Hear, hear.

Compassion and respect has always underpinned my approach to this issue. Like the Minister of State, I campaigned for repeal. I knocked on doors and I argued, debated, listened, agreed and disagreed. In fact, some of the best exchanges I had were with people I disagreed with because they sharpened my awareness of the complexity of this issue and the fact that people come at it differently. At every single door I knocked on where I disagreed, I respected the opinion of the person who made an alternative argument. At…

What is shocking about it is that they do not have access.

I want to raise with the Taoiseach the urgent need for approval for Newtown School in Waterford to proceed with tender and construction for a new school building. The school has served Waterford for over two centuries. It entered the free education scheme in 2014 when it agreed to expand to accommodate 600 students funded by the Department. The old building, Wyse house, on the site is in urgent need of emergency works and a new development is needed to accommodate the growing student numbers. To be fair, the school…

The one clear message the Government is sending out today to people with disabilities, because of the long-winded amendment the Minister is tabling, is that people with disabilities have to wait, wait and wait again. His message to them is that they should accept second best. It is the same for carers, the people who look after them. However, it is particularly the case for people with disabilities, who everybody in this House accepts have additional needs and additional costs because of those disabilities. People …

I welcome the opportunity to debate the shortcomings in abortion services in Ireland. My priority is access for women to the services which were voted for and endorsed by the people in 2018 and the too many barriers which remain. One of those barriers is the three-day wait. Sinn Féin supports removing the three-day wait. We never supported the three-day wait in the first place. We have tabled legislation to remove the three-day wait and have always been clear that this waiting period does not provide care or suppor…

The horrendous fire in Tycor in Waterford city was obviously devastating for local residents, but most especially for the social enterprises, small businesses, service providers, a school of music, and a company that provided costumes for theatre. Much was lost. I met many of them yesterday. I know that the Minister was in, but I also met them afterwards. They have a number of asks. The first is that everything possible be done to get them back on their feet and get those businesses up and running again. I spoke to…

Some €78 million was collected in car parking charges in hospitals over five years and a record €17.5 million was collected last year. In 2018, Simon Harris was so concerned about hospital car parking charges that he promised a review and that action would be taken. Here we are in 2026 and no action was taken. In fact, hospital car parking charges have increased. The programme for Government gave a commitment to examine again reducing the cost of car parking charges at hospitals but it simply has not happened. We h…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 to abolish the mandatory three day wait rule for access to a termination of pregnancy. This is a straightforward and targeted Bill. It does just one thing. It proposes to remove the mandatory three-day wait for access to an abortion during early pregnancy. It does not require an abortion to happen on the day of a first consultation, but where a woman is certain that this is what sh…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for offences committed against adults whose ability to guard themselves against violence, exploitation or abuse, whether physical, sexual or emotional, or against neglect by another person is significantly impaired; and to provide for related matters. We have all heard the horror stories - Áras Attracta, Lees Cross, the treatment of Grace, failures in home care and care homes, and the indefensible failures in the Brandon case. A simple que…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I acknowledge the consultation process on rural future policy. I raise the delay in funding for vital Local Link services in rural Waterford, particularly affecting Portlaw, Kilmacthomas, Mahon Bridge and Lemybrien. These services were expected under the National Transport Authority’s “Connecting Ireland” plan to be properly funded. However, communities in Waterford are now being told they may have to wait until 2027. This is a major setback for rural Waterford and communities which have waited long enough for prop…

I welcome the opportunity to have a debate here on climate action and commend the Green Party on bringing forward this motion. The frustration for me when we have debates on climate action is that, in part, yes, the debate is framed around carbon taxes, which is one part of the overall strategy, and we have our view on whether or not it is effective, which was very clearly set out by my colleague an Teachta O'Rourke. The other is that we have a discussion about high-level targets which we never meet. Any climate ac…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Public Health, Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products (Amendment) Bill 2026. This is an important Bill, which is broad in scope and long overdue. For too long, policy in this area has been reactive. New products emerge, marketing tactics change and the law has lagged behind. This Bill marks an important change in approach from the Government, which we in the Opposition have sought for years. This is future-focused legislation rather than the usual catch-up and piec…

Hear, hear.

The way children with disabilities and their families are treated in this State is an absolute disgrace. We are here not just every year, talking about school places and appropriate school places for children with disabilities. We have tabled countless motions on a range of issues from school places to assessments of need to therapies children are being deprived of and are not getting. We do not see any action from Government. Parents are at their wits' end. They are tired, frustrated, angry and they see a broken s…

My question concerns potential industrial action by ambulance paramedics, particularly pre-hospital care professionals, which would include emergency medical technicians, EMTs, paramedics and others. They voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action, as the Minister knows, on 12, 19 and 26 May. I imagine that the last thing paramedics and EMTs want is to be on strike. A number of votes were taken in recent times, including one last year, on the roles and responsibilities changes that paramedics voted against, so …

The problem is that the National Ambulance Service is massively understaffed. I put down a parliamentary question to which the Minister's office responded a number of weeks ago. In 2025, the HSE target was to have 4,162 whole-time-equivalent paramedics working in the National Ambulance Service. The number for this year is 2,657. By 2026, the target was to have 4,780. The number is estimated to be 2,920 by the end of the year. By 2028, it is meant to be over 6,000. At best, we are going to hit 3,500. We are somewher…

The paramedics that I have spoken to, and I have spoken to many, are all in favour of reform, but they also want to know that the Government has their backs and is putting in place the capacity. The Minister is right to say there has been an increase in the number of paramedics, but the objective was to double the number of paramedics over a five- to six-year period because that is what was estimated was needed. I gave the Minister the figure that, for 2026, the target is 4,780. The Department and the HSE are telli…