I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I have listened to some scepticism regarding the import of the Bill but I am quite hopeful that the transfer of the disability portfolio to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth will be effective and worthwhile. As we move towards a rights-based approach to addressing the requirements of persons with disabilities and the provision of services around that, this new context for policy and legislation will be quite important. In fairness to the Minister of State, she has an excellent …

As a result of the pandemic, the landscape of drug consumption in Ireland has utterly changed. Before Christmas the Tallaght Drug & Alcohol Task Force issued a report on the increased use of crack cocaine. In my constituency, the North Inner City Drugs & Alcohol Task Force is experiencing a precarious funding situation. We need coherent funding strategies and an approach that is embedded in the community. The current policies do not address the impacts of drug consumption on families, on health and on social intera…

I ask the Minister to outline the position on measures his Department is taking to implement the EU child guarantee.

I know from previous conversations with the Minister that he is well aware of some of these issues. As for the child guarantee, I am selfishly thinking particularly of my constituency, where we have high numbers of children experiencing homelessness and children who are from migrant families and who sometimes find it difficult to access services. I know that the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is very much aware of the issues around disability. Are there aspects of the child guarantee that speak particularly to…

I am very heartened to hear of the threading through of issues of child poverty throughout the Minister's statement. I appreciate that housing is not his brief, but we have 2,500 children in emergency accommodation. The cost of rents in particular is rising rapidly, and the cost of living is difficult for families on lower incomes. Will the Minister talk to me a little about what the child guarantee will mean for children? I am thinking particularly of children in emergency accommodation.

I will use my time to draw attention to the ongoing difficulties with homelessness, its interaction with addiction issues and how these have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and its resulting restrictions. In the early days of the virus, there was a necessary and welcome urgency in Government to address the homelessness and housing crisis while individuals and families were asked to lock down in place. Between April and May last year, there was a 12% decrease in the number of people in emergency accommodation…

I have a question around the changes to the LPT we saw in 2021. It has been stated by the Minister for Finance that there will be no change to the Exchequer as a result of the post-2013 houses coming on stream and the new scheme in general. Would it be possible for the Taoiseach to confirm whether that means the extra money will be retained for self-funding by local authorities? I am aware many areas with high population growth are especially concerned about this.

I welcome the debate around this issue and the statements of our Ministers on the changes in direction that may be undertaken as regards gender-based violence in 2022. It was important to include an audit of Department actions on this issue in the programme for Government. I know how seriously the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, and the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, took that work and I absolutely can see the benefit of a new direction. However, in that c…

What I want to talk about today is scooters. In the interests of full disclosure, I should say that I own a scooter. I love my e-scooter, which is really handy for somebody like me in Dublin 1 or Dublin 7, as my constituency of Dublin Central is very populous but fairly compact. For people who live somewhere like I do, a scooter is a game changer. They can get around the city quickly and easily. Something we do not talk about enough is the affordability of scooters as a means of transport. For so many people around…

What are the Minister of State's plans to ensure equality in funding of women's and women's Gaelic player grants? Will he make a statement on the matter?

I thank the Minister of State. His commitment to grant equality is very welcome. The grants are important to the individual players involved. It is important that they be equal. With regard to inter-county players, the grants probably have a larger impact in that they result in players becoming role models for young women in sport. We are aware that kids start out with an interest in sport. To give an example, the gender balance at nursery level in a GAA club in my constituency, Na Fianna, is a result of great work…

I am aware that time is limited so, considering that I have been talking about Na Fianna, I hope the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, will join me in wishing Kilmacud Crokes, which is in her constituency, and Na Fianna all the best in the Dublin hurling final on Saturday. It is Na Fianna's first time in the final. There is a lot of excitement in our community and we fully intend to beat Kilmacud Crokes.

How many red light enforcement cameras are in operation and how many are planned to be rolled out in the remainder of 2021 and into 2022?

I thank the Minister of State. As she said, the NTA has a role to play in this. It relates to some of the discussion we have had in recent weeks about the possibility of a transport police force, which is an idea that has merit. We can no longer divide the issue of enforcement from the proper operation of our transport systems. I get consistent feedback from my constituents in Dublin Central that cars are increasingly pushing the limits of amber lights and outright breaking the red lights, sometimes at speed. An Ga…

We will need quite a bit more additional capacity than that. While movement on it is encouraging, it will have to be rolled out nationwide. Suitable enforcement will have to be part of our transport solutions in moving towards a lower carbon strategy. It is also an issue around a rights-based strategy for those with disabilities and making the urban sphere much more accessible. For those who want to move towards active travel in terms of cycling and multi-modal trips, enforcement on our roads is incredibly importan…

Approximately one in 20 people in Ireland lives with diabetes. Despite this, we do not have a good handle on clinical outcomes or prevalence rates at a geographical level. This means we cannot provide the appropriate services where they are needed. University Hospital Limerick is one of the few model 4 hospitals that does not offer a dose adjustment for normal eating, DAFNE, course for managing type 1 diabetes. Without this training, patients run the risk of developing life-altering complications. This is a terribl…

The programme for Government recognises that our official development assistance programme is an essential element of our overall foreign policy. A fortnight ago, Christian Aid Ireland produced research on Ireland's role in facilitating tax avoidance by multinationals in developing countries, with particular reference to a company operating here in a number of locations. The positive impact of Ireland's overseas development assistance is being undone and our role in tax avoidance deprives these countries of much-ne…

On behalf of the Green Party, I echo the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's thanks to the staff, who have done incredible work in a difficult situation. The programme for Government contains a commitment to promote more physical exercise among all sections of the community. I have two queries about that. We are all aware of the positive physical and mental well-being benefits of support, as well as how it brings communities together. I have had numerous representations from groups here in Dublin Central about getting access t…

I am going to speak about a particular group this evening, namely, that comprising children with visual impairment. I lived the experience over the last 15 months with my own eight year old. Other Deputies have mentioned the AsIAm report. One could pick any group and speak to its specific needs, or indeed any child, because every child is unique and will have experienced the pandemic in a particular way. It is worth saying at the outset that my experience - and indeed that of many parents - was that the staff at th…