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welcome the Bill before the House. While it includes technical measures to increase the actual borrowing limit for the ESB and to provide for additional share capital to be issued, in essence it is about making an additional investment in our electricity supply. This is incredibly important … energy. Energy that is otherwise being wasted or earthed into the ground every evening could be a digital or virtual district heating system right across the country. It could be heating the hot water tanks of many people across the country. It could be charging electric car batteries

does mean different things to people. For my part, I have always seen value where celebration is productive and furthers the cause, rights or conditions of women or children or our understanding of these. It is also appropriate to reflect on, commemorate and educate people about the women … various legislative matters, but a year into the Government, I have yet to see one related legislative measure fully pass through these Houses. Where in the name of God is the delivery of the promised plan to deliver childcare capped at €200 per month within the first

derelict sites register together. They have had that job for 35 years. The Minister is telling me they could not get it right for 35 years and is blaming them for not collecting the levy, but he is still leaving them in charge of putting the list together … cities. Does the Minister know how hard it is for people living in overcrowded accommodation with two or three generations in the one house when there is a derelict site around the corner? Does he know how hard it is for people in emergency accommodation to bring their

earlier we start the better. If we do the two processes - the consideration of the Bill in this House and in the other House, and the engagement with the European authorities - at the same time, that will allow us to enjoy the important health and environmental benefits from … income for their producers without a proper regulatory framework being put in place. We are only catching up on part of that right now in the Bill. Let us not make that same mistake again. We have the opportunity. Tobacco pouches are about to become a major public

simply live lives of dignity and who are living in their childhood homes decades past their point of choosing because our national housing crisis is so entrenched. These people want to see change. They support a progressive left vision of governance for this country. As Social Democrats … aghaidh leis an obair seo. This country has a proud history in opposing apartheid and in defending principles of peace and human rights on the world stage. Ordinary people up and down this country want to see us honour that history. The connection the Irish people have with

safeguards but let us look at the facts. The proposed €1 billion safety net for farmers has been dropped. The environmental and human rights clauses sound good on paper but enforcement has been weak in other trade deals. These are not real protections; they are political cover. This … regulations on nitrates. Now, if this Mercosur deal goes ahead, it will be the wipe-out of Irish farming. I urge the House to reject this agreement and to send a strong message to Brussels: Ireland will not sacrifice its standards, its farmers or its future

grocery prices coupled with huge increases in other household costs, like energy and rent, are putting huge strain on families across the country. Right now families in Donegal find themselves caught in a pincer movement between the cost-of-living crisis and the defective concrete scandal. This … indefinite period or halt their education, healthcare and essential living costs? Should they face bankruptcy or remain stuck in an unsafe house? In Donegal we have more than a cost-of-living crisis. We have rising grocery prices and the significant injustice of neglect worsening an already

obligations on large energy users, like data centres. I hope we get the opportunity to debate that Bill on Second Stage in the House in the not-too-distant future. I am broadly supportive of Deputy Daly’s Bill. There are elements that I think could use some … must be recognised as a core public policy objective, not just an afterthought. The provisions in this Bill would set us in the right direction. I suggest that we could perhaps go even further. I am on record on a number of occasions as not just calling

Tairgim: "Go léifear an Bille don Dara hUair anois." This is an important Bill, and I am happy to bring it to the House on behalf of the Minister. The main aim of the Bill is to implement the European Media Freedom Act, EMFA, in Irish law. EMFA … merger or acquisition that was put into effect without approval. Section 19 requires that the parties to a merger will have the right to appeal to the High Court against a decision of Coimisiún na Meán in relation to a merger. Section 24 will require Coimisiún na Meán

love is love and that equality of access to marriage was hugely important for everyone. I was part, as many people in these Houses were, of the campaign at that time, very much a civil society campaign as opposed to a political one. The friends I made during … about an aspect of that and the misrepresentation of the notion that within hate speech we are saying that everybody deserves certainly the right to free speech but also to express the responsibility that comes with free speech, that you do not use it to put upon other

able to sit in judgment. When the State accuses somebody of a serious crime, one of the strongest protections we possess is the right to be judged by our peers. Yet, seven years in a row I have voted for something I disagree with. This year and last … monopoly on violence for which we protect jurors within the State. That is a sad indictment on all of us. Every year this House renews these powers, we acknowledge inadequacy. This is no longer 1972 or the darkest year of the Troubles; it is 2026. The people

