Commendations must go to the previous youth advisory committee of St. Patrick’s Mental Health Services which campaigned on this issue during the previous Oireachtas term. My colleague and former Senator, Máire Devine, also worked tirelessly to progress this issue during her time in the Seanad and began this important work that we are now carrying on. This Bill is fundamentally about the rights and protection of young people. Children aged 16 and 17 years should be presumed to have capacity to consent to or refuse a…

I will speak today on behalf of the families whose loved ones attend the Camphill Communities facilities in Duffcarrig in County Wexford. I understand that Camphill is in discussions with the HSE about transferring the Duffcarrig service to another provider following notice of registration cancellation by the Health Information and Quality Authority. I appreciate that the overall objective here is a properly regulated, managed service for service users and their families, but I have received much correspondence fro…

I must start with the recent European Commission decision that fishers must weigh their catch at the pier. Be under no illusion that this will be, as described by local fishers, the final nail in the coffin for the fishing industry. In County Wexford, fishers landing at Kilmore Quay bring their catch a mere 200 m from the pier to the factory to be weighed. It is entirely counterproductive to force them to invest thousands of euro in infrastructure to weigh at the pier. It is also costly in manpower, time and the qu…

I commend the Labour Party on bringing forward this Bill. It does not offer the full solution to our country's diabolical housing crisis but it does provide a significant valuable tool to local authorities to combat land hoarding and landbanking. Herein lies the inevitable challenge. There are existing unregulated land banks where developers distort the market by limiting supply. Owners of large sites have held onto underdeveloped land rather than build new homes because it will depress prices and affect future ret…

As the Tánaiste is aware, there is a large backlog for driver theory tests across the State, with 25,000 appointments for June alone. I welcome the Government's commitment to start reopening the 40 centres on 8 June, albeit on a phased basis. However, my constituency is facing further disruptions to its already overloaded system due to the closure during the week of the driver theory test centre at Pierce Court, Paul Quay owing to a serious environmental issue. The closure will last for a few months or possibly lon…

Like other Deputies, I have reservations about what underscores this Bill and the bestowing upon the Minister of potentially sweeping powers by means of a simple statutory instrument. It is impossible to support the Bill without substantial amendment, which we in Sinn Féin intend to do. We believe that the Bill's fast-tracking without proper due diligence is not good governance, given that the Bill will have major economic and social implications for our country and, importantly, future generations for years to com…

I thank Deputy Doherty for bringing this Bill forward. It is a culmination of intense research based on the principles of transparency, fairness and accountability. At the heart of this Bill is the protection of working people and their families. Any owner of a vehicle will say that their premiums over the last few years have increased, year in and year out, especially for young drivers who have been subject to extortionate quotes, where these quotes often exceed the value of the vehicle itself. This Bill gives thi…

I ask the Taoiseach to act on the waiting list for autism spectrum disorder, ASD, assessments in Wexford and throughout the State. The reply to a recent parliamentary question revealed that 436 children have been waiting well over 12 months for an ASD assessment in Wexford alone. These holistic supports cannot be put in place if families are left waiting for up to four years for an assessment. This is causing years of setbacks for the children and puts the parents and siblings under duress. I urge the Taoiseach and…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. Most Deputies in the House will agree that a degree of gratitude must also be extended to Deputy Quinlivan, who has long championed this cause, having introduced previous Bills on the topic to this House. The Bill before us aims to promote fairer access to tickets for cultural, entertainment, recreational and sporting events by prohibiting the sale or advertising for sale of tickets or ticket packages at a higher price than their original sale price. This cannot come…

I thank People Before Profit for bringing forward this Bill, which Sinn Féin fully endorses. I also thank the Debenhams workers across the country for their inspiring achievement in bringing about this Bill. The Bill proposes that the law be changed to prioritise workers, giving them the right to be placed as a top creditor in the case of liquidations. Most importantly, any unpaid redundancy agreements or unpaid collective agreements would be recognised as bona fide debts in law. For too long, the injustice of work…

