What about nursing homes?

Karl Marx once said that France was the country where the class struggle was most usually fought to a finish. It is early days but what held true in the 19th century may well turn out to be the case in this century too. Tomorrow will be the eighth national mobilisation in France against attacks on workers' pension rights by the Macron Government, which is trying to increase the pension age from 62 to 64. It did not put its pension proposal before the French Parliament for fear of losing the vote. Rather, last week …

From time to time, a Government will make a decision so cruel and wrong that it will be remembered for many years to come. The decision of the Cumann na nGaedheal Government and its Minister for Finance, Ernest Blythe, to cut a shilling from the old age pension in the 1920s was one such decision. Another was the attempt by a Fine Gael-led Government and its Minister for Finance, John Bruton, to put VAT on the shoes of little children back in the 1980s. No one can foresee the future but I strongly suspect that the d…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for her indulgence this morning, and the indulgence of her staff. At the time when I was meant to be walking here to ask this question I ended up on the phone with Áine Lawlor. That does not happen very often. My question is, noting that the deadline for decommissioning of the vessels under the Bord Iascaigh Mhara decommissioning scheme begins in April 2023 and the entitlement of crew members to avail of a share of compensation if they have worked 90 days in the course of 2020 and …

Since last year the International Transport Workers Federation has been trying, unsuccessfully, to obtain answers from BIM on behalf of migrant crew members who are unsure of their entitlements under this provision. For example if crew members served those minimum 90 days in 2020 and 2021 and perhaps years before but left the boat post-2021, are they included or excluded from a share in the compensation? If the boat has changed ownership at any stage while the crew member has remained on the vessel, is the latter o…

There are significant questions outstanding in regard to migrant fishers. The fact we still do not have clear answers either from the Department or from BIM is incredible, given how far advanced we are in this process. To describe the provision for crew who worked on these vessels to be decommissioned as an afterthought on the part of BIM would not be inaccurate. The International Transport Workers' Federation, ITF, has been in touch with BIM officials since last autumn seeking answers to detailed questions rather …

To be able to use Irish is a gift coveted by many and possessed by few. Rather than apologise for my own lack of Irish, I would express a degree of regret. It is a feeling shared by many but something for which they should not apologise. The century-old State and the one that preceded it bear the greater responsibility in this regard. The State has failed on two accounts. It has failed to meet the aspirations of those who wish to have more Irish and has failed in its obligations to the rights of the minority 80,000…

Hundreds of Northern Ireland Housing Executive workers have been out on a pay strike for more than seven months. These are essential workers who continued to serve the public during Covid. Workers have joined with tenants to share their concerns about the shocking intransigence and inaction by the Housing Executive and the Northern Ireland Department for Communities. Workers and tenants have been incredulous about how it seems that no one is in charge and no one is answerable to housing workers or tenants. All the …

I send International Women's Day greetings to all who are struggling for women's rights worldwide, including those who are putting their lives on the line in doing so in places such as Iran. Here in this country the Government is heralding a constitutional referendum on women in the home in the same week it decides to lift the eviction ban, thus ensuring thousands of women will not have a home. Domestic violence shelters are reporting significant amounts of readmissions. The housing crisis means women frequently ha…

Will the emergency accommodation services in this State be able to cope with the surge in demand after the evictions take place in April, May and June? Has the Taoiseach done his homework? Can he give an assurance to this House that the emergency accommodation services will be able to cope? If they are not and people are turned away, what are they expected to do? Would the Taoiseach advise them to go to a Garda station? What would his advice be in that situation? The Cabinet made a reckless decision this morning. I…

Assurances on the homework that has been done.

Have you done any homework on this, any at all?

I hope Deputy Mattie McGrath will pass on the information he got about repressive regimes to his constituents. Communities across the State will be welcoming refugees from Ukraine and elsewhere in the coming months. Two things need to be done to help make the changes involved a success. First, there needs to be genuine consultation with community organisations. Suggestions from people active in the community on how things can be done successfully must be listened to and given serious consideration by the State agen…

Trans rights are human rights. Both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have rightly opposed sentiments expressed by the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association concerning teaching about transgender identities on the curriculum. The letter that body sent stated that any education relating to transgender identity in primary schools would be "counterproductive, generating unnecessary division in school communities where none now exists". It went on to use transphobic language, with reference to a "growing psycholo…

Will the eviction ban be kept in place or will it be lifted? I have been listening to you guys all week on this, speaking on the one hand and on the other hand. The Government has said it is speaking to the Attorney General. I know how to read between the lines. It is pretty clear that the Government is leaning towards lifting the eviction ban next week or the week after. Should it choose to do so it will be an act of political extremism and free-market extremism on the part of the Government. We know that since la…

We could see a situation by the summer whereby people will be presenting to Garda stations pleading for a place for themselves and their children to stay overnight.

We should have no political extremism here. Keep the eviction ban in place.

The ban.

On the ban.

There you go.