The truth is that people throughout the country were horrified when they heard Katie Hannon's programme last September as it laid bare something people could never have imagined would happen within the Defence Forces. I guess most people would have considered the Defence Forces as a place with a command structure and controlled environment. Of course, as we know from other institutions, even with that structure, predators can feel they have major opportunity. That has been the case for these women, who very bravely…

This is an important debate and we are glad to be engaged in it because the fund and the initiatives and policies for which it provides money are important and deserve debate. I wish to raise a number of matters. The first relates to EU migration policy as a whole. We face a migration crisis brought by war, climate change and systematic discrimination, especially in Africa and the Middle East. The easiest thing to do - it is, unfortunately, the path some other EU member states and institutions wish to take - is to …

The Redundancy Payments (Amendment) Bill is welcome. It is a short Bill. We support it and we support what it sets out to do. However, there are other issues in this area that also need to be examined. I am sure the Minister of State is aware that many workers face redundancy and a very uncertain future. It is a difficulty that arose in this particular situation. Section 12A of the Redundancy Payments Act was suspended during the Covid-19 crisis. As a result employees were protected from being made redundant. It al…

This Bill is an emergency benefits scheme to give relief to families that have been victims of significant price increases across the board. Recently in my constituency, we held an online meeting of people who were concerned about the cost-of-living crisis they were facing. It could be broken down into a number of areas. Energy was one of the main ones - we are trying to do something practical about it today - but the major one was the cost of housing. Rent in particular is a significant problem for people, as is t…

What Edwin Poots has done as Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in the North is absolutely scandalous and reckless. It flies in the face of international law and is in breach of an international agreement between the European Union and Britain and in breach of the protocol. It is very clear that the DUP, for some very narrow and nationalistic reason of its own, and the Tory Party in Britain have for some time had a hyped-up agenda to do everything they possibly can to destroy the protocol. I eve…

The issue here seems to be that Edwin Poots went completely outside his remit. He claims to have got independent legal advice outside of his Department, which is quite unusual for any Minister to be claiming as a basis for carrying out such a dastardly deed. I understand the British Government has the option to override a decision made by a Stormont Minister in the circumstances where it is in breach of an international agreement. Have we received anything back from the British Government in respect of what its int…

These job losses will impact greatly on this small community. Eighty jobs is a large number to be taken out of it. This factory opened in 1984. At that time there was a larger facility, Gowna, which has closed in the town, having at one time employed up to 700 people. This factory has been there for a long time, it has sustained the community through very difficult times and it is very disappointing to see it close. My colleague, councillor Thomas Healy, has been in touch with other Deputies asking that the four co…

The truth is that the Sligo area and the whole north west has always been behind because we do not have the infrastructure or technological expertise needed to maintain jobs in the area. Many of us are sending our children to college to get degrees but there are no jobs for graduates in the north west. That is a problem that needs to be addressed. The only way to regrow and facilitate work for people in the north west is to put the infrastructure and investment in. Government has a key role to play in that. I welco…

Reconciliation, peace-building and looking at the legacies of the past is a problem for everywhere in the world where there has been conflict, whether that be Ireland, South Africa or wherever else. There are always issues and difficulties. In 2014 that was recognised and the Stormont House Agreement was agreed by everyone, including both Governments and all the parties in the North as the process for going forward. The Minister for Foreign Affairs is quite correct that this agreement is the pathway to justice that…

I thank the Minister of State for his remarks in respect of this issue. Broadband is one of the key pieces of infrastructure, particularly for all of rural Ireland and indeed for a lot of urban Ireland as well. We always come across people who tell us this is not just a rural problem. There are many areas of the country, even in towns and larger towns, that have difficulties getting stable broadband connection. The reality is that the pandemic has brought challenges for all of us. I respect and understand the effec…

The Bill is designed, as my colleagues have said, to ensure unscrupulous drug dealers who often use children as couriers to move drugs around can be prosecuted for it. Very often with these children, and it has been an experience in many areas throughout the country, they get involved at a very young age in doing that and later become addicts themselves and get caught up in the whole system. We are also aware that, in particular, in inner city areas where this is most rampant, we have the study of Dr. Johnny Connol…

This is an issue we have all been dealing with for the last number of years and we are well aware of it. I spoke to the Minister of State previously of a situation in Sligo-Leitrim, in CHO 1, where there are 280 children on the waiting list for CAMHS. That is almost 10% of the national figure. In most cases there is meant to be a multidisciplinary team in place. I understand the multidisciplinary team in the CHO 1 area is about 60% of what it should be. That is the case across the board and across the country. In m…

As my colleagues said, we are supporting this legislation because we believe it is necessary. As was also alluded to, the CIF has for a long time had this voluntary code, where building contractors and workers have been registered. However, there are a number of reservations as to how much of an impact it has had. Everyone recognises this. That is why we feel it would be correct and proper that the register be taken away from the CIF and housed - pardon the pun - somewhere independent of the building industry. This…

I express my condolences to Ashling Murphy's family on what happened. In recent weeks all of us have received phone calls and emails in our offices from members of the public wanting to know where we stand on the issue of zero tolerance of domestic violence and gender-based violence and how we can do more to ensure we stamp it out forever. Many the issues we speak about particularly are with regard to sentencing. The guidelines relating to gender-based violence are a serious problem that many people in the general …

The programme for Government gives an overall commitment to transparency across all Departments and programmes. In fairness, much progress has been made in the Department of Justice on Garda reform and so forth. However, in the last number of weeks we have seen the documentary "Crimes and Confessions" running on RTÉ. The most recent episode on the Sallins train robbery was shocking for people around the country and has generated public outrage about it. The events surrounding the torture and imprisonment of Osgur B…

In his speech, the Minister said he is pleased that the Birth Information and Tracing Bill is going to do what no other legislation has done in the past. I accept his bona fides on that. Compared to what we have had in previous attempts at dealing with this issue, this is a genuine effort and I acknowledge that the Bill is a huge leap forward. However, we must also listen to the reality of the people who are most impacted by the Bill, adopted people who have sought progress on this issue for decades. The age-old pr…

The murder of Ashling Murphy has traumatised people across the length and breadth of the country. Our hearts go out to her and her family, and all the other women who have died over the years at the hands of men. We have discussed this for the past week or so and it has come to us all that it is about behaviour and attitude. We cannot legislate for attitude but we can legislate for some things. We can legislate for proper education in order that people know right from wrong from a very early age. We can legislate t…

I am sharing time with Deputy Carthy. We have no issue with this new appointment. I wish Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring, the outgoing chair, all the best for her future on her retirement from the role. I met her on a number of occasions and she was certainly diligent in trying to do the right thing and progress things. She felt handicapped on many occasions, particularly in regard to funding and resources to be able to do the job to the level she and many within the organisation wanted to do. GSOC has a vital role to p…

It is clear that the primary discussion at the meeting this week is going to be around the pandemic, the managing of it and how that is progressing. Really the TRIPS waiver is the issue for the world that we need Europe to lead out on. Talking about COVAX and everything else simply does not cut it. It has simply failed. There needs to be recognition of that. Ireland needs to take this opportunity to lead and make it clear everywhere that we need the TRIPS waiver. The world needs it. As long as we drag our feet on i…

As has been said, we all understand this is a housekeeping Bill and it is required for Exchequer funds to be spent by Departments on various capital projects. I, in common with most Deputies, am concerned about capital funding across our constituencies and particularly Sligo, Leitrim, north Roscommon and south Donegal. We have issues with various capital projects we hoped to see progressed but very little has been happening. One that immediately comes to mind is the Garda station in Sligo town. The Minister knows i…