I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time". Tonight, the Dáil can take a major step towards Irish unity in our time. Tonight, we can begin the final length of our national journey from peace to reunification. The Bill that Sinn Féin brings before the Dáil this evening is historic. If passed, it would be the first ever legislation directing the Government to start planning and preparing for a united Ireland. The Bill compels the Taoiseach to produce and publish a Government Green Paper and set out its vision …

Jesus Christ.

I thank people for contributing to this very important debate on this very important landmark piece of legislation that, in essence, is very simple. This is simply about planning, preparation and dialogue in that very spirit of respect and inclusivity that has echoed across the Chamber this evening. That is it. That is all we are asking for. We are not asking for a predetermined outcome to the referendum or to rush headlong into anything. God knows that is not going to happen here. We are simply asking that we do t…

Tomorrow is an important day that will provide a serious test for the Government. More than 1 million households will be hit with hikes in gas and electricity prices. Customers of Electric Ireland, the country's largest electricity supplier, and Yuno Energy face increased bills. These sharp increases range from 8% to 11% and will heap more pressure on people. The hikes will kick in as households deal with rising rents, increasing food prices and expensive back-to-school costs. That is before we mention the sky-high…

It is not enough simply to agree that households are under incredible pressure. Far from intervening to assist people with their energy bills, the Government took away the very thing that was a support to households when it removed energy credits. Rather than intervening to assist, it intervened and made things worse. It has failed to rein in the energy companies that are turning huge profits. People work very hard and will pay their way, and everybody realises that this has to happen, but they are simply fed up wi…

Almost 1,900 women were turned away from domestic violence services in the last six months of last year because there was simply nowhere safe for them to go. Almost 1,900 women found the courage to escape abuse only to be told that there was no safe refuge, no home, and no place of safety for them or for their children. SAFE Ireland now says that the housing crisis is the single biggest barrier preventing women and children from escaping abuse. That is an extraordinary indictment of the Taoiseach's Government. What…

Today, the families of those killed or injured at Creeslough will bring their fight for answers to the Dáil. They will be here to speak to Members later this afternoon and we will make them most welcome. Every one of us remembers that fateful Friday afternoon in October 2022. We remember the reports of an explosion at an Applegreen service station and apartments in the small Donegal village and how that shock later turned to disbelief as we learned that the explosion had claimed the lives of ten people. It took the…

It is not I, but the former Garda Commissioner, who offered strongly the view and advice that there would be no compromising of the criminal investigation in the holding of a public inquiry. Be that as it may, we are now nearly four years on and the families have to have clarity on the direction of travel from the Government. The Taoiseach seemed to indicate an acceptance of the idea of an inquiry and that the question might be what the outstanding issues are and how they might emerge. Will he meet the families and…

The Government is failing to tackle the scourge of dereliction. Every day, people pass homes, buildings and derelict sites in their communities. Houses are left to rot while land hoarders and speculators get off scot-free. I cannot tell you how angry and demoralised people seeking a home feel when they see all of this, not to mention the impact on our cities, towns and villages, with rows of derelict homes that are magnets for dumping, rats and antisocial behaviour - symbols of decay. Volunteers who keep neighbourh…

According to the census, there are up to 180,000 vacant and derelict properties across the State. That cannot stand at any time but particularly in the grip of such a serious housing crisis. The failure to collect that more than €30 million in the derelict site levy speaks to an ambivalence or, certainly, a slowness on the part of the Government. Let me just repeat the problems here that need to be solved: delaying the introduction of this tax, which is a tax we recognise is absolutely necessary,-----

-----until 2027 and the collection of it until 2028; and the Government saying it will only apply to places with populations of more than 4,000 people. None of that makes sense at a time when we need immediate, comprehensive action. By the way, the level of tax-----

The financial penalty has to be significant and ought to be ratcheted up against those who do not play ball.

They are not agreed.

They are not.

Sinn Féin is this evening bringing forward important legislation to end the mandatory three-day wait for women who need an abortion. This wait is causing real damage to women. It has pushed some beyond the 12-week period, meaning they cannot access services here in Ireland and have to travel. Women who have suffered sexual assault or who live with domestic violence or coercive control are left in a really awful situation and it has meant hardship for many women who struggle to get a GP appointment in their county. …

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for planning and preparation for the possibility of constitutional change on the island of Ireland, in accordance with the right of self-determination of the people of the island of Ireland as recognised by the British-Irish Agreement Act 1999 and as provided for in the Multi-Party Agreement reached at Belfast on the 10th day of April 1998; to require the Taoiseach to prepare and publish a Green Paper; to provide for the convening of a Cit…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." This is an important piece of legislation before the Dáil. It is a Bill to remove the mandatory three-day wait for women who need an abortion. It goes without saying that every woman must have the space, the understanding and the support she needs to come to her decision in her time. Any woman making this decision will have given it very deep thought. We should never underestimate, dismiss or discount that reality. To force a woman to wait for three days is just wr…

We must address events in Belfast over the past 48 hours. There was a knife attack on Monday night that was barbaric, vicious and depraved; the stuff of nightmares. The victim suffered horrific slash injuries to his eyes, face and neck. Were it not for the selfless bravery of members of the community, including Maitiu Mág Tighearnán putting himself at risk by jumping from his car and using his son’s hurl to stop the brutal assault, the victim would surely have lost his life. I acknowledge and thank the first respon…

Of course, everyone has the right to live in safety. That vicious, depraved assault causes all of us disgust. Savagery like that has no place on our streets in any part of Ireland. The perpetrator of an act like that must face the full weight of justice. The organised mobs, and this was organised, who burned families out of their homes and terrified children are the same people who in July will burn Irish Tricolours on the top of their bonfires. These people and their organised racism need to be faced down. To carr…