I will pick up where Deputy Gannon has left off. For nearly 20 years, I was a professional youth worker and a hoodie was my uniform. I thought today would be a very important day to don that uniform again. In the same way that I have tried to defend and advocate on behalf of young people who are all too often on the receiving end of negative stereotyping and rhetoric, it feels right that I wear this hoodie. If Deputy Gogarty had spent with children and young people throughout this country a fraction of the time I h…

That is not true.

The Deputy should speak the truth.

I read the whole-----

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. We have record levels of child poverty and child and youth homelessness. We have really worrying waiting lists for children who require life-changing and life-saving medical procedures. We now also have 40,000 children on child waiting lists for crèches and early years education. Despite the Social Democrats offering constructive proposals, we are seeing an ignorance of the facts facing the Government with regard to children. There has now been a U-turn on a second tier of child benefit…

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Erin McGreehan - To discuss overly burdensome application forms for medical cards. Deputy Catherine Ardagh - To discuss the need for all special schools to accept children at different levels on the autism spectrum. Deputy George Lawlor - To discuss facilitating the treatment of individuals at the specialist Bardet-Biedl unit in Birmingham Children's H…

The Deputy can come back in.

I ask the Deputy to conclude.

We will move to the Sinn Féin members, starting with Deputy Gould.

I thank Deputy O'Reilly.

The time is up now, Deputy.

The House might join me in welcoming our Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition winners in the Public Gallery: Ciara Murphy, Saoirse Murphy and Laoise Murphy and their parents. We wish them well in making their presentation to the health committee at 12.30 p.m.

I thank the Minister and the Ministers of State for the opportunity to speak on this issue this evening. In doing so, as a very proud dad and youth worker, I want to maintain my focus this evening on the young people of Ireland. Professional youth workers in Ireland are doing a phenomenal job in working with young LGBTQI+ people to ensure they have a safe space to learn, share experiences, have fun and develop a critical social analysis. Speaking after this year's Dublin Pride, the CEO of Belong To, an organisation…

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss a ban on pair trawling. Deputy Catherine Ardagh - To discuss the construction of a new school building in Ballyfermot. Deputy William Aird - To discuss GP and primary care services in County Laois. Deputy Sinéad Gibney - To discuss the granting of family reunification visas and visas for medical evacuees and their families f…

I thank the Minister of State. Respectfully, I remind Members not to discuss live court cases here and to stick to the topic.

I will build on my colleagues' comments by setting out some brief context. My office recently engaged with the Competition and Consumer Protection Authority on price setting and loyalty schemes operated by some of the larger supermarket companies. While I acknowledge the safeguards that the CCPC provides to customers, it has been calling for more substantial penalties for breaches of consumer protection law for some time. Will the Minister of State respond to some of that in her response to us this morning? What fe…

I return to this State's commitment to evacuate seriously ill children from Gaza because we all want to know what is going on. It is nearly a year since the Government promised to evacuate 30 sick children from Gaza and since then, just 12 children have been evacuated. We now hear that petty bureaucratic concerns about visas are delaying the evacuation of other children. The Taoiseach has been clear today that visas are not the problem. What is the problem? What is the delay? Why, if paperwork is not the issue, hav…

When?

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss a ban on pair trawling. Deputy Catherine Ardagh - To discuss the need for all special schools to accept children at different levels on the autism spectrum. Deputy Malcolm Byrne - To discuss the level of preparedness for a major cyberattack on the State. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil - To discuss ongoing road safety issues on the …

The Deputy will have a chance to come back in.