Full speech transcript: I agree with many of the comments made by Deputy Verona Murphy. Having spent a week in Fethard-on-Sea a few years back, I concur that it is definitely an excellent holiday destination. I also agree that we should not be wasting money on tourism but should be spending it carefully and in…

Full speech transcript: Like many areas of youth work and many areas in general, the Garda youth diversion projects have been under significant strain in the past 18 months or so as a result of Covid. This has allowed many of these projects to reach out and find new ways of working. Much of this…

Green Party Spokesperson for Justice and TD for Dublin South Central, Deputy Patrick Costello, has called on the Minister for Justice to extend Garda Youth Diversion Programmes (GDYPs) to 18 – 24-year olds in Budget 2022 to help divert vulnerable children and young adults away from crime and anti-social behaviour. His calls come after a…

Full transcript: It is good to discuss in the Chamber the climate action plan. We are also discussing other matters, those being the recent UN meeting and the national development plan, NDP. The national climate plan and the NDP are inextricably linked and our climate action depends on them working in harmony. Our ability to…

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…