I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion, not only as a Teachta Dála but also as someone who trained and worked as a journalist for many years creating original output and as someone who has had stints as a singer-songwriter, writing and recording original works, and who hopes to do so again in the future. I do see genuine uses of AI as a tool to speed up your creative process and to generate ideas based on your own original human spark and ideas, but, to be clear, the dangers for artists vastly outweigh th…

I support the motion because there are thousands of parents, many now in their 70s and 80s, who are worried about what will happen when they can no longer care for their child with an intellectual disability. This fear is real because, as referenced previously with regard to the HSE, there is no centrally maintained list for residential services. I know the disability capacity review estimates that Ireland needs at least 1,900 additional residential places by 2032 but this is potentially up to 4,000 if we look at r…

The HSE has rejigged the way it operates regionally and locally, but we still have issues with the recruitment of public health nurses, particularly in the Lucan, Clondalkin, Newcastle, Ballyfermot and Palmerstown CHN areas. I have previously raised issues like the Dublin allowance, pay restoration and other measures, such as building houses specifically for staff. We are told the HSE will not divvy out the limited resources equally. In my constituency, there are people suffering disproportionately when other areas…

I have raised it before.

The Bill is another piece of omnibus legislation. It tidies up the 2024 Act and is designed to fast-track the judicial review changes, clarify and firm up the ten-year development plan timelines, look at the critical infrastructure and increase the Housing Finance Agency's borrowing capacity. There is a lot contained in the Bill, on one side, but nothing on the other, to be quite honest, because it is primarily enabling legislation, at least in the areas I would like to focus on, namely the critical infrastructure …

Mar a déarfá, tús maith leath na hoibre. Even if it is only the start rather than half the work done, today's launch of the Presidency of the EU Council in Dublin Castle was, if Members can pardon the pun, a real "Ode to Joy" - from the band of the Defence Forces and the National Youth Choir who heralded the hanging of the Irish, EU and then the Ukrainian flags, to all the other performers, it was indeed a hugely positive occasion from an artistic and cultural perspective. "Samhradh Samhradh" was performed by a col…

I thank Deputy Charles Ward for tabling this latest motion on behalf of families who are living in defective homes and who have waited years for help. They have got some assistance but not anything near what is needed. As I have said previously, the Deputy is meeting his mandate 1 million times over and I am happy to support him. This motion is important for families on the western and north-western seaboards but also for those in other counties, as we have increasingly found out. The motion references the lack of …

Each week, thousands of mothers face the worry of not knowing when court-ordered child maintenance payments are going to arrive, or if they will arrive at all. Their ex-partners can drive their flashy cars, go on loads of holidays, sometimes gamble the money away and often live extravagant lifestyles while the women are forced to take out multiple loans just to pay the mortgage, buy food and pay for fuel. This deliberate non-compliance is basically a malicious form of coercive control and financial abuse but the co…

I will not use all the time. This is a mixed bag because we want to protect the citizens of this State from the wrong kind of people but, equally, we want to allow those who are not happy with the State to protest in a meaningful way without being lumped in with them. I support the motion if it is taken in isolation, in the absence of the real reform that others have been calling for, but I want to be entirely clear. As others have said, I do not agree that dragging it on year on year is right. I am very torn - the…

I am not the first to say it, but more than 11,000 children are on HSE dental and orthodontist waiting lists. Over 8,000 have been waiting more than a year. Half of all primary school children now finish school without ever receiving even a screening appointment. In some areas, the waiting time is four and a half years. This is not acceptable. In CHO 7, which covers Lucan, Palmerstown, Clondalkin, Saggart, Rathcoole, Citywest, Newcastle, Brittas and Adamstown, it is one of the bottlenecks. The Irish Dental Associat…

In its countermotion the Government mentions that it is close to meeting the first carbon budget, according to EPA projections. There are several issues raised, including that any emissions that exceed this budget have to be deducted from the second budget. There is also the fact that, as others have mentioned, the five-year budget will not be anywhere near being reached. It will be exceeded in all major sectors, tracking well above the legal limits by 2030 targets. It will be at just half of the required 51% natio…

Like previous speakers, I do not like the short notice given for this debate but I otherwise broadly welcome the Government motion on Ireland opting in to the proposed EU directive on combating firearms trafficking under Protocol 21. It makes sense because it aligns us with newer EU-wide rules on tracing, information and data sharing and penalties. The directive is focused on tackling the illegal movement of firearms, which is an activity that crosses all sorts of national borders in different jurisdictions with di…

This month's Irish Business Against Litter survey found an increase in the number of cigarette butts around our community. Cigarette butts cause damage to the environment in a number of ways. They are microplastics. They leach into the water system. It has been estimated that one butt can contaminate 1,000 litres of water, yet throughout the country, local authorities are doing nothing in their plans to educate or to enforce the law. Even here, in the smoking area just outside, there are butts scattered around. The…

When I was told that I had 90 seconds to talk about tourism, my first thought was "Aw fliuch", because tá sé ag cur baistí i gconaí an t-am ar fad, so we have to make use of the fliuch or the wetness in Ireland. One of the ways to do it would be to promote Ireland as a more climate-friendly destination to people from the likes of Spain and the south of France. They could come here, get a little bit of coolness and have a great experience. To tie in with that, i ndáiríre, we also have to make sure that we have prope…

I understand he may not be able to turn up. I will speak as long as I am able. Like everyone here, we are appalled at the Israeli state’s absolute dismantling of the West Bank over the years, whether it is allowing settlers to de facto annex parts of it in their own right or whether it is the state policy of dividing it up so as to make the West Bank no longer viable. This has been going on for decades and it is absolutely abysmal and reprehensible. It is on the same level as they have been treating the people of G…

I am just here in the nick of time. I welcome the opportunity to speak on this legislation. As others have said, it is a mishmash, and probably worse for that fact. I want to focus on the section dealing with access to counselling records in sexual offence trials. Last week, Beyond Surviving conducted a focused consultation with survivors - 52 individuals who engaged between 6 and 9 June. These are people who know the harsh reality of the courtroom and understand the consequences of how legislation is drafted in a …

As I and others have said in this House, the measures were too little and too late. Nevertheless, we are extending them for another period of time. I would have preferred to have seen them extended to September because I cannot see the Strait of Hormuz crisis being sorted out by then, given the incumbent in the White House. The measures are welcome insofar as they are coming forward, but they should have been for a longer duration and for greater amounts, while being cognisant at all times that the bigger picture, …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach. If Deputy Tóibín comes in, I will cede to him. I support this motion in principle and if gets to a vote, I will vote in favour of it, in some ways, symbolically. The message has to be sent out in any forum that Ireland stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine. We know we will ultimately vote on the Government's amendment, which I will not support. In the context of what people are being asked, and I hope this will be the case after the debate, I agree that…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on preparation for any type of future impact on our State. The one we had recently was obviously the ongoing fuel crisis related to Trump's illogical and downright dumb actions in the Strait of Hormuz and the way the United States and Israel are attacking the Iranian regime. It is an admittedly corrupt and murderous regime but that is not how you topple dictators, and we are suffering the consequences. Five years before that, we had to deal with the Covid pandemic. Ten years befor…

Here we are again with yet another extension. Nobody in this House disputes the value of the legislation but we have been bringing this Covid-era legislation on for five years to allow outdoor dining. At this stage, we have to get to the real legislation. My understanding is it has been tied up at committee with other stuff added on. We should have stand-alone legislation and get it through quickly to give permanent security to the many businesses that are feeling the pressure, especially with fuel price hikes. We …