Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, has said, Ireland has been profoundly challenged over the past two years with the global pandemic, a war in Europe and a once-in-a-generation spike in inflation. This Government has managed those enormous challenges and at the same time has delivered new and reforming policies that improve life for people and families across this country. It is on the basis of that track record that I will vote confidence in this Government.

Within my own Department, we are investing €221 million in reforming the childcare sector so it works for everybody, including parents, children, providers and staff. We have targeted support for the most vulnerable children and families through significant additional funding for Tusla in the two most recent budgets. We have responded to the legacy of our institutional past, passing historic legislation to provide adopted people with their birth and early life information and allowing the exhumation at the site in Tuam. We are creating fairer, more equal workplaces with legislation to make firms publish details of their gender pay gap and providing parents with new rights to more flexible working. We have made family life easier by extending parent's leave from two weeks to seven weeks paid leave per parent. Recognising the positive impact that youth services had for young people during the pandemic, we have provided additional funding for youth services in each of the two most recent budgets. We have halved transport costs for young people, providing much-needed support at a time of cost of living pressure.

We have accommodated more than 30,000 Ukrainian refugees who fled here and we have worked to improve conditions for international applicants in the face of a major migration crisis. Too many issues, including our country's institutional legacy, childcare, direct provision and inequality, have gone unresolved for too long. This Government is addressing omissions of the past. It is supporting families, children and young people. It has prioritised our international humanitarian obligations. It is making Ireland a more equal place. It is delivering, and that is why it deserves the support of this House.

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