I am glad to speak on this important issue. As a member of the climate committee I admit I am very worried we are running out of time. Worry is the only sane and sensible reaction given what our world is facing with climate change and its advance. According to the IPCC report we are facing major capital cities being underwater. We are facing unprecedented heatwaves. We have already seen these across Europe, with 1,000-year-old trees being burned and animals and people fleeing for their lives. We have increasing sto…

I commend Deputy Funchion on the motion. It is difficult to believe that mothers in north County Kildare are being forced to give up work not because of the marriage bar but because they cannot afford, or sometimes cannot secure, proper childcare for their children. Even their own mothers say they cannot believe this is the case in 2022. This issue affects mainly women given that, while we are nowadays allowed to continue working after getting married and having children, we have to earn enough to pay two women bec…

I raise the crisis in childcare, which is forcing women in Kilcock, Maynooth and Celbridge out of the workforce because they cannot find affordable childcare. Mothers, and their own mothers, have contacted me about this issue. This was the generation that was promised they could have it all. They are not looking for it all; all they are looking for is affordable and local childcare so they do not have to spend all day in the car. In Kilcock there is a preschool, Kidz@Play, that is frantic because it cannot find an …

Sinn Féin welcomes this plan, which recognises women's health in its own right at long last. All too often, women do not feel listened to when it comes to our health and our real concerns can be minimalised or dismissed. We have all heard of the anxiety that turns out to be heart disease or the normal period pain that ends up being endometriosis. We suffer from a gender gap in medical science and research as well. I welcome this plan, but there are a few areas in which we could go a little further. I am concerned t…

It is hard to believe we are in this State in 2022 and when we talk about the State I often think “state” is a good word for us because we are in a bit of a state. Here we are having statements and there is no additional information or clarity in the Minister’s statement. We are still trying to sort out our national maternity hospital to offer state-of-the-art medical services on a secular site. Women want a maternity hospital way and far beyond the reach and the neck of the old proverbial crozier. It is mad to thi…

It is funny to think that, up to a month ago, we were not talking much about Ukraine. In fact, most people, including me, thought it was called "the Ukraine". Now, we are checking the news throughout the day and opening our hearts and homes to the women and children seeking refuge. I hope they will be very happy and safe here, that the family members they have left behind to defend their country will be safe and that this war ends sooner rather than later. I acknowledge the work all the Departments are undertaking,…

The Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022 might sound remote to people who are struggling with the cost of living at the moment but it will actually matter to how we live our lives in the context of waste, emissions and climate change. While I am pleased to support this Bill, it is important that we put it in the context of where we are in respect of consumption, waste and the climate crisis. Anyone who has friends or family in New South Wales in Australia wil…

I am really pleased to contribute on this Private Members' business this evening and I commend my comrade, Deputy Tully, on sticking with this important issue. I am speaking on behalf of my exhausted constituents across Kildare North who fight day in, day out for the services their children with disabilities need. They are hanging on by the proverbial thread like Aisling is for her son, Jack, and like Lourdes is for her son, Conor. These are mothers who have become advocates. The services they seek are the right of…

I am glad to speak on this matter which is of such sensitivity and importance. There is a special onus on the State, given its history on the treatment of women and their babies. We must learn from our history and get things right for the children in order that their rights as citizens are guaranteed. Those of us who have children know what a blessing they are. I hope my children will not mind my saying that they are the loves of my life. However, many of us know the agony and heartbreak of couples who are trying t…

When it comes to energy we certainly are in a state of emergency. It is an emergency that is affecting people's health. I made the most of the fact that the Dáil did not have late-night sittings last week to spend a lot of my evenings knocking on doors in my constituency of Kildare North. People are telling me that their palms are sweating when they go to fill up the car. Their chests are tightening when their kids ask to put on the heating because they are freezing. Others are telling me that they feel nauseous wh…

