Some clarity has been offered today, which was helpful. It would be helpful if the Electoral Commission was able to assist in giving some of that, not directly the Attorney General's advice but certainly a legal basis for the Government's decision to move away from the wording of the Oireachtas joint committee. That would be really helpful in the course of the debate on the referendum.

I wish everyone well as we break for Christmas and thank all the staff in Leinster House for the great work they do and support they provide. On this, the last sitting day before the Christmas break, I welcome to the Public Gallery, Finola Cassidy, the tireless campaigner from the Irish Thalidomide Association, which is a persistent and courageous group of survivors who yesterday said "As the Dáil year ends ... sadly there is no end ... to the Thalidomide saga". It has been 62 years since the drug thalidomide was w…

I am glad to speak for the Labour Party on this important Bill, the Thirty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution (The Family) Bill 2023. My colleague Deputy Sherlock will speak for the Labour Party later on the second of the two referendum Bills, the Fortieth Amendment of the Constitution (Care) Bill 2023. I will make some reference to that Bill in my own contribution since the two referendums are to be held on the same date, arise from a common process and each would seek to amend the same article of the Constitutio…

True.

On "Morning Ireland" earlier we heard reaction to the new Government plans for those fleeing Putin's brutal war in Ukraine. We heard from Olga, a Ukrainian refugee living here, and from Emma Lane Spollen of the Ukraine Civil Society Forum. They expressed really serious concern at the proposal a 90-day limit be applied for accommodating new arrivals from Ukraine in the new year. We all understand these concerns are justified. No one needs reminding, as the RTB report did today, that the private rental sector is tota…

-----as a result of the change-----

-----in policy as regards arrivals from Ukraine?

As we speak, the clock is ticking at a vitally important decision-making time for the existential crisis facing our planet - the climate catastrophe. Má fhanann cúrsaí mar atá, deir na Náisiúin Aontaithe gur téamh 3°C atá i ndán dúinn, a bheadh ina thubaiste aeráide. We know that as we near the end of the hottest year on record, it is vital we see a strong agreement coming out of COP28. It is appalling to see that the conference is still running on as we speak due to the failure to reach an agreement, a failure tha…

I am glad to hear the Taoiseach say that he agrees on the need for system change but again it is a matter of ensuring that actions and outcomes match words and aspirations. The Taoiseach's Government has fallen short on ensuring outcomes are there in place. I repeat again the question. Will the Government oppose the holding of COP 29 in another petrostate? We hope very much that we will see a stronger text emerge from the negotiations today at COP 28 but it is likely that if COP 29 is again held in a petrostate nex…

I welcome the news that up to 3,000 homes will be provided by Respond, which will be cost rental and social homes. That is welcome, but we know the Land Development Agency must be scaled up if we are to see the level of social and affordable home building that we need. I ask again for a debate in this House on the level of funding to be provided to the Land Development Agency. We have seen a serious lack of clarity about how much money is to be provided to the agency and when it is to be provided. We know it is ess…

I want to raise with the Taoiseach again the suffering of the people of Gaza as they continue to endure the relentless bombing by Israel with over 18,000 now dead. I very much welcome the Government's announcement that it has been working with like-minded governments in the EU, namely, Belgium, Spain and Malta, to press the European Council this Thursday and Friday for a ceasefire. That is very welcome and we absolutely support him on that. It is also welcome to hear that he will be raising the question of sanction…

As we know, €127,000 is the combined salary that a couple must now earn to buy a three-bedroom, semi-detached house in Dublin, according to the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland today. The Government is pricing far too many people out of a home and could do much more to address this, such as by passing our Labour Party Bill to implement the Kenny report, or by launching a proactive construction recruitment programme to bring in more construction workers. Yet, we know that some of the price increases that peopl…

Certainly, we will work with colleagues in the Government and across the House to ensure we have effective reforms of our planning system. Everyone wants to see a fit for purpose planning system. I spoke last week on Second Stage of the Bill the Government introduced, but our concern is that while it is a mammoth Bill and the third largest in the history of the State, as the Minister has said, there seems to be very little by way of the radical reform that is necessary to overhaul procedures in An Bord Pleanála. We…

I am not sure of which Minister I am asking this question now that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has left. Instead of the sharp drop that is needed, current global commitments will see greenhouse gas emissions rise by 2030. Even if countries implement their current commitments, the world is on track to heat by between 2.5°C and 2.9°C. The UN state of the cryosphere report tells us we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice. In this awful context, many of us have been disheartened by the coverage of what has …

I move: That Dáil Éireann, in accordance with the recommendation of the Women's Parliamentary Caucus: acknowledges that: - the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) requires a significant social transformation from a medical approach to disability, where economic development, health, and care economies can sustain the violation of human rights through a lack of rights based care, and where people are institutionalised in residential care settings, or in their own homes withou…

I am honoured, as deputy chairperson of the Women's Parliamentary Caucus, to close the debate today, having proposed this important motion on a rights-based care economy. I thank all those colleagues from across the House who spoke on this important motion and the Ministers of State, Deputies Butler and Browne, for providing us with a Government response. Undoubtedly, there is a great deal being done but, unfortunately, there are still many gaps in the system. While I acknowledge the progress being made, having lis…

This week, we have seen the humanitarian situation in Gaza worsen further. After a brief glimmer of hope last week with the humanitarian pauses, we have seen absolute devastation wreaked across the Gaza Strip, with reports of 16,000 people killed, including thousands of children. Gazans are facing a deepening horror, the UN tells us, as disease spreads, food is scarce and humanitarian aid is all but cut off. Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that the situation is apocalyptic. His colleagu…

I agree with the Taoiseach; the EU has been far too passive. I am glad to hear the Taoiseach has confirmed he will be pressing at EU level next week for a text that will call for a permanent ceasefire and that will press for the two-state solution. His Government can do more, however, here at home as well. Senator Black's occupied territories Bill received cross-party support in the Seanad and, indeed, here in the Dáil, where Fianna Fáil and the Green Party supported it previously. Will the Taoiseach act now to bri…

Last week, I raised the Labour Party's campaign for paid leave for women who experience pregnancy loss and for employees accessing reproductive healthcare. Today, I want to raise a related matter. After a strong campaign from the Irish Cancer Society and affected women and their families, the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, committed to bringing legislative proposals to Cabinet before Christmas to support pregnant women who experience serious illness. At present, women in such a situation must use up their maternity lea…

I also raise the issue of the "RTÉ Investigates" programme broadcast last night. We in the Labour Party have signalled our intention to table an amendment to the planning legislation going through the Houses seeking to address this practice of manipulation and abuse of the planning system and of the withdrawal of appeals. We would like to ask whether the Government will work with us on this because, clearly, this practice, if it is allowed to continue, will continue to strike a real blow to the confidence in our pl…