I thank the Minister for being here. It is fair to say the childcare and early years sector in Ireland is characterised by low pay for those working in the sector, high staff turnover, high costs for those running childcare settings and high costs for parents and families who wish to avail of this service. We need to cap the childcare fee at €200 and we need a clear timeframe for this. No parent should have to decide whether they can afford to go to work or afford childcare fees or, indeed, whether they can afford …

It sends a shiver down the spine of people who are saving for a mortgage when they hear of the constant increase in home prices in this country. People are saving money to stand still, while there is no corresponding increase in savings interest in banks. Rents are rising, the cost of living and food has increased and prices are going up and up. The housing crisis is a ticking time bomb. We cannot afford to have a whole generation of pensioners renting in the future. We already have poverty in old age for many. We …

I welcome the Minister. I support wholeheartedly this practical Bill. Section 2 is practical and will ensure we uphold our obligations under international human rights law. We are at a defining moment for our humanity and what it means to be human. Palestine is currently a mirror to the soul of the world. Somebody said that the revolution will not be televised; well, the genocide is being televised. Anyone who watched "Prime Time" last night will agree with that given what we saw happening in hospitals in Gaza, wit…

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, that No. 9 be taken before No. 1. It relates to the Prohibition of Advertising or Importuning Sex for Rent Bill 2025. I will speak briefly to it. I hope we will have a debate on it in the House in future. It is a very straightforward Bill that is laser focused on the advertising of rental properties and prohibits and criminalises advertisements that relate to importuning for sex for reduced rent. The Bill covers a range of advertising, not just on websites. Predators…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled An Act to prohibit certain acts in relation to soliciting or importuning sexual services in consideration of a reduced rent or in lieu of rent for the letting of a tenancy or other residential accommodation, and to provide for related matters.

Next Tuesday.

I will be brief. I support the extension of the ARP and the scheme. It is a success story for Ireland in terms of hosting and our response to this humanitarian crisis. Research from the Ukraine Civil Society Forum states that 86% of the hosts report that the ARP is important for them if they are to continue hosting. This finding would also suggest that more than 30,000 refugees could face the danger of becoming homeless if the scheme is not continued. As has already been said, the ARP is far cheaper than emergency …

I welcome the Minister of State and look forward to engaging with him in his brief. It is safe to say this is one of the biggest access-to-education issues we are facing in this country. Approximately 100 children in Cork are still waiting to be offered a school place this September. I recently attended in Cork city a protest on this issue organised by Nicole Hosford. I actually bumped into her today. I believe she has been up for meetings in Leinster House today. I heard from parents and families at the protest wh…

I raise the issue of young carers. Last week I attended a briefing on this issue organised by Deputy Mark Wall of the Labour Party. I was shocked to learn that, throughout Ireland, 67,000 young carers between the ages of ten and 17 care for family members. It was great to see that, last week, a motion on this issue was passed unanimously in the Dáil. I would welcome further discussion in this House on it as well but there was no mention in the programme for Government of these young carers. They are being left behi…

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. He has a great opportunity to improve road safety for all road users in Ireland as part of his brief. At the age of 38, I am learning to drive for the first time. I am in the middle of my driving lessons. It is terrifying when I hear about collisions on the South Link Road in Cork and the fatality rates, with 174 people killed on our roads last year. I will probably be in my forties before I am actually on the road because my closest test centre in Wilton has the thir…

I welcome the Minister for Health to the House, especially after her recent travels, and thank her for representing Ireland so well at the UN Commission on the Status of Women recently. Many of the points have been made and I will not get into repetition. This is very indicative of what we are hearing about health in general. When we think of health and the health service in this country, words that often come to mind are "battle", "barriers", "people travelling abroad", "waiting lists" and "trolleys". We need to c…

Is as Baile Bhuirne mé ó dhúchas i gContae Chorcaí ach tá mé i mo chónaí i gcathair Chorcaí. Rinne mé mo bhunoideachas agus mo mheánoideachas trí Ghaeilge. Fós, caithfidh mé cleachtadh a dhéanamh. Tá mo Ghaeilge saghas meirgí. Tá mé an-bhródúil as m'áit dhúchais. Rugadh Seán Ó Riordáin, an Ríordánach, i mBaile Bhuirne. Tá sé ar dhuine de na filí is fearr sa bhfichiú haois. Maidir leis an nGaeilge agus infheistíocht sa Ghaeilge agus sa Ghaeltacht, aontaím go láidir leis na moltaí atá ag Conradh na Gaeilge agus ba mh…

I want to raise the issue of student accommodation. I attended a briefing in the audiovisual room this morning by the University of Galway students' union, which recently published a report to which 1,700 students at the university responded. The report contains some stark findings. It found that 78% of respondents had struggled to find accommodation, and one in 20 was living in temporary or emergency accommodation while trying to find somewhere permanent to live. Nearly one third of respondents said their experien…

I wish to share time with Senator Cosgrove.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, and welcome him to the House. It is encouraging to hear his words about the diaspora and the plans for a new strategy in that regard. Our diaspora is a huge strength for Ireland. It is not just soft power; this is real power that we have, showing how well Ireland is regarded across the world. It is very important that we continue to support them and value them. I have had the pleasure of going to the EPIC Museum, the museum of emigration, many times which is a fantast…

I welcome the Minister and congratulate her. It is clear she has hit the ground running in her brief. I wish her well. The first issue I wish to raise is that we will always need to have stand-alone discussions on women's health because it is a specific subject, just as we must also have stand-alone discussions on Traveller women's health or LGBTQ women's health. There are so many different areas within health. Even within postcodes, it is probable that there are variations. Will the Minister comment on BreastCheck…

We are an ageing population, as has been mentioned. The population is projected to grow by 800,000 by 2040 with an extra half a million people over 65 by that point. I have been really struck in the community in Cork South Central by the older people I have met on the doors and some of their stories have stayed with me. One woman told me she has nothing to do, that everyone belonging to her has passed away and she is just waiting to die now. I meet people all the time who say they only see their grandkids on Skype …

I want to raise the issue of gardaí in Cork city. It is alarming the Garda Representative Association said there is a shortfall of 125 gardaí in Cork city and that this is affecting the health and safety of gardaí in the city because of the work they have to do and the extra work they have to pick up as a result. The official figures from Garda management state that there are 673 gardaí in Cork city. However, the GRA said the figure is estimated at 478. That is because many of the gardaí stationed in the city are a…

I want to raise a concerning issue this morning in respect of Sunbeam House, a residential service for people with intellectual disabilities. We saw the reports about this. There were 482 safeguarding incidents reported to the HIQA chief inspector. They were found to have staffing and management issues and poor behavioural support for the residents who had been living there. I support the comments from Inclusion Ireland that we cannot allow history to keep repeating itself through institutional practices and human …

I want to state my deep concern about over spending and wastage of public funds. We have seen printers that do not fit into rooms, great walls, spenny security huts and astronomical bike sheds. The phase "an embarrassment of riches" comes to mind with the emphasis on "embarrassment". When will this parody of public spending end? You could not make it up. Today, I want to zone in on funding of the arts in particular. I share the concerns of Praxis: The Artists Union of Ireland about the over spending on the failed I…