What the Taoiseach did not go into was what contingency plans are in place or whether he can commit to putting contingency plans in place to ensure that patients are not left without scans because of single point of failure. The diagnostic imaging is hugely important in modern medicine but without some sort of action to have a separate contingency plan in place when the radiation fails, will we have these lists lengthening and lengthening? It is not a good or an efficient way to run a health service. Obviously, I t…

A couple of months ago, we had a discussion on the fact that the Government was working on the so-called spiking Bill, the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person (Amendment) (Spiking) Bill 2023. I asked whether it would progress beyond Second Stage to Committee and Report Stages. At present, the sinister offence of the spiking of drinks is covered only under legislation on poisoning or drugging, such as the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act, the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act, the Misuse of Drugs Act and…

Our children are being systematically abused and we are letting it happen. It is a simple as that. We go on about the old days of this State where we allowed abuse in various institutions and tipped the hat to the church and allowed abuse to go on under the covers. We are doing the same thing now with social media. We are talking the talk but we are not walking the walk. I have raised this issue multiple times and I am, to be quite honest, underwhelmed by the proposal to use the MyGovID scheme to try to restrict pe…

I take on board the civil liberties and civil rights argument. It is hugely important. However, when we look at how crime has changed over the decades, it has become more and more transnational. I am not just talking about criminal drugs gangs. I know of the work being done by Europol in trying to catch and deal with sexual predators. This is not just about the transmission of images but the people involved in creating the images on location. The sharing of that information has helped to catch the criminals where t…

I do not claim to have a great knowledge of this area, especially in terms of how it impacts families along the western seaboard, in particular. I have spoken in support of my colleague Deputy Ward and I want to show solidarity once again. In Leinster, including in Dublin, where there were defective apartments the levels of redress were much higher. There is huge inequality in terms of what families on the western seaboard in counties like Donegal, Sligo and Mayo are receiving. It is an issue that affects the count…

Tonight, and in the past, this has been contentious legislation. On the one hand, there is always the situation where, if you join an organisation like the European Union, which still has massive support among the people, you give something up in return for getting something. The CETA agreement is like that. The question was whether we were giving up too much. There is the overarching issue of sovereignty. There is the fear the system would allow foreign corporations to bypass Irish courts and challenge laws in int…

I have spoken before about the broken system of needs assessment and delivery of services. Today, alongside this welcome motion, we see the Government making ambitious promises of faster assessments of need backed by new expert teams to streamline processes. It sounds like an early Christmas gift but time will tell whether it is just an empty promise or if it can actually be delivered. The Government tells us that 11 new teams with 44 expert staff have transformed the system, yet we know that across the health serv…

I note the Government's plan and in the limited time I want to focus on one aspect of it, namely, the incoherence in terms of infrastructure and facilities tied in alongside. To give an example, four years ago I proposed rezoning land beside Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in an industrial area right beside the M50. It would have made perfect logical sense to build housing right opposite a major shopping centre. People could just walk across the road to it and there was space for a school as well. However the commiss…

Earlier on, I was talking about the fact that all newly development rezoned areas should be SDZs to try to tie in facilities and infrastructure. As regards taking away some community input by fast-tracking the process, I see the need to fast-track the process but we still have to have the input and we still have to allow it in some way. A lot of the times that An Bord Pleanála, now An Coimisiún Pleanála, dragged on were not because of any particular objection, but because the objection process and the planning proc…

In the bigger picture, the NTA is not fit for purpose. We have heard about route 26 turning into the route 80 disaster that is affecting Palmerstown and especially Chapelizod. This may be reviewed, but I did a survey of 2,700 bus users who were all wary of it from day 1. I had a meeting with the chief executive but nothing was done at the time. The C2 bus spent so long down a temporary route that all the new houses were built alongside it and a new route is needed that incorporates the L25. The abolition of route 1…

Deansrath Family Centre has been serving children and families in Clondalkin and beyond for more than 20 years. It is located in an area of ongoing socioeconomic disadvantage, characterised by high levels of unemployment and poverty, a lot of single-parent households and lower than average levels of education. The centre has evolved over time to cater for these needs and has expanded from solely providing childcare to delivering a range of services under the general headings of prevention and early intervention. It…

It is partially answered but the Departments still does not have the big picture because those behind the centre need funding to build a model of excellence in what will be a first of its kind family and early childhood centre. It will be the first whole-of-government strategy for babies, young children and their families, which is in the State's long-term programme. So far, their vision has been enabled through the land disposal agreement with South Dublin County Council, a bequest of €200,000 from a deceased chai…

That was last year. It has probably gone up slightly.

Will the Minister of State ask the Minister to try to give me a written response on that?

We all personally know or locally are aware of whistleblowers. I know some myself. They are vital to protecting the public interest. These individuals call out corruption, waste, incompetence, bullying and abuse, including our distinguished guests in the Public Gallery. All too often, they pay a price for their transparency and honesty. The proposals before us are about changing that, going beyond the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 and ensuring any legislation has teeth. They are about making sure whistleblowers ar…

I am not totally sold on the suggestion of a whistleblower reward scheme. I note it has worked to an extent in the United States, albeit under a different system and mindset from our own. We should certainly look at best practice and, in this context, I do not have a problem with a pilot and neither should the Government. We need to make investigations mandatory, punish obstruction and publish it, protect jobs for conscientious employees and provide real support. This will better help the decent people who shine a …

It used part of our heritage that if a woman opened her mouth, men were able to dunk her in the river. Thousands of jobs were created in rural areas because of Magdalen laundries. Do people want to keep that going? No, it is old school. We have learned our lesson. Greyhound racing is old school as well. I am opposing this motion on the basis that horse racing has serious issues and greyhound racing cannot be redeemed. I support the amendment not because I think it is strong enough but because passing it would be pr…

Myself and Deputy Peadar Tóibín have two minutes.

Yes.

The Deputy still has 40 seconds left.