I thank the Minister of State. First, I welcome the fact that since the three emergency departments in Ennis, Nenagh and St. John's were closed, this is the first time the Dáil has passed a motion saying that a second emergency department and a second model 3 hospital are needed for the mid-west. I think that is significant. There is a HIQA review that will look at this. That review needs to focus on where the best location is and what the best hospital is to deliver that second emergency department. I have been in…

I commend People Before Profit on tabling this motion and allowing us to have a debate on this important issue. I was first elected to the Seanad in 2011, and one of the earliest debates I took part in was on children's disability services. All the challenges that were outlined in that debate and all the asks that were made of the Government at the time are again contained in this motion because nothing much has changed. In fact, the only thing that has changed is the number of children waiting. Now almost 10,000 c…

Hear, hear.

They are waiting for years.

That is not what we are saying.

This is one of these extraordinary scandals where the Government has thrown out more red herrings than the amount of euro in that bank account holding the Apple money. The Government hides behind the notion that we had to fight the good fight for Apple because of the jobs. This was a special tax arrangement that was put in place for one company. It is about tax justice and every company has to pay its fair share of taxes. The Government has been caught out. The Irish State was caught out in relation to tax arrangem…

Last week, I tabled a Topical Issue matter on the need to provide funding a runway extension at Waterford Airport. In 2019, I, along with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, was part of a delegation that met with the then Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross, who gave a commitment to fund the airport. I know there are processes that have to be gone through and in recent months further clarification and information has been provided by the airport to the Department, but I cannot walk the length of…

I welcome the Bill. I also commend my colleague and our higher education spokesperson, Mairéad Farrell, on her work in this area and on, in my view, putting this issue on the political agenda in the first place by identifying the total amount of vulture fund-owned PBSA, identifying the average rent charged and identifying where 51-week leases were being demanded, but also by identifying and highlighting the seriousness of the issue and ensuring then that action was taken by the Government. All of that, in my view, …

We are not suggesting that.

Does the Government have a plan?

The Minister's time would be better spent meeting the families rather than shouting over at us. Meet the families.

I welcome the opportunity to debate this Bill. Its primary purpose is to raise the age of prohibition on the sale of tobacco products to 21 from 1 February 2028. Sections 2, 3 and 7 provide for enforcement measures for the responsible authority, the National Environmental Health Service, to enforce the new age limit. Section 4 amends the placement of the definition of age card. Section 5 retains the prohibition age for vaping products at 18 years of age. Section 6 raises the prohibition age for tobacco products to …

We supported that Bill

There is not universal support for the Bill.

No.

In 2019, as an Oireachtas Member, I attended a meeting with the then Minister for transport, Shane Ross. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, was at that meeting as well. Mr. Ross essentially at that point signed off on State investment for Waterford Airport. We were told at that meeting - and I had been of the view for some time - that the airport had reached a crossroads and either the funding would come and the runway extension happen to give it a fighting chance to survive and get new commercial airlines and a…

I commend the Minister of State on his appointment and thank him for taking this Topical Issue. The problem is that this has been an issue for the better part of ten years. I know that, in reality, this was substantially moved in June 2019 when former Minister Shane Ross and the Cabinet signed off on a proposal for €5 million. I accept the costs have escalated since. One of the reasons the costs have escalated is there has been no movement on the issue. If, in 2019, the proposal had been accepted and funded and we …

The culture of corporate rip-off is alive and well. The Government has allowed itself to become a doormat for companies making eye-watering profits of billions of euro at a time when people are struggling to make ends meet. Inflation has a crippling impact on families on the breadline but the Minister and the Government are not interested in picking a fight with the corporates who are ripping their constituents off. Ordinary workers and families are struggling but are not the Government's priority. We have some of …

Fundamentally, this is a debate about sovereignty. It is about how sovereign states manage migration. It is, and should be, for every nation to determine its own migration and border policies. Ireland should have its own rules-based system that needs to be fair, efficient and enforced. A one-size-fits-all approach to migration throughout the European Union is not the best solution for this country. Ireland is unique as only one of two EU member states with opt-outs from the common EU migration policy. The Governmen…

You have tried that tack before.