I would like to ask the Minister about her Department's plans to introduce support for people who experience hair loss due to alopecia, illness or cancer treatment. Hair loss can be an extremely traumatic side-effect of illness or treatment and I would welcome any move to support those suffering from hair loss as a result of illness.

I thank the Minister. That is welcome news. I welcome the extension of the treatment benefit scheme to cover grants towards things like wigs and hairpieces. It is good news for people who suffer from alopecia or who have experienced hair loss due to cancer treatment. Some people might think it is a trivial issue, but many men and women take pride in and confidence from their hair. As is said in adverts, people's hair is often their crown. When that is taken away, whether it involves hair falling out or having to be…

I thank the Minister. I fully agree with everything she said. It is a huge mark of her respect for people to put this on the Government's agenda. I would like to raise the scope of eligibility for the grant. I would welcome the grant being extended to those who suffer hair loss due not just to physical but also mental illness. I am thinking, in particular, of anorexia which, unfortunately, is quite prevalent in Ireland. A lack of nutrients can lead to hair loss. I would support the grant being extended to those who…

I thank the Minister for outlining the Bill, which is a really important one. It provides for the replacement of the fast-track planning system, the current SHD process for certain large housing projects. The new large-scale residential development process proposed by the Bill consists of three stages: pre-application, application and appeal. It proposes procedural appeal changes intended to reduce the length of time by which cases delay decisions and, ultimately, delay houses. When we discussed the Bill in the Oir…

Thousands of women passed through the doors of mother and baby homes in this country. From the testimonials we have heard from the many survivors, we know that their trauma was unspeakable. Women were abused and forced to give birth in horrific circumstances and were treated like they were dirty, like they were sinners and as if they had committed the worst crimes imaginable, when, in fact, they were the victims. I do not know what financial price can be put on that level of trauma. How do we repay a woman who had …

I do not know if the Taoiseach is a fan of TikTok but the latest video on the HSE's TikTok account has over 862,000 views so it is a really powerful tool for communicating important health information to the younger generation. However, nothing is being posted about antigen testing. Covid is in our communities. We know how difficult it is to get a PCR test and that there is uncertainty about when you should take an antigen test and how you should do it properly. Current advice is that you should do an antigen test …

This evening, we learned of 3,893 new Covid cases within our community. A total of 43 people with Covid-19 have, sadly, passed away in the past week. There are currently 611 people in hospital with Covid, 132 of whom are critically ill in ICUs. I ask the Minister to imagine for just one second that we could change this. Let us imagine if we were able to bring in a simple and cheap intervention that could decrease dramatically the number of people fighting for their life in ICU, and if we were brave enough to take a…

I want to raise an issue facing those working in the night-time economy. We have now gone from well over 500,000 people claiming the PUP down to 60,000. I really welcome that progress but I have been contacted by many constituents this week who own or who work in bars, pubs, restaurants and nightclubs. While they are glad they will be remaining open until midnight, their income will be reduced as a result. Those working in music and entertainment are seeing gigs being cancelled again. Their income will be hit and t…

I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important Bill. There are a lot of great provisions within the Bill that will have positive implications for road users. I want to focus on scramblers first because this is an issue that affects many of my constituents. I note that the Bill commits to introducing measures to address the antisocial use of scramblers and that is a positive development. The use of scramblers, and their links to antisocial behaviour and sometimes to organised crime, presents a threat to law and…

I welcome the opportunity to discuss this profoundly important legislation. I congratulate the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, in particular on working so swiftly to bring this Bill before the House. This legislation is primarily concerned with strengthening the monitoring of sex offenders within our communities but, more importantly, it is focused on protecting and supporting survivors of sexual offences. This gives them the reassurance that the person who perpetrated such an awful crime against them will no…

The aim of Science Week is to celebrate the science in our everyday lives and it is fair to say that the presence of science in our everyday lives has been even more apparent in these past 20 months. It would be impossible to comment on Science Week without paying tribute to the scientific minds who have played such a crucial role during this pandemic, from the national and international scientists who developed the vaccines that have saved countless lives to the doctors and nurses who have kept our country and oth…

I welcome the opportunity today to discuss this report by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. The right to adequate housing is a key element of the international human rights agreements to which Ireland signed up, and it should be a basic need that is met for all. The Government is focused on tackling the housing crisis, and we have seen that commitment in the plans laid out in Housing for All and in the homes already delivered. In our drive to deliver much-needed housing, it is important that we do not…

I also raise the issue of the new restrictions announced by Sport Ireland in regard to basketball. It is a matter that has been brought to my attention by many constituents in Lucan and Clondalkin. The new regulations mean that only those who can present a valid Covid-19 certificate or proof of recovery from Covid can train or play matches indoors. That is regardless of whether a vaccine has been offered to their age cohort. The decision has blindsided many younger players and their coaches. While I believe that va…

Whenever the Deputy wants.

I thank Deputy Durkan for sharing time. Members will have to bear with me because I am breathless. I ran across from a committee vote but I am really glad I made it because this is such an important topic to discuss. I am thankful for the opportunity. The pandemic has posed many challenges in delivering breast cancer services. Receiving a diagnosis of breast cancer has to be one of the most unthinkable results but regrettably the pandemic, coupled with the HSE cyberattack, made detecting it and administering care a…

I welcome the opportunity to highlight some of the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality. Gender equality is often mislabelled as a woman's issue, but it is not. It is a societal issue and a goal on which every Member of this House ought to be focused. The Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality makes a number of recommendations, spanning from politics and childcare to pay and media and each recommendation has weight and possibility for change behind it. One of the recommendations of the citize…

This week's budget included a lot of wins for women, including a €31 million healthcare package that will help to tackle period poverty and provide investment in sexual assault treatment and maternity services. The provision of free contraception for young women aged 17 to 25 is particularly progressive. This idea was raised during the debate on the referendum on the eighth amendment. In that referendum in 2018 the people of Ireland had the opportunity to have their say on the issue of abortion loud and clear and y…

Budget 2022 has a lot of wins for young people, a group I think we can all agree are overdue some good news after the last 18 months we have all had. The introduction of half-price travel for 19- to 23-year-olds has been enthusiastically welcomed by students and young working people. It will not only halve their cost of travel but also help us address our carbon emissions by encouraging young people to turn to public transport. I also really welcome the additional supports for third level education. The SUSI mainte…

Budgets are not built-----

-----on false dawns or undeliverable promises. They are built on hard financial decisions.