It has collapsed.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this. Families are facing an unprecedented challenge this winter to meet their electricity bills. Undoubtedly, international affairs will contribute and are contributing to that crisis but there are factors under our control. Sinn Féin supports this proposal to provide households with an energy credit, which will help to offset some of the costs households face this winter. However, we have also called for a windfall tax to be introduced on the excessive profits of energy suppl…

The issue I want to raise is that of part-time retained firefighters. This is affecting all the stations in rural areas outside the main cities. It is a significant problem across Laois-Offaly. Firefighters are leaving and there is difficulty recruiting. The issues are terms and conditions, including rosters. There is a review, which the Taoiseach told me a few months ago would not be concluded until year end. That is too long to wait to deal with this. This is a real problem. There was an emergency meeting of work…

Time is of the essence.

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. While the budget contains some welcome measures for which Sinn Féin has been advocating for years - I will claim those as a victory on our part - others that the Government is introducing are being implemented in a half-baked way. The failure to implement a rent freeze ensures that renters will continue to face financial uncertainty, given that landlords will use the tax credit to hike rents. We have long advocated for renters to receive a tax credit worth one…

I welcome the opportunity to raise with the Minister of State the need for local face-to-face community welfare officers. It is an important service and sometimes it is vulnerable people who need it most. They may have no transport, may have run out of money or may not be in receipt of any payment from anyone anywhere. They may be out of work or perhaps out of work due to ill health and not had their claims processed yet. The service is therefore the last hope for people in dire straits through no fault of their ow…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. Unfortunately the reality in County Laois does not correspond with what he has outlined. Councillors from the Government parties raised this matter at the monthly meeting of Laois County Council last Monday and are very exercised about it. It is a real problem. I understand the Minister cannot be here and appreciate that the Minister of State is standing in for her. I ask the Minister of State to get the Minister to investigate this and examine what the situation is on t…

And face to face. She has also raised that.

The windfall tax we are proposing would be an anti-inflation measure. Sinn Féin is putting forward a proposal to protect households from any further price gouging by big electricity suppliers. We are calling for electricity prices to be reduced and capped at 2021 levels throughout the winter period, until at least February 2023. Irish households have experienced soaring price hikes and energy costs as well as other crippling increases in prices in a whole range of areas including food, transport and others. They ba…

That is constituency rivalry.

Stop the hecklers.

It has to be paid back.

Do not mislead the House.

The Minister mentioned facts. Here are some facts. The percentage of young people under 35 who can buy their own homes halved between 2005 and 2015. We all know that this is in freefall. The average cost of a one- to three-bedroom home in County Laois has increased by 9.9% in the past year to €225,000. That average includes one-bedroom homes. In County Offaly the average cost was pushed up by 8.6% to €230,000. High rents are imposing serious hardship on workers and families. In the past 12 months, the average rent …

I want to raise with the Minister the issue of the emergency department in Portlaoise. As the Minister will be aware, the Dr. Susan O'Reilly plan, which was handed to me in October 2017, was to close the emergency department. That was put on the shelf. What is the current update on this because this is important for Laois and the surrounding counties?

I thank the Minister for that reply. I acknowledge the investment and the increase in the budget. I lobbied the Minister and previous Ministers in regard to the respiratory assessment unit, the laboratory and other facilities. That is all positive and more than welcome in the area. I have no problem doing that and I always will. The Dr. Susan O’Reilly plan is there and has been put on the shelf and no other plan has been presented. That is fair enough but a plan for the future is what we want to nail this down once…

I want the Minister to say the magic words that the future of the accident and emergency services are guaranteed in Portlaoise. I welcome all of the progress but the concern is a possible downgrade. We see the situation in Limerick and what happens when emergency departments are closed, as happened in Ennis and Nenagh. The problem is pushed on and is made worse, and it was made worse in Limerick. We do not want this happening in Laois. The Minister is right about the networks and we agree with him on that. The netw…

They were under fierce pressure. One of my neighbours is an accident and emergency nurse.

I thank the Acting Chairman for facilitating my contribution. The debate on the Bill has moved more quickly than I expected. This is a very important subject and it is welcome that both the Minister and the Minister of State are in the Chamber. The Bill, which Sinn Féin supports but which it will seek to amend, is welcome. The idea of children with a certain level of special needs being segregated is not on, but if we are going to have them in mainstream schools, we must make provision for that. There are shortfall…

I move: That Dáil Éireann shall take note of the Report of the Standing Committee of Public Accounts, entitled "Examination of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board 2019 Financial Statements and Related Financial Matters", copies of which were laid before Dáil Éireann on 8th March, 2022. I thank the House for the opportunity to debate this report, which follows the committee's examination of the national paediatric hospital development board's 2019 financial statements. By way of introduction, the comm…