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handouts. They are looking for fairness. At the beginning of May, the Labour Party put practical and fully-costed proposals before this House and before the Government in the form of a mini budget. We proposed measures to help PAYE workers keep more of what they earn, targeted … cost-of-living crisis it responds to. Relief cannot depend on who is most visible. It must reach those who are doing everything right, working hard and paying their taxes, and yet are still wondering how they will get to the end of the month. The people

carrying more passengers than ever before. We are rightly investing in new train carriages and new services, expanding our capacity and planning for growth in rail usage over the coming decades. We talk regularly in this House about housing growth, population growth, climate action and sustainable transport

pensioners in this country and sabotaged the democracy of this House by refusing to issue the money message for the retired workers Bill, which had passed Second Stage and pre-legislative scrutiny and would give pensioners the right to have a say over the fact that their pensions

thank the Deputy. We will certainly work across the House in relation to this area of furthering employment opportunities for those with disabilities. As we discussed earlier, WorkAbility is working on 57 local, regional and national projects right across the country. We have also work in access, which

commitment to equality and human rights. In recognition of the impact that distance can have on people and their loved ones, HSE south west has recently engaged with a private provider to purchase houses in Cork to create capacity in order for people to be repatriated to their

energy infrastructure. Actions include legislative reforms to balance individual rights and public good, simplify regulation and consenting systems, cut administrative burden and red tape and build public acceptance and a delivery culture. The reforms align with broader housing, climate and competitiveness goals. These will be achieved by streamlining

there was not even 24 hours of happiness in his house because on the following morning he was refused a place in a special school. His teenage sister is a well-known and well-respected disability rights campaigner. She extracted €10 million from the Tánaiste prior

Ireland who are living in homelessness, unsuitable and inappropriate housing situations. It is a scandal that appropriate ways and policies are being put forward by day in, day out by Opposition Members, but they are being ignored. Right now, junior and leaving certificate students are sitting their mock

maiden speech, I would be speaking to the House about how I will fight tirelessly for infrastructure we urgently need in south Kildare, for better transport links, as a múinteoir for school places, and for the right of every child, especially those in special schools, to receive

important in this House is that Ireland reasserts our values, the things that have always been important to us when it comes to dealing with conflict and with international relations. That is a commitment to multilateralism, to the values of human rights, to the rule … opportunities for conflict diminish. Unfortunately, we are seeing the concept of investment in free and fair trade attacked as we are seeing human rights, the rule of law and democracy attacked. It is important that we call out those values, whether it is in the case of allies

contacted Uisce Éireann on 21 March 2025 and did not receive a full answer until 30 October 2025 to a question regarding new houses being connected, which is apparently a key priority of the Government. The issue has still not been resolved as of 14 January … authority worker with expertise has been right every single time. We need to listen to the council workers who have the expertise, change the culture in Uisce Éireann and make it accountable to the Irish citizen and taxpayer and this House

continued passage through the Houses. If I am correct, it is with the Seanad at the moment. We must continue to reduce mental health stigma and promote the broad range of services and supports that are available to people in communities right across the country, which I understand … addition to the interaction I had with that young man in the emergency department, people regularly present to my clinics with a housing or social welfare issue but, after a number of minutes, I become aware that there may be a mental illness issue involved as well

site where they had just demolished their home. They were absolutely traumatised. Their home was about the size of an average detached house in rural Ireland. They will be €200,000 short of redress. That is €200,000. They had a mortgage left of six years, which … owners in Dublin and Leinster rightly got 100% redress. Those 3,000 home owners who suffered the affliction of pyrite got 100% redress. I have given the Minister an example of what is happening, by contrast, in the west of Ireland. When houses are being rebuilt

