Results 5,941-5,960 of 6,569 for speaker:Ruairí Ó Murchú

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (18 Sep 2024)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: According to the Housing Commission report, we need at least 300,000 new homes in the next five years, which is an average of 60,000 per year. Has the Taoiseach or the Minister for housing met the Housing Commission or do they have plans to meet it? Have they sought a briefing from the commission or its officials on its report? Does the Taoiseach accept the report's two key...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (18 Sep 2024)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I welcome the fact that an affordable purchase scheme will be carried out, but the criteria regarding affordable housing need to be looked at. A price of €305,000 for a house in Dundalk is not affordable.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (18 Sep 2024)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I raise the issue of the Drogheda department of psychiatry in Crosslanes. Planning permission has been granted for a ten-bed extension. The significant issue in Louth-Meath is historically poor bed provision. We are operating at around 12.9 beds per 100,000, whereas in the rest of the State it is more like 15 or 16 beds per 100,000. We need a timeline for that. The Mental Health...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (18 Sep 2024)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Mobile devices across Lebanon, whether pagers or two-way radios, exploded indiscriminately, killing 12, including two children, and injuring thousands. Obviously, this was a clear attempt by Israel to escalate the situation and further destabilise the region, and an attempt to distract from the genocide it is committing in Gaza. In February of this year, the then Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar,...

Childcare: Motion [Private Members] (18 Sep 2024)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Sinn Féin remains absolutely committed to delivering a public model of childcare, but we cannot wait on the perfect - things have to get better. While I accept there have been changes, parents and children need us to ensure we deal with the issues of affordability, accessibility and availability. Those are vital. Our plan is straightforward, namely, €345 million to deliver...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cyberbullying Issues (19 Sep 2024)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: We all welcome the creation of Coimisiún na Meán and the necessity of an online safety code. We all want the Digital Services and Digital Marketing Acts in operation. We know that not only individual states like ourselves have to take action; we also need to see the European Commission take action. Let us be clear. Whether we are talking about X, Meta or TikTok, as Deputy...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Schemes (19 Sep 2024)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: 62. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide an update on the outcome of the review carried out into the housing adaptation grants scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36968/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Schemes (19 Sep 2024)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Can we get an update on the housing adaptation grant and the review that was carried out? We have been waiting for this for a long time and Deputies have been contacted by families that include older people and those with disabilities who have huge mobility issues-----

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Schemes (19 Sep 2024)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: It is a matter of a timeline and we all know the issue. Even when people get the grant - in Louth County Council it is upwards of €30,000 - it might not cover what it takes to keep somebody in their home and do the works that are necessary. I am dealing with a daughter who is very worried about her mother. It is not only the backlog and how long Louth County Council will take, it is...

Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (19 Sep 2024)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: There is a considerable amount in this Bill with which we will all agree. A lot of us will look for balance and something that works from a point of view of people have a right to maintain their good name, ensuring that we allow for freedom of speech and do not inhibit responsible journalism. We know that is an absolutely necessary part of the democratic process. An awful lot of this is...

Mental Health Bill 2024: Second Stage (Resumed) (19 Sep 2024)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: As has been said by a number of my colleagues, we welcome that this legislation is going through the Houses. We have, however, particular issues. We all know there are deficiencies, whether we are talking about the community or residential settings. We all accept that there is a need for regulation of CAMHS. The big worry is the timeline for this. My colleagues have outlined our...

Disability and Special Needs Provision: Motion [Private Members] (19 Sep 2024)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I have just been sent an email from Scoil Bhríde Shelagh, which is in north Louth. It states its main worry is that while it has had an additional school accommodation application submitted to the planning and building unit of the Department of Education since October 2023, this was put on hold after the sanctioning of its two autism classes because the Department had pulled the...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Film Industry (19 Sep 2024)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: 23. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will provide an update following the recent holding of a stakeholders forum for section 481; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36973/24]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (19 Sep 2024)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: 97. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide an update on plans for affordable housing schemes in County Louth; if there has been a review of the affordability criteria for this scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36969/24]

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (24 Sep 2024)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: This Bill will amend the Criminal Justice Act 1990 to disapply both the mandatory life sentence for murder and the minimum custodial period for capital murder for those who were under 18 at the time of the offence. We support legal certainty, which is absolutely necessary as regards sentencing, especially in cases involving the circumstances such as the case which led to this, where a...

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (24 Sep 2024)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I understand that, but you know yourself, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle - you do not always have an opportunity-----

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (24 Sep 2024)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I accept that, but we are looking at a case where we could have convictions overturned and a huge amount of work that has been done-----

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (24 Sep 2024)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Well, I think these are questions that relate to the Minister and I would like her to take the opportunity at a later stage to answer them and to tell us when she became aware and what can be done.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (24 Sep 2024)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Okay. As I said, we are in support of this. We see it as an absolute necessity from the point of view of ensuring certainty in sentencing. As I said previously, however, when we are talking about the coercion of children into criminal activity, we know that we do not have the tools that are necessary in dealing with this scenario at this point in time. The Government has spoken about a...

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (24 Sep 2024)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I appreciate the leeway the Leas-Cheann Comhairle has given me.