Like other speakers this morning, I wish to raise the issue of the aerodrome at Baldonnel and the problems that have manifested in respect of air traffic controllers. We note that there have been problems with air traffic control on three occasions since 2010 and that a report was done internally in 2021. It does not appear to have been acted on in a meaningful way to date. I know the Minister made some announcements in this regard yesterday, but my concern is that support flights for An Garda Síochána and air ambu…

I welcome all the additional promised investment in the Air Corps. When the Garda Commissioner was before the justice committee earlier this week, he pointed out that one of the main methods for tackling the scrambler scourge in the city is through deploying the Garda helicopter, which principally operates out of Casement Aerodrome. In circumstances where it is only operational half of the week, his hands must be severely curtailed in that regard. We need to do whatever we can to get this problem resolved at the ea…

I welcome that last contribution and I look forward to seeing the fruits of that work.

Like Deputy Shane Moynihan who spoke earlier, I have serious concerns about e-bikes, e-scramblers, e-scooters and ordinary scramblers, which are the scourge of people's lives across the city. Aside from the dangers these modes of transport create on our roads and footpaths and across our open spaces and parks, we often see users not wearing any helmets being "ballied up" - for want of a better phrase - and not carrying or using lights in the dark evenings, having removed the speed governors from their vehicles. Man…

I wish to raise an inequity that has arisen as a result of changes in the pension arrangements for the uniformed members of Dublin Fire Brigade, An Garda Síochána, the Prison Service and the Defence Forces. A group from Dublin Fire Brigade delivered a letter to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage last year calling for an urgent meeting to discuss this issue, which is resulting in many members considering leaving the service. Has that meeting taken place? If it has, what was discussed and what a…

As this is a justice-related issue, I first want to offer my personal condolences and commiseration to the family and colleagues of Garda Kevin Flatley, who tragically lost his life at the weekend in the course of his duty. The issue I wish to raise with the Taoiseach is that of the 999 dispatch system, particularly in respect of the Garda. People in general are not aware of the changes that were made by the Commissioner, in that they are no longer in a position to ring their local Garda stations and there is now a…

I thank the Taoiseach and I welcome the fact he will raise the matter with the Minister for Justice.

Looking at the whole problem, it is evident the national average waiting time for a driving test is 27 weeks. Waiting times in Raheny test centre in my constituency are up from 15 weeks in April last year to 33 weeks in April this year. That means if you book a test now, you may not get it until December or January. In Killester test centre, waiting times are up from 17 weeks in April 2024 to 25 weeks in April 2025. That could mean waiting until October. This has a huge impact on young people in particular as they …

Like some of the other Deputies, I raise the tenant in situ scheme. A recent motion passed by Dublin City Council, the second-largest democratic chamber in this country, asked for the previous tenant in situ scheme to be reintroduced. Not only have Dublin City Council and other councils around the country run out of funds, but there are changes in the system whereby a tenant in situ applicant must have been in receipt of HAP or RAS for two years prior to application. I am at a loss as to the public policy objective…

I ask the Taoiseach in respect of policing reform whether reducing paperwork for rank and file members of An Garda Síochána is a priority. I know from interaction with local gardaí, particularly in the Coolock district, which is the second busiest station in the country, that they are burdened with increasing levels of paperwork. Fianna Fáil has pushed over many years for the reduction of the paperwork burden on members of An Garda Síochána in stations so we can get them out onto the streets to provide a visible Ga…

As we all know, water is the basic element of life. It is essential to all aspects of life. I welcome the commitment in the programme for Government to invest heavily in our water infrastructure, which is critical and needed to deliver additional new housing units across our capital city and the country. I welcome that the strategic funding has a multi-annual spend of €16.9 billion up to 2029, a huge amount in anyone's book. Other speakers underscored the necessity for us to catch up on the underinvestment in our w…

There is no justification for the tariffs being imposed, except to pull the wealth generation of multinational corporations from Ireland, Europe and other parts of the world back to the US. However, that does not recognise that these companies are in fact multinational by nature and by location, often having manufacturing, research and development, corporate headquarters, administration and tax bases in different places around the world, in many cases with good reason. Ireland should be confident going forward that…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue. I have a lot of sympathy for what many of the speakers said, in particular the contribution Deputy O'Flynn made today. There is a lot of youth crime, certainly in the constituency I represent. There are young lads going around on scramblers and e-bikes, masked up so their identities cannot be known. They are effectively untouchable; they are above the law because they are not being chased by An Garda Síochána. When they are pursued, they are viewed as being too youn…

I congratulate the Minister of State on his appointment and wish him well on it. I know he is very committed to the area of special needs. I am very conscious that today is World Autism Awareness Day and I certainly do not want to be seen to be pitting one group of children against another, particularly given that the special school the Department wants to put into prefabs, which is totally unacceptable, is pitted against children who are also on the spectrum within the Belmayne Educate Together Secondary School. T…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. Like other Deputies, I feel a visit to the school would open his eyes to the potential there for the solution that has been proposed by those on the ground. In 2004, Dublin City Council, in developing Belmayne and Clongriffin, set up what was called the North Fringe Forum. The Department was invited to engage with the forum and was told at that stage that there was going to be a crisis in respect of school places. It did nothing. Those in the Department put their head…

I echo the remarks of my colleague, Deputy Devlin, especially regarding the appointment of Jim O'Callaghan as the new Minister for Justice. I wish him well in that regard. I have a number of points to make about this area. They are small points but nonetheless very important. The use of the 999 number is counterintuitive. For years 999 was used by the public for genuine emergencies such as a homicide in the course of commission or a bank robbery that was under way. Now we have to ring 999 when there is a gang of te…

I raise the issue of prefabs. Will they be discussed at the Cabinet committee? I have serious concerns about prefabs being used as long-term or even medium-term solutions for education provision. For example, in Gaelcholáiste Reachrann in my constituency pupils and teachers have been left sitting in prefabs for over 24 years. The new school has been at planning stage 3 for at least 12 months and there does not seem to be any progress. It is very frustrating. Belmayne Educate Together is a brand new school which has…

Tá an-áthas orm labhairt ar an ábhar seo sa Teach anocht. In recent years, it has become very apparent that the State has failed many neurodivergent children. Many have been left languishing for years waiting not just for assessments but also for timely early interventions. It is often stated by the HSE and its representatives, and by the child experts, that early interventions are key to helping neurodivergent children achieve the maximum that they can achieve and reach their full potential. Unfortunately, it is r…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach. I dtús báire, ba mhaith liom a rá gurb é seo an chéad bhabhta dom a bheith ag labhairt os comhair an Tí seo. Teastaíonn uaim buíochas ó chroí a ghabháil leis na daoine i nDáilcheantar Chuan Bhaile Átha Cliath Thuaidh a chuir anseo mé. Is mór an pribhléid agus an onóir dom a bheith anseo agus teastaíonn uaim buíochas ó chroí a ghabháil le mo bhean chéile Liz agus mo chlann féin, mo thacadóirí, baill an pháirtí agus mo chairde uilig ar fad a chabhraigh liom san fheac…

I welcome that there is a substantial section in the programme for Government on credit unions. I also welcome the pledge that has been honoured to retain a dedicated Minister of State with responsibility for financial services, credit unions and insurance. I congratulate the Minister of State on his appointment to that role. I also wish to mention the former Minister of State, Deputy Fleming who made a very significant contribution to this whole area in the previous Government. Late last year, the Central Bank of …