That is not true.

He is not saying the facts. I have to challenge him on that.

The High Court in Belfast declared today that the UK's Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 is incompatible with human rights, particularly where it relates to immunity from prosecution. Having attended the inquest last week into the Springhill massacre, where five civilians were shot dead by the British Army in 1972, at the request of the families involved, it is important that these inquests continue until they are finished and that whatever legal process might happen after that is not a…

I agree this is a very important debate. Something the Minister said earlier holds true, namely that there is a need for absolute condemnation by all sides of anybody who commits arson. What she said in her speech is important to press home, which is that if a group of people breaks into premises and sets it on fire, it does not matter who actually lit the match, all potentially face a charge of arson and could spend up to a maximum of ten years in jail. Special gardaí have been appointed to investigate each and ev…

More than 100,000 people have found refuge in our country in recent years from war, famine and so on. Very important decisions have been made. However, the people of Drogheda are extremely angry or concerned at the fact they are losing their only remaining functioning hotel. They are more than willing to play their part but this is not acceptable. They are losing a resource that is essential. Will the Taoiseach meet with public representatives, businesses and leaders in the community to find a solution to this? The…

Molaim an díospóireacht seo. Tá sé thar am go raibh rudaí ag dul ar aghaidh sa Tuaisceart agus fáiltím go bhfuil sé sin socraithe anois agus go bhfuil administration nua le hairí nua sa Tuaisceart. Molaim Michelle O'Neill agus Emma Little-Pengelly freisin as ucht an comhoibriú atá á dhéanamh acu. Ní thuigfimid go deo conas mar a thitfidh rudaí amach sa Tuaisceart ach tús maith é leath na hoibre mar a deir an seanfhocal. I welcome the developments in Northern Ireland. In particular, I congratulate Michelle O'Neill a…

Huge progress has been made. It is based on the fundamental of working together, and a symbiotic North-South relationship in business, politics, sport and everything. The future is really bright and this is an excellent start. I welcome this debate.

Significant funding has been provided by the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, for a voucher scheme so people who are deaf can purchase sign language interpreters for essential private and personal issues. Unfortunately, the Citizens Information Board has suspended the scheme with immediate effect, causing significant concern and worry for people who are deaf and the Irish Deaf Society. Will the Minister intervene with the Citizens Information Board to ensure a constructive outcome from this engagement?

My constituent, Aimee Campbell, suffers from an illness called functional neurological disorder, FND. She has limb paralysis in both legs and in her left arm. She suffers from extreme pain and seizures. She has been turned down for home carer hours by the HSE on two grounds. The first is that, at 28, she has not reached the age of 65 and is therefore not eligible. The second ground is that her illness is not recognised. The HSE is looking again at her case. I will send the details to the Minister of State, Deputy B…

Hear, hear.

Is lá an-tábhachtach é seo chun óráid a thabhairt ar son ár iar-Thaoisigh agus tá moladh mór tuillte aige. Beidh cuimhne air go deo agus ní bheidh, i ndáiríre, a leithéidí arís ann agus níl aon dabht faoi sin, ach go háirithe. As a TD for the Louth and east Meath constituency, I obviously met John many times over many years. My political career started in the Seanad when I was elected under his leadership and when he appointed me as spokesperson on transport, as well as after that time. I was a proud supporter of J…

Dare anyone say a bad word about John Bruton because the late Paddy Hogan would defend him to the end. Councillor Mary Sylver was also a great supporter of John Bruton, as was Councillor Brigid Hogan, whom I knew at that time. They were people who told me about John Bruton. I got to know him, learn about him and like him and to believe in what he did. He was a man who held his ground. He believed firmly and with conviction. He did not budge and was not to be intimidated or moved. He stood his ground and he was a ve…

I share Deputy Munster's concerns regarding the FOI Act in County Louth. It is important we bring it to the attention of the Minister and the Information Commissioner to get a resolution. I rise today specifically about the crisis in speech and language therapy in the Drogheda area. I am getting anxious parents who are concerned about children not being able to get appointments, particularly in view of the change in the boundary. There is a huge issue because we cannot get answers to parliamentary questions we put …

Yes.

It was a former Secretary General of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjöld, describing what the United Nations was about, who said it was not created in order to bring us to heaven but in order to save us from hell. If there is one thing clear from my constituents, it is that the Middle East is in absolute hell right now. What people in my constituency want is for the war to end and for the hostages to be freed as the very first step. The issue I would like to raise is the lack of authority of the United Nations and…

A HIQA report on Castlebridge Manor Nursing Home was published this week. It shows non-compliance with seven out of ten regulations. This is the third inspection in 12 months which shows significant non-compliance in respect of governance, healthcare and staffing. I believe this is institutional abuse and elder abuse. It is absolutely appalling that people who are not incontinent are forced to wear incontinence wear for up to four hours at a time because of a lack of staff. In some parts of that home, people are fo…

Is díospóireacht an-tábhachtach í seo agus ba mhaith liom cúpla rud a rá i dtosach. I would first like to praise “RTÉ Investigates” for the fantastic work it has done, particularly even this week, in exposing corruption in public life on our television screens. I was absolutely disgusted to see that houses that were being proposed by a reputable developer on appropriately zoned land were being held up. There was a gun to the head and they had to pay up or the objection went in. I thought that day was long gone but …

It was the case in the past that usually, if not always, the new development plan coincided with the first two months of the new council. The old council knew nothing about it and was not in a position to challenge or interrogate the development plan. The Minister of State is the man who is in place, but I think the development plans should be dealt with in the cycle of the existing council period of five years, and ideally at the commencement of that. That would give greater transparency, commitment, awareness and…

This week, 51 years ago, Jean McConville, a widow with ten children, was abducted, murdered and secretly buried in my county. Nobody has been convicted of that crime, although some have been arrested and later released. I live in County Louth which has suffered greatly, even recently. We all know about the appalling criminality and the drug intimidation that took place in Drogheda, in particular, the dismembering of a child. The answer was a Government response, through the Minister, Deputy McEntee, in which €16 mi…

To date, 9,278 citizens have died from Covid-19 in this country. Residential institutions have accounted for 28% of those deaths, or 2,642 to date. The Irish Times reported that the Garda is investigating up to 30 nursing homes for possible gross negligence and manslaughter. The Government has promised since 2021 to have its own separate inquiry into these deaths. I appreciate that the Minister was not aware that I would be asking this question today. Therefore, I ask that she get back to me on when the inquiry wil…