I commend the work of the Irish donor network, the Irish Kidney Association and all other groups that do fantastic work in highlighting issues relating to organ donation. The Bill will, I hope, help normalise organ donation in Ireland. I am mindful that in most cases, in order for someone to benefit from an organ donation, another person must have lost a loved one. I know many families who have suffered the loss of a loved one and have taken some comfort from the fact that their loved one has brought solace to anot…

The establishment of a food regulator has been a long-standing demand of Sinn Féin. We must ensure that farmers and consumers are protected against the stranglehold of dominant players such as multinational retailers and meat processing plants. Our farmers must be rewarded with a fair price for what is recognised around the world as a top-quality product. In 2019, I stood with farmers on picket lines which were organised by the Beef Plan Movement. I remember some of the slogans on the placards, such as “Stop farmer…

Ireland's dental service is in crisis and the Government is burying its head in the sand. I have previously spoken about the fact that there is just one dentist and one dental technician accepting medical cards in County Laois. I asked a question on this recently and the answer, which I received this morning, was that only one dentist and no technician accepts medical cards in Laois. I called the surgery only to be told it is not taking on new patients. There is no medical card dentist in the whole county, with its…

I begin by thanking Friends of the Earth for the copy of The Climate Book. Local members crowdfunded to send a copy to each Deputy. It is a very informative book, which I find myself dipping in and out of. One of the chapters is called "Why Didn't They Act?" and the conclusion is that people in positions of power and privilege refuse to acknowledge that climate change is a manifestation of a broken economic system. This needs to change and it needs to change urgently. We live in a country where the top two richest …

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. It is long overdue and it requires the Minister to conduct oil emergency planning and obliges oil companies to co-operate with the Department and public bodies in the creation of such a plan. It will establish a centralised register of oil companies, both retail and wholesale, and give extra powers to the Minister for Transport relating to the renewable transport fuel obligation scheme and a biofuel levy under the National Oil Reserves Agency Act. This will allow the …

I thank my colleague, An Teachta Cullinane, and his team for bringing forward this motion. Even the most unbiased eye can see our health service is in turmoil. Unfortunately, this is not a new problem. Successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments made decisions that caused the crisis we are in or failed to make the decisions necessary to avert it. There are three former Ministers for Health at the Cabinet table with the current Minister. They must all bear responsibility for this mess. We in Sinn Féin have deta…

I wish to raise the state of KDoc and the out-of-hours GP service in Kildare. On Monday evening, a constituent phoned the helpline at 6 p.m. for a sick baby. She phoned six times and she was put hold between ten and 34 minutes before being cut off. She finally got an answer at 9:49 p.m. to be told that there were no appointments left and that she would have to go to her own GP the next morning. She expressed concern about her child, and she was told that she could go to an emergency department if she wanted. She ra…

The purpose of this Bill is to create a registration and licensing system for the abstraction of water from the water table. This is yet another EU directive that the Government has been slow to implement. The Government has been very fast in trying to saddle the people with water charges to suit its privatisation agenda but slow in addressing water quality and supply issues. The Bill is a legal requirement of the water framework directive and is many years overdue. Many other jurisdictions, including the North of …

It is like a game of pass the parcel here with Ministers this morning. I wish to thank the Social Democrats. The Minister must listen to the principals and teachers who are on the front line. They have the answers and so far the INTO has deplored her lack of engagement and consultation on potential changes to members' terms and conditions. The TUI said that her proposals would make the profession less attractive and, ultimately, worsen the teacher recruitment and teaching crisis. It also criticised the lack of cons…

The Minister will know Sinn Féin has no issue with the amendments to the Bill, but we have an issue with the process and the absence of a statutory duty of candour. The Bill also fails to specify or provide powers to the Minister to prescribe how the review will be conducted. It is similar to self-regulation. How can we do something in this Chamber and have it looking like self-regulation? It is just not right. The bottom line is that we are not giving people the right to information unless they seek it, and that i…

