Will the Minister clarify the process by which chairs of the review into PhD conditions were selected and provide details of the remuneration awarded to the chairs?

My intention in tabling the question was to find out facts, so I do not really have anything to debate, although I do have a request. Will the Minister engage with the chairs to see whether they will meet the soon-to-be-formed postgraduate workers’ organisation as the body that will represent PhD researchers? If the Minister has not met representatives of an earlier iteration of this group, I strongly suggest he do so. They are an incredibly engaged, active and willing people who are seeking to broaden and expand w…

I am here to discuss crime and antisocial behaviour in Cabra. I want to say before I do that I do not believe Cabra is by any means different from any other part of the city or the country. Cabra is a very well-settled place full of people who love living there. Why would they not? There are issues in Cabra, as there are throughout other parts of Dublin, with an element of antisocial behaviour and some degree of crime. The issues in Cabra are by no means out of control, lawless or any different from what has happen…

Cabra is situated in such a place that when gardaí need to be reallocated to other parts of the north side, it usually has to take the brunt of that. With the recent spate of protests, which I am reluctant to call them, or the engagements in which the Garda was involved, it was Cabra Garda station that lost some of its gardaí to go to those scenarios. Cabra is also situated beside the Phoenix Park so in terms of going to police Áras an Uachtaráin, Cabra loses its gardaí. That is also a situation that happens with t…

What steps does the Department intend to take to eradicate child poverty, particularly in light of the Taoiseach's remark that a unit would be set up in his Department to combat child poverty?

When we ask these questions, we get to throw the ball in the air and the Minister gets to tell us all the great things the Government is doing. It is just the nature of them.

Exactly. However, 163,936 children in this country still live in consistent poverty according to the data presented last year. These are children without access to two warm coats and if their shoes are damaged, their parents are unable to replace them. Regardless of whether the child goes hungry, there is certainly an adult in his or her house who does. I welcomed the fact that when the Taoiseach assumed office a couple of months ago, he said he would take this issue seriously. I had a funny image in my mind becaus…

I appreciate fully that poverty is multidimensional. I hope it goes across all Departments. The Ombudsman for Children asked for a child poverty strategy to be embedded in all Departments and I welcome this call. At its basis, poverty, whether that is childhood poverty or the poverty of a family, is about what a person is being asked to go without, such as food, warm clothes, shoes or the capacity to go to the cinema. That comes down to income. People have a right to be supported by the social welfare system. When …

The Minister had to ask whether the school was part of the programme. Action to alleviate poverty cannot be based on a roulette wheel of which schools have hot meals and which do not.

I want to ask the Minister about his attitude and that of the Government towards the triple lock mechanism, and whether he has any intention to change the current regime to a situation where the Government would have more flexibility to act militarily abroad.

It was with that cause for reflection that I was motivated to ask the question. I assume I have a different opinion from the Tánaiste, in that I believe the triple lock has given us strength until this point and I do not want to infringe in any way on our neutrality, although we may disagree as to whether it would or not. Why not have the debate as opposed to spending the past year or more listening to the Minister's predecessor and other members of the Government saying we need to talk about Irish defence or neutr…

It was my intention to raise this matter in a respectful manner so that we could create a catalyst for such a debate. Is it the Government's intention to bring forward primary legislation in this term to remove the triple lock?

Is that the answer?

In the last year, 74,000 people have come to these shores in search of safety and in need of sanctuary. The responsibility for that is being felt by each of us in all of our constituencies and constituents are looking to us for answers, including people who have come here seeking answers on their safety. Too often we are operating on the basis of innuendo and rumour and too often we are firefighting. It is not fair that we continuously have to contact one Minister, who answers our calls when he can, to seek answers…

I cannot help but despair when listening to this debate. It is a year to the day since the publication of the Maskey review into South Kerry CAMHS and the situation remains dire. Vulnerable children are being utterly failed on this Government's watch and the Minister’s colleagues’ chorus of concern is of little help. I note in particular that the Taoiseach and Tánaiste described the report as "concerning" and "unacceptable". I would agree, but it is almost like they are surprised. We would be forgiven for forgettin…

I will use the Taoiseach's recent conversations with President von der Leyen as a springboard into the conversation I want to have. When the President was here in December, she spoke of Ireland’s great reception for those who came seeking sanctuary. In the last couple of days, it has once again been announced that accommodation will not be provided to people who come here seeking international protection. People have a right to pursue asylum. It is not fair for the State to say it will not be in a position to accom…

The Taoiseach's office oversees the north inner city programme. As such, I hope he will agree that dereliction has long contributed to the decline of the north-east inner city, which in turn creates the conditions for antisocial behaviour and crime. The north inner city programme was established to address dereliction as a root cause of antisocial behaviour and is dedicated to the regeneration of the north inner city area. Therefore, I find it bizarre that a chairperson appointed by Fine Gael - by this Government a…

News of the death of an Irish peacekeeper, Private Seán Rooney, in Lebanon has caused profound shock and sadness throughout Ireland. Ireland has a long and proud tradition of UN missions in Lebanon. However, this is a stark reminder of the dangers and risks that our soldiers face in conflict zones in the quest for peace. My immediate thoughts are with the victim's family, friends and colleagues in the Defence Forces and with those injured in the incident. Along with my party colleagues in the Social Democrats, we w…

The Tánaiste and the Minister for Health will both be aware of the survey from the Irish Cancer Society that was released today. It acknowledged once again the huge financial pressure placed on a person and a person's family who has experienced a cancer diagnosis. Last year the Social Democrats brought a motion to the Dáil on the cost of cancer. We were relieved to see the Government listen to the Social Democrats and agree to the lifting of inpatient hospital charges. However, we can and should go further. We need…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — a recent Teachers' Union of Ireland survey found 91 per cent of post-primary schools experienced teacher recruitment difficulties in the past six months, while 61 per cent experienced teacher retention difficulties; — almost two-thirds of primary schools in the Dublin area are short-staffed, while Wicklow and Kildare face similar shortages; — 62 per cent of posts on teacher supply panels in Dublin are vacant, with 10 per cent of posts outside Dublin also vacant; — some speci…