When people look back at the decisions taken by the Minister and the Government on this legislation, academics and the people who end up living in these tiny apartments will ask what was going through their minds. Who made this decision? I will give an example of how governments get it wrong. I come from Knocknaheeny. When Knocknaheeny was built 50 years ago, perhaps because of the financial situation of the country, it was decided to build the houses 20% smaller with substandard building materials. That decision w…

The Minister made a comment earlier that this is the size of the apartments in Austria. Will people pay the same rents? The Minister might check that out for us because I can tell him they will not. If he is making a comparison he should make the whole comparison. My big worry is there is a major development going in Cork's docklands. We are looking at maybe 10,000 units. The Minister was there, as was I, and the Taoiseach was there talking about this vision for the Cork docklands. My serious concern is when what t…

The Taoiseach blames that for everything.

A couple of days ago, I got a phone call from a guy I knew. He saw the Minister talk about the commission of investigation. His voice was very low when I was talking to him. A member of his family was in the house and he did not want them to hear what he was talking to me about because of the shame and stigma that are still there. He did nothing wrong; he is a victim and a survivor. People want justice and for their voices to be heard. Why has this taken so long? This man said he is not looking for anything; he wan…

There were women in the Public Gallery tonight. I spoke with some of them earlier and listened to their stories. A few weeks ago, I attended a meeting in Cork where people told their horrific stories. Here I am a 6 ft 5 in. man talking about women's health and women's period pains. I have no idea. I believe the Minister is a decent person so I ask her not to let the bureaucracy, the Department or the men in this Government tell her to put down an amendment. She should be backing this motion wholeheartedly. She shou…

These people want her to lead the way. As a woman and as Minister for Health, she has the ability to do that. I implore her to do it. There are girls who have given up sport and who cannot go to school. Education is needed here. There are girls and women who every month cannot go to work or are out of work for long periods. They have lost their jobs and lost their friends, because they have not been able to go to things. They have not been able to socialise. They have been trapped in their rooms in pain. For all th…

In politics, we politically disagree on many issues. Can we not come together on this issue? Can we not park the politics and for once let the women of Ireland be listened to? For far too long, they were sent home to suffer in silence, but no longer.

Ballyvolane is a fabulous community. For decades it has been promised a community centre and for decades Government promises have failed to deliver. Will the Minister outline supports and when the community centre will finally be delivered for Ballyvolane?

I thank the Minister for his response but, unfortunately, once again there is nothing there for Ballyvolane. He made the point there has been no application. I have been hearing about a community centre in Ballyvolane for decades. I have attended meetings. How was a community centre not given funding or prioritised in all that time? Over 2,000 houses are planned for the Ballyvolane area on top of the hundreds of houses that are there already. How is it possible to build thousands of houses and not put in the infras…

A new development is going up in Lahardane with hundreds of homes. There is to be a site there for a specific building for a community centre. You could not swing a cat in it, no disrespect. What we want is a proper community centre delivered for the people of Ballyvolane, for the existing residents and the new residents who will come there. We want to see services provided in the community. I was recently at a meeting with other TDs and councillors from the ward where it was outlined that a scoping exercise was go…

I wish to correct a comment the Tánaiste made earlier. Israeli citizens do not need a visa to enter Ireland to stay up to 90 days for tourism, visiting family or friends or attending business. In other words, there is apartheid operating in this country as well, whereby people in Palestine, which Israel considers part of Israel, need to jump through every hoop in the book to get into this country, whereas Israeli citizens do not. That is from the Department of justice. Those are the facts. The Tánaiste has the powe…

-----are living in hell. Does the Tánaiste know that if they do not get here now, some of them will not be around for the next one because some of them will probably be slaughtered by the Israelis? I am pleading with the Tánaiste. I am begging him now-----

-----for the sake of the children. Will he let them play?

That is from the website.

They have done all that. You heard Máire Devine and Aengus Ó Snodaigh. They have done all the child protection. They are doing everything.

My own club brought a team to Paris a few weeks ago with their coaches, not their parents.

It happens in every school, every club in the country. It happens with every one of them.

The price of butter has risen, according to the CSO, by 58% in 12 months. A staple in every house in the country has risen by nearly 60%. The CSO consumer price index shows that the prices of the most basic items have increased and the Government is doing nothing about it. For pensioners, those with disabilities, people with low incomes and families, this makes a difference between whether people go hungry or not. It is not just the most vulnerable in society. It is now hitting middle-class families and forcing peo…

I support my colleague. We are talking about increasing timelines and giving extensions. I will provide an example. The Good Shepherd Convent in Cork was originally bought by UCC to be developed for, I think, about €4.5 million. It changed hands a couple of times. At the height of the Celtic tiger it was sold for €20 million. Afterwards, it was bought by a Drogheda-based company, Moneda. That company went for planning permission in December 2017, got planning permission and then flipped it. The site has still not h…

Reporting mechanisms, collection of data, transparency and knowing what is happening are at the heart of this motion. We have to ensure that genuine actors who want to develop and deliver units - houses and apartments - can do that with support, but we also have to prevent people coming in to speculate. By collecting this data, we will all know what is happening, as will the public. That is why it is an important amendment. The Minister might not take it on but he certainly could look at it.