I move: "That Second Stage be taken in Private Members' time."

Yesterday, the window for submitting observations on the development in Bessborough expired but the window for this Government to act has not. Behind those stone walls, women and children were put through hell and for 76 years the State turned a blind eye. Today, the Government is doing the same, as if the grim legacy of Bessborough can be buried under apartment blocks. It cannot. Eight hundred and fifty-nine babies who died there have never been found and are likely in unmarked graves on the estate. There has neve…

I said for 76 years the State was complicit.

What about what is happening now?

Last year the Minister of State, Deputy John Cummins, was clear. Modular units in people's back gardens would not be available for rent on the private market. He said: "I don't see this as a rental measure. I see it as facilitating intergenerational movement." There was broad agreement across the Opposition. These units could help families and they should but opening them up to the private rental market was always going to lead to exploitation. We can already see exactly where that road leads. On Clare Street in Du…

When the Taoiseach comes in here week after week and gives this profoundly positive spin about housing, I have to wonder if he even feels convinced by his own words. We do not just have record rents and record house prices; we have record homelessness. We are talking about more than 17,000 homeless people, including more than 5,500 children, and the Taoiseach comes in here and gives this unbelievably positive message. He then says that this Government is not out of touch. It is difficult to even respond to but ulti…

First of all, I thank Deputy Gannon for all of his work on this motion. No matter how hard people work, it is becoming more and more difficult to stay afloat. People are holding their breath before opening their energy bills. Small businesses are staring at their accounts wondering how much longer they can keep going, and workers who rely on diesel to do their jobs are trying to figure out how they can absorb another price shock. That deep crushing anxiety is what brought people onto the streets. What the protests …

This Government was totally unprepared for the protests that swept the country last week, but how? After all, this did not erupt spontaneously overnight. The signs were there. They were not even subtle. There is a lack of empathy at play. I know the Taoiseach will take great exception to the fact that I am saying this. He will claim we do not have a monopoly on empathy or compassion but I ask him to reflect on what happened last week and his Government's reaction to it. There was, unquestionably, a deficit of empat…

Why will the Taoiseach not introduce targeted supports for people who need the most?

It is undoubtedly welcome that the Government engaged with the hauliers and farmers. That was obviously desperately needed. What is unbelievable is that the Government still does not seem to be listening or engaging with people who are struggling. I asked about home heating oil. There are 700,000 households reliant on home heating oil, the price of which has gone up 70% in the space of a month. I asked about disabled people who are out protesting because they simply could not afford to live before any of this happe…

We are here today because this Government does not listen. It does not listen to the Opposition, it does not listen to its own backbenchers and, most importantly, it does not listen to the people. The cost-of-living crisis did not suddenly emerge six weeks ago when Trump attacked Iran but it has been growing and growing for years. This Government has had the resources to provide meaningful support to people but refused to do so. Instead people have watched while it wasted countless billions and failed to deliver cr…

These are proposals that we are not just talking about; we will be bringing them to the Dáil tomorrow.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Cheann Comhairle. In 1940 Ireland's infant mortality rate was 6.5%. In the Bessborough mother and baby home, it was 61%. In 1943 a Department inspector, Alice Litster, said: "The greater number[s] ... were miserable scraps of humanity, wizened, some emaciated and almost all had rash and sores all over their bodies, faces, hands and heads." Many of those children died of starvation. The State was fully aware but the institution remained open and women and children continued to be incarcerate…

It is not just callous, it is abhorrent and it should never be allowed to happen.

Survivors will be protesting outside the Dáil this evening. They want the Government to act before it is too late to acquire the grounds and conduct a long-overdue-----

----- forensic investigation. What does the Minister have to say to them?

It is incorrect to say that there is not specific or strong enough evidence. The commission saying that it is likely that there are remains of children on the grounds is specific and strong enough evidence to prove that there probably is. At the very least, it warrants an examination. There seems to be a perception that this is a normal planning application, that there is no sensitivity and that there is no criminal aspect to the situation. The Government is treating it like that, claiming it cannot do anything now…

Accessibility in our schools should be a basic right but the Department is not treating it like that. In Leap National School in my own constituency, there have been repeated incidents where a wheelchair user could not enter the building because the door is inaccessible and the school does not have a mobile ramp. The principal rightly took this very seriously and applied for accessibility works, but that application was rejected because no student or teacher currently needed it and because the lack of access was no…

Denise Whitmore was absolutely devastated when she learned at a routine scan in November 2024 that her baby's brain had not developed and that the condition was fatal. After a lot of consideration, Denise and her husband Mark made the heartbreaking decision to terminate the pregnancy but because doctors could not be absolutely certain her baby would die within 28 days, as is required by current legislation, Denise was forced to travel to the UK for treatment. To say it was not an easy journey is an understatement. …

-----and the result is hundreds of women like Denise who are forced to travel for care. My question is simple: is the Government going to continue to ignore these women and make them suffer?