Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As the founding chair of the Blanchardstown rape crisis centre, I would welcome any assistance the Taoiseach can give to this very important refuge that is built to a beautiful standard, as I am sure the previous speaker is aware, and that offers much-needed support to women and particularly their children. Consequently, I hope the Taoiseach can put that on the agenda.

What is the Government's position with regard to the Citizens' Assembly recommendations on climate change, which have been available since April 2018? I will address two specific issues. One is air quality in Ireland. There is a significant amount of air pollution. Emission levels in Dublin West have been exceeded recently on more than six occasions, which is a terrible outcome. We know from the work of the Asthma Society of Ireland that there is an asthma epidemic in this country, yet the Taoiseach is sitting on his hands when it comes to the issue of smoky coal and is finding a phony reason to long-finger it. Why does the Taoiseach not reassemble and recall the Citizens' Assembly on climate change to get it to say what the people of Ireland want?

The assembly also recommended the expansion of public transport. We know, however, that it is almost dangerous for a pregnant woman to travel on trains into town from Dublin West and Maynooth at certain times because it is so crowded. Could the Taoiseach look at recalling the Citizens' Assembly on climate change to get it to continue its work because it was a mechanism to reach agreement? The Taoiseach has opened a can of worms with regard to how he is addressing the smoky coal issue. It needs to be banned and people with asthma need to be given relief and clean air.

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