I am not disputing that.

I am glad to speak for the Labour Party in today's important debate. I welcome our guests in the Distinguished Visitors Gallery. I pay tribute to all of the survivors whose courage has made this report and the State apology happen. I pay tribute to Jason Clancy, Paul Walsh, Kevin Keating, Colin Power, Barry Murphy, Simon O'Toole, Gerard Mullane and all those who were abused by Bill Kenneally. My thoughts are with those watching at home, as well as those here in the Gallery. For decades, you and they have had to car…

My deepest sympathies are with the family of Jamey Carney, the Killarney-based women into whose death local gardaí are preparing to open a murder investigation. We note that a man has been charged with the murder of Adina Raluca Constantin who died after an assault in Laois on Saturday. Our thoughts are with their families, friends and communities as they reel from that brutal and tragic news. As of yesterday, the number of women killed violently in Ireland this year has overtaken the figure for the whole of 2025 i…

I thank the Taoiseach for that substantive and positive response. I do appreciate that and I appreciate the Taoiseach's indication he will engage seriously on this issue. Clearly, there is more to be done also on the provision of refuge spaces and on local authority allocation rules. It is regrettable that during yesterday’s debate on the Istanbul Convention, we saw an insufficient number of TDs who were scheduled to speak show up for the debate. The debate collapsed and that is unfortunate in a national emergency.…

Yes.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for welcoming to the Gallery the relatives of the Peterhead Ten, the last political prisoners released from British prisons after the War of Independence, who are here with Senator Nessa Cosgrove. On Monday, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste met the Irish Thalidomide Association to discuss the long-delayed State apology. The Tánaiste said that this year is the one when we bring some degree of closure to people who have been treated so badly, and indeed thalidomide survivors have been treate…

Last week, Ireland took on the Presidency of the Council of the European Union but we acquired another title, too. Ours is now the most expensive country in the EU for housing, healthcare and electricity. Housing costs are double those of the EU average and rising fast, as today's MyHome.ie report confirms. The cost of healthcare is a staggering 85% higher than EU averages. In that context, it is astonishing to see this Government’s inaction on pay talks for hardworking public servants. The last public sector pay a…

I am glad to hear the Minister say that he wants a new national pay agreement but it certainly does not sound as if his rhetoric is matching the reality. It sounds as if he has something against nurses, teachers and gardaí because we are not seeing-----

-----the sort of meaningful engagement that people need. The reality is that far too many of the lowest paid public servants in this country are now being priced out of living in this country. They simply cannot afford to make ends meet. They cannot afford to buy their own homes. I am sure the Minister, like me, is meeting people in his own constituency who are telling him they cannot afford to buy or rent a home. Indeed, many people, particularly in a younger generation, cannot even see a way in their immediate fu…

-----rise in line with inflation in the new deal?

My thoughts today are with the many victims of George Gibney following his conviction after many decades of evading justice for far too long. We are reminded of how many survivors of abuse are still awaiting justice. A timely vote takes place in the Dáil tomorrow evening on the Labour Party's Bill to enable survivors to pursue religious orders for redress in respect of abuse perpetrated upon them in childhood. The justice Minister has said the Bill aligns with Government policy but that he wants another six months …

For most children across the country, this is the first week of the summer holidays, an exciting and positive time. For hundreds of families, however, this is the first week of a final countdown they have long been dreading because, as of this week, far too many children with special educational needs are still officially without school places for this coming September. What a disgrace in a republic that claims to value education. In desperation, many parents have been forced to go public about their children's sit…

We certainly acknowledge that places have been found for many children. Of course that is welcome, but it should not be remarkable or something to boast about. There are still children, parents and families left waiting and left without certainty. I welcome the Taoiseach's commitment - I think he did give a commitment - that every child who needs a school place will have one this year, but parents are losing hope that the Government will fulfil these promises because they have heard this before and there is still n…

In 2019, I started working with the INTO to address the issue of the impact of early pregnancy loss and fertility challenges on their women members who told me about their experience of having to come into work after losing a pregnancy before 22 weeks or after going through rounds of IVF and not being able to take time off work. After hearing their stories, I drafted a Bill to provide for 20 days paid leave for early pregnancy loss, up to ten days of leave for reproductive healthcare - leave when it matters most. O…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am delighted to be moving the Second Reading motion for this important Bill. I am particularly moved to be doing so today in the presence of some important visitors in the Gallery. I acknowledge the presence in particular of Mr. William Gorry of the Residential Institutions Survivors' Network and Mr. David Ryan. I also acknowledge Mr. Ryan's late brother, Mr. Mark Ryan. They did so much between them to expose the reality of abuse in schools. I also acknowledge Ms…

In the first instance, I thank my own Labour colleagues, Deputies Ahern and Sheehan, and the representatives and speakers from other parties who supported this important Bill. I thank the Minister for his engagement on the Bill too. Listening carefully to what he said, he spoke in encouraging terms about the principle behind the Bill. He spoke about the need for people to be able to access the courts and secure redress in a readily accessible manner. He spoke earlier with great clarity about the current difficultie…

I welcome the report today from the Oireachtas committee, which has recommended decriminalisation of possession of drugs for personal use. I commend the work of the committee's members, including our Labour Party Deputy Marie Sherlock. This follows from the recommendations of the justice committee some years ago. I was a member of that committee, which also recommended decriminalisation and took, in particular, the Portuguese approach as a model. This is long-standing Labour Party policy led by our now MEP, Aodhán …

Have we a timeline for implementation of the recommendations of this report?

Not in the courts.

Over recent days, we have once again been confronted with some of the darkest chapters in the history of this island. Yesterday saw the conviction of former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson for horrific sex offences against children. Today, survivors of systematic sexual abuse, perpetrated upon them by Leo Hickey at Dunderrow National School, have come forward to share their harrowing ordeal. Still excluded from existing State redress schemes, they are calling for an effective route to recognition for the horrific camp…