On the back of Deputy Tóibín's question, I wish to raise the issue of establishing a commission of investigation into the death of Shane O'Farrell. The scoping exercise into Shane's death has not yet been completed. In the Dáil four years ago, the Taoiseach, who was then in opposition, said: "In all honesty and sincerity, it is time the Oireachtas responded in the only way possible, which is the establishment of an inquiry." The Taoiseach was correct then and I hope he will follow through on that. The failures of t…

I was thinking earlier about this notion of moving from rhetoric to real policies. We all agree that is what we need to do. I remember being here for a debate on microgeneration, which I think was in 2016 during my first year in the Dáil. It was about people putting solar panels on the roofs of their homes, farmers putting them on the roofs of their sheds, selling it back to the grid and all the benefits of that. Everyone agreed. Five years later, we are still talking about it. That is the reality of it, especially…

We feel this legislation is badly needed. Many of us, including the Minister, have been contacted by people in various solicitors' firms and by members of the public that have had major difficulties and problems with things that normally would have been undertaken with great ease in the past. The legislation in 2009 was mistaken in some of the things it tried to do. I look back and I try to think of why that was. I remember being in a solicitor's office one day around 2010 and he told me how he was after dealing wi…

All of us remember the circumstances and what we were doing when the news broke of the accident involving the aircraft Rescue 116 and, indeed, subsequently when it was discovered that Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, Captain Mark Duffy, winchman Ciarán Smith and winch operator Paul Ormsby died in the crash on 14 March 2017. All of us send our sympathies to their families and friends as part of this discussion. We also send our sympathies to all of their colleagues who today and every night are sitting and waiting for a ca…

I raise today a consumer matter arising from Brexit. As the Taoiseach knows, many people at this time of year and throughout the pandemic have been ordering items online and having them delivered usually through .ie websites. They find when they are about to receive the items, there is a huge charge placed on the order and the items are either held up in customs or somewhere else. We know the basis of this is Brexit but the resolution must be found somewhere here. There is need for additional regulation of websites…

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the Minister of Justice back to the Chamber after what was a very successful ministerial event over the summer. I am sure we all congratulate the Minister. While she was well covered in her absence, she is most welcome back. On the legislation before the House, I, and my Sinn Féin colleagues, will be supporting the extension of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act. However, we do so with some slight reservations. It would be remiss of me if I did not raise the concer…

I welcome the Bill before the House. In many ways, it long overdue. While parts of it are quite technical, given the subject matter that is probably to be expected. I wish to take the opportunity to look in detail at the provisions in the Bill. Members of the public will be shocked that many of the current practices relating to sex offenders have not had the proper legal standing until now. The Bill proposes to provide a legal basis for the further monitoring of those on the State sex offenders register, including …

A number of years ago, I met ambulance staff in County Sligo and they told me the arrangement in place was what they called "dynamic deployment". One would think it was NATO on manoeuvres in the south Indian Ocean. However, it was code for fewer ambulances covering a wider area. It meant that ambulances from Sligo were spending a lot of their time going up to Letterkenny, perhaps over to Castlebar, away into the midlands or up to County Monaghan. Therefore, when people were looking for an ambulance locally, it was …

All the findings of the Farrelly report are a tragedy. There are no words strong enough to describe the horrific abuse to the girl known to us all only as Grace. While we finally have another interim report, and while I appreciate the work of the commission on the case, there are still too many outstanding questions. Regardless of the questions the public should have answered, Grace and her family are the ones who deserve to know what exactly happened, why it happened and why it continued to happen. Has the commiss…

This motion is about ensuring we establish a proper infrastructure throughout rural Ireland in order that people can function and live to their full potential. Due to the failure of past and current Governments, that is simply not the case. The western rail corridor is one of the key infrastructure projects which needs to be delivered for the west of Ireland to ensure it can be competitive and bring industry, commerce and productivity back into that region and yet the Government continues to turn its face against i…

In regard to the climate action plan, I raise the issue of heavy industry, particularly mining and its high carbon impact on society. This week, while COP26 is taking place, we are issuing licences for mining exploration in Leitrim. These licences are for gold, of all things, which is very much a luxury metal that is not necessary for the advancement of mankind. Most people in my constituency are alarmed and concerned about this. In the context of the climate action plan and the Climate Action and Low Carbon Develo…

We support this Bill. It is a legislative measure that is overdue in some respects. People smuggling is not only an issue for Ireland but is an international issue that crosses boundaries and borders across Europe and elsewhere in the world. It is not before time that this EU directive is finally being transposed into law, and I and my Sinn Féin colleagues welcome it. Many Deputies will recall the horrific images on our television screens when 39 Vietnamese people suffocated in a sealed container in Essex in 2019. …

I commend Deputy Harkin on bringing this legislation before the House. The credit union movement is at the base of many communities throughout the country. Credit unions do tremendous work. Not only are they trusted, many communities would not be able to survive without them. They have made major commitments and a massive contribution to large parts of rural Ireland, especially when the credit union was there when other facilities were unavailable. We all acknowledge that during the boom there were a couple of issu…

I want to focus on the region I come from in County Leitrim and the difficulties that exist in rural areas in the west of Ireland. The first thing that comes to mind is the people who come to my constituency office and the problems they have. For the vast majority, the main problem relates to healthcare issues. The hospitals are overcrowded and they cannot get beds. They cannot get services when they want them owing to long waiting lists. Sligo Regional Hospital is an example of that. Much of this is down to years …

My question this morning relates to the scoping exercise with regard to the case of Shane O'Farrell, which has been going on for quite some time now. I hope the Minister has some positive news in that regard so that it can be ensured that the commission of investigation will start as quickly as possible. As the Minister will know, the entire Oireachtas voted on this. It is very important that we ensure transparency around this. Shane O'Farrell lost his life in the most tragic of circumstances and his family has wai…

I thank the Minister. I appreciate that the process taking place is independent and that Judge Haughton has his work to do. We all understood that from the very outset. Unfortunately, it has taken a very long time for this family to reach a point at which they feel they are getting some semblance of justice. As many of our teenage youngsters do, Shane O'Farrell went out to ride his bicycle and get in a bit of exercise but he never came home. His family were shocked that the man who killed him had numerous charges a…

We need progress on this. The experience of the family and their community has been one of delay and more delay. I ask the Minister for an assurance that she will contact the judge, not to interfere in the process, but to relay the heartfelt grief of this family and to let him know that this grief is being compounded by these delays. I ask the Minister to do that as a matter of urgency and to bring an urgency to this case. This happened in her own constituency. I know she has spoken to the family herself. This is o…

Briefly, to respond to the Minister, I have also come across a number of cases of people who have contacted my office where they had been a victim of crime and the first thing that they knew of the perpetrator being out in the public again was when they, or a close member of their family, met them on the street. There has clearly been a breakdown in that service in that it does not automatically inform the victim. If a crime is above a particular seriousness, that service should automatically engage with the victim…

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this topic, October being breast check awareness month. We are grateful for the success of the BreastCheck programme and it is important to mention that it has been very successful and saved thousands of lives. So many women and families are grateful for that success - that they were checked in time, got adequate treatment and their lives were saved. If there had been delays, that would not have happened. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, referred to the difference …

We all recognise and understand the great work that has been put in. I pay tribute to everyone in the health services, including those in the vaccination and testing centres, who are still doing their work. They are often forgotten. We have almost become accustomed to the vaccination and testing services being in place but their staff are putting in a huge effort, as are the staff in our hospitals and all the other front-line staff. The immeasurable effort made to fight this virus should not go unrecognised or unme…