I am happy to get that clarified.

I agree entirely. The Taoiseach has said that, "Social media is the public health issue of our time". It is nice that he has discovered it after voting against the Bill to ban recommender algorithms just a few months ago. However, does the Taoiseach think that this public health issue just stops as soon as people turn 16? Does he think that people are then suddenly immune to addictive design, to infinite scroll, to the manosphere and to pro-eating disorder content being spewed out at them? All of that will remain o…

The Taoiseach voted against-----

The greed of Rotunda Hospital consultants on public-only contracts trying to get a way with still treating private patients in public hospitals has been front-page news all week. The Minister for Health has said she believes "in equality for every baby being born". The idea that some mothers and babies should get better care because of having more money is absolutely abhorrent but the question is: should that equality for babies stop the moment that they leave the maternity hospital? There is an unpublished report …

The Minister's commitment to public healthcare is somewhat undermined by the fact that private suites are being built in the new national children's hospital right now - more inequality literally being built into the system even though private care in public hospitals is meant to be expiring. I will ask again whether the Minister agrees that this report needs to be published. People have the right to see these figures which show the reality of the horrific effect of having private for-profit healthcare happening wi…

Apologies from Deputy Crowe who supports this issue but cannot be here this morning. I welcome the DEIS plus scheme. It can make a real difference for children in school communities with high levels of educational disadvantage. The extra resources will make a real difference. There are other issues around the country but we are raising a particular issue regarding a school which is excluded from the current scheme. It has appealed that. It seems to highlight a flaw in the methodology which is primarily based, as fa…

We absolutely accept there need for objective criteria. That is not in doubt. The question is whether we have objective criteria that capture the reality beyond simply the geographical deprivation index. It is not entirely clear. I do not think a list of the criteria has been published - if a school is above this, it is in but if a school is below this, it is out. The school has appealed. There is a limit in the appeals process because the only basis on which the school could really appeal was to update the Primary…

I want to condemn the horrific attack in Belfast on Monday night and commend those who bravely intervened. I also want to condemn what was effectively a racist pogrom in Belfast last night. The scenes and the stories of families having their homes burned down and being forced to flee out of burning homes by violent gangs were absolutely heartbreaking. It is grimly reminiscent of the pogroms in Belfast in the 1920s and the 1960s. The Taoiseach has rightly condemned those who set those homes alight. Will he also cond…

What this debate is about is the shameful decision of the Government to gut Senator Frances Black's occupied territories Bill by excluding services. It only took up a tiny fraction of the Minister's opening statement but everybody knows that is what this debate is about. It is about the Government's decision to ignore the unanimous position of the foreign affairs committee and this Dáil. It is about its decision to ignore the fact that Spain has implemented measures on services with no comeback and no legal action …

Family, friends and supporters of justice for Terence Wheelock were on the streets on Saturday. Terence was a young man who left his home 21 years ago. He was arrested by the Garda and brought to Store Street Garda station where he received fatal injuries from which he never recovered, and he never came home again. After that, his cell was completely renovated and repainted instead of being preserved for investigation. The photos show substantial bruising and cuts that were not on Terence's body when he was arreste…

South Dublin County Council management is planning massive rent hikes for 20,000 families from July of this year. That includes council tenants, HAP tenants, homeless HAP tenants and approved housing body tenants. The council is increasing the base rate by 25% but also making a series of other changes such as incorporating into the assessment the working family payment, which means some families are going to see their rents increased in July by 53%. Not only is this massively unjust and unaffordable for many, it fl…

For some.

No. The base rate is up 25%. Everyone is up 25%.

Should the councillors not get to vote on it?

Council management is on it contrary to the vote of the councillors.

But the Taoiseach agrees that the councillors should get to vote and it should be suspended until there is a vote of the council.

We want to give power to councillors, not council management.

The councillors.

I raise the matter of a group of children who are being left behind by this Government. Those are children with mild or moderate learning disabilities and complex needs. Mothers of children with Down's syndrome have written to me to express how abandoned they feel. They say that the Government is intentionally misleading people by talking about special classes when 89% of those classes are designed for children with autism. It is welcome that we are getting autism classes but the Government should be honest about t…

I had a look at petrol and diesel prices before I came into the Chamber. The Circle K on Belgard Road in Tallaght is charging €1.85 per litre for diesel and €1.84 per litre for petrol, even after the two rounds of VAT and excise cuts. A year ago, the average price for diesel was €1.76 and for petrol, it was €1.68. There is, therefore, still a big additional cost for ordinary people. In my constituency, many people are basically forced to drive because public transport is so bad and inadequate. It depends on where t…