The Good Friday Agreement is built on the European Convention on Human Rights. All through the document, the signatories and co-guarantors refer to human rights, equality and justice as the foundations that would move society away from conflict and sustain a lasting peace. Sadly, the Good Friday Agreement did not reconcile with the past or engage with the rights of victims and survivors. However, as we have seen, the human rights landscape transformation that occurred has benefited many bereaved families and some o…

I met a woman recently when I was canvassing in Huntstown, which is in my constituency. To say that she was extremely worried about the never-ending increases in her mortgage interest rate and was becoming increasingly concerned that there will most likely be more increases in interest rates in the coming months is an understatement. As was stated, the Central Bank of Ireland has increased its key lending interest rates an incredible six times. In real-life terms, this means 250,000 people on tracker mortgages have…

The issue is around timelines for implementation. I understand it is a complex issue and, as the Minister explained, many Departments are involved in implementation of the policy. She mentioned compulsory measures. We are concerned about the time taken to come up with the strategy, how that is going to be implemented and what it will look like.

I ask the Minister provide an update on the forthcoming islands strategy, when the strategy will be published and if she will make a statement on the matter.

I welcome the Minister's response. I may be a city person who travels through towns and villages only when going on a weekend trip or visiting family, but there undoubtedly is a great deal of dereliction, with many unoccupied buildings. It can be shocking at times to pass through some of the smaller villages and to see the extent of, first, the housing crisis but also the image the dereliction presents. On the issue of staffing, the Minister stated in October, "A key function of these Officers will be the developme…

I appreciate the answer around the appointments. It is good to see 22 people have been appointed. There are four left to be appointed. That will be excellent. In terms of the implementation, I await the first report back from that to see how it is being implemented and monitored.

Will the Minister report on the Department's engagement with the future board leaders pilot scheme for individuals who are interested in volunteering their skills with organisations that have board vacancies, in particular those from minority backgrounds?

It is something that is critically important for the development of our communities. Coming from a constituency like that of the Minister of State where a huge population has come in over the past 20 years, it is really important that we provide every opportunity we can to encourage, upskill and train for people to come on to voluntary boards. I have been involved in voluntary boards for close to 30 years. It is becoming harder and harder to encourage people. A lot of the regulation and governance, which is extreme…

I was contacted last week by a constituent. She said, "I am facing homelessness and I don't know where I'm going to go, but there's a house in my area that has been empty for ages." I am not the only one who gets these messages with photos of empty houses through Facebook and via email. I am not the only one who sees empty homes in every single estate with leaflets stacked high in hallways. We trek back down the driveway and we wonder what the backstory is. We cannot get every single house back into use because the…

I again appeal for help with the lack of spaces for children with autism in Dublin 15. The Danu special school will not have a place this year and will have one in September 2024. An extension to Castleknock Community School, which, despite all the promises given because it took on extra students, still has not been delivered. Powerstown Educate Together in Tyrrellstown has zero school places for children with autism in 2023-24. An average of 42 places are required at secondary school level for children with autism…

I was contacted last week by a constituent. She said, "I am facing homelessness and I don't know where I'm going to go, but there's a house in my area that has been empty for ages." I am not the only one who gets these messages with photos of empty houses through Facebook and via email. I am not the only one who sees empty homes in every single estate with leaflets stacked high in hallways. We trek back down the driveway and we wonder what the backstory is. We cannot get every single house back into use because the…

I commend Deputy Higgins for her damning indictment of 12 years of Fine Gael in power. It was pretty powerful. I commend all the staff who work in hospitals and in our community care services. Just this afternoon, we attended a tree-planting service for those who died during Covid. Some of those were our doctors, our nurses, cleaners and other staff who worked on the front line in the direct firing line of Covid. We can never fully understand what they went through during that period. That really tough and difficul…

I met last week with the parents and staff of Danu Community Special School. It is clear that the building is not fit for purpose. It has serious design safety issues with students at flight risk on a main road. Its poor design has left the principal without an office. Poor design has left toilets with up to 40% of the classroom space plus a myriad of other design issues. It is not sufficiently large enough to cope with the number of students with additional needs. Many are unable to access a place until 2024. In f…

Like many people in Dublin West I was absolutely shocked at the shameful decision to end the eviction ban. The Taoiseach, the Minister of State, Deputy Jack Chambers, and the Minister, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman, in my constituency, all sit around the Cabinet table and are part of the first Government to make a conscious decision to increase the numbers of individuals and families into homelessness. What is more shocking to the people I have spoken to about housing over the past week is the lack of empathy from the Go…

The Minister was right in one thing he said in his speech. The market system delivers. It delivers billions in profits for the energy companies. Last week business customers of Electric Ireland got welcome news that their bills would be reduced for the first time in a long time by 10% for electricity and 15% for gas. This is great news for them but many households are still waiting for news on reductions in their bills. They continue to pay sky-high energy bills, with electricity and gas bills more than double what…

I will use this chance to raise the situation of the urgent care centre, that is, the walk-in service at Connolly Hospital and its transition to an appointment-only facility. I know that many parents in Dublin West and the wider community were delighted to hear we had got an urgent care centre in Blanchardstown and a place to which they could drop their child, if the child was ill. There was a huge campaign to try to get the children's hospital into Blanchardstown. This was something to which people looked forward.…

While there is obviously demand for services, that is not the reason this decision has been made. When there is demand, that demand needs to be met. One does not change a service to suit the fact that demand cannot be met. That issue has not been addressed. I appreciate CHI will continue the current approach for four weeks but parents will continue to bypass Connolly Hospital and go to Temple Street. I asked what is the upper limit on the number of appointments that can be taken given that there is already massive …

We will see how it goes in three months.

A new floor of apartments has been added on top of an apartment building in Mulhuddart. There is a replacement heating system for the building because the existing one broke. Nothing else was done in the apartment block and the landlord has now increased the rent by 103%. A number of those tenants have now been given an eviction notice following an increase that they were not even informed of. Does the Taoiseach believe that protections are required or need to be strengthened so that we can have a long-term, functi…

In response to the European Commission's proposals for a green deal industrial plan for a net-zero age, EU leaders called for further work to be undertaken in several areas, including state aid. It appears that leaders have limited the Commission's state aid work to consider the procedural issues in minor temporary support. As a small member state with significant domestic supply and export opportunities in renewable energy, the Government should be directing the work of the Commission to consider how we can streng…