I thank the Taoiseach for his briefing and update on LEEF. We know the high-level working group on collective bargaining has reported under the auspices of LEEF. Beyond that, can the Taoiseach say what specific measures the Government will take to improve collective bargaining rates and how to provide for that in law? On a related topic, the forthcoming EU directive on adequate minimum wages gives us two years to transpose it into law and contains specific measures to ensure that where the coverage rate of collecti…

What about my point on collective bargaining?

Cuirim fáilte roimh ár gcuairteoirí freisin. Last week, I raised some stories about the human face of the housing crisis. They were stories about people at the sharp end of the housing crisis such as the 27 renters who were renting premises within a stone's throw of where I live in the south city centre off Camden Street that was not suitable for residential accommodation. These people were renting patently unsuitable premises because they could not find and afford anywhere else. This week, we heard about a shortag…

I thank the Tánaiste for the response. Labour has a proud record of seeking to deliver change to improve conditions for people and ensure we can deliver constructive ways to addresses crises that arise, particularly the housing crisis. What we sought to do with the HAP, about which he will be well aware, was to replace rent supplement, which had become a poverty trap, and to ensure a short-term way for people to address issues around housing. It was never intended to become the significant long-term issue it has be…

All of us will want to send our thoughts and sympathies to the families of the four-year-old child in north Dublin and the five-year-old child in Belfast who died from strep A in recent days. All of us will be thinking of their families, communities and young classmates who have suffered such devastating news of this terrible loss. There are huge levels of fear, particularly among parents and families of young children, at the rising rate of viral infections in the community and at the HSE communication asking for …

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I thank the Minister for being here to take the Bill. I appreciate his having given me a commitment in October on the floor of the House on the need for year-round water quality monitoring. That is something I have sought for a long time. I will start by acknowledging his commitment to that and asking if we might have a timeline for when that might be brought in. I welcome our visitors in the Gallery who are here from a number of groups and who are activists on the…

Try it Minister.

Sure.

I thank the Minister of State for his very generous closing remarks and, indeed, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, for his very comprehensive response earlier. I absolutely agree with the Minister of State. I would be delighted to move forward with this Bill in a spirit of collaboration as he and the Minister have suggested. Indeed, I already indicated to the Minister that I will take him up on his offer of meeting with officials in January to see how we can make progress with this Bill. I have a good track rec…

The Labour Party reiterates its support for the call for more time on Report Stage to debate the Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill. It would be sensible to adjourn the debate rather than to conclude the debate after two hours today, and I note the Taoiseach's comments that the Whips should co-ordinate on that matter. A substantial number of amendments have been tabled and concerns have been raised about flaws in the Bill, therefore, it would be sensible to adjourn the debate and give it a li…

I thank the Taoiseach for that engagement. However, I was in London to meet with Keir Starmer and other colleagues from our sister party, the British Labour Party, as well as with the Irish ambassador, Martin Fraser. While we were there, a report was published by the Institute for Public Policy Research and the charity, Save the Children, that made a recommendation central to this point of childcare. It recommends a universal childcare guarantee be introduced in Britain as a means of boosting economic growth and cu…

Maybe that is what we need.

I have a practical question for the Taoiseach on the housing crisis. Last week, I asked about the tenant in situ scheme, which enables local authorities to take into State ownership homes that have been put up for sale and which would otherwise leave a tenant or family at risk of homelessness. I specifically asked if the Government could legislate to enable the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, to provide data to local authorities to help them identify renters who are most at risk and who might be assisted by the t…

It is a practical way to run the scheme.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Uachtarán. It is my honour, on behalf of the Labour Party, to welcome her here to address our Oireachtas. I express our appreciation for her warm and optimistic words by way of address to us today. I also thank her for not only quoting our iconic first woman President, Mary Robinson, but also that iconic band the Saw Doctors. We all appreciated her quoting those. On a more serious note, I also welcome the President's officials and our distinguished guests today, the Ukrainian ambassador in pa…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Uachtarán. It is my honour, on behalf of the Labour Party, to welcome her here to address our Oireachtas. I express our appreciation for her warm and optimistic words by way of address to us today. I also thank her for not only quoting our iconic first woman President, Mary Robinson, but also that iconic band the Saw Doctors. We all appreciated her quoting those. On a more serious note, I also welcome the President's officials and our distinguished guests today, the Ukrainian ambassador in pa…

On behalf of the Labour Party, I welcome the Bill. I commend the Minister of State on all the work that has been done on its provisions and on the engagement and consultation with the different groups involved. In my role as vice chair of the women's caucus, I am appreciative of the consultation with our members. We had long expressed a desire to see provision made for maternity protection for women representatives in local government. As the Chair of the Joint Committee on Gender Equality, I am glad to see this Bi…

I am very glad to have the opportunity to close this debate on behalf of the Labour Party. I thank colleagues across the House for the strong support that has been shown today for this important motion. I commend my colleague, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, who is also our justice spokesperson. Long before he was our justice spokesperson, however, he led for us on the policy of decriminalisation and on bringing people with him to ensure we see a more practical, compassionate, humane and evidence-based approach to drug policy i…

I raise the increasingly desperate plight of many at the sharp end of the housing disaster. I am not just speaking about the 11,000 people we now know are on the homeless list, including many thousands of children. That is bad and shocking enough as a figure, but there are many more living in precarious accommodation, facing eviction and who do not know where they will have to move to. Last week I raised the plight of residents of a shared house in Rathmines Road in my constituency faced with an eviction notice whe…

Absolutely.