Laois is one of nine counties that still does not have a domestic abuse refuge. Over the past 15 years I have been highlighting the fact that victims and their families are sent miles to other counties to a refuge away from services, such as their local GP, schools and family support. They are already traumatised by the abuse and this can further traumatise them. Unfortunately, there is an upsurge in domestic abuse, including violence, sexual abuse and emotional abuse. It can be carried out by men and women but mai…

The Minister may not have noticed, and maybe Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have not noticed, that tenants in private rental accommodation are already under huge stress. In case things were not bad enough, the Government is now going to throw them to the mercy of rack-renting landlords from 1 March. Whatever limits and calming effect rent pressure zones had in slowing down rent increases will all be gone. New rents will be pitched to the highest in the area. The sky will be the limit. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael surely kn…

The announcement by the Government of the new childcare scheme is welcome. The idea is that the Government will buy or build childcare facilities, particularly in areas where there are shortages. It is a small start. Similar to a lot of Members of the House, I would like it to be a lot more expansive but it is a welcome start. It is reported that €177 million will be available over a five-year period and eight buildings will be bought or acquired in the first year. There is a desperate shortage of childcare and ear…

I am getting in first.

The N80 goes through the town centres of Portlaoise and Mountmellick. It is causing chaos in both towns and no progress is being made on relief roads. Mountmellick relief road was promised 20 years ago. All traffic from the midlands and the west, including a large number of HGVs, is going through the town centre of Mountmellick trying to negotiate tricky junctions, going through O'Connell Square and past the very busy secondary school. A route has been selected. The surveys have been done. The council has played it…

The last thing I want to say is that the flood relief schemes need to be speeded up as 17 years or 18 years is just too long.

Without a doubt, the system we have had to date has not been fit for purpose and there have been several problems outlined here on that. The delays in the system have not been fair to anybody, particularly genuine and successful applicants. We need to be able to deal much more quickly with people who are fleeing war, persecution or famine. We need to be able to help them. If the faster processing times that have been set out happen, I will welcome the 12 weeks and the further 12 weeks on the second appeal. That wil…

I ask the Minister to ensure that St. Anne's Ward in St. Vincent's Hospital in Mountmellick is kept in use when the new wing costing €31 million is opened to increase the capacity of the hospital from 58 to 83 and to make a statement. The Minister must use taxpayers' money well. She should not waste it.

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. We have a huge shortage of nursing home beds in County Laois. There is also a shortage of respite beds and step-down beds when people are discharged from acute units such as in Portlaoise and Tullamore hospitals. The population, in particular of the elderly, is increasing rapidly. If we are going to spend €38 million on a new building with a 50-bed capacity, which I wholeheartedly welcome, we need to get extra capacity for that money. However, the plan is to move out the…

That is fine but St. Anne's ward is HIQA-approved already. The rooms are en suite. The Minister of State needs to have a look at this, as he has responsibility for older people. The Minister also needs to look at it. I say this in a very positive way. They will soon be there cutting the ribbon. That will be a good day for care of the elderly. I have argued long and hard here for the past 15 years, as have other Deputies, for the new wing in Mountmellick, and it is there now. We have a chronic shortage of nursing ho…

This is needed and there is an opportunity for a gain in capacity. The unit is there and it has been refurbished.

We need to do it and look after it.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this debate. The provision of water supply and wastewater infrastructure is critical for sustainable development. With housing being our number one priority, we must have the infrastructure to go with it. In County Laois, despite the best efforts of Laois County Council, there are major shortcomings that will hold back developments. The county is undergoing significant population expansion, but there are huge gaps in infrastructure. That is according to Irish Water's own docume…

The Minister must bring forward the referendum to make sure it is put into the Constitution that water services cannot be privatised.

The debate around this is very important. I generally welcome the Bill, which is important. Safeguards for users and providers are important. That it covers the care of both the elderly and those with disabilities is the crux of this. However, there are issues around provision and standards that we need to keep an eye on as well as the availability of home help hours and home care hours. We have censuses and we have them for a reason. They allow the State to plan for what is coming down the tracks. Everyone knows t…

-----but it is an area that may need to be looked at. I know what the Government is trying to do. It does not have to do away with the informal pieces that are there. I think Deputy Charles Ward is okay with my taking another minute or two. As regards the informal care and what the Government is trying to cater for there, I do not want to kill that off altogether, but it may need to be examined. I am not totally sure about that. It makes sense to have informal arrangements. Overall, I welcome the Bill. The Minister…

I ask for the Minister to resolve the issue of school bus drivers, when they reach their 70th birthday, having to bow out and retire. This has to be addressed because it is causing problems. I have been raising this issue since January of last year. Right throughout the year, I have been at it. I hope there is some progress being made.

I thank the Minister of State for that. The issue is straightforward: bus drivers on the school transport scheme cannot drive beyond their 60th birthday. They cannot drive a minibus for two or three hours a day with ten or 15 pupils on it, yet they can drive a 50- or 60-seater coach hundreds of miles, and are doing so. School bus operators are losing drivers every year, and in Laois this is a real problem. They are finding it very difficult to replace them because the work is part-time and really suits retired peop…

The school bus scheme is working fairly well, and it is good that is happening. I think problems were ironed out a bit quicker this year, and that is welcome. I acknowledge that. However, we have to have the drivers to fill the positions, and it is the Government's ambition, as I understand it, to expand the scheme, maybe to bring in people who are closer to the school and to reduce the distance from the school to qualify for it. If the Government is going to expand the scheme, that, along with an expanding populat…

The issue I am raising with the Minister is house prices and the availability of housing. In County Laois, house prices are up, rents are up, homelessness is up and notices to quit are up. Despite the best efforts of the council, which has a good active housing programme, the homeless figures increased by 60% when you compare December's figures with those last year. The Government's social housing target for 2025 was 10,000 - a low enough, modest target. In the first nine months of the year, just 3,143 were constru…