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need legal support can get it. In fairness to Deputy Barry Ward, he spoke about the difficulties faced by those who try to avail of the services in the system and by those who are providing services. The latter difficulties relate to payment. Everybody has stated explicitly … giant in the legal sphere. He will be sadly missed by his family and friends, but also by those who were able to avail of his services over many years, including many who had found themselves on the wrong end of interactions with the State. I would once

also important to remember that in both civil legal aid and criminal legal aid, the State gets very good value for money from this type of expenditure on legal services. The reason being, instead of hiring a cohort of people to do this job as legal professionals … being an employer, as well as providing places for them to work and all the rest, through the civil legal aid and criminal legal aid schemes, the State avails of a bank of highly skilled, dedicated, professional people who provide their own offices, training, skills and whatever

they have with Lebanon and Operation IRINI. The choice here is simple. The Government and I, as Minister, working with the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, and many others, want to fix what is broken. Importantly, we want to ensure that the right to decide where we send … concerning the dispatch of members of the Defence Forces for services outside of the State. Most significantly, it reforms what we have all known as the triple lock mechanism, providing the legal mechanisms governing the dispatch of our Defence Forces on peacekeeping missions as part of an international

Courts Service, including the increased capital allocation for justice infrastructure announced in budget 2027. I also welcome the positive news of the appointment of a design team to prepare the assessment and business case for the proposed project. I assure the Minister of State's officials the business … busy town. This requires considerable Garda and Prison Service resources and puts additional pressure on the justice system and the town itself. Recently I met the Minister of State along with representatives of the legal profession, Laois County Council and local traders to discuss this matter

million in funding to commence the implementation of key civil legal aid reforms, including increases to financial eligibility thresholds. A 67% increase in funding to the free legal advice centres and €74.6 million for the Legal Aid Board has also been secured in budget 2027. Overall, this represents … access to justice initiatives, the highest investment in the history of the State in respect of civil legal aid. This will build on the growth in the provision of civil legal aid services over recent years. In 2025, the Legal Aid Board managed 25,869 applications for civil

have suffered and might be dealing with in court. It is important we acknowledge that this is urgent, and that the provision of legal services, whether advice or representation, is as urgent for matters like this as it is for criminal law. It should be recognised as such … emerges in recommendation No. 23 on those preventative services for legal advice or information before anything starts, that is a good way of heading things off at the pass, if possible. Reference was made in the Minister of State's speech to the importance of adequate provision

person's gender for legal purposes, and recording sex within the State's system of civil registration. This Bill risks bringing those distinct questions together without adequately resolving the consequences. The implications of the Bill also extend across legislation and public services. The Bill would propose to amend … insignificant or purely technical amendment. So much existing legislation and service delivery and so many Government systems operate on the basis of two gender categories. The introduction of an additional legal category, therefore, requires us to examine carefully how it interacts with existing legislation and with the systems

risks conflating two separate matters: the legal recognition of a person’s gender identity and the recording of sex within the State’s civil registration system. There are also unresolved questions concerning the Bill’s interaction with existing legislation, public service delivery and Government systems, including important health … consistently across the State. The proposed equality protections must likewise be coherent within the wider body of equality law. The objective of protecting intersex people from discrimination is important but a legitimate objective does not remove the need for a sound and effective legal or legislative mechanism. These

have aged out of the paediatric services without ever receiving the treatment they were promised. Separately, any inquiry needs a State-guaranteed transition pathway to be established right now to move vulnerable children safely through the system while these legal reviews drag on. We cannot put everything

environment for the courts staff, the legal profession, victims, witnesses and members of the public. I am asking the Minister of State to take the presence of the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise into account when the Department and the Courts Service are prioritising their capital projects

cannot access the services, community and activities that she currently enjoys as an adult with an intellectual disability. We are also talking about lone parents who, like the case Deputy Boyd Barrett mentioned, are already existing in a Byzantine reality of supports from the State. They are pushed … inadequate housing in terms of overcrowding and actual availability of services and standards. These are the groups that are going to be helped most by the recognition of housing as a right. The Minister of State's party supported it - that is the most heartbreaking part

four-month Civil Service discussion on where we need to look first, I will identify three places right now. The first is housing. We must cut the cost of delay and delivery and look at the consultancy speed. The seller’s legal pack, which I brought … committee last week, would reduce the timeframe a house is on the market because all the legal documents would be ready. We should audit unused or under-used State lands and buildings and ask why projects are taking years. I welcome that the Minister, Deputy Chambers, brought

