On 24 June, a couple of dozen people at least were victims of state murder when refugees were crushed to death against fences at the border between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla. Judith Sunderland of Human Rights Watch said: "Videos and photographs show bodies strewn on the ground in pools of blood, Moroccan security forces kicking and beating people, and the Spanish Guardia Civil launching teargas at men clinging to fences." The Taoiseach was offered the opportunity last week in the Dáil by Deputy Pau…

On the Government’s back-to-school package announced this evening, I believe the Government would have closed up shop for the summer after the recess without any package whatsoever had it not been for the pressure it was put under by the Opposition in this House and, in particular and most importantly, by ordinary people the length and breadth of this country who have made their views known on these issues. I welcome the increase on the back-to-school allowance, as will many hard-pressed households but it still doe…

Mr. John Paul Ricken is a constituent of mine. He lost his wife, Susan, to bowel cancer. He is campaigning for improved bowel cancer screening programmes. I support his campaign. Around 2,800 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer in Ireland every year and about 1,000 people die from it here each year. Early screening can prevent cancer from forming in the first place. In France and Germany testing begins at the age of 50 and in the US the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently changed its recommen…

I wish to use the time allocated to me to raise concerns relating to autism and the housing crisis. Those concerns arise from a case in Cork city with which I am dealing. It involves a woman who has been living in emergency accommodation for about a year. She has been offered alternative accommodation in the form of a one-bedroom apartment. She self-identifies as autistic, however, and states that the alternative accommodation being offered is totally unsuited to her needs as it is sited on a road that is noisy, pa…

I am opposed to extending the powers of the Offences against the State Act. I agree with the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, Amnesty International and the United Nations Human Rights Committee that the Special Criminal Court should be abolished. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has stated: There is no jury at the Special Criminal Court and it accepts secret evidence from gardaí. This is in violation of our right to a fair trial, our right to trial by jury and …

Vótáil.

Many workers and trade unionists in this country have been liking the spirited words of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers leader in Britain, Mick Lynch. Mick said last week there are more rich people than there has ever been and they have never been wealthier, and while they have full employment in Britain, they have falling real wages, which has to be addressed. He said people in full-time jobs are taking State benefits and are having to go to food banks to feed themselves. Anyone can work…

A huge number of people came out on the streets of Dublin at the weekend to participate in Pride. It was a real celebration but it was also a protest against those who try to limit the progress of this community, including the progress of our transgender community. I put it to the Taoiseach that a society whose capital can host an event like that, a society that repealed the eighth amendment, a society that wants progress for women and a society whose young people want to see all these changes sped up is in contrad…

Yes, but there is the money message.

The Minister is effectively saying to struggling families that there will be nothing extra done for them next month or the month after that when they are preparing for children going back to school, and nor will anything be done for them in September. They must wait until October. They say a week is a long time in politics. For a family going under in this cost-of-living crisis, three months is an eternity. The lack of urgency shown by the Minister and the Government will not be forgotten by the people. Workers on …

For young people with diabetes, moving from multiple daily injections to an insulin pump is such a step forward. It is a life-changer. Some 554 children and young adults are serviced by the paediatric diabetic department at Cork University Hospital, CUH, but as of two weeks ago, only 198 of them, 36%, had a pump. As of two weeks ago, 24 under the age of six were being forced to wait for pump therapy. Due to understaffing, CUH was allowed become the only hospital in the country where pump upgrades had to be paused. …

On 3 June, the Tánaiste, Deputy Varadkar, said: A decision to join a European Defence can only be made by the Irish people in a referendum. I believe Ireland should be at the table so that we can influence and shape it and find a place for Ireland in shared security. On 8 June, the Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, said: We need to reflect on military non-alignment in Ireland and our military neutrality. We are not politically neutral. We don't need a referendum to join NATO. That's a policy decision of government.…

I wish to ask the Minister to report on the engagement she has had with RTÉ and Dublin Pride following the ending of their partnership last week, the measures she intends to take to ensure that trans people are respected and their rights upheld in the media, and if she will make a statement on the matter.

Hateful, divisive, manufactured so-called debate has now been imported to this country from the US and the UK. Two weeks of targeted abuse of the LGBT community in general, and the transgender community in particular, has been the result. Shamefully, the national broadcaster has been central to the whole thing. We have heard a lot about the freedom to discuss in the past two weeks and I am going to make a point about that when I ask my next question. However, in reality, RTÉ, "Liveline" and the corporate media more…

The Minister has been let off the hook. I am opposed to debating anyone's human rights. I am in favour of more discussion on gender identity issues. I am also in favour of asking hard questions like why, for example, the gender identity adolescent clinic at Crumlin hospital has not been operational for nearly 18 months. Why is there a waiting list of more than six years at the national gender service in Loughlinstown? Why is this service operating on an outdated model of care? Why is there no recognition for non-bi…

On housing adaptation grants, 13% of the people who live in County Cork have at least one disability. This is an important issue, nationally and locally. Last year, 228 households in Cork city were on the local authority's waiting list for adaptations to private houses. Of those households, 142 were of people with disabilities, 44 were of people with mobility issues and 42 were of elderly people. I am concerned that the increase in the grant that the council received will be wiped out, or more than wiped out, by co…

More than 300 jobs were axed in Blanchardstown and Dundalk last week by PayPal, which plans to outsource work and relocate positions to low-wage economies. Did the Taoiseach know that the workers who participated in the redundancy negotiations were those who volunteered themselves but whose names were then picked from a laundry basket by a representative of company management? While PayPal gets to pick those who are best placed to represent it in the negotiations, the employee representatives are left to chance. Do…

If the Tánaiste met the workers he could easily see the detail.

Approximately 50 households have been or are being evicted from the Shannon Arms apartment complex in Limerick city centre. The notices to quit were issued to households that include a woman who is eight months pregnant, a person with terminal cancer and a family with five kids. Several landlords are involved in issuing the totality of these notices to quit. One of them is the Supermac's boss, Pat McDonagh. Many of these families face eviction into homelessness. On average, just six homes are available to rent in L…

A debate is under way in Cork city on the issue of the proposals for BusConnects Cork and the shape the final plan might take. I will use this opportunity to state my views on the matter. The BusConnects proposals have many positive elements I fully support, including more bus lanes and cycle lanes and a significant cut to bus travel times. I have some concerns about the prospect of plans being railroaded through and I insist on democratic consultation with communities on issues such as making compulsory purchase o…