I agree.

The town centre first policy and concept is very welcome. It is a new departure and we certainly hope it gets the investment it deserves. That is critical to all of this. Across my constituency, which is mainly in a rural area, we have an awful lot of smaller towns. Sligo town is the largest with approximately 20,000 inhabitants, and yet when one walks through Sligo town, one sees so much dereliction and so many empty shops and pubs and old houses on large streets. They are falling into dereliction. That is the sam…

I begin by commending Deputy Kerrane on this legislation that clearly sets out to improve the situation for people who very often find themselves in dire poverty and in very serious situations. Lone parents are, as has previously been said, one of the groups in our society who often find it difficult to survive and manage on a very low income. I was reading the Minister of State's speech and was quite alarmed when he referred to the changes that happened between 2013 and 2015 as "reforms". For those who experienced…

I am glad to speak on this motion. The issues in rural Ireland are across all of our society but are particularly acute where people live in isolated areas and where they do not have the options they may have in other places. I note that when the Government brought in the relief for people in the form of the cost of living package, it talked a great deal about putting in place a measure to reduce the cost of public transport by 20%. That will make very little difference to people living in much of rural Ireland, pa…

Ms Marie Anderson said she is deeply concerned about the scale of the findings identified in her lengthy and complex investigation. She refers to "The continued, unjustifiable use by Special Branch of informant(s) involved in serious criminality, including murder and the passive 'turning a blind eye' to such activities." It was February 1992 when the Sean Graham bookmaker's shop was attacked and five people were killed. For roughly 25 years, the affected community had endured the British state's war against it. It …

I welcome the Ukrainian ambassador. The situation developing in Ukraine is very troubling and worrying for people everywhere. Certainly here in Ireland, we have had our share of conflict and violence not just for decades but for centuries. All of that comes from the notion of imperial power and what that has done. We remember 1917, the Russian Revolution and the fall of an empire at that time. The end of the First World War came on the back of that. What has happened since then, with the disintegration of the commu…

I want to raise the issue of the National Driver Licence Service. In Carrick-on-Shannon, I have been contacted by people who are trying to renew their driving licences but who cannot get into the office; the place is closed. They have to ring. A woman I spoke to yesterday said she was three quarters of an hour on the phone waiting to get an answer. She cannot get through to anyone. They have to do that or book online. When they book online, they have to use their public services card. Some people do not have a publ…

What plans is the Minister putting in place to resource front-line gardaí adequately in the context of the recent upsurge in burglaries and assaults? We have seen numerous incidents across the country, with elderly people being attacked in their homes. We have also seen many assaults on our streets and in our capital city, with people who are fearful to go out in public, especially after dark in many areas. Much of this is down to having enough resources to have community gardaí on the streets, on the beat and out …

I understand that it is a difficult task, particularly in rural areas, where there is a large geographic area that gardaí are trying to patrol to keep people safe. That said, the consensus that I get from the feedback from communities, and I am sure that other Deputies have the same experience, is that people feel vulnerable. When an incident such as this happens, it heightens that sense of vulnerability. I acknowledge that, in Ireland, we generally have safe communities. We need to say that too. People generally a…

I understand that but I turn to another side of this, which is the issue of people's trust in An Garda Síochána and trust that they will get a response when they look for one. I think of the incidents of assault we have seen recently. I am conscious of the case of Alanna Quinn Idris in Ballyfermot, which was probably one of the most extreme cases we have seen recently. There have been others in a similar vein. Many people, particularly those in urban areas, tell me there is great fear out there and that when they r…

I understand that, and there is general confidence that people will get a response in time, but that is shaken when incidents such as I have described happen. I am also aware that there has been an increase in muggings, particularly in the city centre after dark. A great many people out there, particularly women going home from work on these dark evenings, are very fearful and frightened and do not see gardaí standing on the street corner and do not see the patrols out as much as they would like to see them. That i…

I accept that much is being done, but the issue is that people's experience when an incident happens can often be quite negative and they do not feel that there is fast enough a response. They do not feel that the protection is there in their community for them. Going back to examples in rural Ireland, I have had cases in which people have told me they have rung the Garda where they have come home and discovered their house burgled and it has been hours before anybody arrived because the Garda was so busy, there we…

I was recently contacted by a man in my constituency who is in his early 50s and who, unfortunately, received a cancer diagnosis about eight months ago, fortunately within the early stages of the disease. Because of that, and because of his income of just under €50,000 a year, he cannot get a medical card. He has commitments, he has to pay down a mortgage and he has other loans and so on. He does not have health insurance. He has found now that all his savings have gone and that he is struggling with hospital appoi…

It is the cost.

As my colleague just stated, it is always welcome when there is any scheme put into place that will improve the situation for people out there. It is very welcome that there is a scheme. It is making an effort. All of us recognise, however, that when we have a scheme such as this, there is an opportunity to try to get the most in need dealt with first. This is the criticism all of us have of this scheme. We are not here to be critical, we are here to be constructive. This is a missed opportunity on the part of the …

I will follow on from Deputy McGuinness's remarks. We welcome anything that will improve the situation for whistleblowers and people who make protected disclosures. So many have had negative experiences. I have dealt with many people in those circumstances. I have spoken to people who have horrific stories to tell of situations that are happening in Departments in different parts of the country. They want to come forward and talk about it, but they have seen how others are treated and they will not do it. They come…

As you said, a Cheann Comhairle, the country was quite shocked by this programme. For younger people who were not around at that time, it was a huge revelation that this kind of thing happened. I have read the Minister of State's response. I thank him for it, but it does not go where it needs to go. The State must take responsibility for what happened. It must be very clear not only that we will ensure this does not happen again but also that we will look back in a very forensic way at how this situation occurred i…

I understand the reply is written for the Minister of State and he reads it out. However, it does not go anywhere near where we need to go. To take the Sallins train robbery and the victims in that case, a crime has been investigated and it is the view of anyone logically looking at it that, in the investigation of that crime, another crime was committed and nothing was done about it. That is what needs to be investigated. The Minister of State referred to the cost of these things. I have spoken to a number of peop…

As other speakers have noted, this legislation is about moving responsibility for a particular sector from one Minister to another. It will not have the effect we would very much like to see, which is the provision of additional funding and resources in this area. There will be clarity now in that responsibility for disability services will be under the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, with the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, retaining her function in that area. There is still…

This legislation is welcome. All of us have come across situations of price fixing and anticompetitive practices in the State. The insurance industry is probably the most obvious one people are aware of. There are many examples of it across all kinds of situations. One example that certainly comes straight to my mind was during the early 2000s when grant schemes were in place for farmers to build slatted sheds. I remember two brothers who lived not far from me. Around 2001, one of them built a large industrial shed…