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mná na hÉireann and the likes, I am very proud of a lot of the work we have done together in this House, often on a cross-party basis, to make progress on women's reproductive health, whether around contraception, repealing the eighth amendment or a number … task force on women's health. It has been working through ever since with quite a number of outcomes. The Deputy is quite right that there is understandable frustration - anger, I would say - from many around the country that this measure has yet to be fully implemented

communities that are isolated and which lack services. I would assume that any progressive-minded person, whether on the left or on the right, would want to call out greed and speculation. I am looking at €1.2 billion given to private providers last year. I am looking … units because apparently it did not follow planning laws. It is about sensible planning. I look at Dundrum, County Tipperary, and a manor house. Often there is a speculator and international finance capital involved in this. More people were put into this centre than was the population

welcome the opportunity to discuss, once again, social protection and the recent budget. In responding to budget 2026 previously in this House, I described it as a punch in the stomach for many working families and unfortunately, I must repeat that here in this debate today. Budget … form of quality of life and which is essential to it. As always, there is still time for the Government to do the right thing and provide some level of support for people with disabilities. A €10 increase in core weekly social welfare rates is a paltry amount

November 2022, on time and within budget, despite significant disruption to the construction sector throughout the Covid pandemic. While the building today houses some signalling operations and Iarnród Éireann staff, as well as approximately 100 personnel of An Garda Síochána overseeing communications in the Dublin metropolitan region, bringing … system, which is the software that integrates a range of complex railway systems, such as signalling and communications. Taxpayers and train users are rightly concerned about this delay as I am too, I assure the Deputy. In my capacity as Minister, I have met with Indra, the contractor

being progressed and the opportunity to speak on it today. This is very important and, frankly, overdue legislation. Like all Members of the House, I am appalled and horrified by the treatment of the Palestinian people at the hands of the Israeli authorities and I condemn the Israeli … entire people. The Palestinian people have endured decades of oppression, dispossession and injustice. They have had their land stolen, their basic rights denied and have been subjected to a system that no person should ever have to live under. Ireland has been one of the strongest supporters

concern around the issue we are debating now is the rights and supports that are necessary for local communities when they make their objections and when they are pitched against big companies that can steamroll their way through the planning process and onwards. The reason they take judicial … process itself and that they are being ignored by the political process. We have been promised, for example, onshore wind regulations in this House since 2006. We have had numerous debates about the regulations. Politicians have done somersaults in relation

tireless advocacy in relation to that. I remember meeting her about this on a number of occasions. Along with the Deputy, she was rightly a strong advocate for it. That is good news for St. Joseph's and good news for Longford. I look forward to the investment … wonderful place that needs capital investment. I take seriously the point about Longford being an area where we want to see more housing supply. I hope the decisions we have taken over the past number of days, particularly on developer-led approaches to water infrastructure, will speed

live but we do not live to work. This Bill distinguishes my party, the Labour Party, from every other party in this House. This is what the Labour Party is all about. It is the party of workers, the party that ensures workers come first. Workers should come … social issues, challenges and costs they face and the environmental issues we all face are dealt with and helped because this is the right thing to do. We talk a lot about workers and productivity but workers are far more productive when there is balance in their lives

thank the Deputy and fully agree it is a very complex area. We need to make sure we are getting this right. There is a long-standing process around age verification of unaccompanied minors seeking international protection in place. That process will continue to be the practice until … Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, I thank the Deputy for giving us the opportunity to have this discussion on the floor of the House and to put some of that new information on the record of the House. Also, I thank the Deputy's colleagues on the Committee

speech and language therapy. Many children are being impacted by this in my constituency and across the country. They are being denied the right to see therapists and get speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and psychological support when they need it most. The crisis … recruitment embargo, but also issues with retaining and attracting staff and Dublin is a particular issue. We know the cost of housing is a major issue, but other issues raised with me by staff in these services include childcare and a lack of maternity care

that we fail to act in response to an historic motion in the Northern Assembly that calls for the extension of voting rights to citizens in the North. What it says of successive Governments is that, at the back of it all, there is a sense that people … during the time of Partition could have resulted in the same disenfranchisement of people who I currently represent very proudly in this House. It has to end. We have to move forward every single day to undo the historic wrong that was the Partition of our country

deliver that enabling infrastructure. All these measures need to be looked at in the round to try to get a functioning housing market that can get us to the 300,000 homes we need over the next number of years. The measures in the package we have brought … extend rent pressure zones and then further legislation which we can take the time to tease through in order to get this right in terms of what the new system looks like from March

that land come out of food production or definitely reduced. As landowners subject to planning and other considerations, farmers have property rights which are protected by the Constitution and a legitimate interest in maximising the income from their holdings. However, it is important that food production … provide certainty in the development of solar energy in agriculture. While issues regarding planning fall under the remit of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, my Department will input into the development of these guidelines due to the potential impact on agricultural land. In the meantime

