I thank Deputy Whitmore for all the work she does in this area. The Minister of State ended her contribution saying the Government countermotion "more accurately reflects the reality". I begin with a simple premise. There are 323,000 households in arrears on their electricity bills in Ireland today. There are people struggling to pay their rent and their bills. There are people who are terrified about those bills coming through the door. At the same time, we have energy companies recording eye-watering profits. I k…

The Social Democrats will be supporting the Bill. Before we get into the detail of it, it is worth reminding ourselves of what we are actually trying to protect here. Strategic lawsuits against public participation make the consequences of speaking out so expensive, stressful and prolonged that eventually people decide that it is simply safer not to speak at all. The people most exposed are often precisely the people who are integral to a functioning democracy, namely, journalists, whistleblowers, activists, NGOs a…

Our party will support Ireland opting into the Council decision on signing the conclusion of the agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Korea on the transfer of passenger name record data. Co-operation in the fight against serious crime and terrorism is clearly necessary, and we realise the important role that data plays in supporting investigations into serious crime and terrorism. Ireland already participates in similar PNR agreements with the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Sou…

I can explain the relevance.

I will explain it. In Ireland, PNR data is collected and analysed by the passenger information unit within the Department of justice. This House has been asked to place confidence in systems for handling sensitive information in the interest of policing and public safety and questions about the integrity of those systems, the protection of confidential information and the accountability when safeguards fail are entirely relevant. Within that, safeguards in the Garda protected disclosure unit have clearly failed. I …

Given the state of the revelations in last week's "RTÉ Investigates" programme, how long does this Government believe it is tenable not to allow either the current justice Minister and the previous one to come into the Chamber to answer questions regarding the architecture of the protected disclosures office? Garda confidence has been massively undermined, as testified to by the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors and the Garda Representative Association calling for an external inquiry. Before then, we ne…

They are not agreed.

I join Deputies across the House in condemning yesterday's assault on Deputy Michael Healy-Rae. I wish him a speedy recovery and send best wishes to him and his family. Last night's "RTÉ Investigates" programme was shocking. It showed that the oppressive and vindictive culture that existed when Maurice McCabe was targeted for speaking out has not been rooted out of An Garda Síochána. We heard credible allegations that Garda personnel who raised concerns were isolated, undermined and penalised. Again and again, prot…

Again, I did not ask the Minister whether she was informed of the details of any protected disclosure. We know that section 41 of the Garda Síochána Act requires that the Commissioner inform the Minister for justice if there are incidents happening that have the potential to undermine public trust in the office. Public trust has been very clearly undermined by any number of issues captured in last night's RTÉ documentary. Those charged with looking after whistleblowers, taking on their files and investigating their…

None of us has yet seen the "RTÉ Investigates" programme that is to air tonight but each of us in the Chamber, given what has already been revealed, will know that profound questions are going to be asked tomorrow about the structures that were created by this Dáil ten years ago and updated in 2022. Are we really to believe that the Minister for Justice will not make himself available tomorrow to give a statement to this Dáil and answer questions about the shocking revelations that will be aired tonight on "RTÉ Inv…

I am very happy to speak on this Bill as it has been a long time coming. I have no doubt about the need to consolidate Garda powers, which are scattered across different pieces of legislation, and to put clear rules around the exercise of those powers. There are positive provisions here. The statutory right to know why one is being stopped and searched is, of course, important, as is entitlement to have a solicitor present during an interview. However, this legislation also deals with some of the most intrusive pow…

It was an interesting line the Minister kept referring to in her contribution as she patronisingly looked across to the Opposition and said, "Make that make sense." I want to talk her through some things that potentially will not make sense but let us see if I am misinforming the House about any one part of it. In June 2001, Irish voters rejected the Nice treaty. Most of the concerns raised during that campaign referred to neutrality and a fear among the population of increased participation in military campaigns. …

I want to raise the vacancies in CAMHS services and occupational therapy posts in Dublin North-West. We are going to be talking about vacancies in services but it is important to recognise that behind every one of those services is a child waiting, a parent fretting with concern and a situation that is long past untenable that is having a detrimental impact upon children the length and breadth of this country. In particular, how many occupational therapy posts are vacant in CAMHS Dublin North City and West? I am op…

We hear about numbers, facts, figures and commitments of Government. I do not believe anybody wakes up in the morning and intends to do bad or ill; I believe everyone has the very best of intentions. However, when I hear that recruitment remains challenging, I think to myself that what is unimaginably challenging is for a mother - I used the example of Niamh because she gave me permission to do so - seeing her child's development impacted by the absence of a post. Are we doing everything in our power to fill those …

I said I did.

Does the Tánaiste recognise the scale of the chaos in our criminal justice system at the moment? Thousands of cases have been adjourned. Victims will await justice. Backlogs are building. We now have habeas corpus cases taking place in the High Court. The Minister referenced my flowery language. I am surprised that Fine Gael is giving the Minister for justice such free rein in relation to the chaos he has caused. Prior to taking up the position, the Minister was critical of Fine Gael's handling of the justice syste…

The Government offered no analysis by which the decision was made. In recognition of the chaos in our courts, can the Tánaiste, as Minister for Finance and leader of Fine Gael, simply say he is willing to engage in a manner that the Minister is not?

He said he was not for turning.

I want to acknowledge Deputy Sherlock for her work in bringing forward this Bill. We in the Social Democrats will be supporting it. It is a shame that the Minister of State is not willing to engage further than to simply vote it down on the promise that a review will be released in an unspecified time. As somebody who believes in local government and local elected representatives, I want to acknowledge those in Dublin Central and the north inner city and Dublin 7 who do tireless work to advocate on behalf of the re…

Hear, hear.