They say a woman's place is in the revolution and on the Continent of Europe, Ukrainian women are showing up to defend their country, freedom and values. They are an inspiration to women everywhere. More women have had to leave on foot or by car and train, taking elderly relatives and young children to safety to defend the next generation of Ukrainians. To those who will come to Ireland, I say tá fáilte romhaibh go léir. We are thinking too of a young Irish woman, Ms Racheal Diyaolu, from Carlow, who is fleeing to …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gcoiste agus, go háirithe, leis an Seanadóir Eileen Flynn as ucht na tuairisce seo atá an-tábhachtach. I take the opportunity to congratulate Dr. Sindy Joyce who is taking up her role as lecturer at the University of Limerick. They will be very lucky to have this outstanding academic put her particular and informed focus on Traveller, racial and ethnic studies. No more than in any part of our community where women take their place and use their voice, we can make the future better for every…

What we are discussing goes deep into the Irish psyche. The incarceration of girls and women and the forceable removal of their children is something we as a society carry to this day. This generation must undo the wrong done to them and so not pass this loss and trauma to another generation. We support the introduction of this Bill. There are some good provisions within it. It shows what can be achieved when we work together in pre-legislative scrutiny. My colleagues put a great deal of work into this under the ch…

The situation in Ukraine has the potential for devastating conflict, conflict that must be avoided. Despite the global armaments industry, worth trillions of euro, it is incumbent on all countries to settle international disputes by peaceful means. In this case, the Minsk agreement must survive as the basis for a permanent and peaceful solution. Quite simply, Russia must not invade Ukraine. I welcome the Ukrainian ambassador. I am happy to tell the Ukrainians who have made Ireland their home that my party stands in…

In north Kildare, too many people are being put to the pin of their collar to pay the rent if they can find somewhere, pay for childcare if they can manage to get a place, pay to fill the car to go to work because the only area they can find work has no public transport, keep the family warm and put food on the table, all with wages worth less with everything costing more. My niece, who works at a supermarket till, tells me people are lining up the very basics at the front of the row and asking her to remind them w…

I welcome the changes regarding the SEAI, getting rid of the no second chance rule, and minor works on attic and cavity walls. Unfortunately, this is a plan that could have done so much good and it is actually just more of the same old thing. I acknowledge that it will reduce carbon emissions, but for whom will it reduce them? The retrofitting scheme as planned is a bit like the SSIA scheme of old, where the more one has, the more one will be able to make out of this scheme. If you can put your hands on €25,000, yo…

It is significant that the report from the Commission on the Defence Forces was published in the same week Sinn Féin had a Private Members' motion on the Women of Honour and the need for a statutory commission of investigation into what they allege, namely, rape, sexual assault, physical violence, manipulation, harassment, bullying and intimidation. These are not allegations against a stranger in the street but their superior officers in the Defence Forces of the State. We believe the review proposed is a grave dis…

That is very welcome. These women are being denied that peace of mind, despite having been tasked with keeping the peace for others on behalf of the State overseas. The report of the Commission on the Defence Forces also arrived at a time of escalating global tensions, with uncertainty around Russian troops along the border of Ukraine. The minds of a certain cohort here at home turned to war games, with a rush of blood to their empty heads from the comfort of the armchair or, indeed, the barstool. Those furthest fr…

Given what we know about whistleblowers in this State, legislation to protect them is not only welcome, but essential. Whistleblowers commonly report subsequent difficulty in the workplace and outright denial or dismissal of their concerns. They also report being pressed to take leave, sidelined, removed or replaced. The organisation intent on protecting itself too often hangs them out to dry. Recently we had Dr. Ankur Sharma in Kerry child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, who it is reported felt sidel…

I am delighted to introduce this Bill, along with our climate spokesperson, Deputy O'Rourke, and Deputies Guirke and Quinlivan. Green hydrogen offers major possibilities, but achieving them requires a strategy. Green hydrogen is an alternative fuel for transport, including long-haul drivers and HGVs, which are important in my constituency, Kildare North. It is fast becoming something of a logistics hub. Climate change is thundering towards us. Continents are burning and Europe is being washed away, yet despite a sm…