torn up the international rules-based order. He is intent on turning the clock back on federal regulation on healthcare, women's rights and equality measures. It is hard to believe that we are just two months into his presidency. What I want to raise with the Tánaiste … that US pharmaceutical companies based in Ireland are already scenario planning for moving manufacturing to the US. Like all of us in this House, many people I represent are employed directly by US multinationals. I am hearing already from constituents who fear they may lose their jobs

done everything you can think of to get rid of it and it keeps coming back there’s very poor ventilation and the house is so cold even if I have the heating on my gas bill is costing me a fortune. I am constantly back and forth … visitors over. I feel very isolated, and this is not a home, it’s a shelter. This is in distinct contravention to my right to dignity. A third renter states: I’m currently renting from an inattentive landlord. There's a list of constant problems

here to work and have a better life should never be scapegoated for the failures of the State. Immigrants did not cause the housing crisis. Greed, landlordism and the failures of successive governments caused it. Immigrants did not cause a stagnation in wages while the cost of living … colleagues should be absolutely ashamed of what they are doing. I hope he hears me when I say that they cannot out-far-right the far right. That never works and they will not win because the far right is not reasonable. Of course, it would

that is the solution to our housing problem. I do not accept that making small apartments smaller somehow makes it easier to deliver housing in this country. What you are actually doing is making the living conditions of people in small dwellings - I lived in one for many … that. The answer is not simply to make changes in the minimum standards to make building more profitable. That cannot be the right answer. Let us solve the finance problem instead of making small apartments smaller, because that is what we are proposing to do. I make reference

when the British Government announced that it was going to implement a Danish-style asylum system, cracking down further on already very limited rights of people to asylum, with the Labour Party Government dancing to the tune of Nigel Farage. That was followed immediately by a statement from … cruelty that does not make life any better for any ordinary person in this country. It does not build one more house or make one more house available. It does not deal with our crisis in public services or anything else. It just makes life harder

processing facilities for researching the materials and techniques of its collection. Between 2012 and 2013, the old X-ray equipment, which was housed in a lead-lined room, was decommissioned in preparation for the National Gallery's master development plan to accommodate major on-site changes and infrastructural … began discussions with the Office of Public Works after the purchase, looking at suitability of locations. That is completely unacceptable. People are right to be angry about it. The Comptroller and Auditor General, as I said, had a key role in that. That said, while stories and events

those technologies effectively. We already have a website at aiready.ie that offers free and accessible AI learning for individuals and businesses right across the learning spectrum, that is, sole traders, farmers, silver surfers and young folk alike. People are availing of that opportunity. The next phase will build … opportunities for people to upskill to take advantage of this transformative technology. To achieve our national missions as a Government, such as building houses at scale, building infrastructure, building our energy grid and building our metro, DART+ and all that goes with that, we will need skills, tradespeople

full ban on the disclosure of counselling notes. There will be a huge amount of scrutiny. I hope that the Minister is right that, in reality, when it comes to the practice of the courts, we will actually see a fundamental change in their approach in dealing with … number of amendments the Minister has introduced on every Stage on new and unrelated matters that just have not been discussed in this House at all and will not get discussed here because of guillotines being applied and the Minister refusing to allow the justice committee to deal

horrific killings of Jamey Carney and of Adina Raluca Constantin in Portlaoise are quite shocking and the numbers are not going in the right direction in terms of the continued extreme violence that is occurring. There is a societal response required, more generally. Obviously, there will be investigations … that would help women who are victims of continuing domestic violence. There does need to be a far greater degree of flexibility in housing policy, for example. The Minister for housing has, since the Deputy last raised this issue, updated Cabinet in respect of measures to transfer time

stick with what I have in terms of the six months and the statutory requirement. The last thing any of us in the House want is for an application to be challenged in the courts by a person who is convicted and who says it is an extra … have been convicted of murder or manslaughter because an extra penalty is being imposed upon them, namely, the removal of their guardianship rights. I have to take this into account. The reason the Minister for children is sitting beside me and is so supportive of the legislation

appreciate the Deputy raising this as I know it is a hugely important issue to him, the House and the wider community. As he is aware, last September I requested Tusla to conduct a series of well-being checks for children whose cases were closed during the Covid … that the project is making real progress, thanks to the dedication of the chair and the steering group, staff and colleagues right across Government. The project's steering group comprises Government Departments, key statutory agencies and stakeholders and, importantly, is independently chaired by Tanya Ward, chief executive

been working tirelessly on for a number of months that will see record levels of investment in key infrastructural areas like water, energy, housing and also the social infrastructure that is needed in our communities. We have established a national education therapy service for the first time … health service operates, making sure that the rostering for our health service is done in a way that ensures the right people are there at the right times of the week, right throughout the week, including the weekend. We have made HRT free for women. We have taken