This is a societal issue. Blaming Government for what is going on alone is not a sufficient response. The impact report is quite shocking. It reported 62,275 disclosures of domestic abuse. That is an increase of 33%, including 4,755 involving children. This is a shameful and shocking indictment on Irish society. We need, and there has been, a significant criminal justice response. The Minister for justice has progressed Jennie's law and Valerie's law, the first of which relates to a domestic violence register and the second removes guardianship rights of those convicted of killing partners. We have the national strategy. We are now heading towards a fourth strategy and I invite submissions from the House and different parties in respect of this issue. We have the O'Malley report in terms of the journey of a victim through our courts system and a lot of that has been implemented. Cuan was established, probably the most significant development in the past number of years, which is a national agency to try to pull things together. There is more investment in refuge.
Sentiment score: -0.14
It is going to need more than that, I think.
Sentiment score: 0.00
We need to stand back, read the report and reflect on it. We will follow up on that proposal.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Absolutely. I agree 100% with the Deputy. We do need to work together on this. There are many factors here that we have to address. The Minister for justice, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, has been very proactive in terms of quite a range of legislative measures that he has introduced. I referenced Jennie's law and Valerie's law. The fourth strategy on domestic and gender-based violence is perhaps one we can structure an all-party approach to and input into as well. My understanding is that by the end of the year, we should have about 94 safe homes and about 193 refuge units, with 50 also under construction. There is a multifaceted response required here. It is a very shocking situation. We have to stand back and see how we can input further on this.
Sentiment score: 0.06
The Government will have to examine it. There are 160 recommendations. We will examine them. Much of the thrust of that report in terms of the health diversion programme, which will be introduced by the Department, is in that direction in any event. The de facto reality on the ground is that we are implementing a health-led approach. We have been adopting a health-led approach for the past 20 years, fundamentally.
Sentiment score: 0.00
We more or less have in reality. That is the situation but we will examine the report. There are 160 recommendations. I welcome the fact that the committee has unanimously agreed those recommendations and we will certainly examine them. Senator Mary Fitzpatrick, as I said, presented to us last evening very briefly on it and we will come back again.
Sentiment score: 0.15
First of all, I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I do not have the specifics of the Labour Court recommendation but where people participate in and engage with the Labour Court, or the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, acceptance and implementation of awards should follow that engagement and participation.
Sentiment score: 0.65
I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue. In many instances, he has accurately reflected the experiences of people out there around the volatility or unreliability of child maintenance payments being delivered on and paid. I will talk to the Minister for justice and others in the Department of Social Protection to see what we can do, particularly on automatic deduction at source. These are proposals that have been around for quite some time.
Sentiment score: 0.27
I thank Deputy Scanlon for raising this issue. They are both very significant festivals - the Rory Gallagher one in particular. Even in Cork, I have always admired the Donegal capture of Rory Gallagher in terms of its wonderful festival. In a serious vein, this is a serious issue for them. It is-----
Sentiment score: 0.34
-----€283,000. That is huge. There is need for a legislative response but I also think we have to work to see if we can help those festivals in the short term. I understand the Minister, Deputy Burke, has been examining this but I will talk to my colleagues to see what assistance we can provide or what we can do here because these are important festivals in those localities. I will revert to the Deputy on that.
Sentiment score: 0.35
I am very conscious of the issue, particularly in regard to those without children who have worked hard all their lives and want to leave an inheritance to nieces, nephews or family members. The Government, in the last budget, increased the thresholds by about 20% across the different categories. We will examine this again in the context of the budget to see what we can do, particularly on that issue of those without children who want to leave an inheritance. The costs are significant as well. We also have an income tax package to frame. There are many demands on the budget, both on the tax side and the public expenditure side, which the Government, over the next while, has to try to reconcile. Various TDs and Senators from different political parties, including the parties that make up the Government, have also brought forward ideas and solutions on tax, including this one.
Sentiment score: 0.18
Oberstown is the State's only dedicated detention facility for children, providing care, education, health and rehabilitation supports. Children with complex needs are often referred to Oberstown by the courts. There is always a very difficult balance between safety and care. The latest available information shows that 129 children were detained in Oberstown in 2023, 120 in 2024 and 119 in 2025. I pay tribute to all those who are working there because HIQA found strong provision in Oberstown in education, health and aftercare planning. The Council of Europe committee for the prevention of torture, CPT, report in 2024 showed that young people spoke positively about staff and their approach. I hope this matter can be resolved through the industrial relations machinery. Work is perhaps under way to resolve it.
Sentiment score: 0.26
Which redress scheme?
