Paul Donnelly

I appreciate the answer. What surprises me is the figure given of 17% of passports when, just in the past couple of weeks, I have had at least four or five people come to me. I have listened to a couple of other Deputies raising this issue as well, one from the Minister of State's own party during, I think, Questions on Policy or Legislation. It most definitely is an issue, but not with the Passpo…

On Sunday, I was with students, staff and parents of Danu Community Special School in the Millennium Park because we have an annual walk, and I got chatting to them about some of the issues that are happening. Today, I was in St. Michael's special school in Chapelizod and there was more of a grilling from the students than any journalist would be proud of. It was a really important opportunity to …

The principal has 60 staff members-----

-----and yet the school is paid for only eight teachers. They do not get paid for all those other staff they are looking after.

I am going to send this email on to the Minister of State because there are really important solutions related to this as well. I really hope he considers them.

I listened to the statements from the EU leaders and what I heard is that this genocide has become so horrific for those who supported the slaughter, agreed that withholding food and water could be used as a weapon of war, supplied the weapons and bombs to target the Palestinians and provided political cover for this genocidal regime talked about trade agreements yesterday for the first time. I am…

I am glad of the opportunity to speak on this issue today. The protection and restoration of biodiversity across Ireland is of critical importance. It is an all-island issue. The border does not exist in the context of biodiversity. We are facing a biodiversity crisis. Over 60% of Ireland’s native species are in decline. Our bogs are drying and our rivers are polluted. The River Tolka comes throug…

I listened to the Taoiseach today. I am always gobsmacked at how the Taoiseach can sound like he has only walked into the building and suddenly found himself in the position he is in. It is the same when I hear Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs who have actually been in power. Some Fine Gael TDs have been in power for 14 years. That is 14 years of increasing waiting lists. I heard the shocking news to…

I thank Deputies Daly and Quinlivan for tabling this Bill. It is important legislation and something that will help many people across this State who are faced with huge bills they do not necessarily need to face. It is a lot of anecdotal evidence but we all have personal experience of when the washing machine or something else breaks in the house and the repair person says that, because of the w…

We need to cast our minds back five years to Covid and look at what we were able to achieve when people came together, in a very short period. All of the norms were overturned in a weekend to do what we needed to do to keep people safe, yet we come in here on this issue year after year. I am here six years now and we have raised this issue for six years and before that. I have been with parents on…

There is record homelessness.

As a parent, I cannot recall the number of times that my wife and I brought our children to the children's hospital for various accidents or illnesses. Never for one second did I think I would not implicitly trust the doctors and consultants. One cannot but be shocked at these cases involving children, where parents have sought second opinions. In some cases, the second opinion has suggested that …

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion. We must all be clear that the blame for the current trade tariff situation is laid firmly at the door of Trump and his cabinet of billionaires. While the scale of the tariffs and the response from the EU are still fully unknown, we need in the first instance to look after Ireland's interests. Any knee-jerk reaction from the EU could have the potent…

This is a topic that really interests me so I have been listening to the debate. I sometimes I think I live in a parallel universe. I have listened to successive speakers on the Government side talking about things I absolutely agree with. I agree with everything people have mentioned, such as investment in youth services, prevention and making sure we do not get to the stage where we need to talk…

By every single metric and by every single part of the housing strategy, this Government has failed. It has failed because of its over-reliance on private developers and investments funds that undermine its ability to deliver genuinely affordable housing at scale. It is clear as can be stated that we need much more State-led investment. When will the Government admit that the private market has ze…

Last night in two parks of Dublin 15, namely Hartstown Park and Mick Walsh Park, local people were forced to leave the parks due to fears over safety. Scramblers have been running amok in both of those parks and throughout Dublin 15 for the past several weeks and months. I am deeply frustrated about this because I have raised it literally since I came into the Dáil and every single time it has bee…

Yes.

I very much welcome the legislation before us. It proposes to extend the eligibility payment to qualified cohabitants who were in an intimate and committed relationship for more than five years, or two years where there is a child or children in the relationship. Sometimes, however, I wonder where we get the timelines from - two years with a child and five years without children. Some people canno…

I thank the Social Democrats and welcome the motion calling on the Government to hold a referendum on the triple lock. Ireland has a proud tradition of neutrality and peacekeeping missions. Because of our history of occupation and colonialism, the continued partition of our country and our long-standing policy of military neutrality, Ireland has built a strong reputation for standing up for oppres…

I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion and the carers who are doing the work, day in and day out. For nearly 20 years I worked as a family support worker. In the course of that time, I came across many young people who were carers for one or both of their parents. We tried to give them as much support as we could but it was never enough because while we could finish our day, the…

A thousand people killed in 48 hours and no sanctions.

I do not expect this Government to tell the truth about anything relating to housing in light of the Taoiseach's repeated refusal to confirm or deny that the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform deliberately misled the Irish people during the general election, but here are some truths. Since April 2023, 2,500 households have been prevented from becoming ho…

And 40,000 houses.

Other Deputies have outlined the level of waste of public money on various projects, such as the national children's hospital, the Dáil printer that did not fit into a room, the art scanner that was bought for €125,000 without anyone thinking about where to put it, the bike shelter, the security hut and so on. The list of these projects goes on. What drives people mad is that there are local pro…

I express my deep shock at the attack on a child in Finglas today. I understand the child is very ill and I wish them a speedy recovery. It is clear our communities do not feel safe. They know there is a dearth of gardaí on our streets. I acknowledge the brilliant work gardaí are doing on the ground in Dublin West under extremely difficult circumstances, especially in the last couple of weeks and…