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?

I am happy to hear of the Minister's fulsome support for remote working and people working from home. The committee was recently on Arranmore during a visit to the islands. It was incredible to hear that, at one stage, there were only two remote workers on the island. That has increased due to the hub and due to improved broadband, which is critical. Our committee is looking at rural broadband in the morning. Twenty-seven people are now working from home on the island, which is really welcome. I have a note of caut…

We need to continuously review the use of remote hubs and whether usage is increasing, with more people signing up to them and using them regularly. That will give an indication of how strong the legislation is to protect workers and to enable them to work from the remote hubs or if they wish to work from home. I think there will be a mixture, as we go forward, of people working from home, in hubs and in their offices where they would normally work. On the issue of collaboration and people working together, there i…

This question, which I am taking on behalf of Deputy Ó Laoghaire, is to ask the Minister to provide an update on the roll-out of the town centre first policy, and if she will make a statement on the matter.

There is €115 million for regeneration projects across rural towns. How much of this has been spent? Additionally, I refer to the total of three buildings up to a total grant of €500,000. Local authorities have now been informed of the successful applications under this measure. Can we get details of these properties? Could we seek an update on the scheme designed to support the revitalisation of rural Ireland to support activities such as projects focusing on town centre regeneration, enhancing streetscapes and br…

No, it is fine.

I ask the Minister about the progress of the charities regulation Bill.

I welcome the fact that it is coming in the near future. I hope that is, as the Minister of State says, the very near future. This is one of those extremely important pieces of legislation. We spent a lot of time at the committee on pre-legislative scrutiny. It was really interesting. It was one of the more interesting committees I have been involved in because there was some brilliant collaboration between all the parties and between the Charities Regulator as well in terms of trying to get this right. That is the…

I commend anybody who is involved in boards. I have been involved in boards and I am sure many of us have been involved in charities and boards for many years. Governance is something we look at and there are more policies coming at us every year but it is important that governance is seen as a top priority for every charity. One wrong move can really damage the incredible work that goes on on the ground. I commend everybody who is involved and it is the week for it. It is important that we acknowledge everybody wh…

I also thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion. I thank all the workers who are going into people's homes as we speak and providing incredible support to those who need that help. I know that from personal experience. I talked to such a worker in my mother's home yesterday morning. She was coming into the house to help my mother. The work they do is absolutely incredible and we need to support them as much as we possibly can. It is clear, however, that the Government is, unfortunately, not dealing w…

Road safety is a massive issue for everyone. The recent statistics on recent road deaths are absolutely frightening. In my constituency there are high-performance cars at the M3 garage in Hollywoodrath. I sympathise with those who want to show off their cars. They have taxed and insured them and they spend a lot of time and energy on them, but they are let down by idiots who drive their cars in an extremely dangerous way up and down our roads and use them as race tracks. I have met with the gardaí and I sympathise …

Yet again there is no sign of light at the end of the tunnel for those workers and families who continue to struggle with the crippling cost of energy on top of the continuing rise in the cost of living. Many Deputies, possibly including the Minister of State, are getting emails from constituents who are worried about their bills for the upcoming winter. They are worried about turning on the heat and the light. It has not been that cold yet, but it is certainly turning colder and they are fearful of what their bill…

Sometimes we get bogged down and lost in numbers, statistics and figures. We hear of millions and billions. I listened earlier to a report from Zara King on Virgin Media. It frightened me to my core and angered me. Many of us have elderly parents who could be in the position she described. Ms King wanted to illustrate that a particular lady was active and how healthy she was when she got a tummy bug and got sick. She was sick with her stomach. She went into the hospital on 3.30 p.m. on a Monday and was left sitting…

She has a copy. She should read that book. The stories are heartbreaking, but also inspiring.

I raise the issue of the significant increase in the number of cars stolen throughout the State. We have seen a surge in Dublin 15 and Dublin 7 in particular. It is many years since I have seen joyriding and cars being burnt out on a such a scale. There is a solution, however. Most, if not all, of the cars are imported from Japan and have no alarms or immobilisers, making them incredibly vulnerable to theft. In Dublin 15, gardaí are dealing with this proactively by stopping people in those types of cars and warning…

The people of Gaza need our support now. They need it this evening, in the next hour and minute, because they are dying in their hundreds. These are men, women and children, innocent civilians, who have no connection with Hamas which perpetrated brutal, violent and unjustifiable acts last weekend. There is no justification for the killing of civilians on either side. All acts of violence must end immediately. International law must be respected and enforced. The forced displacement of 1 million Palestinians, half o…

I welcome the National Federation of Voluntary Bodies, the workers in the Gallery and those who are looking in. Sometimes I think I live in a parallel universe. I was sitting here listening to Deputies McGuinness and McAuliffe, who have stated, and I am paraphrasing, that it has not caught up on them, they are not surprised that people are taking this action and it is disgraceful - all these lovely words. They also talked about the strong will of the parliamentary party in Fianna Fáil. Did they put forward a motion…

----section 56 and section 10 organisations?

Not once was it mentioned.