May I speak about the amendment?

I fully support this amendment. It is restrictive in terms of allowing people to go through the Circuit Court to seek the identity of those behind online anonymous publications or posts. Social media in particular is one of the great advances of our time. The right to anonymity on social media can in many ways be positive and allows people to express themselves and engage in public participation and debate in a manner they may not be in a position to do otherwise. There are those, however, who use platforms such as…

That is not agreed.

The Bill.

Committee Stage is not agreed. Is that in order?

I just wanted to let the Minister know the strength of my feelings.

Hear, hear.

It is cloud cuckoo land stuff.

What momentum?

Both the GRA and the AGSI have raised serious questions about the new Garda operating model. Clearly, that model is undermined by the fact there are far too few gardaí to operate it. That is particularly the case with community gardaí. There were only 700 community gardaí at the end of last year compared with over 1,100 at the end of 2011. The Garda has raised serious issues and must be listened to. It is very regrettable therefore that the Minister for Justice boycotted the GRA annual conference this week. Does th…

The consequences of Government failures on housing are well rehearsed. We have record rents, record homelessness and house prices going up every month, pushing more and more families and workers to the point where homeownership is but a pipe dream. The clear reasons for this are the policies enacted by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, but some of the reasons are less evident. For example, some people are surprised to hear of towns and villages in Monaghan, Cavan and elsewhere where local developers have sites ready to go…

The Taoiseach may have seen reports in the Irish Daily Mail on protected disclosure which detail how confiscated weapons, including automatic firearms, ammunition and explosives, were being held at Garda headquarters in a container secured by a very simple combination lock. The report suggests that much of the weaponry is undocumented and therefore untraceable. Does the Taoiseach agree that this type of system creates a real risk of these weapons making their way back into the hands of organised criminals? We know …

This time last year, we were told there was no need for a special school in County Monaghan. It took a sustained and dignified campaign by families of children with disabilities, which others and I were proud to support, to lead to the announcement that an interim special school would open in Castleblayney this coming September. Will the Minister of State give an assurance that every child that needs a place in that school will receive one?

I congratulate the Minister of State on his appointment. To give him some background, last January, I organised a public meeting for families and children with disabilities. We were specifically told by the NCSE at that stage that there were no plans for a special school in Monaghan. For months thereafter, we were told there was a process to decide the locations of special schools, yet no one could ever outline what the process involved or any of the criteria that would apply. Finally, in the mouth of a general ele…

As the Minister of State is aware, parents slept outside the gates of Leinster House last week demanding the most basic of human rights, that is, a school place for their child. I met them. I do not know whether the Minister of State got the opportunity to do so but if he did, he would have heard horror stories of children being left behind by the Government and a failed system. I was particularly disturbed to hear from areas where interim schools were established many years ago on the promise of a permanent school…

Is ábhar tábhachtach é seo. Caithfimid níos mó a dhéanamh chun stop a chur le daoine óga a bheith páirteach sa choiriúlacht. Ensuring that young people are not drawn into criminality is a crucial part of any effort to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour and make our communities safer. There are two elements to this. First is ensuring that as many young people as possible never actually become involved in criminal activity. The second is ensuring that those who do are rehabilitated and do not engage in further cri…

Hear, hear.

Was it was not the agreement?

As the Minister said, the motion is necessitated by the commencement of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024. He will be aware that Sinn Féin expressed a number of concerns during the passage of this legislation about some other changes being introduced. We have to recognise that the lack of real oversight and accountability where wrongdoing has taken place has been one of the significant contributing factors to the undermining in some instances of public confidence in An Garda Síochána. The oversig…

I do not know whether the Minister appreciates it but for thousands of people in constituencies like mine, January and February were the first times that they ever had reason to interact with his Department. The overwhelming response I am getting from those people who did so is that was a negative experience. That has nothing to do with the staff of the Department who I acknowledge were incredibly busy. It was to do with false promises. The Government told people in the heat of the storm, when they were out of powe…