I thank the Minister for being here and I thank the Fine Gael group for putting forward this motion. It gives the House an opportunity to discuss what was arguably the most important public order event in recent times, not just in the city but in the country. I want to start, as everyone else has done, by thinking about Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire. The Acting Chair and I have both been familiar with the school for many years. I wish to mention the five-year-old child, the children, her classmates and teachers, the S…

Like others, I want to express my sympathies and condolences to the family of Tras Honan. May she rest in peace. Today I want to speak to the appalling events that took place in my constituency and my community last Thursday. I want to start by talking and thinking about the children, their families and their carers and everybody at Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire on Parnell Square. It has been so shocking and upsetting for everybody. As a parent, it is just unimaginable to think of your child at that age going to schoo…

All of our energies should be going on addressing what caused it and ensuring it never happens again. We need to have an uncompromising response to crime and antisocial behaviour in our communities. It was my community last week but it will be other Senators' communities another day. Unless, as a society, we have an uncompromising response to crime and antisocial behaviour, it will continue. This is about tackling the small, casual, opportunistic criminal and antisocial behaviour such as drug dealing, drug distribu…

I cautiously welcome the news that some Irish citizens are to be released from Gaza. I wish the leader of Fianna Fáil, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, well and offer him the support of this House and the Irish nation in the work he is doing to try to secure the release of Irish citizens, a ceasefire and a pathway to re-establishing some level of humanity for the Palestinians, the Israelis and all of the people in the Middle East. Every right-minded Irish person utterly condemns the depravity and brut…

Hear, hear.

I commend Senator Moynihan and her colleagues on tabling the motion. I have said many times, and I will say it again, that the fastest and most sustainable way to increase our housing supply is to reuse the built properties that are already connected to the water and electricity, and are in our communities beside shops, schools, churches and every other meeting place that communities need. I hope the Government will be supportive of the spirit of the motion if not its specifics. I do not believe any Government, cer…

Exactly, it is waiting for the fire. It is not funny; it is scandalous and completely unacceptable. In this context I support the motion. Where I take more hope is what we have witnessed in the past 12 months. I argued very hard in my party for the Croí Cónaithe grants to be available for derelict properties. They have been a spectacular success. More than 5,000 applications have been made already. They give people an opportunity to take vacant and derelict properties and return them to being real habitable homes. …

Seriously, Senator Warfield, come on.

I move: That pursuant to subsection 2° of section 2 of Article 25 of the Constitution, Seanad Éireann concurs with the Government in a request to the President to sign the Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) (Cap on Market Revenues) Bill 2023 on a date which is earlier than the fifth day after the date on which the Bill shall have been presented to him.

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Seanad today. Earlier this year, this House passed a motion calling on the Government to provide free hormonal replacement therapy for women. My Commencement matter asks the Minister for Health to make a statement on the process that will be required to extend the free female contraception scheme to include hormone replacement therapy, HRT. The Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, must be commended on the priority they have…

I thank the Minister of State for the reply from the Government and the Minister for Health. It is welcome and at least outlines what the clear path would be, and the requirement for primary legislation. We will pursue this with the Minister. It is important to note - and I had noted - that HRT is freely available on the medical card, and this is welcome. However, not every woman has a medical card. No woman should have to beg for a medical card to get HRT. It is not always easy to diagnose that what a woman is goi…

I thank the Minister for coming to the House today. I commend him, the Government and everybody who is involved in delivering Housing for All and making it a reality. It is great to see the Minister come here today and report real progress in every element of housing. When the Government was formed and the housing challenge was to be addressed, the Minister stood up and took on the job. He is to be commended on that and the energy that he and his team put into championing a solution to our housing crisis. The housi…

Talking. The proposed projects include those at Dorset Street, Dominick Street, Constitution Hill and Matt Talbot Court - the list goes on. These are prime sites in one of Europe's greatest capital cities. Dublin City Council is moving at a glacial pace. It is unacceptable. It is a complete dereliction of duty. Will the Minister use his offices to engage with Dublin City Council? I appreciate there is a new director of services, but we need an accelerated pace from Dublin City Council on the regeneration projects. …

I am seeking an update on the regeneration of flats on the west side of Dominick Street, one of the oldest streets in the capital. It runs from Parnell Street up to Dorset Street and has been home to the Dominick Street flats for many decades. In 2008, Dublin City Council first spoke about the regeneration of the flats. It took the council far too long but, thankfully, in the last 12 months we have seen 72 new, world-class homes being built. They have world-class design standards and quality. This is a very welcome…

I appreciate the Minister of State's reply. The positive news is that Dublin City Council and the Department recognise the potential for 75 new homes of the highest standard and highest quality right in the heart of our city. I find it hard to accept that the timeline will result in a contractor not arriving on site before the first quarter of 2026. I appreciate the lofty ambitions in the digital twin study and the idea of creating a flagship project for climate resilience; these objectives are very admirable. Howe…

Dublin is one of the oldest and finest European capitals. It has our medieval, Georgian, Edwardian and modern architecture, our world-class literary tradition, our famous pub culture and great Dublin wit. A number of times I have raised the issue that Dubliners are sick to the back teeth of litter, rubbish and dirt on our streets. We are sick of having to pick our way along the streets through rubbish when on our way to work or going out to socialise. Dublin City Council really needs to get its act together in term…

A Robert Burns poem from 1784 reads: Man's inhumanity to man, Makes countless thousands mourn. Today, in 2023, it is deeply disturbing and depressing to think that we are talking about such real-time and immediate inhumanity of man to man. This inhumanity and these atrocities have convulsed the Middle East and revulsed those of us in the West who value human life and basic human rights. I thank the Minister of State for being here. This House offers its deepest condolences and sympathies to the ordinary people of P…

I thank the Minister of State and commend Senator O'Reilly on bringing forward this private members' motion. I am very happy to support it along with my colleagues in Fianna Fáil. I am delighted the Minister of State is here to take the motion. I suspect she can empathise not just with the motion but with every menopausal woman out there in the world. All of us are fighting to put a smile on our faces every day and to get up and face the world. It is a challenging place and life is not fair, but it is certainly not…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, for coming to the Seanad today to respond to my Commencement matter, which is looking for an update on the commencement of the amendments to the Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021. The Bill was passed in the Seanad in May 2023 and signed into law by the President in June 2023. The amendments to the Act seek to make our roads and public spaces safer and to tackle the scourge of the illegal and irresponsible use of motorbikes, quads and scramblers on public streets and in…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. It is indeed welcome, not just to this House, but to communities and families across the city and, indeed, the country to know that this Government has enacted new laws giving new powers to An Garda Síochána to tackle the issue and seize and destroy vehicles that are being used in an antisocial manner. It is really important that dangerous driving has become an offence everywhere, not just in public places, and that gardaí have increased powers of seizure. This is a significant …