Budgets, like politics, are about choices. This Government chooses measures which favour vested interests, golden circles, vulture funds, developers and institutional landlords. Sinn Féin's fully costed alternative budget favours ordinary workers and families, hard-pressed renters and the working poor, all of whom this Government holds in such contempt. As Sinn Féin spokesperson for older people, I would be expected not to like this Government's commodification of our society, where everything and everyone is measu…

One only has to look at the tourism sector's GDP share to realise its importance in this country. On 22 October, society will reopen, with venues and attractions expected to be operating at full capacity. The pandemic has had a devastating effect on tourism and its impact will be felt for a long time after the full reopening of society. The sector will need significant support, including a commitment that the 9% VAT rate will be kept in place. It also needs a commitment that the employment wage subsidy scheme will …

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the national youth justice strategy. It is my hope that it will enhance criminal justice processes, detention and post-detention measures to discourage repeat offenders. I particularly welcome the strategy's focus on preventative measures for children below 12 years of age who had previously fallen through the cracks owing to the age of criminal responsibility being 12 for most offences. As Deputy Andrews stated, the strategy document shows strong links between youth offending …

The programme for Government commits to investing in a new roads infrastructure to ensure that all parts of Ireland are connected to one another. Two parts of the country that are not very well connected are the north and south banks of the Liffey in Droichead Nua, that is, Newbridge, County Kildare. I scoured the national development plan that was launched yesterday but there is no mention of a new bridge for Newbridge. We need a second bridge to ensure there is sustainable development in the largest town by popul…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle.

Our house is still on fire and this Government is not offering solutions. It offers vague plans with few targets and lots of talk about doing the right thing. In the words of Greta Thunberg, it is offering "blah, blah, blah". It seems that rather than throwing water on our burning house, this Government is considering throwing petrol on it instead. I nearly fell off my chair yesterday morning when I heard the Green Party Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, make an argument i…

Housing for All has a lofty title which promises a great deal and it will probably deliver a great deal, but unfortunately it will deliver for developers and vulture funds and nobody will be surprised. Successive governments, which have been made up of the current Government parties and the Labour Party, have been doing this for decades. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, acknowledged yesterday in this House that the system is broken. Does he realise it did not break itself? Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Green Par…

The spotlight that shone on Afghanistan during the weeks before the withdrawal of American troops has truly been extinguished. Right now, 5,000 miles from here, the Taliban is emerging from the shadows and making its presence felt. Ireland needs to do more for the people of Afghanistan. We are an elected member of the United Nations Security Council for a two-year term which began in January of this year. We currently hold the presidency of the Security Council and we must shine a beacon of hope to show that the wo…

I am not on the list today.

I thank my colleague, Teachta Tully, for her assistance with the Bill, which is timely. We had a recent discussion about response times from county councils to various representations from elected members. Indeed, there is currently a ten- to 12-week waiting period to get on the housing list in Kildare. Let me be clear: I do not blame the staff or the officials. They are being let down by the Government too. Yesterday, at the monthly meeting of Kildare County Council, a number of councillors received unfavourable r…

As the Minister will be aware, yesterday was World Alzheimer's Day. Earlier this year, we saw the US Food and Drug Administration give approval for Aduhelm, which has shown promise, particularly in the treatment of early onset dementia. The European Medicines Agency is currently considering an application for approval which was filed last year. Is there any update on this application? Will the Government commit to funding this drug, if approved, under the GMS and drugs payment scheme?

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. It is very much a technical Bill, which is necessary to implement a new Garda operational model. The Bill will replace Garda districts with divisions in any relevant legislation and will also change the rank at which some functions or duties can be carried out. One criticism I have of this Bill is the short time that we have been given to consider it. Given the urgency to pass the Bill before the new divisional model goes live in the near future, we need more time to…

I welcome the establishment of the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement as a statutory stand-alone agency to be known as the corporate enforcement authority, CEA, with increased autonomy and resources to respond to white-collar crime in Ireland. I thank my colleague, Teachta Quinlivan, Chairman of the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment for his work on the committee. For too long, white-collar crime has not been pursued as vigorously as it should be. Corruption, so-called white-collar cri…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute on the Bill, which seeks to implement the European Council decision on the arrangements for the transfer of prisoners between EU states. Some people might feel that the transfer of prisoners to their home countries should not be a priority. However, repatriation may assist in their rehabilitation, which can only benefit society. It can also help their family members, who are often innocent and inadvertent victims of the prisoners' crimes. While some of the crimes in question …

I, too, thank na Teachtaí Connolly and Pringle for bringing forward this Bill, the main purpose of which is to provide unconditional and improved access to birth certificates for adopted persons. Sinn Féin supports the Bill. In March my colleague, an Teachta Funchion, introduced the Civil Registration (Right of Adoptees to Information) (Amendment) Bill 2021 which came at the same issue from a slightly different perspective. We advocated for a simple one-section amendment to the Civil Registration Act 2004 to allow …

Yes. I was not sure whether I could contribute on an issue already raised. Deputy Tóibín has spoken already about the Defence Forces. I wonder why the Government is establishing an independent review into the abuse allegations - the terms of reference and nominations are being finalised this week - when there has been no engagement with those involved in the "Women of Honour" documentary or any other survivors of sexual abuse in the Defence Forces workplace.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion and I, too, support it. We have been lacking from this Government a proportionate and logical response to the public health crisis we face. Sinn Féin's objective throughout this pandemic has been to keep people safe. We have supported difficult decisions that have curtailed personal freedoms and we have not done so lightly. Yesterday, the Government members of the Joint Committee on Health voted to waive pre-legislative scrutiny of the Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Bil…

Nelson Mandela once said that "A society that does not value its older people denies its roots and endangers its future". This Government has well and truly endangered our society’s future by its failure to implement proper safeguards. Our older people have suffered disproportionately during this pandemic. More than 2,000 residents of nursing homes have died due to Covid-19, accounting for more than 40% of Covid-19-related deaths in this State. We need a full public inquiry into the deaths of residents and the qual…

The programme for Government promises to prioritise the development of microgeneration, which lets people sell excess power back to the grid, by June 2021. We are a month past the deadline. When will microgenerators be able to sell back to the grid and make renewable technology more affordable? Under what terms will this be done?

Three years after the Tutty report, we finally have legislation which, hopefully, will deal with the concerns expressed in that report. This Bill implements the key recommendation of the Government-commissioned Tutty report that was published in 2018. Many people will be surprised to learn that providers of credit are not yet regulated by the Central Bank. This Bill will require providers of hire purchase and PCP credit lines to become regulated entities. That will give the Central Bank the power to apply the consu…