We are all in touch with many members of community organisations who work with and support Ukrainian refugees. They utilise every tool and all funding and support that they have built up in our communities over the years to support the thousands of Ukrainians who are coming into our country and communities. That is not unlimited and it has a cost to the people whom these organisations were already supporting in disadvantaged areas. I am concerned about the Minister of State's answer about shifting the focus of diff…

As I said, I have no issue with the fact that we had to react quickly. The communities, the organisations and the voluntary and community organisations acted really quickly. In some cases, they acted quicker than the State. This is because the State did not notice that, for example in my constituency, upwards of 70 Ukrainian refugees came into the community. The local organisations were not informed. Yet, they went in, they did the work and they stood up. When the Minister says that 600 community development worker…

Will the Minister inform the House of the status of discussions about multi-annual funding for section 38 and section 39 organisations? This has been a critical issue for many community and voluntary organisations throughout the State. They have been calling for multi-annual funding for years. Proper financial support is essential for project management. Staff retention is difficult and most staff are on year-to-year contracts with no pension entitlements or job security.

I appreciate the Minister's response. Multi-annual funding is a cornerstone for most community and voluntary groups to be able to put themselves on a firmer footing, as the Minister has explained. I will give him a good example of how important it is. I am aware of a particular addiction service that was down a member of staff for a period of six months during the pandemic and, for specific reasons, it could not recruit to find a replacement. This led to an underspend of €23,000 on the project. The HSE has insisted…

That is absolutely the case. That is key. I have seen it many times, as I am sure the Minister and every other Deputy has. Anybody who has worked in the community or voluntary sector will know about it. If an organisation that has a service level agreement is very good at managing its finances, it is penalised at the end of the year because that money is taken back. There is a concern that when the following year comes around, the HSE decides that organisation is very good because it did not need the level of fundi…

I would like to raise the issue of a residential management company in Tyrellstown, Dublin 15, which is using clamping as a method of collecting management fees. The vast majority of the residences are houses that missed the boat under the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011. They are not apartments but have been forced to remain under a management company. Does the Minister agree that management companies should not use clamping as a method to collect management fees? Would the Government support legislation against …

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, homeless and addiction services have been operating relentlessly as healthcare settings. They have remained open throughout the pandemic and must follow HSE protocols strictly, as required for congregated or healthcare settings, with all staff deemed healthcare workers in front-line services. At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, both homeless and drug-using populations were identified as being particularly vulnerable to the effects of Covid. As a board member of a…

In his statement the Minister of State has recognised that those who faced the highest risk have got the payment but that only includes those who faced the highest risk and who work in the public sector. There are many other people who faced such risk. If it was not for the likes of the Simon Communities and all of those homeless agencies who provide a front-line service every day, the State would have to involve itself in those services and it would have to pay those people because they would be public service emp…

Sinn Féin wants Ireland’s neutrality to be enshrined in the Constitution following a referendum. With this in mind, we fully support the People Before Profit-Solidarity Bill. Ireland is a militarily neutral state. We are not aligned with any military alliance. This legislation seeks to provide that the State shall not participate in any war or other armed conflict, nor aid foreign powers in any way in the preparation for war. Several opinion polls that have been conducted, including one in the middle of the ongoing…

I welcome the statement from the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman. The numbers are startling and the scale is something we have not seen since the war in the former Yugoslavia. I extend my welcome to all those Ukrainian people, including families and children, who have recently come into our community. I also commend the local partnerships and the many local people who have done amazing work. I see it on our local WhatsApp residents' groups. People are opening their hearts, they are opening their hands and they are openin…

I welcome the Bill and thank Deputy Cian O'Callaghan and the Social Democrats for bringing it forward. Sex for rent is a shocking concept. The fact that people who are looking to rent a property should have to give in to this awful exploitation to gain a roof over their head is so wrong as to be quite unbelievable in this day and age. I cannot for the life of me understand the mentality of those renting out a property who would somehow see this type of exploitation as normal practice. As the Bill states, this activ…

I cautiously welcome the Bill as it is essential to regulate the provision of any treatment or procedure for the purposes of surrogacy and IVF in the State. It is incredible for this most important medical procedure not to be regulated given that is has been flagged for so many years. I am sure we all know couples who, through no fault of their own, cannot have a child without the assistance of AHR treatment. The health and well-being of the mother and baby must always be to the fore and it cannot be allowed to bec…

I wish all women a very happy International Women's Day, especially my mother, my wife Angela, my daughter Kerry and all my friends and comrades. I think in particular of my mother, who raised seven children in the north inner city in circumstances of great difficulty, as did many women at that time. She really did a fantastic job in extremely difficult circumstances. I extend my solidarity to women across the world who are experiencing violence, fear, threats or intimidation in their homes, communities, cities or …

I welcome Senator Flynn and commend her, Deputy Ó Cuív and all other members of the committee on their important work. I am delighted to get a chance to talk about this report on the key issues facing the Traveller community. I will quickly commend all of those who work in the Blanchardstown Traveller Development Group who have been on the ground working with vulnerable families and individuals, providing food parcels, personal protective equipment and support throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Just before the pande…

I thank the Deputies for bringing the motion forward. It is a very appropriate time for it given the end of Covid restrictions which can no longer be used as an excuse for providing such a poor service to so many people. Deputy O'Rourke's example has really shown how poor that service is. Constituents are desperately getting in touch with all our offices to try to get a licence sorted out for work or some other important reason. We oppose the privatisation of public services. This is clearly a service that has prof…

I express my solidarity with the Ukrainian people at this time, and to those Ukrainian families living in my constituency who are no doubt terrified for their families and friends back home. As a citizen of a country that understands the impact of occupation and imperialist aggression, I offer whatever support I can to these people. I also add my full condemnation of the actions of the Russian President. We debated in this House previously that Ireland must use its seat on the United Nations Security Council more r…

This is from a local school: We have applied for Exceptional [need] Reviews ... [on three different occasions with] 3 different demands of paperwork. All were refused. We have now appealed but are so disheartened and have low expectations. Throughout the process, not one SENO/NCSE staff has visited our school. Our own SENO has in fairness been supportive but had no role in the reviews which were conducted remotely without any contact with the school. We already know that the support which is already inadequate for …

-----and that is what these schools, which are our schools-----

-----in his constituency are facing.

This is this week in the Tánaiste's constituency - our constituency.