Ivana Bacik

At the weekend, the Taoiseach's appalling new rules for renters came into effect. To mark that change, we learned of the eviction notices issued to 36 homes in Wexford, all owned by the same large landlord, right in the heart of the housing Minister's own constituency. My colleague Deputy Lawlor has been dealing with the families involved, in excess of 100 people including many children, many of w…

Is the Taoiseach monitoring this situation? We are seeing more and more-----

-----eviction notices.

It was the same weekend.

A radical reset-----

That is not true.

We are not-----

We are not sitting on any fence.

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak for the Labour Party in today's important and historic debate. I welcome the Taoiseach’s apology, which marks an important step in Ireland’s recognition of our shameful history as a society and of our appalling treatment of women and children over so many decades. It recognises that far too many of our people were incarcerated in reformatories, industrial…

Before we begin, I again express the Labour Party's solidarity with Ukraine as we mark the fourth anniversary today of Russia's full-scale invasion. As Ukraine enters its fifth year under Putin's brutal bombardment, our thoughts today must be with all those bereaved, injured or displaced by this horrific war in Europe. Last night was the latest climbdown in the special education saga. SNAs, princ…

It is extraordinary to hear the Taoiseach say that the Government never signed off on this. It was Government policy. Government Ministers were out defending it all last week. The Labour education spokesperson, Deputy Eoghan Kenny, was on "Prime Time" last week against the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, on this very point. It is extraordinary to hear the Taoiseach now seeking to deflect blame…

The Taoiseach needs to take responsibility for this fiasco, and take it now.

We never said that.

Every day reveals more about the true horror of Jeffrey Epstein's global ring of paedophilia and blackmail. The fallout continues. Yesterday Peter Mandelson was arrested and last week the former Prince Andrew was arrested. On Friday night, on "The Late Late Show", we heard the incredible testimony of Lisa Phillips, a survivor of Epstein. Lisa spoke out with great courage to expose the extraordinar…

We have parliamentary questions in.

I commend Deputy Lawlor and my other Labour Party colleagues, in particular Deputies Sherlock and Wall, on bringing forward this important Bill, which I am glad to second. At its core, this Bill is about something very simple. It is about supporting people to work - to work to live not just to live to work. It is about quality of life. Despite what Government spokespersons might imply, workers in …

The public outcry this week from parents, SNAs, principals and teachers has demonstrated the level of fear and distress created by the Taoiseach's Government with their crude approach to SNA allocations. We have all been reminded this week about the vital work that SNAs do in our schools. To the children who need them they are indispensable. One mother wrote to me yesterday and said, "My daughter …

I never said that.

With respect, the Taoiseach's response missed the point. We are not disagreeing on the big picture of funding. We are not disagreeing with the Taoiseach-----

Of course reviews have to be carried out but it is about how a review is carried out and how it impacts on individual schools. It is no comfort to the principals who have received letters telling them about a cut, and it is a cut effectively, in their individual schools. It is no comfort to them to hear the Taoiseach speak about the macro and about the overarching numbers. What we have not seen wi…

Is that a commitment?

The Taoiseach speaks about "this school year" but I am asking about September.

Yes.

It is the impact on-----

Next week sees the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. That means the brutal bombardment of Ukraine is about to enter its fifth year. We have seen appalling casualties and appalling attacks by Russia on the civilian population and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. It is in that context that I raise the alarming revelations on the front of today's edition of The Irish T…