What a long-awaited and momentous day to finally have the State of Palestine formally recognised by Ireland. Iontach ar fad. Finally, the voices of those who marched, protested and petitioned in their thousands for international law to be upheld and shouted loud and long for Palestine and her people to be recognised have been heard. Ireland and the Irish fought our own struggles with oppression and occupation and have always had a unique affinity with Palestine. We understand their struggles and their longing for t…

I, too, am disappointed that the Minister is not here this morning. I thank the Social Democrats for tabling this motion. An ounce of prevention is worth a tonne of cure, as the old saying goes, especially when it comes to children’s dental health. Even the current Government’s failures are stark. More than 200,000 children are entitled to school dental screening appointments with public dentists but only half got appointments. The numbers include children who missed essential milestone screenings that would identi…

Will the Taoiseach clarify whether it is common practice for GPs to put medical card holders who are applying to become patients of their practices onto waiting lists rather than giving an outright refusal, thereby preventing these medical card holders from getting the three refusals required to ask the HSE to step in and appoint a doctor for them? Is this issue specific to GPs in Kildare? Applicants are without an assigned GP while on the waiting list. What legislative measures can the Minister for Health take to …

I am not sure either.

I thank my colleague Deputy Ó Broin for bringing the motion to the House. To state the Government's housing policies are a disaster is a big understatement. There are record house prices throughout the State, home ownership is at its lowest rate in 50 years and generations are being denied any hope of ever having a home of their own. Instead, the red carpet is rolled out again and again for vultures to waltz in and buying up properties wholesale, charging eye-watering rents and not even paying tax on their rental i…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on road safety and I thank the Labour Party for bringing this forward. Any move or action aimed at reducing road deaths and accidents must be welcomed. However, when I read that this Government actually cut 10% or a whopping €150 million from the road safety and maintenance budget in budget 2024, I was completely taken aback. The numbers are telling. Some 72 people have already lost their lives on the roads this year, as my colleague has said. Each of these people probably had pla…

Will the Minister of State give an update on Cherry Orchard nursing home and the planned removal and relocation of elderly and vulnerable nursing home residents? I want to know what status of engagement has taken place and if contact has been made with the families and advocates of late, and if so, how recently. As the Minister of State is aware, the situation arose late in 2023 and there are ongoing protests. Has the Minister of State met the families at the protests? When do we expect the remedial work to be comp…

As Sinn Féin's spokesperson for older people, Sinn Féin and I give cautious support to this Bill that seeks to reform HIQA's enforcement powers. Yes, it provides for compliance notices and better collection of nursing home data but it does not go anywhere close to addressing the huge concerns around safeguarding and regulations. The issues with HIQA have been ongoing since at least 2013 and the Minister of State has been in government for all of this time and still no real action has been taken. The Bill falls shor…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this the 50th anniversary of the awful bombings in Dublin and Monaghan. I also welcome to the Gallery some members of the families of the 27 Dublin victims and the seven who lost their lives in Monaghan along with representatives of Justice for the Forgotten. The impact of the tragic events in Dublin and Monaghan still reverberates through every one of those 50 years. Despite several motions in the House since at least 2008, there is still no resolution. The horrific events of …

As the Sinn Féin spokesperson on older people, I am delighted to speak in broad support of this motion, and I thank the Independent Group for bringing it before the House. According to the report by Age Action entitled Reframing Ageing - The State of Ageing in Ireland 2022, one in four adults in Ireland is aged 60 or older. When expressed in numbers, that is more than 1 million people. These are individuals with their own identities, life experiences and stories, with different needs and aspirations. Irish people a…

I thank Deputy Ó Broin for tabling this motion. A few short weeks ago amid the celebrations for the new Taoiseach, the Minister's Government colleague, Eamon Ryan, stated that the Minister had turned around the housing crisis. If by that he meant the Minister had turned it into a complete shambles, he was right. The figures do not lie. House prices are skyrocketing, with the price of new homes up by 9% since last year. Rents are still rising, up 9% for new tenancies and 6% for existing ones. There are missed target…

The Ireland of today may seem to be a million miles away from the Ireland that the survivors of these institutions remember. This was the Ireland where, as children, their daily lives consisted of abuse, neglect and distress. They were shunned by society and failed by the State. That Ireland will not be gone, however, until the survivors get the recognition and redress they deserve. These people went into these institutions as children. They are now adults, having survived, despite the State’s failures, and standin…

As Sinn Féin spokesperson for older people, I am delighted to take the opportunity to speak in support of this motion. I thank the Regional Group for bringing it before the House. In data compiled by the Central Statistics Office, a carer is defined as someone who provides unpaid assistance to others. Almost 500,000 people, women, men and incredible children under 15 years of age, are carers. These people spend their lives caring for family members, whether it be elderly parents or a child or adult dependant with s…

I raise the issue of homelessness in Kildare. Two weeks ago, five people had to spend the night in Newbridge Garda station because they had no emergency accommodation to go to. I thank the Garda for its help. The very same week, we had Storm Kathleen. While we are told winter beds are available until the end of April, this was not the case. When I made inquiries as to why there was no availability, I was told people from Meath and Dublin were being accommodated in County Kildare. I do not care what county or countr…

Gabhaim míle buíochas to Deputy Cullinane for the opportunity to speak on this vital issue. Since in inception in 2017, the national cancer strategy could have been a shining example of how to do things properly. However, the continuing failure of this and previous Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil Governments to properly fund it means Ireland's cancer outcomes are in danger of going backwards. Ireland now holds the dubious honour of having the third-highest cancer mortality rates in western Europe and is ranked 30 out of …

I know the Taoiseach is only new to the job but I hope his predecessor might have given the Tánaiste and him a confirmed date for the commencement of the inquiry into the State's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. I have asked for this and been promised a date multiple times, but there is still no date. Those who died and their families deserve justice and closure. Will the Tánaiste have a date before we are in government and get it ourselves? Will the Government give us a date? Let me be clear; I am not going to k…

I will be back again, will I?

Will I have a date?

They are indeed, and there are lots of important issues. That being said, I, too, wish Deputy Colm Burke the best in his new role. However, I would have preferred to go to a general election and maybe have somebody else in that seat. Let us move swiftly on to the business that is at hand. Ireland has the proud distinction of being a global pioneer by banning smoking in all workplaces, bars and restaurants. Numerous other countries, 74 in total, including Greece, Spain and Hungary, to name but a few, followed our ex…

I thank my colleague, Deputy Cullinane, for introducing this important motion and giving me an opportunity to raise the issue of serious pressures on GPs in my constituency. After more than a decade of chronic underfunding by successive Fine Gael- and Fianna Fáil-led Governments, local GP and other healthcare services are creaking at the seams. We have staff shortages, increased workloads, longer waiting times, insufficient alternative community care - the list goes on and on. The 2024 budget was a travesty. Servic…