Ken O'Flynn

The Minister of State does not know what she is talking about.

The Minister of State-----

No. It is about you working together against the Irish people.

The Government has forgotten the most vulnerable in Ireland.

Out of respect for the Chair.

That is not true.

That is absolute rubbish and you know it is rubbish.

Do not be calling me misogynistic-----

-----after the way your party treated me.

It was homophobic. The whole lot of ye.

You stop telling lies about me and I will stop telling the truth about you.

I invite the House to think about An Garda Síochána and the unique monopoly services it provides to the Irish people. Its ability to deliver those services affects us all on a daily basis. I commend our local An Garda Síochána. Since 2008 when I entered public life, I have had relationships with community gardaí and local sergeants and superintendents who do tremendous work on the ground, go beyon…

I was contacted directly by families affected by this issue who felt that they had no other avenue to go to have their concerns heard. Will the Taoiseach address the situation in Carrigaline Community Special School, which closed its doors for six days following an incident involving one child and reopened, excluding a different child and a parent who were not involved in the event that caused the…

While I welcome some of the changes the Government is going to make, particularly the extension of the fuel allowance, we are giving with one hand and taking away with the other. At the start of this crisis, the price of diesel was €1.80 a litre. Today in Circle K, it is €2.28. The Government has already accumulated €120 million. This project is delivering a roughly €200 million package, so it is …

I wish to move the Independent Ireland amendment. I forgot to mention it earlier.

12. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the assessment he has made of the impact of suspended or short custodial sentences on victims of child sexual abuse whose abuse material is circulated online, whether there is evidence that current sentencing levels act as a meaningful deterrent to child sexual abuse material offending and the legislative or policy t…

I wish to ask the Minister about the assessment he has made on the impact of suspended or short custodial sentences on victims of child abuse and the circulation of such material online, whether he has evidence that current sentencing levels act as a meaningful deterrent regarding child sexual abuse materials and what legislation policy tools he is prepared to deploy if judicial guidelines prove i…

I thank the Minister for the reply but I am asking whether the Department has carried out a full assessment of this. We can all call a spade a spade. Not a month has gone by where we have not read an article in a newspaper regarding suspended sentences for first-time offenders or those who have been caught for the first time when it comes to child sexual abuse images and online images. Certainly,…

I have to say I am disappointed to hear the Minister is not prepared to bring new legislation to this House. At this stage, should we not be setting a minimum rather than just a maximum sentence given the type of crime it is? These are the most heinous images of child abuse and surely we should be providing for a minimum sentence at this stage rather than setting the maximum. I would ask the Minis…

I raise the situation of a child in Cork who has been on a priority one waiting list since January 2025 for an augmentative and alternative communication, AAC, assessment and device trial through the HSE. According to the response given to my office, the appointment has been postponed for more than three years, with no clear timeline offered and no interim supports put in place. Without these esse…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — child protection and welfare represent one of the most fundamental constitutional obligations of the State; — Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, operates as a statutory agency at arm's length from direct departmental control, funded by the Exchequer, but structurally separate from the Department of Children, Disability and Equality; — this governance …

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. I am rather disappointed that the senior Minister did not stay in the room for the rest of the debate but left early. I am also disappointed that we had no speakers from Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael in the House. One would think that children's safety would be the most important thing on the mind of any elected representative. I thank colleagues from Sinn F…

Mr. John Barrett, an established civil servant at assistant secretary general grade and an executive director of An Garda Síochána, was purportedly abruptly dismissed on 18 September 2024. The Government has been formally notified of the legal contention that the dismissal as unlawful on five separate occasions, namely, on 5 July 2024, 18 November 2024, 20 January 2025, 28 July 2025 and, again, ea…

-----with the complaint upon reply. Protected disclosures were made-----

------of alleged wrongdoing. I will get to that. If the Leas-Cheann Comhairle will bear with me, he will understand where I am coming from. The parallel process was initiated without transparency and there has been a prolonged non-compliance with High Court discovery obligations. I am not asking the Tánaiste to determine the truth on the floor of this House, which rectifies the matter for the Leas…