Paul Donnelly

Dublin West.

Energy costs are driving people into energy poverty. What does it look like? It is less for food, clothes and bills. It is the choice between eating or heating. For working families, older people and people with disabilities, it is about hesitating to turn on the heating for fear of the bills coming through. People on low incomes are the worst affected. The Minister's Department said that people …

I have listened to the speeches over the last little while and I find it incredible. Fine Gael has had 15 years and it is talking about another new plan on the abandoned plan on top of the other abandoned plan it had prior to that, which created nothing. It is absolutely scandalous to listen to the Government because it is not a new plan. It is reheated, repackaged and has already failed three tim…

In one single school in Dubai, there are 50 Irish teachers. I have spoken to some of them and they talk about coming home. They wonder how they are going to find somewhere to live and how they are going to survive in a cost-of-living crisis when they come home - if they come home. A teacher contacted me just today. Schools in Dublin West have had to cancel subjects, with children unable to take th…

I have not spoken on this issue before but I have listened to so many debates on it over the period of time. It struck me today when I was looking at the update to the Bill and the background to it. It reminds me of when we had issues with pyrite in my constituency. It was one of the first areas where it was discovered that pyrite was affecting homes. I know it is a completely different defect tha…

Fine Gael and partition.

Why does Fine Gael not stand in the North?

I extend my solidarity to the people of Palestine. We have watched in absolute horror the genocide inflicted on the people of Gaza. It is important to note that despite the ceasefire taking place, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by this brutal Israeli military machine backed by weapons supplied by America. We have watched in growing horror the violence of Israeli settlers backed by the I…

Thanks very much Tánaiste.

Thanks very much Tánaiste.

There are a couple things that are really stark in the Movember report. One is that 46% of men from deprived or disadvantaged areas are more likely to die prematurely compared to women living in the same communities. I know the report is 15 years old but, most shockingly, it shows that a lot of work needs to be done. Among male members of the Traveller community, there is a life expectancy of 61.7…

Our motion is about asking everyone who believes in a united Ireland to step up to the plate, to become persuaders for unity and to demonstrate the responsible, mature and ambitious leadership required to achieve a future in a united Ireland. I listened to the Minister of State's speech. I have heard Minister after Minister and the Taoiseach dodging their responsibility to the Irish people, North …

We are in here because we believe in-----

The Deputy does all right.

My community and many others throughout the State are being terrorised by scramblers every day, driving on our roads, our paths and in our parks. I have consistently called for the establishment of an anti-scrambler unit that is trained and resourced to deal with this scourge. The Minister for justice refuses to do it and kicks the can down to senior gardaí, who then kick the can back to him. I wi…

The Taoiseach still has not answered what he is going to do.

Here we go. Here is the crux.

So there is a price on genocide.

Genocide is worth-----

At least you said it out loud.

The Deputy voted for the budget.

There are times when we are lost for words. We see the absolute horrors being inflicted on the people of Palestine on our screens every day. It is hard to watch but we must continue to share these stories. Children and babies are starving to death. Israeli snipers are shooting children in different parts of their bodies - sometimes at their hearts, sometimes at their heads and sometimes at their g…

I welcome the opportunity to discuss social enterprise policy. I appreciate the updates the Minister of State provided. I will have a good look at his statement. Sometimes, it can be difficult to ingest what a Minister of State is saying across a 25-minute contribution. Social enterprises are an important part of our communities. They need support to help them to flourish and grow. I hope the pol…

I appreciate that. When will details of the seed funding be announced? It was in the programme for Government. Also, Rethink was awarded a five-year €4 million contract for delivering social innovation supports without any public tendering. Maybe we could find out, because no other sectoral bodies could apply for it, why the contract was not the subject of a public tender.

I also welcome the tightening of the legislation but we do need to see it. We need to see it implemented. Everybody has a concern about vaping, particularly among young people. Adults have a choice and free will, and if their vaping is part of smoking cessation I absolutely welcome it and believe it to be important; however, as we have already heard, the manner in which vapes are marketed and sold…