No, it has not happened since the Deputy raised it last week. There has been a lot happening in the past week. The extension of voting rights for Irish citizens overseas is a complex and technical matter because that was the subject of the Bill originally.
Sentiment score: -0.09
It was both overseas and the North originally in 2020.
Sentiment score: 0.00
It is my understanding that it would require a referendum to change the Constitution, but we will come back to the Deputy.
Sentiment score: 0.00
First of all, the Government has taken very strong action in respect of this. That is the international perception of Ireland, by the way, except in this House. It is probably one of the few places that does not acknowledge the range of actions the Government has taken, from the recognition of the Palestinian state to the intervention in the South African case under the Genocide Convention, from the very significant funding of UNRWA to the pursuit of an advisory opinion from the UN, both cosponsoring the resolution and intervening in the ICJ in that case and following up again with further co-sponsored resolutions at the UN and much more. The reality is, and we have to be brutally honest here, that Israel is not paying attention to international opinion.
Sentiment score: 0.22
Israel is rising roughshod over the views of the world and, as I said last week - Deputy Bacik acknowledged that, in fairness - committing a war crime-----
Sentiment score: -0.56
-----in respect of the collective punishment of the Palestinian people-----
Sentiment score: -0.03
That is continuing in terms of the prevention of aid, support and the basic necessities of life into Gaza.
Sentiment score: 0.40
We have issued a statement jointly with a number of European Union states-----
Sentiment score: 0.08
I have had enough of your statements. You would not take on the people that you know.
Sentiment score: 0.00
You were silent with your American friends-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
-----on this question for a long, long time.
Sentiment score: 0.00
In fairness, you were. You did not take it up with them.
Sentiment score: 0.00
It is cynical beyond belief.
Sentiment score: -0.38
The Deputy said this was being asked for the third time today. I have not played politics with this issue, nor should he. He should not be saying things like "It is not credible". It is an external audit. It is independent of this House, independent of me and independent of the Minister, and that is the way it should be. Therefore, less of the high, self-righteous rhetoric about this. I understand the anxiety that parents have. We want to get to the bottom of it in a comprehensive, independent way that stands the test of time and with that very essential independence the report should have, but also to completion. It was raised three times today. All the assertions have been that we do not want to face up to the truth or reveal the truth. Of course we want to reveal the truth; no holds barred, no holding anything back. We cannot go by a draft report that gets circulated to The Ditch because we have to go by legal and proper procedure,-----
Sentiment score: 0.04
-----which means there has to be feedback. That is what happens with audits if they implicate people.
Sentiment score: 0.00
They are sent out and they have to come back,-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
-----and so we need completion.
Sentiment score: 0.00
It is just unacceptable that-----
Sentiment score: -0.46
-----that kind of deliberate politicisation of an issue should reach the level that it has reached on this issue.
Sentiment score: 0.13
I find it reprehensible.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Again, I will say that Ireland has shown leadership on this; no big deal about it, but we have done what is the right thing to do. We work with like-minded states in the European Union. We consistently do that. We have issued a joint statement with Luxembourg, Iceland, Norway, Slovenia and Spain, countries we have worked with for quite some time on this issue. We have also worked with the Arab nations, UN agencies and the European Union, notwithstanding that some EU member states have been supportive of Israel. However, the European Union remains the biggest single donor to Palestinians, both through the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and to Palestinians more generally. That is rarely said.
Sentiment score: 0.03
On a point of order, I find I am being constantly heckled on that side of the House when I am addressing other Members.
Sentiment score: 0.00
I do not think that is acceptable.
Sentiment score: 0.32
I am not heckled by the Deputy's good self.
Sentiment score: 0.44
First of all, I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I convey our sympathies to Anthony Hennessy's family on his sad passing. I will ask the Minister of State for mental health to engage with the Deputy on progressing the issue. It certainly is something we would give consideration to in respect of ensuring there is access to, and availability and provision of, accredited suicide prevention training for all staff in key positions. Some staff perhaps have training but not all of them do.
Sentiment score: 0.10
I thank the Deputy for raising this urgent matter, which is of considerable concern to the people of south Kilkenny. The N25 Waterford to Glenmore project did not receive funding in the last allocation. Nonetheless, I will use my good offices to work with the Ministers involved and TII in particular to see if we can get a funding allocation to allow the progression of the road and that it would be considered in the context of the review of the NDP.
Sentiment score: 0.38
I thank the Deputy for raising a very important question. I note from his figures that there has been a significant drop in uninsured vehicles. Nonetheless, 100,000 is a significant number, which creates a ripple effect. We have re-established the insurance sub-committee of the Cabinet committee on economy and investment to address insurance costs more generally. I will talk to the Minister for Justice and the Minister for Transport regarding what further measures or sanctions we can take to reduce that figure even further. It is a very significant figure.
Sentiment score: 0.30
I do not have the specifics of the case but I take on board what the Deputy is saying. I will talk to the Minister for Education and Youth and others to see if we can get some get allocation to that project.
