This scheme is not fit for purpose. The Minister needs to go back to the drawing board. The scheme has been widely condemned by survivors and experts. On a human level, it dismisses their suffering. It basically says that many of their experiences are not traumatic enough to receive redress. Boarded-out children and infants who spent less than six months in these appalling institutions are completely excluded. A group of 30 childhood experts wrote to the Minister over the weekend explaining why this is a shocking d…

I welcome the opportunity to speak to this important Bill and to address, in particular, the section on scramblers. Sinn Féin has moved a number of motions and Bills on this topic in this Dáil and previous Dáileanna and it is good the issue is finally being acted on. Scramblers plague communities throughout Dublin Bay North and people are fed up. They are sick of not being able to go out for a walk or go to the playground with their kids because of the noise pollution from these bikes going up and down their roads …

The Taoiseach will not answer the question.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important motion. We are facing into another winter in which our hospitals will be overrun and the reality of the Covid crisis must be faced. We need to start getting vaccine boosters to front-line staff. I welcome the announcement in that regard by the Minister last night. Healthcare workers must be protected. He will be judged on his actions in the next few weeks and he needs to deliver on the commitments given. Student nurses have been promised the sun, moon and stars b…

Budgets have always been about priorities and choices. This budget is no different. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil made their choices. It is clear they do not favour working people or families who are overwhelmed by the cost of living crisis. This is the sixth budget under Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, another in a long line of budgets that have not delivered for ordinary people. Instead, the coalition has spread itself thinly and tried to be all things to all people. Those in need of Government support got crumbs from the…

Do not do it.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the National Youth Justice Strategy this afternoon. Youth justice responses have always been seen as a reaction to young people involved in crime. As communities, we need to come together to find ways to assist our young people, guide them away from a life of crime and enable them to meet their full potential. Detention must be seen as a last resort. I welcome the fact that this strategy seems to be more proactive and acknowledges the reality of our young people's lives. Expand…

Childcare fees have become a second mortgage for families. People are struggling to meet these crazy costs. There are parents in Dublin who are paying around €800 to €1,000 per month for one child. Working families simply cannot afford this and it cannot continue. The situation for struggling families has only got worse in recent years and will continue to get worse unless the Minister does something about it. The sector needs intervention from the Government. We need a publicly-funded childcare system that is acce…

Housing for All misses the mark for a plan that took so long to pull together. It fails to meet the expectations the Minister set out before it was published. It falls short on some of the basic issues and it is just more of the same when it comes to housing policy of Governments of the past decade. Ordinary workers and families paying mad rents will not be in a better position as a result of this policy. Corporate landlords and vulture funds were at the table and they have had their way once again. They have walke…

My question is to ask the Minister's Department the reason it is using the public spending code as an excuse for not directly funding Dublin City Council to develop the Oscar Traynor Road as a fully public housing development in the most cost-effective and affordable manner.

I thank the Minister for his response but, as he is aware, earlier this year the majority of councillors on Dublin City Council proposed a plan that would deliver genuinely affordable, social and cost-rental homes for workers and families on Oscar Traynor Road. Councillors look to the Minister to deliver in this regard. He and his Department are using the public spending code as a cop-out. He is hiding behind his Department. I look to him to make the plan a reality. When will he ensure that we will have public home…

As the Minister said, workers and families out in the community are crying out for real, affordable social and cost-rental housing. The proposals the Minister is talking about that were put before the council are - is everyone ready? - €450,000 for a three-bedroom apartment and €1,500 in respect of a month's rent for a two-bedroom apartment. The Minister will agree with me that this is crazy and that it is not affordable. He can be the Minister who delivers 100% public housing on public lands on the Oscar Traynor s…

It is not my social media. This is what the council has been given.

No, the Minister can cut through. We are going to ask the people to pay €1,500 per month for cost rental.

These are the facts.

This is not a sound bite.

That is not affordable.

In what world is that affordable?

The Minister is on a different planet if he thinks €450,000 is affordable.

This motion would ensure that the safety, protection and rights of residents in nursing homes are safeguarded and that a public inquiry is established. Care Champions and the Irish Association of Social Workers have led the calls for a public inquiry and we support those calls. Covid had a significant and fatal impact in many nursing homes and the hurt and pain experienced by many will linger for a long time to come. Only a public inquiry will bring comfort for those residents who are still with us and for those fa…