It is very obvious that we should not be in this position. It should not have come to this. These workers provide a vital service in our community, yet they have to potentially go on strike on Tuesday. That is embarrassing. There is no disrespect to the Minister and to the Minister of State personally, but it is embarrassing. This country is awash with money and for the money they are looking for and for pay parity relative to their colleagues, it is embarrassing. Hopefully, the Government will address this issue a…

What future does the community safety innovation fund have? I understand it is in its infancy but could the Minister lay out its future over the next two to three years?

It is very welcome that there is extra funding for this initiative. My only criticism is that it is not targeted as it should be. In areas which have been subjected to criminal activity by these gangs, one will find areas of deprivation where this manifests itself. The funding should be a bit more targeted with respect to these particular areas. It is welcome, however. It raises the question of why these initiatives and projects are not funded directly by central government rather than by the proceeds of crime. I a…

A somewhat bigger question, which I am unsure if the Minister will be able to answer, is how to undercut criminal gangs in this country. Such gangs are largely profiteering and generating money through the drug industry. That is essentially what they are doing. Robbing banks is yesterday's kind of activity for criminal gangs. These gangs generate enormous amounts of money through the drugs industry. It is ironic that we have legislation in this State called the Misuse of Drugs Act. The drugs these gangs deal in are…

I am going to concentrate my time on all matters relating to health. The budget in regard to health has been very low key and quite bland. Normally, in my experience of budgets in these Houses, health budgets have been headline news regarding the level of provision and so forth, but this budget has not delivered on anything in the form of proposals relating, in particular, to Sláintecare. In regard to capacity, any mention of the 1,500 beds the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, signalled for acute services is comp…

Over the weekend, the Citizens' Assembly on Drug Use met for the penultimate time. All indications from the assembly point to a liberalisation of our drugs policy. We have had six decades of this and it has been largely a failure. If the recommendations are for decriminalisation and forms of regulation, will the Government implement those recommendations? According to the chair, Mr. Paul Reid, there is a "mood for change". Is there a mood for change in relation to six decades of a failed policy around drug use?

Whoever thought that lifting the eviction ban was a good idea needs to reflect. In this case it was the Government. Since the eviction ban was lifted hundreds of families have moved into emergency accommodation. This is a fact. They should not be in this situation, which the Government has created for thousands of families. This stems back to the policy of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to have a market-led approach rather than a citizen-led approach. Other countries, in particular Austria, have a much better system of …

This has been a very sorry episode, to say the least. We talk about trust and confidence in our health service, and when families have been let down fundamentally, it can leave a terrible taste in people's mouths. Families should never be in this situation. There are families with children in complicated situations who need that intervention as soon as possible, and because of the fallout of this, that wait is going to be longer. That is the hardest thing for those families to accept. They know they have children w…

People Before Profit welcomes this legislation but it is beyond me why it has taken so long to bring it to this juncture. Why do we have to put legislation forward to compel energy companies to give money back? In the last number of years, and well beyond, the companies have been seriously profiteering from the energy crisis. People's bills have borne this out. Ordinary people are struggling with huge energy bills that are completely out of sync in relation to their income. People are really struggling. They must m…

I listened to the Tánaiste's statement. I have listened to those of other Ministers for Foreign Affairs on many occasions during my time here. The more I hear, the more I try to understand what is being said. The more statements that those in government come out with in respect of this issue, the less credibility they have when commenting on Palestine. It is lip service at its worst. There are a number of things the Government can do to change the narrative. I request that it strongly think about changing direction…

Many people in direct provision centres have leave to remain. Some of them have of late received letters from International Protection Accommodation Services, IPAS, telling them to leave the centre for a different part of the country. Some residents, particularly those in Clondalkin Towers, have important jobs and are being educated locally. It is extremely unfair to ask them to leave Clondalkin or wherever to go to a different county. They lose their jobs and educational situation. Is the Minister aware of this po…

I commend the Minister of State for quite a positive statement. There has been a new appreciation of nature and our country since the pandemic. Even prior to that, there was a new appreciation for our seas, land, rivers, streams, mountains, beautiful parks and surroundings and mountains, which is a very good thing. There are six national parks in Ireland, dotted across almost each corner of the country. I am quite familiar with the Wicklow Mountains National Park. The State made a mistake by not buying Luggala Hous…

God, yes. I meant to say that about ticks.

Yes, the odd midge. No ticks-----

-----but we always have a lot of flies.

The Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use is examining the issue of drug use and this is an important issue and assembly. Early indications are that the citizens in that assembly are moving towards a more progressive approach on drug use. That is welcome and it is a reflection of society but the big question is as follows: whatever the recommendations are, will this Government give a commitment to legislate on those recommendations during its lifetime? Without the law being changed, we will be back at square one, the way…

People Before Profit welcomes and will support this motion. The A5 should have been completed a long time ago. One reason it has fallen behind is that, both North and South, environmental issues were not given any priority in the original design of the road. It was left to individual citizens, mainly in the North, to lobby and even go to court to try to compel the authorities to fulfil their duties regarding nature and biodiversity. The result has been delay after delay and serious cost overruns. The cross-Border d…

At present there are two occupations by Iceland workers, namely, in the stores in Talbot Street and Coolock. These workers are owed money for work they did. We saw something similar happen with unscrupulous employers such as Debenhams and Clerys. What is going on is what is called in the business "a strategic insolvency". When will the Government - it has been in office for the past three and a half years - bring forward legislation to stop this happening and stop workers being screwed?

I will be brief. There is significant concern in respect of these two amendments. In light of the manner in which they were expedited, the Minster of State needs to reflect on the gravity of the amendments. This could have far-reaching consequences on free speech and how data are collected. I ask him to withdraw the amendments on the basis of democracy and respect for other Deputies.

Ireland's health budget runs to €20 billion per year. Ireland spends roughly the same on healthcare per capita as Denmark and Austria but yet while Austria and Denmark are third and fourth on the CEOWORLD magazine's healthcare ranking index, Ireland is 80th. The difference between Austria and Denmark and Ireland in relation to healthcare spending is quite extraordinary. They rank countries in terms of infrastructure, costs, health outcomes and medicine availability. Something is obviously wrong. Once one gets into …