I thank People Before Profit-Solidarity and all of those who worked with them to bring forward this Bill. It is a reasonable proposition and worthy of discussion. I welcome the fact that we can have a discussion on it. Sinn Féin will not oppose this Bill. We think it should proceed to Committee Stage and we have long called for an increased emphasis on harm reduction in this area. My colleagues, Deputies Gould and Ward, have undertaken extensive work in the fields of mental health, rehabilitation and the treatment …

I move amendment No. 1: In page 9, line 10, after “2015” to insert the following: “and who has arrived after the commencement date in section 1(4) of the Social Welfare and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 ”. I have a few general questions and observations regarding the legislation which I may ask about later. The first three amendments are closely related. I raised a concern on Committee Stage that the hinge upon which this all hangs is designated centres. While we have had a little detail in the inte…

I have a couple of things. I want to respond to Deputy Murphy first with regard to amendment No. 3. It is about bringing it in line with what is in the temporary protection directive but really, the intention is to put people arriving under the temporary protection directive on the same footing as those who are fleeing conflict and oppression. In other jurisdictions, it would obviously be my intention that they would be in a position to apply for medical cards and get all the same medical treatment that asylum seek…

I know the Deputy was not. I just wanted to put that on record. Regarding the 90 days, and the point that the Government is going to do that anyway, that is not something with which we agree. As I said, there are two big problems with it. There is an incentive there when we compare what people will receive inside State-provided accommodation with what they will receive outside it. It absolutely is the case that in large parts of the country, people might feel they are better off trying to compete in the private ren…

May I finish my point briefly?

To respond to Deputy Murphy, we do not agree with the 90-day provision. I have pointed out the issue with incentives and the challenges they could create. Another consideration is that people in places like the east coast, Cork and so on will not be able to find accommodation and could end up on the streets. It is wrong that this might happen to people who are fleeing their home country and seeking international protection. Deputy Murphy made the point that the Government is going to go ahead anyway and apply these…

I move amendment No. 2: In page 9, to delete lines 14 and 15.

I did not get an answer to my question as to what in my amendments constrains future action. We might consider this issue further in the Seanad. I just do not accept it is the case. Sometimes, bald statements are made but I am not sure there is anything to substantiate this one. As I outlined, there are currently three tiers of provision. First is the direct provision system that has been in place for some 20 years, which has a certain amount of regulation although it is not anything like adequate. Second is the em…

Hear, hear.

It is impossible to find a childcare place at the moment in Cork city and county, even if one has the money to spend what is effectively a second mortgage. Current figures released to Mr. Peter Horgan, which are reported in The Echo today, show that some 130 children were affected by the closure of 30 after-school facilities last year. That is just after-school care. Add to that countless more in the preschool category that have closed, including crèches. I know of one in particular in Grange which is affecting a l…

I will pick up where the Tánaiste finished and share concern at the allegations made against UNRWA staff that they participated in the appalling attacks on 7 October. I echo what has been said in that the role of UNRWA is absolutely crucial. The threats that have been made and followed through on regarding funding by some donors are extremely worrying and are not at all proportionate to a situation where 400,000 people face famine. There have been 25,000 people killed; an enormous proportion of those - up to severa…

As the Minister will be aware, I raised this issue with her previously. It potentially relates to a number of locations. I have a particular interest in the library and youth centre that is proposed for the Mahon area in my constituency. When the library capital funding was announced late last year, there was approximately €100 million to be allocated over five years. That will fund the local library service but there are also about 33 smaller projects. For the larger capital asks there is not a substantial amount …

Our libraries do a great deal of work and much of it is unheralded. People think of books and so on but it is often the place where people who do not have access to printers have their forms printed out. People have access to e-books and audio books, which is a crucial thing. They are unsung heroes of the public service in many ways. There are a number of locations across the State where there is a large and growing population, especially a growing young population, where there is a complete lack of provision. One …

While the capital funding that is available is welcome, if the number of projects that are needed come in for a certain amount of funding, they will not get anywhere near what they require because of the level of need that is there. That is particularly in areas where there is no provision whatsoever, in those four or five communities around the State where there is no provision whatsoever and where they need something brand-new. The intention in many cases is that libraries need to be colocated with youth services…

I put in some written questions on this. I understand Our Living Islands proposes to review the freight contracts to our offshore islands. If we are serious about ensuring they have a future, living on an island should not be significantly more expensive than it is on the mainland. That is not only the case for online purchases but also for things like building a home. We need to address that in the freight contracts.

From speaking to some people who live with the reality of life on the islands there are a couple of difficulties as things stand that need to be taken into account with this review, which needs to be very rigorous. First, maximum pricing and precisely what that means must be considered. The Department talks about maximum pricing and provides these tariffs. In practice that is very often treated as the price and an awful lot of people told me: "Sure, that is what the Department is telling us to charge." When I go ba…

To give another example, some of the lists that have been given can be a bit arbitrary. Apparently, it costs €18 per tonne of gravel but €10 per tonne bag of sand even though they are precisely the same weight. There is a difference in price even though it involves the same mechanism and that surprises people. One of the key findings on the future of the islands relates to the challenges that exist in sustaining populations on the islands in terms of housing but the cost of building houses on the islands, even when…

This is something I raised again recently. I know Deputies are continually raising it. The previous funding scheme was welcome but many community organisations perhaps did not have things lined up in time or were not in a position to make the application, between land, funding and other issues. I regularly receive questions about when there will be another call and what it will look like.

That is all very good news. I am sure lots of organisations will be anxiously awaiting the outcome of that process. What the Minister said is very positive but it is slightly different from the information I sought. Perhaps what she said answered other Deputies' questions. When resources are limited, it makes sense to prioritise shovel-ready projects. For organisations that are not ready, it takes time, effort and money to get ready. To get to that point, they want to have confidence that if they spend the money an…

Ba mhaith liom cuidiú leis an mBille seo. Tá sé tábhachtach agus tógann sé ar reachtaíocht a bhí réasúnta maith cheana féin ach air a bhfuil sé ag cur feabhas. Tá sé fíorthábhachtach go mbeadh trédhearcacht agus rialacháin réasúnta ann do charthanachtaí agus d'eagraíochtaí deonacha agus poiblí. In éineacht leis sin, caithfear meá a dhéanamh go mbeadh an trédhearcacht agus na rialacháin maith go leor agus go mbeadh, mar atá ráite ag an Teachta Donnelly ansin, ámh, an balance i gceart chun déanamh cinnte de go bhfuil…