Defence Act 1954 deals with the dispatch of a contingent or member of the Defence Forces for service outside the State for purposes other than service as part of a relevant international force. The following new purposes are included: "undertaking civilian evacuation operations in response to an actual … case basis. We also have a new section 338, which is a very interesting one as well. This provides that "A State ship or service aircraft may, with the prior approval of the Government, be deployed outside the State for the purpose of participating in international activities

this budget, I have also secured €72.5 million in funding for the Probation Service to ensure we will also have effective community-based sanctions and other alternatives to custodial sentences. The Minister of State, Deputy Ardagh, and I have secured an €11.5 million increase for youth diversion projects … investment in the history of the State in respect of civil legal aid. Strengthening our borders and ensuring that we have a robust, rules-based immigration system have been priorities for me and the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy. This year, I have secured a budget

country would reduce the pressure on Irish prison places and would certainly improve our situation. Prisoners may also have better access to support services in their home countries. The benefits to the Irish situation would be clear. How many prisoners have been transferred out of the Irish prison … Minister has indicative figures on that? Are there barriers preventing a greater number of prison transfers, including prisoner consent, foreign state co-operation, legal challenges or administrative delays? These are important questions in the context of the crisis we face in our prison system, in that we could

very good and capable manager is running the service. Based on what we have heard, it looks like we need to get the directors to the table as well. I understand that the directors run what is a legal entity, and that is how Pobal will fund … that. I appeal to Pobal and the directors. Let us get everybody around the table with the support of the Minister of State and Pobal, and get this resolved with the directors there as well, so that everything is clear

legal aid system in many years. By expanding eligibility and strengthening the capacity of the legal aid system, we can ensure that more people who face genuine financial barriers to accessing legal services receive the assistance they need. I recognise that considerable work is now required to prepare

came from the legal profession. I do not say that with any joy, but that is the reality. That was a reform to deal with personal injuries. From looking at the Department of justice’s review of the old system of criminal legal aid, which necessitated the reforms … Callaghan, has introduced an 8% increase in criminal legal aid fees payable to the solicitors and barristers in the Circuit Court and higher courts from 1 July 2026. That represents the total restoration of the criminal legal aid fees cut under FEMPI. So, it is very regrettable

need to urgently address another part of this debate. Legal recognition is really important, but so too is healthcare. We have had several debates on this issue in the House. The gender healthcare system in this State is broken beyond repair. A new model of care has been … eventually reach out for healthcare and supports, the State and supports are not there and they are faced with more waits. Waiting times can be measured in years, in many cases. It is simply not acceptable. Nobody in the State should have to wait years to simply begin

Issues" (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Motion re Report of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach under Dáil Standing Order 142 on COM(2026) 560 (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately … Standing Order 25(1), shall be taken immediately following the State Apology to the family of the late Brian Stack, which shall be taken at the time when the SOS would normally be taken; 2. the State Apology to the family of the late Brian Stack shall

months from project timelines through reformed approval processes; backed decision makers across the public service with a clearer approach to risk; and taken steps to reduce the number of legal cases that can hold up critical projects for years. The reforms we are delivering at pace are moving … roll-out of new and expanded services across the country, including rural transport improvements; the launch of the vehicle adaptation scheme, helping people with mobility needs to access adapted vehicles; support for the Irish Coast Guard’s search and rescue service; and regional airport connectivity. Through the national

decades of neoliberalism and a vision of a Thatcherite or a Reaganite state in how public services and housing are delivered. It is not working. We need proper State accountability. We need to see the right to housing inserted into the Constitution because it affects other things … explicitly recognised as a fundamental human right. I support this because we need to rebalance and re-tilt the scales. We need to legally obligate the State to prioritise public housing above and beyond all other forms of housing and to actually tackle homelessness. I am disappointed because

State's comments relating to that. Hopefully, they will be addressed and I look forward to seeing the details because, as we know, the devil is in the detail. We warned of the impact the EU migration and asylum pact would have on the civil legal aid scheme … rates of pay legal professionals receive for participating in this scheme. This has led to a retention crisis, much like what might happen if the current criminal legal aid scheme continues as is. Given the withdrawal of services in the criminal legal aid system this week

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and provide a ready-made legal framework by which they could progressively realise the right to housing and by which it could be pursued. It would provide a safeguard against which all State housing policy and decision-making could be measured and challenged … State. What kind of Republic is this? Why kind of Republic does the Minister of State want? I know I want a Republic of equals, where everybody is treated equally, with dignity and respect. Core to that is providing access to basic services, supports and housing. We must

Marine Institute is under the aegis of my Department. Obviously, the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, cannot be here today. As Minister of State with special responsibility for fisheries, he will take a first-hand role in this. The Marine Institute is also represented on the pillar … restoration regulation established legally binding targets to repair degraded ecosystems to address biodiversity loss and climate change. My Department and its agencies are represented on the interdepartmental working group on the restoration of the sea, which is led by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS