Today, we saw at last welcome progress on the long-promised gender equality referendum and announcement by the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and the Taoiseach of the wording proposed by the Government to change the Constitution. As the former Chairperson of the Committee on Gender Equality, I very much welcome that we will see progress. It is a year since our committee presented a report to Government with a cross-party framing of wording to create a more expansive definition of family beyond the family based on marri…

I am glad to support this motion on behalf of the Labour Party. I am happy to see this issue being raised tonight. The housing crisis, as we know, is the civil rights issue of our times here in Ireland. I think there is agreement on that across the House. It was acknowledged by the Minister in his speech that we have a crisis which is challenging for anyone seeking to rent or buy right now due to the chronic housing shortage. We know that the social consequences of failed housing policies from Government are signif…

I express my condolences to Victoria and the family and friends of Shane MacGowan on the sad news of his death today. We are thinking of all those who are affected. Yesterday evening, an important Labour Party Bill passed Final Stage in the Seanad. Our reproductive leave Bill will provide paid time off work for women who lose a pregnancy early in the term, and for employees who access reproductive healthcare such as IVF. Earlier this week, we were all briefed by the pregnancy loss research group, which has conducte…

I welcome the opportunity to debate this important and long-anticipated Bill in the Chamber. We are all very conscious that the planning process has a key impact on addressing the two most major crises faced by our country today, namely the housing disaster and the climate emergency. We know we need robust and effective planning laws in order to deliver the urgently needed increased supply of housing and the necessary infrastructure to enable us to develop our renewable energy sources and meet our climate targets. …

A good deal of the Bill, as we know, restates existing provisions in previous Acts. While I was preparing for the debate on the Bill, I was reminded of a debate on one of its predecessors in 2010 when I was a Senator, namely, what became the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010, introduced by Fianna Fáil and the Green Party in government. It was found to have serious issues. However, despite having evident defects it was rushed through both Houses. I recall my frustration at the time when I sat in the Sean…

A stocking filler.

No.

We all continue to keep the victims of Thursday's awful attacks uppermost in our thoughts, particularly the child and care worker who are still in hospital. However, all of us, especially those of us in Dublin, are still waiting for a clear message from the Minister about what real action she and the rest of the Government are taking now to make the streets safe. We know the problem. There are simply not enough gardaí, including visible gardaí, and not enough support for front-line gardaí, who are, it seems, forced…

It is outrageous grandstanding, and I want to call it out. I want to call out the waving in this House of a photograph of an identifiable individual on our streets. That is wrong.

However, I also believe we have seen grandstanding by those in government, by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael members who are desperately seeking to evade accountability by churning out calls that will do anything but address the real crisis facing policing. We have heard red herring calls, such as calls for cuts to benefits and for facial recognition technology, water cannons, dogs and more police powers. We warned yesterday that the Minister cannot legislate her way out of this crisis – it is not about that – nor can s…

With respect, the Minister did not answer my questions. Certainly, this issue did not start around last Thursday afternoon. We know about these issues in the Garda concerning morale, recruitment and retention that have been building for so long. There was a lack of gardaí on the ground, not just last Thursday night but also for some time before that. Gardaí had to rely on WhatsApp to call on colleagues to come into town last Thursday. We have seen issues such as policing in Dublin being run on overtime for some tim…

Did the Commissioner offer to resign?

Gabhaim buíochas. Today, we saw news that Australia has offered a state apology to thalidomide survivors. There is now a pressing need for similar action to be taken by the Government here in respect of thalidomide survivors, approximately 40 of whom in Ireland have endured years of neglect and denial. The Australian apology underscores the moral imperative for us to take action now to provide the necessary care, support and recognition for survivors. This is not just for survivors but for their parents, some of wh…

I move amendment No. 1: To insert the following after "for such constituencies": "and to make amendments to statutory provisions requiring the publication of the addresses of candidates at elections". I put forward an amendment to the motion to instruct the committee to say that there should amendments made to statutory provisions requiring the publication of the addresses of candidates at elections. The purpose of the amendment is to allow for the Long Title of the Bill to be changed so that the Bill itself can be…

I am pressing the amendment.

I move amendment No. 2: In page 3, lines 26 and 27, to delete “the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage” and substitute “ An Coimisiún Toghcháin ”. I addressed the matter to which the amendment relates on Committee Stage. This is a technical amendment. We are simply seeking to replace the reference to the Minister with a reference to the commission in recognition of the fact that while previous Acts referred to the Minister, they predated the establishment of a permanent and independent Electoral Com…

That is a very similar response to one the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, offered on Committee Stage. I accept the points the Minister of State makes but, again, we are simply seeking to ensure the Bill is sufficiently future-proofed. The other two amendments we tabled are also designed for the same purpose.

I move amendment No. 3: In page 3, between lines 27 and 28, to insert the following: “(3) An Coimisiún Toghcháin shall conduct research and, within 18 months of the passing of this Act, make such recommendations as it considers appropriate to Dáil Éireann on— (a) an appropriate reconstitution of electoral divisions in the State in accordance with objective criteria that take into account the size and distribution of the population, and (b) discontinuance of the use of former rural districts, for the purpose of defi…

I move amendment No. 5: In page 3, after line 30, to insert the following: “Research on revision of Dáil constituencies 5. In relation to the revision of Dáil constituencies, An Coimisiún Toghcháin shall within 24 months of the passing of this Act conduct research and make such recommendations as it considers appropriate to Dáil Éireann on— (a) the abolition of constituencies returning three members, and (b) the specification for an indeterminate period of the number of members of which Dáil Éireann is to be compos…

Táimid ar fad ag déanamh bróin le comhphobal Ghaelscoil Mhuire agus leo siúd atá fós san ospidéal. Uppermost in all our thoughts and minds today are those who were so brutally attacked on Parnell Square last Thursday - the little girl and the care worker still in hospital; the other children injured and traumatised in the attack; their families, friends, classmates and communities. We think of all of them and send them our very best wishes. We commend those whose courageous interventions prevented even more devasta…