Of course the issue I raised relates to a fire hazard. That is absolutely right and I agree with the Taoiseach on that, but the fact people were living in such circumstances shows the desperation faced by many seeking accommodation who simply cannot find decent accommodation to rent in the city because of the enormous shortfall. It is an indication of the increasing desperation of many families and individuals who cannot find a secure home. That is the problem the Government needs to address. All the legislation th…

Yesterday, I raised with the Taoiseach the issue of crèche closures and the lack of childcare places. I have corresponded with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, on the specific issue of a crèche closure in my constituency. This closure is indicative of a much broader problem, namely, that there is a real shortage of childcare and crèche places for families throughout the country. I was contacted by a family last week who were shocked to discover that their loca…

We all look forward to seeing the draft list of risks, which the Taoiseach said will be published in the coming weeks. I refer specifically to the enormous risks to Ireland and elsewhere posed by Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, which the Taoiseach has referred to. It poses an enormous humanitarian risk to so many people displaced by war as well as posing many economic, strategic and security risks. I am asking specifically about the risk to national security associated with the continued presence in Ireland of…

There remains a chronic shortage of speech and language therapy and physiotherapy services in special schools, with the waiting time for assessment by community disability network teams now being counted in years rather than weeks or months. Will the Taoiseach confirm whether the funds allocated in the HSE budget under the progressing disability services, PDS, programme will be used to reinstate services in special schools? I continue to be contacted by parents about this. Are there emergency measures that can be t…

I thank the Taoiseach.

At the Taoiseach's recent meeting with the US congressional delegation, were the ongoing human rights abuses in Iran raised and, in particular, was there agreement on international action to be taken against the Iranian regime on the basis of its dreadful ill-treatment of protesters there? On that note, will the forthcoming proposal to reopen the Irish Embassy in Tehran be reviewed? This has been raised in this House previously, and the Taoiseach and others indicated that the idea the Government might even contempl…

Are we likely to see the vitally important reform of planning legislation come for the House before the end of term? We are all conscious that there are only two more sitting weeks. This is a vitally important Bill that has been promised by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. The Minister previously committed to bringing the Bill before the House before Christmas. I and others have heard from many constituents about concerns and delays in the planning system caused by th…

Last week, I asked the Taoiseach about childcare and if the Government will move more swiftly towards a public childcare model; affordable for parents, fair for professionals and guaranteeing equality for children. I am looking at the Taoiseach and the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, because I did also acknowledge the steps the Minister has taken towards building that model and the provision of core funding. I want to ask about one specific aspect. Last week, the…

I wish to share time with Deputy Nash. I will take five minutes.

I welcome this important debate which I sought last week from the Taoiseach following the broadcast of the powerful "Blackrock Boys" radio documentary. I commend the immense courage of those who have come forward in recent weeks to disclose abuse that they suffered at Blackrock College, in the other five schools run by the Spiritans, and in other schools too. I acknowledge the horror of the abuse perpetrated upon children in this way and the immense harm caused to survivors, their families and communities as a resu…

I wish to again raise with the Taoiseach the housing crisis, which is a housing emergency, despite the Government's failure and refusal to declare it as such. In the lead-up to the important Raise the Roof rally on Saturday, which we in the Labour Party will support, along with many others in opposition, I wish to raise the real-world effects of this housing emergency in my constituency. On Rathmines Road, in Dublin Bay South, tenants in 20 apartments across two houses are facing eviction. Many of them are paying i…

We can engage in semantic discussion about language, but what the 20% of the country who are now living in private rental accommodation want to see is action on this issue. We in the Labour Party have very much welcomed it when the Government has taken action, albeit belatedly, such as with the winter eviction ban. However, we do not think this action has been enough. We have called for a three-year freeze on rents, which is a crucial policy that should be brought in by the Government. Caps in rent pressure zones h…

The publication of the Scally report today will be a marker for all to see what actions can and must now be taken by the Government. Last week, when we all paid tribute to the late Vicky Phelan, the enormous legacy she left and the huge work she did on behalf of women affected by cervical cancer, all of us looked for precise actions. I very much welcome the Taoiseach's outline of dates for amendments but we will need to see a very clear timeline from the Government on all the actions to be taken on foot of the Scal…

I will raise the issue of the Irish Thalidomide Association. I know the Taoiseach has met with the group of thalidomide survivors who are seeking recognition from the State and have a small number of demands. I know the group is very grateful that the Taoiseach met with it last Thursday and that a process is to be established. As colleagues will be aware, I have put down a cross-party motion in collaboration with the Irish Thalidomide Association. I hope a cross-party consensus can be achieved on the type of proces…

I thank the Taoiseach.

I offer solidarity with the two gardaí who were badly injured in a vicious attack in Dublin last night. All Deputies will want to share their thoughts and sympathies with them and their families. Each week brings more news of the Government’s failure on housing policy. Today in particular we see news about failed policy in regard to renters, with a report from Daft.ie showing that rents rose by 14% year on year and a record 4.3% increase between June and September this year. Rents in Dublin, including my own consti…

The Taoiseach is absolutely right - the time to play with words is over and the time is now to build more houses. He is also right about supply being the issue. However, he is wrong to say the Opposition does not come up with constructive ideas and solutions. We in the Labour Party put forward a clear proposal in our alternative budget this year for an additional spend of €1.5 billion precisely to deal with that issue of supply and to build homes on public land. Here are two other constructive solutions. First, let…

I welcome the fact that we have a debate this week on Thursday on abuse in certain educational institutions. It is a debate I looked for last week and I am glad to see it is in the schedule. I am raising on the Order of Business a concern that the time allocated may not be sufficient given the issues that we have to debate, particularly around the format of a welcome inquiry that the Taoiseach and the Government have committed to holding into the scale of abuse that has taken place. I wanted to raise a concern that…

Over decades, we have seen neglect of national childcare policies, producing a piecemeal system with the highest proportion of private providers in the OECD and childcare costs continuing to rise. Despite the early childhood care and education, ECCE, scheme and core funding model, parents in Dublin are still paying as much as €1,000 per child per month, if they can find a crèche place. We know providers are closing crèches because many are also struggling and skilled early-years educators are still not being paid e…

The Taoiseach outlined some of the issues discussed at the recent meeting. I want to follow up on two of them. The first is Russia's brutal war in Ukraine. There are reports today that the EU plans to confiscate the assets of Russian sanction evaders to provide support for Ukraine to rebuild. Will the Taoiseach consider removing the Government block on a Bill proposed by our colleague, Deputy Howlin, namely the Magnitsky legislation proposed by the Labour Party before the Russian invasion of Ukraine began? It would…