This morning, the sentencing of the 17-year-old convicted of the murder of Urantsetseg Tserendorj was delayed again. This was another in a series of ongoing delays drawing out the agony for the family of the victim and the family of the young man, who has been convicted-----

It is, because-----

I am sorry, but Mr. Justice Hunt, in his commentary-----

Including the matter of the lacuna in the law and a gap in the law-----

-----that is contributing-----

In December last year, Noteworthy produced a series of reports investigating the exploitation and abuse of migrant fisherman in the Irish fishing industry. This morning in the audiovisual room, I hosted Maria Delaney, the journalist who undertook that investigation, along with Migrant Rights Centre Ireland and the International Transport Workers’ Federation to provide a wider context of the exploitation of migrant fishers. There are very clear and quick reforms we can do to try to improve the situation and address …

The Iveagh Markets in my constituency is an important historic monument that many of my constituents are concerned about. The rot and ruin of the markets at the hands of developer Martin Keane are a cultural and historic crime. While Dublin City Council is doing its best to get the markets back, the ruin and neglect are beyond what it will be able to address. I would like the Government to commit to the restoration of the historic monument and the important cultural restoration of these essential markets for the pe…

Few things we do in this House will be as fundamental as addressing and facing up to the challenge of climate change. It is, quite literally, an existential issue for life on this planet, not just for the human race. Biodiversity loss has been highlighted by several speakers already. We have to grasp this issue and challenge. We cannot simply sit on the fence or we cop out on this issue. It is not right to say we do not have the information and we will leave that to someone else. We all have a responsibility to act…

In Dublin South-Central there is a huge under-provision of second level education. Figures from the Department of Education show that in Dublin 8 alone there are about 3,500 primary school pupils and there are currently second level places for less than a third of them. A new school is badly needed. There is an old SIPTU college site on South Circular Road, with an under-used Office of Public Works, OPW, warehouse abutting it. The college is already zoned for educational use. There is a Dublin City Council site on …

Community employment, CE, supervisors play a valuable role in many communities in this country. While many people are facing the cost-of-living crisis and inflation, CE supervisors have not had a pay rise in 13 years. The inflation over that period is even more drastic. When will CE supervisors get the pay rise they deserve, which is certainly outstanding?

The residents of the Metropolitan complex in Inchicore, the Crescent buildings in Parkwest and the Tramyard complex need certainty about when a scheme for remedial works will open and be available to them. Talk of before Christmas and promises of meetings or a scheme coming are not good enough. They need clarity and certainty. Can we give an exact date for when they will get the help they need?

The energy charter treaty has proved itself to be a block to meaningful climate action. Country after country has either threatened to pull out or has pulled out of it. It is time Ireland did the same. Will the Government pull out of the energy charter treaty?

I ask the Minister to provide an update on the work his Department is doing to bring VAT rules into line with common EU priorities, such as fighting climate change.

I thank the Minister for his reply. Taxation, VAT in particular, is one of the levers we can use to drive environmentally friendly business. That is not only for things such as solar panels. It can be a tool for businesses that will facilitate, reduce and reuse, even before we get to recycle, in terms of preventing waste and emissions. In February of last year, the Minister spoke to the Committee on Budgetary Oversight and said he was engaging with the OECD and European Commission to ensure a best practice approach…

The childcare law reporting project provides valuable insight and transparency through anonymous reporting on what happens in public family law cases, such as those relating to children in care. The legislation that set it up allows for similar anonymous reporting in respect of private family law cases. We need the same reporting in respect of private family law cases, involving issues such as custody, access and maintenance. The same legislation can be used to facilitate that. Can the Government establish an agenc…

Promises were made in the budget of 1,000 extra gardaí. We need a clear timeline of when these will be delivered, partly so that communities know when they will get the resources they need but also to ensure that they are actually delivered. At one end of my constituency, in Dublin 8, four community Garda sergeants and 25 Garda officers has become one sergeant and four Garda officers. At the other end, in Cherry Orchard, members of the Garda have made very clear what they need to keep that community safe, which is …

Commitments have been made to examining defects in housing. This is a major issue in my constituency, especially for people living in apartment complexes. Residents in Park West are facing bills of in the region of €30,000 per apartment for problems and defects that are not of their own making. A remedial scheme should have been provided in budget 2023 but was not. The Minister has a copy of the report of the working group. Will the Government announce details of and a timeline for a remedial scheme to support resi…

Given the session is due to finish at 9 p.m.-----

I will be as quick as I can. I acknowledge the work of the committee secretariat in compiling this report and the support they have given committee members. It is also important to acknowledge the role of the GDPR in protecting civil rights and our fundamental freedoms. If we look at the issues of real-time bidding and the use of these things in disinformation, misinformation, the manipulation of society and the undermining of democracy, we can see at one end why the GDPR is important. However, the GDPR will only b…

As Deputy Ó Snodaigh has said, the scenes played out last night in social media were shocking for many but they are not shocking for the residents of the area who have been putting up with this kind of thing night after night for months. Some of us local representatives have been working together to raise the issue by working with the community and with community development organisations. Excellent work is being done in the community but the funding is constantly on a knife edge. We need to be looking at how we ca…