In the interest of saving time and because the facts are well known, I do not think I need to lay out the significant issue facing the State regarding these ongoing arson attacks. I do not believe that we are taking them seriously enough and I do not believe the Garda is taking them seriously enough. We need to look not only at the individual cases but at the systemic problem they point to. Despite recent arrests, I suggest we are still not taking them seriously. The Commissioner has spoken about these being one-of…

Unfortunately, based on the Commissioner's public statements, his statements at the committee and his idea that there is no systemic planning and that it is simply a matter of one-off events, I do not share that confidence. Furthermore, it is not just a question of the person who lights the match. Our criminal law provides that anyone who aids, abets, counsels or procures is an accomplice and is as guilty as the principal offender. Equally, there is the crime of incitement. We have seen plenty of incitement that ha…

It is crucial that we remove any barriers that may hinder young people's access to politics and to the electoral process. In the words of my young Green Party colleagues, it would be deeply misjudged and even regressive to hold the upcoming local and European elections on a Thursday or a Friday, particularly a Thursday or Friday that would clash with the leaving certificate. Will the Government commit to supporting young people and their access to the electoral process and holding the upcoming local and European el…

I welcome this opportunity to speak on the services and accommodation for people seeking protection in Ireland. It is very positive that we, as a nation, can provide those supports to people fleeing violence, war, oppression and brutality, and that they can come here and most importantly be safe but also be valuable and contributing members of society, if we let them, which is an important thing that I will come back to. One of the issues is that yes, we need massive integration supports. We need supports for commu…

I attended this morning's launch in the Oliver Bond flats of the report into respiratory health. It is disgraceful that someone living in the Oliver Bond flats has double the likelihood of suffering a respiratory illness. Promises have been made about regeneration and there has been plan after plan, yet still nothing happens in terms of regeneration. It is not good enough that Dublin City Council has plans. The Department needs to start leaning on Dublin City Council to make sure these things can happen and to make…

We need to step up and ensure the promises and plans are actually delivered.

We have spoken a lot about genocide. It is important to underline that genocide turns on intention to kill or destroy. It is not about the numbers, the method used or the time it takes to happen. Before the current brutal phase of this long conflict, we saw the brutality of the occupation, with settlement building by Israel in contravention of international law, land confiscations, land closures and house demolitions. We have seen a military occupation that is brutalising and dehumanising to Palestinians. This has …

Dublin 8 in the south-west inner city has a population of about 50,000 people but not a single playing pitch. Sites have been identified at St. Teresa's Gardens and Marrowbone Lane but so far, Dublin City Council has not delivered. An interim solution was agreed in 2017 but that has not progressed at all. Dublin City Council, the LDA and various developers are involved in the area but the community needs the Government to step in now. We need the Minister for housing, who is responsible for the LDA and the council,…

BusConnects is bringing many positive changes to the city. However, the residents of Chapelizod have expressed their concern to me because six routes that go through the village are becoming one. Other areas such as Bluebell are seeing a similar level of disconnect. I do not know how we will get people out of cars to meet our climate ambition unless we give them a meaningful bus service. Will the Government instruct the NTA to ensure that no community is left behind or cut off? There should only be positive changes…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to ensure all those who should be provided with the benefits of privacy in relation to offences committed as a minor do in fact receive such protection. The Children Act 2001 was very important legislation. It introduced a range of very positive reforms and protections for young people before the courts. It helped protect vulnerable young people before the courts. However, it was a little confused because some of the sections applied retrospectively …

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

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women will be marked on 25 November. Our domestic violence legislation is an important part of the State's response to that. However, there is a significant gap in the context of being able to secure a safety order for a young person under the age of 18 who may be in an abusive relationship. In light of this important day coming up, will the Government commit to addressing and eliminating that gap and ensuring that even those aged under 18 can get a safety o…

I am at risk of turning into Deputy Durkan given I am asking the same question repeatedly.

I was referring merely to repetition.

Once again, members of the Not Our Fault campaign were outside Leinster House yesterday looking for the interim scheme in respect of housing defects. When will the scheme open and when will they be able to address the defects?

The code of practice and portal are welcome but they have been open for a while. I am representing the frustration of the Not Our Fault campaign and other constituents who are regularly outside protesting and looking for this. I appreciate what the Minister is saying around owners' management companies, OMCs, but the reality is there is tension between residents and many owners' management companies. The OMCs do not have the money and look to get it for the works from residents who do not have the money. There is a…

Dublin City Council has said that council homes will be left derelict and boarded up next year due to funding cuts by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. This is despite the fact that there has been an underspend in recent years in the Department. As there is money in place and there is a housing crisis, why are we cutting funds to Dublin City Council to deal with derelict and boarded-up council housing?

Our Lady of Hope school in Crumlin caters for children with autism and general learning disabilities. It was opened after a long and gruelling campaign by local parents. However, when capital funding was made available for the establishment of the school, it did not provide for any indoor physical education, PE, space and the school still has no indoor space for PE. We are dealing with young people who already face challenges in accessing services. They are now being denied the ability to have any sort of physical …

The school was newly established a number of years ago in an older school building. Capital funding was made available for the refurbishment of some of the classrooms-----

No, it is not a new school building.