I thank Deputy Carthy and Senator Maria McCormack for the work they have put into this legislation. Most of all, I thank the women who have shared their horrific experiences of sexual violence. I welcome many of them into the viewing Gallery today. The women I met today have unselfishly acknowledged that, in some cases, this legislation comes too late for them, but they are thinking of women who will come after them. As night follows day, there will be more such women. This Bill provides that when someone is convic…

The Minister for housing issued a directive to local authorities to rezone land. However, there is an opportunity for developers to abuse this. They could buy land that is not currently zoned for housing and sit on it to wait for a change in zoning. The Coldcut site, which is owned by Dublin Bus members, is up for sale. This site is over 10 ha. It straddles north Clondalkin and Palmerstown. Many local soccer clubs use this facility. The all-weather pitches are always extremely busy. I attended a public meeting this…

I was going through the minutes of the European Council meeting. They state, "The European Council welcomes the agreement reached on the first phase of the Comprehensive Plan to end the Gaza Conflict put forward by President Trump". The minutes went on to call on "all parties to fully commit to implementing all phases and to refrain from any actions that jeopardise the agreement". The ceasefire in Gaza has been in place for five weeks. This is not a ceasefire that operates as I or ordinary people would expect. Sinc…

I wish the Minister well as she tackles this issue. There is no one on any side of the House who does not want to see children get timely access to the care they need. I commend the advocates who have long been calling for a statutory public inquiry into spina bifida and complex scoliosis services. I cautiously welcome the fact the Government has agreed to this. The reason I say I cautiously welcome it is because the terms and references have to be spot-on in this. We have all heard about the unregulated springs us…

Sinn Féin will not oppose the Bill but I believe the Government has missed an opportunity with the Bill to include the introduction of compensation for expenses in court by those who undertake jury duty. Deputy Carthy has raised this with the Minister on numerous occasions. The absence of such a payment impacts on people already struggling with the cost of living, as well as those with caring responsibilities and the self-employed. Self-employed people and full-time carers can be excused from jury service but this …

I want to raise concerns over the violent and persistent intimidation being experienced by residents in Balgaddy in my area. This has been going on for months. Residents in Balgaddy fear for their safety and that of their children. In recent weeks, a gang has engaged in repeated violent acts of intimidation and criminal damage. I have received countless emails and phone calls, and many people have visited my constituency office to tell me they have been terrorised. Residents have told me that they have received dea…

I was at a public meeting last Monday in Neilstown hosted by parents of children with disabilities. They raised a multitude of areas and how their children are being failed. There are long waiting lists for assessment of need, speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. There is no access to appropriate school places. There are limited SNA allocations. They also talked about not even getting appropriate places for school transport and arbitrary timeframes for filling out forms. If they do not fill out the…

As we speak, Irish drivers who are going about their business and driving home from work are paying more for their petrol and diesel than drivers in other European countries. The Government will point to geopolitical factors as the reason for these high petrol and diesel prices, but people should not let the Government fool them. It is Government policy that is driving up the cost of filling up their car. In the budget the Government increased the carbon tax on petrol again by adding an extra €3 to the cost of fill…

One of the main problems within the justice system is the length of time it takes for court cases to be heard. Justice delayed is justice denied. These long delays in relation to sexual violence cases increase the trauma for victims. I was at a very emotive briefing today, hosted by my colleague, Deputy Carthy, where we heard very powerful testimonies from women who were victims of sexually based violence. One thing that struck me, which is directly related to the legislation we are discussing today, is that only 5…

I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this really important motion. I apologise to Deputy Sherlock for interrupting her photo opportunity earlier as that was not my intention. What underlies addiction is poverty, and a symptom of poverty is trauma and a symptom of trauma is addiction. It is a circle that keeps going around. I am from north Clondalkin. I grew up there in the eighties. It was a time of economic hardship across the country but areas like mine suffered the most. We grew up in poverty. This is n…

When the Government decided to purchase Citywest as a public IPAS centre, I found out in the national newspapers. No information was supplied to Opposition TDs. On 17 June, I asked the Taoiseach if the Government was purchasing Citywest. I did not get an answer. At the same time, the Minister for justice was on the plinth outside announcing the purchase of Citywest. Residents of Saggart and Opposition TDs are finding out information from the media and not from the Government. This is simply unacceptable and it has …

I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak on men's health. As a person living with multiple sclerosis, MS, I am going to speak in a personal capacity in order to raise awareness. I will also speak as a TD and use my platform to call for additional resources. I have mentioned it before - and I do not talk about it too much - but at least once a year I come in here and talk about being diagnosed with MS 18 years ago. MS is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system. Males and females often ha…

Gillian Sherratt and Stephen Morrison are constituents of mine. They are my neighbours and the parents of Harvey who, as we all know, died tragically earlier this year. I got to know Gillian and Stephen very well over the last while. I am really fond of them. They are just an ordinary family trying to do their best for their children and build a life for themselves. They carried themselves with dignity and humanity when they tried to get treatment for Harvey while he was alive. They have continued to do so in their…

The Government has broken its promises to carers. In the general election, the Government promised to abolish the means tests for carers. This was another broken promise. In this budget, so little money has been allocated that at this rate of investment it would take 30 years under Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and, in the case of the Minister of State, Independents, to abolish the means tests. This is a horrible betrayal of carers. Carers in my constituency tell me they do not even bother to apply for the carers allowanc…

No, we are sharing time between the two of us.

I see Deputy Sean Crowe is here. I apologise.

The Government has abandoned whole communities to the drug crisis. Yesterday, it reduced the overall budget for drug and alcohol task forces by a shameful 25%. I am a director of an addiction service in Clondalkin and I know the devastating effect this is going to have. The cut will have a negative and immediate effect on some of the most disadvantaged communities. In the area where I grew up, there is not one person - be it a particular individual, a neighbour, a family member or a friend - who has not been affect…

You let them down.

A 25% cut. Come on.

The budget is a pittance overall. In Europe-----