The programme for Government commits to the timely delivery of school projects. St. Fintan's National School in Mountrath, which is my former national school, has been waiting for a badly needed ASD classroom, sensory room and general purpose hall. The school and the staff are doing everything possible to utilise the existing space, for example, sub-dividing rooms, etc. The 123 pupils and the two ASD classes do not have enough and are going to be under further pressure in September. The extension works that were to…

The proposed cuts and review, as it was called, which were really cutbacks, were a total disaster and have generated a massive amount of concern. There has been a huge backlash to it from parents, SNAs, teachers, unions and families. In County Laois, two schools were going to have their SNAs, vital supports, cut. It has created all those concerns and uncertainties and fear in those schools and in the families who need them. The plan must be scrapped, not just paused. In Laois, Timahoe National School and Rath Natio…

I ask the Minister to give full consideration for Laois to be given one of the first directly State-led, publicly owned childcare facilities. I say that in welcoming the new scheme that was announced on 21 January. Laois is one of the fastest growing counties in terms of population outside of Dublin, and there is real pressure on childcare places.

As outlined, there is a chronic shortage of spaces in the county, including for one- to three-year-olds. We have the private model, but we are over-reliant on that. It has weaknesses in the context of having to have separate leases or ownership of buildings, separate insurance, separate administration and payrolls, etc. While many are providing a good service, there are weaknesses. There are also shortages. There are no all-day spaces in Stradbally or Mountrath, and there are shortages in larger towns like Portlaoi…

According to the childcare committee in the county, Portlaoise needs four full-day facilities. Portarlington needs one, as do Mountmellick, Mountrath, Graiguecullen, Rathdowney, Abbeyleix, Durrow and the Cullahill area. The pilot of eight to nine is obviously welcome. It is a small start. We could put all eight or nine in Laois, but I urge the Minister to put at least one or two there. The current model is not able to match the growth in population in the county. We are behind other European states that have privat…

I want to ask about the review of SNAs, which some have described as cuts. I understand reviews have to happen and that two thirds of schools will not be affected but one third will be and Rath National School and Timahoe National School in Laois have been notified of cuts. No account has been taken of the children being enrolled for September and their special needs. Circular 32/25 will mean some of the most vulnerable children losing their support and that support is essential. The pause is welcome but the Govern…

What about the guidelines?

There are some good things in the Bill, and there are some things that need to be changed. The speeding-up of the processing time is welcome, as is the speeding-up of the appeal times. Obviously, we want to help successful applicants to get through the process and allow them to integrate into Irish society and communities. That needs to be assisted in every way possible for people who are genuinely fleeing war, persecution or famine. I have raised family reunifications with the Minister before and I will raise it a…

That is grand, I will keep to it now. Amendment No. 1, on staffing the centres, is very positive in ensuring that the systems are working, that the resources are there and that the administration and staff are there. I welcome the change in the Sinn Féin position because that was not always the position held - one, two, three or four years ago. I welcome that this change is happening now, because with what was there, if that was advocated and carried through, we would not have the services to meet that. I will be s…

I welcome this proposal and support it. The fact apartments are not included for higher tax and within the maximum of nine needs to change. The Central Bank estimates 47,000 homes are owned in the State by investment institutions or vulture funds, with 500 of those in Laois. This distorts the housing market. It drives up house prices and means these investors are competing with first-time buyers. We need to make thousands of affordable houses to buy and cost-rentals that are not for profit available. There is a chr…

Climate change is here, and we are seeing what it looks like. This is the beginning of it, unfortunately, with the changing weather patterns that we have been seeing in the past few years. Flood relief schemes are taking from 13 to 20 years, which is too long, to put in place. The Mountmellick and Portarlington schemes have been planned since 2017. People in the two towns are on high alert the whole time. Homes on Manor Road were flooded again in recent months. Botley Lane in Portarlington gets flooded, and there i…

The Government has proposed to scrap the triple lock. In 2013, when the Taoiseach was on this side of House, he said "triple lock ... is at the core of our neutrality". I agree with what he said then. As a member of the defence committee, we have looked at this very carefully, and I am fully convinced that what he said is true. He will try to justify the abandonment of the triple lock because we live in a changed world. He has said things like this, but neutrality was adopted during the Second World War. The 1960 D…

We might as well be.

I would remind the Taoiseach of two things. One is that I know the UN is not perfect and the veto may be exercised, but I also told him of the 264 resolutions that were passed in a four-year period without a veto being exercised by any of the five, including the US. None of what I am saying goes against strengthening our Defence Forces capacity and having a level of co-operation in terms of sharing information, etc., with other countries. That is not the argument I am making here. If national declarations are made …

You said the triple lock is the core of neutrality.

That is one-----

I support amendments Nos. 2, 7 and 8 in relation to reviews and reports. The Minister and the Minister of State know what is going to happen here because we can see it already. We could see it from the moment they announced this in autumn last year. We can see what is happening – notices to quit are increasing, rents are increasing and pressure on tenants to move out is increasing. This is because many landlords – I am not putting all of them in the one box – and especially the bigger ones know that come 1 March th…

I am here to speak on behalf of tenants and renters in towns in Laois like Portlaoise, Mountmellick, Portarlington, Mountrath, Rathdowney, Graiguecullen, Stradbally and so on. I am meeting people regularly, daily sometimes, who are struggling because of the situation with housing and the high rents they are paying. The Government is bringing in a measure. We have heard the RTB projections in the debate. The Minister can contradict them if he likes. It knows, and the people who look for this know, that this is going…

Traffic volumes are up, speeds are up, and mobile phone use is up. I want to highlight the N80 that goes through Laois. Safety measures are needed in the village of Arles, which local councillors and local people have been years looking for. I handed in petitions to Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, and Laois County Council demanding that traffic calming measure be put at each end of the village and that it be made safer for pedestrians with a pedestrian crossing, proper footpaths and improved signage. Laois C…

I welcome this motion and thank Deputy Healy for bringing it forward. It is timely. Personal debt is up. Nearly 300,000 households are in arrears with their electricity bills. Profits are up massively, as has been outlined. Private health insurance has gone out through the roof. The motion outlines a number of serious measures that need to be taken. I want to add the issue of private health insurance. Unfortunately, people, particularly the elderly and those who have health issues, have to take it out. Costs have e…