There is nothing worse than turning on the news and the first item covers the most recent road deaths. Unfortunately, this is all too regular an occurrence. We listen to families speaking about the tragic and heartbreaking loss of a loved one. Even though the devastation is so visible, road deaths continue to soar. Road fatalities increased from 155 in 2022 to 184 in 2023, and there have been over 60 road deaths this year. Behind each of these figures, there is a family who are absolutely devastated by the loss of …

A number of residents from Lucan and Palmerstown have contacted me regarding problems they have experienced along the C spine route. Are there any plans to increase capacity or public buses along the C spine route from Lucan? What measures are being taken to address the overcrowding on buses at peak times along this route? As someone who lives on the route, I can empathise with people who are trying to get in and out of work because sometimes these buses cannot be relied on.

I thank the Minister. I will touch on the increased capacity in a moment. I received a number of emails on behalf of constituents in Clondalkin, Lucan and Palmerstown. One person said they wrote as a concerned resident of Lucan regarding the state of our local bus routes, specifically the C1 and C2 services. The person said that, as I may be aware, the recent increase in population due to new housing developments has significantly impacted the efficiency and reliability of these routes. They went on to say that the…

If I get onto the C spine route at my bus stop, the route is very good and it takes about 25 minutes to reach the city centre. There are bus lanes all the way. The problem is that by the time the bus gets to my stop, it is full and passes me by. I would love to be able to use public transport to get in and out of work but I simply cannot rely on the service. I am not alone. There are residents in Hermitage, Ballyowen, Abbeywood, Abbeydale, Foxborough, Arthur Griffith and as far as Palmerstown who feel the same. The…

The EU waste management policy highlights the need to reduce waste and dumping and to reach our recycling targets. I highlight the campaign led by Sinn Féin councillor and European election candidate Daithí Doolan to bring the bins back into public ownership. Monthly bin charges jumped by 48% last year. Customers are charged for brown bin collections. These price hikes are being driven by greed. In the midst of a crisis caused by the spiralling cost of living, price gouging puts further pressure on families already…

I join Deputy Higgins in calling for a new extension and the refurbishment of the existing building in Lucan Community College. I have to point out to the Deputy that you are in a party of Government that has been in government for the past 13 years, that has seen the list that goes on and on and the failures-----

-----in our communities, where we have seen ten or 12 schools that have been left behind. I would like to know when Lucan Community College is going to get this extension. When will the contractor be confirmed for approval? This long delay may need the tender process to go on longer. The people in the Dublin Mid-West constituency have been let down by the Tánaiste's Government and by Deputy Emer Higgins's Government-----

-----over successive terms. We are waiting 13 years for this to happen. We need to see the educational needs of Dublin Mid-West met.

That is the issue.

Tá mé ríméadach an deis seo a fháil chun labhairt ar Sheachtain na Gaeilge. Níl mé líofa agus ní raibh mo chlann líofa sa Ghaeilge nuair a tógadh mé. Ceann de na cinntí is fearr a rinne mé ná mo pháistí a sheoladh chuig Gaelscoil. Sheol mé iad chuig Gaelscoil na Camóige i gCluain Dolcáin. Ní raibh an dara rogha agam ach an cúpla focal a phiocadh suas mar theastaigh uaim a fháil amach cad a bhí á rá ag mo pháistí. Táim buíoch chun an deis a bheith agam mo pháistí a sheoladh chuig Gaelscoile na Camóige. Anois tá ar G…

It is timely that we are having this debate on child and youth mental health after the Minister of State voted to delay the Sinn Féin legislation to regulate CAMHS by nine months last night. The Minister of State's rationale to vote against this important legislation to improve services within children and adolescent mental health services is compromised. The Government spent its opening ten minutes trying to dismantle the legislation. The Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, stated, "I cannot see how the…

It has had four years.

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I want to start by recognising the hard work by dedicated staff in the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, in trying to meet the needs of children with mental health difficulties. Any criticism I have is aimed directly at the Government and the systemic failures within the HSE. I listened to the response of the Government to Deputy Mary Lou McDonald on Leaders' Questions today and was disappointed, but not surprised, by the decision of the Governmen…

The Government's response to the text of this Bill is just smoke and mirrors. I know this, the Minister of State knows this and the people listening know this as well. If the Government is not happy with any aspects of this Bill, then it should send it to the joint committee for pre-legislative scrutiny. This is what the committee is there for.

If the Government is not happy with the Bill, why not just vote it down? It will be the same Bill nine months from now. What the Minister of State is doing is contradicting herself. That does not surprise me. The entire Opposition is in favour of progressing the Bill rather than it being kicked down the road to be dealt with in nine months' time. We need to stop this nonsense. I acknowledge the families who are here again tonight and who have stayed for the two hours of this debate. They are pulling their hair out …

I thank the Minister for taking this question. I would like to know why the Garda National Vetting Bureau does not have a role in vetting local authority housing applicants. Is there capacity in the Garda National Vetting Bureau to assist local superintendents with this process? Is there a more efficient way to process Garda vetting for local authority applicants?

This is probably where some of the confusion arises. I got in touch with my local authority, which said it is waiting for the Garda to get back to it about the vetting in order that a particular housing applicant can access a home. I have no reason whatsoever to criticise the Garda vetting process, which needs to be robust, especially when it comes to children and vulnerable adults. When it is left to individual superintendents to carry out this process or whatever it is called, this is causing delays for social ap…

I thank the Minister of State. As I said, there is confusion. The applicants are coming back to me and saying they are awaiting Garda vetting. The local authority has come back to me to say it is waiting for Garda vetting. For example, South Dublin County Council has more than 10,000 applicants on the list waiting for social housing. That council's process is that it seeks some sort of Garda vetting, or some sort of okay from a superintendent, that the person moving in has not got a record. Drug charges or violence…

Withdraw the amendment.

In my limited time, I want to talk about a young boy who is living in Clondalkin. Harvey Sherratt is only eight years of age and has spina bifida and scoliosis. Harvey is waiting on scoliosis surgery and was due to have it back in August 2022. Harvey has been taken to hospital by ambulance multiple times because he could not breathe and his oxygen levels were dangerously low. Harvey had his first case of pneumonia at only two years of age and even ended up in the ICU because his breathing was so bad. Harvey's dad, …