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from the publication of Sláintecare, it is concerning that the private health insurance market continues to grow. That should give the Minister of State pause for thought, because it is hardly a ringing endorsement of his predecessor’s track records on reform. A total of 2.5 million people … Everyone is still signed up to Sláintecare in principle but are they still committed to its vision or are they just paying lip service to the reform programme? As Professor Thomas pointed out at a recent health policy conference, Sláintecare can mean almost whatever we want

that people do not have to be fully vetted. I believe we are in serious trouble. I will write to every other State agency and Department in the country to see if the precedent set by An Garda Síochána can be used across every other agency as regards … weapon of its own accord. It was further identified by the ballistic experts, who operate under ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, which is the legal requirement for all forensic laboratories, that the holster was so poorly designed, the firearm could be removed from the holster with so-called retention strap

events at the hospital, and recommendations on the prevention of sexual abuse and on procedures for handling complaints. Following the recommendations, the health service made substantial enhancements to its procedures for preventing and addressing claims of sexual abuse, and those included establishing clear practices and protocols to handle … work out what the outstanding issues are to which we can provide further answers, what information is held by the State in that regard, how we approach this in the most contained but impactful way, and how, within that, we give the appropriate voice for survivors. I announced

majority of member states to agree under the qualified majority voting system. Deputies will be aware that this would require other member states to give up existing quota shares. Any change to relative stability would involve a loss for some other member states and, therefore, present particular challenges … this species. This has caused a considerable amount of disquiet among the impacted member states and I anticipate strong opposition in the December Council meeting. To that extent, a number of member states have sought - and we have afforded them - bilateral discussions, either through their embassies or directly

because it suits them for us to talk about systemic failures, but the system did not fail Grace. People working in our health services failed Grace. The Farrelly report details the individual and system failures that led to a devastating and traumatic impact on Grace. There was clear … many disabled people, their families and whistleblowers face. It is an uncaring system. If this is how the system operated and how the State met its responsibilities, then we need a total reset. We need a new approach to care that is truly reflective of the rights

under company law regarding the financial information that companies are required to disclose on an annual basis. While some "contractors" may not be legally classified as companies which are obliged to provide financial information, there is a good reason these onerous financial reporting requirements have not been applied … quarter 2 of 2025. In May of this year, Government approved an additional €30 million State commitment to the scheme, extending it to June 2027, bringing the total State commitment to the scheme to €370 million, matched 50:50 by the participating banks. The total commitment across

isolated incident but repeatedly. It is troubling to think that the very people who failed her were the ones who had a legal, moral and ethical duty to protect her. We owe Grace and all the current and future vulnerable children a radically reformed system that places dignity … vulnerable children are looked after when in the care of the State and also the manner in which vulnerable adults with disabilities are cared for in the range of services available to them. We have seen significant steps taken from the development of foster care standards

usual hate online from that. I am sure the Minister of State knows that too. I took a little look at the four first clips that were put up of me and the Minister of State, Deputy Neale Richmond, who was on the panel with me. Under … need to look at is platforms as publishers. The Minister of State has raised this. Honestly, I am kind of surprised that it might be offered by this Government because it is a much larger legal question to deal with platforms as publishers. Essentially, that means they would

have some serious concerns about it. I commend Margaret Loftus from County Mayo on her bravery. Margaret suffered horrendous domestic violence. She stated to the media this week that the judicial process was as traumatising and damaging as the abuse itself. She is an incredibly brave woman … community service aspect. The Bill outlines that it obliges the courts to consider community service orders for sentences up to 24 months. The current threshold is 12 months. It goes on to say that judges must give reasons if they decide to impose a community service order

been a very wide and varied discussion. AI inevitably touches almost every aspect of society, from innovation and economic growth to public services and jobs. While these are important and wide-ranging issues, today we are here to introduce this legislation, which is focused on implementing … been drafted with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, with constant engagement and consultation with the Office of the Attorney General on the legal and constitutional matters. However, I have taken copious notes, and I am sure my officials have too, on the matters he raised tonight

millions to say "Yes" to equality and to dignity. It was undoubtedly one of the most significant moments in the history of this State. On that historic day ten years ago, Ireland became the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote. With … believed; and improving safety for LGBTIQ+ people in public spaces. There are commitments in this cross-departmental strategy to invest in mental health services to improve access and provide tailored and specific supports for LGBTIQ+ people. This is essential because research has shown LGBTIQ+ people can face significant

gravest of crimes in international law. The Government calls on Israel to immediately remove restrictions on aid access to facilitate essential supplies and services reaching people across Gaza. There have been many calls for Irish sporting organisations to boycott or exclude Israel from international sporting competitions … Israel’s ongoing participation. This has been referred to in current debates. That was an independent decision taken by the State broadcaster, which is legally and editorially independent of the Government. Again, if there was a debate in this House demanding that the Government involve itself

