I thank the Ceann Comhairle for facilitating this debate. It took a pandemic, with people, in effect, spending more than a year indoors, for us to realise what is needed to enable us to enjoy the outdoors and our public spaces. The last public toilets in this city closed 21 years ago. With that closure, a crucial part of what makes the city living and accessible was lost. Many people have been campaigning for public toilets for years. Like so many things, the lack of these very basic facilities in our country is so…

Would you believe I wrote down those exact sentiments? I echo those comments that some people find it easier than others to wait patiently. For example, there are people with Crohn's disease, and there are any number of reasons a person may find it difficult to wait patiently. It is not often we get a positive announcement with a Topical Issue matter but the fact the Phoenix Park will have temporary toilet facilities at the Papal Cross is very welcome. I thank the Minister of State for making that announcement. I w…

I will share four minutes with Deputy Cairns.

I move amendment No. 2: (a) To insert the following after “waiting lists for mental health care within the public system were at crisis levels before the Covid-19 pandemic and are now at emergency levels”: “—eating disorders are mental health disorders, which can lead to psychological and physical complications, and which require specialist treatment; and (b) To insert the following after “calls on the Government to”: “—set up a taskforce dedicated to youth recovery, which should at a minimum have representation fr…

The past 14 months of the pandemic have demonstrated how essential some of our workers, who work in retail and other industries that have traditionally been defined by low pay, are. When will we see the introduction of a living wage in this country? Will it be in the lifetime of this Government?

I have a question regarding the ambition of the shared island initiative on the issue of education. I note the head of the shared island unit has highlighted that education is a priority for it. I ask the Taoiseach to put some bones on that and outline what it actually means. I have heard talk of investment in universities. In the past couple of weeks, as we saw members of certain communities rioting, it was clear that one of the many things they have in common, on both sides of the peace wall, is that they come fr…

I move amendment No. 1: (a) To insert the following after "with less support or respite": "— despite promises from previous Governments to find a solution, many carers fall between the cracks in the Irish State Pension system and face a retirement characterised by financial uncertainty; — the Programme for Government commits to finding a 'pension solution' for carers; and — there is a need to ensure that no carer is denied a pension, or receives a reduced-rate pension, due to significant periods spent in caregiving…

While I accept that a rationale was outlined yesterday, there was considerable moving of the goalposts in the context of our vaccination programme. That will have ramifications. Can the Taoiseach guarantee that all of our educators, SNAs, home school liaison staff and teachers, particularly those in primary schools who would be a younger cohort, will be vaccinated by September in order to ensure that we can fully reopen our schools safely?

I would like to raise two issues briefly. I wish to remind the Taoiseach, with the restructuring of the vaccination programme, of the importance of the July provision programme. I also wish to acknowledge that many of the educators who take part in the July provision programme are younger educators who are seeking to supplement their income. They will need to be vaccinated. While I appreciate that there has been a change in the rationale for the vaccination programme, I ask that it be ensured that educators taking …

No one is safe until everybody is safe. This is an incredible expression we have heard time and again in recent weeks. It was said with honest intent by Mike Ryan in his capacity as head of the World Health Organization and it has been repeated several times, including by the Taoiseach. As the European Council came on the horizon last week, it was not where the various countries were. In fact, they were far from it. What seemed to predate the European Council meeting was a vaccine arms race in which the only intent…

I move amendment No. 2: 2. In page 6, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following: “Reporting 4. (1) The Minister shall, not later than six months after the passing of this Act, carry out a review of the operation of this Act. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the Minister, as part of the review, shall— (a) conduct policy and budgetary analysis on a potential further extension of leave under this Act, from five weeks to nine weeks and establish a timeline for this provision, (b) consider…

I will be pressing my amendment. I fully accept the bona fides of the Minister in what he outlines but it is not in any way fair to suggest the child of a one-parent family will not be able to avail of the same time at home with a parent but this could be open to spouses or family members when this would not be the case. In many cases the parent in a one-parent family parents the child alone and is isolated. I cannot go back to them while saying I facilitated passage of this Bill because the Minister reassured me a…

The Social Democrats, including myself, will be very enthusiastically supporting this Bill. I will be doing so on a number of fronts. I am a representative of the constituency. I grew up in the north inner city. I am the son of a Dublin street trader, albeit a Henry Street trader rather than a Moore Street trader - there is a difference. I commend Sinn Féin on introducing this Bill and I commend Deputy Ó Snodaigh not only on bringing it forward today but on the work he has done over decades with regard to preservin…

My contribution will be brief and focus on the final point raised by Deputy Whitmore, which is seeking parity for the children of one-parent families. They are entitled to the exact same time at home as those in any other family dynamic. Consistently in society, one-parent families are the most vulnerable at-risk group. They are at risk of economic disadvantage and all of the crushing human aspects that go with poverty. There is much of merit in the Bill but the most disappointing aspect of it is that it will not i…

On Monday, children in primary classes from third class to sixth class and fifth year secondary school students will return to in-person learning along with educators who are deemed high risk by Medmark Occupational Healthcare. Reports in the Irish Independent earlier this week showed that one in eight Covid cases were in children and teenagers under 18. Are we confident that we have done enough in terms of mitigation factors to keep those in school buildings safe? I am specifically talking about: ventilation, both…

Over recent months, we have rightfully heard how truly essential our SNAs are. This was never not the case. However, it has never been reflected in their remuneration and conditions of employment. Right now, more than 500 SNAs are taking an extraordinarily difficult course at UCD, where some of them have worked in excess of 60 hours since January trying to improve their skills, knowledge and awareness. At the end of that, they will not be given an accreditation comparable with any other course of a similar difficul…

I thank the Minister of State for her response. It was an honest contribution, but contained within that honesty was clarity as to just how unhelpful it is. A total of 500 SNAs are undertaking a course that will not be accredited. We are supposed to alleviate the concerns of those 500 people by telling them the training will be assessed in the future and that other groups of trainees, perhaps, will be accredited for doing the same training. That seems quite insulting. If I were undertaking that course, I would be f…

I have a number of questions but there probably will not be enough time to have a full and substantial discussion around all of them. The Minister, Deputy Foley, or the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, might give a response to me in writing on any points they cannot deal with today. At the outset, it is important to state that absolutely everybody wants the schools reopened for all our children, particularly those with special educational needs who are at risk of regression while they remain at home. Absolutely n…

I was taken with a number of aspects of the Minister's contribution, in particular, his point that the Government is not tabling a countermotion because it is willing to provide practical solutions. That suggests the motion does not aim to provide practical solutions. I have an alternative view as to why the Government is not tabling a countermotion. It was reported in yesterday's newspapers that it would not do so and would allow the motion pass and then sit on its hands and do nothing. This commission of investig…

The Taoiseach was present when the Social Democrats motion on extending the commission of investigation into mother and baby homes was passed today. As such, it is reasonable to have a session where the responsible Minister outlines what steps he will take as a matter of urgency to ensure the commission is not dissolved. We could not raise this matter on the Order of Business because we did not know the motion would pass. Now that it has, it is reasonable to create the space for the Minister to outline the next ste…