Now that the Minister of State has given the response, I can go into a little more of the nitty-gritty. The Minister of State mentioned the Covid issues and the restrictions on working practices, etc. The council was aware of this from an early stage but it took the word of the contractor. I have had stories told to me about electricians walking off site because they were not getting paid commensurate to the increases in costs. As they are obviously the ones who have to certify the work, this would have caused dela…

If you did a search of the contributions I have made in this Chamber since my re-election in November of last year, you would find that Gaza, the West Bank and Palestine in general will come up top. That is a sadness for me. The relentless genocide in Gaza is continuing, as is the ongoing occupation of the West Bank, including settlers murdering innocent people in the past week. It is ongoing. It is a systematic tearing apart of the West Bank. I mentioned in previous contributions that the Israeli state - either di…

I like a bit of banter. The EPA's 2025 water quality report highlights that agricultural pressures, particularly from nitrogen and phosphorous - I will focus on nitrogen - from livestock manure, fertilisers, etc., remain the dominant threat to our rivers, lakes and especially our estuaries. The nitrates directive has been talked about for many years and Ireland's derogation is central to the findings in this and previous reports because stricter limits are now absolutely required to protect our water quality. This …

It is not really possible to talk about economic sustainability without environmental sustainability because the true cost of doing that business is not being taken into consideration. It is also about the impact on our tourism offering and jobs for people in rural areas and our viability as an industrial location in terms of our water quality. Many other factors are involved. Our healthcare system is also affected and the cost of our healthcare system is affected when our rivers are not at optimal quality. The Gov…

I was not able to listen to the Minister of State's earlier contribution so I am not sure what was said. However, I did read through the points that were made in relation to the meeting, and I have taken some notes. The key focuses were on Ukraine, the so-called Middle East peace process, defence readiness, competitiveness, the energy transition, digital sovereignty, migration and the ongoing enlargement process. I have a couple of comments to make on those. On the Ukraine issue, it is heartening that member states…

It is good that we have the opportunity to make some statements, particularly after the announcement that a tribunal of inquiry is to be set up. It is welcome news, but I will be very interested in the terms of reference when they are on paper and when we have sign-up involving all the families and children involved. We may have made some progress in reducing numbers, but more children are joining the lists and at a faster rate. There have been questions about why children were bumped off the list before. They have…

Comhghairdeas leis an iarAire, an Teachta Donohoe, as a phost nua sa Bhanc Domhanda. I also congratulate the newly appointed Ministers. I may not have agreed with his team's style of play but there is no doubt that as part of the collective, the former Minister, Deputy Donohoe, has been an outstanding leader in finance and especially during the tough times. I would say he is the veritable Séamus Coleman of his team. However, in terms of this team, he looked and said, "We are not going to make the playoffs", so he t…

Unfortunately, we have no Troy Parrott or Katie McCabe in our team who will take us to the next level, moving forward. A year ago, at the start of this Government, I said it was kind of a Chappell Roan moment - good luck, babes - because in five years' time, I was going to say I hate to say it but I told you so. We are one year through that now. If there is not going to be another Fine Gael Taoiseach for a long time to come, after Simon Harris, the Government should grab the bull by the horns and say, "We are going…

We need to continue showing solidarity with Ukraine in the face of this unjust war. The systematic targeting by Russia of civilians, medical facilities, maternity hospitals, and schools, along with the mass abduction and indoctrination of Ukrainian children, shows all the hallmarks of genocide. Ukraine is still facing an ongoing existential threat but is bravely fighting back against a much bigger aggressor. Almost four years on from the Russian invasion, we need to continue standing with Ukraine. In this context, …

It is fair to say that over the last decade in particular, Ireland has made some commendable efforts to foster a culture of scientific creativity and collaboration within the academic institutions and industry, and also in terms of policy development. You have to give credit where it is due. Obviously, it could be said that Science Week lies at the heart of this movement because it is a flagship initiative that predated the foundation of Science Foundation Ireland and its merger with the Irish Research Council to f…

I thought I was sharing time with Deputy Lawless. If he comes in, I will try to finish up quickly. Otherwise, I would like the opportunity to spend some time on this very important issue. I thank Deputy Farrelly for tabling the Bill, which is hugely important. We have had others in the past push towards it. Maybe society has changed and maybe we are getting to the point where we are ready to make this leap. It is a momentous leap, if we make it and it is a very important motion. First, I will address the Government…

We have had several discussions on this and related legislation associated with the budget. In some ways, we have tended to go around in circles. We are repeating the same things time and again because there have been no efforts to make any efforts to do what Opposition Deputies have suggested. On the one hand, I am not surprised but, at the same time, I am disappointed. I will look at the auto-enrolment section first. I agree with what colleagues have said about auto-enrolment and lower earners. Sometimes those wh…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate, however briefly. I agree with colleagues that the motor insurance rip-off has to end. I was calling for action on this issue 25 years ago and it is still going on. We have to increase competition. That is something we can do from an EU perspective. We also need measures to encourage better behaviour because, whether we like it or not, most accidents do involve younger drivers, especially male drivers. We need carrots and sticks. We need incentives. There was a…

I noted the Tánaiste's earlier comments about a national migration strategy due in 2026. I presume this is the national asylum and migration management strategy that relates to the EU asylum and migration pact in which we are currently participating. In that context, given that we are a representative democracy and we have occasional debates on this issue, in order to stop the manipulation on the far left side of the politics of identity and on the far right of the politics of hate, we need more debate. Yesterday, …

I cannot say much in two minutes other than to point out that we need a much wider debate on this issue. Without proper, respectful discourse, a vacuum is created and that vacuum is taken over by radical groups that foment hatred and spew disinformation. That leads to there being open season to verbally abuse and possibly physically abuse anyone on a bus with darker skin. We have seen that happening all around the country and I have seen it in my constituency. It is absolutely reprehensible. At the same time, there…

Every now and again, I raise issues on behalf of constituents relating to dodgy, unscrupulous landlords who are not registered with the Residential Tenancies Board. In some cases, they are also exploiting their tenants. In other cases, they are not planning compliant and operate in a very dangerous way. However, when I ask for an update from the Residential Tenancies Board, it says it cannot update parties who have made referrals, it would not be appropriate to do so given the fact the RTB may be pursuing a crimina…

This legislation is welcome, if modest. As others have mentioned, it is a response to disruption caused by Storm Éowyn. It will allow for the creation and maintenance of forestry corridors and vegetation management, subject hopefully to environmental obligations under the Habitats and Birds Directives. I have no problem with the legal mechanism to make an additional €1.5 billion equity investment in the ESB to part finance the PR6 energy grid investment programme. However, I am more interested in the larger scale i…

Hear, hear.

I welcome this debate on expanding the geographical area covered by the presidential election and amending the requirements to run for President to make it easier to do so. To start with the issue of the diaspora, we know the constitutional convention was not limited to the Northern Irish state but also dealt with the diaspora around the world. Unfortunately, whether we like it or not, our Irish citizens in Northern Ireland are in another jurisdiction, so they would have to be treated as the diaspora for the purpos…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. In some ways, there will be a certain amount of repetition because we have all been asked by the Movember movement to reference its report titled, "The Real Face of Men's Health", and its key findings and recommendations. If there is repetition, it is no harm because it is sending a message. I will repeat that men are dying prematurely in Ireland and that the figure is 40% higher than the rate for females. This is something that has happened over a long period…