I thank the Tánaiste. There is no point in the Department of local government, under the Minister, Deputy James Browne, publishing lists like this and projecting huge growth for a county unless the infrastructure goes in along with it. I did not mention the need for health centres, schools - the courthouse in Portlaoise as well, by the way - and many other things, such as flood relief schemes, that are needed in the county. If we are going to have sustainable development, we have to take transport into account. At …

On a point of order, where are the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Browne, and the Minister for the environment, Deputy O’Brien? Neither of them is in the Chamber. That is no disrespect to the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, who is here and is fielding a lot of issues. It is disrespectful to the Chamber that neither Minister is here for an issue as important as this, but that is where we are at. I wanted to express that.

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time". The absence of guidelines or regulations for wind turbines is absolutely scandalous. We have been relying on outdated guidelines from 2006 for over a decade and a half. The Bill is about putting a proper planning framework in place. It is not about stopping the utilisation of wind but having wind turbines in the right place and at the right scale. Four governments have come and gone. We are on government No. 5 and no action has been taken. We have had paralysis by …

I thank everybody for their contributions. I have listened very carefully to what people have had to say. The debate has been constructive but we need to move from discussion and debate to action. I will be pressing the Bill because I think we have kicked to touch too many times on this already. The Minister of State mentioned that significant progress has been made; it has not. She mentioned that the noise issue is causing the delay. I do not have the exact wording but it is in the script. That is the issue. Are w…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. The cost of private health insurance puts a huge burden on people. In particular, it puts a huge burden on pensioners, who feel they have no choice. People feel compelled to take up private health insurance because of the delays and inefficiencies in our public system. Some progress has been made in some areas. Some of the screening projects being run are very effective. However, we must do a lot better. It is another tax on people. That is the reality of it. …

I welcome the framework for endometriosis as well. It is something I have raised with the Minister in the past. I support that work. It is very important the capacity at the hospital is increased.

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. There are 58 beds there at the moment. The important thing when the new wing is opened, which I welcome as it is a €31 million investment we have been long waiting for, is that we increase that bed capacity of 58 beds. The reality is that 25 of the existing beds are in a ward that was refurbished in recent years at huge expense. There are double-glazed windows and completely refitted en suite rooms. It would be outrageous were those 25 beds to be taken out of use. There …

The first thing I want to say in reply to the Minister of State is that €31 million is the cost that I have been given for the new 50-bed unit that is being developed there. In response to a previous parliamentary question, the Minister said that "scale and scope of phasing of these works is currently being reviewed with service colleagues, and once completed, the specific scope for Phase 2", which is the next wing of the 50, "will be determined." That is a change of from the original plan of three phases. I am try…

It is a new procedure in the Dáil. Maybe the Standing Orders have been changed and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle might advise me afterward.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this. It is long past time we passed the occupied territories Bill. We have a moral and legal duty to do so. There can be no half measures. Even if we are being bullied or leaned on by the richest people in the USA, we still have to go ahead and do so. We passed sanctions against Russia, quite correctly, and we need to stop the pussyfooting on the occupied territories Bill - no half measures. There have been no half measures from the terrorist state of Israel in the past two ye…

At the weekend, the towns of Portarlington and Mountmellick were flooded again for the umpteenth time. There are flood relief schemes planned in both towns. These were decided on after the serious flooding in both towns in 2017, which was eight years ago. Work is ongoing, and Laois County Council is playing its part in trying to advance those schemes as quickly as possible. However, because of all the different hoops that these schemes have to go through, schemes are taking between 15 and 17 years. I think we can a…

That is a crazy situation. A huge amount of study needs to be done.

The studies need to be done in parallel. There is a commitment in the programme for Government to move on these schemes.

I am asking the Taoiseach to take this up with the Department of public expenditure and the OPW to try to get these schemes under way. I was with two pensioners last night.

Their house was flooded again at the weekend-----

-----and again last Friday.

I raise the issue of the Fastway workers. There is a large section in the programme for Government regarding enterprise and employment. The Fastway workers have been caught in an awful mess and treated disgracefully. One of the main depots is in Portarlington. Hundreds of workers and contract drivers are affected. Some workers who are owed wages got no warning whatsoever and cannot apply for a job because they are not officially redundant yet. They had no notice or have no opportunity to sign on. They cannot sign o…

Fastway had tangible assets of €5.2 million at the end of 2024 and €28 million, also at the end of 2024, in intangible assets.

It had €10.6 million in cash.

This Bill keeps those who are on low pay and those who are compelled to live on social welfare in further poverty for another year. I will first deal with the auto-enrolment system, which leaves out those earning below €20,000. It may be the case that they will not accumulate a huge pension over their working life, but people earning below €20,000 are entitled to have the same rights as those who are earning €100,000. I fail to see why they have been excluded. They have been left behind. The worker puts in €3, the …