I am glad the Minister of State is indicating the review will come soon. As regards the ability to support a family, we are talking about people in full-time, stable employment at a salary level that is set by the State. This population already contributes significantly - millions of euro - to the Exchequer every year in tax. There is clear evidence of their ability to support themselves. That will be enhanced if a second family member arrives and the law has been changed to put them in a position where they can ta…

I want to draw the Minister's attention to comments made in the past fortnight by the Minister of State with responsibility for forestry, farm safety and horticulture, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae. It is really one of the first opportunities we have had to get an insight into this Government's thinking on climate and nature. The Minister of State told the Seanad during statements on forestry on 29 April: I and my officials in the Department will look at planting more peatland. Farmers want to plant peatland. Farmers do…

I appreciate the Minister's comments but we are still left with the words of the line Minister for forestry. It is worth quoting what he told the Seanad: "That is why I and my officials in the Department will look at planting more peatland." Is the Minister of State being allowed to indulge in a bit of Trump-lite, be anti-science and anti-climate, while at the same time purport to speak for the people? Instead of "Drill, baby, drill", it is "Dig, drain and destroy." Who is actually in charge of the policy here? If …

As we have discussed, in budget 2025 which was announced last October my colleague, the then Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, secured funding to roll out free public transport across our public transport network for children aged under nine. This initiative had a number of purposes. It was aimed at reducing congestion by providing commuters with a cheaper alternative. It was also built around creating the habit of using public transport among young children. Very importantly, in the middle of a cost-of-living cr…

I thank the Minister of State for his commitment to come back with a more specific date. Now that we are in May, we should be giving commuters specifics in terms of when this funding that has been put aside will be used and when they will get the benefit. One issue the Dublin Commuter Coalition has raised is whether there be a requirement for identity cards. Generally, identity cards are not used, but if some bus driver or operator decided to insist on them, will children under nine years of age need an identity ca…

In April of last year, the National Transport Authority awarded a comprehensive framework contract to the Spanish firm Indra Sistemas. This contract is for the design, supply, installation and operation of a new multi-modal ticketing system. Will the Minister give us an update on the roll-out of that scheme? When does he believe passengers will be able to tag on and off using a credit card or phone?

Notwithstanding the complexity of the problem, I am disappointed that we do not have more clarity as to when we will see the actual roll-out. I know it will take some time but this contract was signed a year ago and I would have hoped that, after a year of preparatory work, the company, the NTA and the Minister would have been able to give us clarity as to when we will actually see roll-out. This is a big project costing €100 million. It is a lot of State investment. After a year, I believe we are within our rights…

I understand that a scheme of this scale and complexity will take time but, when you are working with a private sector company, if you do not give it a clear deadline, it will take all the time it can. It is very important that we get that timeline. I am glad to see the Minister is taking such a hands-on approach and has been engaging with his officials on this. He can rest assured that I will be asking him about the issue regularly because it is very important. Will the Minister talk a bit more about this idea of …

This week, both the Tánaiste and Taoiseach have spoken powerfully against Israel's plans for the Gaza Strip, but their powerful words are not matched by their actions. The Government said it will write again to the European Commission regarding the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Is there anything to be said for another letter? In a few weeks, it is going to give us a timeline regarding when it will draft its watered-down occupied territories Bill. The Government's approach does not speak to the urgency of the sit…

I want to raise an issue that is of significant concern to me, the Green Party and many Irish people, namely, the impact of the highly politicised attack on overseas aid by the US Government. All of us in this House will be aware of the extreme and really quite extraordinary steps taken by the US Administration, in particular the almost slapstick efforts by Elon Musk to shut down wholesale entire federal agencies or strip away funding from what is deemed to be ideologically opposite to the Administration's agenda. …

I thank the Minister of State. I am pleased he was able to bring his own experience within the Department and his passion for this issue to his answer. Around the world, people are deeply disturbed by the callous actions of the US Administration in cutting support for the most vulnerable. Bill Gates today accused Elon Musk of killing the world's poorest children by leading this set of actions. There are knock-on consequences. We see others emboldened by this. We have seen the disappointing decision of the UK Labour…

I thank Deputy Kerrane for tabling this motion and the Minister, Deputy Foley, for her own response. In my time as Minister, I was privileged to meet many childcare professionals and see the skill and dedication they bring to their role. I was pleased to hear the Minister, Deputy Foley, talk about childcare professionals in her contribution, and particularly pleased to hear her talk about the issue of their pay. Due to the value my colleagues in the Green Party and I place on our early years professionals, I was ab…

I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach. I wish to ask the Minister about the primary operational difficulties that have arisen due to failures in the IT system in the Companies Registration Office, CRO, related to the strike-off process, and how these difficulties have impacted the CRO's management of its statutory obligations to monitor and enforce that strike-off process.

I thank the Minister. I am asking about the operational breakdown at the Companies Registration Office and specifically how the failure in the CRO's IT system has undermined the functioning of the company strike-off. We know, and it was confirmed by reporting earlier this year, that the CRO has been forced, due to persistent failures in its IT systems, to resort to manually striking companies off. The Minister has confirmed that, while there is some non-manual processing taking place, manual processing is still tak…

I thank the Labour Party for bringing the motion forward. Danu Community Special School in my constituency of Dublin West agreed last summer to take an additional 12 children - two new classes - to deal with a school places crisis we were experiencing in Dublin 15. Those children were due to start in the school in September of last year. They are all now on the books of Danu school. However, not one of those children has started their educational journey in Danu because the two modular classes have not been provide…

The move to renewable energy should be centred on allowing consumers to benefit from lower electricity prices. That is why, as part of the previous Government, the Green Party legislated to give customers a legal right to dynamic pricing whereby they can benefit from changes to electricity prices and only use electricity at the cheapest rate. That right of consumers to benefit from the low price of renewables is being undermined by the regulator, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU. It has bowed to pres…

This is a highly important document and there is only a short time to speak to it. I will mention some of the positives. I am encouraged by the stronger focus on compact, low-carbon growth and the formal integration of environmental assessments. The new national planning objectives, NPOs, reinforcing a commitment to biodiversity are important. Likewise, I welcome the commitment to transport-oriented development, which I will speak about in a moment. In particular, I welcome the measures to support offshore renewabl…

The renewed slaughter in Gaza has now claimed hundreds more lives since Benjamin Netanyahu broke the ceasefire on 18 March. In that time we have seen the overall death toll from Israeli attacks break 50,000, the UN Human Rights Council reporting on the destruction of maternal and reproductive healthcare facilities and now another war crime with the massacre of Red Crescent medical workers. The lies that were told by the Israel Defense Forces about the circumstances of their deaths have now been revealed. The renewe…

We see slaughter in Gaza every single day. In light of that, it is not enough to rely on the things we did last year. The occupied territories Bill is a concrete act that fulfils our obligations under international law - legal obligations that were made clear to us last July by the decision of the International Court of Justice. Three weeks ago, just down the hallway, the UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese told me and other Members of the Oireachtas that if things keep going this way, it will be the end of Pa…

I welcome the recent improvements in water quality that have been reported in the past number of weeks. The EPA’s early insights nitrogen indicator report for 2024 shows nitrogen levels in rivers reduced last year. This is a clear and welcome signal the actions that have been taken in recent years are starting to deliver real and measurable results for our environment. These improvements reflect the impact continued investment in our wastewater infrastructure, and especially a shift towards better land and nutrient…