Sentiment score: 0.00
I congratulate Louth on its historic victory, which was a cliffhanger, and extend my sympathies to Meath.
Sentiment score: 0.60
My late grandfather, who I never got to know, was from Arodstown in County Meath. The last time Meath won a Leinster final was in 1957, the year it won the all-Ireland football final against Cork. As a child, we were reared on the one that got away, among others. We genuinely wish Louth continued success. Clearly, as the Gospel says, it is now ambitious for higher things, so now it wants the stadium to go along with the football success. I know a lot of work has been done by the Louth county board to establish a county stadium. There will be a new iteration of the large-scale infrastructural fund although it has not yet been put together. I will talk to the Minister for sport on this issue and indeed in respect of other projects that want to be considered. A lot of fundraising has already been carried out successfully in Louth but State support will also be sought.
Sentiment score: 0.40
Earlier in this session, a number of Deputies expressed their deepest sympathies to the family of Garda Kevin Flatley, his wife, Una, and his daughters, Aoife and Erin, and to the entire membership of An Garda Síochána on his sad passing in the line of duty. We mourn his loss. There will be reflection on this and road safety in general. I could go through a whole range of measures that have been taken. The Road Traffic Act 2024 sought to bring about systemic change to dangerous driving behaviours through mandatory drug testing, safer default speed limits and harsher penalties. That legislation faced a degree of opposition generally. There will be a time and place to go through this issue forensically in the House and at committee.
Sentiment score: -0.16
The Minister for Justice has no issue coming before the House to deal with these issues.
Sentiment score: 0.30
I will raise the matter with the Minister. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, are working flat out on this issue. I will bring the specifics of the cases the Deputy has raised to their attention. Wherever we can, we will resolve the issues locally. My understanding was a lot of issues outside of Dublin were getting resolved but there are a higher number in Dublin that still require resolution in terms of getting the classes into play. I will raise St. Christopher's and the point about progression after the early intervention team.
Sentiment score: 0.17
The Deputy knows I am a frequent visitor to Killarney but I do not have the same detailed grasp of the roads he has named. That is a National Transport Authority project, I would imagine.
Sentiment score: 0.04
I understand to some degree what the Deputy is saying. There should be a thorough evaluation of the value-for-money aspects of any of these projects and everybody should be clear on the objective. Sometimes it is to provide for cyclists, but sometimes the roads are so narrow to begin with that the outcome of works makes it difficult for everybody to use such a carriageway. I have seen it myself. Some roads are historically narrow.
Sentiment score: -0.02
I am trying to be helpful, Deputy, but-----
Sentiment score: 0.42
They should not be passing each other, anyway, I suppose, in one way.
Sentiment score: 0.00
I will come back to the Deputy and talk to him. It is probably an NTA project.
Sentiment score: 0.00
I thank the Deputy for raising that. He is saying there are two special classes in one physical classroom. I will get on to the Ministers in respect of this and get this issue resolved.
Sentiment score: 0.45
The Deputy said it was over a ten-year period.
Sentiment score: 0.00
When he said they were overturned or quashed, I would have to interrogate his language in terms of how he defines "quashed" and "overturned". The Minister is bringing in legislation to deal with all of this but there was a time ten years ago when a Deputy like Deputy Tóibín - maybe not Deputy Tóibín himself - would stand up in this House and make an appeal to the Minister of the day not to have somebody deported. There were front-page headlines in various newspapers, including regional newspapers across the country, where campaigns had been mounted: "Please don't deport family X. They have been in school here for five or six years. They have lived in society. They are valued members. Please don't deport." Around 2020, post Covid, when the levels of those seeking asylum increased fivefold, the entire mood of the nation changed. Now people are saying "Deport, deport, deport, as quickly as you possibly can." I say that by way of illustration.
Sentiment score: 0.19
Opinions have changed and I understand why. I am just making the point we can put ten years together and try to-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
I understand what your narrative will be. I understand what the soundbite on social media will be. You are trying to create a story around certain parties doing X while you are doing Y. The bottom line is society was in a particular place ten years ago on this and is in a totally different position right now. Circumstances have changed-----
Sentiment score: 0.14
------wars have happened, conflicts have happened. We need a bit more honesty and sensitivity in what we are doing.
Sentiment score: 0.08
In terms of people who are not entitled to seek asylum here, the Minister has effected deportations. A lot do leave. The gardaí tell us they leave the jurisdiction and are not availing of any resources.
Sentiment score: -0.10
I do not have the specifics of the case. As I explained in an earlier reply, huge resources are going into additional needs. We have thousands of SNAs - I think it is 23,400. I do not know whether it is an SNA the child requires or some additional-----
Sentiment score: 0.08
I do not know the engagement the school has had with the National Council for Special Education. A lot of resources are being made available to try to ensure a child can not only go to school but can be there for the full time, like any other child. I do not have the specifics of the case but if the Deputy sends them to the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and me, we can see the precise issue and follow it up.
Sentiment score: 0.23