Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise three items. First, I, too, welcome the ban on evictions but, like my party leader said in the Dáil today, we need action to be taken now or as soon as possible. It is safe to say, and it is definitely safe to say on behalf of my party and, I am sure, on behalf of all of the groups on this side of the Chamber, that we stand ready to assist the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and his Government colleagues to ensure the legislation is put through speedily, efficiently and effectively. Families have come forward to speak about their experience of living in tents, and that shames us all. We need to get this legislation through as soon as possible for all of the reasons we know.

Second, the Dáil will debate a Sinn Féin motion that seeks to ban energy disconnections and provide crucial protections for pay-as-you-go customers. Much like my previous commentary, the Government proposal that such a ban would not come into effect until December simply is not good enough. I ask colleagues to support tonight's motion in the Dáil to ban energy disconnections, not in December, not in November but now when people need it most and when we know people are facing into an already difficult winter across a range of aspects of the cost-of-living crisis. We know from last night and last week just how cold the nights are getting.

Last, I wish to make it known that Belfast City Council has put out a public tender calling on artists to create two life-size or even larger sized statutes of Mary Ann McCracken and Winifred Carney to be located on the grounds of Belfast City Hall. Anyone familiar with the grounds will know it is a lovely location at which to spend a sunny afternoon eating one's lunch but there are not many women depicted in the form of statues on the grounds. There are not too many progressives or Irish republicans depicted on the grounds either. I welcome the fact that a tender for both statues has been issued and artists from all across society are invited to submit a tender. Many colleagues here regularly engage with artists and the cultural community so I ask them to make artists aware of the tender.Mary Ann McCracken is probably best known as being the sister of Henry Joy, but she was a hell of a lot more than that. She was an abolitionist and a humanitarian. Right up until she was in her 80s, she was down at Belfast docks handing out literature opposing the slave trade. She is a very well-known figure in her own right.

Winifred Carney was James Connolly's aide-de-camp in the GPO. She was known as the typist with the Webley. She stood for Sinn Féin in the famous 1918 general election in my part of the world, east Belfast. I have one very quick story if the Cathaoirleach will indulge me. I remember listening to a talk on the life of Winifred Carney. She was ordered to leave the GPO by Connolly when he was injured. He told her to take off her Sam Browne belt in order that she would not be recognised and identified as having taken part as a member of the Citizen's Army. Connolly ordered her to take off her belt. Not only did she refuse to leave the GPO garrison and take off the badge, she actually removed the badge and carved her name, Winifred Carney, into it in order that she would definitely be known as having been in the garrison and involved in the Rising.

The deadline for submissions is 11 November. I use this opportunity to encourage artists to put in their tender and I ask colleagues to do likewise.