It is certain the statutory deadline of 26 April will not be met. We all agree on that. We have been left with a very messy way to approach legislation. It is very disappointing that we are only now debating these important changes, that we are doing it at the very last possible hour and that the Government is rushing these incomplete changes through without the benefit of pre-legislative scrutiny. We are doing so because the wards of court deadline will not be met. I too thank the Centre for Disability Law and Pol…

We have more than 5,000 children in emergency accommodation, a figure that is both shocking and shames the State. Yesterday, the Government rightly apologised to institutional abuse survivors. It was a hard-fought for and very much delayed apology. As I have said previously here, I have absolutely no doubt that a future government will be issuing an apology for the damage homelessness has done and is doing to children during this decade. The Government has not only utterly failed to address the issue of homelessnes…

I wondered what the Minister would say when she came to the Chamber tonight. I was thinking about this all day. From what she said, I do not believe she has understood the stress, hurt and concern she has caused for families, schools and SNAs. The capitulation of the Government last night, while welcome, comes on the back of a campaign that was organised by SNAs, schools and parents. They should not have to do that. One word was missing from the Minister's speech and that was "sorry". She did not say that. There sh…

Disabled people have been protesting outside the Dáil on a number of occasions in recent weeks. They are having a national protest on 28 February. The Tánaiste said earlier in reply to somebody else that they do not need to be on the streets. They genuinely do feel they need to be on the streets. We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. Disabled people tell us they feel their income is €1,400 less this year than last year due to the budget, which has been devastating not only for people with disabilities bu…

In Limerick, the average price of a semi-detached three-bedroom home has reached more than €345,000. That is a €25,000 increase compared with the end of 2024. Over 16,000 people across the State are availing of emergency accommodation. At the same time, the Minister has cut the tenant in situ funding. He has also failed to increase funding to tackle voids, leaving more than 200 council home properties always vacant in Limerick in the middle of a housing emergency. Last week, to top it off, the Minister pushed throu…

In January this year, Ireland South MEP Kathleen Funchion and I met the midwest rape crisis centre in Limerick city. We all know the vital work these centres play in supporting those who have been subjected to gender, domestic and sexual violence. Their focus is on the survivor and what is best for them. Their supports range from therapy and counselling to support for court appearances. In some cases, the volunteers are simply a sounding board and confidant with whom survivors can share their stories. Meeting the e…

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I thank the Minister of State for his response. He knows the situation in UHL well. Those who arrive for the forensic medical examination that he mentioned are accompanied by a member of An Garda Síochána. Before they are even treated, people will know they are with the gardaí in the hospital. There is no privacy whatsoever and that has to change. The stark reality is that the service people in Limerick, Clare and Tipperary receive is less than that available to people living near other large cities. We need to ens…

The Tánaiste stated earlier that he comes in here every day to do work. The Tánaiste has been in here 5,454 days, and for many of those he was Minister for Health. My local hospital, University Hospital Limerick, is in perpetual crisis. There were 131 people on trolleys in the hospital yesterday. If we had not opened the new bed unit in October last, we would probably have more than 200 people on trolleys. The figures for this year so far have been the exact same as last year's figures, so there has been no impact …

The staff have been under huge pressure for years and it is not fair on patients and their families.

Those who are opposed to regulatory restrictions on the creation and generation of sexualised AI images argue that this an affront to free speech and freedom of expression. It is not. It is not a freedom to use without consent someone's image to generate sexualised images. It is not freedom to ask an AI tool to show a picture of somebody and to have the picture modified to remove the clothing from the image of their body. That is sexual. That is harassment. Often those who cry about free speech were not so loud or …

As we talk about road safety, we do so with the backdrop of the tragic, avoidable death of teenager Grace Lynch in Finglas on Sunday, 25 January. She was a teenager who left her house and was struck by a scrambler on her home estate - a young life snatched away in its prime. I extend my deepest sympathies to her family and friends during this most difficult time for them. I welcome news that new laws are being introduced to implement the total ban on scramblers in public spaces and to strengthen existing laws for g…

The Government’s infrastructure plan is devoid of action with no new ambition but rather it slightly alters existing systems and has little in the way of new ideas. The State has crumbling infrastructure, a housing crisis compounded by the failures of successive housing Ministers and a planning system that is not fit for purpose. In the mid-west, many infrastructure projects have been glacially slow to deliver. In Limerick, we have the Coonagh-Knockalisheen road. It took over many years before work commenced on thi…

The Irish, across the centuries, have been forced to emigrate. We know the pain of having to say goodbye to loved ones at bus stations, airports and ports. In the summer of 1988 and having graduated from third level, I, like thousands of others, boarded a plane at Shannon Airport with a tourist visa and headed to New York city. I worked there for 18 months and returned to Ireland. Unfortunately, due the policies of the Government of the time unemployment was rampant. As I was unable to access employment in Ireland …

Too often in Limerick, we see the devastating impact of mental health challenges. Over the past decade, Limerick city has frequently recorded the highest suicide rate in Ireland. Tonight, I want to acknowledge the volunteers who will be out tonight in the appalling weather we have been having in the past couple of days. Limerick Suicide Watch and Limerick Treaty Suicide Prevention both patrol the riverside in Limerick. Haven Hub and others also do fantastic work. Many a life has been saved because of the presence a…

The Minister should be aware that criminal feuding in parts of Limerick in recent weeks has seen a dramatic escalation in violence, particularly in Ballinacurra Weston and surrounding areas. For fear of criminal retaliation, much of this violence has gone unreported. However, among the most recent incidents, there have been gun and arson attacks on homes and cars, assaults on people in the area and threats of violence against and intimidation of others. I am extremely concerned for the residents of the area. Many w…

I spoke on CAST earlier. I have also been in contact with stakeholders in the community and I assure the Minister of State the concerns I raised with him today are echoed by most people in the community. Frustrations are building and many feel the Garda response has not been adequate against these criminals. Having said that, I believe the gardaí in Limerick are doing the job in some of the most challenging of circumstances, and more supports and resources are needed for them. I recently spoke at length to people w…

I have been asked by the community to specifically ask the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, to visit the area and to talk to the local chief superintendent and community leaders. We are seriously concerned about what is going on in the area and I do not think anybody is grasping the severity of what we are worried about. The Garda knows exactly who is involved and who is gaining from this misery. I appreciate that the gathering of information and investigations need to be thorough, but the community must see a robust …

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The announcement earlier this week by the Minister that the Bunlicky wastewater treatment plant is to be upgraded with construction commencing in 2028 is very welcome news. The population of Limerick and its surrounds is increasing at a very fast rate and this upgrade should help, should the Government deliver on its planned housing targets. While based on the performance in previous years, I doubt it can deliver the projected housing targets, preparatory work like this is to be welcomed. We remain in a very diffic…