What we are asking for today is simply that the Government lives up to the commitment made in the programme for Government to carry out a new, independent feasibility study for an extension of the MetroLink from where it is currently due to end in Charlemont, out to Dublin south west. I raised this with the Minister for Transport a few weeks ago, and he advised that the study would be carried out but would be done as part of a review of the greater Dublin area transport strategy. While it is welcome to know the stu…

As the Minister knows, parents are paying hand over fist for ancillary school costs, be it for school uniforms, laptops, school transport or the so-called voluntary contributions. We cannot say we have free education in this country if the whole architecture that enables proper participation is hugely expensive for parents. What is so regrettable is that some of the good work that is being done, like the school books scheme - something that has been long-championed by Aodhán Ó Ríordáin and others in the Labour Part…

The list of schools goes on. A lot of these issues are on the Minister's desk and I really hope they will be looked at favourably.

My thanks to Sinn Féin for tabling this motion tonight. This is about far more than artificial intelligence. It is about the value of human creativity, hard work and intellectual property and whether they will continue to be recognised and protected or we allow them to be exploited without consent, without transparency and without fair payment. The success of the arts and the culture sector over recent decades is something that we in Ireland can be and are immensely proud of. From The Cranberries to Fontaines D.C.,…

Okay; I apologise.

The Minister for justice, as part of his long-running campaign for the Fianna Fáil leadership, is in the process of critically undermining our system of criminal justice. He has introduced a new fee structure for District Court criminal legal aid without proper engagement or consultation with the practitioners involved. The Minister is asking criminal law solicitors to run entire cases for the same amount that he would have charged for one hour of his own time as a commercial law senior counsel. The Minister now re…

I echo a lot of the points made already about the temporary nature of this and what we have been promised. I am looking at a briefing from the Department of energy on 4 February. We were given numerous briefings by the Department about this. The Minister tried to avoid pre-legislative scrutiny and our committee had to fight for it. We have a report with 43 recommendations, all of which seem to have been ignored in this Bill. This briefing, which was given to us by the Department as part of our pre-legislative scrut…

I have a couple of points on what the Minister said. As part of our pre-legislative scrutiny, we looked at the energy security review that this is all based on. The review was conducted a number of years ago. The international situation has changed markedly since that review was conducted. Even the price of LNG on the markets has increased massively since Trump's war on Iran. We had asked for that review to be updated in light of the most recent massive market instability in the fossil fuel market. We also believe …

I move amendment No. 4: In page 8, after line 39, to insert the following: " "hydraulically fractured gas” means liquefied natural gas, or natural gas in any other form, that has been produced, in whole or in part, by means of hydraulic fracturing within the meaning of section 5A of the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act 1960;" This amendment is about fracked gas, which is not something we have spoken about yet in the debate. The amendment has been tabled with a view to trying to be constructive and to bu…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 6, between lines 29 and 30, to insert the following: “ “international connectivity” means the range and frequency of scheduled passenger and cargo air services operating to and from Dublin Airport, having regard to— (a) the number of direct routes available from Dublin Airport to destinations outside the State, (b) the number of carriers operating such routes, and (c) the frequency of services on those routes;”. There are a number of references to international connectivity in this B…

I thank the Minister for his comments and for listening so attentively to what people were saying. On my amendment, the issue I have is how much connectivity is ever going to be enough. We still do not have an answer on that. He mentioned a figure of 40 million passengers being the first application.

The Minister's assumption is that will be the first application. There is no guarantee anywhere here, however, that it is going to be a 40 million cap. There is presumably nothing preventing the DAA from applying for a higher figure. However, that is the Minister's understanding and that is fair enough. Our issue is that there are no limits anywhere in this Bill. There are no parameters for the number of passengers who will be coming through the airport. No real economic assessment has been done here. The Minister …

I want to press my amendment.

I thank Sinn Féin and Deputy Kerrane for bringing this important motion forward. For my generation and for young parents like me, or youngish parents anyway, childcare and housing are the crucial issues. Childcare and housing are both issues of accessibility and affordability. Both are also issues that have been left to the private sector for far too long and, in both cases, there is an urgent need for strong, direct State intervention. In this House last week, I raised issues with the Tánaiste regarding a local ch…

A childcare facility in Knocklyon in my constituency was recently taken over a by a new provider, which was recently bought by a UK group in a deal worth €75 million. Since the facility was taken over, there have been numerous room closures. Parents have effectively been stranded without childcare with no notice. The services have taken away flexibility in terms of reduced hours over the summer or attending part time in after-school care. The services are getting worse because they are now being run in the interest…

I sincerely believe that from a climate perspective, this is perhaps the most regressive legislation produced by the Government. Any legislation or infrastructure that requires us to overturn a ban on fracked gas is just inherently bad for the climate. I heard the Minister of State on "Morning Ireland" this morning and I sympathise with his desire to enhance our energy security, particularly in the current context. We all understand the vulnerabilities Ireland faces. We know the risks posed by geopolitical instabil…

The issue of a school not having a sports hall is one very close to my heart because I went to the boys' school next door to Sancta Maria College, Coláiste Éanna, as did Deputy Lahart. For my entire time there, we had no sports hall. It means the school cannot offer PE, which is so important for children's mental and physical health. Even in the time since a sports hall was completed in Coláiste Éanna, we can see that a basketball club has developed in the area. It is a case of if you build it, they will come. It i…

I thank the Minister of State for his comments. The project has been at stage 2B for a considerable period, for the last year in fact, and the school is just waiting to hear back from the Department. We know that another tranche of projects is going to be approved. As the Minister of State said, there will be new projects approved in early 2027. The school wants to know what it needs to do to ensure it is on the list for early 2027. If the Minister of State could arrange a meeting with the Department, it would be h…

I begin by saying how proud I am that the Labour Party and my colleague, Deputy Bacik, are bringing forward this Bill today. I also welcome the visitors to the Public Gallery. This is a Bill about fairness, accountability and justice. It is a Bill that is rooted in the bravery of survivors who have refused to be silent and simply roll over and take whatever paltry offers come their way. This country’s history during the last century was, for far too many of its citizens, one of abuse and failure. We are all too awa…

Hear, hear.