Ruairí Ó Murchú

Yes.

Deputy Kerrane spoke about the absolute necessity that the Minister meet with AGALI. We are talking about the role of guardians ad litem as the voice of children. Deputy Kerrane made the points in that regard clearly and saliently. The Minister needs to engage with those at the coalface doing this work. We have heard much about Tusla and, as Deputy Kerrane said, there is much we welcome in this l…

I have spoken previously about the necessity of early interventions and the fact we are also short 500 foster carers. I absolutely commend those involved in foster care.

I think we have all been in emergency rooms. I have yet to be in an emergency room where staff were not dealing with a number of cases where people had particular drug issues and where people had mental health issues. In some cases, it was across the board. That is that unfortunate place where people are Venn diagrammed and it crosses over. The fact is it is not the place for them. It is not the p…

We can deal with that at another time.

I think we were all taken by the words of Siobhán when she spoke about her daughter, Grace Lynch, an absolute loss to the family and wider community in Finglas. There is a huge level of anger about what has happened on many working-class estates, not only in Dublin but in my county of Louth, particularly in Dundalk and Drogheda. There are a huge number of scramblers and e-scooters, some of which h…

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy John Clendennen - To discuss the need for additional primary care resources and elective surgery capacity in the midlands. Deputy Albert Dolan - To discuss recurring electricity outages in north Galway. Deputy Séamus McGrath - To d…

143. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if additional funding will be made available to local authorities in 2026 for housing adaptation grants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4932/26]

I do not know how many times I have been here asking about housing adaptation grants. It is a huge facility to be used, particularly for those with disabilities or acquired disabilities, sometimes through old age. We know thresholds have been changed and also amounts. I would still say the system is not fit for purpose. Every local authority runs out of money, stops taking applications and then th…

The issue I have, which happens every year, is that there is an insufficient amount of money to cover the grants at this point of time. The fact that secondary and tertiary allocations have to be made shows this is a particular issue. That is only one of them; the other particular issue is that there has to be an allowance for those who need a greater level of works done such as where there are ch…

We all welcome any increase in the amount of money people can get. We all know that construction costs have gone through the roof. However, are they fit for purpose as regards the figures as they exist at the minute? No, they are not. Work needs to be done for those who have severe mobility issues, for example a child who gets older and has more specific needs. There needs to be a review not only …

They should get more.

To answer Deputy McAuliffe, I do not think the Opposition has any issue with legislation going through this Chamber. He has heard complaints about the lack of it going through up to now and I think he used the term "do-nothing Government" himself, so obviously it is working.

However, the issue here is the time for dealing with the individual issues. A number of people have spoken about how this Bill definitely lives up to its name of "miscellaneous". There are a number of issues we all need to do proper due diligence on. The one an awful lot of us intend to speak to are the provisions on counselling notes. We are talking about survivors who have been through the wors…

They will be safe enough as I am moving on to community service orders. The Minister and I have had many interactions before in relation to all the good work the Garda does and the work done on early interventions, of which there are not enough. I have spoken many times before about the TEAM Project in Muirhevnamor and the youth diversion project operating out of the house in Cox's Demesne. They h…

There is an absolute misunderstanding in relation to Donald Trump. I am delighted to hear him say he wants a piece of ice for world protection, saying it as it is. Donald Trump obviously sees himself somewhat differently from how the rest of us see him. All he is missing is a Marvel superhero cape. That is where we are. I concur with what some of my colleagues said earlier. It is an incredibly s…

We are in a very dangerous place. We all want to see something different happen.

However, at this point, there is a threat to Greenland and to the European Union. I am very worried about tariffs and the economic destruction that is going to happen.

I was in the Chamber earlier and one speaker after another got up and slammed corporate communications from Uisce Éireann. That is fair to say. Any of us, who, at this point, have decent enough communications, it is usually on the ground and it relates to engineers and those who work for Uisce Éireann and would have previously worked for the council and some who still do. This is not good enough w…

I would like to remember Mickey Brady, who was a real people's MP and a former MLA, a seriously sound gentleman, a proud Newry man. He has recently been lost to all of us. I would like to pass on my condolences to his wife Caroline, and his children Saoirse, Michael, Seán, Niall and Lewis. Mickey was somebody you could always rely upon and engage with. He was really helpful to me. His work and inv…

It is the issue my leader, Mary Lou McDonald, brought up. It is somebody who has been sent one of these letters, who is absolutely frightened and who talks about the great work she does as a carer. We need to answer those people and to look after them, along with the need for an emergency cost-of-disability payment.

10. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach for an update on the implementation of the Dublin city task force report. [1832/26]

Regardless of whether we are talking about the Dublin city task force, there is not much point having a report unleashed unless we see implementation. We know that across this State there is a huge issue with drug debt, intimidation and violence. We saw the absolutely brutal killing of Tadhg Farrell and Mary Holt in Edenderry. We all remember the brutal killing of Keane Mulready-Woods. We have he…

20. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach for an overview of his Department’s annual report for 2024. [71903/25]

We want to see delivery in relation to special education and autism classes. Two schools that have delivered as necessary are Monksland National School in Cooley and Ardee Educate Together. I have brought up these issues before. A TD in the Taoiseach's own party brought up Monksland National School. She could not have been happy with the answer given. I certainly was not happy with it. Monksland N…