Gary Gannon

That is pure arrogance.

The last resort of the desperate.

There is best practice. It is not good form

I ask for a debate on the co-ordinated attacks by Government parties on the legal profession. It is a dark week in this House and it is important that Members of the Government reaffirm their commitment to the rule of law, which they have undermined this week in a shoddy attempt-----

The Government took away the eviction ban.

I support Deputy McDonald’s call for a public inquiry into Children’s Health Ireland. In addition, I propose an amendment under Standing Order 35(3), namely to call for statements on the peace plan for Gaza. All of us are being contacted in our offices daily by people who are seeking to understand what exactly the plan means and hoping it will bring peace. We want to know what it means in relation…

-----and reaffirming our commitment to the ICC judgment-----

-----supporting South Africa through the ICJ.

I acknowledge Sinn Féin for bringing forward the motion. Without question we will support it wholeheartedly. A cost-of-disability payment is long overdue. It is fair, it is practical and it recognises what the State has known for years, which is that living with a disability in Ireland carries a very real financial cost. Its omission from last year's budget was profoundly disappointing. The Govern…

There has been a lot of talk from the Government benches this week about economic stability and about protecting our competitiveness. The previous speaker just verified that. That is absolutely fair enough. However, I believe that this year the Government has chosen big corporations over people who need protection the most. If one wants to make an argument that multinationals are vital to the econ…

I thank the Minister of State for being here to discuss what is frankly a crisis in the way the State approaches youth work in the north inner city. Over the past few weeks we have all seen the headlines on the spate of crimes in the area. I am not going to sensationalise what is happening. Instead, I want to force this Government to acknowledge that these youth people, some of them not even out o…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. The north east inner city task force is referenced quite a bit in the Chamber and other Deputies ask for similar schemes to be applied in their own areas. Why would they not? A substantial amount has been allocated over a nearly seven-year period. We should remember why that task force was initiated. It was initiated to confront the crime, drug-deali…

Earlier this week, my party leader, Deputy Cairns, asked a very simple question. In what other profession in this country are people subjected to a means test, just to be recognised for the work they do? It is a stark question that gets to the heart of the matter. That is what this is about. Carers are professionals in every sense of the word. They do the work that is essential to the running of o…

I will begin by joining Deputy Gibney in welcoming her friends Bushra and Mohammed to the Chamber. Their presence here is really welcome and we hope they will be joined by Bushra's other children very shortly. I will also acknowledge the 22 citizens who are on board the flotilla heading for Gaza, two of whom are colleagues of ours. They are bringing medical supplies, including prosthetic legs. All…

My eagerness to speak on this subject stems from the fact that I understand sport has an incredible impact, not only in our communities and in the lives of the people who get to benefit from it. When we debate the impact of the sports capital programme, the large-scale sport infrastructure fund and the major sporting events programme, it is important that we talk honestly about how we measure succ…

In the Irish Examiner this morning, Cormac O'Keeffe gave voice to what many of us working in the area already know. Throughout Dublin city, even youth workers are starting to feel scared as they go about their work, such are the levels of increased violence and intimidation. I find that extraordinary. What is more extraordinary is that the Minister's Government has, over the last two terms, initia…

Are they wrong?

I will tell the people-----

What strikes me reading through the Estimate is how little ambition the Government is showing when it come to targeting vulnerable young people, tackling domestic violence and living up to our obligations on prisons and immigration. Once again, we are presented with tables that look busy on the page but that fail utterly to meet the needs of the people who depend on a functioning and fair justice …

I too welcome our guests in the Gallery. I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward the motion tonight. It is timely. Many households will be looking in on this debate with eagerness because winter is approaching. We broadly agree with most aspects of the motion before us this evening. We live in a country where energy prices are among the highest in Europe. That reality is hitting households hard, wi…

I stand to speak on the statements on migration. There are many wonderful aspects to it. I would like to talk about the experience and enhancement of communities the length and breadth of the country, but there is also something we just cannot step away from at the moment. Things feel different. It feels like the racism has increased and like the fear in the communities who contact my office has s…

I acknowledge the speakers who brought the motion to the Dáil but I will not be supporting it. I will not say it contains no good ideas but it loses all reason where it refers to the temporary removal of personal items such as PlayStations, Xboxes and smartphones. Are we serious here? Am I right to believe the Government is not opposing a motion that calls for someone to go into somebody's house a…

I thank the Minister of State for taking this issue tonight. A couple of week ago, I visited the neonatal unit of the Rotunda Hospital, which is just off Parnell Street in my own constituency of Dublin 1. While there, I met the clinicians there who are being asked to work in conditions that are incredibly unsuited to the importance of the work and to the vulnerability of the babies who they care …

Yes, that is completely as I expected. I understand and accept completely that as legislators, we do not, nor should we, have a role over planning but we do have leadership roles. We do have voice. We are elected to represent the people of our constituencies and to have a say about what is common sense, what is basic humanity and what is just nonsensical. I found it unfathomable when I walked into…

Homelessness.