We should have gone to the country. We do not agree to the Government's schedule.

Everybody must agree the scenes of asylum seekers being moved from tents on Mount Street to tents on the Dublin mountains in recent days were absolutely appalling. It is the latest chapter in the shambles the Government has made of international protection. Be it the disrespect for local communities, the lack of engagement or consultation throughout the State or the enrichment of a small number of property owners, it results from the abject failure of the Government in this whole area. We need the Minister, Deputy …

I am going to raise an issue with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. She will have been requested to meet the community in Carndonagh, County Donegal, which has lost day services in the community hospital. It is unacceptable that, rather than upgrade the facilities, the hospital has been relocated, causing serious dismay. There was a packed public meeting in recent times. On a cross-party basis we ask the Minister of State to meet the community group and find a solution. Deputy David Cullinane, who drafted this …

Obviously, neither the Minister for housing nor the Ministers of State in that Department are present today, but the Minister of State, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan, is from Fine Gael and his party has been in government for 13 years now. I want to tell him what that has meant for the people of Donegal. In 2002, 560 social houses were either built or acquired in just one year. That was in 2002 in Donegal. Between 2010 and 2021 - and Fine Gael was in government for nearly all of those years - there were fewer than 560 o…

As the Ceann Comhairle will be aware, last week on behalf of Sinn Féin I made a request that the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, come before the Dáil to answer questions from the Opposition on this whole mess with RTÉ and the effective sacking of Siún Ní Raghallaigh. The Government did not agree to this last week. It did not facilitate any questions being asked by the Opposition. We now have a lengthy statement by Siún Ní Raghallaigh in the public domain, which throws a very different light on the presentation b…

I was present earlier when my party leader, Deputy McDonald, questioned the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, about the Government's approach to all of this and he proceeded to read out statistics in soft language. I want to testify to the reality in my home county of Donegal for children with mental health challenges. We have a defective block crisis. It has been described as an earthquake happening in slow motion. A huge number of homes are affected, 1,000 private and public houses, and that can be multiplied by seven, e…

I thought I had time left.

It is shameful.

A Cheann Comhairle, this Government amendment is completely unnecessary. This is about an approach from parents of children in pain, with scoliosis, who have been failed by this State in a shameful way. Under Standing Order 83(3)( b ), I propose that the vote be taken by other than electronic means.

I note that the Government had provided 15 minutes for its own Members to participate in this and nobody has taken up one single minute of those 15. That speaks volumes about the priority the Government is giving to the profound crisis in our fishing and seafood industry. Looking across our coast, I do not know to whom the Government is talking because I speak to inshore fishermen, islands fishermen, offshore fishermen, the seafood industry and the aquaculture industry and there is profound concern across the indus…

The European Commission, when it has engaged with the Irish fishing industry, has said that there is a mandate for discussions. Did the Minister agree to that mandate?

To be clear, in terms of the shape of the draft deal that has been presented to the Irish fishing industry, the Minister is very clear that he will oppose any deal between the European Commission and Iceland, as the Irish fishing industry is united in demanding.

To be clear, the Minister is committing to stand by the Irish fishing industry and not agree any deal with the European Commission unless it is in agreement with it. That is the Minister's position today.

I will conclude on this because I only have four minutes left. I want to talk about inshore and island fishermen and the crisis they are facing. I will lead with this and ask that the Minister look at the issue of Brexit. It is clear that the European Commission agreed a Brexit deal with the UK accepting zonal attachment rather than relative stability. In other words, the waters would benefit those who live closer to them. That is the basis to the Brexit agreement - zonal attachment. Will the Minister examine the a…

As the Taoiseach knows, the upgrading of the A5 to a dual carriageway from Derry to Aughnacloy is crucial, not just for road safety but for the economic regeneration of the north-west region. The Government committed to co-fund the project under the St. Andrews Agreement. That was withdrawn. With the restoration of the Executive, there is a renewed momentum. The Taoiseach will be aware of the public hearings. We are very hopeful that project can commence this year. Will the Government recommit to co-fund the projec…

It is not agreed.

It should be me.

The smaller Donegal person. Last week, I raised the serious crisis in the fishing industry and its concerns about how negotiations are being handled at European level. Today, some of its leaders are in Brussels speaking for our industry. It is absolutely critical at this stage that the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, who is in the Chamber, appear before the Dáil to make a statement on how this matter is being handled and that we have statements about the overall state of the industry. Inshore fishermen were here last…

I am sorry to report back to the Minister and her colleagues that the experience I have seen in Donegal and across the country of how the Government has handled the challenge of refugees and asylum seekers has been nothing short of shambolic. I give the example of a national school in my constituency. I still find it utterly shocking how the situation was handled. Sessiaghoneill National School saw an increase in pupil numbers in October 2022 of 52. The numbers rose from approximately 152 to 204, which was a substa…

The Minister will not be surprised that I am going to concentrate today on the impact of Brexit on the Irish fishing, seafood and aquaculture industries and indeed the import and export of seafood into and out of Ireland. It was well flagged in advance that the Irish fishing and seafood industry was going to be the big casualty of Great Britain’s decision to leave the EU - the big casualty or as Irish fishermen know all too well, the sacrificial lamb. It involved a 15% quota cut, 39 fishing vessels lost forever to …