I know Deputy Quinlivan, if that is any use. This Bill has been a long time in the making. I am happy to see it come to this House four years on from the people of Limerick casting their vote in favour of a directly elected mayor. It is worth noting that even though it passed a plebiscite, many people are still not in favour. They need to be convinced of the merits of the office. I am not sure if this Bill is in line with what people had in mind when they voted for a directly elected mayor, but it is a start. I am …

The recently published FAI master plan outlined the considerable investment that would be needed in grassroots football in the coming year. It identified that approximately €430 million was needed to bring grassroots football up to a decent standard. For decades, we have seen volunteers pour their hearts and souls into their local football clubs. Without them, many of our local football clubs would not exist. In my area, many of our clubs have been fighting and campaigning for years for all-weather facilities. They…

I welcome the opportunity to speak to this Bill today. It has been a long time coming. The idea of safe access zones was first raised back in 2018 as a measure to protect women seeking access to abortion. Since then, we have seen multiple protests outside hospitals and surgeries. This legislation is very much needed to stop women being harassed when accessing these vital services. Five years on from repeal, I am glad this is now coming to pass. It is timely given that similar legislation was enacted in the North re…

The last number of weeks have seen public trust in the national broadcaster reach an all-time low with the news of top-up payments, slush funds and junkets to football matches and rugby tournaments coming as a shock to many. Appearances before the Committee of Public Accounts and Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media fell far short of what would be expected of a public body in receipt of huge amounts of public money. The key point for most is that we are now looking at an organisation that is i…

Parents rightly question the notion of free education at this time of year. The Irish League of Credit Unions survey on back-to-school costs shows 66% of parents see back-to-school costs as a financial burden. Costs increase across the board year on year as schools look for higher voluntary contributions because the system is being underfunded by the Government. It is crazy to think that parents continue to pick up the State's tab to the tune of €40 million or €50 million per year. I want to raise the case of a wom…

We did already.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. It is good to see the Government taking action on this issue. It will have the support of me and my party colleagues. The aggressive marketing of vaping products will finally be dealt with by the Bill. It will bring it in line with the standards that must be met by the wider tobacco industry. The fact that it has not been illegal until now to sell vaping products to children was a large gap in the legislation and thankfully it is finally being rectified. The introduct…

The health service is in crisis and action taken by this Government has not made it any better. One just has to look at hospital waiting lists, people left on trolleys, people waiting in accident and emergency, mental health services, early interventions and assessments of need of children. The list could go on. The system is beyond breaking point and no amount of tweaks and small changes will cut it this time. The only thing holding our health service together is the dedication of our front-line staff. People dese…

Parents, families and workers are really struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. Whether it is energy bills, rent, mortgage payments, groceries, clothes - the list could go on and on - the price of everything is going up and nothing is coming down. Last week’s Kantar report and the ECB back this up. People are put to the pin of their collar. Food poverty is a very real issue. The Minister of State and his Government have to get a grip on it. As my colleague Deputy Cronin has said, I too find doing the weekly sho…

Deputy Gould is way over time.

The Minister of State is over time.

I thank Deputy Gould.

We will move on. The next question is No. 100 in the name of Deputy Bruton.

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the Bill and thank People Before Profit-Solidarity for bringing it forward. Rents have shot up again in my constituency, Dublin Bay North. The latest Daft rental report shows people are being charged on average €2,200 a month in an area where rents were already crazy. That is an 11.5% increase on rents compared with the same period in the previous year. We continue to see record increase after record increase in the rental sector, and this is down to the failure of the Minister…

A couple of people have died also.

With all due respect, comments have been thrown-----

-----from over on that side of the House also.

Maybe you should look over there when you are speaking too, a Cheann Comhairle.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion and thank the Labour Party for tabling it. The recent news that the Department of Education has decided to put on hold the construction of 58 school buildings due to financial pressures has come as a huge blow to school communities. I will speak about one school in my constituency, Gaelcholáiste Reachrann. For more than ten years, there has been talk of a new building for Gaelcholáiste Reachrann in Donaghmede. I know the school well and I have three children who cur…

I am appalled by the Government's decision to lift the eviction ban at a time when so many people have received notices to quit. The ban on evictions was meant to give the Government time to put measures in place. Instead, the Government squandered that time. According to data from the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, for quarter 3 of last year, 1,839 notices to quit were sent by letter in Dublin alone. Sinn Féin has been asking the Government a question that it does not seem able to answer. I ask the Minister aga…