The Taoiseach should answer the question he was asked.

Earlier, I spoke with one of my constituents from Clondalkin. Gillian Sherratt is the mother of eight-year-old Harvey. Harvey is suffering from life-threatening spina bifida and scoliosis. He was on the waiting list to have an operation on his spine for 33 months. The Minister may remember when Harvey touched the hearts of the nation as a video showed him struggling to breathe as a result of his spinal curve leading to his rib cage twisting around his lungs and heart. His family have been campaigning vigorously for…

Absolutely. I 100% had permission. As I said, I spoke to the parent earlier.

On Tuesday, Sinn Féin introduced a Bill in the Dáil that would scrap water charges for good and prevent the Government from introducing them in the future. It would put an end to the debate for good, even if the Government wanted to introduce charges for water. Lo and behold, surprise, surprise, the Government voted against this, leaving the door ajar to introducing water charges in the future. In fact, Deputy Ó Broin and I were the only two TDs in Dublin Mid-West who voted against introducing water charges for ord…

I echo my colleague's comments about Deputy Geoghegan. I think he must have been under sponsorship to see how many times he could mention Sinn Féin in his three-minute speech. I think he made a few bob on that. On all the talk we had about backbenchers demanding speaking time in the next while, not all the Government backbenchers turned up for this important debate. It is a case of the Government speaking out of both sides of its mouth. Fine Gael would want to get its own shop in order. In times of economic uncerta…

We are discussing diverting young people away from criminal activity today. The best way to do that is to offer our young people hope. It is the hope that, if they fulfil their social contract, then the Government will do the same. Imagine being a young person in Ireland today and having the ambition to have a safe and secure home. It is almost impossible due to Government failings in housing. Imagine being a young person waiting for appointments with mental health services or disability services and being failed. …

Yesterday, we witnessed the Government ramming through legislation about Dáil speaking rights without going through the proper due process. The public are rightly concerned that it will do the same with Irish neutrality. Any changes to the triple lock and Irish neutrality must be put to the people to decide. Is the Government afraid of a referendum on Irish neutrality? The Tánaiste's proposal to abandon the triple lock breaches multiple commitments given to the Irish people, particularly during the referendums on t…

Orlagh Aylward was stillborn in 2004. Her parents, Mildred and James Aylward, have tirelessly fought for recognition that her medical care in the lead-up to Orlagh's birth could have been different and if steps had been taken earlier, Orlagh would be here today to celebrate her 21st birthday. Mildred and James would like to move forward and to grieve their daughter. They received individual apologies from the staff in the Coombe, but they feel Orlagh's case should be recognised by the HSE and that the HSE should is…

Have a chat with your Whip. Fuck's sake.

I wish to speak about the ongoing genocide in Palestine. The headline in the minutes of the European Council meeting read: "The European Council has been following the situation in the Middle East very closely since Hamas' terrorist attacks against Israel of 7 October 2023." For a layman reading this headline, you would think that Israel carried out no atrocities prior to 7 October. Palestine has been subjected to an apartheid regime by Israel for decades. Palestinians have seen their children gunned down, their la…

Get your time back, Cian.

It has been well documented in this House that you cannot call a person a liar in the Dáil, so I will refrain from doing so in what I have to say. Micheál Martin misled the people of Ireland in the recent election campaign, Simon Harris spoofed them and Jack Chambers simply told big, fat porky pies to them. They misled the electorate in saying they would build 40,000 homes. They knew this was not going to happen, yet this was what they told the people of Ireland in the lead-up to the general election. I have no fai…

If I had said them as Gaeilge, would they have been all right?

The Government needs to simply stop wasting public money. It is as simple as that. What hurts people the most is that they know that money could be spent on things that would really benefit them. For example, the €9 million spent on mobile phone pouches, which were spun as being a mental health support, could have been spent in schools on face-to-face mental health supports that children really need. There is a lack of those supports in the country at the moment. We have seen other examples, such as the never-endin…

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, I am just checking to see whether we have got a quorum.

I congratulate the Minister and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle on their new roles. I wish them all the best. We are living with the legacy of serious Government failures and the neglect of policing and community safety. These are failures of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. There have been fewer gardaí on the streets of Dublin since Fine Gael came into government. We are now getting mixed messages. The former Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, declared that Dublin is safe but the current Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, decla…

What about Doncaster?

We must have a zero-tolerance approach to gender-based violence. This issue is compounded by a judicial system, political system and society that fail to confront the problem. I have seen at first hand the incredible work done by Saoirse women's refuge in my area. Those involved informed me of the stress a woman has to go through in the legal system. The process of obtaining a safety order can be difficult logistically as well as mentally. Often, a physically and mentally abused woman must bring her already traumat…

I want to take this opportunity to wish the Minister and the Minister of State really well in their briefs. There is a belief out there that the health service is broken and cannot be fixed, but I genuinely believe that with the right political will it can be, especially in respect of health reform. If the Minister gets it right, she will get support on this side of the House. It is not about politics or throwing stuff back and forth. It is about getting the right healthcare for our citizens, which they need. Older…

Yesterday, we heard the news that the Airport Hopper bus service is ceasing operations. This means that people in Clondalkin, Lucan, Palmerstown and Tallaght have no option but to get a taxi or drive to the airport. What was a €10 journey will now cost passengers €60. The 14 drivers who were employed by the Airport Hopper received an email to say their jobs had gone. They arrived at the yard and all the buses had disappeared, which is a new take on ghost buses. Privatisation of public services has failed. We have s…