Every Member of this House knows that families are at breaking point, struggling to access supports for children with additional needs. Behind every policy discussion are parents trying to hold things together in a system that is not holding them. This motion is right: the State is failing children with additional educational needs and their families. An upsetting example is how families are treated when they apply for the domiciliary care allowance. Picture a mother at the kitchen table late at night filling in th…

The continued delay in I.S. 465 means families are still being exposed to defective materials with devastating financial consequences through no fault of their own. Following an EU complaint by Donegal homeowners, quarry audits were carried out and the Government is confident there have been no market surveillance failures since 2021. That claim is deeply questionable. FOI material released to me raises serious concerns about these audits, including the reliance on incomplete sulphur testing and clear compliance ga…

It is a disgrace that the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach are not here.

It is an absolute disgrace. It sums up their arrogance and ignorance, particularly regarding the many issues we have in Donegal. I was elected to the Dáil 17 months ago on a mandate of trying to deliver 100% redress for the people of Donegal. I have tried to engage with those in government, but it is like talking to a brick wall - pardon the pun. They do not want to listen. They do not care about the people of Donegal. They never have. We have seen people in Donegal die as a result of suicide because of defective c…

People are at breaking point. They are struggling every day just to get by. Many of these people took to the streets last week to voice their concerns and engage in their democratic right to protest. What did the Government do? It vilified and threatened them. What kind of democratic republic are we living in when, instead of listening and engaging, our Government vilifies and threatens its citizens and treats them with contempt? It is simply despicable. The people of this country deserve better. They deserve a Gov…

This issue I raise remains unresolved and it is distressing people across Donegal. We have acknowledged the defective concrete crisis is in private homes but even that scheme is deeply flawed and continues to leave many families struggling to get onto it. At the same time there is still no dedicated scheme for social housing, which we are waiting on. Critically, there is no scheme at all for public buildings such as schools and crèches affected. In Donegal alone, we know of 25 crèches and a number of schools impact…

A defining feature of the defective concrete crisis has been the delay process. It is delay, delay, delay. We are currently waiting on the revision of IS 465 due this quarter, which is up on either Friday or Tuesday. This is the biggest scheme in the State so one would think the NSAI would make the Tánaiste aware if it is going to be published this quarter. Will it be published this quarter?

It will be quarter 2.

People across the country are waking up to the fact that in moments of real need, the Government again has failed to show up. It is completely unwilling to provide meaningful support where it matters the most. People have been abandoned and left to face the spiralling costs alone. What should have been a moment of leadership, compassion and decisive action instead has been a bluster of hesitation, and the people have suffered. They are met with a Bill that has very little to offer people in their real time of need.…

I thank Sinn Féin for tabling this motion. I fully support it. I call on the Government to commit to a new cancer strategy. The postcode lottery in healthcare access across the country is unacceptable and deeply unfair. People in rural communities, such as Donegal, are at a severe disadvantage when they fall ill and require emergency treatment or treatment of any type. My constituents are facing chronic shortages of GPs and very limited services in rural areas. Many of them are forced to travel long distances for b…

I rise to represent two constituents in Donegal who literally cannot speak for themselves. They are at the end of their lives and are living with advanced Alzheimer's disease. They live in cold, mould-infested, unsafe homes. They are confused and frightened, and deteriorating in a place that is stripping them of all dignity. If dignity in life means anything, dignity in death must mean more. Right now, they have neither. The Minister will point to a multibillion euro scheme and say that they can rent elsewhere. The…

I welcome this motion from Sinn Féin and Deputy Doherty. Families across County Donegal have watched in despair as the price of fuel at the pumps has continued to creep up. The cost of home heating oil has completely spiralled out of control. The price of fuel at the pumps has gone up so much that families are paying, at least, between €30 and €50 a week extra just to fill up their cars. For example, it now costs an extra €32 to fill up a 1.6 litre family car compared to last month. It is costing an extra €50 to fi…

I would be grateful if the Minister of State would let me know whether she will commission a study on the health impacts of prolonged exposure to damp and mould in homes impacted by defective concrete.

I want to highlight some urgent cases in Donegal involving individuals with serious conditions living in unsafe, defective homes. I have written to the Minister of State previously regarding these. Their health, dignity and daily lives are at constant risk. These are real families, not statistics. Unfortunately the only response from the housing Department was a generic letter offering practically no support. I commend the Minister's leadership particularly with regard to the Letterkenny hub. These cases are an opp…

I have a constituent with a severe reduction in her lung capacity. Her daughters are deeply concerned about the effects of prolonged exposure to damp and mould in a defective home. There is no doubt it has shortened her life. Each day this constituent remains in her home, her health deteriorates. She also suffers from dementia and has a heart condition. I am also aware of a terminally ill mother who is a nurse. She has stage 4 cancer. She wants her house rebuilt for her four kids before she dies. That is serious. I…

I thank People Before Profit for bringing forward this Bill, which is both timely and essential and which I completely support. As a father of four children, social media is the biggest issue in the day-to-day running of most houses. The influence it has on homes is ridiculous. Children growing up in this time and age are suffering from mental health issues and eating disorders like we have never seen before and it is connected. If we go to a wedding or to any event, we will see children taking out their phones. Th…

I welcome the motion and fully support it. I speak from personal experience. I am from Arranmore Island in County Donegal, with family roots in Loch an Iúir. I know the realities facing other Donegal islands like Tory and Inishbofin. They are living communities. Housing is not just about houses; it is about units and putting down roots. The value of a house needs to be considered in terms of what it brings to a community. It is about whether schools survive, services remain or Irish remains a language for daily lif…

There will be no SNA cuts next year and this is welcome but it does not undo the damage that has already been done. It is significant that public money was spent sending SENOs across the country trying to save money and making cuts. They were forced into it. It was wasted because this process lacks transparency and respect for staff, parents and children. How fiercely we protect the most vulnerable in society, and will continue to do so, was misjudged. In cases where schools no longer needed SNAs and it came to a n…

The HSE health regions were established to improve hospital and community healthcare services, empower local decision-making and support population-based service planning. I support this completely but I am concerned about the centralisation this may cause within the regions themselves. The north-west region often has to compete and fight over the same limited resources as we did during the hospital hub situation. Letterkenny desperately needs a diabetes integrated practice unit. Donegal, under the criteria, warran…

I stand before the Minister of State again. I have raised this countless times with industry representatives and every week at the fisheries committee along with all of my colleagues from Donegal. This is the time for action. We all know the issues in the fishing industry and what we need to do to address them but the issue is will. There is no will from the Government regarding this. There is an absence of will and we are left with this debate - a fruitless attempt by the Government to demonstrate to the public th…