It seems that the most recent wave of Covid-19, caused by the Omicron variant, has passed its peak in Ireland, although the virus continues to rage in many other countries. I thank our front-line workers, who kept society together and kept it going. I offer my solidarity and sympathy to those who died, their families and, importantly, the people of Ireland because, as I have said many times, they have listened closely to NPHET and have been way ahead of the Government guidelines. We have an opportunity now to take …

I raise an issue that arose just before Christmas. Two weeks ago, I tabled a question to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage relating to a family in Crumlin that was facing possible homelessness. The family, with two children, one of whom has autism, had been renting the same house for 18 years. The landlord wanted to sell the house and because of his relationship with the family, he approached Dublin City Council, DCC, to offer it the property for sale. He wanted to keep the family in their hom…

For clarity, I made the point that 20,400 houses were built in 2021, which is 12,000 below the target. That also happened in 2020 and in 2019, which was before the pandemic. My question relates to the directive. Dublin City Council obviously did not get clarity that it could intervene in these situations. I outlined to the Minister the situation with the family who were facing homelessness. He replied that he was keen that local authorities and approved housing bodies avoid competing with potential private purchase…

The councils are under huge pressure.

That is not the issue.

Will he talk to the Minister about that?

First, I welcome the fact that the autism class in St. Damien's National School was opened recently, after the Minister intervened. I know that the autism community welcomes that. I want to ask the Minister how she will address the issue of the lack of autism classes in Dublin 12. Dublin 12 does not have enough autism classes. I ask the Minister about the position in respect of Drimnagh Castle Primary School and Drimnagh Castle Secondary School, Loreto College Crumlin Road, Holy Spirit Junior Primary School, Greenh…

I take on board the point that there has been a huge increase. That is very welcome and it was needed from the point of view of autistic children. However, the fact of the matter is that children in Dublin 12 are still leaving the community to go to school and there are still children with no school places. There are two special classes in Scoil Íosagáin but they are full and cannot take any more children. There is a backlog of pupils wanting to get into the autism classes in that school. We have a situation in the…

I have been in contact with the campaign for ASD units in Dublin 12. The Minister of State has also met those parents. They are saying that parents are still coming to them saying their children have had to leave the area and there are no school places in the area. Does the Minister of State know where the boys are to go if there is no feeder into Drimnagh Castle? As I said, Scoil Íosagáin says it is full. There is a backlog of children wanting to get into the autism classes and it has no room for them. That is obv…

I was a member of the 32nd Dáil Joint Committee on Employment Affairs and Social Protection. I was the only member of that committee coming into this Dáil. As a member of the current committee, I requested that the committee continue with this report. It was a difficult one because when one is not dealing directly with the witnesses such as ICTU and all of the other groups, one is working off records of printed material. I thank my fellow members of the committee for their work in drawing up the report. I also than…

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the motion on the cost of living and I thank Deputy Nash for putting it on the agenda. We know that, over the past 14 months, inflation has risen by 5.5%. That 5.5% is just a figure but the reality of that 5.5% is increases in basics such as bread, milk, butter, pasta and other groceries. It is estimated that the weekly shop for the average family is up by €15 a week, or €780 a year. If we add in extra costs like energy, which is up by €500 per year, and another €500 for petrol…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — in 2013 a decision was made to move the National Maternity Hospital (NMH) from Holles St to the Elm Park site to co-locate with St. Vincent's University Hospital (SVUH), which was to be part of the construction of four new co-located maternity hospitals; and — this led to a dispute with the St Vincent's Hospital Group (SVHG) who rejected co-location and demanded full ownership of the NMH under SVHG; further notes that: — SVHG is a private company owned by the Religious Siste…

It looks like we have been deserted tonight in regard to this debate. I want to concur with Deputy Connolly in terms of the response from the Minister of State. It is an insult, not just to me but to women in this country. In setting up the legal entity and framework, the Mulvey agreement has spurred the Religious Sisters of Charity to continue on in the same vein. The project was about co-location; now it has changed to full integration. That is what the Religious Sisters of Charity and its holding group are looki…

This question has come directly from Ms Antoinette Keegan of the Stardust Victims Committee. Ms Keegan points out that it is almost 41 years since the terrible Stardust fire in Artane, Dublin, in which 48 young people died and 214 were injured. The Attorney General announced on 25 September 2019 that the inquest must go ahead as this was in the public interest. The Department of Justice leased the RDS in Ballsbridge for one year for the Stardust inquest and has spent nearly €2 million out of a fund of €8 million on…

Will the Taoiseach meet the families?

The loss of the life of a young woman, Ashling Murphy, has been met with a sense of shock, outrage and an outpouring of support and sympathy on a national level. So it should be. It appears that Ashling Murphy was killed in a random act of violence by a possibly deranged individual. I want to express my solidarity and sympathy with the family, her partner and the community. I also want to raise the specific issues, even though I have only two minutes, of an attack three weeks ago on a young woman in Ballyfermot, in…

I give best wishes to everybody inside and outside the House over the festive season. There is a cohort of families who will find it difficult over the Christmas season. Five weeks ago in Leaders' Questions to the Taoiseach I raised the inability to recruit and retain staff in the crucial area of home care services. Despite the increased allocation of hours in the budget by the Government, people depending on home care services received cuts in their approved home care package due to the incapacity of private home …

I take exception to some of the comments that have been made to the effect that there has been no difference between where we were 22 months ago and where we are now. We now have a vaccine that has worked quite effectively. It is stopping infection and death in the country. No one ever said it was going to stop infection, and that should be clearly pointed out. We also have a Covid-savvy population. Even before the call came from NPHET, people were making the decision not to mix as they had planned to in the run-up…

As one of the five Deputies who introduced this Bill last week on behalf of the Simon Communities of Ireland, I support the Bill, as every and any action that can prevent people being evicted into homelessness is a progressive protective step for people facing increasing notices to quit, evictions and homelessness. My colleagues in my constituency office report that they have seen a steady increase in the number of families and individuals presenting at the office who face notices to quit. One such couple, who came…

I acknowledge that more than 1 million people have received their third dose of the vaccine to date, but why are there not more local pharmacies and community centres involved in providing third doses? I went to Citywest on the Monday before last. I had not received an appointment from the HSE; I was a walk-in. I got there at 8 o'clock in the morning. I spent two hours standing outside in the marquee with all the other over-60s in the freezing cold and then spent an hour queuing in the centre. I got my dose at 11 a…