Sorca Clarke

Deputy, with the greatest of respect-----

I call Deputy O'Rourke.

The next speaker on the list is not in the Chamber at the moment.

Please do not. You have utilised your colleague's time. I propose that we take a moment of reflection because the debate is moving slightly ahead of time. If the next speaker does not appear, I will call Deputy Gogarty next but I would like to give him ten seconds, with the indulgence of the House.

Tá trí nóiméad ag an Teachta Gogarty.

Miriam Moriarty Owens, Mary Donovan, Mary Dunlevy Greene and Maurice Patton O'Connell are four courageous survivors of abuse in industrial schools who undertook a hunger strike for 51 days outside this very building. They did not do that lightly. They did it as a last act, a last resort. These survivors, who had already been failed in childhood by the State and religious authorities, felt compelle…

Despite Government's best efforts to paint a picture to the contrary, what happened over the last two weeks was not an administrative hiccup. It was a Government-manufactured shambles inflicted upon children who depend on stability and support, children who need the support of an SNA to feel safe, to stay regulated, to participate and to feel like they belong. The Government's letters caused panic…

Once again Government seems to be immune to the lived realities of people's lives. Both in theory and practice, remote and flexible work has proven its value. Workers delivered, businesses functioned and the economy kept moving, and yet Government came out with this diluted right to request that often ends in refusal. This is the lived reality of commuters in my constituency. A commute can take an…

I need to caution the Deputy about naming private individuals in the Chamber.

The Deputies are eating into other contributors' time.

The Deputies are eating into their colleagues' time. I call Deputy Collins.

In accordance with Standing Order 85(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time on Wednesday, 18 February 2026

The question will be introduced by Deputy Seán Crowe.

Nobody can stop a storm but the Government can and must prevent the predictable damage. The repeated extreme flooding events we have witnessed were not all inevitable but they were worsened by delay, underinvestment and a lack of urgency. Communities have repeatedly shown extraordinary levels of resilience but that is not a substitute for investment. People deserve more than hand-wringing, sympath…

We move to a Government slot. I call Deputy Dolan.

The Minister will have his opportunity to respond.

The very fact that we are here tonight having this debate sickens me to my stomach. It really does. The fact that somebody in a tech company somewhere sat down and thought it would be a great idea to create a tool that will strip clothes off women and children, and to have that tool circulated online for profit makes me want to physically vomit. I do not understand that mentality. I do not know an…

11. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if the cut in the rural development spend in budget 2026 is a trend he sees persisting throughout the lifetime of the current Government. [8710/26]

Bord Bia has done some very good work promoting Ireland’s food and drink around the world and protecting the reputation of those exports but that very reputation is built on the work that goes on in cold yards, calving sheds, milking parlours and small farms where people are farming under ever-increasing pressure. Irish food and drink exports are vital to our economy but let us be very clear: ther…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes the report from the Mental Health Commission entitled "Acute Mental Healthcare in Hospital Emergency Departments in Ireland: A National Survey from the Office of the Inspector of Mental Health Services", which found that "international best practice… is not available in most emergency departments in Ireland"; further notes that: — more than 50,000 people in men…

I welcome that the Government is not opposing the motion but the Minister of State and her colleagues need to act, and act much more quickly than they have to date. At the current rate it will be the mid-2030s by the time we reach the target under Sláintecare. People in crisis cannot wait that long. We are going to lose people. People are going to lose quality of life between now and then. I have …

Some 85% of women affected by pregnancy loss before 23 weeks experience difficulty in returning to work. The need for appropriate workplace supports has been well established and a previous Government commissioned the PLACES report, published in 2004, which set out the social, health and employment impacts of early pregnancy loss. The new women and girls strategy committed to advancing reproductiv…

I call Deputy Ward to conclude.

I thank the Deputy.

The division is postponed until the weekly division time tomorrow evening.