Search the record

from the domestic violence and potential threat to the lives of them and their children? Can they imagine the anger and devastation of living in a country we are told is rich, yet which cannot provide the most basic protection when a life may depend on it? That … every county, city and community in Ireland. While I welcome proposals being examined to allow gardaí to remove perpetrators from their home in high-risk situations, we have to recognise emergency powers alone will never be enough. Women need somewhere safe to go. They need housing, refuge spaces

people to live in rural areas as possible, because it was wrong. For too long, we had a planning system that prevented people living. We have a situation in the planning system where families have to go through report after report for bats and environmental report after environmental … impact is on this family and all of the families across Ireland who want nothing from the State except to be left alone and be allowed to build in their local areas. I welcome the progress and I urge the Minister of State to get on with

have had to carry the consequences of that abuse through your lives ever since. The damage did not end when the abuse ended. It has followed survivors into their relationships, their family lives, their working lives and their mental and, no doubt, physical health. It affected confidence, trust … darkest and most painful experiences of your lives. Today's apology would not be happening without your courage and determination, and it is important to acknowledge that survivors did not travel this long and difficult road entirely alone. Their families and friends stood beside them through extraordinarily difficult

allows people and families to plan, to access supports sooner, and to maintain independence for as long as possible. Community supports are particularly important in rural counties such as Laois. Transport accessibility and proximity to services can have a major impact on whether people can continue to live … people living with dementia want to remain connected to their communities and families want to know what else is available when they need it. Government must continue to invest in dementia services through the whole-of-government approach. Dementia policy must be about supporting people to live with

existing planning permissions. This is a practical and sensible reform that has the potential to unlock housing delivery in the short term. By allowing those updated standards to apply to existing permissions, the Bill will improve the viability of a large number of schemes and help turn permissions … live in that rural area, but I could never get a copy of the letter from the Minister who had sent it to the local authorities. With regard to the county development plans going forward, I ask one thing of the Minister of State. Will he allow

acknowledge the survivors of Bill Kenneally's abuse, who were then boys and are now men, who carried this alone for decades and found the courage and strength to force this State to look honestly at how it failed them. This is not an isolated failure … harming were trusted, connected or useful to someone more powerful than the poor children themselves. This report shows that pattern again in living memory - not in some distant past that we can console ourselves is behind us. Senior gardaí knew about this in the late 1980s. They knew

Whether named or unnamed, the extraordinary testimony of witnesses to the commission of investigation was an act of great courage. In their young lives, they were the victims of monstrous evil and their vulnerability was increased by the impunity with which Kenneally perpetrated his atrocities. Too many warning … they were children who should have been protected, not abandoned to depravity and despair. In 1985, a 14-year-old boy walked all alone into Waterford Garda station and reported he had been abused by Kenneally. The garda spoke to him at the counter and told

bills and, just as importantly, meet their neighbours and friends and keep connected to their community. For many older people, those living alone and those who are less comfortable with digital services, the post office remains their most trusted connection with the State and that role should never … people should not have to leave rural Ireland to enjoy the same quality of public services as those living elsewhere. Balanced regional development means investing in the infrastructure that allows people to live, work, raise families and grow older in the communities that they love. The post office

fuel prices by so much during a cost-of-living crisis. Much of the increased prices we pay in this country are as a result of Government actions. The Government is an architect of the cost-of-living crisis. It is implementing measures that are adding to inflation … highest ever, in the jaws of a cost-of-living crisis. This tax, which is now the biggest fuel tax in the country, hardly existed five years ago. The Government took €4.3 billion in fuel taxes alone last year. It is eye-watering stuff. The citizens of this

called voluntary contribution or, increasingly, an expensive digital device simply to ensure their child can participate fully in class. Digital devices alone cost hundreds of euro - up to €800. The Government insists they are not needed and not mandatory but guidance without enforcement offers no comfort … Instead of easing the pressure, this Government has reintroduced State examination fees, increased school transport charges and reduced a range of cost-of-living supports for schools and for families. Parents continue to subsidise the education system through so-called voluntary contributions because schools remain chronically underfunded. Principals

people in the Six Counties or those who live along the Border. Businesses faced unnecessary barriers and investment and infrastructure became fragmented. Both often stopped at the Border. We can change all of that. We can create opportunity and allow business to flourish. I agree with the Tánaiste … again. I agree entirely with him on that but the real question is this. The preparation needs to be led not alone by a singular figure in Government - by the Tánaiste or his political party Fine Gael. It needs to be led collectively by all of them

fossil fuel imports and securing long-term economic sovereignty for our partners and our people. We have in the past few months alone seen the impact that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has had. We saw the impact on fuel prices, commodities and prices more generally … innovate to allow people to prosper. That is the overall objective and there are many ways in which we intend to do that. The values that we share are the foundation of our Union. They are part of what makes Europe a good place to live and work

everyone to hear the conditionality attached to the permission that works must stop if human remains are found on the grounds. That alone should be a cause of immense concern to anyone who has read anything of the history of Bessborough. Ten days ago, I visited the site … wrong from happening because there are babies unaccounted for and living survivors, like Terry Meyer in today's edition of the Irish Examiner, telling us that they witnessed burials on the grounds of Bessborough. This is a live issue, and we still have time to do the right

very direct concern on behalf of many small towns and villages across my county of Offaly and the wider midlands area. We cannot allow a situation where preferential treatment for designated key towns ends up diverting resources, planning capacity or infrastructural investment away from the smaller communities, communities … confirm a rapid and exponential build-up in property registration delays, as I have already outlined. I have confirmed already that for 2025 alone, over 50,000 applications remain pending. That is disgraceful. What message is that sending out to businesses or even companies looking to come

Middle East. To be fair to Deputy Boyd Barrett, he acknowledged it and the impact that it is having on the cost of living, not just in Ireland but right throughout the globe, and how governments are responding to that issue. One thing I will take issue with … increase in the fuel allowance rate to €38 per week and an expansion in the eligibility rules, with 40,000 additional households qualifying for it after the most recent budget; and a record allocation of €640 million for SEAI retrofit schemes, allowing us to target

qualify for the State Pension (contributory); the impact this has on being excluded from social welfare schemes such as living alone allowance, over-80 allowance, Christmas bonus, dental and optical benefits, additional qualified adult allowance, household benefits package between ages 66 and 70 and treatment for the Universal