The Irish people are decent and generous and want to do their best to help those who are in need. Most Irish people want to provide supports for people fleeing violence and war. It is also important to state that communities across the country have welcomed migrants successfully and that many migrants make a very important contribution to both Irish society and the Irish economy. Aontú is a republican political party so we believe that everybody who is in Ireland should be treated equally and with fairness, no matt…

There are 4,000 children currently homeless. That is the equivalent of 171 classrooms of children who are homeless within this State and quite a shocking figure. That homelessness is leading to hundreds of deaths currently. It is estimated that in the past five years 1,400 people in the State have died in homelessness, which is horrendous. It is leading to a rise of major difficulties around mental health issues and addiction issues. Nutrition for children, education for children and socialisation of children are a…

The Government is going into battle with hundreds of landowners in counties Meath, Cavan and Monaghan about the North-South interconnector. There are 409 pylons, 51 m in height, some of them only 13 m from people's homes. There is serious fear about the damage that could be done to health, the value of the properties, businesses, the equine industry and the tourism industry. Has EirGrid bought material for these pylons before it has actually got permission from the farmers to get on the land? Some 97% of farmers sa…

In the past number of years, Aontú has introduced two animal welfare Bills. One related to puppy farms and the second to the stealing of pets from families. The reason we did so is because the entire animal welfare space in this country is in a bad place; so much so, that dog charities are currently at breaking point. The responsibility for animal welfare is split between four different Departments currently and puppy farms are churning out 30,000 puppies on an annual basis in this State. When we brought forward ou…

The recommencement of the war in Gaza is devastating. The IDF has admitted that yesterday was the most intense day since its ground war started in late October. UNICEF has said there are no safe zones anywhere in Gaza now. The World Health Organization, WHO, has said the situation is getting worse by the hour. Hamas has killed 1,200 people and taken 240 people hostage. That was a horrific war crime. However, 15,800 people have been killed by Israel just in the last two months. Shockingly, 6,000 of these have been c…

Misogyny, as well.

Every year Deputy McEntee has been Minister, the number of gardaí has fallen. Garda morale has collapsed and Garda recruitment is on the floor. Every single day, a garda is violently attacked. Gardaí are getting rammed, bitten and assaulted and are having chemicals sprayed in their eyes. Garda retirements and resignations are on the increase. In October just past, for the first time, resignations exceeded retirements for the reason of exit from the force. Prisons are now so overcrowded that the Minister is letting …

There are now 13,179 people in emergency homeless accommodation in Ireland. The number of children in emergency accommodation is 4,000. The total population of emergency accommodation is equivalent to the whole population of Midleton in Cork, a full mid-size town in Ireland. If we look at the number of children who are homeless in the State, it is equivalent to 171 classrooms of children. We should let this sink in. It is an incredible figure. Given that Fine Gael has been in power for 13 years, the Government has …

Resources, resources, resources. All the pages of legislation in the world will not change a thing unless the Government starts to put resources into the planning system. We have the worst housing crisis in the history of the State. It is estimated that about 30,000 homes are delayed due to the courts system in the State. Applications for more than 22,000 other homes are stuck in the planning process due to the decision-making backlog within An Bord Pleanála. That startling fact hangs around the neck of this Govern…

Ba mhaith mo thacaíocht a thabhairt don Bhille seo agus gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Matt Shanahan as é a chur os comhair na Dála. Gabhaim buíochas freisin le baill an Ghrúpa Réigiúnach atá ag úsáid a gcuid ama chun é seo a chur os comhair na Dála. I welcome this Bill. I thank Deputy Matt Shannon for putting it before the Dáil today. I also thank the Regional Group for using our Private Members' Business time to put it before the Dáil. There is a saying in business that you cannot manage if you cannot measure. …

Ba mhaith liom mo chuid ama a roinnt leis an Teachta Shanahan. I extend my thoughts and prayers to the five-year-old girl who was critically injured in last Thursday’s stabbing attack in Dublin, and to the hero school worker, who was also seriously injured and is in a serious condition in hospital. I commend the bravery of all those who intervened in the knife attack, many of whom are new to Ireland and are representative of the positive contribution that is being made to the country by many of our new residents. T…

Irish neutrality is a foreign policy tradition that stretches back over centuries. Irish political leaders from Wolfe Tone to O'Connell and James Connolly have advocated neutrality as the best way to serve the common good and to oppose militarism in society. Small countries have always been naturally sceptical of big military blocs because such blocs orientate their foreign policy around their own national interests, which normally means their economic interests. A perfect example of this has been the actions of th…

We have a situation where the democratic rights of the people of the North of Ireland have been deleted by the DUP. The boycott of the institutions is doing tremendous damage to citizens right across the political spectrum. The economy, healthcare, housing and even the environment are under significant stress in the North for the lack of a properly functioning Executive. A rump of DUP MPs are now holding up the whole system in the North of Ireland. We need a debate on this issue because the Government is standing i…

I move: “That the Bill be now read a Second Time.” As the Minister will be aware, Ireland has become a very violent place in recent times. Sexual violence is increasing at a shocking rate and lives are being destroyed day in, day out, in Irish society. In 2011, 1,958 sexual offences were recorded whereas that figure had increased by 75% to 3,433 in 2021. In 2011, 447 rapes were recorded and that had doubled to 983 in 2021. Sexual assault by children of children is also significantly on the increase. Children at Ris…

When Homer Simpson ran for mayor, he ran on a motto of "Why can't somebody else do it?" That motto is all over the speech the Minister has just made. Instead of taking this serious issue and delivering on it, she stated it had been outsourced to Coimisiún na Meán, which is to create codes and guides in the future. When we try to work out what those codes or guides are, it is extremely nebulous, to be honest. Even the Sinn Féin speaker stated she was still unsure of how exactly Coimisiún na Meán will implement the p…

We have one Deputy in the Dáil but when we have more, we will be able to do more.

The other point I would like to make-----

The Minister may be feeling a little bit uncomfortable with what I am saying and I can understand that.

I fully understand the discomfort the Minister feels in the circumstances. If I were sitting in her position, as a member of a Government that has done so little in relation to this, I would be equally uncomfortable.

Again, the Minister is interrupting me.