It is like giving a bag of sweets to try to stop them talking and criticising. That will not wash. We need urgent and meaningful actions from the Minister's Government. The Minister's Government has been reckless. Yes, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael let the Minister, Deputy Ryan, off the rails and let him wreak havoc with his policies. This morning I also wish to allude to the carbon tax. The Rural Independent Group was the only group that was strongly opposed to the carbon tax. Again, we call for this to be scrapped im…

It is not.

I will speak to amendments Nos. 11 and 16, in particular. I will take up the point where Deputy McAuliffe mentioned that the amendment did not say that electric vehicles would be made mandatory. However, Fianna Fáil was involved in the climate action Bill in 2019. It was also involved in that announcement, was it not, where it said the Government intended to ban all petrol and diesel cars by 2030? Is that not mandatory? Does the Deputy have a different perception of it or are Fianna Fáil playing games again? What i…

The SEAI is the State agency designated as the national retrofit delivery body. It has received well in excess of €1 billion in funding over the past decade, yet it continues to operate a system characterised by significant delays between application, approval and the works being carried out. The funding it will receive between now and 2030 will be in the region of €8 billion and half of that money is to be used for the energy-poor sector. What I fear, however, is that the scale of ambition and the work being place…

The crisis that has emerged with respect to the integrity of An Bord Pleanála at senior management level has thrown a shadow over the work of the entire organisation. It clearly demonstrates the procedures and safeguards that were in place were not only to prevent but also to detect serious conflicts of interest from emerging and it shows us these were far from robust. Thanks to the work of online reporting platform The Ditch , we are now in a position to be more informed about the nature of the crisis and the leng…

Let me be frank, the current approach to energy policy and creation is an act of national self-sabotage. It is an absolute disgrace. Indeed the sense that people are getting is that our entire population has been taken hostage by a green hysteria and a demented level of ideological ruthlessness that is not grounded in any sense of proportion or rationality. It is wonderful to hear that many of those who were jumping up and down saying that green policies were not going far enough have now changed their tunes. It is…

We can safely say that the only temperature that will be rising over the winter months is the temperature of ordinary people's anger and frustration. That anger has already reached boiling point in many locations throughout the world as people see the collapse in access to affordable heating and energy supplies. Gas and electricity prices are fast reaching the stage of becoming the equivalent of a second mortgage payment. Social housing tenants are living in dread of not being able to pay their rent. Older people a…

I will be supporting my constituents in Laois-Offaly and voting no confidence in this Government. I am beholden to no party here, but I serve my constituents to the best of my ability. We tabled a motion in February, leading the way in opposition, calling for an emergency budget. That was shot down. We also called for a number of emergency measures to be put in place. Again, there was no collaboration and that call was shot down. We have tried to collaborate but there appears to be no open door or political willing…

I fully support tonight's motion. The motion is timely and certainly needs to be heard and debated at this time because parents and families are really struggling, particularly those on low and middle incomes. While I welcome the increase of €100 in the back-to-school allowance and the announcement that school transport will be free, I hope this will include pupils on concessionary tickets because they need to get to school as well and should not be punished in any way because they have a concessionary ticket. I ho…

It is my understanding that a special educational needs organiser, SENO, has now been put in place in County Laois. I welcome that. However, in County Offaly we are still waiting for one. I received a response from the NCSE on this matter a number of weeks ago, which was quite definite in its language. It stated a SENO would be put in place by early July at the latest. I then received a subsequent response, which was not as definite. That concerned me. It stated, more or less, that it was hoped or envisaged there w…

Gabh mo leithscéal. Cheap mé go raibh an Teachta Mattie McGrath ag labhairt ar dtús. I am disappointed to see that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage left before the Rural Independent Group's slot was reached. Perhaps he is reflecting on his bad behaviour last week. I do not know but it is disappointing to see that he is not here. I have met many people from Donegal and Mayo outside the gates of Leinster House and have seen the looks of despair and anguish on their faces. That is why I am here …

I want to ask the Minister about the carer's allowance. Will he commit to an urgent review of the carer's allowance with a view to abolishing the means test element of it? In the meantime, will the Minister and Government commit to increasing the weekly rate of carer's allowance to €325? Our carers are really struggling, as they have been for some time. The fact they save this State €20 billion needs to be taken into consideration. If our carers are not supported, then the burden is going to come back onto the Gove…

During Leaders' Questions last March, I called on the Taoiseach to clarify if Government had conducted any assessment of the impact of disability respite services following the commitment to provide disability-specific accommodation to citizens fleeing war-torn Ukraine. I have not received an answer three months on and still await one. Today, however, I ask if the Government has conducted any similar assessment of the State's capacity to deliver housing to its own citizens, in light of the enormous rise in inward i…

That is outrageous.

That is outrageous. It appears the Minister has a problem with every speaker this morning. Let us face the reality and the facts.

It is disgraceful.

The arrogance is unbelievable.

I asked the Minister the question.

Is the Minister now questioning the Opposition? I asked him a question.

That is outrageous.