People's lives-----

Trolley figures at University Hospital Limerick, UHL, to this point of the year in 2025 were 9,446. To date in 2026, the figure is 9,341, including today's figures. The figures are down 1% on last year, and with the new bed block having little impact. We and the Taoiseach know that more must be done in the mid-west, and in Clare, in particular. Talking of the new block, I will bring up the Johnston family. As the Taoiseach knows, Aoife Johnston lost her life in UHL after waiting for 13 hours for sepsis treatment. T…

This motion goes to the heart of dignity, equality and basic fairness because the reality is that disabled people in Ireland are carrying a cost that is relentless and deeply unjust. As the Clare Leader Forum said: Disabled People are under sustained financial pressure. These pressures are not confined to one area of life. They arise across transport, housing, employment, independent living, energy, communications, social participation and personal assistance. The Cost of Disability is not marginal, occasional or d…

I thank my colleague, Teachta Ó Broin, for bringing forward the motion. The Government's housing record is not just a failure; it is a disgrace. In County Clare alone, 125 notices of termination were received by the RTB in quarter 1 of 2026, compared with 79 in the same period last year. That number is not just a statistic. These are 125 people and families having their lives turned upside down – families living in fear, stress and uncertainty about where they will sleep next week or next month. At the very same ti…

This do-nothing Government has stood back and watched while fuel and energy prices have spiralled out of control. Families, workers, carers, pensioners and people with disabilities are being squeezed from every angle while this Government refuses to act. People cannot afford to wait until the next budget to find out whether they will once again be left worse off like workers were in this year's budget or forgotten about entirely like so many people with disabilities feel today. A record number of households cannot …

Will the Minister consider additional financial supports for students on a temporary basis due to the increase in travel costs that students are currently facing, particularly at this time of exams?

I welcome the fact the Minister said he is trying, although the 10 cent reduction has already come and gone and it is still costing students and their families more to travel. Some students have no choice but to live at home and travel because there is no accommodation for them. We are coming into the exam period and there is also uncertainty around the student fees with the current cost of living. I know the Minister can only do so much with the allocation he has, but students are telling me they need this. Studen…

Would the Minister look at the costings for a temporary free travel scheme for students affected by the current fuel crisis? We are not looking for this to be a permanent measure but, rather, a temporary one to get them over this period. Such a scheme could lift the burden on students commuting long distances to colleges. Any relief on the cost of living would make a significant difference to students. Not only are they trying to afford to stay in college, but their mental health is being affected by this too.

The Minister said that he does not like to see this happening in reply to me in committee. However, the RTB has said that if the rent is set out at the start with the services charged separately, the charge can stay separate. We have seen in institutions that the increase is around 7%, when we look at the rent rise and the rise of the service charges. I would like the Minister to sit down with the Minister for housing to try to work this out a framework and put protections in place. Otherwise, service charges that …

I hear that but I am still not hearing that the Minister will examine the service charge and the rent section going out together. It is a loophole and it will cause issues for students down the line if service charges can go up. They did in one institution recently where the cost increased by 7%. We need to sit down with students, with the Minister for housing and with the Minister, Deputy Lawless, to discuss this important issue. This loophole needs to be closed to protect students and others in rental accommodati…

The Minister will have to excuse me. Táim ag foghlaim Gaeilge anois. Níor thuig mé gach rud a dúirt an tAire. I welcome any progress made on this issue. My son went through bunscoil and Gaelcholáiste and when he went on to college, there were certain words and phrases he struggled to understand, particularly in science. The Government has set a target that 20% of new recruits to the public service will be able to converse with the public and provide services through Irish by 2020, but currently less than 1% of thir…

In a recent submission to the committee on further and higher education, Conradh na Gaeilge called for at least 5% of third level courses to be available through the medium of Irish. Does the Department have any plans to have this? The Irish language is enjoying a cultural revolution, particularly through the music scene. An awful lot of young people now want to take up the language, to learn the language and to continue in their life with the language.

The cost-of-living crisis is putting significant pressure on workers and families. Bills are rising, rents are soaring and wages are simply not keeping pace. While employment figures are often hailed as good news, they only tell part of the story, because behind those headline numbers is a reality this Government refuses to face. One quarter of jobs in Ireland are considered poor quality, characterised by low pay, insecurity and poor working conditions. That is not a success; that is a failure of political choices,…

I recently sent the Taoiseach a parliamentary question which he declined to answer. The question was to him and was about the decision-making process behind the recent announcement of a 200-bed hospital unit in Raheen, Limerick, which is option B, part of the HIQA recommendations. People in Clare are asking, when were the Taoiseach and the Cabinet made aware of this? It seems some of his own TDs and Senators in the local area were not aware of this announcement being made. People in Clare were told to stop suggesti…

But I was asking the Taoiseach, not-----

I am not against it. It is positive for Limerick but-----

I thank my colleague, Deputy Cullinane, for bringing this motion forward. He has been very vocal on these issues, which hit nearly every home in the State. I was personally affected by cancer when my partner at the time, Noel, was very ill. For 18 months, Noel lost a lot of weight and was in a lot of pain. He could barely hold himself up. Noel was yellow. His skin was yellow. His eyes were yellow. He was a bag of bones, yet he was repeatedly sent home from hospital. Noel was shifted between doctors. None of them se…

This month marks eight years since the Tánaiste promised that no child would wait longer than four months for spinal surgery. It has been eight years since children and families were given hope, yet children are still left today in desperate, painful, terrible situations. Why? Because it was another promise broken. This is not just about statistics. This is about children growing in pain, families living in fear for their children and parents are forced to watch their child's spine curve further, while they wait in…

There was a recent announcement of funding for roads in County Clare. An amount of €2.5 million has been allocated for the Drumeen to Darragh section of the N68. It is stated that this is for pavements. Yet, after a back-and-forth, the senior engineer in Clare County Council has stated that it is for resurfacing works on the road in question. A local campaign group has been calling for safety measures on this road. A Garda report shows that there have been 33 collisions on the road and that some of them involved fa…

Last night, I attended a meeting of well over 1,000 people. They were SNAs, parents and students. I listened to heartbreaking stories of fear and anxiety but I also heard stories of hope, of children who flourished, found their voice, were full of confidence because they had the support of a special needs assistant by their side. Today, after a brutal decision to cut SNAs, the Minister comes in here talking about no cuts and an extended pause. That is not compassion; that is a rowing back because of the public back…