This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is rights, justice and action for all women and girls. As we reflect on this today, we should bring our focus to the women and girls who have been denied access to justice and full vindication of their human rights in Ireland today. International Women’s Day is an opportunity to advocate for meaningful change, so in the brief time I have, there are three I things I would like to mention that need to be advanced by the Government to support and protect all women and gi…

There is a real sense of worry in Irish households now as they see the increase in fuel prices occasioned by the war in Iran. They are seeing the repeat of what was seen four years ago following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It demonstrates yet again our vulnerability to international energy price shocks because of our dependence on fossil fuels. I respectfully say that the Cabinet cannot delay clarity for Irish householders any longer. It is our party's view that the most vulnerable need to be protected immedia…

I thank the Deputies for bringing forward this important proposal today. The Green Party welcomes this Bill and the broader discussion about how we can meaningfully protect children and young people online. Rapid changes in IT and the profound impact these are having on all our lives demand that we remain agile and responsive as a State to the need to scrutinise these technologies for the public good. We cannot be passive actors in a world where policy is dictated by tech moguls. Ireland occupies a privileged posit…

As the Middle East is in turmoil, we are witnessing another spike in the price of fossil fuels, which still power too much of our economy. Our energy system needs to meet three key challenges in the year ahead. It needs to provide affordable energy, which will allow us to travel and warm our homes without breaking the bank. It needs to provide security of supply so we are not at risk of energy shortages in a turbulent world. We need to decarbonise our energy system to address the climate crisis and improve air qual…

No.

The Taoiseach has not been able to provide me with any firm sense of when that renewable energy from offshore wind will start to feed into our national grid. What we know when it comes to security of supply is that Qatar has shut off its entire production on the understandable basis of being attacked in one of the most unstable regions in the world. Is that what security of supply looks like to the Taoiseach? The price of LNG shot up by 46% yesterday. Is that what affordability looks like to the Taoiseach? I am not…

I am raising the school building needs of Gaelscoil Coláiste Mhuire in Dublin's north inner city. As the Taoiseach knows, the school had been temporarily located on a site in Parnell Street for 23 years and it is long overdue its move to a new building on Dominick Street. Right now, it is occupying the former DIT building on Cathal Brugha Street. Construction on the new building finally started in 2023 but then building came to a halt in May 2025 due to a contractor issue. It is not fair that the school community h…

Will the Minister explain how it is fair for Irish consumers to pay almost double what data centres pay for electricity? At a time when energy costs are still a cause of real financial hardship for many households across the country, data centres are paying almost half what households pay per kilowatt hour of electricity. They also pay dramatically less in network standing charges, so householders are actually being done over twice. Will the Minister explain why it is fair that data centres get energy at such disco…

I listened carefully to the debate on this set of amendments last week on the concept of a community impact assessment. During the debate most speakers discussed the very real challenges they experienced in their own constituencies when faced with decisions to open emergency international protection accommodation - decisions that were made, for the most part, when I was Minister for integration. I wanted to come in on this amendment in particular to speak about how the State makes decisions about where IP accommoda…

I thank Deputy Lawlor for bringing forward this legislation. As a Minister in the previous Government, I was proud to lead on the introduction and passage of the original work-life balance Act of 2023. As we know, this introduced a right to request remote working for all workers. It also introduced the right of certain workers to request flexible working, which included remote working but also flexible work schedules or reduced working hours. That legislation also introduced some other important improvements in wor…

I share many of the concerns raised by colleagues in terms of the process being adopted here and the fact that we are treating some really valuable amendments via a committee of the whole Dáil rather than at the justice committee. I am not sure what went on and why it is not going to the justice committee. From my own experience, allowing committees to delve into amendments and tease out the various consequences of both the initial draft and what is being proposed by Deputies is actually useful. It will often revea…

There are three amendments to this section and I think there is an amendment to section 4 regarding the common travel area. Our unique border situation with Northern Ireland poses a particular challenge to how we manage migration and asylum here. I think everyone in the Government and the Opposition share the goal of maintaining an open border there. Understanding how the specific flows between Ireland and the UK work would be useful, as this amendment proposes. I am less convinced by the argument for amendments No…

I am speaking in favour of this amendment. I am not sure why Deputy Gannon's amendment was ruled out but this one was not. The comprehensiveness of the definition that Deputy Gannon was seeking to provide was really useful. Nevertheless, this is a good definition as well. Throughout this debate there has been real concern about the new concept of "legal counselling" that the Bill appears to be introducing. It is not properly defined. At present, particularly under the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995, there are various rig…

The injunction taken by the Hoxton Hotel taken against one of the few late nightclub venues left in our city centre is one more example of how clubbing and any sort of late night social setting is becoming impossible in Dublin. I know the Taoiseach will not want to discuss the specifics of the legal case, and that is fine, but would he not agree that this situation demonstrates why our country's licensing laws are so outdated and why the Government needs to proceed with the changes to the Sale of Alcohol Bill 2022,…

I thank the Deputies for bringing forward this important motion. I am very conscious as we speak here this morning that there are families all over the country still undertaking a clean-up of their homes and businesses and assessing the impact of the severe flooding on them. Climate change means these floods are going to become more regular and more severe. That is why the approach the State takes to flooding needs to change. In the week since towns like Enniscorthy and Aughrim were inundated, there has been a righ…

In 2024, 37 new bus shelters were built across Dublin city. In 2023, the figure was 30 and even in 2022, post Covid-19, 23 new bus shelters were built. In 2025, three new bus shelters were built across Dublin. We can understand why people are a bit sceptical about the housing targets with a construction record like that. Will the Taoiseach ask the Minister for Transport why the Government's ability to deliver new bus shelters has collapsed in the last year?

They need money.

After the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the Minister for Transport announced an important measure to ban scrambler bikes in the wake of the tragic death of Grace Lynch. That measure is vitally needed and must come with greater enforcement. From media reports, I understand a second proposal was withdrawn at or before the meeting that would have made helmets and high-vis jackets mandatory for people using e-scooters, e-bikes and ordinary pushbikes. An Garda Síochána would be empowered to fine those without a helmet mak…

I welcome the Tánaiste's confirmation that there are no proposals for mandatory helmets for cyclists using pushbikes. This would have been hugely damaging to the transition we are seeing and the supports we are seeing for people taking up cycle. We agree on the point of the need to differentiate between pushbikes and the electronically powered vehicles. Some of those vehicles, particularly scooters, are a major driver of brain injuries and many of those are already illegal. Under 16s using them is already a crime. …

I had the opportunity to raise road safety with the Tánaiste earlier this afternoon. I was glad he was able to confirm that the ridiculous notion of a proposed mandatory requirement for helmets for people using a push bike is not going ahead. I welcome his confirmation of that. During that discussion, I also raised some of issues raised at the Joint Committee on Transport's meeting on road safety yesterday. Three key issues were raised by people who represent cyclists but other vulnerable road users as well. First,…