A 2021 survey by the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, titled, Where do rich countries stand on childcare?, found that families of average income in Ireland are spending up to one half of a two-person household's earnings to put two children in childcare. Researchers found that a couple with an average income would have to spend between a third and a half of one salary to pay for two children in childcare. The maths becomes very simple then, particularly when other costs, particularly in rural counties when o…

When does the Minister expect that the living wage he has mentioned will be obligatory for the childcare providers? It is encouraging that there will be less reliance on private operators because we are far too reliant on those, as with many outsourced agencies. Does the Minister believe that the consultation process and the design of policy will be completed by the end of this year or by the end of the term of the Government?

I thank the Regional Group for bringing forward this important motion. I want to raise a particular issue in regard to ceiling hoists being excluded from the housing adaptation grant. This was a decision taken a number of years ago, which directed the local authorities to change their policy in order that ceiling track hoists are no longer funded by the housing adaptation grant. I am not sure what the thinking is within the Department. Is it because of insurance or for some other reason? I am not sure, although we …

The Taoiseach is probably aware of what has been described variously as panic and chaos in the District Court yesterday as a result of the Davitt decision. If the current situation continues, there will be fewer gardaí on the streets and more delays in prosecutions. What steps will the Government be taking in order to address the situation? Will there be emergency legislation? Will there be a stay or an appeal?

It may not be an ongoing strike anymore, but in any event it is hard to think of a more blatant example of unfair and unjustifiable work practices and workplace situations that exists in our hospitals. Qualified scientists who worked through Covid, dealt with the cyberattack and accepted extra work are paid 8% less than colleagues who did the same work and who sit by side with them in the lab. Some earn less than those they supervise and others' wages decrease if they qualify. Whatever about pay, many hospitals, li…

The Minister of State has said that health management has engaged with the association. I am not sure it has engaged in a meaningful way because the offer of 1% is neither here nor there nor going to the creamery. I have spoken to a scientist who feels that the training of new graduates is soul-destroying because she does her best to bring them up to speed, but when most graduates are exposed to the full workload, they choose not to work in the public system and are lost to private industry. As the pharmaceutical i…

I thank the Social Democrats. I was struck this week by information on Twitter, which showcased the high ratio of Airbnb vacancies as against advertised rental vacancies. One of the users mapped these figures and showed that County Kerry has the highest ratio in the entire country, with 1,959 vacancies on Airbnb yet only 34 advertisements on Daft. My colleagues have spoken about the measures required to move suitable properties and I understand there are planning enforcements happening. My party's charge on non-pri…

I wish to raise a sensitive issue with the Taoiseach. Widowers, widows and guardians must produce affidavits and death certificates every time their child's passport is being renewed. It may be a reasonable position to prevent fraud etc. but I am sure the Taoiseach will agree it is excessive and upsetting when those documents must be produced every single time the passport is being renewed. The Department for Foreign Affairs website states that if one of the two guardians is deceased and no other guardian is appoin…

Policing reform is important. The pre-legislative scrutiny of the policing security and community safety Bill and the Garda Síochána (powers) Bill is taking place at the Joint Committee on Justice. This comes after a debate on both Bills. The power of the GSOC to look into historical cases is important, especially in the so-called Kerry babies case. There still has been no explanation as to how five or six members of the same family in different rooms in one Garda station all made statements that could not possibly…

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I thank the Minister for her contribution. There may be a number of queries or questions regarding what she said in relation to it. Have there been representations in respect of what she said about the timeframe of 30 days for An Garda Síochána to make an application on behalf of the applicant? It seems like a very tight space of time. The Minister mentioned the PIAB. We have seen over the past 15 years of its operation that the PIAB does not necessarily speed up claims. In fact, it can contribute to claims taking …

In the context of my background in and thoughts regarding defamation law, I remember working in an office in Dublin some 25 years ago. One Saturday afternoon, we received word that members of a family were concerned that a Sunday newspaper, when a story was being written about somebody else, was going to, as those family members said, defame a relation. The newspaper was going to state that another member of the family was a drug addict and that she had worked in prostitution. The family members said that was not t…

I am happy to take part in this debate. It is important to deal with these issues. It is important the reserved powers under the treaty continue to be exercised by national parliaments. I know there have been some concerns about some issues relating to Europol and Eurodac. These must continue to be explored. Recently we had a number of debates on the Prüm decisions. Throughout we have pointed out that the UK was one of the largest users of these databases. As a consequence of the disastrous Tory Brexit, it has been…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Employment Equality Act 1998 to provide for pay transparency in the advertising of jobs. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for granting me time and leave to introduce this Bill. I also thank the staff in the Bills Office and the Office of the Ceann Comhairle for their assistance in bringing this forward. I will share time with my colleague Deputy Conway-Walsh, who is co-signing the Bill. What this Bill does is straightforward. It will amend se…

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

I want to raise the issue of the killing of an RUC man, Joe Campbell, in Cushendall in 1977. His family, who I spoke to, said it appears he uncovered collusion by members of the police force with paramilitaries. Information on a specific threat was withheld from him.

His name was Joe Campbell. Information on a very specific threat to him was withheld. The RUC was at least negligent and failed to act to prevent one of its own being killed. He was not even warned about the threat. When an investigation took place, the chief constable at the time could not remember the incident and an inadequate investigation took place. The ombudsman later investigated it as it was damaging to the family and policing. Information was also withheld from the family. His widow is 87 years old and ha…

I see around the county of Kerry from Tousist to Tarbert to Tureencahill and over to Ceann Trá the results, the problems and the fallout of current and previous Government policy over the past ten years. I see queues of 30 to 40 people seeking to rent a home. It is practically impossible to rent. Homelessness is on the increase. Vacant homes are not being turned around fast enough. Compulsory purchase orders to get housing back into use are practically non-existent. People are waiting on the housing list for 15 yea…

This proposal to amend regulation 2018/1727 in regard to collection, preservation and analysis of evidence relating to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes will be supported by us. The EU agency for criminal justice co-operation, Eurojust, co-ordinates the investigations and prosecutions of serious cross-border crime in Europe and beyond. Among other things, it investigates genocide and war crimes. We know that the prosecutor of the international Criminal Court has announced an investigation into possib…