No, I think there has been an issue with referral since before Covid-19. I believe that there have been a number of vacancies in many cases. I will check with that disability group, but I am nearly sure it has been a number of years without referrals. I will certainly check that because I do not buy that it is Covid-19-related. On the six-year rule, people who may be coming to the end of their CE scheme and who may be in their mid- or late-50s do not want to be going around looking for jobs with a CV. I am asking a…

Today I am publishing the results of an online survey on the cost of living. Over 14,400 people responded and 6,000 of those shared their stories. This exposes a cost of living crisis that is not being addressed by the Government. There was a pensioner eating the bare minimum because rising bills have left him with little by the end of the week. There was an early years educator having to choose between buying food and filling the car with petrol. There was a nurse whose paltry 1% pay rise through pay restoration h…

Working people do not get the fuel allowance.

I will begin by acknowledging the work that paramedics do throughout the State day in, day out. They are the first on the scene of horrific incidents and they tend to people at the most frightening times of their lives. They do all of this under immense and growing pressure. I also acknowledge the National Ambulance Service and the management team there. Last year, I spoke to them about an ambulance blackspot in west Roscommon in my constituency. It had been identified by HIQA in 2014 as a blackspot. At that time, …

Each time the energy crisis is raised, and I have raised it with both the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, and the Tánaiste on numerous occasions, we are told that the fuel allowance is the solution. There is nothing else - no new actions or measures. I have repeatedly made the point that the fuel allowance is extremely limited. That is the problem. I have learned from a recent reply from the Minister for Social Protection to a parliamentary question that the increase in eligibility that was announ…

Galway is the second largest county in Ireland. Looking at Ireland's top five counties in terms of size, the funding appropriated to Galway is astonishing. I have raised this question with the Minister a number of times but it still has not been explained to me why when we consider the top five counties in Ireland in terms of size, there are such major funding discrepancies. Last year Oireachtas Members from Galway were given a presentation on funding at Galway County Council and it is important to put some of the …

As my colleague said, something does not add up here. It is clear when one looks at counties by size and population that Galway is not getting its fair share. As I said, it is the second largest county in Ireland. We have reached crisis point in Galway and we need the Government to act. It is not good enough to say the council could have increased local property tax or raised revenue through increased commercial rates. We are looking at the amount of money given across all local authorities and there is a clear dis…

We all know people are struggling to make ends meets in regard to energy costs. Energy prices continue to soar, further carbon tax increases are anticipated and households are struggling like never before in some instances. A major study by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul earlier this year found that nearly 20% of working people cut back on fuel and electricity due to costs. As my colleagues said, this year alone there have been more than 35 different price increase announcements from energy suppliers in Ireland…

In 2019, the EU downgraded the west and north-west region from a developed region to a region in transition. This is not something that just happened; it was the direct consequence of our region being at the bottom of the table when it comes to Government investment in health, roads and third level education. It is a direct result of the failure of successive Governments to invest in critical infrastructure and ensure the region west of the Shannon got its fair share. Unfortunately, by the looks of the national dev…

I wish to ask the Tánaiste about comments by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Ryan, on the possibility of the power stations at Shannonbridge and Lanesborough playing a role in generating emergency electricity in the coming years. This begs the question, given the national grid was already struggling last year, of whether consideration was given to the impact on energy supply of shutting down the Shannonbridge and Lanesborough power stations. The Tánaiste will be aware workers in…

The latest report from the Residential Tenancies Board published earlier this month shows rents in County Roscommon have increased by 8.6% and in County Galway by 9.4%. That is just in the last year alone. Average rents in County Roscommon are now over €718 per month and in County Galway rents have surpassed €1,000 per month and are now approximately €1,300 per month. Rents are out of control. They have been out of control for a long time now and they are only going in one direction. Yet, this Government is doing n…

Will the Minister please provide an update on the staffing levels and the current services available in the e-mental health hub in Castlerea in my constituency? This hub, as the Minister knows, was opened in June 2020. No funding was provided from January of this year. This is an issue I have raised repeatedly. Funding was put in place in July. Has it been spent?

Just to confirm, three posts remain unfilled in the CAMHS Connect and none has been filled for the psychiatry of later life service.

I appreciate that recruitment is not something the Minister of State can control but perhaps if recruitment had started in June 2020 when the service was opened rather than seven months into 2021, we would not have much of an issue now. While I acknowledge that significant investment went into opening this facility in the first instance, funding did not carry through until earlier this year. I raised this repeatedly and only in July was it announced that funding would be put in place. It was only then that recruitm…

What impact will the NDP have on spending by the Minister's Department and what provisions are in the plan for her Department?

The Minister is saying that the capital funding of €962 million that was announced in the NDP will be spread out over a five-year period, starting with €162 million for 2021. Is the 2021 figure new money, by which I mean will the Minister's Department be getting additional money for the rest of the year? Is the €962 million announced in the NDP new money? The Minister mentioned the importance of ensuring that the regions got their fair share. I have raised this matter with the Minister a number of times. Was the we…

Regarding the €162 million for 2021 of the €962 million announced under the NDP, if I have those figures right, does the Minister know how much remains to be allocated? We are towards the end of the year. Will the Minister reply to my question on the west and north west region? Was any specific focus given to it? When we look at the projects outlined in the NDP, can we see positive discrimination? Was that considered for the west and north west region? That would be important. The west and north west region is the …

I wish to take the opportunity to again ask the Minister and Minister of State to consider restoring the funding that was specifically for sheds, for both men and women, as part of the CEP. The last time I raised this matter, I had visited the men's shed in Ballaghaderreen. The issue is that sheds are applying under different funding streams here and there. They might get something but then again, they might get nothing. I would love to see a dedicated fund for men's and women's sheds given the important role they …

This is to ask the Minister what steps she has taken on incentivising people to restore derelict properties in rural areas and whether she has had any engagement with the Minister for Housing, Heritage and Local Government on this matter.

I presume a number of those existing schemes, including town and village renewal, cannot be accessed by individuals or families moving into a rural area. I have often come across, even in recent weeks, people moving into an area or returning to their home area who have a house that is derelict, vacant or in need of significant work and find they do not have an avenue. Perhaps there will be an option under some of the schemes coming on stream under Housing for All. The Minister also mentioned the town centre first a…