Ruth Coppinger

It is absolutely farcical to reconvene the Dáil for one hour over one aspect of one issue which the Government mistakenly thought would be okay, on which it has been proven wrong. It has not reconvened the Dáil to discuss back-to-school costs facing families this very week. They cannot wait for the budget in a month's time. One in four parents is already borrowing to put their kids into school thi…

120. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Defence if she will examine extending the EU victims directive (details supplied) to cases that are prosecuted by the military police or the Director of Military Prosecutions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54260/26]

When is the victims of crime Act 2017 going to apply the Army? The Women of Honour have pushed for change so that if there is abuse within the Army there will, we hope, be mechanisms to deal with that, but what about women who are abused by Army personnel who are not in the Army? The Minister knows of this case and I am not going to go into any names or details but it shines a light on how we have…

I have very little time left, but I want to put on record that the woman in question was abused by an Army officer using military equipment and surveillance technology, which is extremely scary. She made a complaint, which has never been pursued. She found out that a court martial was taking place but it was about smaller charges that were nothing to do with the woman or the other woman either. T…

This man said of one woman that he would attach her to a concrete block. He said of another that he would set fire to her. Should this person be getting a pay off from the Army? No, of course, he should not. He should have been put on trial. We have to end a situation where these military prosecutions are secret and where the Minister for Defence does not even have the right to intervene. In a let…

Next Wednesday, the trial continues of the Ulm five, including the Irish citizen, Daniel Tatlow-Devally. A delegation of TDs and Senators, including me, will attend the trial in Stuttgart next week. The Government was asked to monitor the trial and on 21 May 2026, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, said, "We will ensure that there is fair oversight of this trial." A senior counsel who attended the tria…

I will cut to the chase here. The reason for the digital divide is that the Department of education has introduced a syllabus, particularly in senior cycle in secondary school, which has such a high level of assessment, 40% in many cases, that school principals have decided that students need laptops. It is because of the new syllabus the Department has introduced. There was a very good article b…

I will deal with two of the amendments in a moment, but first I add my voice to those who have already made the point about the modus operandi of how this Bill was developed and evolved with the adding of extra issues again and again. The last night, on the counselling notes issue, every Opposition party recognised it should have been dealt with as a separate issue because of its importance to sur…

That did not happen in the recently reported case involving a former Fianna Fáil TD. He was not called up to testify.

I am just asking why it did not happen in that case. Was it because it was about parole? Is there a difference in that case?

It does not seem to have been fully applied. We definitely need to discuss this topic again.

I welcome the introduction of Jennie's law. I commend her brother Jason on all of the campaigning he has done over a number of years to bring this about. My hope it will at least bring a stigma to what is called domestic violence. There has not really been the kind of stigma there should have been over the years. I want to put this in context. Women's Aid released its report recently. It shows a 3…

There have been two femicides this week in Ireland, a femicide being the killing of a woman because she is a woman. The femicide count in this country has officially surpassed the total of last year and it is only July. We send our solidarity to the loved ones of Adina Constantin and Jamey Carney. Yesterday, the Taoiseach said that figures on violence against women are going in the wrong directio…

The Minister said there should be more resources. Why are there not? There is a budget surplus of €10 billion to €12 billion and the Minister is boasting, or saying, that it is sufficient to give €18 million to Cuan, which is the same as the racehorse industry gets. We have seen that this is a public health emergency. The rape crisis services should not be charities. They should be public services…

It is terrible.

I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this really important topic about older and disabled people, and what kind of home they can have. The current system is completely unsatisfactory. Older and disabled people are generally in private nursing homes run for profit. I spoke to a parent before this debate about the situation in my constituency. Her son, who gets respite four nights per m…

The Taoiseach is being very defensive.

Nobody has.

Transgender, non-binary and intersex people face discrimination and persecution worldwide. This Saturday, Trans & Intersex Pride will march in Dublin at 2 p.m. I have drafted a Bill, the non-binary and intersex recognition Bill, which I am hoping the Government will support, to give legal rights to such people. It recognises a non-binary gender in the gender recognition certificate - an X marker. …

I do not sit on the housing committee, so this has come like a bolt from the blue for anyone who does not because of the suddenness of these changes. I will give some practical examples because this will cause absolute chaos for councillors and TDs who are at the coalface of dealing with the housing crisis. They are the least of my worries, obviously. I am worried about the people who will be affe…

Is the Minister saying the parents should be put in an IPAS centre?

You are unbelievable. You really need to get a grip on yourselves, the way you talk to the Opposition.

You are so sexist as well. It is only women you ever say that to.

Sorry, but I am not going to be polite to you when we have a crisis.

This is a brutal piece of legislation-----