As this is my last speaking opportunity, I thank the Ceann Comhairle and everybody who sits in that Chair, and also the staff of the Oireachtas who make our jobs so possible and sometimes so pleasant. I thank the Government for facilitating this debate. Like others, I welcome the opportunity to discuss the fiscal implications of a united Ireland. This topic is probably the one that makes me feel most privileged to be a politician and a national representative at this moment in Ireland's history. The historic nature…

"Yet we should never forget that the product of work isn’t only the work—it’s also the worker." That is a quote from the author Robin Sloan, which I think is very apt to tonight's discussion. I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for tabling this motion, his Sinn Féin colleagues and all the work done for artists here in Ireland to protect what is such a treasure within our society. I thank the organisations listed in the motion, the collectives and union organisations that have fought tooth and nail to make sure that artists c…

As we see housing developments near many of our village centres, it is imperative that we also undertake projects that facilitate community development for those villages. A civic, cultural and community centre is needed for Dundrum village in my constituency of Rathdown. What is the Department doing to address issues such as this? Will the Department work with local groups such as Imagine Dundrum to see this project delivered?

Imagine Dundrum is a brilliant community organisation. It has repeatedly demonstrated the case for this space and the need for such a space is highlighted in the county development plan and local area plan. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is supportive of a potential project, but what we need in Dundrum are the resources and structure centrally to make it happen. I appreciate the listing of the funding schemes, but these are not yet getting it over the line, and that is what we need to happen. Many urban vill…

It seems everyone who needs to be involved is on board to make this project a reality but available funding is not adequate to make this happen for Dundrum village. The new towns and cities regeneration investment fund as currently constituted will not be able to make this civic centre happen. I am asking that the Minister of State work with me and other representatives on the ground to make this happen and address the gaps in our funding streams that have left this vision unrealised. I understand that communities …

In recent months the staff of Carlow College have faced the sudden loss of their jobs as the college is closed and acquired by South East Technological University. The workers were led to believe that the future arrangements and merger involving SETU would involve the transfer of employment. It now appears that this is no longer the case, and this has caused huge uncertainty for all involved. We have heard from the Department that there was consultation and engagement on the closing of Carlow College and the transf…

I finished my last contribution by pointing out that there should not be any hierarchy within our educational offerings in this country. I appreciate that it is not State funded, but that does not make it any less of an experience for those students who are studying there and for those teachers who, as I said multiple times, have offered decades of service to teaching in their region and community. I would have thought it all the more reason in this instance, when it is a private college where the staff do not nece…

That is not what is coming through.

As we are always in firefighting modes trying to meet the unmet additional needs of children in schools, we have lost sight of what inclusive education is. I want to bring that to life with stories of two constituents. One is the parent of a child who has finished eight years in primary school without a single friend or connection made. She wrote how her daughter "was enrolled in the school, walked the same corridors and was invited to whole-school events. Yet she had very little meaningful time with her mainstream…

I will make a few key points. While we welcome this Bill, we believe that oral contraceptives should be available prescription free. The action plan does not have enough solid commitments when it comes to contraception, and essentially the barriers still exist and exclusion from the scheme is still an issue for some women. The Social Democrats welcome this Bill, which provides for pharmacists to re-prescribe certain contraceptives. However, we stand firm in the belief that oral contraceptives should be available pr…

I thank Deputy Quaide for all of his work on this motion. I thank Deputies Cairns and Cian O'Callaghan for regularly using their leaders' time to push this issue. I will also acknowledge one other person from our party, namely, former Councillor Dave Quinn, who is representative of this community, of families who essentially are caring for adults with intellectual disabilities, knowing that they are living in a State which now has an unwritten policy. That is what this is. After years and years of inaction, it beco…

I welcome the opportunity to again make statements post European Council. I wanted to pick up on one of the parts of our Presidency that have been outlined. The three priorities being talked about are security, values and competitiveness. I wonder why "values" is in there. For me, "values" is a separate pillar from priorities, if the Minister of State sees what I mean. Why is peace not a priority? The Government is framing it as "security". I was interested, during the launch of the Presidency, that the Minister of…

I mentioned in my earlier remarks this drift that I see the European Union has taken away from its origins as a peace project towards a defence union. There are multiple milestones - I will not revisit them all - such as appointing a defence Commissioner who openly talks about a European defence union. I really was surprised to hear the Taoiseach describe this as a priority for Ireland's holding of the Presidency, with the disbursement of EU military assistance and the facilitating of the integration of Ukraine int…

At the outset I would like to comment on how much I object to having a severely guillotined debate on such a key Bill. Many Bills are being guillotined and rammed through, but this one in particular, having been a promise to the people, is one that deserved more time at every stage. Speaking specifically to the amendment, like Deputy Murphy, I have no doubt about the intentions. However, members of the Government talk a lot about unintended consequences. That is all we are trying to catch with this. Multiple amendm…

I will build on the discussions we had on this on Committee Stage. The Minister seemed to rely quite heavily on the argument around the Spanish language as a rebuttal to the Opposition stance that Spain has done it and, as Deputy Ó Laoghaire said, the sky has not fallen in and there have been no infringement proceedings. If the Minister of State has any other information in that regard, I look forward to hearing it. The Minister did not quite concede this as the reality of the situation but she went some way to agr…

I will take the baton and continue. I, too, identify those contradictions in what the Minister of State has said, and continues to say, which is similar to what various Ministers who have commented on this have said in the various Stages of discussion on this Bill. The Minister of State said the ruling does not distinguish in this regard and leaves it up to the states. It leaves it up to us. It is up to us to do it. We are the member state. We are the nation state that has to be compliant with this ruling. How we c…

The Government is essentially saying that when it suits, the way we do it must be through Europe. However, it is also willing to go it alone when it suits. That undermines our whole membership. I have said it again and again that as a member state of the European Union, we have to assert our values as a nation, which are solidarity, human rights, social justice and peace. Spain has done that. It is leading the way and showing how this can be done within the legal and regulatory frameworks and all the other framewor…

It is sinister to not include services.

I back this group of amendments on the basis the Government promised the enactment of the occupied territories Bill during the election. That was nearly two years ago. It has dragged its heels on every element of this debate. I agree with Deputy Coppinger that despite the Government's self-appraisal of its response to Palestine, it has not been anywhere near up to scratch. I appreciate aid is an important part of the response. I acknowledge how strong we are in the provision of aid. We get the same message at EU le…

On behalf of the Social Democrats, I welcome this legislation as a measure that will alleviate some of the issues we discussed in committee and heard about from the postmaster community. Postal services are a vital lifeline for so many of us, particularly, as others have pointed out, in rural parts of Ireland. Despite this, many communities have lost their post office. The current model undermines the public interest when it comes to ensuring that everyone has access to postal services. Until we are employing postm…