He is not answering the question; he is deflecting.

I welcome and support this Bill. In December 2018, the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill was signed into law. Section 7 of the Act provided that a review of the operation of the Act be carried out. That review was included to facilitate monitoring of the operation of the legislation in practice as well as of the delivery of services. A public consultation commenced in December 2021 and concluded in April 2022. Submissions to the consultation were accepted in several formats, including online, by …

Ireland's long and dark history of British imperial domination and our imperially imposed genocidal famine gives Irish people a deep understanding and appreciation of the genocide being perpetrated by Israel on the Palestinian people in the occupied territories. Ireland has both a moral authority and a moral responsibility to lead a campaign to exclude Israel from all economic, social, cultural and sporting activities. Israel is creating mayhem and devastation in the occupied territories. It is pursuing ethnic clea…

I again raise the boil water notice in place in Tipperary town, which affects over 5,000 people. It was implemented originally on 12 February 2026. For about ten weeks, the only information available to anybody was the initial post on the Irish Water website. I raised the issue with the Taoiseach and, through his intervention, an email was secured within a couple of days telling us that a new well was to be installed. There has been no further information, however. We are now four months into the boil water notice …

I welcome this motion and will also support tomorrow's motion from the Social Democrats. Ireland must lead an international campaign to exclude Israel, a genocidal apartheid state, from all sporting fixtures and competitions and there must be no soccer games between Ireland and Israel at home in Ireland or on neutral grounds abroad. There is significant and growing opposition to these fixtures. In November 2025, 93% of FAI members voted to instruct the association to call on UEFA to suspend Israel. In May of this y…

Families and businesses are now living through the second global fossil fuel crisis in five years. We are increasingly vulnerable as long as we depend on energy imports. Unless we take action to diversify away from fossil fuels, we will again be hit by the next crisis. When that hits, pensioners, the sick and families will again worry about the cost of home heating oil. Farmers, fishers, agricultural contractors and bus companies will again face devastation as a result of increased diesel prices. Electricity and ga…

We are exhausted by the number of reports, reviews and investigations into the cost of disabilities for individuals. We had the Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities in 1996. We had Indecon's Report on the Cost of Disability in Ireland, which was published in 2021. We had a Green Paper on the cost of disability in 2023. We had an ESRI joint report with the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission in 2025, and we had another consultation in February of this year. We have been waiting over 30 years …

Vulnerable people and families are now being charged up to €15 for blister packs. Medical cardholders, people on fixed incomes, sick people and people with disabilities must now pay this additional charge. As the Minister knows, there is a cost-of-living crisis and these groups are already under severe financial pressure, being hammered by increases across the board. Food costs over the past five years have spiralled out of control. Butter is up 42%, milk 43%, cheese 28%, chicken 33% and diced beef 48%, not to ment…

I welcome and support this motion and thank Deputy Stanley for bringing it forward. I want to address some remarks to Fianna Fáil TDs, Fianna Fáil Senators and the wider Fianna Fáil membership. Is Fianna Fáil going to abandon its history? Is Fianna Fáil going to abandon Bunreacht na hÉireann, Éamon de Valera's Constitution? Is Fianna Fáil going to abandon Éamon de Valera's declaration of neutrality? Is Fianna Fáil going to abandon the solemn national declaration given by a Taoiseach from that party, Bertie Ahern, d…

Is it going to abandon people like Éamon Ó Cuív and Willie O'Dea who are on record as opposing the abolition of the triple lock? The Minister has said that there is no connection between the triple lock and Irish neutrality but as we very well know, the current Taoiseach told us previously that the triple lock is the core of Irish neutrality. These are huge questions for Fianna Fáil, and for its future. Will they abandon their history? Irish neutrality goes back hundreds of years. It is part of what we are as a nat…

The current income limits for council housing are completely outdated. They are too low and must be increased urgently. These low income limits have the effect of locking large numbers of low- and middle-income families out of public housing and indeed private home ownership as well. The families do not qualify for council housing or the housing assistance payment, nor will they qualify for a mortgage. They are condemned to private renting at enormous rents for ever more. They cannot save for a deposit. Some of the…

The homeless figures for the end of March 2026 are a damning indictment of this Government and the previous Government's effort to address of the housing emergency. A record 17,517 people were living in homeless emergency accommodation, including 5,571 children, which is another shocking record. The record shows that evictions result in direct, immediate increases in homelessness figures. Quarter 4 of 2025 showed an increase of 41% in evictions, while quarter 1 of 2026 showed 7,062 eviction notices, up 51% from 6,6…

County Tipperary has more than 5,900 km of road and, based on the current pavement surface condition index ratings, it would cost more than €300 million to bring all the road network to a good standard, that is to the Department's rating of at least seven. According to Department of Transport guidelines, Tipperary County Council should treat 5% of the road network or 295 km under the road improvement programme annually and another 5% under the road maintenance programme. That is a total of 590 km. In the past five …

I thank the Tánaiste. Good road conditions are vital for County Tipperary. It has limited public transport and is largely a rural county. People who work in any of our towns such as Clonmel, Tipperary town, Cashel, Cahir, Carrick-on-Suir, Thurles, Roscrea or Nenagh must drive to work and people who go to third level institutions in Clonmel or Thurles must drive. People who shop in any of those towns or go there for entertainment must drive. Poor quality road surfaces contribute to road traffic accidents causing inj…

I should not have to ask this question but, of course, Irish Water has no respect for customers, so I do not have a choice. Tipperary town, with a population of more than 5,000 people, has been on a boil water notice since 12 February. There is an information blackout from Irish Water. Despite the efforts of the public, local radio and local and national public representatives, we still do not know when Uisce Éireann will be able to provide a safe water supply for the town. For ten weeks, the only information that …

It is the case.

I welcome this Bill. I support it and thank Sinn Féin for introducing it. The Bill gives the Commission for Regulation of Utilities the power to monitor wholesale and retail prices in the energy market; to increase the frequency and level of reporting; to monitor and regulate hedging practices; to strengthen its powers to monitor anti-competitive behaviour of gas and electricity suppliers; to give an expanded role in consumer protection; and to strengthen its powers to address energy affordability. The Bill is defi…

Is it the Government's intention to proceed with the proposed defence (amendment) Bill to provide for the abolition of the triple lock, which is against the expressed wish of the Irish people as expressed in two referendums on the Nice and Lisbon treaties?

Neutrality and a triple lock have served his country well. The current Taoiseach is on record as saying that the triple lock is the core of Irish neutrality. Of course, that neutrality goes back over 100 years to when James Connolly erected a banner on Liberty Hall declaring that, "We serve neither King nor Kaiser, but Ireland". It also goes back to hugely successful protests against conscription in Ireland during the First World War. It goes back to Article 29 of Bunreacht na hÉireann, Éamon de Valera's Constituti…

Irish peacekeepers who have served throughout the world for decades know the value of the triple lock. Neutrality has been an invaluable component of Ireland's foreign policy. This country's involvement in and reputation for peacekeeping gives moral legitimacy to our voice for the international rule of law and peaceful resolution of conflicts. Former Defence Force members with first-hand experience of peacekeeping and conflict have spoken in defence of the triple lock. These people include Senator Tom Clonan who st…