Only now, after 19 months of siege and slaughter, after the images of starving Palestinian children with swollen bellies and hollow eyes, after the mass graves and the bombed-out hospitals, after the annihilation of entire families, only now do we hear the Government saying that next week, it will bring a memo in respect of the occupied territories Bill. Only now, when the scale of destruction has pierced even the most hardened conscience, when the term "plausible genocide" echoes in the halls of the UN, do we hear…

This proposed reduction in the accommodation recognition payment from €800 to €600 a month is not just a bureaucratic tweak, it is a deeply short-sighted move that will hurt the very people we have asked to step up, that is, the thousands of families who have opened their homes to Ukrainian refugees fleeing war. When the war began and we stepped up, we talked about the huge solidarity the Irish people demonstrated to the Ukrainian community who came here, to our towns, villages and cities. Now, while the war still …

I thank An Ceann Comhairle and Members for the latitude. Similar to Deputy Carthy, I thank the staff in office of the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, and the staff of IPAS for helping in recent weeks and months to dispel, where they arise, myths that are being spread purposely by far-right agitators. There was a particularly difficult situation in my locality in recent days. I am grateful to the Minister of State, his office and IPAS staff for their work in this regard. This goes right to the heart of what we are…

I welcome the opportunity for statements on assessments of need. We often talk about demand and need and solutions. The Government today has made reaffirmations. The Tánaiste reiterated his commitment to address this issue after 14 years of Fine Gael in government. We must also give voice to many people who are now teenagers or adults who have been left behind because of the failures of successive Governments and the structures of this State which did not meet their needs. The Opposition is often told we misconstru…

I want to align myself with the condolences expressed across the Chamber to Garda Kevin Flatley's family, colleagues and the communities he served so diligently. In light of the worsening crisis of prison overcrowding whereby more than 350 people are reported to be sleeping on floors in prison and prison numbers are at a record high, what steps has the Minister taken to implement meaningful decarceration policies, including non-custodial sentences and investing in community-based sanction and support?

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive response. I welcome the increase to two years for consideration of community service. However, we cannot waste any time when it comes to addressing the appalling and dangerous conditions in our prison system. Hundreds of people are sleeping on floors. The number of prisoners who have died in custody in Ireland has increased by 55% in the past year, up from 20 in 2023 to 31 last year. In many cases, the conditions in our prisons are nothing short of Dickensian, in that ther…

That is an incredible job of answering a question I did not ask. No part of my question, either in written form or in my contribution, referred to the release of people in prison for serious offences. I discount even the notion of that. However, while we are talking about increased populations, why do we not conduct an audit of who exactly is in our prisons? In the majority of cases, they are there because of addiction and for all sorts of issues for which prison is not the most useful means of rehabilitation. We a…

On 26 February 2024, the Minister wrote about the potential for 6,400 gardaí to leave the force over the next three years. What are the plans to address the retention of gardaí? What is the number of gardaí leaving the force? What will the Minister do to address that?

I appreciate that 1% or 2% does not seem particularly high, but Garda numbers are particularly low. The Commissioner has talked about getting the numbers up to 18,000, but the 1% or 2% leaving is not being matched by people coming in. There is also the potential for 6,400 gardaí to retire in the next three years, which is incredible. Gardaí are leaving the force for a multitude of reasons but we only have anecdotal evidence of that. We have senior gardaí going into the Civil Service and rank-and-file gardaí going i…

It is an exciting job but the demands are incredible and the pay, in many instances, does not provide the capacity to afford to live in the cities that gardaí are asked to police. People are leaving. While the figure in this regard is only 1% or 2%, the force is still understaffed. An intensive campaign to recruit gardaí needs to do more than tell people it is an exciting job when they are dreading the bills coming in every week. I know the Minister recognises that. We need more of a plan. We had a recruitment proc…

I wish to raise an issue of fundamental rights, namely the right to education. This right is being denied to children not only in the north inner city but also nationally. Peer research conducted by a group of parents who came together under the title of FACT reveals that 100% of parents of children with additional needs surveyed said their children need additional support but that only 70% of those children are receiving such support. Many children are in classrooms without special needs assistants, SNAs, and are …

There is a lot that can and should divide us in this Chamber, but the fact that next week an extraordinary 14-year-old girl will once again come to Dáil Éireann and stay outside for 50 hours studying for her exams, which are taking the following week, to make a simple call for a legal requirement for assessments of needs should unify us around a collective motion so that Cara can know that when she shows up, so do the rest of us.

I welcome the extension of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act and I will support it. However, we need to be honest here. This legislation has been extended multiple times and we must move beyond temporary measures. It is time to make it permanent. I sat on the Dublin City Council at the same time as the Minister, and to think then that we would be in the Dáil discussing benches. This should be an issue for councils. We have all seen the positive impact that outdoor dining has had on our city. Capel Street…

I unreservedly support the motion and thank Deputy Cummins for bringing it forward. I want to say clearly that the current system is failing to reflect the Ireland of today. In 2021, I stood in this Chamber and said the Government was paying lip service to the idea of a truly inclusive education system, flagging that there was no clear roadmap to providing 400 multidenominational primary schools by 2030. Four years on, the facts show that little has changed except that the gap between political promises and reality…

There have been 19 months of devastation and evil on a scale not witnessed in many centuries. We have watched annihilation being afflicted upon Gaza. We now have the calls from Netanyahu and those who follow him for ethnic cleansing of the people of Gaza. We have heard the words of the Taoiseach and the talk of the Tánaiste last week. We need to know when there is going to be action and consequence. Can we have statements immediately on the situation in Gaza and can we finally understand what Ireland is actually go…

I do not feel like celebrating Europe Day today for reasons that have been outlined very clearly for more than 19 months now. That is not to say that I do not appreciate Europe or the role it has played in the development of Ireland. I am often reminded of a quote by John McGahern, who said that Ireland was an agrarian society right up to the mid-20th century and then almost went straight to the 21st century. I understand the role Europe has played in Ireland and the privileges it has given me, but I also understan…

Every Deputy who stands up will have a story to tell about his or her own constituency and the absence of effective childcare or aftercare provision, precisely because this insidious issue affects the means by which parents organise their days, get into work and ensure that their children are looked after in a manner that is taken for granted in most other jurisdictions. It is difficult to know where to begin when detailing the systematic failures that brought us to this point. We are talking about a sector that is…

I want to raise an issue I have raised on previous occasions, namely, the community I am very proud to represent, one that has its challenges but is always flourishing and has a deep history. It is a place full of strong families and deep roots, but it is a community that can often be overlooked and is struggling right now. The residents of Cabra have asked, in recognition not just of the problems but the opportunities that exist in the community, that a family resource centre be established. That is the issue I wa…

I thank the Minister of State for her substantial contribution and recognition of Cabra, and her personal awareness of how change-positive the family resource centres can be for a community, particularly communities that, of their own volition, recognise the need for them. Cabra is an area with such an incredible history. The GAA team there is a real focal point for the community. There is generational poverty that can only be confronted through proper State intervention and a collation of services. It is exactly a…

I thank Labour for bringing forward this important motion. I bid a huge welcome to the parents and guardians who are in the Gallery, many of whom I recognise from my community. There are also people who have had to travel to the Dáil previously and who have slept outside the offices of the Department merely to vindicate their child's rights. Each time I see those very same faces, hear their stories and feel their pain, the question I am repeatedly obliged to ask is "Why does it have to be so difficult?" Why does a …