I do not need five minutes. I just wanted to lend my support to the Second Stage of this important legislation. Rolling this out is a critical component of a decision made democratically a few years ago. Some of the language we hear from the other side of the Chamber never ceases to amaze me. They speak of supremacy over minorities. That is not the case. This is legal healthcare and people have an entitlement to access it without intimidation, without the forces of control and shame that have been too powerful in t…

The Minister of State and I are here to talk about the Phoenix Park again.

I am seeking an update on the Phoenix Park transport and mobility study. It is more than two years ago since that strategy was launched and two and a half years since the public had their say. We cannot underestimate the importance of open space and the role that the Phoenix Park plays in the city in providing open space. In the inner city, park use in terms of land use is only at 1.4%. Dublin North-West and Dublin North-Central have the highest percentage of land use for parks. That is because of the Phoenix Park.…

There are small things happening around the park but they are not adding up to the change people want to see. They want quality bicycle lanes and different ways to get to the park. On the 99 bus route, the Minister of State said "if there is sufficient demand, further expansion can be explored" in the future. There is demand. The bus just has to be placed in the right place and it will thrive. I am talking about common-sense changes. Dublin City Council did a survey about the use of parks and what prevented people …

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien. I want to raise the issue of the Blanchardstown west school area, which includes Littlepace, Castaheany, Ongar and Hansfield. Within that is an area that we hope will be developed with up to 1,200 units in the next few years. Blanchardstown west has been a fast-growing area and the strategic development zone, SDZ, which the Minister of State will be familiar with from his time on Fingal County Council, has probably seen among the highest delivery of houses in the…

This is the same response I have been getting for three years. The only difference is that Éiru Community College is now a 1,000-pupil school, which is great, instead of an 800-pupil school. We now have fourth year students who started in the Blanchardstown community centre in 2020 and are now sharing a site in Hansfield with Hansfield Educate Together Secondary School. The question everyone wants and needs to know the answer to is where the permanent site be for Éiru Community College will be. This will impact on …

I thank the Cathaoirleach and Senator Cummins. I want to raise yesterday's news that increases in road tolls will go ahead on 1 January. I appreciate the delay from the start of 2023 and the fact that the Government subsidised the companies involved in public private partnerships, PPPs, since June, although I have other questions as to how these PPPs work. I want to talk about the M50 and the eFlow barrier-free toll operated by Transport Infrastructure Ireland. I acknowledge that the toll revenue goes towards the u…

I stand in support of my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, and An Garda Síochána, and in staunch opposition to the political games being played by Sinn Féin today. When the country is in shock, when emotions and stakes are high and people are trying to get their heads around the frightening reality of the far right, they look to their politicians for stability, not point-scoring. The Government is accountable for its actions and decisions, as is the Garda. Accountability should be embraced by us …

I begin by extending my sympathies to the three children and the care worker who were attacked and stabbed on Thursday, the school and school community, An Garda Síochána, which was on the firing line on Thursday afternoon and night, and their families, who were terrified, watching as events unfolded on social media. I extend my sympathies to shop staff and owners who were targeted by opportunistic looting and all the people who look after our city and the public realm daily, who watched as a mob tried to burn it d…

We have been informed today about the provision of an additional €4 billion, which brings to €6 billion the amount provided in Supplementary Estimates this year. This is obviously to be welcomed. I just want to highlight the €850 million that has been ring-fenced for the Department of Education's school building programme. It would be beneficial for us to have a debate or a chance to put questions to the Minister for Education about the programme. I have many schools sitting on applications and waiting to hear abou…

There have been many fine speeches this morning and a great many points have been covered. I really just want to make one. I commend the Tánaiste's speech and those of people like Senators McDowell and Black, but we have arrived at a good motion. It is a motion that this House can support and that the majority of those in the Lower House could support last night. It is possible and legitimate to be against terrorism, against the denial of human and civil rights and against apartheid. That is the space we should be …

I am delighted to see the Minister, Deputy Harris, here for this Commencement matter this morning. I will start by telling him about my own education. I had my primary education in County Tyrone. I passed my 11-plus and went to grammar school for one year in Donaghmore convent. Then I came south and went to secondary school for the full six years in the South and then I went up to Queen's University Belfast for my degree. That is an all-island education. I went to university in 1997, so it was before the Good Frida…

I thank the Minister. It is music to my ears that he is taking this on board in a practical way. It is a problem that requires a practical solution. One does not have to manufacture co-operation if there is a system of integration. The structural disadvantage Northern Ireland students are facing is unfair. If we believe in a shared island, we must address this key issue. We do not want to be talking about a shared island but for people coming through the education system to face these hurdles just go to university …

I thank and congratulate the Minister of State, as well as the Ministers in the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. We are living in a time of contradictions, severe economic shocks globally and startling rates of inflation, yet here we have full employment and are showing a resilience in our economy. That is why we can afford to introduce two funds that will future-proof our economy and continue the development we need for our growing population and the peo…

They are the Porterstown Panthers, yes.

I thank the Minister for coming here today to listen to the debate on my party's motion. The shock is obvious. The distress is obvious. There has been a lot of focus already on the review, the need for it and the need for answers and swift action. I suppose I will focus primarily on the parents who are out there waiting for surgeries at present and are in a very dark place. They have come to me to ask the Minister today for an update and for him to outline him what his plan is in relation to the second half of this…

The Minister is very welcome here today. Her timing on this announcement has been very helpful. She will agree that there was concern that progress on leaving certificate reform was lagging. This is a good step forward. It gives confidence that we do not see the leaving certificate as both journey and destination with regard to who a student becomes, an all-or-nothing approach. One of the questions I have been asked relates to junior certificate reform. We are nine years in and, out of the two classroom-based asses…

The Acting Chairperson knows I dearly love rules but I want to ask about school builds. The feedback that I have got from numerous schools is that there is a shortage of modular buildings and, when it comes to bricks and building extensions, we could be waiting between three to five years. Is that the case? Dublin West has two new schools but we have a lot of other projects that are either on the way or are desperately needed and that would really help in engagement with schools.

There are already 22 of those.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, and thank Senator Fiona O'Loughlin for looking after us today and for driving forward this motion. I am on the working group and I have been involved in this, so I know the work that has gone into it. I was expecting somebody from the Department of Health today, not that I am not delighted to see the Minister of State, as always. When I was setting out the words that I wanted to say, they really were with health in mind. Coming up to the budget, the carer’s allowance…