Everybody who spoke earlier had an issue around the absence of a statutory duty of candour in the Bill. I am asking that this be addressed also. What I really want to say is there should be an obligation on the provider clinician - I am glad that the Minister has mentioned that - to inform a patient of her right to a Part 5 review at the point of diagnosis. We owe it to Lorraine Walsh and Vicky Phelan, and all those other women, to do the right thing. We cannot expect everything of the person with the cancer and no…

We in Sinn Féin welcome the Bill and will support its passage to Committee Stage, where we will table amendments to its deficiencies. It is a comprehensive Bill dealing with the regulation of gambling. It is an important step but it must be accompanied by funding for addiction services, awareness campaigns and supports that are free of industry influence. In April this year, several Government Deputies and Senators attended a corporate hospitality event at Punchestown Racecourse, at which the Irish Bookmakers Assoc…

I begin by welcoming the people in the Gallery. I also welcome the publication of the report of the working group to examine defects in housing. It is obvious that much work has gone into its 260 pages. The report estimates that up to 100,000 homes could be affected by building defects with a potential cost of remediation as high as €2.5 billion. There are many examples of building defects around the country and the obvious ones are mica and pyrite. We in Sinn Féin support 100% redress for the individuals and famil…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. It is long overdue that we are making provision for maternity leave and maternity benefits for county councillors. The Bill also provides for the possibility of the co-option of a temporary substitute for an elected member who takes maternity leave or is absent due to illness. The Moorhead report looked at this issue and arising out of the report, a subgroup was convened to examine the issue further. I commend the work of this group, which comprises six female council…

I also thank Deputy Ó Ríordáin and the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion. Over the past 25 years, almost ten people a week have died in the State as a result of drug taking. Along with Sweden, Ireland has the joint highest rate of drug-induced deaths among those aged 16 to 64 years in the European Union. Deputy Martin Kenny already mentioned that. The harmful affects of drug abuse, including crimes of violence, intimidation and extortion of addicts, their families and communities used to be confined to …

Kildare and Laois have some of the lowest Garda numbers per capita in the country. Some 55% of the Gardaí in one station in Kildare are out sick, mainly due to injuries sustained in the line of duty. Will the Taoiseach personally intervene to address Garda numbers in Kildare and Laois and to address morale and conditions in the wider force so that people can feel safe on the streets? I did hear what the Taoiseach said to Deputy Kerrane about the 1,000 budgeted for next year. How many are for Laois and Kildare?

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. It is an issue that is dealt with in a similar Bill around this time every year to provide for risk equalisation. Risk equalisation is a mechanism designed to give effect to the objective of a community-rated health insurance market where customers pay the same premium for the same health insurance plan, regardless of age, gender or health status. The Health Insurance Acts provided for a risk equalisation scheme in 2013. Under the scheme insurers receive risk equalis…

The war in Ukraine has brought home the risks of dependence on volatile fossil fuels. The floods in Pakistan, the drought in the Horn of Africa, and European heatwaves and flash floods have given us a glimpse of what the future will look like if we do not make significant progress. The Government must take bold action, reduce energy poverty and wean the country off fossil fuels, and it must be a just transition. I am concerned about the recent rise in the cost of charging electric vehicles. If we do not get a handl…

Over 230 people have made allegations of abuse against 77 Irish Spiritans in ministries across the island and other countries where the order operates. A large proportion of the allegations were from pupils of Blackrock College. Further allegations of sexual abuse in schools run by religious orders, including Castleknock College, have emerged in recent days. I commend the survivors on their courage and bravery in coming forward. Of course, others have not yet come forward. I urge anyone directly or indirectly affec…

Like many policy areas, the crisis within the forestry sector has increasingly worsened under this Government. We have a target to achieve 18% forest cover by 2050. While the Government set a target of 8,000 ha of new forestry each year, it has only achieved 25% to 30% of the target each year to date. COFORD advises that 16,000 ha of annual afforestation is required to achieve our target. At current pace, the Government is failing miserably. The Department is taking too long to process applications - in some instan…