The national total for those considered homeless is 16,734. Of that figure, 5,188 are children. These figures released in December 2025 show a shocking increase in both adult and child homelessness. These figures also mask the real number of those who are homeless because they do not tell us how many people are couch surfing and sleeping rough on the streets or in their cars. Eviction notices from landlords have continued at pace, with tenants having nowhere to go after eviction, except the homeless services. The n…

There is great anger among schools and parents in my constituency of Dublin North-West at the proposal to cut the number of special needs assistants in schools. There is already a clear imbalance between the number of SNAs available in schools and the numbers required to cater for the ever-increasing number of students who need such essential assistance. Why is the Government only pausing these cuts and not stopping them entirely? That would reassure a lot of people. We need more SNAs - not less - across Dublin Nor…

We already have problems getting SNAs.

The Government's answer to the housing crisis caused by Governments its members were also members of is to encourage mainly foreign investment funds to buy up land to build apartments and to bulk-buy housing stock and estates. We have had an influx of such investment funds over the years because Governments have in the past created advantageous market positions for them by giving them favourable tax exemptions and grants. Investment funds have also taken advantage of stamp duty loopholes and exploited regulatory ga…

Communities have suffered the scourge of scramblers for too long. The death of Grace Lynch, a 16-year-old girl from Finglas, demands urgent action. People are frustrated by what they see as the lack of a proper response by the Garda to this menace. Gardaí are frustrated too, and while they have had some successes in seizing scramblers, the recent tragedy in Finglas shows that much more needs to be done. The current legislation is failing to tackle the scourge of scramblers and is not enforced. I have raised these c…

I said-----

The tragic death of Grace Lynch, a young 16-year-old Finglas girl, has caused consternation and anger in our community. The illegal use of scramblers is a major issue in communities throughout the country. Recent legislation to deal with this, as we warned, did not go far enough. While there have been seizures of scramblers in Finglas and Ballymun, no charges have been brought in regard to their illegal use. The policy of not going after these scramblers gives them carte blanche to do what they want on our roads an…

There are no penalties-----

We are seizing the vehicles but there are no penalties.

Please.

And those wearing masks. We need to deal with them.

There is a crisis in how mental healthcare services are delivered across the State. The lack of proper services means people experiencing a mental health crisis must present at hospital emergency departments. A person so presenting may, at the time of presentation, be in a state of psychosis and, having had to wait a number of hours for treatment, may come out of the psychosis. Some of them have then been sent home. This is highlighted in a recent report by the Mental Health Commission, which also showed there are …

Three and a half years ago, I raised during Questions on Policy or Legislation the use of nitrous oxide, also known as hippie crack, as recreational drug, and asked that the Government put in place legislation to regulate its sale. To date, this has not been done, and this Sinn Féin Bill, sponsored by my colleagues, Mark Ward and Seán Crowe, is a timely response to the Government's failure to put forward similar legislation. The use of nitrous oxide has become pervasive in many communities across Ireland, particula…

I would like to raise an important issue with regard to St. Malachy's Mixed National School, St. Helena's Road, Finglas south. St. Malachy's is a mixed senior DEIS band 1 school and has been central to the community of Finglas south for almost 50 years. When it opened first, it catered for over 200 children. St. Malachy's was the third primary school in Finglas south along with St. Finian's National School and St. Oliver Plunkett's Junior National School. At its height from the early 1980s onwards, St. Malachy's ha…

I thank the Minister of State. We are constantly being told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. To any child in homelessness or in a vulnerable circumstance, it is essential that the morning start with a proper breakfast. It is a credit to St. Malachy's that it has managed to provide a proper breakfast for some of its pupils. Funding for a snack club is simply not good enough. It is totally inadequate. There is also no funding available to run a breakfast club or for staff to run it. St. Malachy's…

The announcement by the Government to delay until later in 2026 its proposal to withdraw funding from January for medication blister packs issued by pharmacies clearly shows that the Government has bowed to the immense political and public backlash to this very unpopular proposal. However, kicking it down the road is not a solution to a problem of its own creation. It is outrageous that the Government wants to put a charge on such packs. It is also outrageous that even those holding medical cards will be liable to …

The Tánaiste's colleague, the Minister for housing, James Browne, has pulled the plans to build nearly 500 units within the Dublin City Council area under public-private partnerships. A total of 1,000 new homes have already been delivered under public-private partnerships and a further 3,500 were in the process of being delivered across the country. However, the Minister pulled the plug on the delivery of these additional homes. These units will primarily not be built because of opposition from the Department of pu…

It is being pulled. It does not make sense.

I welcome the fact that the Luas Finglas extension railway order was granted by An Coimisiún Pleanála in October 2025. This marks a major milestone in the progress of a project long in the making and long overdue. The project involves extending the existing Broombridge Luas green line to Charlestown, which will add four new stops at St. Helena's, Finglas south, Finglas village, St. Margaret's Road and Charlestown Shopping Centre. All these areas, which the Luas extension is either going through or bordering on, are…

I thank the Minister of State. There is an urgency in moving ahead. There are major plans to develop the area. Finglas village will be redeveloped. Charlestown will be affected. A large number of apartments are being built across the area and the population is growing. I have dealt with metro north, in terms of the number of meetings I went to and the commitments that were made and broken, one after another - I must have attended 100 meetings over the years. I have attended a number of meetings in regard to the Lua…