Now the Bill is before the House. I am not criticising the Minister. I am talking about the past when the Bill was not brought to the Houses, and how long it has taken for a Government, that is, this one rather than the previous one, to legislate to address this issue. I compliment the Minister on bringing the Bill to the House and bringing us to this position. As a small, open economy, we face intense competition for the foreign direct investment that has been the bedrock of our prosperity. We do not compete for t…

One of the commitments in the programme for Government is to make the criminal justice system more victim-centred. Yesterday, I met Sharon Lynn, the sister of Martin Lynn, who died following a one-punch attack in 2023. The senseless death of her brother Martin and her interaction as a victim in the court process during the trial of Martin's assailant is a story that Sharon has had to tell on countless occasions, and I witnessed that anguish in my office yesterday. She stood on a platform with the Minister for justi…

Sharon Lynn, about her brother, Martin Lynn.

I come to this debate as someone who voted to repeal the eighth amendment and is respectful of the freedom of conscience vote for Members of the parties of government but also with a clear sense of our obligations as legislators in a representative democracy. Section 7 of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, the Act this Private Members' Bill proposes to amend, statutorily required a full review of its operation three years after its commencement date of 1 January 2019. That review was comm…

No international protection applicant should be sleeping in a tent in a public park in any part of this country. Yet, in my constituency, in Herbert Park, it is a regular occurrence of late that international protection applicants are sleeping in tents in a park beside a playground that people frequent with their families and children. From the questioning I have done in the public accounts committee, we know the average duration of stay of an international protection applicant in a tent is less than two days. We a…

I thank the Minister for giving us the opportunity to talk about such an important area of our society and economy. The area I am particularly focused on as Leas-Chathaoirleach of the AI Oireachtas committee is the impact of AI, the disruption and making sure that Ireland is ready and prepared. We need to make sure that the students of the future are adapting and developing the necessary skills they will need for the jobs of the future. An IMF report released on Monday or yesterday indicated that up to 40% of curre…

That is two for Poolbeg because I will also raise the extension of the Luas to Poolbeg. I can tell Deputy Hayes that I have had engagement with the NTA and the project is progressing at pace. Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, hopes to go to public consultation early in the new year. I re-emphasise the need for that project. It is not a very large project - a couple of kilometres - but it would make a difference to an area where there will be 10,000 people living and potentially an additional 10,000 people work…

I did.

I welcome this Bill. It underpins the investment the Government is making in public transport. There is a false narrative which seeks to divide urban and rural Ireland and which states that this Government is all about roads and that the previous Government was all about public transport. That is absolute rubbish. There is investment in MetroLink, which will be a critical project. Deputy McAuliffe mentioned the extension of the Luas to Finglas, which former Fine Gael Deputy Noel Roc, advocated for even as a council…

This week we remember Garret FitzGerald, 15 years on from his death, and 2026 marks 100 years since his birth. I think we can all agree that the leadership he showed has shaped our national identity. We are a more tolerant, inclusive and open society because of him. We are also a country that embraces our European identity because of him. He was central to our own European integration story, which laid the foundations for our success. I am glad that the ambition Garret had for this country in Europe is still eviden…

It is good that the Government has set values as a key priority in this Presidency because we often take our membership in the European Union for granted. To some extent, we actually might take for granted the population’s support of our membership of the European Union. In countries where governments withdraw their support for the EU, we see the relief that is felt from the population when another government comes in that is closer to the EU. We saw this most recently in Hungary with people waving European flags o…

Will the Taoiseach join me in condemning the racist abuse that Suad Mooge, the recently selected Dublin Rose, received simply by virtue of winning the competition? She was subjected to racist abuse because of the colour of her skin. I understand that she grew up in Sligo and then went to school in Terenure, which is in my constituency. I happened to listen back to her on "Liveline" yesterday and it was a personality explosion listening to her. I listened to the resilience that she has to display on a day-to-day bas…

I have to say I found the previous speaker's contribution strange, to put it mildly. For the Sinn Féin speaker to be trying to circumvent speeding on our roads when we see the dangers that are on our roads is incredibly bizarre, to put it mildly. In any event, I welcome the publication of the National Safety Camera Strategy and congratulate the Minister of State on his continued efforts to use modern technology to address what is a major issue in Ireland today. In my constituency Irish Rail has already commenced a …

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Act 2023 to require that public bodies provide members of Garda personnel access to publicly operated CCTV systems, without a full new authorisation being required, for the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences; to allow members of Garda personnel to install and operate CCTV in designated high-crime areas; to provide for the preparation of draft codes of practice in re…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter, which relates to the Martello tower in Sandymount. The Minister of State will be familiar with Martello towers located across Dublin Bay. I understand that 28 were originally built. Every few of them are in as good nick as the one on Sandymount Strand. As a local Deputy and a former councillor, I am aware that people have been raising this issue on a continuing basis. They would walk along the promenade past the Martello tower, which is such an iconic building. …

I thank the Minister of State. I am very encouraged by the reply. I may be too much of an optimist. However, to be fair to the OPW, particularly in the context of the reply the Minister of State read out its behalf, it has highlighted a very successful model that has worked when working with a local authority in the preservation of Martello tower in Dún Laoghaire, which is not very far away from the Martello tower in Sandymount, and how it successfully operates as a museum. It is my understanding, as already stated…

Over the past week, there has understandably been a lot of focus on the blockades of the refinery in the Taoiseach's own county, the blockades of the port and the blockade of O'Connell Street that lasted for days. Does the Taoiseach agree with me that when it comes to the policing of blockades, there must now be a zero-tolerance approach. It cannot be the case that O'Connell Street, the main thoroughfare of our city centre, could be blocked off. People were refused access to the Rotunda Hospital. I received phone c…

On Friday, I met Denise from Tiernans Nursery in Rathmines. She has been operating it for over 35 years. Unfortunately, she has had to take the decision to exit core funding to make ends meet. She has had to notify parents of that. This is not a person who is looking to make loads of money; she is just trying to continue to provide the service she was already providing. Since I was elected as a TD, I have met lots of childcare providers in my constituency who have had to make this difficult decision to exit core fu…

I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach and the Minister of State. I too acknowledge our Chair, Deputy Malcolm Byrne, and other colleagues on the joint Oireachtas AI committee. Before I continue, I will address some of the remarks made by Deputy Gibney because, while I believe they are sincerely held, I do not think they are a true, fair or accurate characterisation of the views of the members of the committee, whether in opposition or government. Deputy O'Rourke's contribution surmises that fact. In fairness, Deputy G…