We were wondering.

It is better to fight with us than with the Government, is it not? We are recommending-----

The Deputy is getting good laughs. The Minister is having a good laugh at him.

I will not take lectures from Independent Ireland which recently said sport should not become a tool about Israel playing Ireland. The Minister should have taken a stronger stance on that, but Independent Ireland should not accuse Sinn Féin of anything when we are only trying to help the public. I welcome the legislation, which will encourage tourism on the island of Ireland. However, it is a blunt tool which is not fit for purpose and may well be legally unsound. That said, there is an absolute need for the Govern…

The Government has utterly failed in terms of dental services. It has especially failed every child, with more than 11,000 children waiting years to get braces and half of all children not getting their scheduled dental check-ups through the school dental scheme. The Government is especially failing children in my county of Monaghan, where, as of October last year, not a single child in the 2024-25 cohort had received their dental checkup. Not a single child out of 832. How do Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael account for …

I wish to raise the ongoing and very serious issue of excessive waiting times in the accident and emergency department in Cavan General Hospital. As the Tánaiste is aware, residents of County Monaghan do not have access to an accident and emergency department in their county. Instead, they have to travel to Cavan hospital to receive emergency care. This places significant and unstable pressure on services. I continue to receive deeply concerning reports from constituents who are waiting for up to 24 hours before be…

I congratulate the Minister of State on her new post. I alert her that the Government continues to fail the ordinary people struggling to keep the lights on and their homes warm. A new record of more than 500,000 are now in arrears on their gas and electricity bills. The most impactful action by this Government was to pull the plug, withdrawing energy credits that were for many people just keeping their heads above water. There are an additional 200,000 households in arrears since the Government made that cruel cho…

I thank Independent Ireland for putting this motion forward today. In recent years, ordinary workers and families have endured a number of economic shocks. Consistently, however, this Government has had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, in order to deploy countermeasures - kicking and screaming to support workers, families, farmers, hauliers and many more. Developers though, have got their tax breaks and, of course, bankers have had their bonuses increased. However, for people struggling to pay electricity bill…

No person should be left socially, politically or economically worse off because of a disability. I think all of us in this House would agree on that in principle. Where the problem lies, however, is that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have their heads in the clouds. The estimated additional cost to a household in which a person with a disability lives stands at €555 per week. Worse again is that, rather than improving the situation, the Government’s budget last October actually made the situation worse. Despite a cost-…

The Government proposal to cut the triple lock neutrality protections stands among the most significant foreign affairs and defence policy departures in decades, so it is important that it be properly considered and understood. It is concerning that the Taoiseach's own position is consistent only in its shifting nature. Initially, the Taoiseach proposed a citizens' assembly on neutrality. Then it became a so-called consultative forum on international security policy, providing minimal interaction for the public or …

I welcome the Bill to facilitate the orderly wind-up of NAMA and the IBRC, an end of sorts, in part, to the contemptible chapter of history, which saw Irish taxpayers bail out the banks in a process that was quite poor in terms of the return for the Irish people. In many cases, these assets were captured by vulture funds at rock bottom prices. The full truth of Project Eagle and other projects may never be known. Given that NAMA was handed a portfolio of property assets at the bottom of the market and against a bac…

Ireland is facing a national biodiversity crisis that is entirely entwined with the climate crisis. We are a country that is known internationally for our landscapes, nature and lakes. These are threats that pose a risk to our own environment and well-being, as well as our local economies, especially in areas that rely on tourism. It requires a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach. In my county, Monaghan, the local council has been to the fore, leading on many initiatives such as the first county hedge…

Many people are at risk of homelessness. People expect their Government to have their back. That is why they are so frustrated, especially renters, when it seems that every intervention from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael actually makes their situation worse. In my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan, both counties were among the six in the State which saw double-digit rent inflation last year. We saw rents increase by 10.6% in Cavan and by a staggering 12.4% in Monaghan. What was the Government's response to these rent incr…

Sinn Féin welcomes the overall intention of this Bill. We have been calling for the streamlining of enterprise supports for a long time now. Sinn Féin and I are glad to see the progress in this space. Measures that improve access to supports, modernise industrial development legislation and help businesses transition towards a lower carbon and digital economy are long overdue. There is no question that many businesses are facing enormous pressures. Rising energy and fuel costs, increasing operational expenses, insu…

The 120,000 registered practitioner nurses and midwives across the breadth of the island are the backbone of our health service. As they care for us throughout our lives, those of us in public life, particularly those in government, have a duty to care for them but that has not always been the case. Our student nurses have been utterly failed, alongside other students, when it comes to student accommodation. There is a deficit of at least 39,000 student beds across Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. The Government …

The European Union has contributed incredibly positively to Ireland in many ways. Of course, there was the significant investment by Europe through structural funds and support for the peace process, especially through PEACEPLUS funding, which remains vital. The European Union also stood with Ireland throughout Brexit. I put it to the Minister of State that a united Ireland should be high on Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael's agenda during the EU Presidency. It is right that we acknowledge the work the European Union does…

He never answered the question.

Hauliers, farmers and agricultural contractors are among those who only a few years ago would have been called essential workers. Coach operators, too, are essential for day-to-day life, especially in rural Ireland where public transportation options are sorely lacking. They pick up some of the slack begotten to us by the dearth of inward investment from successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments. They operate on incredibly slim margins. In the face of drastically increasing fuel prices, they are looking to t…

I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, to prioritise driver licence exchange agreements. Reviewing parliamentary questions placed by my party colleague, Deputy Conway-Walsh, in the previous term and questions from at least ten TDs in this term, Ministers advised that it is a matter for the Road Safety Authority to recommend, following a detailed examination of the licensing system in a third country, whether or not to engage in the licence exchange agreement. People appreciate that there could be a degree of…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, for the offer to engage with the RSA. The gentlemen in the Gallery will be delighted with that response because it is something that we do need to move on. Ireland has asked a lot of our diaspora and they have answered time and again, particularly the Irish community in the United States, whether with political support or interventions regarding the Good Friday Agreement or Brexit, economic support or remittances during times of famine, funds that supported the fledgl…