The Minister of State is very welcome. It has been said here before that we all know people who have found themselves homeless who never in their wildest dreams would have imagined they would be in that situation. In February, as was said, there were 17,300 people homeless, including almost 5,500 children. That does not include people sleeping on couches and in spare rooms with friends or family, which often happens in rural areas. It also does not include rough sleepers. We know that the biggest cause of homelessn…

I move amendment No. 1: After the word “recognises:” to insert the following paragraph: "- the publication of a report on The Future of Youth Work by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth in July 2023, which acknowledged the essential role of youth work in vindicating the rights of our young people, and the need for the youth work sector to receive the investment and recognition required to sustain this vital work;".

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. It is great to have her here. I really welcome this debate and I am really thankful to the Sinn Féin Senators for bringing this forward. I am a professional youth worker. I qualified as a youth worker in 2001. We were the second set of graduates from the course in UCC. The Youth Work Act 2001 was out at that stage. We have come a long way and it is great that the youth services are back within the Department of education again. I have to say before I start that unfortunately, there is s…

I move amendment No. 2: After the word "acknowledges" to insert the following paragraph: "- the need for the youth work sector to be embedded as a key partner in addressing the social, economic and structural inequalities facing young people in Ireland;"

I move amendment No. 3: After the words "calls on the Government to" to insert the following paragraph: "- restore youth and community work funding to pre-austerity levels, adjusted in line with inflation and population growth, and factoring in the increased cost of service delivery;".

I take this opportunity to offer my condolences to Brian O'Shea's wife, Eileen, and his six children. I did not have the pleasure of knowing him but I know he was a huge advocate for the Déise and for regional development and having investment in his own community and I commend him for that. Suaimhneas síoraí dá anam dílis. When Brian was an active politician, I suppose there was more trust in politicians and there was not the willingness to put up and to see money being squandered. I am looking forward to the deba…

It was very obvious going into the Dáil debate today that the Government had not only failed to predict the extent and scale of the protest but is still failing to grasp the depth of the public anger and the failure to address the ever increasing cost of fuel and living. As has been said here today, this did not start just two weeks ago; it was inevitable and foreseeable. I will go back to the origins of the issue, namely, the continued reliance on fossil fuels and the Government's blind conviction that it is busin…

Thank you. Minister Cosgrove.

Lovely. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I start by acknowledging the role my former county council colleagues Michael Clarke and Joe Queenan have played in bringing this matter to national attention, and to Sorcha Crowley, a Sligo native, for raising this issue in The Irish Times last week. To give the Minister of State some background, Sonas Retirement Village is made up of 27 dwellings located in the immediate surroundings of Sonas Ard na Gréine Nursing Home in Enniscrone, County Sligo. These homes were constr…

I thank the Minister of State for listening to the real story behind these people. The tenants I have met are old, vulnerable, confused and scared. I appeal to the hopefully higher nature of the people who own the units. In the event of this not happening, there have to be emergency provisions in place whereby the Department can step in and acquire these properties via compulsory purchase order. I know from being a county councillor that the local authorities do not have the money. They have legislation whereby the…

I also wish to speak to this amendment No. 272. As a member of the children's committee, it is very stark to get such concern raised by the Ombudsman for Children, Dr. Niall Muldoon. He has been before the children's committee on a number of occasions, including with staff from his office. We know from reports already that children in asylum seeking and direct provision are probably among the most vulnerable children in the State. They are raising the alarm and saying the Bill has been rushed through the Dáil and t…

I move amendment No. 23: In page 28, between lines 16 and 17, to insert the following: “(2) Where an officer of the Minister, pursuant to any enactment or rule of law, performs a function conferred on the Minister by virtue of subsection (1) , the officer is independent in the performance of that function.”.

This is a very simple amendment but it is an important one. It will enshrine the independence of officers in the International Protection Office within the asylum determination process under the Bill. Between the 1996 Refugee Act and the 2015 International Protection Act, an independent refugee commissioner played a key role in our system by examining each case and made binding recommendations to the Minister. From 2015 that process changed, with the recommendations then being made by international protection offic…

I second the amendment.

In this current cost-of-living crisis, all decisions should be made with the needs of vulnerable people at heart. Just over a month ago today, a brave family from County Sligo waived their right to anonymity. This family won their court case against their father, who sexually abused five of his children when they were between the ages of three and 17. The Central Criminal Court heard harrowing evidence of abuse and neglect, including times when the children were left hungry and locked in a room to drink their own u…

The Minister of State is very welcome. I am delighted, as this is relevant to both of us in our area. I will give some background to Project WAVE, which stands for Working towards Academic and Vocational Equity. It is a project which everyone associated with Atlantic Technological University, ATU, is very proud of. It gives students with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to attend college. The students attending Project WAVE recently visited me here in Leinster House and met several Senators and TDs. These …

That is wonderful news. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I am delighted to hear it. People will be absolutely thrilled. It is not only for the students. Kevin said that it was an emergency and that there were only eight weeks left. It will alleviate so many of their concerns and worries. It is fantastic news. I give a big shout-out to all the staff like Tamsin, Jeanette and Róisín for all the work they do and the impact it is having not only on the students but, as the Minister of State said, on the wider commu…

I want to focus my remarks on the debacle of the SNA cuts. I welcome the decision to pause the roll-out of the proposed cuts to SNAs and also the announcement of the €19 million for additional SNA supports. However, the question as to where this money came from still has to be asked. While it is very welcome, how could it be just plucked out of thin air? Because parents and school communities have been contacting people across the country about the long-term security of this, I would encourage people to take part i…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Roinnfidh mé mo chuid ama leis an Seanadóir Noonan. Nuair a bhí mé ag smaoineamh aréir ar cad a déarfainn inniu, tháinig seanmhothúcháin orm, náire agus eagla. Bhí imní orm nach bhfuil mo chuid Gaeilge maith go leor lena bheith ag labhairt anseo inniu. Is dócha nach bhfuilim i m'aonar. Thug m'athair, Seán Ó Ceallacháin, grá mór dár dteanga dhúchais dom. Is mór an trua nach labhraíonn níos mó daoine ár dteanga álainn ó lá go lá agus ó dhubh go dubh. I ndáiríre, tá a fhios agam go bhfuil …

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I commend and thank Senators Ruane, Higgins, Flynn and Black on bringing forward this Bill today. The Labour Party fully supports this important legislation. When the Institutional Burials Act 2022 passed through the Oireachtas four years ago it was a victory for the tireless campaigners, survivors and families of Tuam and other mother and baby homes. The work of people like Catherine Corless, who has rightly been mentioned here many times tonight, uncovered the facts of the burials at …