I acknowledge the Ceann Comhairle, the Sinn Féin whip, Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, the Minister and the Minister of State for agreeing to my request to have this important debate on the agenda today. I begin by thanking Dr. Susan Finnerty and the Mental Health Commission for this report. I welcome to the Gallery representatives from national mental health and children’s organisations, including ADHD Ireland, Shine, ISPCC, Mental Health Reform, A Lust for Life, Children's Rights Alliance, BelongTo and Pieta. I wil…

In the winter plan there was no provision for additional supports in emergency departments for people experiencing mental health difficulties. On average, we have 5,500 adults per year presenting to emergency departments with suicidal thoughts. That is an average of 100 people per week attending our emergency departments. Emergency departments are not an appropriate environment for anyone suffering from mental ill-health but because of the lack of access to 24-7 emergency mental health services, it is sometimes the…

Earlier this year I had the proceeds of crime Bill pass Second Stage, which would see money seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau, CAB, put back into disadvantaged communities. The Government copied part of this Bill and introduced the community safety innovation fund. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but not in this case. Most of the money seized by CAB has been ripped from communities where criminals have been most active, like parts of my area. It must, therefore, be returned to these communit…

The Mental Health Commission is carrying out a review of CAMHS after major concerns were raised in the Maskey report on children who were subjected to significant harm in south Kerry. Could the Minister outline what concerns have been raised by the commission in the review? When were they raised with the HSE? What was the nature of these concerns and what was the Government's response to them?

I am extremely troubled to find out that the concerns escalated by the Mental Health Commission to the HSE have not been conveyed to the Minister of State. This is extremely worrying. We are having these reviews because 240 children were placed at risk of significant harm and 46 children and young people experienced significant harm, including weight gain, sedation, elevated blood pressure and the production of breast milk. It is worrying and troublesome that the Minister of State with responsibility for mental hea…

I acknowledge the Minister of State's response to the Maskey report and how quickly she acted. I also acknowledge that three reviews are being done by the HSE and one by the Mental Health Commission. It is very welcome to have these reviews done. We must remember, however, that before these additional concerns were escalated, there were red flags all over CAMHS. The Linn Dara CAMHS service was supposed to reopen in September and that still has not happened. Inpatient capacity is lower now than it was when the Gover…

During the recess, I and my constituency colleague, Deputy Eoin Ó Broin, took on the task of writing to every school in Dublin Mid-West to request that we meet them. The purpose was to find out directly from the schools the challenges they face. We met representatives of approximately 25 schools. The schools have several common issues, one of which is the shortage of teachers. There is a problem in recruiting and retaining teachers throughout the State but it is particularly stark in Dublin. The cost of living in D…

I never met Vicky Phelan but like most of the nation, I felt like I knew her. Those who listened to her or watched her could not help but be struck by her honesty, courage and dedication. She had the courage to fight - the bravest courage of all - for those who would, ultimately, come after her. I listened to other speakers who knew Vicky Phelan. Deputy Kelly said this Bill does not pass the Vicky test. The Minister has to make time to make the Bill Vicky-proof, and I hope he and his officials can achieve this. As …

Problem gambling is a big issue in Ireland and in my community. When I was growing up, my area was an area of disadvantage. It did not have any community infrastructure whatsoever. One of the first things that went into it was a pub and the next thing was a bookies, which squeezed the life and the money out of my community. These things need to be looked at. I have worked in addiction services across Dublin over the years. In my time, I have worked closely with problematic gamblers. A person who is addicted to drug…

I want to thank Deputy Ó Ríordáin for bringing forward this motion and I welcome Councillor Daithí Doolan to the Visitors Gallery. He is a comrade of mine who, like myself, has worked in addiction services right across Dublin over the years. In all those years we have seen so many of our citizens fall between the cracks. The culture of drugs use has changed. Years ago, people who took drugs had a primary drug of choice but polydrug use is now the norm. It is almost impossible to get a detox bed if you are a polydru…

I thank my colleague, Deputy O'Rourke, for tabling this motion to stop the hike in toll charges on our motorways. Sometimes I believe the Government is living under a rock when it comes to the cost-of-living crisis. The crisis is real. It is real for the people of my constituency, who are making a stark choice between eating and heating. The cost-of-living crisis is real for the many who will be struggling this Christmas. While I am glad that the Government crawled out from underneath its rock, caved in to the poli…

I am a little incognito today, yes. Listening to the Government benches today, one would swear Sinn Féin did not produce an alternative budget. One would swear Deputy Kerrane did not go and fully cost an alternative budget when it came to social welfare measures. It was fully costed by Departments of Government. Listening to what has been thrown across, like much of the stuff that the Government is trying to put in, it does not add up. We are in the middle of one of the toughest cost-of-living crises we have seen s…

Fianna Fáil has had two years in charge of housing and it has failed. Things have got much worse under the Minister's wardship. The Minister's failure to see this as a housing emergency is a slap in the face to the many people who come into my constituency office daily. They may be trapped in back bedrooms, on long waiting lists for social housing, or unable to afford housing. They may earn too much to be on the social housing waiting list but they cannot afford to rent because of the failed policies. Even this mor…

I encourage everybody to attend because there is no longer a family on this island which is not affected by the housing crisis.

While we support the intent of this Bill, we believe that many aspects of the legislation have been rushed, and rushed legislation makes bad legislation. The area of the Bill that I would like to focus on is the offence of condoning, denying or grossly trivialising genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes against peace. I am just back from a week in Palestine where I saw the apartheid system at first-hand. I travelled with the Shamrock & Olive Tree boxing project and we were subjected to threats and…

There is a crisis in home care that has been brewing for many years. We are now no country for older people. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are failing our older people. We have reports that there has been an increase of more than 10% in the number of older people on waiting lists for home care assistance, with figures of more than 6,000 this year. What is shocking is that almost 10% of all older people approved for home support have no carer. This is because past and current Governments have failed to plan. This lack o…

It is of huge concern that the 11 child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, beds in Linn Dara that were closed in May remain closed indefinitely. We had assurance from the HSE and from the Government, including from the Taoiseach, that these beds would be reopened in September. It is now almost November. Information I received today from the HSE has said that it is not possible to give a specific reopening date for these beds. This is simply not good enough. There is a crisis right across CAMHS. Has the G…

Workers and families face a cost-of-living crisis that the Government has failed to respond to adequately, a reality that will become clearer in the winter months ahead. I feel like an extra in "Game of Thrones" from repeating this but the reality is that for many workers and families, winter is coming. They simply do not know how they are going to get through this winter. This Bill includes several so-called climate-related measures, including an increase in carbon tax on petrol and diesel. Petrol prices have incr…

I thank Deputy O'Rourke for the opportunity to speak on public transport. In my area we have seen the privatisation of some of our bus routes. Go-Ahead Ireland operates the 76, the 18, the L51 and the L52 routes in Clondalkin, Palmerstown and Lucan. This has been an abject failure. As we approach Hallowe'en, we have ghost buses in our area. Buses that are on the schedule mysteriously disappear and leave passengers stranded. These buses are important for getting people to work and children to school. The 76 is also …

I want to raise cancer genetic testing services. Women with the BRCA1 variant have a 40% to 87% lifetime risk of developing breast cancer and between a 16% and 68% lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer. This compares to 11% and 2%, respectively, in the general population. Screening for the BRCA1 variant is vitally important. There is a 50% chance of inheriting this variant from a parent who has it. I received information from the HSE stating that an individual with a family history of BRCA1-related cancer will…