As many speakers have noted, it is a year since Housing for All was published. We all recognise there are still significant challenges to overcome. However, it is important to recognise, too, that progress is happening. House completions, commencements and planning approvals are up. An additional 200 staff are being hired by local authorities to deliver on their housing targets. More than 2,000 people have signed up to avail of the new affordable purchase scheme. For the first time ever, cost-rental apartments are …

I raise a concern around the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill. This concern has been escalated to me by medics who have studied the draft Bill. First, I take the opportunity to say that I am so pleased with this week’s announcement that we will be providing public funding for publicly available IVF for the first time ever. As I said, it has come to my attention that the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill may be medically and scientifically out of date and could have unintended consequences. The reas…

We move to Sinn Féin. I call Deputy Seán Crowe, who is sharing time with Deputies Brian Stanley and Ruairí Ó Murchú.

Despite the challenges people are facing with the cost-of-living crisis, the feedback I have been receiving on the budget has been positive. That is because people, from our children to our older people, are getting the help they need and deserve. Before the summer I surveyed 500 of my constituents across Clondalkin, Lucan, Palmerston, Newcastle, Rathcoole, Saggart and Brittas and I asked them what they wanted the Government to prioritise in the budget. Unsurprisingly, their top five priorities were health, housing…

Will the Minister consider adjusting the eligibility for the Leap card for 19- to 24-year-olds to include third level students who are 18? There is an unforeseen knock-on effect here where, ironically, private operators now charge more for a child ticket than a young adult ticket under the new scheme the Minister introduced, which has been a huge success throughout the country. This means that 18-year-old college students who use private bus operators cannot avail of the intended savings for third level students an…

That is fantastic news. I am very pleased to hear that. I thank the Minister for that positive response. I agree with him that this has been a very positive scheme. It is fantastic that it is being improved, expanded and extended all the time. Right now, 18-year-old students are not eligible for either the Leap card for 19- to 24-year-olds or the student Leap card. Therefore, they have to get a child ticket. If they are, for example, travelling from Drogheda to Dublin to attend college, then they are paying double …

I commend the Minister and his Department on all the work that has been done to make public transport more affordable and accessible. It is just so important at present when we consider the two crises we are in, namely, the cost-of-living crisis and the climate crisis. We know both these issues are having a massive effect on our young people and that they are very passionate about them. That is why it is so important to ensure that all young people availing of public and private transport alike can avail of these i…

I am delighted to see this Bill progressing. It will take vital steps to define categories of harmful and age-inappropriate online content. It will empower the media commission to create binding online safety codes and provide a mechanism for complaints of harmful online conduct. These are all important steps in the correct direction and the Bill is Ireland's opportunity to change things in this space and to show our leadership on a global stage. We are, as we know, an EU location of choice when it comes to the hea…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I raise with the Taoiseach the serious backlog in national car test, NCT, appointments. The Covid-19 lockdown obviously had a part to play in creating the backlogs, but these do not seem to have been caught up with. The fastest appointment it is possible to secure at my local testing centre in Fonthill is in March 2023, some six months away. People are contacting me because they are concerned about being stopped by members of An Garda Síochána with an out-of-date NCT certificate on thei…

I raise the case of people living in 32,000 apartments built with defects. It is something I have personal experience of. The report of the working group has been really widely welcomed by many of the constituents I am dealing with who are in this situation but it is not helping them foot the bill. Many cannot afford the remediation work and they are worried; they are worried about their safety, the costs and their insurance cover. They need help and need it now. If a tax credit for owner-occupiers was introduced i…

I welcome these statements. It is something both Government and Opposition Members called for before the recess and I am glad we are making the time to have this debate. I welcome that the report outlining the practices of An Bord Pleanála has been referred to the DPP, the Garda and to the Standards in Public Office Commission for them to make their judgments on. The report should be made public as soon as possible without impinging on any legal investigation. Transparency in the work of An Bord Pleanála is of the …

Parents and expectant mothers in Lucan have been told that public health nurse developmental checks have been withdrawn. Three-month checks, nine-to-eleven-month checks, two-year checks and four-year checks have all been cancelled. I have a constituent who is 36 weeks pregnant and who tells me she is terrified of not getting the service when her newborn baby arrives. I have a friend whose newborn third child will not get the service her previous two children got in Lucan. Parents are coming to me asking why their c…

Budget 2023 takes place against a backdrop of real uncertainty. People are feeling that uncertainty in their pockets at the moment. Between a war on European soil, the ever-present pandemic, the rising cost of living and the prospect of a potential UK trade war, these are no doubt challenging times. I am relieved to have steady and experienced financial leadership at a time like this. It is one of the main positives that our public finances puts us in a good position to weather this storm. Inflation is continuing t…

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Nursing homes and their clients have been through the mill in the past two years. They have overcome the kind of challenges we could not even fathom until we had to face them. Today, they are facing new challenges in the context of keeping their doors open, retaining talent and delivering top-class services, all while facing skyrocketing energy bills. The gas bill of a nursing home in my constituency tripled in three months. It has been told to expect further hikes. For it and many other facilities, this is not sus…

Before I was elected, there was a protest outside a restaurant a few hundred metres away from Leinster House. On a dark evening, workers came together to demand fairness and transparency when it came to their hard-earned tips. Since then, the hospitality industry has been through the wringer, enduring lockdown closures, shorter opening hours, and adapting to make even the unimaginable work - outdoor dining in December. The Government supported the industry and those workers the whole way through. Why? Because we kn…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I thank colleagues from across the House for their expressions of support for this Bill, and all members of the Cabinet for agreeing this week to support it. I thank the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, and the Minister of State, Deputy English, for being present. I thank solicitor and Dublin Mid-West constituent, William Aylmer, for his assistance in drafting this Bill. I am delighted he could be here today along…

I thank the Minister and the Minister of State not only for being in the Chamber but also for outlining the Government's position on and support for the Bill and the ethos behind it. I thank my Fine Gael colleagues who spoke in support of the Bill in the Chamber, in particular, Deputies Bruton, Richmond, Carroll MacNeill and McHugh. Deputy Carroll MacNeill is right when she says that it is fantastic to see our male colleagues in the Chamber tonight shining a spotlight on this issue. That is both a positive and a ne…

This debate, which will no doubt be well-watched by the families and individuals at the centre of the legislation, is critical. I hope the Bill brings an end to their wait for much-needed support. Last week our Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage held a special eight-hour session where we heard from industry experts, including the SCSI; the Institution of Engineers Ireland; departmental officials; the Housing Agency; and the chair of the expert working group. Most importantly, we heard from th…

I thank the Minister of State for taking this Topical Issue debate. Despite the fact that there is no register for coeliac disease in Ireland, the condition is estimated to affect up to 75,000 people in this country. I thank the Coeliac Society of Ireland, which is based in my constituency of Dublin Mid-West, in the heart of Clondalkin. It makes a huge contribution to the data we do have on coeliac disease in Ireland. It provides information and support and even the opportunity to purchase gluten-free food locally …