The motion states that the Government must "immediately inform the Dáil of the measures it intends to take to ensure that all children receive a comprehensive [assessment of needs] within the timeframe set down by the Disability Act 2005". The Minister of State says the Government will support the motion and is sitting there nodding at all the criticisms people are raising. This is really cynical stuff. Is she going to inform the Dáil immediately of the measures the Government intends to take to ensure that all chi…

Ukraine's agony continues. Some 1 million refugees have left the country and thousands of civilians have been killed. Cities, homes and healthcare facilities have been bombed to smithereens. Seven days after the Russian tanks began to roll across the border, Ukraine remains unconquered and the capital is holding out. Amid the horror of Putin's war two key positives shine out, namely, the resistance of the Ukrainian people and the Russian anti-war movement. Again and again, history has shown that people power holds …

This debate is under way and will continue over the coming weeks and months. We look forward to participating fully in that debate. Part of the debate has to be the question of the links European governments had with the Putin regime and its supporters, including the blind eye that was turned in this country. Some €118 billion worth of wealth was sloshing through the IFSC from Russian entities between 2005 and 2017, dirty money laundered by oligarchs etc. Why was a blind eye turned to this within a 15-minute walk o…

Yesterday in this House, I questioned the Taoiseach about reports of people of colour fleeing Ukraine, being discriminated against at the Polish border and being turned away. In his reply, he stated, "we neither support nor have any evidence ... of any racist approach to facilitating migration into Poland". There is plenty of evidence now. Ignorance was not really an excuse yesterday, given a Government Deputy, Deputy Higgins, raised the matter in the Dáil yesterday evening, but it is certainly no excuse today. Thi…

The Polish border.

Breaking news, Eurozone inflation is 5.8%.

Wow. It is 5.8%. The Taoiseach may have said it this morning, but it is breaking in the past hour. There are big cost-of-living increases on the way that are not included in those figures. The Russian invasion of Ukraine moves the cost-of-living crisis to another level. The price of bread, groceries, heating and fuel will rise. The Minister for Foreign Affairs has already warned of a massive spike in heating costs. The Taoiseach is on the record as saying that there will be no new cost-of-living compensation measur…

The Tánaiste said on the RTÉ lunchtime news that Ireland should be more involved in European defence and boost its defence spending, etc. I will speak in this afternoon's debate to express my solidarity with the Ukrainian people and to condemn Putin's invasion of their country. However, the Tánaiste's comments have nothing to do with solidarity with the Ukrainian people. It is a cynical and opportunistic move to push an agenda by the Tánaiste, an agenda Fine Gael has held for quite some time, of aligning Irish fore…

Climate breakdown is accelerating rapidly. That is the conclusion of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, report, which notes "Human-induced climate change is causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature" and is affecting the lives of more than 3 billion people. It is fair to say that this report reckons that the situation is more severe than previously reckoned. Moreover, it flows from that reckoning that COP26 and the Government's commitments fall short of what is needed. I am in f…

The real Taoiseach.

The Department of the Taoiseach is in charge of Ireland's interests abroad. Those interests should have nothing to do with turning a blind eye to racism. The following are the words of Isaac, a Nigerian man trying to get into Poland from Ukraine. He stated that he and his companions had been chased back and hit by police armed with sticks. The Polish Government denies this is happening, but that is disproved by hundreds of videos on social media. The Nigerian Government has recommended that its citizens not try to …

There has to be a comment on what is happening on the Polish border.

That is scandalous.

Look at your phone. It is all over it.

The Taoiseach should not turn a blind eye.

I want to express my solidarity with the people of Ukraine. We have watched our television screens in horror as their country has been invaded, their cities attacked, homes destroyed and their lives taken or shattered. I state my support for the right of the ordinary Ukrainian people to defend themselves and resist, arms in hand, the invaders who threaten their homes and lives. It is for the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian people alone to decide their own future, with a right to self-determination for minorities…

I urge people across the country to speak out about the development in their own towns and villages. I encourage the people in Blarney and Tower in County Cork to speak out about their community and the facilities they need. At present, a large number - I suspect a majority - of households in that community have to travel quite some distance to do their weekly shop. Many people travel to Ballincollig. Many people travel to Blackpool. Many people feel that there are no supermarket facilities in their communities whi…

The Taoiseach is reported in the press this morning as saying families should brace themselves for the pain. The stand-off between NATO and the Putin regime brings more bad news for hard-pressed households. The price of European wholesale gas was up 10% yesterday. Commodity economists in London are saying crude oil could reach $120 to $140 per barrel. We all know whose shoulders this is going to be placed on. However, there is profiteering taking place in Irish society. These are not just acts of God. Yesterday, I …

The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, investigation into the killing of George Nkencho had a targeted finish date of 30 December, the one-year anniversary of George's death. That deadline was not met. Not only was it not met, but it is now eight weeks past the deadline with no indication of when the investigation will be completed. Can the Taoiseach provide the House and, more importantly, George's family with an indication of when this investigation might be complete? Is he aware of any measure that has b…

In many European countries, front-line workers have expressed their opposition and concerns with regard to the rapid dismantling of Covid-19 restrictions, including the mandatory wearing of masks. While it is true the Irish Government has been slightly slower to move in this direction, concerns are being expressed here by workers such as teachers, special needs assistants, SNAs, public transport workers, retail workers and others, with particular reference to the change in masking policy for their workplaces. I bel…