The cruel reality on the ground that is the occupation has been spoken about by many Deputies in the House. I do not really need to go over the dark, grim reality that is the everyday life of Palestinians. It has been going on for quite some time. It has been going on every day when we sit here. The recent events in Jenin have brought us back in here, but really this is something we should all be talking about consistently. What we have seen in Jenin is, in many ways, business as usual for the occupied state of Pal…

Like many of the Deputies who have spoken, I welcome this legislation. It is something I have campaigned for and spoken about positively. I am happy to see the legislation coming through. We must remember that, when it comes to accessing abortion services, it is important they be safe, local and legal. We had a strong campaign in this country to legalise abortion services and repeal the eighth amendment. I am glad that happened, and now here we are in a better place. Safety includes being able to access healthcare …

Earlier this week, I held a public meeting in relation to the need for a local school, a new secondary school, in Dublin 8. The meeting was well attended by local parents, many of whom have been campaigning for a new school for a while. There is a growing campaign building momentum and it is with great pleasure I rise to lend my voice to support that campaign and to help build that momentum. This is an issue I have been raising for quite some time through parliamentary questions, letters to the Minister and Questio…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. One of the issues with the school in Sandymount is that it is up to 90 minutes away for pupils from parts of Dublin 8. That is 90 minutes travelling to school and 90 minutes travelling back. That is time in which they should be studying and it therefore impacts on their ability to study. It is 90 minutes travelling to and from school each way when they should be with their family or friends. The school in Sandymount is not serving the needs of Dublin 8. The Minister o…

For me, the most fundamental section in this Bill is section 3 which redefines what a derelict site is. Any of us who have had the pleasure of serving on a council are perhaps familiar with how frustrating it can be to try to get a house onto the derelict sites list. We will never get it off the list if we do not get it on and getting it on is that lever to deliver. The story I tell frequently is of three houses in a row in my council area, all of which were boarded-up. They were all boarded-up with steel, dilapida…

I also raise the Not Our Fault campaign. Many of the affected apartments are in my constituency and I make a point of going out to talk to the campaigners every time they are here. As the previous Deputy said, this is an emergency and funding is needed now. The Tánaiste said the budget is a few months away but this money is needed now. There are huge problems in the houses with fire hazards that needed to be addressed months ago. Not only that, but many of those affected have management companies chasing them and h…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the various acts to remove the ability for members of An Garda Síochána to issue authority to search premises without sworn information being required. I thank the Ceann Comhairle. This is a Bill about ensuring justice and fair procedures and protecting the rights of individual citizens. A search warrant allows the State significant power, overriding constitutional protections of individuals, their home and their property. It is for good rea…

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

Like others, I want to speak on the importance of public service broadcasting and about media that measures the public benefit, not simply the economic cost. In commercial media we see shock, anger and division often being used to gather and hold audiences. These audiences are then trussed up and sold on to advertisers. The only reason the audiences are pulled in is to simply sell them on to advertisers and the public benefit is lost. We have seen the rot that can cause to our society. We have also seen the importa…

Academic research has shown a significant lack of access to secondary schools in Dublin 8. The Department of Education's figures show significant under-provision in the area. To date, the Department has not been willing to address this matter despite my raising it with it on numerous occasions. What will the Government do to ensure adequate provision of secondary schools in the Dublin 8 area, which is crying out for them?

Given the time constraints, I will try to be as quick as I can. There is an issue with the procedures of the DPC and with how it does its business. The Oireachtas Committee on Justice has looked at this numerous times. We have produced a full report on it, with plenty of recommendations for the Minister to implement. We frequently hear that there are no issues with the DPC and that other European countries are just jealous of our position and power. However, I do not think the High Court is jealous of the position …

This week, the Child Law Project celebrated its ten-year anniversary. It has been credited with providing important insights into the otherwise opaque proceedings relating to children in care. The legislation that set up the Child Law Project allows for similar reporting and research on private family law matters to give some transparency and insight into those opaque proceedings. Will the Government commit to providing that transparency in private family law by using the existing legislation to set up a similar bo…

We are celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality. It is an important milestone to remember how far we have come in many ways. The fact that the disregard of historical offences has taken so long is also a reminder of how far we have yet to go. Like other speakers, I look back to the marriage equality referendum as a moment of hope and optimism when the people of Ireland came together in the name of equality. Things are very different nowadays, unfortunately. Garda statistics on…

Once again, the Not Our Fault campaign is outside these Houses asking for help to address the immediate fire safety issues in people's homes. While commitments have been made, we still have no clarity as to when substantive measures to help with defective apartments or even when interim supports to address immediate fire safety needs will be in place. I raised this issue in this Chamber previously and we still do not have clear, direct answers. We do not have a date for when these people will be able to be supporte…

Our Rural Future is a cross-government plan and a whole-of-government approach. It can be quite frustrating when we see reports, recommendations and reviews talking about the need for better interdepartmental working and a whole-of-government approach. It seems to be a standard criticism and recommendation of many reports. I will focus on some of the justice issues which are relevant here. I appreciate that the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, was only Minister for Justice for a very brief period but nevertheless I look…

We have had an independent review of the operation of our abortion legislation. Indeed, it is being debated this morning at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Health and there will also be votes in this regard this evening. While these aspects have highlighted the challenges and the need for reform of the legislation, the most perfect legislation we could have would be useless if people cannot safely access these services. I ask the Government to tell us when the safe access zones legislation will come forward and…

I thank Deputy McAuliffe for speaking as fast as he could in order to fit it all in and leave me with a bit of time. I too will try to speak as quickly as I can. We have very serious work to do. Many people have spoken about the silence of our forests and emptiness of our rivers now and in the time to come. There is serious work to do if we are not going to leave ourselves on a sterile planet that barely supports life, let alone human life. The end destination of the road we are on is quite terrifying. Due to that …

Like previous speakers, I underline that access to justice is a fundamental cornerstone of our democracy, as it is for any democracy. Delays undermine that. I have stood in the Chamber quite a bit in recent weeks to talk about access to justice, how we need to look at the failings in criminal and civil legal aid, and the failings in providing an adequate number of judges and registrars, in addition to other resources, all of which are fundamental to access to justice. I will, however, focus on a slightly different …

The numbers outlined in this survey have been spoken about a lot so I will not necessarily start quoting the figures again. We are better served by focusing on the grim reality of the picture they paint. As a previous speaker said, these figures are shocking but not surprising. It is important to remember that behind each one of these numbers and statistics are survivors, victims and individuals who have been on the receiving end of sexual violence, domestic violence and, as Deputy Bacik has just said, an abuse of …

I thank the Minister of State for standing in for the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. She could equally be standing in for the Minister for Justice because this issue needs to be addressed from both sides. Unfortunately, when submitting the Topical Issue, I could only tick one box. We have seen in recent days the release of a report by the National Women's Council of Ireland looking at gender-based violence and domestic violence and how we are continuing to let down victims. We s…