I appreciate the opportunity to speak on the motion on Ireland's opt-in to the EU's amending regulation on insolvency proceedings. This might appear to be a technical matter and just another adjustment to European legal frameworks, but to those of us who believe the law should first and foremost serve people, it is anything but abstract. Insolvency law, at its core, governs what happens when things fall apart, a business collapses, debts cannot be paid and livelihood is on the line. This is the system we rely on to…

There is much to welcome in the legislation as proposed. While we support many of the anti-strategic lawsuit against public participation, SLAPP, measures that are included, like others, we in the Social Democrats recoil at the absence of juries within the courts system. Juries provide the judgment of a person's peers. Juries have a sense of public confidence and democratic principles built into them by their very nature. Juries reflect public values and real-world experience. They enhance trust in the justice syst…

I thank the Minister for being forthright in his explanation of how his views have not so much evolved but probably remained the exact same. I took from his contribution that this is not something he believes in good conscience. He said he was bound by the principles of compromise. If I am to understand this, Fine Gael got 20.8% of the first preference vote in the last general election. I do not see the Lowry group here to defend the Minister or his Fine Gael colleagues. If we are to believe that this House is in a…

Similarly, the Social Democrats will oppose this section. Again, this is about the principle of having trials by jury and the word "defending". I have listened for the past hour and a half. We have read the research in the Oireachtas reports and by the various experts. Nobody has yet laid out any evidence to show why this would make the system better. I heard how it would make it cheaper, but that certainly does not mean it would be a better system. I would like to register my opposition.

I move amendment No. 2: In page 12, to delete all words from and including “but” in lines 13 down to and including “participation” in 14 and substitute the following: “have the effect of preventing, restricting or penalising public participation”. I thank Deputy Carthy and others. The Bill says lawsuits must have the main purpose of stopping public participation to be considered abusive. My proposed change is that if the lawsuit "has the effect" of stopping or punishing public participation, even if that was not th…

I move amendment No. 3: In page 14, to delete lines 6 to 14 and substitute the following: “34E. (1)Where a defendant in defamation proceedings relating to his or her engagement in public participation makes an application to the court, in accordance with law, to strike out the claim as being an abusive lawsuit against public participation.”.

I move amendment No. 4: In page 14, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following: “Stay of proceedings 34EA. (1) Upon an application made under section 34E by a defendant to a proceeding, no further step may be taken in the proceeding by any party until the application, including any appeal against the application, has been finally disposed of. (2) Unless a judge orders otherwise, the claimant is not permitted to amend his or her pleadings in the proceeding— (a) in order to prevent an order under this Act dismi…

I move amendment No. 5: In page 15, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following: “34FA. Where an application for declaration has been made before or during a trial of action and costs, a judge must not strike out a claim and appeal under section 34E if the claimant satisfies the judge that— (a) the claim is likely to prevail at trial, and (b) the harm suffered or likely to be suffered by the claimant as a result of the defendant’s expression is sufficiently serious that the public interest in permitting the proc…

I understand and appreciate that later this week we will have statements on the Farrelly commission report but given the gravity of the failures Grace has had to endure, perhaps words alone will not be enough in this instance. After nearly a decade and a cost of €13 million, basic questions still have not been answered. If the Government wants to take action and do something constructive, adult safeguarding legislation must be introduced. We do not want other vulnerable people to be failed in the same way Grace has…

President Higgins rightly warned this week against the outrageous abuse of antisemitism accusations to silence criticism of Israel and its genocidal actions in Gaza. Yet, the Government continues to endorse the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, IHRA, definition despite it being internationally discredited for its chilling effect on free speech and legitimate condemnation of Israel's actions in Gaza. Be it in the arts, academia or civic discourse, legitimate criticism and condemnation of Israel's cruel a…

Why have it, then?

Why have it?

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for the suspension of the powers, responsibilities and entitlements of guardianship in certain circumstances and for that purpose to amend the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 and to provide for related matters. The Social Democrats wish to introduce this Bill for the simple reason that there exists what the Minister for Justice has described as an anomaly in law whereby a parent who has been convicted of unlawfully killing the other paren…

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

When we speak about Trump's tariffs what we are actually discussing is an assault on Irish workers and global workers. It is also an assault on our industries and on the communities that have been built up around them. When we speak about Trump we have to remember who we are speaking about. Sometimes he is afforded too much credit and people ask what exactly does he want and how can we negotiate. Actually, what we are dealing with is a person who is lost in vanity. We are dealing with somebody who is monstrous in t…

The Taoiseach's Department oversees the north-east inner-city task force. Such is the extent of the crisis in schools funding at the moment that I am meeting with representatives of four schools, Rutland National School being one of them, with Jim Gavin who chairs the north-east inner-city task force to try to understand how more than €50 million from the Taoiseach's Department has been spent on the task force, yet schools are struggling to pay electricity bills. This is extraordinary. We need more of a crisis inte…

On the topic of child well-being, I wish to discuss an immensely cruel anomaly whereby a parent who has been convicted of unlawfully killing the other parent of a child retains his or her guardianship of that child. Retention of guardianship in this context means that the convicted person must be informed about the child's situation, consulted in major decisions being taken for the child and can influence the child's placement. A Bill was brought to Cabinet in respect of Valerie's law. When will that Bill be brough…

I wish to talk to the Minister of State about the absence of childcare provision in Dublin Central. I use the example of Dublin Central because it is the area I am proud to represent, but I could be talking about any community to be found the length and breadth of Ireland. Childcare provision and access to childcare, where it exists, is simply too difficult. The Government made a commitment before the election, promising to progressively reduce childcare costs to €200 monthly under the national childcare scheme. In…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I do not doubt for a second that there is a genuine commitment across the Government to address the issue. How could there not be? It is a fundamental issue. However, I do not think it is working. The ECCE rates of €69 per week per child have clearly not been sustainable. I do not doubt the level of money that is being pumped into the childcare sector, but the outcomes are still the same. We have a crisis, and a crisis requires innovation in terms of how we respond. T…

Today marks World Autism Awareness Day. Aligning themselves with the occasion, there will be up to 200 parents and guardians who will sleep on the pavement outside Dáil Éireann today. It will be the second time they have done so in a number of weeks. They are doing so for a plethora of different reasons related to assessments, diagnoses, therapies, school places and access to SNA provision. However, there is a common thread that aligns with all of those parents and guardians, that is, paying for what their children…