So that is it, is it?

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion. Molaim Sinn Féin as ucht an rúin seo a chur os comhair na Dála. Caithfimid, i gcomhthéacs an ullmhaithe d’athrú bunreachtúil, smaoineamh anois faoin gcaoi a bhfuil muid ag caitheamh le saoránaigh na hÉireann ó Thuaidh. We in the Social Democrats support the extension of the franchise for the presidential election to both recent emigrants and to those Irish people living in Northern Ireland. We support a united Ireland. As the Good Friday Agreement recognises the b…

It is not news that families with young children require childcare and early years education. Why, then, are these families continuously failed by the State in the provision of those services? In Dublin Rathdown, I am contacted regularly about childcare and early years education. Indeed, it is one of the foremost issues within my constituency. There is a shortage of available places and, rather than seeing new providers coming on stream, we are seeing more and more closures. Costs are too high for parents and provi…

While I appreciate the Minister of State's response, it is disappointing there is nobody here from the Department of children. I welcome the statistics she shared that show an increase in provision of places and the work being done to address the problems. However, as she knows, that increase is not keeping pace with the needs of families across the country, including in my constituency of Dublin Rathdown. We have seen tweaks in the childcare system, with attempts to address one shortfall here opening up another el…

Yes.

What is the position of the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment on the introduction of alcohol labelling under the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018? I ask this question in light of recent comments citing the potential halting of the introduction of this labelling as a potential measure for businesses in response to tariffs.

The Minister of State began by saying that the topic of the question is a matter for the Minister for Health, yet on 6 April the Minister for Finance mentioned this, on 1 May the Tánaiste mentioned it and on 8 April the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Burke, mentioned it. They all referred to this as a potential measure in the context of tariff mitigation. I will therefore ask the question again. What is the Department's position on removing alcohol labelling as a potential measure next year? …

I have not had a drink of alcohol in thirteen and a half years. Alcohol and its negative impacts have played a huge part in my life. I say this and share it because there is hardly a family in Ireland which has not had the same experience. Once again, therefore, what is the Department's position? I know very well that I can seek an answer from the Minister for Health about her position, but the Minister of State has just told me that his Department has corresponded with the Minister for Health on this. What is he t…

I thank the Minister for his answer. I am glad to hear there are some elements still supported by the Government, but by removing the risk-based assessment for suppliers we are not identifying where the problems are. We cannot guarantee, then, that our clothes, food and phones are not made using slave labour or in factories like those at Rana Plaza in Bangladesh, whose collapse killed more than 1,100 garment workers in 2013. A full assessment of low risk for one supplier is potentially being asked for, and this dis…

The corporate sustainability and due diligence directive came about after years of collective work, consultation and engagement. My concern and that of the Social Democrats is that the Omnibus proposals are really being rammed through without any consideration at the same level. Is the Minister in favour of all the measures cited in my question, particularly the risk-based assessment? Does he support their being removed? If so, why? Since this matter is about to be discussed at European Council level, we need more …

I welcome the opportunity to speak to today's legislation. While I welcome the Bill, I will speak to some of the broader issues it touches on and deals with and some of the issues that come before us today. They fall into the categories of fair remuneration for fair work, first and foremost, and some of the lessons we should be able to learn around the transposition of the legislation and the errors that were made. I wish to speak also to the fragility of the arts and the creative sector, particularly in light of t…

Under Standing Order 35(3), I wish to move an amendment to the Order of Business. Grocery prices are currently out of control and are continuing to soar. Compared to 2021, families are now spending about €3,000 more in the supermarket. Along with all the other increases we are seeing in the prices of energy, rent and houses, this is having a devastating impact on families who are having to choose between heating and eating or simply struggling to put food on the table. We need statements and we need them this week.…

While certain aspects of this Bill are welcome, such as the exemption adjustments and consideration for homes with defective blocks, it fundamentally fails to address some of the issues at the core of our local property tax system. These are issues that have long been raised by the Social Democrats. Our cofounder, Catherine Murphy, highlighted these issues from the outset. We would like to welcome it as a progressive tax. We support the local property tax and the protection of the tax base. This is something we cam…

We have discussed the issues pertaining to the abolition of the triple lock many times. I am reading the draft Bill which seeks to do this. I am struck by the apparent lack of human rights monitoring mechanisms which could be included as safeguards for deployment, given the removal of the human rights monitoring at UN level. What human rights monitoring, if any, is envisaged to ensure missions in which we take part are human rights compliant?

The Tánaiste mentioned hypocrisy around calling for humanitarian naval action in Gaza----

----which of course is not covered by the triple lock anyway. The Tánaiste mentioned the triple lock not being the norm in other neutral countries, and once again I say that they have not had the same journey to neutrality that we have had. They did not have the same engagement with the Nice and Lisbon treaties which required us to enshrine the triple lock for that purpose. I will go back to the main point of the question today, which is around human rights monitoring. I welcome the principles the Tánaiste has outl…

I thank the Tánaiste. On the dysfunctionality he has described in the UN, this is exactly the time for us to recommit to our engagement with the UN, to help resolve the difficulties we are experiencing at Security Council level. As we have been at pains to point out throughout this debate, and will continue to highlight, the triple lock can be satisfied by the UN General Assembly. I had answers from the officials of the Department of Defence to that effect, which confirmed that the General Assembly can satisfy it. …

Growing old is a privilege, one which, it is to be hoped, many of us in the Chamber will be able to enjoy. In Ireland we have a lot to do in order to deal with our attitudes toward ageing and the way we treasure and nurture our older population. We should not infantalise them, as we did during Covid. When it comes to this issue around care, we need to offer choice. The reality is that we are all living longer and are healthier, and are also facing into much more complex healthcare plans for people as we age because…

As did my colleague Deputy Gannon, I want to address the reaction to my use yesterday in the Chamber of the word "complicit". The Taoiseach had a very strong reaction to it. I want to be clear about why I use this word. Maybe a better word to describe the Central Bank and its role is "involvement". Perhaps this would make it easier for people to understand it. The Central Bank is involved in the sale of Israeli bonds in Europe by approving the prospectus. This is a fact and it is indisputable. The reason the word "…

We still have six minutes left.