Louise O'Reilly

I welcome this debate this afternoon and am happy to be able to make a small contribution to it. I grew up in a Border town. I ended up in that town because my father was a trade union organiser who represented workers on both sides of the Border for a long number of years and, in fact, went on to be based in the North for a long time. At that time, we knew, and it is very apparent now, that the B…

I thank the Deputies for bringing forward this motion. I was chatting to my dad as I was coming in and told him I would be debating this motion in relation to supports for parents this morning. He reminded me, of course, that it was the Labour Party in government that cut those very supports. Then again, those in that party do have all their best ideas in opposition, as we both remarked, and not …

I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for tabling this motion and for all of the work he does in this area with respect to the arts and artists. Right now, we are justifiably and rightly proud of our Irish artists. We have a flourishing creative scene despite all of the barriers - class barriers, the rising cost of living, and dwindling and ever-more scarce support. It is now all the more important that we p…

That will be the end of the applause, a Cheann Comhairle.

4. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht his plans to scale up the delivery of essential services through social enterprises; if he plans to invest in not-for-profit delivery of essential services through the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, particularly for the delivery of community childcare; and if he will make…

As is always the case with my questions, this question is very straightforward. I ask the Minister of State to concentrate his remarks on the delivery of community childcare. I am interested in knowing what plans there are to scale up the delivery of essential services through the use of social enterprises.

Well, just design a programme that will do that because there is a really serious and pressing need for it. I will give the Minister of State an example. In the area known as Fingal, where my constituency is located, there are 63,000 children. Of those, 15,000 are living in poverty or are at risk of it. There are 800 community childcare places. I know from talking to the people on the community ch…

The Minister of State asked me what the community childcare committee in Fingal is doing. I will tell him that it is battling against the privatisation of childcare day in, day out. In our community centres, the vast majority - over 70% - are occupied by for-profit childcare providers. It is an area in which SERI has done fantastic work and has a lot to offer in this space. Unfortunately, when Mr.…

I welcome all those people in the Public Gallery watching this debate, particularly Cian and Jordan. I echo what has been said. Their mam would be incredibly proud because they have raised awareness and sparked that conversation. It is so important. The Minister of State alluded to this himself. Awareness is extremely important. To be fair, however, this is a part of a much bigger jigsaw because a…

My Topical Issue relates to the tenant in situ scheme and the resulting impact on homelessness in Dublin Fingal West. I submitted this Topical Issue because I gave a commitment to two families in my constituency that if the opportunity presented itself, I would advise somebody in the Government of it. As I said to them, I could not guarantee who it would be given the nature of Topical Issue debate…

I sometimes wonder if the Minister of State must be embarrassed reading such a script. He said that tenant in situ will never be the sole or even the primary option. I have outlined to him how it was not. When this family got their notice to quit, they sent out hundreds of emails. They replied to hundreds. They registered with estate agents. They tramped the roads. They did everything they possibl…

I am sure the Minister of State is aware but we are really only having this debate because of the housing crisis being created by his Government and its policies. Notwithstanding that, there are many consequences of its housing crisis and this is one. It does not affect an awful lot of people but for those it does, the impact on them is absolutely huge. The Minister of State cited all the difficu…

I join my colleague in thanking the Deputies for bringing forward this motion. I also commend the work of the Before We Die campaign. I had the honour of chairing the petitions committee when its members presented to us a couple of weeks ago. It was a very powerful meeting. I also pay tribute to Nora Roban and the Remember Us group in Balbriggan. Whether the Government works with them or against t…

Hear, hear.

In the Taoiseach's script, he tells us that he is worried that this legislation would district from the urgent work being done. I put it to him that this legislation is the urgent work. This is the work that we should be about in this Chamber, representing the views of the majority of people on this island. I grew up in a Border town. I spent from the age of five to the age of 16 living along the…

Ireland's largest summer festival will take place this weekend at Newbridge House and Farm in Donabate. The Flavours of Fingal is in its 14th year. It has been a hugely successful festival. It is one that I really enjoy going to every year. Many of my neighbours and people from my community also really look forward to it. It is a fantastic opportunity for local vendors such as cheese makers and cr…

In that case, the Minister of State will know what I am talking about.

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. He will forgive me for saying it is an incredibly disappointing reply. Donabate is in the constituency of the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. I am sure his constituents will be very interested to hear that the NTA has other priorities, including Croke Park, Lansdowne Road stadium and Marlay Park, none of which is in Fingal. I appreciate that the Minister of S…

Deputy, can you refrain from describing people as psychopaths, le do thoil?

Even Elon Musk.

You can keep saying it over and over again but I have asked you not to.

I have asked you to keep in line with the Standing Orders.

I thank the Minister of State. I call Deputy Aird.

The Minister of State should allow the speaker to continue. There is no space for back and forth here. He should please allow the speaker to continue without interruption.

The Deputy should be allowed to speak without interruption.