I am deeply disappointed by the response. We believe the Organisation of Working Time Act is the correct legislative mechanism for this. What makes this different from carer's leave, maternity leave or paternity leave is that this is a short period of leave of no more than a day, sometimes a morning. This is not extended leave. This is not leave for weeks or months. The Minister of State feels differently. That is very disappointing. We all agree with the Minister of State "increasing access into the national scree…

I thank Deputy Kelly for bringing this motion forward today. It is very important. One of the biggest failures of successive governments has been the failure to invest in our gardaí, Garda resources and Garda stations. It is an absolute scandal and it is vitally important we are talking about this today. Our Garda numbers are very far down. I will talk about road traffic gardaí in a few moments but if we look at the resources and the places where gardaí are working, I live in the third largest town in Ireland by po…

I will pick up on what my colleague, Deputy Ahern, was speaking about. We are living in an era in which shock events are becoming more regular due to irrational, unpredictable and, quite frankly, dangerous leadership among the big powers. The world's reliance on fossil fuels has become the source of global conflict. The ultimate impact of this is not only that it causes deaths in those regions where the wars are taking place, but also that it has an economic shock on ordinary workers and ordinary households elsewhe…

I register my utter dissatisfaction with how business is being operated. Eight minutes before we were due to sit today, we got a new agenda that will give us just an hour to discuss the financial resolutions on the only thing that people have been talking about over the past couple of weeks. It is utterly unsatisfactory and we register huge objection.

The Taoiseach, like me and probably many people in this Chamber, probably learned to swim in a local authority or community pool. Fingal has no local authority pool. The closest we have to one is the not-for-profit pool provided by Portmarnock Sports and Leisure Centre. Due to extensive works needed for the pool roof, the pool is closed indefinitely. This is not only threatening jobs and the viability of the leisure centre but also removing a vital resource, that is, the ability to learn to swim, from people in Por…

And vital.

Before I discuss the issue of the Middle East, I preface my comments with reference to the consular response to our citizens who have been stuck, indeed trapped, in the Middle East. Our consular response has been really good. We need to remember our missions are not set up or orientated towards the mass evacuation of citizens or people stuck in transit. There will be difficulties and we hope people will remain safe. We will continue to work and keep pressure on to ensure we have flights out of there but the evacuat…

I welcome the fact the Minister of State from the Department of Education and Youth is here to take this Topical Issue. As the Minister of State knows, I represent Dublin Fingal East. It is a rapidly growing area, with house building in east Fingal, and all towns are growing rapidly. This is good and we need houses. With this come a lot of young families and pressure on local infrastructure. This is not a new issue that I am raising. I raised this in advance of the previous academic year and I have to raise it agai…

It is difficult to find some comfort in the Minister of State's response for my constituents in Portmarnock. The current school year was bad because some students missed out and had to travel awkward distances to other schools for placement. Based on projections, it seems very likely that some siblings will not get into St. Marnock's National School in the coming year. That information is from good sources and the situation is only going to be compounded. The issue with Portmarnock is not just that it has new estat…

The Tánaiste will be aware that this is Eating Disorders Week. He will also be aware of the relentless work my colleague Deputy Sherlock has done and continues to do in this area. Yesterday, I attended the most impactful presentation I have ever be at in my many years on this campus. The presentation was made by Cared Ireland in the audiovisual room. Cared Ireland is a voluntary organisation that represents parents and carers of people with eating disorders. Those present shared absolutely heartbreaking stories. It…

Many years ago, there were perhaps some indications or factors that may have made people more prone to homelessness, be it addiction, familial breakdown or economic background. That is no longer the case, as all of us know. Homelessness is like an illness; it can strike anyone at any time, particularly if they are a renter or renting in this country. If someone came into my clinic or any other Deputy's clinic 18 months or two years ago, we would go through a list if they were on a notice to quit. We would ask wheth…

The chaos this Government has inflicted on SNAs, parents and children countrywide has been absolutely appalling. I, like many, have listened to the Minister in this Chamber and on the national airwaves, but after a week of listening I am still not sure Ministers even know what their position was. Parents do. SNAs do. Schools do. They know that the Government rushed through a review with no real consultation, and seemingly no real understanding of the role of SNAs and definitely no real plan for schools. We know the…

We are long overdue a debate on football in this country, not because of what happened in Oriel Park on Friday night, which, I trust, the league and the clubs will be able to handle, but because of the vengeful, over-the-top collective punishment response from the Minister, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan to that issue-----

-----which portrayed an anti-football bias in the Minister that I hope is not reflected in the Government.

We need a debate on it.

I raise primary care centres in my constituency. The Taoiseach is aware that Swords has waited for a primary care centre for many years. It is the third largest town in Ireland. After years of campaigning, we finally got news the HSE acquired the Hertz building, which is to be converted to a primary care centre. I ask for an update to be given on when a planning application will be going in for the change of use, and that a firm commitment be given that progress will be happening this year. Furthermore, I ask the G…

What we have here is a philosophical difference between the Minister of State's Government and the Labour Party and others in Opposition on workers' rights. For a moment, let us set aside all the climate benefits, the work-life balance benefits, the benefits for commuter towns and economies and the anti-congestion advantages. We will set them aside because philosophically, that is something we on the left would say. Let us set aside all the really good, strong evidence that has been accumulated through multiple stu…

The Minister's response sounds positive enough in its outlook. However, when this decision was made, the statement released by the Department of Defence stated: Ireland is a signatory to the European Social Charter and is committed to upholding its principles. The State respects the role of the ECSR and the Minister will examine its conclusions in conjunction with EU and national obligations, while noting that the reports of the ECSR are not binding on respondent states. Those last five or six words seem like a get…

RACO and PDFORRA were reluctant to take this case, but they felt they had no alternative. Perhaps now is the time for a reset in terms of the Department's engagement with RACO and PDFORRA and how we treat these workers, both current and potential workers. There is an awful lot of work we are going to have to do in the next months and years ahead in terms of investing in our neutrality and ensuring we have a proactive and protected neutrality. It is good to see investment in radar. It is good to see investment in a …

Last week, I wrote to the Taoiseach to seek international co-operation for an inquiry into the recent release of a witness statement as part of the Jeffrey Epstein files, in which a young girl was trafficked through Ireland for "politicians and notable men" for the purposes of sex. We heard from Garda Headquarters yesterday that no investigation or inquiry is under way regarding this claim. This witness statement is not the only concerning document released in those files relating to Ireland. Within them is an emai…