This is the time of year that Deputies will be receiving correspondence from local schools about teacher and special needs assistant allocations. In my area of Wexford I am already working with St. Fintan's National School in Taghmon about its teacher allocations and Glenbrien National School about the provision of teacher hours. St. Fintan's faces losing a teacher and an administrative principal role despite having more than the required enrolment number this year to retain numbers. Taghmon is a very socially disa…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill today. Climate action is about us all being good custodians and leaving the planet in a healthy condition for future generations. It is about respecting and protecting nature but above all it is about a just and fair transition. I recently met with a group of climate activists from my own County Wexford in a Zoom call and their focus and drive was very clear to see. I hope we will see the same determination from us all as we deal with the threat of global warming and …

I commend and thank the Union of Students in Ireland, Deputies Ó Broin and Conway-Walsh, and everyone who worked on this legislation. The fact that this piece of work is student union-driven is important. It means this solution is coming directly from the people most affected and shows the meaningful role young people and unions can play in making positive change. There is no doubt that students have missed out over the past year and throughout the pandemic in doing lectures online, coping with bad network connecti…

When adopted, this Bill will extend the entitlements to parental leave to each parent of a qualifying child from two to five weeks, which would at least bring us up to the average European level. Like most Deputies, I wholeheartedly welcome this change as I have been contacted by many constituents regarding just how important this leave is for them. The campaign slogan, #EveryWeekCounts, really captures the importance of this change. Unfortunately, every week this change has been delayed has also delayed precious w…

As the Tánaiste is aware, IVF treatment is provided through private practice. I have been contacted by couples in Wexford who are very concerned about this issue. We know that the most precious resource in any country is its children. We know that one in four couples struggles to start a family. However, IVF costs at least €5,000 and up to €9,000 with add-ons, which puts financial strain on many couples who are desperate to begin a family. Is the Government willing to subsidise at least three cycles of IVF? Would i…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. I thank both my colleague Deputy Funchion for her hard work in bringing the Bill forward and all those people who fought for their natural birth right to access their own birth certificate when set against the cruel backdrop of cover-up and distortion of their personal information. We can bury a lot of things, but we cannot bury the truth. I watched the "RTÉ Investigates" programme on illegal adoptions entitled, "Who am I?" To say it was disturbing is an understateme…

The Minister knows that the communities completely united against the North-South interconnector. We could be talking about it in another 18 years if we do not look at the option of undergrounding. The communities are furious with EirGrid, which led fancy public relations and marketing campaigns while ignoring the concerns of the communities and the people involved. There must be a new review of this project involving the North East Pylon Pressure group, and all the relevant stakeholders, or we could be looking at …

The purpose of this Bill is to establish the LDA under primary legislation, which, as we know, has been established as an interim entity since September 2018. The LDA is tasked with managing public lands and delivering social rental and affordable homes. However, on examination, as they say, the devil is in the detail. There are several serious anomalies with the Bill before us today. I am also most concerned about the impact that this Bill will have on hardworking families on low and middle incomes, who are relyin…

I appreciate the opportunity to speak to the amendments. I will begin with an obvious observation. People have reached the pinnacle of their patience and are getting angry with the Government's messaging. When they witness people heading off on holiday, like the incident last week when a convoy of camper vans headed off from Rosslare Europort, while the majority of people are restricted from travelling more than 5 km from their front door, it is no wonder they are calling for mandatory hotel quarantine for all non-…

I would also like to raise the issue about Covid-19 vaccines for family carers. Carers who work for the HSE and private providers will be a priority. However, the State equally depends on family carers but the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, stated that family carers are not seen as a distinct cohort. This was very hurtful to family carers. They care 24-7 with no days off, no breaks, no shift changes and little rest. I have been contacted by many courageous family carers, such as Ms Jane Johnson from Wexford, a …