The ESRI recently published a report which highlighted the number of children living in households below the poverty line rose to 200,000 in 2024. All the while, this Government boasts about tax surpluses. We are told that the money is being kept aside for a rainy day. For those families and children, it is raining and it is pouring. In my constituency, we see billions running through the IFSC while right next door on Sheriff Street, where my family still lives, there are people who cannot even afford to put food o…

On Saturday night I witnessed a pack of eight scramblers and motorbikes taking over Dublin city centre. I went to Store Street police station because I saw the lack of Garda presence. This was going on for hours. The garda on the desk told me they had not got the resources to deal with this on a Saturday night in Dublin city centre, the capital of our country. One of those scramblers narrowly missed crashing into me. I do not know how he did not. He lost control after going up on a wheely. I thought that would be t…

We need action, and we need action now.

It is not enough.

It does not happen in his community.

Are they nearly crashing into him in his private car? I do not think so.

It is not good enough.

I acknowledge the survivors of Bill Kenneally's abuse, who were then boys and are now men, who carried this alone for decades and found the courage and strength to force this State to look honestly at how it failed them. This is not an isolated failure. It is our country's oldest and most shameful pattern - the industrial schools, the Magdalen laundries, the mother and baby homes. Through case after case, cover-up after cover-up, decade after decade, elements of this State have known that children were being harmed…

To follow on from Deputy Gary Gannon, the Cowtown Market is a space that is so much more than an outdoor food market. It is a space that was once a derelict site. We have seen serious levels of antisocial behaviour at that end of Prussia Street and the Stoneybatter area. It opened since Covid and has been thriving ever since. It creates local employment and has strengthened relationships with the local pub, the City Arms, and other local businesses like Tesco and the shops across the way. It has really brought life…

I thank the Minister of State. Consistency is key, and that is what is letting us down with our local authority in this instance. Communities do not expect every planning application to succeed, but they do expect consistency in how planning is enforced. We are not asking for weaker planning rules, but for a planning system that is proportionate, consistent and capable of recognising the wider public good when local people invest in their communities and turn once-derelict sites that were not only eyesores, but cau…

I want to share the story of the scrambler scourge that is plaguing parts of Dublin city. In particular, I share the story of Jayden, a child with additional needs who was on the way to the shop at the Five Lamps to buy bread and was knocked down by a scrambler. Not only was the incident horrible and there was a serious injury, but it was also a hit and run. However, the scrambler came back as part of a group of scramblers, and they circled the family as they were tending to Jayden on the ground. It is horrible stu…

Affordable and accessible childcare is a vital provision that has fundamental impacts on both our society and economy. A well-functioning early childhood education and care system is key to the future of our children as well as our own success. A public model of early childhood education and care is the only way we can achieve a system that is affordable, accessible and which addresses the childcare needs of families across this country. While we work towards that model, we must cap childcare fees at €200 per child…

In the run-up to the by-election, I knocked on close to 40,000 doors and the same issue came up time and time again, affecting constituents in every corner of the constituency: the cost of living. A new report from Barnardos today outlines just how much pressure families are under. It is absolutely shocking. Up to 80% of parents believe their children have been negatively impacted by the cost-of-living crisis. They are parents in every corner of the country, in all our communities, who are struggling and whose chil…

Affordable, accessible childcare provision is vital for the proper functioning of our society and our economy. What plans does the Minister have to publish a detailed timeframe, including milestones and key performance indicators, for the provision of €200-per-month childcare, as set out in the commitments in the programme for Government?

Yes.

In the lead-up to the last election, the Tánaiste promised to cap childcare fees at €200 per month, and that was to do with the early stage of the Government. His words were exactly these: I actually believe the cost bit we can deliver quite quickly. I believe it can be delivered in the early time of the government. Not the end. Last week, on a podcast, he said that we would not get there by the next budget, that that was never the commitment - again, his words - and that the commitment was over the lifetime of the…

I take on board what the Minister is saying. I do not hold out much hope. Time and again, the Government has treated childcare as an afterthought. As a father of two, this is something I live with every day. Childcare costs are crippling families. I knocked on close to 40,000 doors, and it came up quite a lot. We were not seeing it much in representations or emails, but it certainly came up in the one-to-one conversations. The Government has failed so many times in respect of this promise. We are talking about gett…

In this maidan speech, I will start by thanking the people of Dublin Central who voted for me and turned out in good numbers. In everything I do, I am going to work to repay the trust they put in me. I thank my family and friends and everyone who has helped me get to this point. It is a proud honour for both myself and my family. Without my fiancée, Chloe, my son, Wylder, and my daughter, Wren, I simply would not be here. I thank them for all their love and strength. I thank the amazing campaign team, Gary, Cáit an…

Evictions.