Ivana Bacik

But is there evidence?

Why March?

I join others in expressing sympathies to all those affected by the school shooting in Austria of which we have just heard news. Back in February, someone in the Government was briefing the media about a proposed end to rent pressure zones. For years, the Government refused to contemplate designating the whole country as a rent pressure zone. Yesterday morning, the future of the entire RPZ scheme…

The reality is that many of the Taoiseach's own-----

We can all agree that certainty, clarity and consistency are needed for those renting, those looking to buy a home and those looking to build and develop homes. That is precisely what is lacking in the Taoiseach's own Government's policy. He is accusing the Opposition of being caught out but he has caught out his own backbenchers. He has flip-flopped on policy on rent pressure zones, RPZs, and pr…

Where is the protection?

There are 15,000 homeless.

Yesterday's arrest by Israel of those aboard the Madleen freedom flotilla ship while in international waters was a flagrant breach of international law. Those taken by Israeli forces are brave activists, bringing symbolic aid to a people who have been abandoned by the world. The activists hold EU citizenship and one is an MEP. I hope the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste will raise this kidnapping of act…

What about the meeting on 23 June?

3. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach to report on his attendance at the European Council on 20 and 21 March. [15145/25]

On Ukraine, I condemn outright Russia's increasingly heavy and brutal bombardment of civilian infrastructure. We have seen more civilian casualties in Kharkiv and Kyiv in recent days. It is appalling to see that and I join with Deputy Malcolm Byrne in looking for an update on a timeline for possible accession. Ireland has been at the forefront of supporting Ukraine's proposed accession to the EU. …

8. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on Disability will next meet. [16741/25]

I welcome the proposals we have seen, which I believe went to the Cabinet today, to create nearly 500 new third level places in key health and social professions, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and more. As I said, this is welcome because we all recognise the enormous shortfall in services. The concern remains that it will take years for these new places to generate more qualified p…

It was about recognition of qualifications by CORU.

27. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the shared island initiative. [26916/25]

The Taoiseach has outlined some of the work of the shared island initiative. Dealing with legacy is an important part of the work being done. The British Labour Government has committed to changes but no agreement has been reached yet, and there are a number of areas where families have been seeking answers and where the Government here has a role to play. I ask in particular about the issue of De…

I commend my colleague, Deputy Ged Nash, on bringing forward this important Bill. We are all aware of the spike in the cost of living. In four years, the cost of a basket of groceries has risen by more than 35%. This is having a huge impact on families and households. Organisations like Barnardos report that parents are forgoing medicines to put food on their children's plates. We are noticing shr…

Yes.

Israel is perpetrating a genocide; a genocide upon the people of Gaza. This motion recognises that. As we watch in horror the new atrocities being committed upon Palestinian civilians each day, there are more children and babies killed and injured and starving before our eyes and families being wiped out like the family of Dr. Alaa al-Najjar. We must do more and we can and must show leadership. O…

I thank all of those across the House who supported Labour's important motion on Gaza today and I thank the Government for not opposing it. I look forward to working with the Government and the Opposition to bring about an end to the suffering and genocide being perpetrated upon the people of Gaza. Ireland has shown leadership but we can do more. We want to work constructively and collectively to …

Of course, the answer is supply. We all acknowledge that but the issue is that the Government is not doing anything to bring forward supply or to increase the delivery of homes. I watched the Minister for housing give an interview last night. I heard no new ideas to address the situation facing the family I have described, a family who are in the same situation as far too many others. They are fac…

I wish to raise my concerns about the future of Irish rivers, in particular in the context of a plan apparently being put forward by the Fianna Fáil housing Department to redesignate a large number of rivers as heavily modified water bodies. I refer to rivers like the Boyne, the Barrow, the Corrib, the Dodder, the Liffey, the Lee and the Shannon. Concerns have been raised by Friends of the Irish E…

The controversy surrounding Children’s Health Ireland has somehow managed to escalate yet again over the recent days. Instead of focusing on the vital task of caring for our children, CHI is presiding over an increasingly chaotic string of failures, failures with devastating consequences for sick children and their families. The Taoiseach mentioned breaches of trust, which are clearly evident too.…

I agree with the Taoiseach that this is clearly an environmental, cultural and systemic failure. Of course, the parents and children most directly and desperately affected urgently require an independent review. However, we need to hear more from the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health – the Taoiseach is, of course, a former health Minister – about the systemic changes that will be made to addre…

What about the HSE?