Family resource centres are a lifeline for many families and individuals and right now they are helping people to bear the brunt of the multiple crises we are facing such as fuel, housing, cost of living, childcare and mental health. They are at the coalface. They provide vital supports, and they also contribute to the public good through social cohesion. They ensure that childhood continues, needs are met and communities remain connected, resilient and thriving. Dundrum, Hillview and Balally family resource centre…

It is not often I find myself aligned with the Pope. Yesterday, the leader of the Catholic Church released an encyclical, his first, called Magnifica Humanitas , calling for greater guardrails on the use of AI and greater ethical consideration and dialogue around its implementation. One of his key points relates to the culture of power, which means the control of the AI tools, which are having such a far-reaching impact on each of our lives, is in the hands of a few private actors. The way to resolve this is throug…

Farmers, workers and consumers have been left totally confused by the CETA deal. Although the Minister of State describes the extensive debate at EU level, that debate has not been reflected here in the Oireachtas, where the Bill is being rushed through and pre-legislative scrutiny has been essentially suspended on it. The EU is not rushing us to ratify and given that France has shown extreme reluctance, I do not understand why we are pushing this through. We have all of the benefits of the trade we want with Canad…

The Bill is two pages long but it will have an immeasurable impact on this country. As I said, we can continue our current arrangements with Canada without the investor court mechanism which undermines our regulatory ability. I will focus on the real dangers these investor courts present to us. They would hear cases from X against Ireland if we were to ban their undressing AI software. We have seen the prioritisation of big polluters' profits in Mexican investor courts and it is explicit that companies will be able…

That is not true.

The Social Democrats and I welcome the release of the 14 Irish citizens who were illegally detained by Israel from the Global Sumud Flotilla. I appreciate the updates the Minister provided in today’s proceedings. I listened to closely to them. I asked last week what Israel has to do or what atrocities it has to commit for us to see action from European leaders. Honestly, I have seen in the past 48 hours my answer to that because, apparently, when a fraction of the demonic modus operandi of this Israeli State is inf…

I move amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "notes that:" and substitute the following: — Ireland's policy of military neutrality, our strong reputation of international diplomacy, and our tradition of peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance abroad; — the importance of public, democratic consultation in shaping Ireland's future defence policy; — the importance of safeguards, protections and oversight in ensuring Irish military deployments are in line with our policy of military neutrality;…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this legislation. Broadly, we in the Social Democrats welcome the Bill and its efforts to modernise, align and work towards just transitions in the environmental and digital spaces. I will touch on some of the positive aspects before I share some of my major concerns regarding the Bill. These positives include the increased grant thresholds, as well as easier approval and a stronger focus on the development of environmentally friendly initiatives. Sections of this Bill also giv…

I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett and his colleagues for working on this and I thank Senator Black, who is here in the Chamber, for her continued work on legislation in this area, which is what we are here to discuss. The Minister's speech is, as others have said, hollow words compared to the lack of action of the Government. She talks about raising issues, she remains committed and she continues to have grave concerns. Some of the language is, "I condemn the law ... Ireland opposes... I am particularly concerned." These…

I thank Deputy Whitmore for her impassioned contribution. I thank the Minister for being here. Just shy of eight years ago, we celebrated the repeal of the eighth amendment. I use the word "celebrated" in a measured way, because although this is a grave and serious issue, it was an issue on which views on both sides of the campaign to repeal the eighth amendment were deeply held. I respect the views of those who campaigned against the repeal of the eighth amendment. We celebrated because it was a milestone for wome…

-----and legal and policy challenges. Those were the words the Minister used.

My point is that this legislation is on the books right now, ready for the House to debate it. The Minister said that it needed to be debated in other chambers. Where are those chambers? This is where it needs to be done. It needs to be debated at the health committee and in the Dáil so that we can finally legislate for what people voted for on 25 May 2018.

I would like to hear if the Minister has any response to the recent radio broadcast levy, which has gone up nearly 70% since 2024, and if he or his Department has any plans to support local radio with this very steep levy increase.

I am heartened to hear that the Minister has at least spoken to Coimisiún na Meán about this but I do not believe that explaining to it that it needs to communicate to its stakeholders is enough in this regard. I also do not believe that the argument of an independent regulator is reason enough for the Minister to wash his hands of this issue. As he has said, local radio is a crucial part of the fabric of Irish society. The services that local radio offers to community cohesion, democratic participation, entertainm…

That interference, which is how I would describe it, or attempted interference, on the Minister's part was very different from this situation. His is a Government that has been in power for many terms now and it has built and established a statutory body to regulate this sector, so it is beyond me that he can say he has nothing to do with it. It is the Minister who is trying to have his cake and eat it by saying that this regulator can just be established and then let run. It is not interference to examine and enga…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide an entitlement to employees to request certain flexible working arrangements, to make certain provision for amending or terminating any such arrangements that have been agreed with an employer, to give further effect to Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers and to provide for related matters. This is the first Bill I have brought forward myself. I …

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

He sometimes cuts it fine, so I hope he will be here shortly. I welcome the opportunity to make these statements to celebrate Europe Day because I am a proud European. It is important to remember and celebrate the very positive influence European Union membership had has on Irish society, as did, prior to European Union membership, co-operation with European member states post war and post conflict. I want to emphasise first that this is for me a really heartbreaking moment, whereby what started as a peace project …

Excuse me. These are not scare stories.

This is not misinformation or scare stories.