Is scoil dara leibhéal, lán-Ghaeilge í Gaelcholáiste Reachrann. Tá sí lonnaithe i measc seomraí ranga atá ar iasacht ón scoil béal dorais. Tá prefabs in úsáid aici chomh maith. Beagnach 25 bliain ó shin, gealladh go mbeadh foirgneamh á sholáthar ag an Roinn chuig pobal na scoile, ach níl sé sin tar éis tarlú go fóill in ainneoin an ama sin ar fad. Tar éis na moille seo ar fad, tá dul chun cinn beag déanta againn. D’imigh an foirgneamh amach le haghaidh tairiscintí an bhliain seo. Tugadh gealltanas dúinn ar fad go m…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. Dhá bhliain ó shin, bhrath daltaí, tuismitheoirí, bord bainistíochta agus foireann na scoile nach raibh aon dul as acu ach dul amach ar an mbóthar ag agóidíocht de bharr na moille agus easpa soiléireachta ó thaobh spriocdhátaí don próiseas tógála de. Is mór an náire atá ar an Roinn gur thóg sé 25 bliain le teacht chuig an bpointe seo. D’imigh daltaí, a thosaigh a gcuid oideachais dara leibhéil leis an ngealltanas go mbeadh scoil nua ar fáil dóibh, tríd an córas i sean prefabs a bhí br…

I raise the issue of trees that have been planted by local authorities in roadside pits in the 1970s and 1980s. In many instances, they were very welcome at the time, but a lot of the trees planted at that time - over 50 years ago - were clearly the wrong species. Some of them have grown hugely and they have huge root systems. The root systems have uplifted footpaths and private boundary walls. They have invaded front gardens and done damage to driveways on private properties. When residents raise these issues with…

Yesterday, the Garda Representative Association told the justice committee that gardaí need greater clarity on the pursuit policy, proper pursuit training, stronger legal protections and adequate roads policing resources. My constituents certainly want to see our gardaí supported in order that they can carry out their duty. I have previously raised the introduction of a separate driving licence for gardaí and a statutory indemnity for gardaí carrying out their role reasonably. What measures will the Government intr…

As the House will know, the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland recommended the consolidation and modernisation of Garda powers to search, arrest and detain persons. Underpinning those recommendations was the need to ensure public confidence in our policing system, which is fundamental to a healthy and functioning democratic society. The measures contained in this Bill are, therefore, most welcome as they help to ensure that policing powers are exercised clearly, legally and in relation to fundamental r…

I raise the issue of Uisce Éireann and the lack of meaningful engagement it has with the public and public representatives. I have had a number of dealings with it recently, most notably on James Larkin Road where it is doing an important project. While there has been engagement with public representatives, there has been no meaningful reaction to the problems raised about the traffic chaos on the Howth Road and on the way into Raheny village. A number of suggestions have been put forward to Uisce Éireann. In the M…

I welcome what the Taoiseach said in respect of the Dublin city task force. Us Dubs agree that the city centre certainly requires a lot of TLC. Speaking with many constituents in Dublin Bay North, they have fond memories of travelling into town to go shopping in the Talbot Street area. However, over recent years, they have begun to feel that the area is becoming unwelcoming due to litter, vagrancy, drug-taking and an overall menacing feel to the area. This has a knock-on effect on local businesses and ratepayers wh…

Howth Yacht Club caters for all types of people. One might think a yacht club is the preserve of the wealthy middle class but the club goes well beyond that and has ambitious plans to become an inclusive club catering for those less able and less fortunate than regular club members. Recently, the EPA granted a licence to dredge the harbour, which is a welcome development and the first time it will have been done since the 1970s. It is a great development for the harbour as a whole. It will necessitate the yacht clu…

I certainly would not be raising this issue in this public way in the Chamber if the matter were progressing in the manner the Minister of State has described. We have been waiting two years for the resolution of a consolidated lease in circumstances where the club's specialist hired solicitor has, in effect, done the work for the State. He has drafted the lease for the Department. It should take only a matter of hours for a competent solicitor to read through it and either approve it or suggest amendments. I would…

