I should not have to stand in this Chamber and ask for services for survivors of rape or sexual assault, but here I am because there is no 24-7 sexual assault treatment unit in the mid-west. This means that survivors have no immediate access to forensic medical examination, leaving some survivors travelling significant distances - some on buses - to access specialist, time-sensitive care that is not available locally. The forensic medical examination service in University Hospital Limerick, UHL, is only available a…

At a time when families are struggling with the cost of living and this Government keeps telling us that it is listening, I have to ask, who is it listening to? Is it listening to ordinary households or to the big CEOs? While families are struggling with the cost of living, we have seen huge pay increases for CEOs and now we are seeing transport fare hikes that in some cases will see fares for children increase by over 100%. That is not fairness and is not putting people first. As someone who uses public transport,…

You have forgotten the people of the North.

I thank my party colleague Deputy Ó Laoghaire for bringing this forward. The blue beret is a symbol of Irish neutrality and peace. It shows that the wearer is an impartial protector of innocent civilians, not a combatant in somebody else's war. We are proud of our neutrality, and we are proud of every Irish man and woman who has served under the blue flag of the UN, keeping the peace in some of the most dangerous places. Since 1958, not a day has passed without an Irish soldier deployed under a UN flag somewhere in…

I thank the Labour Party for this timely and important motion. Sinn Féin supports this motion because the cost of sending children to school has become an unacceptable financial burden on families across the State. While the free book scheme is very welcome, the problem now is that the savings that many families receive are being completely undermined by mandatory ICT costs. In her opening statement, the Minister said schools should use the ICT fund in this case but was this fund not cut by €15 million? You really …

I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for this important, timely motion. I want to tell the story of Christina from Clare. Christina is an artist and like so many artists across this island, she spent countless hours creating work. She poured her talent, experience, emotions and imagination into it. Christina reflected something uniquely human in that, plus it was hers. Without her consent or permission, that work was taken and fed into an AI system. That system processed it, altered it and reshaped it to fit the image it was …

I am proud to be able to contribute to support this Bill, and that our leader, Mary Lou McDonald, brought this Bill forward. It is a Bill of hope in our future. It is about planning responsibly, producing a Green Paper, which is a report used to start a public discussion, and establishing a citizens' assembly so that people can have a fully informed, inclusive and respectful conversation about Irish unity. Almost 30 years ago people from different political traditions came together through difficult and sometimes e…

Will the Minister carry out a full review of technological universities to ensure that they are reaching the targets set out for them when they were established?

I am not sure if the Minister is familiar with the recent report published by two Munster Technological University researchers. When asked if Irish TUs are failing, they concluded that the Irish TU project has been characterised by financial pressure, the death of regional provision in higher education, mission drift and confused policymaking, and that it has failed to meet any key targets. I acknowledge a lot of this was carried out before the Department of further and higher education was even established but it …

As I said, this all started before this Department was created but there are a few outstanding questions. There is a difference in the salaries of TU graduates compared with those from the university sector. A total of €363 million was spent. Does the Minister think that represents value for money? The Minister talked about research students, but there is a difference in this regard. Smaller institutions seem to be losing out while the larger ones seem to be gaining in some cases. That causes implications for the b…

Will the Minister initiate a discussion around commuter student terminology? Will he recognise the poor experience of the many commuter students in the higher education system?

I take this opportunity to mention a study by Professor Liz Thomas that was informed by a commitment to institutional change rather than just expecting commuter students to fit in with unreformed higher education institutions, HEIs, which states: This would be facilitated by an institutional enabling environment which involves aligning institutional policies, processes and organisations, and engaging with stakeholders from senior leadership to staff and students around a shared goal of an inclusive experience and e…

I very much welcome the NTA, local councils and students being brought together. That is going to be very positive in terms of helping those who are commuting. The TU students' union also brought out a report. It states that approximately 25% of students say they have to commute for two hours or more. When I spoke to students about having to commute on buses for that length of time, we discussed whether they could use it as study time. However, it emerged that travel sickness would prevent some people using it for …

I am speaking in support of the Sinn Féin amendments. The Minister has failed in his job to guarantee the energy security of our people. He cannot guarantee that the lights will stay on. Now we are in a position where the Government intends to spend €1 billion to facilitate the development of a liquefied natural gas, LNG, terminal, as a so-called strategic gas reserve in County Clare, where I am based. That is wrong for our communities and wrong for energy security and climate obligations. Even the Minister's own e…

Thousands of homeowners affected by defective concrete have spent many years living with uncertainty in their homes. They have constantly worried every time there is a storm whether their house is going to survive, and I have helped some of them as they navigated the inadequate remediation options. I have watched as they have become experts in what is destroying their homes. When they finally get approval for a scheme, they are left with decisions on whether the existing foundations should be retained or not, or wh…

As we mark Pride, we celebrate courage and resilience. However, Pride is not simply a celebration; it is also a call to action. For decades, LGBTQI+ people across Ireland were told they were less than equal. They were criminalised and excluded. Yet, through sheer determination and solidarity, they changed society for the better. We have come a long way. We have seen marriage equality become a reality. We have seen greater visibility and acceptance. We have seen countless people being able to live openly and in a wa…

I want to talk about the job losses at Carlow College, St. Patrick's, and the severe impact on students and the regional workforce. The recent announcement of the phased wind-down and closure of Carlow College over a two-year period marks a devastating blow to higher education in Carlow. Initially, staff and students expected that the college would merge under the South East Technology University, SETU, umbrella. I recently visited the campus and spoke directly to those affected by this decision. There is genuine s…

I hear that this a private entity and the State could not step in, but the State is about to get a multimillion euro campus for free. That is my understanding of this. That does not seem to be clear in any of these discussions. Does the Minister of State even know the cost of this campus? She said there was clear talking with the staff yet conditions were laid down regarding this campus that are not being met. One of the conditions was that staff would be integrated with SETU. That does not seem to be happening. St…

I thank my colleagues in Sinn Féin for the Bill. At its heart, this legislation is about one simple principle, which is trusting women. The mandatory three-day waiting period does not provide care and it does not provide support. What it does is make women wait. It delays access to healthcare at what is already one of the most difficult moments in their lives. Do we really believe that women have not already thought long and hard about this decision before they walk through the door of a GP or consultant's office? …

I support this motion. The Minister of State’s amendment is shameful. He did not mention once in his speech the genocide going on in Gaza.