That is not right.

I appreciate that the Minister of State has said he is going to look into this personally but I am really disappointed because four years on it is still not open. The 25 beds in the nursing home are also really important but people with dementia are really vulnerable. They are scattered around nursing homes all over County Cork when there is a purpose-built nursing home at Heather House. I was hoping that the Minister of State would be able to give me a date today. Regardless of whether it is June, July or August, …

I am standing here as a GAA person. However, in my community I see the power and the work that soccer teams, soccer clubs and soccer coaches have done. I have seen over the last 40 years how the number one sport in Cork was hurling. The number one sport now in Cork is soccer. There are a number of reasons for that but I have seen it taking off. The amount of young people playing the game is unbelievable but some of the sporting facilities are horrendous. They are shocking. How this Government has failed soccer over…

Correct the Dáil record.

Every house in the country has serious matters to deal with.

Is this a questions and answers session?

The first thing I want to say is that I am really disappointed in the Labour Party and the Social Democrats tonight and how they voted. I cannot believe they voted with the Government and against Sinn Féin when we tried to bring down the price of fuel and home heating oil. We are supposed to be united together in opposition against the Government. We stood against it, and we voted that we did not have any confidence in it. We stood and did that together. At the same time, the Social Democrats and the Labour Party b…

The Government will be run out the door.

Some 18,000 women and children went through or spent time in Bessborough. It closed in 1998. This is not just a historical wrongdoing; it is a modern one right up to today. There are people who still bear the scars and the trauma. To give a feel of it, John O'Brien died on 3 November 1922. He was ten months old. He was a young little baby, who was probably laughing and able to clap and what have you. He was the first child to die in Bessborough. Zoei Bonny died on 10 August 1994. She would have been 32 this year. S…

Today, 500 litres of home heating oil in Cork cost €900. That is less than half a tank. What the Government has proposed is a €10 cut. How insulting is that? The Minister is an intelligent man. Does he not think that this is insulting to people who are struggling to keep the heating on? Does he accept this is not good enough? If he does not accept it, I cannot believe him. The way the Minister is treating people with home heating oil is horrendous. There are people, especially older people, who are afraid to turn o…

I stand here today as a cancer survivor. A year and a half ago, I was diagnosed with bowel cancer and had to have a tumor removed. Then I had to wait a space of time so that I could get chemotherapy, which went on for over six months. I know that it will be years before I can say I am free from cancer. I know that and I am not counting my chickens. However, I want to send out a thank-you to all the doctors, nurses and staff, who are so professional and caring. The work they do is just unbelievable. I met patients i…

Go raibh maith agat.

Any chance Fianna Fáil will run a candidate in the North, up in the Six Counties?

I thank my colleague, Deputy Doherty, and the party for bringing forward this emergency motion and legislation, because we are trying to bring hope. We are trying to bring hope to the families out there who are absolutely struggling and are out of their minds with worry about how they are going to fill their car and buy heating oil. We are trying to be constructive and bring forward solutions. I just heard the Minister say, and virtually all the TDs on the Government side say, that we are not going to have a knee-j…

I have raised previously the fact that there are children in Cork who are homeless and who are being forced to travel across the city because they are in emergency accommodation. They cannot move schools because if they do so, they could have to move emergency accommodation again, or if the family ever finally do get a house, they do not know where it will be. They are being forced to travel long distances, sometimes getting two or three buses to get to school. This is not right. My understanding is that in Dublin …

The Minister of State outlined what is happening. I sincerely hope he will take on board the submissions made during the consultation and the point I have made today because I have raised this previously. We will disagree on politics and fight and argue over the housing policy and how I believe a number of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael Governments have caused the housing emergency we are in. I hope they will take the opportunity to provide this small support because it will make such a difference to homeless families a…

"Artificial intelligence, AI,-powered recommender systems are feeding millions of children toxic content about eating disorders, self-harm, and graphic videos...", according to the Irish Examiner last year. This is something parents have been saying for years and still there is no urgency from the Government to tackle this. Years later, it is failing to act. Young girls are being forced into eating disorders and young boys are being taught to hate women. I love social media and I can see positives in social media. …

I will have questions and answers with the Minister all he wants. I have no problem doing that.

Hear, hear.

In 2022 there was an announcement that Blarney post office was going to close but following a campaign by the local people in Blarney and meetings organised by myself and people in Sinn Féin, a man named Daniel came forward and he saved the post office and turned it around. I want to recognise the unbelievable work he and his staff have done and the people of Blarney. However, in 2018 the post office in Shandon Street, not 100 yd from my office, closed down. Promised were made that they would save Shandon Street po…