Finance could control each element of the system and ensure that each transaction was rubber-stamped by Revenue, regardless of whether it was legal or not". That is hard to understand. I now refer to a Revenue Commissioners' Collector General receipt, dated 21 February 2015, notice No. 0973138/001310 … fraud. I raised this here countless times. An Garda Síochána told me it cannot investigate it. The EU Commissioner, the Minister of State's former colleague, raised this question here on several occasions as finance spokesman before he left to go to his European post. Another example

apologies. I welcome the opportunity to say a few words on this Bill. As usual, I thank the Oireachtas Library and Research Service, which again has been under pressure to produce a digest for us. The Bill has 17 sections and two Parts. I have both positive … long hours and late nights. The 2024 legislation was to amend the 2000 Act to bring clarity and certainty, not just to the legality of what was set out in the latter but also in relation to the market. It has utterly failed to do that

have campaigned tirelessly for this legislation. In doing so, their aim is to protect women like Jennie from violent predators. I have previously stated that this legislation will be known as Jennie’s law, and I want to reiterate it again here in this House. It will stand … amends the Domestic Violence Act 2018 by inserting a new Part 3A into that Act. The new Part 3A provides that the Courts Service will establish and maintain a register of judgments. This will be known as the domestic violence judgments register and it will be available

with a trade union would therefore be at significant risk of being found to be unconstitutional. In addition, the Bill fundamentally misrepresents the legal basis of employment regulation orders, EROs, which are intended to be sectoral wage-setting mechanisms negotiated at joint labour committees, not applicable to individual … collective bargaining on wages in all EU member states. It sets out that each member state in which the collective bargaining coverage rate is less than a threshold of 80%, as is the case in the majority of member states including Ireland, shall provide for a "framework

result of her having been subjected to physical abuse. The commission states the evidence did not establish that Grace had been subjected to sexual abuse over the years she lived with Family X. Further, the commission states it is not satisfied that evidence provided established or supported … must all work together, including Departments, the HSE, Tusla, all State agencies and the wider community, to be better and to do better to ensure there is a focus on continually enhancing safeguarding across all services and indeed society. I sent a notification to the ward of court

been introduced to alleviate the stress and uncertainty many families and advocacy groups have relayed to me in my role as Minister of State, my time as Chairperson of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters and my time as a public representative. However, having studied the proposed legislative … engagement and work that went into the reform of the school admissions system in this country a few short years ago. The legal position in regard to admissions to schools is clearly set out in the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 and related regulations. These were hugely

parent. One of the worst nightmares that could ever face any parent is having their child forcibly taken away from them by the State, especially when you look at what is happening with Tusla. The nightmare was heightened by what we saw on "RTÉ Investigates" just last week … regularly questioned and has to be responsible and accountable for what is happening in housing. When there is a crisis in the health service, the Minister for Health is questioned regularly and held responsible for what is happening. However, when there is a crisis in Tusla, the Minister

People there rightly ask why a Dublin burst is addressed in hours, while Adrigole waits and waits. That is the definition of unequal services. Over Christmas, they had yet another water outage, making it 15 since last July. Shannonvale, near Clonakilty, has endured a 26-year saga … will revert". We want formal community engagement for persistent failure. If private developers are obliged to consult in preplanning then a semi-State body should be obliged to engage with communities facing repeated failures before and not after the next outage. We want a functioning escalation channel

same clinician or go through the same process. This will require us to have more flexibility. Deputies also referenced the impact on service delivery, which has to be taken into account. We have a finite number of healthcare professionals. We are trying to grow more. There … contesting, at least within the audit process, the findings and advancing alternative explanations, which did not stand up. I am not aware of legal proceedings but this does not mean they will not be taken. In relation to trust in the running of CHI more broadly, I have

that this case is fully dealt with. When the original terms of reference were presented to the House by Finian McGrath, it was stated that the commission would only investigate Grace's case. With the help of Brendan Howlin and others, it was impressed on the Minister that … represent both the people and this country, and having regard to the responsibility that should be shown by those who run health services and so on, we should not forget them. I have heard it said that so many changes have taken place that this could never happen

read a Second Time." We are here today to begin our consideration of the Finance Bill 2025, which will give the necessary legal basis to the decisions announced in the budget and make a number of other necessary changes to tax legislation. In budget 2026, the Minister, Deputy … have asked my officials to examine the potential to broaden the scope of the rate of 9% to include site and construction services provided for qualifying new apartment developments. This is with a view to bringing more apartments within the scope of that rate. Accordingly, I may bring

DEIS schools in areas that have a high incidence of deprivation. It is also extremely important we ensure there are psychological and therapist services in place for communities where there is a high incidence of deprivation, which can lead to certain aspects of criminal activity. That is something … Garda Síochána because, in any debate on policing and safety in the community, we must start with An Garda Síochána. As I have stated previously, the Government cannot succeed and I cannot succeed as Minister for Justice unless An Garda Síochána succeeds. That

speak further on the Bill. Having carefully considered the proposal contained in it, the Government's view is that significant policy, operational, legal and administrative issues remain unresolved. For that reason, we believe the Bill requires further examination and development before proceeding. Accordingly, we are proposing that … faced in Longford and Leitrim. Availability of housing, demand for support, demographic trends, employment patterns and local housing markets vary considerably throughout the State. For that reason, while social housing assessments are governed by national regulations, local authorities retain responsibility for adopting allocation schemes and reflect the realities