Then it has to be dealt with.

The Springhill massacre saw the killing by the British army of three children, a father of six and a priest. The inquests concluded three weeks ago and there has been silence from the British since. There has been not a dicky bird and no apology at all from the British for these killings. Does the Taoiseach think there should be an apology from the British Government for these killings? On the legacy Bill, the British Secretary of State will still hold the power to determine whether there will be an investigation. …

But should a politician be in charge of a criminal conviction?

County Meath is the fastest-growing county in the country and Navan is the largest town in the country without a rail line. Some 90,000 people are commuting from Meath daily and 60,000 of those are commuting by car because of the lack of a public transport option. It is taking between three and four hours to get back and forth to work every day. People are living in commuter hell. It is costing them in terms of family time and in their pocket, and it is also impacting the environment. The rail line was first propos…

Given that this has been disastrously slow, will the Government now designate the Navan-Dublin railway line as a critical infrastructure project under the critical infrastructure Bill?

Will the Taoiseach designate the Navan line as another critical infrastructure project?

Last year, there were 10,852 abortions in Ireland. That is the lives of 10,852 individual living human beings that were ended last year, and that is the highest figure on record. It is equivalent to 400 classrooms of children, and it is absolutely heartbreaking. In 2018, there were 2,879 abortions and since that law was deregulated, the number of abortions in this country has surged. It is incredible. So high now is the rate of abortion in this State that is affecting the birth rate. For sure, the housing crisis an…

There is nothing in this Bill to provide supports to those mothers who need a home. We were told eight years ago to accept the democratic will of the people. I would ask these parties to do the same.

Mia Lily Keogh O'Keeffe was a 16-year-old girl. She was struck by a red Mercedes when she was walking her dog across a pedestrian crossing in Navan this February. The driver fled the scene and it was a horrific accident. Seven other people were killed that same weekend. Mia Lily was a wonderful, well-liked young girl and she had her whole life in front of her. Her life has been stolen from her. The family is suffering profound grief. The mother has said she will never be whole again. This was no accident. The reali…

The background to this Bill is this country is grinding to a halt in so many ways. Right across the country, critical infrastructure that is necessary for all our lives is grinding to a halt and it is having disastrous effects on people's lives. It is water infrastructure currently. Uisce Éireann came into the infrastructure committee and stated that it will take until 2050 before the gaps in the water infrastructure that are currently blocking the building of homes will be filled. In a housing crisis, that is a st…

After listening to Deputy Boyd Barrett, I might misquote St. Augustine: "Lord, make me an ecosocialist, but not if the turbines are in my constituency". I think it is a good quote for that. I have a question for the Minister. I do not think this is in the Bill, but he might be able to clear it up. Can this particular Bill affect any project that has already gone through planning in terms of any conditions that have been assigned to the planning application of an existing project? The Minister might be able to think…

€1.1 billion.

It is not the approach.

It is one third of the children's hospital overrun.

And BAM.

Ambulance response times are getting longer in this country. Handover times for ambulances in hospitals are getting longer. Six months ago, 12 ambulances were stuck at Drogheda hospital for hours. At the same time, no ambulance was available in Cavan, Monaghan, Meath and Louth at all. In 2016, there were 657 deaths before ambulances arrived. In 2023, that increased to 1,108 deaths. This February, I asked the National Ambulance Service the same question. It refused to answer the question. It is an accountability-fre…

No, I do not.

I have not said there was no progress.

I said there was a difference. The figure increased.

Ireland is the most expensive country in Europe for electricity. A total of 320,000 families are currently in energy arrears. Energy is not a luxury good; it is a staple. People have no alternative but to use energy, and reports have shown today that already, the increases in energy costs have taken about €2,000 out of people's pockets so far this year and that is going to get worse because it is forecast that electricity prices are going to increase. Last year, ESB made €636 million in profits. It is a semi-State …