Sentiment score: 0.00
We have spent about €317 million on the mica scheme alone. Increasingly now, we are working through a specialist, standard-based approach. We have agencies. I am not going to argue to and fro on the specifics.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Yes, but Dáil Éireann cannot-----
Sentiment score: 0.21
We have legislation-----
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I am not going to arbitrate in terms of professional advice and expertise on how to operate various schemes. Everybody is coming in now with solutions to every single issue from a technical point of view. We have established agencies to deal with standards, technical aspects and the remediation of the homes. This is a legislative assembly, not the national building standards agency. The agencies have work to do and we have to resource and improve them. We have appealed for common sense in terms of how people deal with issues.
Sentiment score: 0.10
An evidence-based approach is always to be recommended, and we should measure. People should begin to measure the impact of severe heat. We have not had too many heatwaves. That is the sense anyway. People are amazed this week by the heat. It is a serious matter. We are looking at 40°C across the water tomorrow. That is very serious from a health and climate point of view. We need to start adjusting because climate change is here. We also need to start changing our systems to meet that reality. From a health and public health perspective, ordinarily the focus is on the cancer front and using sunscreen and so on, but there is a very real health issue in terms of such high temperatures - dehydration and so on. Therefore, it does demand and command a response. Maybe I will talk to the Health Research Board and ask it to do some research on this.
Sentiment score: -0.03
I presume we are talking about the Department of agriculture.
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I am not familiar with the first case but it seems extraordinary that a report would have been started in 1990 and it is now 2026, so that is 36 years that a report has not been published. I will check that and get a response from the Department of agriculture as quickly as I can. On the second case, I will check in terms of correspondence. It is not ringing a bell right now. It may have, but we have a lot of emails and so forth. The Deputy said a report issued in 2016 but that certain recommendations, if I heard him correctly, were dropped off or not included in that report.
Sentiment score: 0.07
I want to get the information so people can check this. I will obviously have to check the provenance of the correspondence and try to get a response.
Sentiment score: 0.04
I have also met Grace's parents, who have been through a very traumatic and harrowing experience but have also articulated how communities are impacted by scrambling. The legislation is very clear. Scramblers cannot be on the public roads and there are significant additional powers there. There was a recent case in the courts involving a garda. My understanding is that the Minister is going to bring further legislation to amend that to make sure gardaí will not suffer any negative repercussions from pursuing scramblers in the interests of public safety. On having an anti-scrambler unit, that is an operational decision for the Commissioner. However, I understand well over 1,000 scramblers have been seized. We want more activity. The Commissioner is adamant that he is going to focus very strongly on this issue. I will continue to engage with the Deputy on this.
Sentiment score: 0.22
The steering group has been established under the chairmanship of my office and officials from my office will co-ordinate across all Departments. The cultural and artistic dimension will be the strongest dimension of the building itself and of the GPO. The Government approved this only yesterday, following a lot of work. We need to get it right. Sometimes what becomes interim becomes permanent too. We have to be conscious of that. This is an opportunity to really transform not just the GPO's impact but the wider area, with multipurpose functions on this site, while also being conscious of the remainder of the street to see what we can do there, as well as the work on Moore Street.
Sentiment score: 0.20
The proposed restriction on lead ammunition is being developed at the level of the European Union under the REACH regulation, which aims to protect human health and the environment from harmful chemical exposure. The proposal is intended primarily to reduce lead pollution from spent ammunition and to protect wild birds, hunters and their families from the harmful effects of lead exposure. The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment participates in REACH processes through the Health and Safety Authority. Policy responsibility for matters relating to hunting, firearms and wildlife protection and environmental impacts rests with other Departments and agencies. The Department of enterprise has engaged with a number of relevant bodies. The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment is engaged with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of housing, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of justice, and it continues to circulate relevant Departments.
Sentiment score: 0.43
I hear the Deputy. Having read the reply, I know what is going on in the sense-----
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I will revert to the Deputy.
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This is a very serious issue and I will take it up with the Minister for justice. I will talk to the Minister in respect of this issue and work to see if we can make progress on it, which I think we can.
Sentiment score: 0.57
I appreciate the work that Sharon Lynn and Bryan Gallagher are doing. Courts often respond negatively to mandatory guidelines from the Oireachtas but, nonetheless, it is something I will ask the Minister for justice to explore, in terms of manslaughter and male-on-male violence. More broadly, within our education system and the criminal justice system, we should focus on violence more generally. We had an earlier discussion on the shocking report from Women's Aid in respect of the number of terrible, violent incidents and domestic violence. There is an issue there that needs to be addressed.
Sentiment score: -0.27
This is a general issue, not one that just applies to County Louth. What the Minister for public expenditure would say is that all county councils will have received funding that involved a provision for emergencies. That said, submissions have been made from county councils across the country, particularly those that were more affected than others by Storm Chandra. The Government is giving consideration to that.
Sentiment score: 0.03