Sinn Féin. Every year there is a scramble for families of children with disabilities to access special educational places, which is their constitutional right. In Mayo, it is no different. Many families are panicking, chasing SENOs and ringing school principals and the NCSE. That is what … current circular is completely outdated, restrictive and cruel. It is incredible that it took people - SNAs and families with disabilities - protesting outside Leinster House to make this Government realise what was happening. A review was being undertaken which would have seen on-the-ground cuts, essentially

start by welcoming two very good friends of mine, Jacinta and Geraldine, who are visiting the House today in the week they celebrate their ninth wedding anniversary. I also welcome friends from our own Labour Party LGBTQI group, who are with us in the Public Gallery this evening … protest. We can never forget that. We can never forget the pivotal points in history that bring communities together to fight for equal rights, like the death of Declan Flynn in 1982, a 31-year-old gay man who was brutally attacked in Fairview Park in Dublin

surveys carried out, the evidence for the need for these surgeries did not appear to be there. It is accepted here in this House that the vast majority of consultants, junior doctors, nurses, care assistants and all the people who work in hospitals want to put their best … taking decisions in order to fast-track what needs to be done. We need to set up a proper system right across the board in all of our hospitals in all of the different areas of medicine to make sure that reviews are carried out on a regular

take a position on this or any other issue, to articulate that position and to exercise their mandate to debate in these Houses, as am I doing as both a constituency TD and a Minister of State at the Department of agriculture. It is wrong, however … attempt to try to demonise people who are involved. I regret that, because they are very decent people. I know people right across my constituency and the entire country who are involved in coursing clubs. Coursing is an activity they engage in. It is very important

health. I thank Deputy Collins for acknowledging the package that has been put in place. We can always have a debate in this House around more, and we should, and what else can be done. The package we have put in place for farmers, fishers, farm contractors … that, but there are also lots of people in the Deputy's constituency and mine who are trying to do the right thing by their own home and their own lives to save a few bob too. We have already made a number of changes

myself. It can help businesses to grow, improve services and make life easier for people. No one in this House disputes that. However, when it is misused we start to see real problems and ordinary people are the ones who pay the price. I am increasingly hearing from … must also draw firm lines. AI should serve people, not frustrate, frighten or deceive them. That balance is what we need to get right. It is right, therefore, that we regulate AI. Independent Ireland accepts the need for clear rules, strong consumer protections and accountability. However, supporting regulation

elderly person is living with them, they are responsible for minding their companion, their partner or their husband but that is not right even though it does the person good to walk around, to get out of bed, to go to the toilet … County Council transferred those lands and buildings to the HSE when it took over the health service. There is valuable land there for housing but the HSE wants to sell the whole lot together. The Land Development Agency says it only wants the land. The Minister of State

outset, I would like to join, as everyone here has, in warmly welcoming to Leinster House Cian and Jordan Adams, the FTB brothers, and also Cian's partner, Helen, who played such a vital and key role in the whole 33 marathons in 33 days. They are most … also want to pay tribute to the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, ASI, which has done Trojan work and continues to do Trojan work right across the country in supporting families and those affected by this awful illness and disease. I ask the Minister of State to please commit

State. It is independent in the exercise of its valuation functions under the Valuation Act 2001, as amended, and neither the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage nor his Department has any function in decisions in this regard. Tailte Éireann has overall responsibility under … Tailte Éireann made under the provisions of the Valuation Act 2001, as amended. First, before a determination is made, there is a right to make representations to Tailte Éireann in relation to a proposed valuation. Later in the process, if the occupier is still dissatisfied with the determination

agree with Deputies McGettigan and Conway-Walsh - I do not think there will be any shock about that - and we reserve the right to make a determination around this. That answer will be determined by what the Minister intends to use the unlocked moneys for. If there … Some of that stuff falls completely within the Minister's bailiwick. The Tánaiste and others spoke about a possible hub or clearing house to action and deal with these issues. That is a necessity. We will also have to deal with the fact that we have an underfunding

care and giving older people the choice to age in their own homes and communities, with a statutory right to home care. This right to home care has long been promised by successive Governments since 2017, but we have yet to see any real progress on this. Instead … support care in the community and in the home. I note the Minister of State's bona fides from his contributions in this House and the Seanad and that he is determined to facilitate people to "live in their own homes". I have dealt with a number

they are burnt out from fighting on behalf of their loved ones and lobbying us politicians for what should be a basic human right. We are coming from a very low ebb when it comes to disability services. We are still in the dark ages. I have … real concern and a real issue. I received a reply to a parliamentary question recently which stated there were 500 qualified housing applicants and a mere 12 properties available. As the Minister is aware, I have raised the issue of St. Mary of the Angels in Beaufort, which

Europe. Fortress Europe, with its militarised borders, plans to spend some of that money to pay so-called third countries with dubious human rights records and records of repression of opponents, such as the repression of the Kurds in the case of Turkey, to take some asylum seekers … People should go and read this article. The article, by John Deasy, a former Fine Gael TD, is entitled, "Opposition parties bet on housing backlash, yet voters keep calling their bluff". It states: People certainly don't become indifferent to society's most pressing problems that continue

running to try to keep up with them is a source of huge concern for parents right across the country. The Deputy is right that we need to look at what other countries are doing. My colleague, the Minister, Patrick O'Donovan, beside me has asked his officials … also 16. We should work constructively across parties, perhaps through the new committee structures and the likes that will exist in this House, to really scrutinise this, to learn from other jurisdictions and to use the resources we now have through the European legislative infrastructure to take steps