South Africans and the solidarity of people across the world, it was finally acknowledged that an apartheid regime like South Africa had no right to exist and be treated as a normal state, and that regime had to be dismantled. Surely, we are beyond the point now where … genocidal slaughter of more than 75,000 people in Gaza, the levelling of Gaza, the destruction of all the schools, most of the housing, the infrastructure, the hospitals and the mass murder of men, women and children. That continues despite the claim that there is a ceasefire. While

officials because we need to get that flow of information going. I am very happy to do that and to come into this House to keep it regularly briefed and to put a structure in place to make sure the Deputy has access when doing … work as part of, and as members of, the European Union where, of course, trade policy is at. As the Deputy rightly said, we have to engage with our foreign direct investment, FDI, base that is present in the country. With regard to the financial analysis

eggcup of salt. People should be getting something for this. These people had to house themselves. They got mortgages and built their houses themselves, used direct labour or whatever. They paid planning fees, development charges and everything else. There might not be much between the different bands … They have the spirit of the meitheal. They are bewildered as to how powers cannot be applied in respect of an illegal development right under their noses. It cannot be stopped and has to go through a process. When will it stop? They are worried for their children

known previously. I think that is only right. On some level, we are dealing with what has been a failure in the past. We also know as we do this that there is an absolute demand from across this House that we ensure that our engagement with … full outworking of that inquiry and the full information. We know there are other families that have been failed. That is right through, whether we are talking about Castleblayney, Belturbet or the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. We need to make sure we provide a framework and delivery

beds and nursing home beds on the northside of Cork, especially in Heather House. Some 19 dementia beds have been built in Heather House. They were announced in 2022 and built and finished last November. I have campaigned to get them open. I was told in May that … have been told by members of staff and families that there is no definite date. People have family members in nursing homes right across Cork, in hospitals and at home with families who are struggling to look after their loved ones, while a nursing home is built, ready

underinvestment in our own defence capabilities. We have also still not got real answers to the drone incursion. Neither the Members of this House nor the defence committee know the exact details of what happened that day, and that is hugely concerning. As we discuss air defences … also, as the Government has outlined, on our values. What are those values, and will we apply them universally? The EU is rightfully vocal when it comes to Russia and its illegal invasion of Ukraine, but that conviction disappears, certainly in many member states, when it comes

believe in a free press is not whether we support journalism that is favourable to us. It is whether we defend the right of journalists to scrutinise us, challenge us, irritate us and occasionally make our lives uncomfortable. Events elsewhere over the last number of weeks should remind … precious that is. Earlier this month, Donald Trump announced that CNN, MS NOW and Politico were to be banned from the White House because of reporting he did not like. That was not just rhetoric. Journalists from those organisations subsequently arrived at the White House and were denied

Deputy Ó Muirí is right. I thank him for highlighting this. It is an issue I have been raising personally for a while. We all want to do our bit for the climate – of course we do, and we are living through a climate emergency – but we also … want the whole house uprooted but who are happy to take some measures that will help to keep them warm in their own homes and reduce their energy bills, and also allow them to do their bit for the planet. As the Deputy rightly said, we have increased

ration book as opposed to a youth justice strategy. If we believed in prevention, we would double capacity and make diversion a right, not a privilege as it presently stands. The allocation in respect of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence will increase from €54 million … much of that will be reinvested in housing, early legal aid or integration? These fees are bankrolling bureaucracy and backlogs. Detaining people while they await deportation has become a practice. Despite the fact that this breaches international human rights, it is just accepted as a norm

evidence to give anyone assurances that this situation is likely to get better? This Government is the latest Government to get housing and homelessness utterly wrong. The 2011 Fine Gael and Labour Party programme for Government committed to ending homelessness. It failed. The 2016 confidence and supply programme … Today the Children’s Rights Alliance published its annual poverty monitor. It tells us that 100,000 children and young people experienced consistent poverty in Ireland in 2024. This report provides more evidence of the catastrophic impact on children of the failed housing policies of successive governments

trade-off with housing or industry. The Government's new policy manages that quite well because we are driving renewables. We know it is set out in the report that there is a challenge with emissions, about 4%, from data centres right now, but the opportunity costs

Member of this House is entitled to come in and speak to whatever amendment they wish to speak to. The Minister does not get to pick and choose and decide what amendments Opposition Members decide to speak to. They are absolutely acting within their right. The reason this … implemented and whether they are actually enforced. Different governments have different levels of success in that regard. To suggest this is a left–right issue is completely false. Managing migration is the same as managing any other area of public policy. In fact, if you look around