I move amendment No. 23: In page 8, line 18, to delete “class C” and substitute “class A”.

It is Government Members who are like the Muppets.

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this important Bill. Sinn Féin supports this Bill. That will not surprise anyone. Nevertheless, there are a small number of areas where we would like to see this Bill strengthened and I will reference them in my contribution, given that only 45 minutes have been scheduled for Committee and Remaining Stages next week. It is frustrating for me, as a legislator, as I have a number of amendments tabled that I think will help to strengthen the Bill. Many of them will not be …

It is good to have the opportunity to discuss the extension of the €2 limit on the public transport fares as far as Skerries and Balbriggan but I would also like an explanation as to why we were left out originally. When the 90-minute fare was announced, it stated it would give Leap card customers the option to transfer between DART, commuter rail, Dublin Bus, Luas and Go-Ahead Ireland services in the Dublin area at no additional cost for 90 minutes. It is a very good initiative and we in north County Dublin would …

The population of Skerries is more than 10,000 and the population of Balbriggan is nearly 30,000. The Minister of State effectively said that those commuters will be excluded from what is a very attractive scheme. They would not want to be in it if it was not going to be to their benefit. I appreciate the Minister of State being here and I thank him for the reply. However, it will not be good enough. I will read him an email I got from one of my constituents: After two years unemployed and just getting back into th…

The third strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence was launched last week. It noted that there is work to be done to engage employers and trade unions and further develop legislation for statutory domestic violence employment leave and enhanced workplace protections from sexual harassment. There is no need for any member of the Government to engage in further consultation, as this issue has already been consulted on. I have consulted Women's Aid on my own legislation, which would do exactly what this …

I thank my colleague, an Teachta Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, for all his work in this area. I thank him principally for listening to parents who are really worried about not being able to cope as their kids go back to school. These are real worries and as September comes, people start to worry more. An Teachta Ó Laoghaire has done more than just listen. He has learned from those parents what they desperately need and put it into a comprehensive package, which we are laying before the House tonight on behalf of those par…

I offer my sympathy, support and solidarity to those families whose homes have been affected by the mica scandal. Their campaign for justice and their bravery in the face of an unsympathetic Government is to be commended. The nub of the problem with the Bill is it does not provide 100% redress, which is not fair. Families have done their homework and they do not appreciate being told it provides 100% redress when they know exactly what it will cost them and that the Government scheme will fall short. It is unfair a…

If I may, I will briefly address some of the messing and the nonsense raised by Deputy Alan Farrell. I am sure the Minister of State will confirm in his later contribution that Deputy O'Rourke not only asked a lot of questions but a lot of extremely important ones.

I do not appreciate the interruption.

The record will entirely confirm what I have said.

The issues around capacity were raised last September. We are having this debate today because we are now facing an emergency. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate. I welcome some of the aims of the Bill, including to increase the backup electricity generation capacity to ensure we have enough to meet demand over the coming years. That is needed to avoid blackouts. However, we cannot escape the reasons we have arrived at this juncture. We are debating this legislation today as a direct result of fa…

The Minister referenced the rising costs and the way that they are affecting the standard of living, genuinely making it sound like people might have to trim a few luxuries off of their shopping bill but, in truth, people are making hard and horrible choices already. I promised a constituent of mine that I would raise a message that she sent to me with the Minister. A mother on the disability allowance said that if anything breaks in her house, it stays broken. She said not to mention help from the community welfar…

I start by expressing solidarity with our trans siblings. They were there for us during the campaign to repeal the eighth amendment and it would be absolutely wrong for us not to all come together today and express that solidarity. I would have thought at this point in proceedings I would be relatively unshockable but I have been quite shocked at the outpouring of hate against a small group. The trans community has demonstrated extreme fortitude, patience and dignity in the face of an onslaught against it. From the…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute. Recently, the Alliance for Insurance Reform appeared before the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade, and Employment. The picture it painted of the insurance market for small businesses was bleak and stark. The alliance represents small businesses, community groups and so on. The Minister of State will be familiar with the type of thing I am talking about from his own community. The alliance told us that, despite the new personal injuries guidelines entering into force in 20…

I thank the Minister for being present for this debate. The hour is late and, therefore, I appreciate her attendance. She will undoubtedly be aware that planning permission has been refused at a new site for the Malahide Portmarnock Educate Together National School. I was there on Friday when I met its principal, Ms Emer Hoy, her deputy principal, Ms Ríona Wise, and Mr. Matt Harrison, a member of the board of management who is also a staff member. I walked around the school and looked at the accommodation. To say t…

I thank the Minister for the reply. I note that in the Minister's reply she says that as part of the post-refusal meeting, factors were pointed out that could be addressed in a new planning application, including pedestrian access. If that had been advised in advance then that would have been addressed because that is not a huge issue. It is something that could be addressed quickly and to have things put back, because of something that is not trivial because pedestrian access is important, but because of something…

I commend the work of my colleagues, an Teachta O’Rourke and Senator Boylan. They have consistently put forward solutions that will work and have been consistently constructive in the face of a Government that is becoming more out of touch with every day that passes. It is some years now since Frances O’Grady, the outgoing head of the British Trades Union Congress, TUC, said there were no jobs on a dead planet. She was dead right on that. She was signalling that workers are up for the challenge of climate change an…

We have seen over the past number of decades, and especially in the recent past, the need for progressive climate action. We hear it from our children and, for those of us lucky enough to have them, from our grandchildren. Thankfully, the debate has largely shifted from one about personal responsibility to a whole-of-system approach. The public at large are doing all that they can and more to tackle the climate crisis and that has to be matched, or even bettered, by the various sectors of the economy and businesses…

I was the first person in my family to go to university and I am very proud of that. I said it before on the record of the House. When I graduated, albeit a small bit after I could have, shall we say, it was a very proud day for me and my family. I experienced third level as what we might call a straightforward student, or one going straight from secondary school to university. I returned to university at the age of 21, after my daughter was born, to finish my degree. I also went on to do a master's degree. I have …