First, I pay tribute to all the front-line workers and all those who have been working so hard over the past number of months. I express sympathy again to the family and friends of those who have passed way and those who have suffered throughout this pandemic and crisis. Covid-19 has seen the decimation of many small businesses across the State, certainly across my constituency. I have been in contact with many of them over the past number of months since the initial shutdown and also as the guidelines changed and …

The section of the programme for Government that deals with education states that teachers and pupils are at the heart of the education system. Earlier this week, I visited Edmund Rice College in Blanchardstown. It has been waiting for a new school building for five years. It has now been told that the earliest it will be delivered will be February 2022. The reality is that construction takes far longer than that and the school believes the building will be delivered later that year, possibly in September 2022. If …

I thank my colleague, Deputy Ward, for bringing forward this motion. The Minister has heard that our communities sound like war zones because of the number of fireworks that have been going off for the past number of months and their power. Dozens of messages and videos about this issue have been sent to me through Facebook by people from across Dublin West, from the Navan Road, through Tyrrelstown and down to Ongar. I was walking my dog in the Millennium Park, next to where I live, and I could turn 360 degrees and…

That is taxpayers' money, not yours.

Be truthful about it.

I would like to ask the Minister what provisions have been made for funding for community centres into 2021 due to the restrictions on local fundraising due to Covid-19, and also, importantly, the reduced capacity to operate cafés and receive income from room rentals. The Minister knows they are not businesses. They are not there to make a profit but to support the community and they need to be supported as we go forward.

I am sure that the Minister of State has spoken to a large number of community centre managers. Many of those to whom I have spoken are concerned. They appreciate the funding that has been provided, but they say it is not enough, given that the impact on their centres has been enormous. Most closed and then reopened with significantly reduced capacities. Many of the centres had to retain reserve funds because they were companies limited by guarantee, but they are now approaching the end of that pot. Their reserve f…

I will cite a couple of sentences. I sent out a survey to a number of community centres. One response struck me, that of Huntstown in Castleknock in my constituency. The centre stated that its reserve funds had been depleted and its traded income was down by more than 80%. Along with that traded income, the CSP grant received was used to bring people up to the minimum wage. This centre is concerned because, if it does not have a reserve fund and income coming in, the CSP funding will not be able to meet the minimum…

On the policing and community safety Bill, I welcome the plan to place a reciprocal obligation on public service bodies to co-operate with the Garda. As we know, preventing antisocial behaviour and the issue of community safety is very important for us all. Many of our areas are suffering, and issues such as fireworks, scramblers and continued antisocial behaviour, including drug dealing etc., have been raised in the House. We need community support and involvement of youth services to support public bodies. Where …

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on our country, North and South. In fact, I believe it has changed all our lives in some way and I do not believe it will ever be the same again. We must never act in the same way. The Covid-19 virus does not distinguish between rich and poor but the health outcomes for rich and poor can be seen in the statistics throughout the world. Our society must never act in a way that leaves one citizen behind. We must do what we must and be bold at this time. I wish to recognise …

I will use as little time as I can to allow my colleagues to come in. I thank the previous Deputies who cut their time short. I strongly welcome the Bill that has been brought forward by my colleague, Deputy Ó Broin. This is something I have always strongly supported and I believe all of those in our communities who believe in fairness and justice will also support it. Only the vested interests would oppose it. I acknowledge there are decent landlords out there, whom I have met, who have not raised their rents to t…

Early on in this crisis, I held a Zoom meeting with well over 70 taxi drivers. They were really upset and concerned about their industry. Like many Deputies, I have received hundreds of emails and calls from taxi drivers since the beginning of the pandemic. They feel the taxi industry has been overlooked by the Government. It is now imperative that the Government commit to a financial package to get drivers back to work. As we see from the statistics, many drivers are in the older age group. They may be over 70, an…

This evening at 9.30 p.m. on RTÉ, a programme will be aired that shows incontrovertible evidence that the British state colluded with the killings of hundreds of Irish citizens. It shows in particular the Glenanne gang, some of whom were also members of the security forces. I have spoken to people on the Relatives for Justice committee and they said that the citizens of the North feel abandoned. All the families are asking for is truth and justice with dignity. They are suggesting that the Irish Government needs to…

I welcome the chance to speak on some of aspects of the Bill. During the general election when we were all on the canvass trail, I met and spoke to many Defence Forces personnel in Dublin West and in every single case they said to me that they were proud to serve and to be a member of the Defence Forces. However, they all had disappointing stories to tell of how they were treated in terms of their pay, conditions and retirement entitlements. Having committed their lives to the Defence Forces and, in some cases, ris…

Before I continue, I wish to refer to the comments of the previous speaker, Deputy Crowe, relating to the young girls in north County Dublin. Many of the comments he made today have been found to be untrue and misinterpreted. We have to be really careful when we are looking at things coming up on social media. We need to figure out whether these things are truthful because they are serious matters. I would like that clarified. I will address the issue at hand today. Covid-19 has had an impact on this island like no…

On the same issue, there was also a tragic incident over the weekend in the constituency the Tánaiste and I represent. I have spoken with the Garda, the local authority and local people about it. I am not going to go into it because it is fresh in the mind. I worked for Tusla and the HSE for a number of years and on many occasions, I have seen young people and adults presenting themselves to hospitals in dire straits. Their mental health had completely collapsed and they went to those hospitals looking for help. Th…

The Minister has heard from many Members on this issue. I plead with her to listen to Deputies who have expressed their concerns about sections 13 and 14, what is becoming known as the vulture fund section of this Bill. People have been fighting these vulture funds in the courts. They thought they had won some sort of security but this will rip that from them. I spoke to somebody today who had a horrific experience with the vulture funds and fought them tooth and nail. They lied and lied again and we are handing th…

I thank those who brought forward this motion. I have had the honour of standing with the workers of Debenhams, who have been on strike for over 100 days in Blanchardstown and at some of the other stores, including Henry Street. It must be remembered that many of these stores that people are picketing today were trading profitably prior to the Covid-19 crisis, which forced the closure. The vulture groups still have their hands on the stores in Britain and the highly profitable Irish website. I am not sure whether t…

I recently attended the annual general meeting of a local community centre. I would like to outline some of the serious situations facing not only this centre but many other community centres and projects in the coming months and, more important, in 2021. This community centre has eight staff members and a co-ordinator and it receives a grant from Pobal of approximately €184,000 in respect of those staff. The funding has not been increased since 2013 and thus it has not kept up with inflation. The current funding p…

I welcome the additional funding for Covid-19 and the Covid payment that was provided. The crux of the discussion is that CSP funding is a fixed annual contribution towards the cost of an agreed number of full-time positions, including that of manager. Unfortunately, it does not bring up the payment to the level of the minimum wage. The cost is €9.38 per member of staff, whereas the minimum wage is €10.10, and it has not increased in a long time. There is a structural and fundamental issue with the CSP. My belief, …