Peadar Tóibín

Some €50 million was wasted.

33. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the shared island unit in his Department. [39180/26]

Stormont is in big trouble. Stormont is in a mess. It is limping on day to day currently. In most of the human indicators in terms of quality of life, the people in the North of Ireland are falling currently. In terms of investment in education, hospital services, children's services and disabilities, money is being reduced on an annual basis. Public services are starting to grind to a halt. There…

I want to address a tragic event that underscores the crisis in our prison system. On 1 April, 45-year-old Colm Connolly died in a padded close observation cell in Midlands Prison. Mr. Connolly was a vulnerable prisoner, diagnosed with severe psychiatric conditions, including bipolar disorder. His family, who were denied the opportunity to formally identify his body prior to a post mortem, are see…

The Minister will raise it with the relevant Minister. I thank her for that.

The average rent of a two-bedroom flat is now €2,176 a month. That is the highest on record. It is equal to €26,000 a year. Incredibly, a PAYE worker has to earn €32,000 just to be able to pay for that rent currently. The average rent in Dublin city is now heading towards €3,000 a month. That is eye-watering. It is incredible that now Dublin is the highest in the whole of the EU for one- and two-b…

Just apartments.

Planning and procurement.

There is another aspect to this debate that is completely missing from the Chamber and that is the issue of demand. Leaving certificate economics will tell us demand is also a large aspect of this crisis. The population of the country has increased by 382,000 in the past five years. This is the same as the population of Galway, Mayo and Leitrim. These counties have seven hospitals, three universit…

It is a minority of people coming in the health sector.

The Taoiseach admits it is a factor.

Then it has to be dealt with

15. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will meet next. [37160/26]

The Springhill massacre saw the killing by the British army of three children, a father of six and a priest. The inquests concluded three weeks ago and there has been silence from the British since. There has been not a dicky bird and no apology at all from the British for these killings. Does the Taoiseach think there should be an apology from the British Government for these killings? On the leg…

But should a politician be in charge of a criminal conviction?

31. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on climate action, environment and energy will next meet. [37161/26]

County Meath is the fastest-growing county in the country and Navan is the largest town in the country without a rail line. Some 90,000 people are commuting from Meath daily and 60,000 of those are commuting by car because of the lack of a public transport option. It is taking between three and four hours to get back and forth to work every day. People are living in commuter hell. It is costing th…

Given that this has been disastrously slow, will the Government now designate the Navan-Dublin railway line as a critical infrastructure project under the critical infrastructure Bill?

Will the Taoiseach designate the Navan line as another critical infrastructure project?

Last year, there were 10,852 abortions in Ireland. That is the lives of 10,852 individual living human beings that were ended last year, and that is the highest figure on record. It is equivalent to 400 classrooms of children, and it is absolutely heartbreaking. In 2018, there were 2,879 abortions and since that law was deregulated, the number of abortions in this country has surged. It is incredi…

There is nothing in this Bill to provide supports to those mothers who need a home. We were told eight years ago to accept the democratic will of the people. I would ask these parties to do the same.

Mia Lily Keogh O'Keeffe was a 16-year-old girl. She was struck by a red Mercedes when she was walking her dog across a pedestrian crossing in Navan this February. The driver fled the scene and it was a horrific accident. Seven other people were killed that same weekend. Mia Lily was a wonderful, well-liked young girl and she had her whole life in front of her. Her life has been stolen from her. Th…

The background to this Bill is this country is grinding to a halt in so many ways. Right across the country, critical infrastructure that is necessary for all our lives is grinding to a halt and it is having disastrous effects on people's lives. It is water infrastructure currently. Uisce Éireann came into the infrastructure committee and stated that it will take until 2050 before the gaps in the …

After listening to Deputy Boyd Barrett, I might misquote St. Augustine: "Lord, make me an ecosocialist, but not if the turbines are in my constituency". I think it is a good quote for that. I have a question for the Minister. I do not think this is in the Bill, but he might be able to clear it up. Can this particular Bill affect any project that has already gone through planning in terms of any co…

€1.1 billion.