Roderic O'Gorman

105. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if, in view of applications for the successor scheme to the basic income for the arts pilot greatly exceeding the number of places available on the scheme, if consideration is being given to expanding the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44453/26]

Over 10,000 people made applications for this particular round of the successor to the basic income for the arts scheme. The Department is in a position to support only about 20% of them. This means just over 2,000 artists will be supported and the other 80% will be left disappointed. This is about a similar level of disappointed applicants as we saw in the original pilot scheme launched by the th…

I appeal to the Government to listen to the sentiment of the House this evening and to accept Opposition amendments to include services in this Bill or, even better, to bring forward its own amendments in later Stages. The vote on the occupied territories Bill does not need to be divisive but the Government has chosen division by deciding to exclude services from the content of the Bill before us …

I thank Deputy Joanna Byrne and her colleagues in Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion this evening. The Green Party will be supporting this motion and also the motion being brought forward by the Social Democrats tomorrow. In particular, I thank the leadership of the Stop The Game campaign that has operated across Ireland in recent weeks. It is a campaign made up of grassroots supporters, p…

53. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation for an update on the accelerating infrastructure task force report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40806/26]

89. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Education and Youth an update on the new build for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40803/26]

I ask for an update on the new build for Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire in the city centre.

I thank the Minister for that information. The status of Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire was a very significant issue in the recent by-election. When I was out canvassing with my colleague, Councillor Janet Horner, it was coming up at many doors. As the Minister knows, the works were suspended in May 2025 by the Department, which was in dispute with the contractor. There was a conciliation process and…

I thank the Minister for the detailed information but I come back to the point about communication. That information needs to be communicated to the school management team and board of management, and it needs to be clear to them that they can share that information with parents. This has been a very difficult situation. In fairness to the Department, a lot of work has been done but there are no c…

Last Friday, in the very early hours of the morning, a serious fire broke out in the Auburn Park apartments in Castleknock in my constituency. The Minister of State knows Castleknock and is probably aware of this apartment block. The fire was significant. Up to four fire engines were dispatched to bring it under control. At least one person was taken to hospital with smoke inhalation. Hundreds of …

I thank the Minister of State for his response. In Topical Issue debates, we often hear a Minister or Minister of State saying, "I will ask the Minister to get back to you." I really appeal to the Minister of State to ask his private secretary to get on to the Minister's private secretary and bring this to his attention. I know he will and I appreciate that. I put a lot of very specific questions …

This morning, the EPA stated that Ireland was going to dramatically fail to meet its 2030 legally binding climate targets. This failure by the Government will have major financial consequences for Ireland, with fines running into billions of euro to be imposed by the European Union. Listening to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on the radio and listening to the Taoiseach in response to Deputy Bacik, …

The central purpose of the Bill is to allow the NTA use its expertise to expand our regional cities' transport services and bring them up to a more uniform standard. The Green Party supports streamlining of services but the purpose of streamlining needs to be to make things more effective. The Government seems to be doing everything in its power to counter any such efficiency effects. I questione…

I want to raise the treatment of the 14 Irish citizens and hundreds of other civilians illegally held by the State of Israel. After the genocidal campaign of violence mounted by the IDF in Gaza, much of it documented by Palestinian victims on the ground, we felt we could not be shocked any further. Yet, the images and videos of Israel's national security minister, Ben-Gvir, haranguing prisoners wh…

I want to broaden this discussion to the future of the State of Palestine. In less than five weeks' time Ireland takes on the Presidency of the European Union. The Minister will personally chair meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council and the General Affairs Council. It is a unique privilege and it is a unique responsibility. Does the Minister intend to put the question of EU support for Palestini…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important legislation. I acknowledge the work the Minister has done in bringing forward this necessary change to the laws around guardianship. Guardianship currently refers to the set of legal rights and responsibilities to make major decisions about the upbringing of a child or a young person. This includes everything from what school they attend, what r…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Stanley as an rún seo a mholadh inniu. Neutrality has served this country well for generations. It keeps us focused on peace, diplomacy and humanitarian leadership, not on military alliances. Neutrality is not about standing aside. It about standing firmly for peace, international law and human rights. Our military neutrality gives Ireland credibility on the global…

The Green Party has highlighted the pollution and damage to nature at Lady's Island Lake in Wexford with the Taoiseach in the past. Last Friday, the climate and environment committee visited Lady's Island Lake, and met with the strategic oversight group and the save Our Lady's Island Lake community group. What has been done to date is encouraging, and I welcome the initial tranche of funding provi…

I am sure that, like me, the Minister of State has been out knocking on doors in Dublin Central and Galway West over the past number of weeks. One of the things I have been struck with in the many conversations I have had with voters is the deep connection that people in our country feel with nature. This connection applies irrespective of where people live, be it in urban or rural communities. Wh…

4. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration for an update on the deployment of 1,000 additional gardaí to Dublin city centre, in line with the recommendations of the Dublin city task force; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36142/26]

I am seeking an update on the recruitment of an additional 1,000 gardaí for Dublin city centre. This was one of the ten big moves recommended in the Dublin city task force. Is it still Government policy to recruit these additional 1,000 gardaí and what is the timeline for delivery?

The Dublin city task force report was published in October 2024 and there was a lot of fanfare about it at the time. It was presented as a definitive blueprint to reclaim the capital's streets after the events of the Dublin riots and a wider visible decline in public safety across the inner city. Big move number four of that report was the deployment of a minimum additional 1,000 gardaí within the…

To put the numbers in perspective we have seen approximately a 4% increase in city centre garda numbers. On the current trajectory, to meet the figure of 1,000 additional gardaí, it looks like we will meet that sometime around 2063. I hope the Minister understands the frustration people feel when governments announce big headline figures. The then Taoiseach and current Tánaiste wrote a big editori…

In October 2024, the Tánaiste launched the report of the Dublin city task force. One of its key recommendations was to recruit an additional 1,000 gardaí for the city centre. He strongly endorsed the report. I am sure he will remember he wrote in the Irish Independent, "I am up for it. I hope you are too." Eighteen months later, only an additional net 40 gardaí have been recruited across the city …

On behalf of the Green Party, I am pleased to support this Bill. I thank Deputy Cairns for bringing it forward. During the 2018 referendum, I joined with representatives from other political parties, Independents and people who have never been involved in a political campaign before in our local Together for Yes organisation in Dublin West. The central case we made on every door as we campaigned w…