The Deputy over there has a brazen neck on her. Ceann Comhairle, is it possible to speak in the Dáil or not?

Does the Deputy want to dictate what happens in the Dáil?

The Deputy knows nothing about shame because she is not in touch with her electorate. That is one thing for sure. The Social Democrats motion has brought to light the pressing issue of asylum seekers in Ireland. However, the motion seems to be rooted in a utopian vision where-----

The motion seems to be rooted in a utopian vision where Ireland has an infinite capacity for accommodation and can continue to absorb the world's suffering by accepting an unlimited number of asylum seekers. It is totally nuts to think that we can keep bringing people here to Ireland. Reality paints a different picture. Ireland has reached the limit of its capacity. We no longer have enough accommodation for our own citizens, let alone asylum seekers. The blame lies not only with the Government but also with partie…

The Rural Independent Group's Private Members' motion last month called on the Government to act immediately to address the severe shortage of general practitioners across rural Ireland. We are happy to support this motion. This crisis has been escalating for over four years, with recent data revealing that over two thirds, 66%, of rural GPs are currently unable to accept new patients. I will fast-track my contribution because my time is short. I remember not so long ago the position of Dr. Fiona Kelly in Castletow…

Ireland is in the midst of a severe housing crisis, with the political establishment seemingly incapable of delivering on housing need. The homeless population now exceeds 13,000 and is growing rapidly, yet nothing substantial is being done to reduce the number. The Government's flagship strategy, Housing for All, has goals that include increasing housing affordability and reducing homelessness; however, after almost four years of its being implemented, the vast majority of people with core housing needs are not be…

Mother of God, I would appreciate if there was a little bit left. There was talk earlier about speed limits, which are a very serious concern in my constituency. We have great sympathy for anyone who gets hurt in an accident and it is a concern but there has been a low rate of deaths in west Cork, and I pray to God that this continues for the people there. However, we are driving in extreme circumstances in areas where our roads are in appalling conditions. The Government lowered the budget for improvements to road…

International Women's Day, celebrated annually on 8 March, serves as a powerful reminder of the strides women have made in various fields, be it politics, science, arts or social justice. It is a day to honour the trailblazers who shattered glass ceilings, the activists who fought for equality, and the everyday heroes who uplift their communities. Yet, against this backdrop, the Government's decision to tinker with our Constitution feels like a hollow gesture, one that lacks substance and genuine commitment to wome…

As we stand on the precipice of this Friday's vote, Ireland's fate hangs in the balance with a pivotal referendum that could redefine the very fabric of our society. It centres around replacing Article 41.2 of the Constitution with Article 42B. This proposed article recognises that care provided by family members to one another forms a bedrock upon which our common good rests. It acknowledges the invisible threads that tie us together, namely, love, compassion and duty. Therein lies the crux of our deliberation, ho…

The proposed Bill will impose an administrative burden on employers, including those running small businesses. They will need to manage the deduction and remittance of trade union subscriptions, maintain open lines of communication with employees in trade unions or potentially face legal consequences. Not only will this increase the cost of doing business here, it will also push up the cost of goods and services. The high cost of living and housing in Ireland exacerbates the challenges for workers. While nominal wa…

The cost-of-living increases have pushed many families to the edge every week. VAT on hospitality has had a shockingly negative impact on businesses, with cafes, pubs and restaurants closing one by one, as our Government stands idly by, not even providing a sympathetic ear. On 31 March, the excise duty on fuel is going to jump the price of fuel up. For the working father and mother or elderly people who have to use their cars daily, petrol is going to increase in price from €1.74 a litre to €1.82 a litre, while die…

There are two sides to this story, which I will tell the Minister. We are aware of the debacle and the scandals going on with RTÉ. To be honest I do not know where it is going. As far as the public is concerned it is going nowhere. The public have lost complete confidence. I will take you all back a little bit to 1970, when a transmitter and antenna on a wooden pole was erected by RTÉ south of Rosscarbery. In 2001, the current owner bought the farm with a mortgage. In 2003, RTÉ replaced the wooden pole with an 18 m…

First and foremost, let me be unequivocal. Any deliberate arson attack on property is condemnable, regardless of the rationale behind such acts. They are criminal and should be dealt with swiftly by the State's law enforcement authority, An Garda Síochána. The risk of someone being killed or injured in an arson attack is real and the act of burning buildings is deeply wrong and unhelpful to any cause. If this trend continues it could result in the loss of precious lives; lives that matter to our families, our commu…

The country is grappling with a deepening mental health crisis and it is children who are bearing the brunt. The Government, despite its many promises, is failing on all fronts to provide the necessary mental health support to young people. The coalition has been a saga of unfulfilled promises when it comes to child mental health services. The Children’s Rights Alliance’s latest annual report card underscores that failure, pointing out that the Government has been unable to fulfil even its modest mental health comm…

The HSE is running from one disaster to another. The budget overrun last year of up to €1 billion still goes unrecognised by the State as though it were a few hundred euro. Overcrowding in our hospitals in 2023 was the worst on record. The number of patients on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick in 2023 was 21,143; Cork University Hospital, 12,487; University Hospital Galway, 8,914; Sligo University Hospital, 8,094; and St. Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, 6,555. These are astonishing figures, which go …

I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. He mentioned 26,000 additional staff but he admitted in the end that we have had huge population growth. The problem is, as he said, the Government is cutting costs. It is certainly cutting costs and I told him where all the costs were cut and where people are finding it extremely difficult to access services. Up to 1 million people are on waiting lists, some of whom are waiting two, three, four or five years for simple procedures. That is where the problem is. The new Silverwood…

-----surely what I have told the Tánaiste today shows that something is seriously wrong with the HSE. What will the Government do about it?

They cannot get in there. How will they get there?

There was no accountability in all this.

This long-awaited Dáil debate on the fisheries sector has finally arrived, allowing us to shed light on the EU's clandestine actions that undermine the interests of the Irish fishing industry. The man at the helm, our Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, appears to be complicit in these actions, aligning himself with unelected bureaucrats in Brussels rather than standing up for Irish coastal communities and the fishing sector. The latest manoeuvres or sellout being entertained and facilitated by the Minis…