We have seen a special policing plan and a special accelerated response for areas like the north inner-city, and I believe this community needs that kind of response. As I said, some of the local representatives are working on plans around community development and around these issues, and when they are unveiled, we need to give them full support. I would also ask the Minister to come on down and meet the local police and the local community, if she can. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, was out recently, as was the M…

Yesterday, in her remarks on her retirement, Ms Justice Irvine commented on how the lack of judges was hampering access to justice. We see this at every level of our justice system. A solicitor, Mr. Gareth Noble, reported on a family list in the District Court in Meath which could not be cleared despite the single judge working a significant number of extra hours. One case involved a man who was making his fourth attempt to lodge an application for an order for access to his children. This was his fourth time going…

On Tuesday, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Teresa Ribera told journalists that the effort to reform the Energy Charter Treaty will fail to ensure alignment with the Paris Agreement and the objectives of the European Green Deal. On the same day five young Europeans, went before the European Court of Human Rights to challenge their governments' membership of the Energy Charter Treaty as a dangerous obstacle to action in regard to the climate crisis. This treaty protects fossil fuel investors and will prevent a transit…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Bill entitled an Act to amend the Litter Pollution Act 1997 to provide for public health and cleaner streets. Dog fouling may seem like a very small issue for our national Parliament but it is a huge issue in my local area and nationally. We have seen figures recently from Cork, Dublin and Tipperary showing that a paltry number of fines were issued, with only one or two being issued annually. Dog fouling is a public health issue. Dog faeces contains para…

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

What measures will the Department take to curb the sales of larger cars, considering the environmental and road safety issues with such vehicles?

I thank the Minister of State. There are some encouraging points. Realistically, the current scheme for reducing larger vehicle numbers is not working. Sales of sports utility vehicles, SUVs, are going through the roof. SUVs emit more pollution. They are more likely to hit pedestrians and are more likely to cause serious injury. We need to curb the sales of SUVs, especially in built-up areas. Other jurisdictions are looking at this. Authorities in Washington DC want to charge residents more for heavy trucks and SUV…

The best thing we can do is not go electric. Particularly in urban environments, the best thing we can do is support active transport and public transport, things this Government is doing. Supporting public transport runs into road blocks when we have bigger and bigger cars on the road which are taking up the spaces buses and bikes should be in and contributing to pollution and traffic than people on buses or bikes will. We are supporting public and active transport. Everyone here has been arguing for that in their…

I have been working with a variety of families who are facing the consequences of foetal valproate syndrome, caused by exposure to sodium valproate medication during pregnancy. This issue has been raised in the House numerous times and there are issues in the past that need to be looked into, but there are also issues that need to be addressed to prevent harm into the future. There are to be six specialist nurses to support people who take sodium valproate medication but only two have been appointed. The final four…

It is important to remember that Linn Dara deals with the most distressed and the most complex cases of children and young people seeking help. The Deputies speaking tonight are from Dublin South-Central and Dublin South-West but the reality is that Linn Dara serves Kildare, Westmeath, Laois, Offaly, Longford and Louth. As Deputy Collins said, this is a national service and we should really have Deputies from each of those constituencies trying to raise this, although I am not sure how we would divide the four minu…

On top of the waiting list figures that have been mentioned, a significant cohort of young people seek referral to CAMHS and, through inconsistent application of standing operating procedures, do not get their referral accepted. They are told that it is either only behavioural or only emotional and it is not appropriate. Behind these figures of waiting lists there is another significant cohort who are not even getting the help they need. I am also concerned at throwing fresh graduates into a pressured complex envir…

It is Bike Week. Can we expand the bike-to-work scheme to people who are not PAYE workers, to the self-employed, the unemployed, pensioners and students? A shift to a subsidy- or voucher-based scheme would bring in many people who currently are not eligible for it and it would be a very good thing to announce during Bike Week.

The Minister of State knows well the struggle experienced by many parents of children with disabilities in regard to assessment of need. We have spent a long time in the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and in the Chamber debating what the Ombudsman for Children referred to as the "unmet needs" of these families. They are dealing with significant pain, misery, grief and loss, and it is very difficult for them. I acknowledge the work the Minister of State is doing. She has bee…

If the Leas-Cheann Comhairle had seen the look on these families' faces as they cried in front of me-----

-----about their vulnerable children not receiving-----

These families stood in front of me with tears in their eyes as they spoke about how they had tried the best for their children, and how they had saved money they did not have and tried to spend it on getting an assessment and having the needs of their children met, and they did not get it. We need to fix the assessment of need service. We need to ensure families will get the assessments they need, and on time, in order that they will not be driven into the hands of private providers. We need to ensure any private …

I welcome the Minister of State's response regarding the need to register psychologists with CORU. As a social worker, I spent a lot of time registering with CORU. I found the process painless. It provides reassurance and support to the families social workers engage with. CORU has said that there is no regulation of psychologists but that it will be coming soon but, as happens in this country, it has been saying that for quite some time. Is this a matter of resources? Do more resources need to be put into CORU to …

I raise the issue of staffing in HSE psychological services. I have been contacted by a young man in my constituency who, to put it simply, has been strung along by the HSE and given no real therapeutic supports. This, of course, is a wider issue and not just in my constituency. Initially, the young man was seen by a psychologist in training, but when the training period ended, the supports also ended and there has been no replacement psychologist. There seems to be a recruitment issue and there are not enough staf…

Given that this is my first time to speak in the Chamber today, I will take a moment to mark the passing of Shireen Abu Akleh, a veteran Palestinian journalist who was shot while trying to cover a raid by Israeli occupation forces in a refugee camp in Jenin. The shooting of a journalist trying to document truth is a tragic and deliberate crime that violates all international laws and norms. However, I will leave that for the moment. There is much to celebrate and welcome in this Bill, particularly with regard to en…

This week, yet another large apartment development in my constituency was found to have significant defects. It is the third development in Dublin South-Central in recent months. Owners face remediation costs of upwards of €30,000 per apartment. Residents must cover this imminently so that the management company can maintain the insurance of the buildings. These people cannot wait for the report of the working group or for the scheme to open. They must part with large sums of money now and hope the Government will …