Results 601-620 of 1,043,664 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:David Stanton OR speaker:Matt Carthy OR speaker:Matt Shanahan OR speaker:Jennifer Carroll MacNeill OR speaker:Robert Troy) in 'Committee meetings'

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

David Stanton: That is fine. I cannot see the clock from here. I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach.

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Matt Shanahan: I thank our guests. It is really great to have people with such wide experience talking. Dr. Ó Concubhair also has lived experience. In his opening statement, he made some points highlighting what is becoming a common theme here, that is, that the present war on drugs is not winnable and that recreational drug use is essentially a fact of life. I drink alcohol. That is my vice. It...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Matt Shanahan: What I am wondering about is whether we should decriminalise and give society the idea that widespread drug-taking of all types is permissible and quite okay. Just the same as you might have a drink, you might take an opioid and all of that. Does Dr. Ó Concubhair have concerns about what that might look like? Is it a realisable vision?

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Matt Shanahan: I thank Dr. Ó Concubhair for that. Mr. Glynn might like to come in here as well. My concern relates to drug dependence. I worked in a business in the healthcare space that involved regulated opioids and I have seen the addictive nature of those drugs. How are we to stop recreational drug users embarking on a pathway to a range of different drugs? Vaping might be an example. It...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Matt Shanahan: No, I am not. I am asking whether Dr. Ó Concubhair is concerned. I believe Ireland is an outlier. With regard to alcohol, we were told for years that the Irish personality or psyche is such that, in a lot of ways, we tend to go all in. That is my opinion. We all know recreational drug users. That is fine. However, we have one system in this country, one of criminal sanctions. It...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

David Stanton: The Chair might tell me when my ten minutes are up, as I do not have access to a clock. I welcome our two guests and thank them very much for their thought-provoking and sincere presentations. Dr. Ó Concubhair mentioned the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which mandates signatory states to pursue a criminal justice-led response on drug use and drug markets. I...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

David Stanton: I thank Dr. Ó Conchubhair. As I said earlier to our previous guest, one of the issues about which we learnt earlier this week was that when the use of drugs was decriminalised in British Columbia and Vancouver, and also in parts of the United States, it seemed to initially go too far in that it permitted people to use drugs publicly on the streets straight away, which led to a backlash...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (11 Jul 2024)

Maurice Quinlivan: I thank the Minister of State. Regarding offshore energy, many companies and people are making great strides already in this field. I commend Shannon-Foynes Port for the work it has done to date and for its Vision 2041 strategy that laid out in detail many of the challenges and potential available from offshore energy, especially in the mid-west region. The port is in proximity to the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (11 Jul 2024)

Dara Calleary: I thank the Deputy. I acknowledge his work, the work of the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment and its report on this space in 2023. We are focused on this. Our Department is working through our regional enterprise committees right across the country to identify the opportunities, and especially looking at ports to identify the infrastructure we need. It is vital we are...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (11 Jul 2024)

Maurice Quinlivan: I thank the Minister of State. As I have said before, the development of offshore wind energy can be our generation's Ardnacrusha moment. We either act now or fall behind our competitors, which are basically Scotland, Germany and other countries. We can harness this energy and export the excess Ireland does not need or we can import it from abroad. That is the choice we are facing. It is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (11 Jul 2024)

Dara Calleary: We are very well progressed. We are putting the foundation stones in place. We will ensure that when the technology is available to us to maximise the offshore advantages, especially off our Atlantic coast, we will be in a position to maximise it. Our Department is investing considerably in the supply chains issue. We had an excellent event with the Scottish Government recently and our...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions (11 Jul 2024)

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Low Pay (11 Jul 2024)

Low Pay

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Low Pay (11 Jul 2024)

Bríd Smith: 6. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he is planning to abolish sub-minimum wage rates in light of recent recommendations by the Low Pay Commission and the ESRI report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30466/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Low Pay (11 Jul 2024)

Richard Boyd Barrett: As the Minister and Ministers of State know, People Before Profit tabled a Bill seeking to get rid of the sub-minimum wage which proceeded to Committee Stage. It is absolutely disgraceful discrimination against young workers to pay them less than the minimum wage, which is miserable in and of itself at €12.70. That is far below what a living wage should be. The ESRI, among others,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Low Pay (11 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: As the Deputy will be aware, the Low Pay Commission was asked in 2022 to examine the issues around retaining or removing the sub-minimum youth rates of the national minimum wage and to make recommendations on the matter. The Low Pay Commission asked the ESRI to conduct background research on the issue under the terms of the Low Pay Commission and ESRI partnership agreement. This ESRI report...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Low Pay (11 Jul 2024)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It is complicated if the Government wants to make it complicated, but it is simple if one opposes discrimination against young people. It is simply wrong that young people should be exploited because they are young, and paid less for doing the same job as somebody else who happens to be older. It is a simple principle and that discrimination should be removed. The real issue, which the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Business Supports (11 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Deputy is right that the initiatives he referred to are all really positive. Investing in the old Ambassador Theatre building and reopening the Iveagh Markets would be really beneficial to Dublin. Those are the kinds of projects the task force is considering. The task force has already met. It has 12 weeks to report to the Government. When we receive the report, we certainly will...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Business Supports (11 Jul 2024)

Gary Gannon: I completely agree with the Minister of State. I have had some engagement with the task force on changes I would like to see made in the city. It is a cross-departmental body, with involvement by the Departments of Justice and Health as well as the Minister of State's Department. One of the recommendations I expect it to offer is to do with making the city more vibrant. That will require...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Business Supports (11 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Minister, Deputy Burke, chairs a hospitality and tourism forum that looks at a lot of the issues the Deputy has raised such as access outside working hours to hospitality, including cafés, and the importance of having a vibrant night-time economy. The Minister co-chairs the forum with the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin. That initiative shows the level of cross-departmental...