First, I thank the Minister for the work he has done on this Bill. I acknowledge the relentless work and advocacy of David French and his family in regard to the work behind the Bill. When we talk about laws like Valerie's Law, we are ultimately asking a difficult but essential question. What does justice mean for a child whose parent has committed the most serious harm imaginable, killing the other parent? There is often an instinct in law to preserve parental rights wherever possible. This is right because the Co…

I welcome the Minister’s comments. I want to frame this as an opportunity to get reform right, to strengthen our justice system and to ensure, as the Minister said, that it works fairly for everybody. Nobody disagrees that change is needed and we all recognise that there are inefficiencies in the current system. Reform, though, must be done carefully and in a way that protects the core principles of justice. I know the Minister agrees with this point. The move towards a flat fee model in the District Court may appe…

I repeat that all of us recognise the inefficiencies that do exist and that there is scope there for reform. However, let me guide the Minister toward a practical example. In County Louth, my constituency, we have the drug treatment court, which has proved to be a very effective and successful operation for those people appearing before the judges. It involves statutory and non-statutory stakeholders, and the model of flat fee-only appearances could have a detrimental effect on the drug treatment court because it i…

Will the Minister have further engagement with the key stakeholders and take on board their concerns before he brings forward these proposals?

I apologise for the confusion I caused earlier. Will the Minister outline the current status of funding allocated for essential repairs and remedial works at Drogheda Courthouse following the flooding that resulted in the transfer of District Court sittings to Dundalk Courthouse in January 2025? Will he also indicate the timeframe for the completion of those works, as well as the total amount of capital funding allocated for courthouse repair, maintenance and works nationally in 2025?

I thank the Minister for that update. I was aware that courtroom 1 had opened. As the Minister noted, Drogheda Courthouse is a modern building that opened in 2017 as part of a €9 million investment designed to serve the growing and busy county of Louth. Yet, in the space of 12 months, we have seen repeated problems, most recently with courtroom 1 as a result of burst pipes in the roof. However, that is not the only issue. Anyone going into Drogheda Courthouse today or tomorrow will still see buckets around the plac…

In County Louth, we have the good fortune of also having Dundalk Courthouse, which is an amazing facility that is potentially underused at times. Many of my former colleagues tell me the courthouses at a regional level across the country are in dire need of repair. Will the Minister outline the programme of repair and maintenance at a national level and how quickly those works can be facilitated?

Will the Minister underline the actions being taken to prevent wildfires and encourage preventative measures by landowners as we enter the summer months?

We are always asking responsible landowners to act as custodians of the land and to act responsibly by following the regulations as set out by the Minister in regard to burning and taking those preventative steps. However, at the same time they are also exposed to the risks created by the actions of others with limited protection or recourse. In places like the Cooley Mountains we can see how quickly fires can take hold. There have been incidents where multiple gorse fires have broken out in a matter of hours. They…

I thank the Minister. The irony is not lost on me that the rain is bucketing down outside yet we are talking about fire notices but it is an important conversation to have. We have to be summer ready, as he rightly said. This is about protecting our farmers, our communities and our landscape. It is about ensuring those who act responsibly are not left to carry the consequences of those who do not. In Louth, even a small number of fires can have a disproportionate impact. We have a landscape that is very close to ou…

I raise this matter on behalf of retained firefighters of County Louth and all the regions of Ireland, particularly those who are approaching mandatory retirement at the age of 62 and who are not in a financial position to retire. Retained firefighters make up around two thirds of Ireland’s fire services and are particularly critical in rural areas like County Louth and regional communities. For many retained firefighters, this is not an abstract policy issue. It is a very real and immediate financial one. These ar…

I thank the Minister of State for his answer, but it does not go to the heart of the issue, which is that these retained firefighters have to retire at 62. I am going to repeat much of what I said in my four minutes. These people have bills to pay and families to support. They are fighting fit and able to work. They want to work, and there is dignity in the fact that they want to work. They want to be of service to their communities, so the very fact that we have over 300 retained firefighters who are going to have…

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputies Dessie Ellis and Paul McAuliffe - To discuss the new school building for Gaelscoil Uí Earcáin, Bóthar Ghlas Naíon, Finglas East, Dublin 11. Deputy Jen Cummins - To discuss supports for children and students with dyslexia. Deputy Malcolm Byrne - To discuss the planned new Courtown Coast Guard building. Deputy Séamus McGrath - To discuss the recruitmen…

I want to raise the ongoing and deeply frustrating situation facing retired CIÉ pensioners in County Louth and across the country, many of whom have not received any pension increase since 2008. These are men and women who have worked for decades in public transport and who often kept the wheels turning in both good times and bad. Last May, after 17 years, CIÉ and the trade unions finally reached agreement on proposals that would allow for a long-overdue pension increase of up to 5%. Employees voted on these propos…

I am encouraged by the Tánaiste's words and by the fact that the Ministers are taking this very seriously. Time passes very quickly and the older you get, it passes even quicker. For a lot of these pensioners, what they are looking for is very modest but it will make a great difference in their daily lives. Time, for them, is really of the essence. I take the Tánaiste's point about communication. Fundamentally, that is the point here. They were promised that they would see it at Christmas but that probably was unre…

I welcome the Our Rural Future policy consultation process. It is a further step to re-addressing and rebalancing the regional balance, which is so vital for all of us in this country. It is essential if we are to provide better services and better infrastructure for not just our rural areas but also for our rural villages and towns. I have listened to comments from the Opposition over the last ten or 15 minutes. They have spoken about how we have failed rural Ireland and let it down, yet Deputy O'Meara pointed to …

I thank the Deputy.

I thank the Deputy.

I thank the Deputy.

I thank the Deputy and call the Minister of State.