This Government decided to help people with the cost of living and to repair our finances through costed tax and spending measures.

I very much welcome the return of aviation and tourism that we have seen in recent months. It is great to see tourists returning to our shores again and those employed in aviation being able to return to work at long last. Tourists come to our shores to visit our stunning and scenic beauty spots, our mountains and coastlines, and to experience our bustling cities. Fáilte Ireland and the Department of Tourism, Culture , Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media have done a tremendous job in promoting Ireland as an attractive…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to make provision for the regulation of gender balance on the boards and governing councils of corporate bodies and related matters. This Bill will make provision for the regulation of gender balance on the boards and governing authorities of corporate bodies and related matters. In so doing, it will provide for gender quotas to be introduced at boardroom level. It will require all companies to have 33% of each gender on their boards within a year of…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

Today I wish to raise the issue of Facebook whistleblower, Frances Haugen, who has accused the social media giant of prioritising profit over safety. She claims that Facebook has realised that if it changes its algorithms to be safer, people will spend less time on their app and will click on fewer adverts and ultimately, Facebook will make less money. Facebook's own internal report shows clearly that certain content promoting eating disorders on Instagram is leading to negative self-image and poor mental health am…

Over the last couple of months, we have become all too familiar with scam telephone calls and text messages. This week, the Central Statistics Office, CSO, published data which showed a 40% increase in fraud by comparison with this time last year. This month alone, I have received ten scam text messages and dozens of scam telephone calls. My constituents report being inundated with scam text messages and telephone calls to the point where they are now sceptical of every call and text they receive. That is wrong. Th…

Earlier this year, the climate action Bill set out Ireland's ambition to be a world leader on climate action. I know a lot of what is contained in the Bill will be used to drive delivery of climate action and will be included in the climate action plan, and I look forward to reading it when it is published. My expectation is that the upcoming action plan will be every bit as ambitious as the climate action Bill and I welcome the spirit of that ambition. I hope the Government will deliver fully for current and futur…

I welcome this week's announcement of the updated Afghan admissions programme and plan for family reunification. I thank the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, for their leadership on this important issue. Ireland has always been a world leader when it comes to offering support and aid to countries in turmoil and I am glad we have moved so quickly to support the people of Afghanistan. We have given 340 humanitarian visas to activists, those with Irish connections and women at partic…

We have before us an ambitious plan to tackle the housing crisis, which is an issue of vital importance to families up and down the country. Many of the points I have heard from Opposition Deputies today are simply that - opposition for opposition's sake. That helps no one who wants to own his or her own home. Listening to the debate, one could be forgiven for thinking Sinn Féin voted against the Government's Affordable Housing Bill. In fact, the party's Members voted for it. As for the legislation to establish the…

I welcome the opportunity to discuss this initiative. Children have been so badly affected by Covid and lockdowns. Schools were closed, sports were stopped and music, art and drama were all gone. Rites of passage, such as communions, confirmations, graduations, debs and even birthday parties, were put on pause. Children were kept apart from one another and from their families, their aunties, uncles and grandparents. In the very early days, children were even labelled as super-spreaders and excluded from public plac…

The use of scramblers, antisocial behaviour and organised crime present a real threat to law and order in urban communities. The revs and the roars of scramblers translate into anxiety, intimidation and fear in communities, which is simply unacceptable. I am really pleased, therefore, that the Government has already drafted legislation in respect of this matter which will allow for the seizure of these vehicles when they are used in public places. Clondalkin councillor Kenneth Egan and my Government colleague, Depu…

Ten thousand children are home from school today, having been deemed close contacts. This stop-start approach to education is not working for children or schools. I will provide three examples. I have a constituent who was working from home until recently but who was refused that option when her son was deemed a close contact. Instead, she had to take annual leave to stay at home with her child, who received a negative test. I have another constituent whose daughter tested positive for Covid in February and is out …

This week, tens of thousands of people went back to the office or other place of work, but not everyone is back in the office yet. Many are continuing to work from home or are moving to a hybrid model, and we need to support them. In that context, it is important that we acknowledge the increase in utility bills. The Minister spoke about this matter in his initial contribution. Electricity and heating bills in particular have increased due to energy price rises as well as people working from home. Remote working ha…

I appreciate both of the points made by the Minister, in particular in regard to the protocol and around the savings business are making and how they need to be passed on to their employees. It is important to make the point that in a lot of cases employers are not necessarily at a point where they can downsize or downscale their offices and, consequently, some of those costs are still there. On the energy costs and bills that are reducing, however, I agree totally that a lot of that should be passed on to employee…

This week, Sinn Féin councillors were forced to bow to public pressure on a vote for 620 homes in Tallaght, 80% of which will be social or affordable. Instead of following through on its opposition to these homes, it abstained in the vote. What assurance can the Taoiseach give to people that, despite Sinn Féin's opposition on the ground to homes, homes like those in question will be built?

Children under the age of 12 will shortly be able to return home from holidays without a vaccine, PCR test or antigen test. They will soon be able to go for family dinners indoors in a restaurant without a vaccine, PCR test or antigen test, but they cannot go to summer classes, schools or camps, dancing classes, stage schools or coding workshops. They cannot be indoors with their friends who, just a few weeks ago, they shared classrooms with. It is mixed messaging for parents, children and this sector. What can we …

The expansion of the LPT was parked for several years. I am glad that we are now dealing with this issue. In June 2020, the programme for Government committed to the introduction of legislation for a tax that put fairness at its heart. That is exactly what this legislation is doing. In the revaluation, most homeowners will face no increase in taxation. However, homes which were deemed new almost a decade ago, and which were deemed exempt on that basis, will be brought into the net. I appreciate and understand that …

I have been engaging with driving instructors across Lucan, Clondalkin, Palmerstown, Newcastle, Saggart and Rathcoole since the beginning of the year. I have been using their feedback to help shape my requests to the Department of Transport. I thank the Minister of State for taking action on some of the suggestions I have made on their behalf, in particular the move to online driver theory tests. Young people have suffered greatly during this pandemic. They have had to sacrifice an awful lot for the common good and…

I thank the Minister of State for the reply and I am really glad there is such progress being made for prospective drivers, with the acceleration of theory tests from 15,000 per month to 25,000 per month being a huge help, especially when combined with the 10,000 online theory tests. It is great to hear plans to accelerate that further to 50,000 tests per month. The fact that one in every six theory test applicants is a no-show is certainly not helping matters. I encourage anyone who cannot make the theory test app…

There has been palpable disappointment this week in response to the latest Covid announcement. The tourism and hospitality sector and young people feel particularly left behind. All Members share the frustration that is out there. We all know that Covid-19 has not been fair on anyone and we all want to be on the far side of this pandemic. The vaccine is our best way out of it. I, like so many others, have not been offered a vaccine yet and I am really encouraged by the national immunisation advisory council, NIAC, …