Seán Crowe

Tallaght and the wider south-west Dublin region have been among the fastest growing parts of the State for decades, yet transport investment has consistently failed to keep pace with the growth. Thousands of new homes planned and a rising population place even greater pressure on our roads and public transport networks. MetroLink south west cannot be treated as a project for the 2040s or beyond. W…

There is a commitment in the programme for Government to enhance driver training but this has not been of much comfort to learner drivers who cannot get an appointment for a test. Numbers on the waiting lists for driving tests continue to climb and waiting times grow longer. Several weeks ago, the Road Safety Authority, RSA, pulled the plug on a proposed new driving centre in Sandyford, despite th…

Mar a dúirt an tAire, Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union comes at a defining moment for Ireland and Europe. Communities across the Continent are facing soaring living costs, deepening inequality, housing crises, climate change and growing international instability. The Presidency presents Ireland with an opportunity not just to just chair meetings or hold photo opportunitie…

Childcare is no longer simply a family issue. It is one of the biggest social and economic challenges facing this State. We heard earlier that parents are paying more than €800 a month in many parts of the country but in Dublin they would be lucky to get change from €1,000 a month. Even then, there are thousands who still cannot secure a childcare place. That is the impossible situation for many …

I raise the commitment in the programme for Government to reach a 19:1 student-teacher ratio in our primary schools. In my area, Scoil Maelruain national school was stripped of a teacher because the school was one student short for the coming year. This resulted in four classes being turned into three, with numbers of 29 and 30 students. This flies in the face of the commitment and pushes the clas…

I am joined by my constituency colleagues, from the Opposition and the Government, in relation to this issue. Sancta Maria College got approval for a new school gym and drama room back in 2001. That is 25 years, a quarter of a century, ago. Right now, the school has two half-built structures after the construction company went into liquidation eight years ago. Generations of students have come and…

The big question we ask is why the school has not been prioritised. It is a half-finished school. The Minister of State has outlined the number of projects that are planned and the funding that is being allocated, but the question the parents, teachers and pupils are asking is, "Why not our school?" It is a fair question. Children deserve the best and most modern facilities. We cannot live with a…

So much for legislation.

Access to timely, effective and affordable dental care is one of the most important guarantees of a good quality of life. Persistent pain from an abscess or tooth decay is one of the most unpleasant and debilitating things a child or adult can go through. A modern healthcare system should make it a top priority. Instead, the Government parties have long abandoned affordable dental services. It is …

When the Irish people made their desire for an occupied territories Bill plain during the last election, the then Taoiseach, Deputy Simon Harris, said it would be passed within the first year of any government he was part of. It was clear then and it is clear now that Irish citizens want to see the Government take up a more robust and active policy in support of Palestinians, who are treated as se…

Let us water it down.

We know that An Post has a plan to relocate these sorting offices. It is not only Edmondstown. It is also talking about closing one in Tallaght and relocating the one in Churchtown, which is in Dublin 14, to Edmondstown. There is a demand in relation to the levels of parcels. It is at Christmas levels at the moment, and it is growing all the time. We accept that there needs to be efficiencies in r…

My only experience is going into the Tallaght sorting office, and I have never gone in without other people being there. There are always queues there, which highlights the fact that it is being used. We are told that there is a plan in place. We do not know what the plan is so we are looking for information about that plan. At the end of the day, we need to know where the parcels will go, if they…

Clearly, we are living through a dangerous moment in Irish politics. Piece by piece, step by step, there is a growing effort by the Government parties to weaken Irish neutrality and dismantle the triple lock. Neutrality is not weakness; it is a positive expression of Irish independence. It is the belief that Ireland should decide its own path in the world, free from the influence of military blocs…

I am probably repeating it but surely it is long past the time that Government takes action to protect workers and families from spiralling energy costs. People tell me they are sick and tired of hearing that wholesale electricity costs are going down while their household bills are still eye-wateringly high. One of the main aims of this Sinn Féin legislation is to empower the Commission for Regul…

Europe Day is meant to be a celebration of peace and unity, when we mark how a continent that emerged from war resolved to work together to ensure future harmony and prosperity. My party, Sinn Féin, is often accused of being sceptical of the EU. That accusation is often thrown around in this House. It may happen in this debate. However, it is simply not the case. Sinn Féin's policies towards the E…

Tacaím leis an mBille seo. Tá sé ag dul sa treo ceart. This Bill is going in the right direction and we will support it. Sinn Féin firmly believes in the core republican principle of equal citizenship and supports the right of all citizens of voting age to vote for the Irish President, regardless of their place of residence. The Good Friday Agreement states the Government recognises the right of a…

One quarter of jobs in this State are classified as involving low pay, insecurity and poor working conditions. The best way to increase pay, productivity and employee retention is through trade unions and collective bargaining. This is especially true at a time when rising inflation and external shocks are having a deep impact on living standards and affordability for workers and their families. I…

We are talking about two schools here - the junior and senior schools. All the TDs in the constituency have visited the schools, and we are all of the same mind that work needs to move ahead. In 2011, the Department agreed to two extensions to the junior and senior schools. In 2014, there was a visit to the schools, and the Department felt it was necessary for a rebuild. Ever since, the school aut…

The school's most optimistic expectation is that it will take more than four years from the green light through to completion. Can we really stand here and say we cannot build two sets of classrooms and a new school within 12 years? It is just not acceptable. Children in Tallaght are being left behind. That is clearly what is happening. What message does that send to the children in these schools …

This was another European Council meeting that refused to hold Israel and the US to account for their destabilising actions in the Middle East or to acknowledge those actions. Where was the condemnation of the actions that started this war? Our trade partners are an exception to outrage when it comes to killing children, journalists, ambulance drivers, medical responders and innocent civilians. N…

I do not think it is a radical statement to say that the duty of any government is to protect its most vulnerable citizens from severe shocks to the greatest extent possible. I genuinely do not believe in this case that that is what happened. Unsustainably high energy and fuel prices in the State have made a pre-existing cost-of-living crisis even worse. I believe that the Government further compo…

I begin by saying that the genocide in Gaza and the resulting inaction and silence by the EU made it quite clear to Israel and Trump's America that they had a free hand to do whatever they liked in the region, causing an unprovoked war of aggression that has caused chaos right across the Middle East and left an untold number of dead. Yes, we have seen horrifying reports of crackdowns on recent pro…

What about Shannon Airport?

What about Shannon?