The Leas-Cheann Comhairle should be more generous with us from the west.

We are recovering after a Connacht semi-final on Sunday; the Leas-Cheann Comhairle should take it easy on us. I wish to share my time with Deputies Kerrane and Fitzmaurice. As the Minister of State will be aware, the rising water levels on Lough Funshinagh have resulted in the evacuation of two families within the past fortnight, with another home sandbagged last week. Without intervention, we anticipate that there will be permanent loss of up to four homes next winter. The Minister of State witnessed the situation…

We are talking about a depth of water 3.38 m higher than the historical level of that lough for generations. That would flood the whole of this Chamber. That is the height we are talking about here. I was at an EPA climate lecture earlier this evening on the issue of climate and health. It was given by Professor Lea Berrang-Ford. She said the greatest impact of flooding on health relates to mental health and it may take years for it to manifest itself. These people have to wait and wait and pray and pray the pumps …

Approximately 15,000 people with Parkinson's disease in Ireland are supported by Parkinson's Ireland. The organisation, which receives €70,000 per annum in State funding, provides vital exercise supports nationwide to patients, among many other supports, which are as vital to their care as medicine. This service is under threat. Parkinson's Ireland has applied to the HSE for funding of €120,000 under the funding for section 39 organisations. That equates to 0.0005% of the overall health budget. Will the Taoiseach e…

As Deputy Connolly said, I will take up my 20 minutes, if that is of any assistance to people coming in. The Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024 is designed to simplify pension decisions for workers and to make it easier for employers to offer workplace pensions. Under auto-enrolment, employees will have access to a workplace pension savings scheme, which is co-funded by the employer and the State. The introduction of auto-enrolment signifies a shift from a system in which employers may or may n…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the legislation. It concerns the use of some of the surplus we see coming in through taxation for future long-term investment. This year, we are looking at a budget surplus somewhere north of €8 billion. The intention is to spend 0.8% of our GDP on investment in this fund. That is approximately €800 for every man, woman and child resident in the country. I want to see this money invested domestically in our economy and not being used to serve the strategic interests of other co…

I congratulate the Taoiseach on his election. It is a huge honour for him and his family. It is scary to think that over two decades ago I did a public meeting for a young man out in Greystones when I was the Fine Gael spokesperson on transport. I actually did one as well for another young man in the north inner city of Dublin, who happens to be here in the House, the Minister, Deputy Donohoe. Both of them have come a very long way since then. I congratulate Deputy Harris on his appointment as Taoiseach. I also tak…

I also want to raise the need to revise the model of care for long Covid in this country. An interim model of care was launched in September 2021 as an interim measure. Since then, we have had a HIQA report and HIQA has reviewed the model of care. An epidemiological survey is about to be completed by the HSE, but it will be January 2025 before we see any change to the interim model of care. That is not sufficient to deal with the challenges and needs of patients who are struggling with long Covid at the moment. I u…

Hydrotreated vegetable oil is a simple replacement for both diesel and kerosene. As a renewable fuel it is a relatively cheap alternative, but because of its limited availability both here and within the EU we are not prepared to consider it as a cheap, renewable alternative to kerosene to tackle the huge challenge of converting our large number of oil-fired central heating systems.

It is a pity the Minister did not actually respond to the question I put to him. Hopefully he will do that in his supplementary response. HVO is both relatively cheap and easy to switch. Some 90% of HVO could be blended with a 10% kerosene mix in existing oil-fired central heating systems with the cost of converting the boiler at about €300. This compares with a cost of conversion of about €80,000 for an air source heat-pump to a house built 50 or 60 years ago. However, there are issues with availability and the la…

Even based on the current projections, by 2030 the demand for oil-fired central heating will be about 4,000 GW hours. Some 1,500 GW hours could be provided through the available HVO. That is based on conservative figures. However, the big problem here is that to date there has been an absence of any clear demand for energy crops that would attract farmers to move away from cattle, dairy mainly, but also beef production. Yet we have a shortage of feed crops for HVO production throughout Europe, a failure to meet our…

In the past two years, for every four homes that have been retrofitted under the warmer homes scheme for those in fuel poverty, one application has been cancelled. The majority of these cancellations have occurred because the SEAI has said that no works are possible or that works are not technically possible. These people have sat in cold houses for two winters after applying for their homes to be upgraded only to be told they will get no help whatsoever from the State to make their homes warmer.

The Minister has on his desk academic research showing that these people are more likely to end up on a hospital trolley due to inaction on the retrofitting of their homes. The SEAI tells us that small actions can make every home warmer and yet these people, the people most vulnerable to fuel poverty in this country, are being ignored. Will the Minister explain why those attics cannot be insulated, why the lighting in those homes cannot be upgraded, why windows and doors cannot be draught-proofed and why lagging ja…

Each of the measures I have outlined can be carried out without any risk to the householder or the home. These measures, the low-hanging fruit, are not being carried out in those homes. The reality is that there are people in this country who are choosing between eating and heating. They have waited for two winters for works to be carried out on their homes only for the State to tell them that we are going to do nothing at all for them. At the very minimum, why could the SEAI not work with EnergyCloud? An installat…

As I have said, people in this country are choosing between eating and heating and the Government's policy on addressing fuel poverty through retrofitting homes is either whole duck or no dinner, that is, to either do a deep retrofit or do nothing. That is not good enough. The ESRI report on energy poverty shows that 550,000 households, the equivalent of 1.3 million people, are in crisis as a result of energy poverty. We are failing these people every day.

In the first ten months of 2023, 724 GWh of wind energy were wasted due to curtailment. That is set to increase by about 15% over the coming years because of the way our grid is structured. The charity EnergyCloud has 75,000 households across the country that have signed up and are willing to have EnergyCloud's technology installed in their homes. This technology would provide them with a free tank of hot water when the wind is blowing and there is not a demand for the energy. EnergyCloud does not have the €300 per…

In the context of electricity consumers, we have spent a substantial amount of money installing smart meters in every home. to date, 1.6 million meters have been installed. Will the Minister give a commitment that he will ask the SEAI to commission research to use the technology that has been installed in homes so that it could be used to facilitate an initiative such as EnergyCloud or any other similar initiatives? A similar initiative is run by Glen Dimplex in using their innovative storage quantum heaters that c…

Long Covid is tough on individuals who are dealing with ongoing health problems such as tiredness, trouble thinking clearly and breathing issues. It is not just having an impact on individuals; it is also having a profound impact on our workforce and presenting challenges that are complex and far-reaching. A report just published by the EU Commission provides estimates on the prevalence of long Covid and its impact on people's ability to work. This indicates that the prevalence of long Covid in the EU population at…

Deputies Grealish and Canney and I, as three Galway TDs, believe that the Government should reconsider its decision to terminate at the end of this month the special leave entitlement for front-line healthcare workers who are unable to return to work due to long Covid. These 143 staff contracted Covid-19 before a vaccine was available, and in many instances before sufficient PPE was available. They have been suffering from long Covid symptoms now for over two years. Front-line workers were publicly commended in Dái…

I thank the Minister.