Paul Nicholas Gogarty

I express my solidarity and thanks to Deputy Ward for bringing the motion before the House. He has done exactly what he said he would do. He is the 100% Redress Party representative, and he is using every opportunity he can to get 100% redress. It is great to see other Members, from the west and north west, in particular, showing support and solidarity today. As someone who is Dublin-based, I hav…

Increasingly, I have had constituents get on to me about multiple bus lane violations and pedestrian traffic light violations where kids are crossing and cars continue to go through the lights. There are fewer members of the Garda Síochána per head of population since 2008, although the numbers have been increasing. We have a Garda National Roads Policing Bureau, formerly the traffic corps. Howeve…

In the spirit of my predecessor, I am also going to play the ball and not the man. This is an issue about scoliosis and spina bifida treatment. It is about what we learned yesterday at the presentation organised by Senator Tom Clonan, the heartbreak that was caused by the systemic failure of successive Governments and Children's Health Ireland, but also before the existence of Children's Health Ir…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this legislation. As others have said, it is a little bit of tweaking to keep us going until next year. As the Minister said, it will allow sufficient headroom to continue lending to mid-2026, after which there could be a new national housing plan and a new national development plan. We know that the €13.5 billion threshold is a holding position. Like the spea…

Today Senator Tom Clonan hosted a briefing on the challenges still facing children with scoliosis and spinal bifida. While we look at this area again in its own right, I reiterate my support for a full public inquiry on the whole scandal regarding the treatment of children awaiting scoliosis operations and related treatments, covering the entire lifespan of Children's Health Ireland but also going…

5. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if there has been progress in removing the in camera rule in the family courts, subject to protection of identity, in order that media reports can be carried out in the interests of transparency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54521/25]

The most recent time I raised this matter last June, I criticised the current state of Ireland's family court system and highlighted delays, poor facilities and, in particular, a lack of transparency due to the in camera rule. In response, the Minister acknowledged the widespread public frustration with the family law processes. He said that the full removal of the in camera rule was unlikely due …

We do need to shine more light on these situations. In family disputes involving children, people will sometimes attempt to alienate the kids. The Minister referred to reports. In relation to section 32 and section 47 reports, we have had cases where people have almost treated parental alienation as a proven case when it is not. It is almost like a cult. Immersion therapy is recommended, where chi…

I believe it is important to keep the pressure on and to keep working on this issue. In many instances, these so-called experts are not actually qualified, and in many instances they are actually being paid by one parent to produce the report because the other parent cannot afford to have a similar report. It is not a fair situation and the more the media are able to shed light on the situation an…

Yesterday evening I spoke about the macro situation and how the Fiscal Advisory Council had urged a cooling down, because the corporation tax receipts were not going to last forever and that this budget, in one sense because it came after a giveaway election budget, had shades of 2007. Now I want to move on to some of the specific measures in the budget. During the votes last night I got to talk a…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on budget 2026. In this contribution, I would like to mainly focus on the macro issues and some of the key measures announced, while in my slot tomorrow I hope to go more into individual measures in terms of what is welcome, what is unwelcome and what is a missed opportunity. There are plenty of missed opportunities both day to day and strategic. First, and I do …

I particularly want to speak to resolution No. 4. However, I welcome No. 3 and the continuation of the 9% rate of VAT for electricity, which is very welcome. While in some people's view it does not do so entirely, it does in some way mitigate the removal of the measures to help people pay their bills. I agree with others that maybe it should have been continued for another year. I note the Fiscal …

I did not get the opportunity to speak yesterday so, first, I wish to acknowledge the humanitarian work being done by the volunteers on the flotilla, trying to get food and medicine directly to the people of Gaza in the face of starvation, violence and ongoing oppression from the Israeli state. I acknowledge that many of those participating are Irish citizens, as others have said, including our ow…

One cannot say much in two minutes but the point I will make is that funding is welcome but we need more of it. Capital projects have a huge return, especially, as others have noted, in terms of working with sports clubs. I support what my colleague Deputy Fitzmaurice said about a loan scheme to top up funding. We also need to look to more creative thinking. In my constituency, Clonburris strateg…

On a point of order, seeing that my Private Members' business was referenced, the motion asked for ideas from all Members of the House. All parties, with the exception of the Social Democrats, contributed in that respect. The Government allowed the motion to be passed to allow the ideas to be assessed and reported on in six months' time. It was a motion on the consequences of antisocial behaviour.…

It is regrettable that Ireland, one of the richest countries in the world, has seen a significant rise in children living in consistent poverty. According to the Children's Rights Alliance, one in 12 children, or more than 100,000, is in this situation. Obviously, inflation has risen. There are various reasons for this, including the Ukraine and related issues, the fact that we live on an island, …

I have a number of questions regarding the auto-enrolment scheme. I welcome the broad thrust of the scheme. The idea of people starting from an early age making contributions towards their pensions as they reach retirement age is a good one in principle, as is the sense of making the employers contribute. However, as Deputy Collins said, there is an issue with the State not contributing enough. I …

Unfortunately, some of my colleagues could not make it. I wish to talk at the outset about protecting our young people. It is not just about vapes, e-cigarettes and nicotine products; it is also about alcohol, nitrous oxide canisters and unfiltered assess to social media. Our young people are being assaulted from all sides like never before. We need to protect them. We have legislative tools to m…

I noted the Minister's comments earlier today with regard to a discussion about the occupied territories Bill and a date for such. He said the Government can influence but not dictate the position of our partners in the EU and elsewhere around the world. I agree with that 100% but I also acknowledge that there has been ongoing pressure, let us say, from the Opposition in this Chamber and then from…

To follow up on my colleague's comments, there is an issue about accountability and responsibility. It is not the NTA that deals with the school buses; it is Bus Éireann that has been given that job. If Bus Éireann is not doing the job, representatives here would like to know why, who is accountable and who is going to be fired from their job for being incompetent. If it is an issue of supply, the…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: — recognises that anti-social behaviour continues to be a major problem in Ireland for people of all ages; — noting that the factors leading to this behaviour are multi-faceted and that some work has been done to date to identify and resource solutions; — accepting that Garda numbers per head of population remain far short of optimal levels; — acknowledges that many…

I welcome that the Government is not opposing this motion which is hugely welcome. As I said at the start, some work has been done but we need a lot more. Some of the wording of this motion is actually time-based. It proposes taking some of the suggestions here - my suggestions, other people's suggestions and the Government's own ideas - putting them together and coming up with a plan in the next …

You are no Deputy Stagg; please let me continue. At the start of my contribution on the motion, I mentioned that we needed action to deal with the causes of crime. I have spoken about that many times. I previously referenced the Garda numbers but this is a motion purely on the consequences for antisocial behaviour. Again the Social Democrats said this is a very offensive motion to young people. L…

I welcome the Proceeds of Crime and Related Matters Bill, which, as the Minister said, represents a major upgrade of existing legislation. I welcome the fact it will reduce from seven years to two the time between a judicial determination of an asset being the proceeds of crime and a final disposal order being available. I especially welcome the immediate and automatic appointment of a receiver in…

Two years ago, Ireland celebrated the 30th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality. We saw further incremental progress after that through the civil partnership process, which was a stepping stone to full marriage equality following the passing of the thirty-fourth amendment to the Constitution of Ireland. This year, we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the legislation implementing …