On a point of order, what question-----

I will get an opportunity then.

Thank you very much, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. That is in my own interest.

The Bare Food Company in Drogheda is a small business. It received an electricity bill of €3,500 in April. Its latest bill is for €8,000. The story relating to the company is on the front page of our local paper as a result of the fact that it is asking its customers to leave early in the afternoon because it cannot afford to light the shop, cook the food or keep the fridges going the way it wants to. I welcome all of the Tánaiste's announcements and the work he is doing but businesses under a certain size find it …

I also welcome the Tánaiste's comments. There may be grants available to businesses, particularly smaller ones, to upgrade their heating facilities and find the most efficient and effective way of using energy, although I am not familiar with them. Is advice available to them regarding how they can reduce their costs in this regard? Is there a possibility of special grants to allow them to upgrade their fridges or cooking facilities to make them more efficient? We need to put pressure on energy companies as well. I…

The purpose of this question is to ask the Tánaiste if he will provide an update on the recent announcement regarding the purchase by IDA Ireland of further lands from Louth County Council to increase IDA Ireland's land bank in Drogheda. This is welcome. I would appreciate any additional details the Tánaiste may have, particularly regarding the total new acreage and if the site will be serviced. This addition will provide some 44 or 45 acres in total. This will be a great advantage to the town, especially if, or wh…

I welcome the Minister's reply. It is good news indeed. It shows joined-up thinking and, literally, joined-up land, which increases road frontage. This site is especially well located as it is beside the motorway. We had significant investment, particularly with AWS building in the town. Areas with these types of data centres need these companies to invest. People who need data need to be beside their data. Hopefully, the fact that AWS is now in Drogheda and operating will make it a more attractive site for inward …

I agree with the Minister that families need the truth. Does he agree they also need accountability and closure? The fact is that 23 of these thousands of deaths in Ireland happened in a nursing home the HSE took over. Exceptional issues arose in Dealgan House that drove the HSE to move in and take it over. There was a complete collapse of the system there, including healthcare and governance. There was an appeal at one stage to bring in the Army. The Minister cannot sit there and deny that if these were children, …

If it is helpful, I am not charging the Minister personally with that at all. What I am saying is that if these were children, we would have had the inquiry because public opinion would have demanded it. However, I withdraw anything in my statement that caused any offence the Minister may have felt.

The budget contained important additional funding for people who need energy credits, namely, every household in the country, and it is welcome. Over a 12-month period it will amount to more than €800. I wish to raise one cohort of people, namely, full-time residents of mobile homes in my constituency, and I am sure the constituencies of other Members as well, who pay for their utilities directly to the park operators through a private meter. What steps does the Minister intend to take to ensure that full-time resi…

I did already.

It was on 6 October.

They own their mobile homes.

We are speaking about women and children. I accept that the policy of the Department is to assist them all. What happened in Killarney is entirely unacceptable. Will the Minister set up an independent advocacy service for Ukrainian people who have serious complaints about the way they are being treated? When I sent a complaint to the Department, without prejudice, seeking an independent inquiry by the Department, the service provider and the local authority went to the women and their children and told them they sh…

I welcome this timely legislation and I congratulate the Minister and her Department on the work they have done in respect of it, in particular the provisions on stalking. I will tell the House a sad but true story from my constituency. A perpetrator was convicted and did some jail time for stalking a particular female. Some time later, she woke up in the middle of the night to find the perpetrator in her room. She was horrified and raised the alarm. Members of her family alerted gardaí, who promptly came, arrested…

I reiterate what the previous speaker said, namely, that we need to do a great deal more for people who are qualified to take up vacant posts in our country and who are living here regardless of whether they are asylum seekers or something else. If they are at all suitable and the need is there and if it is an unmet need in local employment terms, we should ensure those people can get their permits and work here. I welcome the excellent job the Minister of State is doing, the changes he is making and the changes he…

The budget provided significant and welcome supports for families around the country such as the €600 energy credit, which people in my constituency are very happy with. However, a small group of people live permanently in a mobile home park in my constituency, many of whom are pensioners. They are not the normal type of ESB account holder but instead pay their energy bills directly to the mobile home park operator through private meter arrangements. I raised this matter last March with the Minister responsible for…

This is an important debate and it is right that we have it now, coming as it does after the budget. I welcome the vacant homes tax in the budget.

The Deputy can laugh if he wants.

The least you can do, Deputy, is keep your mouth shut until I am finished, and-----