I want to raise the issue of Danu Community Special School and its proposed relocation to Riversdale Community College. Several years ago, parents of children with additional needs in Dublin West worked hard and relentlessly to ensure their children's needs were met. They campaigned for and won the right to establish a special school in the area. The next task they faced was to find a temporary site, which they did at Hansfield Educate Together Secondary School. They then looked forward to pupils' future needs bein…

Reflecting on some of the answers given by the Minister of State, it is the opinion of the Danu Community Special School, Riversdale Community College and the parents that the agreement made stipulated that there would be temporary classrooms in Riversdale Community College, those classrooms would be refurbished and then a new school would be built on the site. The parents themselves strongly believe that it is not suitable for children with additional needs to be co-located in the long term in the same building as…

I thank the Regional Group of Independents and commend the Sinn Féin amendment as well. The postal service is an essential national and public service. Something we are looking at in the context of community development is societal value. We cannot look only at the financial value of everything. We must look at societal value and what is contributed to our communities. Unfortunately, the post office network has been crippled by closures and cutbacks. This is not just a rural problem; it also affects many urban area…

The programme for Government commits to examining the issue of defective housing within the first 12 months of government, having regard to the housing committee's report Safe as Houses, authored by Deputy Ó Broin. The Government's 12-month deadline has now passed and the working group chair was not appointed until March, which means a final report is unlikely before the end of next year. The question now concerns the implications of the delay for families in terms of the budget. As with defects associated with mic…

My colleague, Deputy Brady, made a presentation to the European Parliament standing delegation for relations with Palestine last week to brief parliamentarians from across the EU on the Dáil motion on the annexation of Palestinian lands by Israel. Michael Lynk, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory also attended. Ireland is recognised for the role it played in the anti-apartheid campaign during the 1980s. There is an urgent need for a similar campaign now in respons…

I am sharing time with Deputies Munster, Ellis and Cronin. Regarding the Minister's amendment to the Bill, the people will recognise the can being kicked down the road again. Unfortunately, unlike him and most of us in the House, they cannot wait 12 months. Their rent is due every month. The Minister's do-nothing attitude this evening will not help anyone, but our Bill will help everyone. The Bill, if implemented, will ensure that rents on existing tenancies will be capped at their rate on the date the new legislat…

I thank Deputy Bríd Smith for bringing forward the Bill. Like other Deputies, I have received many representations over the year regarding pensions and pension entitlements. The core issue for retired workers relates to where significant changes are made to the pensions of retired workers but those workers are unable to influence, and find it difficult to participate in, the decisions that affect them. I support the proposal to strengthen the rights of workers who have retired and their organisations and to provide…

I have been down at the site of the former Irish Glass Bottle Company in recent weeks while canvassing for Senator Boylan. I was struck by the potential the site holds for the future of our city. The key question for everyone involved in delivering the plan for this site is how we want to see our city grow in the next decade. Everything else will follow from that question. Is the vision an extension of what is known as Googletown, one that creates circumstances in which homes are out of reach for most of our citize…

I will raise a number of issues relating to Traveller accommodation in my constituency of Dublin West. Prior to the outbreak of Covid-19, I visited a substantial number of Traveller accommodation areas in and around the Dublin West area. Sadly, I was not surprised by what I saw because I have worked with the Travelling community for a number of years in Coolock and Darndale. None of the sites I visited could, in anyone's language, be described as acceptable. I acknowledge the significant work by Fingal County Counc…

I support the motion and call for an end to the repression in Belarus. Hijacking and piracy have no place in today's society regardless of who may be on board or their political persuasion. This was an Irish-operated flight with innocent passengers and flight staff on board. The grounding of this plane by this repressive regime is wrong and caused great fear, endangering innocent passengers and staff alike. The attacks on those who oppose this anti-democratic regime must end and those who carry out these attacks on…

The citizens of Ireland must be living in a different place from this Government. The young people of Ireland are definitely living in a different place because what the Minister of State explained in his statement to us bears no resemblance to what is happening on the ground. We have to end the insurance rip-off and reduce premiums for consumers. The personal injuries guidelines, which have been in place for over a month, have significantly reduced the cost of claims for insurance companies. The insurance companie…

I raise the issue of community policing. First, I wish the two injured gardaí from our area all the best in their recovery and I thank the gardaí in Dublin West who dealt with such a difficult situation. Dublin West has grown massively in the 25 years that I have lived there. Recently, as the Tánaiste will know, there have been developments in Pelletstown, Phoenix Park, Ballentree, Tyrellstown, Ongar, St. Joseph’s and Barnwell, and we will have new developments in Kellystown. Unfortunately, we have not seen a major…

There is no doubt these laws are absolutely draconian, that is recognised by everyone. In any normal society the laws we have been living under would never be contemplated nor would society ever have approved of their being brought in. However, the majority of people have believed and indeed agree that in a pandemic, they were needed to control the virus. Many people still believe some of these laws are necessary. However, there is a growing number of our citizens, as well as ourselves, who are becoming increasingl…

I ask the Minister when Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme, SICAP, funding will be restored to its 2008 level of €84 million, given that current funding is at 50% of this amount and given that this affects the most disadvantaged people within our communities.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. The funding over the five years of €197 million, if it was at the 2008 level, should be approximately €470 million. There is a massive difference between what people are getting now in SICAP funding and what they were getting 13 years ago. There is strong evidence that we are not all in this together. The Covid crisis has shown even more that communities, particularly disadvantaged communities, are severely disadvantaged in supports. In terms of SICAP, the funding is not suffici…

At the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands meeting last week, the chair and the CEO of the Irish Local Development Network, ILDN, stated clearly that SICAP providers have played a central role in communities across the country in responding to the needs which emerged during the Covid lockdown and beyond. As the Minister of State stated, they helped over 2,200 individuals on a daily basis who came to their services during the lockdown. As I said, this is so important…

The Covid crisis has shown us all clearly that the digital divide is as wide as every other divide in our society. If you are from a disadvantaged community then due to digital poverty your opportunities for education and work are limited. Will the Minister detail the provisions being implemented to deal with digital poverty in our communities?

I have it here.

That was not the one I referred to.

Okay, go ahead.