Good childcare is an essential cog in the social and economic structure of a country and is essential for a proper functioning society and economy. Proper childcare facilities allow parents to pursue employment, for example, with the knowledge that their child or children are being safely looked after. People need an income to pay for bills, rent, mortgage and healthcare etc. Without the facility of childcare, many parents would not be able to work, would be dependent on the State for support and would not be in a …

The Housing for All policy was launched by the Government to a big fanfare. However, the policy would be better called "Housing for the few and not the many". Since the policy launch, people and independent experts have had a chance to examine the details of the proposals and concluded that those proposals are problematic and, in areas, do not add up. For example, Social Justice Ireland has criticised the targets set by the Housing for All policy of 33,000 new homes every year, as well as 90,000 social homes over t…

Under the programme for Government, major infrastructure projects such as metro north and DART+ form a central part of the transport element of the national development plan. The Tánaiste just said he did not know where we are with this and whether there would be delays. The Mail on Sunday said that this was brought to Cabinet in July. If so, I wonder how the Tánaiste came up with the idea that he did not hear about it? Can he confirm that the project is going to be extended out from 2027 to 2032? This is a kick in…

I understand that.

The consultations have finished.

Ba mhaith liom tacaíocht a thabhairt don Bhille seo ó mo chomrádaí, an Teachta Ó Broin. I thank the Deputy for bringing forward this important Bill. It is vital that every means be utilised to build social and affordable housing. This Bill ensures, first, that developers are not exempted from providing social and affordable housing under the Part V provisions and, in addition, that 20% of any housing development must be social and affordable housing. The sunset clause that was put in place to allow developers who s…

Dublin Airport is one of the few large airports in Europe without a direct rail link to the city centre and its suburbs. The metro north project has a history of promises made and broken with delay after delay in its construction start time. Millions of euro have already been spent on consultations, designs, compulsory purchase and so on. Any further delays will add substantially to the costs. According to the Mail on Sunday , further delays are being considered and this proposal was brought to Cabinet last July. I…

I have taken into account everything the Minister of State has said in that we need the railway order and business case. These were all included to finish by 2027. The report we are getting is that MetroLink will go on until 2034. We have no clarity on that. The Minister of State has avoided the whole issue of telling us - I appreciate she is acting on behalf of the Minister - if there will be a delay. It is very clear from what she is saying and it appears to me that this is going to be delayed. That is totally un…

It can often be a difficult decision for families to put a relative into a nursing home or for individuals themselves to choose to go into one. However, many people prosper, have a renewed vigour and thrive in a nursing home environment. Nursing homes should be considered safe and secure places for the elderly where they receive the care and assistance vulnerable older people need and deserve. However, there were questions over the regulation and governance of nursing homes which were raised by HIQA prior to the pa…

In the context of the Health (General Practitioner Service and Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Act 2020, what is the status of the proposal to extend access to medical cards and make them available to all those who are terminally ill and have a prognosis of up to 24 months? This is an important issue for many in my constituency who have been given a terminal prognosis. I am concerned about the impact of any delay in implementing this extension as I am aware of people who are terminally ill but have been tur…

The current situation is that rental prices are, effectively, outstripping the cost of monthly mortgage repayments. That being the case, one might ask why a person would rent instead of buying. It is because house prices have risen so high that it is very difficult for most people to put together the deposit required for a house in the first place. This is an abnormal situation that indicates how broken and dysfunctional the property market is today. This generation is increasingly becoming one of people who will n…

The general scheme of the criminal justice (exploitation of children in the commission of offences) Bill 2020 has been published and is expected to undergo pre-legislative scrutiny. Does the Tánasite know the timescale for this to be completed? There is real concern in my constituency that young children are increasingly being groomed to act as drug couriers by criminal elements involved in the drugs trade. The proposed legislation needs to be passed into law as soon as possible.

Tá an Bille seo an-tábhachtach ar fad agus tá me féin agus Sinn Féin ag tabhairt tacaíochta dó. I am happy to have an opportunity to speak on the Bill, which was brought forward by Deputy Pringle, and to offer my full support and that of my party for it. The Traveller community faces discrimination at many levels in society. This discrimination can be obvious or subtle. Many in the community feel marginalised in Irish society. Their experiences and interactions ensure they are made to feel excluded on a regular bas…

The sale of the Irish Glass Bottle site at Poolbeg to the Ronan group and its consortium will prove to be a profitable cash cow for these private developers. There is a proposal to build 3,500 new homes on this important site, which has been in State hands for more than a decade. However, the motivation of private developers is to maximise their profits and sell off the houses at the highest possible price. House prices have increased by 13% in the past year, with people now paying an average of €34,000 more for a …

Lead is a very toxic heavy metal and is detrimental to human health, in particular, the health of young children. The risk to health is especially grievous where quantities of lead contained in water supplies are consumed over a long period, even if the lead present is at very low concentrations. It has been shown that consumption of lead can affect the brain development of children. Infants and babies in the womb are most at risk from lead contamination as children and infants absorb more lead than adults. Studies…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. We do not really know about or have any analysis of the real effects of lead contamination in our water. We know it is a threat to our health and that tens of thousands of houses built in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s used lead piping. Many people living in these houses are on pensions and have very little money. They bought their own houses from the local authorities. A scheme is in place but there is not enough awareness and not enough take-up. I am glad, therefore, to…

Tá an-áthas orm go bhfuilim ag labhairt ar an mBille seo. Tá sé an-tábhachtach ar fad. The programme for Government promised to deliver an affordable housing scheme to help out first-time buyers and, in exceptional circumstances, those who lost their homes in the financial crash as well as those who were forced to sell their homes as a result of a relationship break up. These are the principle ways to avail of the affordable housing scheme. However, the Minister's recent announcements as to what constitutes afforda…

The transfer of responsibility for water from the local authorities to Irish Water has created many problems. As a public representative, I find the process of reporting issues cumbersome and frustrating. I can imagine, therefore, that it would try the patience of an ordinary citizen. When a problem is reported to Irish Water it utilises the water services staff and equipment of Dublin City Council and other councils. If I were to go directly to the council to report an issue, I would be told to contact Irish Water…

I believe the original purpose of changing over to Irish Water and moving all services from local authorities was to privatise it. The people went out on the streets and stopped that. It now seems we are going to keep Irish Water in public ownership, which is right. However, it was already in public ownership with the local authorities. That was the best place for it to be. That said, Irish Water is in place and I am outlining the problems we face as public representatives when dealing with Irish Water, as well as …

There has been a crisis in housing for many years. This is something I have spoken about and raised on many occasions in the Dáil. For many in the general community, waiting to be allocated an apartment or house has often proved to be both frustrating and demoralising as they linger on housing waiting lists for many years before they are even close to being considered for accommodation. How much more difficult and frustrating must it be for those in the Traveller community looking for accommodation? The Traveller c…