I raise again the issue of scramblers. We all know responsibility for this is across the Minister's Department and that of the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. We need to get to grips with this problem. We need to take back our streets from scramblers, which are being deployed by criminal gangs as a method of muling drugs and intimidating communities. I warmly welcome the enactment of Grace's Law but, on its own, it is not enough. We need to follow up with enforcement of this law. In that context, will the Minister consid…

I welcome the Minister's response in that regard but the suggestion made is only one of a suite of measures to combat this reckless carry-on. We need more accountability from importers of scramblers, more Garda pursuit training, more intelligence gathering and more community involvement in handing over intelligence to Garda authorities. Police services in other jurisdictions are provided with training on scramblers to pursue and apprehend people riding scramblers. This Government must urgently support the Garda, no…

I thank the Minister again. We must act with a comprehensive suite of measures, as he said, and we must make rapid progress on this. I know what he said about thousands of scramblers being seized by gardaí but there are still many on our streets endangering the public, so we must act with speed.

I raise with the Minister the financial contribution scheme whereby local authorities acquire houses from over-60s at market value. In return, one third of the net proceeds of sale are given to the local authority and the senior citizens get a local authority unit and pay a differential rate on same. There are significant benefits for the economy and the overall housing situation. Those getting older who have empty nests get to offload significant responsibility and the cost of maintaining a house that has outgrown…

The scheme, as the Minister of State said, is non-statutory and it operates erratically. It is subject to funding being available in local authorities. Sometimes it is available and sometimes it is not and it is difficult as a public representative to be able to advise constituents who are in the over-60 age bracket on this, when the availability of the funding is intermittent and in some cases non-existent. We are in a housing emergency. We should be putting the scheme on a statutory basis and resourcing it so it …

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome what he said but I ask him and his officials to light a fire under it and get it moving as quickly as possible so the new policy framework can be delivered as quickly as possible.

I commend the Minister and his Department on bringing forward the Bill. The Government committed to implementing the e-evidence package and to establishing the new office of the director of criminal justice international co-operation, CJICO, in the programme for Government. It is welcome to see that commitment now being progressed. The Bill is practical and necessary and will strengthen Ireland's ability to access digital evidence to support criminal investigations. It will also help to ensure those involved in ser…

I again raise the issue of scramblers, e-bikes and e-scooters. We have to get a grip on the import and supply of these vehicles. We also need to have a far greater accountability from the suppliers of these vehicles, which are wreaking havoc in communities across the country. I have spoken previously of gangs of youths wearing balaclavas when driving on scramblers, etc., but they are not even wearing balaclavas anymore. They do not care and they are not afraid. They are not being pursued and are being given free re…

I wish to raise the issue of St. Francis Junior National School as it is set to lose one of its mainstream teachers because it was short one pupil. One teacher is going to be lost because of the lack of one single pupil. This is ridiculous, bureaucratic, box-ticking nonsense. The school appealed this decision and, in turn, that appeal was refused. It is frustrating to engage with the Department. In fact, the issue with the Department is that it does not engage but rather stonewalls any request for movement. It is i…

We have given the school DEIS plus status and the decision to remove one teacher from it is a policy contradiction in itself. It is utterly ridiculous. I have found since I have been elected to this House that the Department of Education and Youth has been relying on circular this, circular that and circular the other. We are constrained and what is missing is common sense and practicality. It has to be reversed.

I welcome this Bill being progressed and the opportunity to speak on it today. This is very important and, frankly, overdue legislation. Like all Members of the House, I am appalled and horrified by the treatment of the Palestinian people at the hands of the Israeli authorities and I condemn the Israeli Government, the genocide it has committed, the ongoing occupation of Palestinian lands, the destruction of homes, the forced displacement of families and collective punishment of an entire people. The Palestinian pe…