It is the wrong direction of travel.

I wish Senan Molony well on his retirement. He might even miss us all in here when he has departed. The recall of the Dáil before the planned first-phase restoration of excise duty was inevitable. It was predictable, and so the silly season August shadow-boxing was over before it began. It comes as no surprise to us that the sham fight was brought to an early close. We all know why we are here. It is because the Government parties of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the so-called Independents feared the return of mass pr…

I commend my Labour colleague, Deputy Sherlock, on her work on introducing the Waste Management (Single Household Waste Collection Service) Bill 2026. It is a tribute to her tenacity that she has worked for so many years on this issue. It is the culmination of a good deal of work across her constituency of Dublin Central and I welcome her visitors in the Gallery from Stoneybatter, Phibsborough, Smithfield and Broadstone. From canvassing alongside Deputy Sherlock for our candidate Ruth O'Dea in the recent Dublin Cen…

We all know that school costs continue to weigh heavily on families. I commend my Labour colleague, Deputy Eoghan Kenny, for proposing this important motion at this time. We are all hearing it from people in our constituencies. I hear it weekly from residents of Dublin Bay South. Desperate parents are telling me what they have to sacrifice to ensure that their children can feel normal at school. People are utterly squeezed by the education policies of the Government and, indeed, the schools. It causes immense distr…

The housing crisis continues to cut deep. The numbers in homelessness remain shockingly high. There are over 17,000 people in emergency accommodation, including 5,583 children. That is an appalling statistic and each figure represents an individual human tragedy. While the Dáil is in recess, sadly, many more people are likely to see an eviction notice land in their letterbox, and all of us know of those who are directly affected - like the young man who contacted me this week. He and his neighbours are being evicte…

The Taoiseach can quote figures, but I have already quoted to him the shocking figure relating to those who are homeless. Let me also quote figures published just this week by the AIB construction purchasing managers index. Those figures show residential building contracting for the third consecutive month. There was a sharp contraction in construction activity in June, down to 45.4% from 50.2%. I use the debacle over the Poolbeg site to illustrate the difficulty the Government is in. The Government's overreliance …

It is very hard for my constituents and other people around the country who are homeless or facing the threat of eviction to see how little is being done by the Government.

The Land Development Agency.

That is what I said. Ramp it up.

That is what we said. Ramp up the Land Development Agency.

Yesterday evening, I met a group of individuals who have Friedreich’s ataxia and their families here in Leinster House. They are calling for urgent access to Skyclarys, the life-changing drug for those living with this rare, degenerative neurological condition. I offered them my full support and that of the Labour Party. My colleague Deputy Sherlock has already given them her full support. I was with them when the very disappointing news filtered through that the HSE drugs group had deferred its decision on approva…

-----process will be expedited and that there will be no further delays?

As the Taoiseach understands, this is a heartbreaking situation.

Last Thursday's decision granting permission for development to proceed on the site of the former Bessborough mother and baby home is indeed deeply disappointing. It has caused immense distress and concern to survivors and many other people across the country. I have been listening carefully to what the Taoiseach has said but it is extremely distressing for everyone to hear the conditionality attached to the permission that works must stop if human remains are found on the grounds. That alone should be a cause of i…

-----and made home to a fitting memorial for survivors.

How can we work with the Taoiseach to facilitate that?

I have listened carefully to the Taoiseach's response and I thank him for his considered engagement. I welcome his saying that there should be a period of reflection and examination. It is not too late to look at other options beyond the CPO option. It is possible now for the Government to engage with the developer, and I ask that it would consider doing that. It would have the support of the public. Nearly 10,000 people have signed the petition calling for a CPO. However, it does not have to be by CPO that the sit…

We can pre-empt that.

So why-----

A deepening crisis is developing in the criminal justice system. More cases face delays due to the absence of solicitors. More solicitors are resigning from the criminal legal aid panel. This is a mess of the Government's own making. The justice Minister needs to intervene to end the crisis arising from the way in which he has introduced criminal legal aid fees' reforms. He should release the data on the reasons for adjournments, and he should engage urgently in dialogue with the Law Society to resolve this. The Mi…