Ann Graves

I commend my colleague Teachta Ward, not only on the work he has done recently but over the past number of years. This is not work that has been done over the past two months. A lot of time and effort has been invested in it. We are all aware that nitrous oxide has become a scourge in all of our communities. Our young people are being put at serious risk by people who are making profit out of chil…

Like my colleague, I am a former smoker but I am a vaper. That being said, the Bill has a somewhat piecemeal approach to vaping. We need a comprehensive public health response to vaping and nicotine. This is the third Bill on smoking in the past three years and there is at least another one on the way. Sinn Féin fully supports a ban on single-use vapes. We sought a similar ban for a number of year…

The decision by the EU Council to approve the Mercosur trade deal was a bad day for Ireland. It is bad for our public health, our environment, our agricultural industry and our citizens. The Government's eleventh hour conversion to opposing the deal was a cynical move to save votes but the public and the farming community saw through this manoeuvre. The Government only made the decision to oppose …

For years, Sinn Féin has been highlighting the reasons we should oppose this deal. We urged this Government to come out and join us in campaigning against the Mercosur deal but it sat silently refusing to defend Ireland's interests until the last minute when it was too late. Sinn Féin will continue to actively campaign to put an end to this disastrous deal. Our MEPs Lynn Boylan and Kathleen Funchi…

Fuel poverty is at crisis levels in the State. I see it first-hand in my own constituency in Fingal East, particularly among the elder generations who are having to choose between heating and eating. I met a woman in her 70s from Malahide the other day who has worked her entire life. She spends her days walking around shopping centres to try to get some heat. It is absolutely appalling. She has ch…

In this State, we have a two-tier health system and it is clearly highlighted in the Bill. The lack of a universal healthcare system free at the point of delivery has created a private market for healthcare. Removing private healthcare from public hospitals is an important and necessary development. It will reduce the dependency on private healthcare but it demands that the Department step up to t…

On the day that we mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, we all need to stop and reflect on how we can work together to reduce and eliminate all violence against women. Last year, the annual report for the Courts Service showed an increase of 13.6% in sexual violence against women. That is just not good enough. We need to overhaul the courts system to ensure it …

Israel's genocide in Gaza is happening in real time. We see it on our news feeds on our phones. It is beyond doubt. Since October 2023, 69,500 people, the majority of them children, have been murdered by Israel. A further 217 journalists and media workers, 120 academics and 224 humanitarian workers have been killed by Israel. This is the list of crimes against humanity carried out with precision b…

The Irish people stand in solidarity with Ukraine. We have actively supported the Ukrainian people since the Russian invasion in February 2022. This illegal invasion has caused huge instability in Europe. The trauma of this war has moved way beyond the borders of Ukraine and Russia. The incursion of Russian drones into Poland’s airspace is completely unacceptable, reckless and provocative. It is a…

The Minister knows the Mercosur trade deal is bad for Ireland and Irish farmers. Before the last general election, the Government was against the agreement. Now it is time to stand up against the deal. In the EU, the Sinn Féin MEPs, Lynn Boylan and Kathleen Funchion, are standing up for Ireland and Irish farmers. Along with colleagues in the Left group, they have referred the deal to the European …

The cost of living is having a huge impact on workers and families. Every week, people are struggling to pay their bills, food, heating, childcare, fuel - the list goes on. In a recent budget, families were looking to the Government for a helping hand, but they got absolutely nothing. The ESRI confirmed that families will be 2% worse off as a result of the Government's budget. Families are now fac…

In the last Dáil, the Government established the Joint Committee on Drugs Use. The focus was to implement the findings of the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use. The work of the joint committee is ongoing and has yet to be completed, making this motion somewhat premature. Sinn Féin, however, will not oppose the motion but both Government and Opposition must allow the committee to do its work without …

This is day 46 for the hunger strikers for justice outside Leinster House. Mary Donovan, Miriam Moriarty Owens, Mary Dunleavy Green and Maurice Patton O'Connell represent the 4,000 survivors of residential institutional abuse. Their situation is critical. These survivors have been driven to this extreme action after decades of fighting for justice. They were deeply traumatised by the institutional…

We are all aware that families are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. Between spiralling rents, mortgages, energy, food and fuel, the list of ever-increasing bills is growing longer and longer. Each bill puts further pressure and stress on working families. When it comes to their children's education, parents are being forced into more debt in order to cover back-to-school costs. Barnardos…

In just two days some Irish citizens will exercise their right to vote and I strongly encourage people to come out in large numbers to exercise that right. Unfortunately the right is not universal. The right of Irish citizens to vote on Friday stops an hour up the road. Citizens in the North can win an All-Ireland, play for Ireland, stand in a presidential election and even be elected to the offic…

Go raibh míle maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Budgets are as much about political priorities as they are about financial commitments. This year’s budget was one of two halves. There was more for the have-lots and basically nothing for the have-nots. The ESRI has said losses will average 2% for households already struggling to deal with the cost-of-living crisis. It appears the budget for drug…

This Government and consecutive governments have failed the people of Ireland abysmally when it comes to housing. Every report and statistic underlines the abject failure in tackling the housing emergency. The most damning indictment of failed housing policies is the homeless figures. The most recent figures published make very sad reading. In Dublin tonight, 11,782 people are homeless. That is an…

I have been contacted by parents and SNAs in schools throughout Fingal East. They have real concerns about the recently published SNA review process of the 2025-2026 guidelines by the National Council for Special Education, NCSE. The guidelines could risk serious harm to children with special education needs and I share their concerns. Any effort to tighten timelines or restrict criteria has the p…

Our young people have to be given the best opportunity we can offer them. Although we cannot dictate to or lecture them, we can, of course, introduce legislation that will protect them and help them make positive decisions on their health and well-being. It would be hypocritical of me to stand up here and lecture anybody - I was that smoker; I was that vaper - but we must not bury our heads in the…

Energy companies are putting their hands into the pockets of working families and helping themselves to their hard-earned cash. This is happening because the Government is not holding these greedy companies to account. Its policy of appeasing these energy companies is causing huge hardship for people. People in Ireland are already paying the highest electricity prices in Europe and the fifth-highe…

This time of year is about going back to school for many families. That means getting the school bags, getting the books together, and getting the uniforms ready. For many families there will not be a school place for their child to get ready for. Sinn Féin is tabling this motion to highlight the terrible injustice and to put pressure on the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Government to listen and to ac…

Our hearts are broken at the sight of Palestinian men, women and children being targeted and killed while queuing for food and drink. In the West Bank, families are forced to endure unprecedented levels of violence from the Israeli state and illegal settlers. The GAA in Palestine has been working with local clubs across Ireland to provide Palestinian children with much-needed respite from the trau…

I acknowledge the staff in our health services. Every one of them should be proud of the excellent service they provide despite the challenges they face every day in our hospitals, healthcare centres and community programmes. The health service is challenged by growing waiting lists, longer waiting times, an undersupply of key workers and low morale. Almost every part of the health service is atte…

Pride, as we know, has grown from being a small gathering in Dublin to a nationwide celebration of inclusion. It is a time when cities and towns across the island of Ireland take out the rainbow flag and welcome the progress made by the LGBTQI+ community in recent years. It is important that we recognise and celebrate the progress made but still we have more to do and we have to be vigilant. There…

I acknowledge Deputy Smith for bringing forward this legislation. For a resident and somebody who is representing people in the affected area, it is a matter of dire importance that some regulation is put in place. Sinn Féin has always had concerns on the potential conflict of interest with ANCA as the noise regulator. This is not least because of ANCA's and Fingal County Council's financial depen…