I ask for an update on the town and village renewal scheme for 2022 and the types of projects that will be eligible for funding. How many applications were received from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in 2021 and how they have progressed?

I thank the Minister for that welcome update. I would love to get more information about the building acquisition measure she has announced and which is so constructive and positive. I know Dún Laoghaire seems like a Dublin town, but it is very much a community town with considerable vacancy and dereliction. Through Digital Dún Laoghaire and with the council, we are trying to develop the opportunity for remote working to try to keep the pressure off public transport and reduce the number of people going into the ci…

I thank the Minister. One cannot but make one's spake, if you know what I mean. I am glad to hear that Dún Laoghaire made an application because, of course, if it were the case that other councils had not had the same proactivity and made applications, funding may well have been available. Who knows, that might even be the case now? I was wondering about the supervision of the Department over the different local authorities if there are those who do not make applications. I cannot imagine that would be the case. Ev…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to come back to this important subject as the third national strategy is prepared and published. I want to use this opportunity to recognise why we are doing this and to keep the awareness of why we are doing this at the forefront of our minds. I acknowledge the presence of Deputy David Stanton, who, when he was with the Department of Justice, brought through the groundbreaking legislation on coercive control and who has chaired the interdepartmental group on gender v…

Femicide is the most extreme end of gender and sexual violence. However, it is part of a bigger problem and what leads to it is a cultural acceptance of entry-level harassment and misogyny, which Deputy Alan Farrell called out in a very public way in his experience on public transport. It is the controlling behaviours that have been exhibited, which Deputy Stanton tried to address through his legislation on coercive control. People said there was no point, that one could not prosecute a pattern, an idea or a set of…

I raise this matter on behalf of Rebecca Price and Pat Kiely, whose baby Christopher was wrongly diagnosed with a fatal foetal abnormality in Holles Street in March 2019. Baby Christopher's life was ended wrongly in 2019. The family has sought a review to make sure this does not happen to anybody else and that no other family grieves in the way Rebecca and Pat do on behalf of their baby and with their baby. The family has met the Minister and his officials. I would like an update on the review of fatal foetal abnor…

I am very glad to hear the Minister mention the role of clinical genetics. If they had been utilised in this case, this simply would not have happened. If there had been an external review, the parents would not have felt the need to go to the High Court to highlight the circumstances of this case. Hospitals cannot be allowed to review themselves. I thank the Minister for expanding the number of public interest directors in the new national maternity hospital. That is an important response to cases like this and ma…

That is essential. We have very eminent geneticists in this country as well. Dr. Willie Reardon, who was involved in this case, is a very eminent geneticist and has been a great support to Rebecca and Pat. I thank the Minister for confirming the appointment of Professor Lesley Regan. Rebecca and Pat have looked to meet with her and I hope that can be facilitated. Something going wrong in a maternity hospital is a tragedy for any family, from which it is very difficult to recover. Where something goes wrong, such as…

Would Dr. McKenna meet me?

I thank the Minister, Deputy Harris, for visiting a number of schools in my area in Dún Laoghaire this year to describe to them the new apprenticeship model that is an alternative to going to university, which seemed like the only option for many. The feedback from students, parents and teachers on these visits was excellent. They were a direct way of showcasing the work of the Department and what it is trying to do to open up third level and higher education to many people who had not considered it, or had not had…

I am sharing time with Deputy McAuliffe. When I was driving to the House this morning, I saw a queue outside the Passport Service office at 8.45 a.m. It was a long queue and it reminded me that today would be another day of passport issues to be dealt with by the team in my office, who are at their wits' end. I thank them, as well as the staff of the Passport Service, for their work. Every Deputy in the House will have a team who are plagued by having to try to navigate a system that works sometimes, which I acknow…

As my colleague said, no one in this House needs reminding but perhaps some in the United Kingdom need to recall that it was the British Government that decided to have a referendum to leave the EU. It was the British Government that decided to have a hard Brexit and to leave the Single Market in this way, that found out the impact that would have on the island of Ireland, that agreed the withdrawal treaty and the protocol, and that brought the relevant instruments through its parliament. It is the British Governme…

I am sharing time with Deputy Niamh Smyth. I am happy to be given the opportunity to speak in this debate. In this House of our peaceful democracy, we weave in and out of the corridors intermingling with journalists working freely to report and analyse, to critique and reflect to those outside in an honest way, and to report faithfully on the facts in front of them. We are privileged to live in such a society. It is a great responsibility for journalists too, to report faithfully and to acknowledge errors if and wh…

The treatment benefit scheme in the Department of Social Protection provides important dental, optical and oral services to a range of different people. We heard from Amber Women's Refuge service and Safe Ireland in Leinster House 2000 this morning. One of the matters they raised relates to the practical effect of having to get consent for a qualified adult in order to get those treatments and, in particular, the impact on somebody who may be in a violent or coercive relationship having to obtain consent from the p…

I am very pleased to speak on this Bill today, which I welcome. It is an important update and a new approach to managing compensation claims. Last week, I was at the Dún Laoghaire Garda station for the centenary celebrations. A significant number of members and retired members were there, including those getting long-service awards. There was a fantastic exhibition of the history of An Garda Síochána which included the different artefacts they used over the period, including different uniforms and weapons that were…

I am next on my list anyway.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I raise again with the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, the need for residential and respite care for people with profound disabilities in Dún Laoghaire in my constituency, in particular the case of 28-year-old Louisa Fitzgerald who has been profoundly disabled since birth and requires 24-hour care. Her parents are in their 60s and both have been through cancer twice. Louisa suffers from severe epileptic seizures and needs residential care. At the very least, her family need respite …

I have significantly less time.

I was supposed to have six minutes. I have been a patient of the National Maternity Hospital. My constituency includes the National Maternity Hospital. My son has been a long-term critically-ill patient of the neo-natal care unit. I am one who knows well exactly how deficient the National Maternity Hospital can be and has been. I thank the Minister for his engagement with me over the past year. It is particularly in relation to the public interest directors and increasing their number from one to three. It has been…

I am very pleased to speak in this debate. I attended the Fine Gael conference on agriculture in Tullamore at the weekend. It was wonderful to see how vibrant it was and how vibrant the participants were about agriculture and agri-food in Ireland. My constituency in Dún Laoghaire is not exactly a rural one, but it is dependent, as is every constituency, on the success of the agri-food business in Ireland as a key part of the Irish economy. I recognise the 160,000 people who work in the industry and the contribution…