Deputy Patrick Costello was today speaking as he hosted the ‘Give Us The Night’ in Leinster House for a briefing for political community. He began, “In Government the Green Party, and in particular Minister Catherine Martin, have prioritised the arts and nightlife. We have established the hugely popular UBI scheme for artists and the nighttime…

Full Transcript: Deputy Costello: I want to raise the important issue of the primary care centre for Drimnagh, which has been repeatedly delayed. There has been significant development of housing in Drimnagh, which is very welcome, but it is massively increasing the population and the pressure on the limited spaces that exist. Currently, we have…

Full text: Like others I think this is a hopeful day, and a day to celebrate. I was working in Palestine in 2014 when Sweden recognised the Palestinian state. I witnessed first-hand the hope and joy of the Palestinians around me, with Swedish flags appearing on taxis and everywhere. It was a celebration. It was…

Full transcript: This legislation will further modernise our laws around divorce. Divorce was prohibited in the State until the 1995 referendum, which allowed divorce where people had been separated for four of the previous five years. The introduction of divorce was an important modernisation of our Constitution and a progressive move. In 2019, the Government…

Full transcript: Deputy Costello: It was confirmed to me in recent weeks that the progression unit within Mountjoy Prison has been closed and that it is being used to deal with excessive numbers of sex offenders. My concern is for the inmates who were in the progression unit, which is an important part of the…

Full transcript: A minor frustration in relation to this Bill is that it is yet another amendment of an Act that has been amended and amended. It would have been in everybody’s interests to produce a consolidated version of the various amended Defence Acts and produce a clear piece of legislation instead of one needing…

View bill here. View explanatory memo here. Full transcript: I thank the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, for her time. I am delighted to bring forward the Bill to Second Stage. It is almost a year to the day since I introduced it, and the past year has certainly been interesting for broadcasting. It has perhaps shown…