from here. The Government has indicated its support, which is very welcome. The regeneration of Pearse House is a really important development but plans suggest that it could take 12 to 15 years. Will the Government fast-track funding for the scheme so that residents do not have to live on a building site for many years or possibly decades?

Homeless day services are an important element in addressing homelessness. In many ways, they are underutilised and their importance is underestimated. I ask the Minister the amount of funding granted by the DRHE to day services in the past 12 months.

I thank the Minister. There is currently no mechanism through which an organisation can apply for funding through or from the DRHE, and that needs to change. The Minister mentioned day services. During the pandemic and during this winter, there has been no open access homeless day service for rough sleepers operating in Dublin through funding from the DRHE. That is a big gap. There are day services like Merchants Quay, but they do not allow anyone into their premises. They provide takeaway sandwiches, which are lef…

I appreciate that. I reiterate that the administration of funding by the DRHE and the way it determines who it funds needs to be examined. I invite the Minister to visit the Mendicity Institution, which is open. It is more than 200 years in existence so it has a strong track record. It provides shelter and support because somebody homeless who arrives from outside of Dublin is not given any supports and is deemed ineligible. That is not acceptable. People arrive in Dublin for particularly complex reasons and to say…