I thank the Minister of State for his response. In Topical Issue debates, we often hear a Minister or Minister of State saying, "I will ask the Minister to get back to you." I really appeal to the Minister of State to ask his private secretary to get on to the Minister's private secretary and bring this to his attention. I know he will and I appreciate that. I put a lot of very specific questions to the Minister of State. The answer he has given me is more generalised, and that is fine. However, these specific ques…

This morning, the EPA stated that Ireland was going to dramatically fail to meet its 2030 legally binding climate targets. This failure by the Government will have major financial consequences for Ireland, with fines running into billions of euro to be imposed by the European Union. Listening to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on the radio and listening to the Taoiseach in response to Deputy Bacik, you would swear this morning's announcement was actually good news - the Government patting itself on the back because i…

The central purpose of the Bill is to allow the NTA use its expertise to expand our regional cities' transport services and bring them up to a more uniform standard. The Green Party supports streamlining of services but the purpose of streamlining needs to be to make things more effective. The Government seems to be doing everything in its power to counter any such efficiency effects. I questioned the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, about this Bill in February and was told it was on the priority publication list for the …

I want to raise the treatment of the 14 Irish citizens and hundreds of other civilians illegally held by the State of Israel. After the genocidal campaign of violence mounted by the IDF in Gaza, much of it documented by Palestinian victims on the ground, we felt we could not be shocked any further. Yet, the images and videos of Israel's national security minister, Ben-Gvir, haranguing prisoners who were bound and kneeling before him reveals a new element of performative cruelty. It brings to mind the pictures of de…

I want to broaden this discussion to the future of the State of Palestine. In less than five weeks' time Ireland takes on the Presidency of the European Union. The Minister will personally chair meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council and the General Affairs Council. It is a unique privilege and it is a unique responsibility. Does the Minister intend to put the question of EU support for Palestinian statehood on the agenda of those meetings? Our recognition of Palestinian statehood in 2024 was an important moment b…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important legislation. I acknowledge the work the Minister has done in bringing forward this necessary change to the laws around guardianship. Guardianship currently refers to the set of legal rights and responsibilities to make major decisions about the upbringing of a child or a young person. This includes everything from what school they attend, what religion they are raised in, major medical decisions, whether they are allowed leave the country for a holiday or for oth…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Stanley as an rún seo a mholadh inniu. Neutrality has served this country well for generations. It keeps us focused on peace, diplomacy and humanitarian leadership, not on military alliances. Neutrality is not about standing aside. It about standing firmly for peace, international law and human rights. Our military neutrality gives Ireland credibility on the global stage as a voice for dialogue, conflict resolution and humanitarian action. With this in mind, we should be investing i…

The Green Party has highlighted the pollution and damage to nature at Lady's Island Lake in Wexford with the Taoiseach in the past. Last Friday, the climate and environment committee visited Lady's Island Lake, and met with the strategic oversight group and the save Our Lady's Island Lake community group. What has been done to date is encouraging, and I welcome the initial tranche of funding provided to begin the baseline and scoping work. However, more State support is needed. My colleague, Senator Noonan, stated …

I am sure that, like me, the Minister of State has been out knocking on doors in Dublin Central and Galway West over the past number of weeks. One of the things I have been struck with in the many conversations I have had with voters is the deep connection that people in our country feel with nature. This connection applies irrespective of where people live, be it in urban or rural communities. Whether they are planting trees along streets in Stoneybatter or growing on the land area protected by Connemara National …

I am seeking an update on the recruitment of an additional 1,000 gardaí for Dublin city centre. This was one of the ten big moves recommended in the Dublin city task force. Is it still Government policy to recruit these additional 1,000 gardaí and what is the timeline for delivery?

The Dublin city task force report was published in October 2024 and there was a lot of fanfare about it at the time. It was presented as a definitive blueprint to reclaim the capital's streets after the events of the Dublin riots and a wider visible decline in public safety across the inner city. Big move number four of that report was the deployment of a minimum additional 1,000 gardaí within the city centre on a phased basis. That number was not pulled out of thin air. It was seen as the minimum required to meet …

To put the numbers in perspective we have seen approximately a 4% increase in city centre garda numbers. On the current trajectory, to meet the figure of 1,000 additional gardaí, it looks like we will meet that sometime around 2063. I hope the Minister understands the frustration people feel when governments announce big headline figures. The then Taoiseach and current Tánaiste wrote a big editorial in the Irish Independent after that report was published. I remember he used the line, "I'm up for it, are you?" It d…

In October 2024, the Tánaiste launched the report of the Dublin city task force. One of its key recommendations was to recruit an additional 1,000 gardaí for the city centre. He strongly endorsed the report. I am sure he will remember he wrote in the Irish Independent , "I am up for it. I hope you are too." Eighteen months later, only an additional net 40 gardaí have been recruited across the city centre divisions. I asked the Minister for justice about it this morning. He said that it is still Government policy bu…

On behalf of the Green Party, I am pleased to support this Bill. I thank Deputy Cairns for bringing it forward. During the 2018 referendum, I joined with representatives from other political parties, Independents and people who have never been involved in a political campaign before in our local Together for Yes organisation in Dublin West. The central case we made on every door as we campaigned was that Ireland needed to listen to women and respect their decisions about their bodies. When the referendum was passed…

This debate must first of all reflect on the carnage on our roads in 2025, a year in which 185 lives were lost in crashes and accidents. This was the highest fatality rate in over a decade. It was a year in which we saw the previous trends of progress in this area not just stalled, but actually reversed. That momentum of tragic reversal has continued in 2026. I think everyone here recognises that safety cameras are not a silver bullet, but they can help to make our roads less dangerous. In the context of that ongoi…

Having been denied the opportunity to tease out some of the provisions of this legislation by the decision to waive pre-legislative scrutiny, giving a mere 60 minutes to the debate on Report Stage is entirely inappropriate. I have deep concerns about what the Government is doing tonight. It is seeking to undermine the climate action Act by the back door. More significantly, by the provision of section 7 of this legislation which disapplies section 15 of the climate action Act, it is actually going to make it more l…

I will come back to the central issue of whether this Bill will make it more or less likely that judicial reviews will be taken, and also the question of whether it will mean judicial reviews are more or less likely to be successful after they are taken. The Minister noted that there have been academic articles discussing the impact of the climate Act. He said this is tangible evidence of the risk of section 15 of the climate Act. I am sure those particular academics are absolutely delighted now to have the Ministe…

Kilkenny is well represented in the Chair this morning. I wish to ask the Minister for Transport for an update on the roll-out of the planned O route, which is the inner orbital route, as part of the BusConnects project in Dublin.

One of the most difficult things to do in public transport in Dublin is get across the city rather than in and out of it. That is why those orbital routes are so important. The BusConnects O route will connect communities across Dublin city centre, from Infirmary Road in the west and North Strand in East Wall to across the Liffey and around the South Circular Road back to Heuston Station. Running in both directions, it will be the first true orbital route. It is the circuit that will link all the different spines o…

We are missing an opportunity if we do not speed up the introduction of this O route. Running buses in both directions in a circuit around Dublin city centre will change the way people get around the city. There is one point about which I am concerned. My understanding, from comments an NTA official made to me, is that the roll-out of the O route might be split into two semi-circles, with only the southern portion being introduced first. That absolutely misses the point of an orbital route. It would also be unfair …