Full transcript: In some ways, it is hard to find the words to express that concern. It is a very serious, multifaceted and multilayered issue and there is an immediate urgency to it, but it also speaks to wider problems we face here and as part of a global community. On the immediate urgency of…

Full speech transcript: I welcome the Housing for All plan. I think one of the key issues regarding the housing crisis facing renters and people looking to buy is affordability and people being unable to find suitable homes. We are talking about a home, not just a house or a place to stay. To build…

Full transcript: This is a matter that the Minister and I have spoken about at times before. I do not doubt his sincerity and commitment to addressing this issue. I am pleased to see there are commitments in the programme for Government on the difficult issue of child poverty. There has been work across government…

Last week Patrick Costello TD spoke on a bill relating to reform of An Garda Síochána. One aspect raised was Community Guards and the need to fund them in Dublin. While their number increases nationally, in Dublin we are still down one third of the peak numbers in 2009. Full transcript of speech: Like previous…

Patrick Costello TD advocated for cooperation between TUSLA and the Department of Justice. Full transcript: One initiative in recent years that I would like to single out for praise is the development of the district protective services units. These are excellent specialist units designed to deal with more sensitive issues such as domestic violence. They…

Full transcript – Deputy Costello: This is a difficult subject because it is a very difficult, layered and multifaceted problem. I have been contacted in recent days by residents of the Oliver Bond flats complex, just down the road from here in the south-west inner city. They are concerned about the ongoing drug-dealing in the…