It has been reduced.

I thank the Minister for bringing forward the Bill. Sinn Féin supports its overall purpose and I will address some of the issues that have been brought forward during the pre-legislative process and identified by others. I found the pre-legislative process and the committee meetings very useful. I thank everyone who engaged with them, including the Charities Regulator, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, ICCL, and the members. First, we need to remind ourselves why we are doing this and to look at the massively …

The buying up of homes by international vulture funds in Balgriffin is not a new phenomenon. I was in this Chamber in 2021 when a similar-style fund took 121 homes off the market in Bay Meadows in my constituency of Dublin West. That was 121 homes taken out of the reach of any first-time buyer wishing to purchase a family home. Words are important here and I use the word "home" because that is what most normal, hard-working people want to acquire. These funds acquire houses for purely financial greed and have bough…

I commend the gardaí in Dublin West on the hard work they are doing and the commitment they have, particularly in the difficult circumstances since the horrific murders on Christmas Eve. However, I want to raise the chronic issue of the lack of Garda numbers, which is affecting the confidence of people in Dublin West in the ability of the State to provide a service. Confidence in community safety is dropping like a stone. I have an issue relating to Hollywoodrath in my constituency, and The Crescent. I have here a …

On the issue of scramblers, unfortunately our communities are not feeling safe or supported. A 50% rise in the number of gardaí leaving the service is deeply worrying in terms of tackling this scourge. Since the introduction of legislation, only one significant action has taken place, which was in Limerick where 44 scramblers were seized. Will the Tánaiste join me to urge parents and guardians not to purchase a scrambler or quad bike over the Christmas period if they are going to be used on our streets, parks and o…

"Everyone Should Have a Home" is played every week outside these Houses by Martin Leahy. Every week, the cry of thousands of people is, "We should have a home, and why has this Government let us down?". Children ask their terrified parents why they are moving, and will Santa know where they are. They ask, "Why is the tree not up? It is nearly Christmas". Over the past few weeks, I have had families in my office absolutely terrified of the situation they find themselves in and about what their future holds. In the p…

First, our thoughts and hopes for a full recovery go out to the young child and her carer and those injured in the horrific violent and criminal acts carried out last Thursday. Our thoughts are also with the teachers and staff of Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire. Everyone who heard the news was numbed and shocked. There was deep concern and fear about what would happen afterwards. We saw on social media that right-wing racists began to whip up hate and call for violence. One well-known celebrity thug called for war on ou…

I would like to claim that I wrote the following words, but I did not. These are the words of the Tánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin, who stated: It has been reported that the Government [is about to] publish a Green Paper prepared by ... Minister ... Shatter, which will propose that Ireland loosen[s] the triple lock [in relation to] overseas military engagements. This is happening just as the final countries are formally enacting the Lisbon measures which explicitly address[es] ... concerns on this matter. It appears…

I welcome the news today that the Israeli apartheid regime and Hamas have agreed a deal that will see women and children who are held hostage by both regimes being released. I reiterate the call that all hostages including the hundreds held by Hamas and the thousands being held by the Israeli regime are released without any preconditions. I note that despite the horrors inflicted on the Palestinian people so far in Gaza the Israeli apartheid government has stated its full intention to continue the slaughter. We kno…

I thank the Social Democrats for putting forward the motion. I welcome the news that Ibrahim Alagha and his family, it is hoped, will come home today and I echo the calls for everyone, all the hostages, to be released. It is critical we use whatever means we have and whatever leverage we can use to put pressure on the Israeli apartheid regime to commence an immediate ceasefire. What happened on 7 October was wrong. It was horrific, and those who carried out any attacks on innocent civilians should be held accountab…

Where is the evidence? Where is your evidence?

That is untrue.

I have to correct the record.

I was telling the truth.

Could the Minister of State provide an update on the progress of the community recognition fund and make a statement on the matter?

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I acknowledge that the fund will go some way towards building community supports and community integration. It somewhat recognises the generosity of many of our communities throughout the State. The very fact that the fund was put in place acknowledges the pressure on facilities owing to the huge number of asylum seekers, refugees and Ukrainians who have come into our communities. It is not within the Minister of State's remit but there is deep concern that his collea…

Again, I welcome the initiative. However, I wish to issue a note of caution and concern regarding the significant number of people coming into the country, particularly Ukrainians. Somewhere in the region of 500 to 800 are coming in per week. Those seeking international protection and asylum seekers are coming in as well. A very large number of people are coming in. There are areas within the State that will not benefit from this community recognition fund, which amounts to €50 million over two years. I ask that th…

This question is on the need to provide capital funding for new library buildings. Will the Minister make a statement on the matter?

I am asking this question on behalf of Deputy Ó Laoghaire. He has a particular interest in one in his constituency, which I assume is getting one of the ten new library buildings of the 33 that applied. Libraries are an essential service in our communities. In my constituency of Dublin West, we are blessed to have a magnificent state-of-the-art library. We also have a mobile library that goes around the community. The library is well used. It is packed. In fact, it is so full that is very difficult for students in …

This question is on the same topic. Will the Minister advise on the recent engagement her Department has had with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on remote working to support rural workers and communities in view of the recent passing of legislation that would provide a legal right to promote working, and will she make a statement on the matter?