I thank the Ceann Comhairle and her team for allowing both of us to contribute on these Topical Issue matters tonight. I also thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach for his latitude. I also appeal to the Minister of State regarding this issue. I have many questions about Tusla and its operations. This facility we are talking about has been renowned for half a century and more. The Dolphin Swimming Club and many others have done tremendous work there. The two issues we are bringing to the floor of the Dáil tonight concer…

I too support my colleague and implore the Minister of State in this regard. I have an issue with Tusla. God forgive me, it cannot even account for the approximately 50 children who have gone missing in State care in recent years. There is a meeting here to discuss this tomorrow as well. Why is Tusla involved in this premises at all? It is a wonderful facility. As I said, we have two wonderful schools in Cashel, Scoil Aonghusa and Scoil Chormaic, with great records of providing special needs education but we need a…

I support this motion. How many more motions and debates are we going to have to get some realism and reality applied to the disastrous situation in which we find ourselves with regard to housing? It is organised mayhem. Every speaker – I had a chat last night with my colleague in south Tipperary – states housing is the number one issue. Our clinics are bogged down and there is so little we can do. There is so little output. In this regard, consider the whole HAP disaster. Billions of euro have been spent on it tha…

I welcome the Minister. The motion regarding the Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 and the motion regarding the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 are being taken together and are related. I call the Minister.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to speak. I support this amendment because this is a matter of choices. We can talk about the election and who did and did not get into government and what the results were. The fact is that we have a squeezed middle. The Minister's former leader was always talking about them - the men and women who get up early in the morning and go to work. They are particularly squeezed with the cost of living. I know there are a lot of soundings about it. I attended the committee meet…

Everybody was shocked and disgusted at what we saw in the recent television programme but it is the tip of the iceberg as regards big business and what is going on with big conglomerates. I salute all the care workers and nurses in the small nursing homes in Carrick-on-Suir, Clonmel, Cahir, Cashel and Tipperary town. I salute them and the work they do. I challenge HIQA. It is not fit for purpose and has not been for a long time. It is the same with Tusla, which cannot even count the children in its care who have go…

I am delighted to speak on this issue and thank Sinn Féin for tabling the motion. As we know, most parties in this House and in this country say they are in favour of a united Ireland. They say they are in favour of many things. It is nice to say. I want to put it on the record that I am fully in favour of a united Ireland. I come from a republican family. My late dad was in the War of Independence and spent 14 months of his life in Castlerea as well as time spent on the run. We salute him and the many people like …

What steps is the Minister for trade and employment taking to deal with the huge delays relating to the bureaucratic system that companies in Ireland face in trying to get work permits for foreign applicants? I refer especially to the IRHA and many other industries - agriculture, to name one - and parts of industries. Has the Minister met with the IRHA to discuss these issues? The ongoing delays are crippling the economy.

It was not too long ago that the Minister of State was on this side of the House. I wish him well in his new position. He is aware that the situation faced by our licensed hauliers is disgraceful. Hard-working Irish businesses are trying to operate legally only to be choked by a lot of regulatory issues and a dysfunctional recruitment process. It is unbelievable. If a haulier in Tipperary in my constituency or anywhere else wants to hire a qualified driver from outside the EU, for example, South Africa, they must w…

I do not believe those figures. They do not reflect my experience. People come here illegally and get all the treatment, including free housing and everything else. The message the Minister is giving out is to penalise those who play by the rules. Multinationals can get away with stuff as well. This affects small businesses. It is not just the hauliers; it is also agriculture and hoteliers trying to get people in. They pay the money and go through the system. It is so bureaucratic, and the Minister is telling me it…

I do not believe them.

They are numerous.

Today, I want to speak to the Tánaiste about the escalating crisis in policing across south Tipperary, a crisis made worse by the deplorable policy of neglect, under-resourcing and mismanagement by this Government and the previous Government. In communities across south Tipperary, from Carrick-on-Suir to Clonmel, Ardfinnan, Cahir, Cashel, Ballyporeen and Tipperary town, people are telling me they do not feel safe any more. They do not feel protected. We now have a situation where a single garda can be covering mult…

I thank the Tánaiste for his reply but it is simply not acceptable that we are standing still. As I have put to the Commissioner before, officers, be they male or female, are put in danger if they are sent out on their own in a patrol car to all kinds of incidents. We saw what happened to Garda John Walsh after he had to go out on his own. Please God, he will recover. It is terrible that gardaí must go up and down boreens in the middle of the night on their own. Some days, there are no gardaí available in Cahir or …

Not in Tipperary.

It is a pity the Minister of State has just left. I want to raise a situation about a special class in Ballyporeen school in County Tipperary. The principal there, Mr. Shane Molan, and the community council have come together. The community council purchased the old school. They upgraded it with a grant and are willing to give it at a very low cost - a nominal fee - to the school. Six children were enrolled in this class, and they had approval. The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, stated that there is …

My daughter, Treasa, teaches there and is very happy there, so I know the situation intimately, as Deputy Michael Murphy does from Councillors Murphy and Máirín McGrath. The situation is-----

They were so excited and looking forward to the school. The building is ready. The building is being officially opened shortly. We need a resolution to this.

I wish the Minister well in his new role. It is time for it. I hope he will come to County Tipperary - I know he will - to see the different gaps we have. I welcome the new TFI Local Link. This is a town bus in Clonmel that has been an outstanding success and well used. The Waterford bus is now linking into Kilmanahan and Clonmel. We need it to come to Newcastle and on to Knocklofty, where there should also be a few stops. The Minister should come and see the rail service, which I use, from Cahir to Limerick Juncti…

I, too, am glad to be able to speak on this Bill. I am as confused as many others. We have a desperate housing crisis that we have failed to tackle. We have debate in this House. We have ideology, really, coming from the left and a lack of solutions coming from the centre, which I have always been proud to represent, and the Government parties. Panic has set in. I wish the Minister and the Ministers of State well in this endeavour, but I honestly think we have lost our way. We should not be talking about RPZs here,…