There is a commitment in the programme for Government to expanding the role of the vacant homes officer. There are only three full-time vacant home officers in this State. At at time when we are in the worst housing crisis in the history of the State and people are crying out for housing, does the Taoiseach know how frustrating it is for people and families to look at vacant houses in their community where there is criminality, gangs, antisocial behaviour and dumping, and they are lying idle for months and years? I…

No, I was called under the planning and development-----

That must be a misprint. If the Leas-Cheann Comhairle wants me to speak on it, I gladly will.

I wanted to apologise; it was the next issue.

I support the Bill also. I wish to ask the Minister of State about the heritage side of things. Recently, Cork City Council unanimously passed a motion put forward by my Sinn Féin colleagues, Councillor Kenneth Collins and Councillor Henry Cremin, to rename Anglesea Street in Cork city MacSwiney Street after Terence MacSwiney, the former Lord Mayor, who died and his family, for their activism and work and in recognition of the whole MacSwiney family. That type of heritage and renaming is something we need to promot…

In 2020, there were 36 community gardaí in Cork, which is nine fewer than the previous April. In recent weeks a number of communities in my constituency of Cork North-Central have come under attack. People, children, families and cars have been violently attacked, resulting in some families walking out, locking the doors of their homes and leaving because they felt so intimidated and fearful. I am asking the Minister of State what is being done to put gardaí on the ground. The only way to deter criminals, gangs and…

For 13 months, SouthDoc in Blackpool has been closed. The people of Cork North-Central need this vital out-of-hours GP service. I ask the Tánaiste to commit to investigating why SouthDoc is receiving €7.29 million from the State to provide a service that it is not providing to the people of Cork North-Central. It would not happen in the constituencies of the Tánaiste or the Taoiseach, so why it is happening in my constituency and to the constituents that I represent? We do not want a part-time service or half a ser…

Recently, myself and Deputy Ó Laoghaire conducted an online survey in Cork on people’s mental health. We got some very worrying figures. Some 86% of people felt downhearted or depressed recently, 90% felt that there were not enough mental health services in Cork, and 47% said that they had been waiting for more than six months for services. On Monday night, we held a town hall meeting with these people and others to discuss their mental health. The stories were harrowing. I thank the people for their honesty and fo…

There continues to be a lack of public transport and cycle lanes in my constituency of Cork North-Central. There is a worryingly unfair distribution of public transport, cycle lanes and greenways between the south side and the north side. We need a commitment from the Minister to support Cork City Council in ensuring fairness and in ensuring that public transport, greenways and cycle lanes are provided for the people of Cork North-Central. They need alternatives to petrol and diesel cars and this cannot happen with…

There were so many Fine Gael speakers that I did not know if we would get a chance to contribute.

I welcome the extension of remote working, the right to turn off and the provision of rights for people who work remotely. However, it is unbelievable for one Fine Gael Deputy after another to stand up and talk about the great work they are doing on workers' rights. What about the Debenhams workers who were lifted off the streets today while they were trying to stop stock being removed? Tomorrow will mark one year since the Debenhams workers were sacked and put out on the road. This happened on the Tánaiste's watch…

Politicians have to be responsible for our actions. When the Taoiseach speaks to the nation, as he did yesterday, people look for leadership and hope. I refer to the last-minute announcement about the change in the vaccine roll-out. I am dealing with carers, teachers, child support workers, members of the Garda and bus drivers. A man told me on the train from Cork yesterday that one of the workers in Iarnród Éireann had died of Covid-19 and asked me where the roll-out was for them. The Taoiseach has to bring people…

I thank the Minister. I recognise how quickly she has moved on this Bill. Unfortunately, I personally know a family who have been affected. Kimberly O'Connor, who I can now name because the case has been through the courts, tragically passed away on 19 February last year. Kimberly was a bright, artistic, caring young girl who had a loving family and her whole life ahead of her. The issue, which this Bill now addresses, was that all along there was an added layer of hurt and confusion to people like Kimberly's famil…

I was hoping to speak on Second Stage.

I thought we would be able to come back in after the Minister finished.

On a point of clarification, after Deputies Mairéad Farrell and O'Reilly made their contributions on Second Stage of the Public Service Pay Bill 2020, there was a slot for the Labour Party but no Deputy from that party was in the Chamber. I understood that a Government speaker was then to have the floor, after which it would revert back to Deputy Clarke. I am here in the Chamber instead of Deputy Clarke-----

What the Ceann Comhairle is saying is not right. He asked the Minister to respond-----

If I may finish-----

What I am saying is right.

Education is a constitutional and human right. In 2013,15 children entered junior infants class in Cara Junior Catholic School for special education in Cork. They are graduating this year and only seven of them have places in secondary school, so eight children from that class are being discriminated against. It is not just those children who are affected because there are children in other primary schools right across Cork city and county who do not have places from September. Their parents are distraught and are …