We are heartbroken at the horrific scenes of Ukrainian people, mainly women and children, fleeing for their lives. We are witnessing the largest displacement of people in Europe since the Second World War. To stop this humanitarian disaster, we have to stop the war. Members of the Government have speculated that Ireland might be required to accommodate up to 100,000 refugees. This is a huge scale of people seeking refuge and the question arises as to how a system that is already stretched can accommodate a challeng…

The independent panel on strengthening Civil Service accountability and performance made a number of recommendations in 2014, one of which was the establishment of the Civil Service accountability board, chaired by the Taoiseach. My colleague, Deputy Mairéad Farrell, raised the issue of the board's work with the Taoiseach last month. The Taoiseach confirmed then that the board had not met in some time. In fact, it has not met since 2016. That is six years ago. Has the board been stood down? If so, is that because i…

Has the accountability board been stood down?

Was that announced?

As the Taoiseach said, since his meeting with Chancellor Scholz, the situation in Ukraine has deteriorated. Russia’s violation of international law and its succession of war crimes have played out and continue to play out before the eyes of the world. Nearly 2 million men, women and children are estimated to have fled. As today is International Women’s Day, we are particularly mindful of the Ukrainian women who have fled in such numbers with their children and we send our solidarity to them. Under the Geneva Conven…

I echo the Taoiseach’s thanks to Chancellor Scholz and to the German Government for their solidarity regarding the Good Friday Agreement and the Irish protocol. It is extremely difficult to run through all of my contribution in one minute, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

It is a bit ridiculous.

It was reported the Catholic Church Primate has not yet met the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, to discuss the church's financial contribution to the mother and baby home redress scheme. Needless to say, this is very disappointing; it is alarming actually. The Taoiseach did not indicate whether he has had this discussion with the religious leaders. What progress has the Minister made in his discussions with the Church of Ireland on these matters? Has he formally requested a meeting with Archbishop Eamon Martin to discus…

My question was not answered. It was on mother and baby homes.

I too send my solidarity to all the women of Ukraine, some of whom have fled, many of whom have remained, all fighting for their families, for their homes and for the very survival of their country. Each has shown courage, resilience and humanity that has won the support and admiration of people across the globe. Of course, the priority now has to be to stop this war, end the conflict and secure a Russian withdrawal. Our country, Ireland, must be a voice for peace, justice, demilitarisation, disarmament, freedom an…

Last night, we once again witnessed the most harrowing scenes emanating from Ukraine. We have seen the bewildered faces of children and civilian populations fleeing for their safety and lives, spending night after night huddled in air raid shelters in scenes that we never dreamed we would live to witness on our Continent again. Our thoughts are with the people of Ukraine - those who have fled and those who have travelled to Ukraine, including from Ireland. We have heard their harrowing testimonies. Ní féidir le héi…

No one, and certainly no Irish person, will underestimate for a second the absolute determination and courage of the Ukrainian people in defending their homeland, families and lives. No one underestimates for a moment the barbarity of Vladimir Putin's regime and the illegality of this invasion of Ukraine. Neither should any of us doubt the absolute necessity to reassert the primacy of international law, rules-based international relationships and, above all else, the need to restore good order, a full withdrawal of…

Last June I raised the issue of the collapse of the HSE dental services across the State and since then the situation has gotten far worse, to the extent that the Irish Dental Association now believes that there are only 750 dentists actively treating medical card holders. This has led to shocking waiting lists across the State and also to the denial of services to countless people. There are more than 10,000 people on orthodontics lists waiting longer than a year and half of those people are waiting longer than th…

“Ós í an Ghaeilge an teanga náisiúnta is í an phríomhtheanga oifigiúil í”. Is é sin atá ráite i mBunreacht an Stáit seo ach, seachas an díospóireacht inniu, is annamh a tharlaíonn díospóireachtaí lán-Ghaeilge anseo sa Dáil. Níl cead fiú ag Teachtaí Dála leasuithe a mholadh i nGaeilge. Tá cearta níos fearr ag feisirí i bParlaimint na hEorpa anois, toisc an tsárobair a rinne pobal na Gaeilge, Conradh na Gaeilge agus daoine ar nós Liadh Ní Riada a rinne stailc teanga ar son na gceart sin. Is é cearta teanga atá uainn.…

The Amnesty International report is clear. It is devastating in its clarity. It concludes that Israel perpetrates apartheid. It notes that Israel's civilian administration, military authorities, governmental and quasi-governmental institutions are involved in the enforcement of this system of apartheid against Palestinians. It is as frank and as clear as that. It goes on to say that the scale and seriousness of these violations documented in the report make it clear that the international community needs to urgentl…

Ar dtús, ba mhaith liom mo dhlúthpháirtíocht, agus dlúthpháirtíocht Shinn Féin, a léiriú le muintir na hÚcráine. Ba mhaith liom ár dtacaíocht a léiriú leo. Ní féidir le éinne a bhfuil meas acu ar an saoirse ach breathnú le huafás ar ghníomhartha na Rúise san Úcráin. Cáinimid na gníomhartha sin go hiomlán. I reiterate on my own behalf and that of my party our total and unwavering solidarity with the people of Ukraine at this deeply distressing and traumatic time for their country. We once again condemn unreservedly …

Nobody is under any illusion but that Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation are the aggressors in this scenario and they have brazenly breached international law. They have launched an all-out offensive against a sovereign people and they have, as the Taoiseach has correctly said, committed war crimes on the watch of the international community. We need to see an intensification of this package of sanctions. Vladimir Putin, and all others who might choose to violate international law and brutalise people, need …

In 2014, the constitutional convention supported the insertion of the right to housing into the Constitution. This has not happened. We have had delay after delay. The issue has been discussed at length. The Oireachtas housing committee has considered legislation to this effect. Today, we have another delay mechanism. Why are we still waiting for this? Why will the Government not proceed with legislation to ensure this referendum happens as early as possible?

One of the core activities of the Department of the Taoiseach is to provide leadership of the Civil Service renewal programme through the Civil Service management board in collaboration with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Last month, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform told an Oireachtas committee of his intention to establish an independent review panel to advise on senior public sector appointments and corresponding salaries. The need for this panel is a direct consequences of the opa…

The council's shared island perspective on mental health, published a few weeks ago, concludes that "there is scope for development, and much value to be found, in increased cross-border co-operation". The research finds that "many aspects of mental health services and promotion are well-suited to cross-border working, such as [for example,] ... on-line supports, mental health promotion, and training and education". Increased cross-Border work is viewed by stakeholders as "positive and desirable" and it was found t…