Louise O'Reilly

The inaction of this Government has caused tens of thousands of children to miss out on basic dental care. The impact of this is felt throughout their lives.

Now, they are getting themselves not just into long-term debt but also into short-term debt.

I welcome members of the Ryan family to the Gallery this afternoon. We remember their brother Mark and commend all of those survivors, some of whom have had the courage and internal strength to be able to come forward. For the others who we know are watching this at home and who may never have said it out loud, we commend them nonetheless for surviving what they have been through. I welcome this a…

I welcome all the endo-warriors who are with us, and their families. I commend them on their fight and on standing up. I also offer my sympathies to them because I know many of them came here tonight in pain. The Minister knows she should withdraw the amendment but just in case she is under any illusions, I spoke to these women and these are the words they use to describe her amendment. They call…

The Tánaiste said, "Israel is not living up to its human rights obligations." That is a massive understatement and I think he would acknowledge that himself.

There have to be consequences for the genocidal action of the brutal Israeli regime. It must feel those consequences. The Tánaiste has the support of all the people on this island to take action against Israel to ensure that it does feel those consequences. While I am on my feet and have the floor, I implore him to do all that he can to get the kids here to play GAA. I spoke to one of the families…

79. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he has considered the establishment of a community wealth-building fund within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33194/25]

This question is fairly straightforward and simple, as I would like to think all my questions are. Has the Minister of State given consideration to establishing a community wealth building fund within his Department? He will know it is very long-standing Sinn Féin policy to support the development of community wealth building. We were in here the other night debating a Bill on ethical procurement …

I really welcome that. As I said, this is long-standing Sinn Féin policy but it also makes a lot of sense. I appreciate that the Minister of State outlined what has been done, but the difference between what he has said and community wealth building revolves around key performance indicators, KPIs, to use that jargon. A community wealth building fund is shown to have been successful where there ar…

I do not wish to be argumentative but there is a small difference between what I am saying and what the Minister of State is saying. As much as the community wealth building model is driven by those deliverables, we are looking at measuring improvement in regard to the number of children living in poverty and increasing the percentage of the working-age population in employment, and not only in em…

I want to take this opportunity, when we are discussing community centres, to make a request. This was a question I had in and it was moved to another Department but I am going to try and wedge it in here anyway. It concerns community childcare. When we are talking about community centres, we need to be looking at harnessing those buildings. We had a discussion on Storm Éowyn and the way in which …

I was contacted recently by a student living in Balbriggan. He told me that he is there every morning 20 minutes before the library opens because there is a massive queue of people. That is a ringing endorsement of the work done by the people working in Balbriggan library and indeed all our libraries - I understand we in north County Dublin are not unique in that respect. Will the Minister give co…

I pay tribute to Women's Aid on its 50th anniversary. I wish to read out the number for anyone that needs it: 1800 341900. We obviously wish there was no need for Women's Aid but there is, and its work is getting harder and more complex. Some of the earlier speakers mentioned the normalising of domestic abuse, and we cannot allow that to happen. We have to speak clearly and with one voice and be …

I thank the Deputy for bringing this legislation forward. I am disappointed the Government is opposing it because there is significant merit in facilitating the passage of this legislation to the next Stage so we can have that discussion. The Minister of State cited the fact there has been done no pre-legislative scrutiny done on this legislation. Can he point me to any legislation picked out in l…

There was an election in between.

They do not pay in euros.

In fairness to the Taoiseach, he has nothing to say.

For many students, this €1,000 hike is not just a number on a page. It is the difference between accepting a college place and not; between staying in education and dropping out; between progress and paralysis. It is not about affordability alone. It is also about credibility and trust and the repeated failure of the Government to live up its own words. The 2020 and 2025 programmes for Government …

Nobody used those words.

Will it be €2,000 or €3,000? There is a question. Will the Minister give us a straight answer?

Will it be €2,000 or €3,000? It is a straight question.

He invited the question.

Is it €2,000 or €3,000?

What was the Minister doing on the radio?

The cost-of-living crisis is over.