I think the Ceann Comhairle's analysis is accurate. Unfortunately, that was not a very reassuring response from the Minister of State. Rhetoric like Sharing the Vision around mental health services is utterly irrelevant when we are talking about a reduction from 18 beds to 11. Like the Ceann Comhairle said, these people will be moved somewhere else but facilities like Carraig Mór do not provide acute care. People will be moving from acute care for the wrong reasons, because the facility is not up to scratch. What i…

The forestry sector remains in crisis almost two years after the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, introduced legislation to address the issue. The programme for Government set out a target of 8,000 ha of new forests per year but we are planting only 2,000 ha. The Social, Economic Environmental Forestry Association of Ireland, SEEFA, which was formed last year to represent private sector forestry in this crisis, continues to raise major issues in the industry. What is the Government doing in response?

It is astonishing to hear the Minister of State say that she has made incredible progress in meeting the targets, because the figures speak for themselves. National afforestation rates have decreased since the formation of this Government. It is one of the reasons I voted no confidence in the Government this week. The service is currently reaching a dismal 25% of the target. For the first six months of the year, only 297 afforestation licences were issued. That is 43% behind the Department's own target. Significant…

We are two years in and the Minister of State is speaking about next year.

Nothing will change unless the forthcoming forestry programme has some radical changes to overhaul the licensing system and to transfer incentives from other sectors to forestry. I cannot understand how it is not more of a priority, especially when the Green Party is in government, given that the climate benefits from carbon sequestration to compensate for net emission-producing areas are so clear. The 2021 climate action plan recognises that afforestation is the single largest land-based climate change mitigation …

Last week, the Dáil passed a Social Democrats motion to provide a €20 weekly cost of disability payment in the upcoming budget, recognising the additional cost of disability. Individuals and families dependent on disability allowance, the invalidity pension, domiciliary care allowance and other payments desperately need this increase. Given the Government has already agreed to this increase, I ask the Minister to outline her plans to implement this in the forthcoming budget.

I agree regarding the wider cost of disability highlighted in the Indecon report. We know from the Department's report that additional costs faced by individuals with disabilities range from €8,700 to €12,300 annually, on average. We also know that nearly 40% of those not working due to disability are at risk of poverty. That figure is three times higher than the general population. While all families are facing a cost-of-living crisis, it is being experienced more acutely by disabled people, given that they face a…

The Minister keeps referring to the Indecon report. Like I said, I agree with it. She said it recommends a targeted support rather than a bit for everybody. The motion we tabled called for a €20 cost of disability payment targeted at those people who need it the most. The Department's report and the Social Democrats' motion called for an action plan to implement that cost of disability report. It outlined the scale of the barriers faced by people with disabilities. Those obstacles are only increasing with the cost-…

The importance of a well-resourced and co-ordinated approach to asylum and integration has been strongly reinforced since we discussed this fund in February. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has resulted in a massive humanitarian crisis, with millions of displaced people. We can be proud of the speedy response from people in the State. Whole communities have mobilised to provide assistance and recent Ukrainian arrivals have already started to contribute and work. The challenge for the Government is to pivot from an …

Previously when we discussed direct provision the Minister assured me that moving all remaining families currently in congregated living to own-door independent accommodation was a priority. He did not mention that there was no assurance that this move would consider the wishes of the families concerned or the connections those families had made in communities. Are families being moved far away from their communities to suit the Department rather than the well-being of the families themselves?

The issue is that the Department is doing some good, of course, but in a bad way. Everyone wants to end direct provision as soon as possible. Moving families from congregated settings has to be a priority but must be done in co-ordination with the people involved. A key criticism of direct provision is the undignified way in which people are treated and the infantilising, condescending treatment from being denied the right to cook their own food to being moved around to centres at the whim of providers and official…

Dignity is key here. Deputy Connolly's question is next, seeking an update on the plan to end direct provision but that process will be hollow if it is not based on consideration and respect. Unless dignified engagement with asylum seekers is embedded into the Department's interaction with them, any new system will have in many ways failed before it even begins. Regrettably, Ukrainian refugees are being treated in the same way with no input into where they are being offered long-term accommodation. I appreciate tha…

The recent Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, report entitled Headline Poverty Target Reduction in Ireland and the Role of Work and Social Welfare found that lone parents and working-age adults with disabilities experienced distinctively higher rates of income poverty, deprivation and consistent poverty. In light of that, yesterday the Social Democrats tabled a motion calling for action on the cost of disability. Today, I want to highlight the needs of lone parents, who are being overwhelmed by the cost …

The discussion at the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth of child poverty was quite harrowing. We heard how the lack of supports for lone parents was a major driver of deprivation. Exorbitant childcare costs mean it is more economical for parents in many families to stop working or reduce their working hours. It is primarily the mother who does so. For one-parent families, this leaves them no choice but to limit their employment altogether. This cohort, which is primarily compo…

Ultimately, this comes back to the need for quality, accessible early years and school-age childcare. Privatisation and the neoliberal model are failing everybody - children, families and workers in the sector. While I recognise the changes that have been made, I must point out that they were not sufficiently targeted at those most disadvantaged under the current system. Lone parents, parents of children with disabilities and others need specialised supports and an integrated approach involving other Departments. T…

On that exact point, national afforestation rates have actually decreased since the Green Party entered Government. The programme for Government set out a target of 8,000 ha of new forest per year, but somehow we are only planting 2,000 ha. The licensing system is still not fit for purpose and afforestation incentives are not competitive with other farm subsidies. Despite the fact that many farms would be financially better off with forestry, the policy of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has push…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: - Ireland signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in 2007, and ratified it in 2018; - in ratifying the UNCRPD, Ireland has committed to providing the highest attainable standard of healthcare for people with disabilities and to the provision of comprehensive housing and rehabilitation services, to enable disabled people to attain or regain maximum independence; and - approximately one in seven people in Ireland has a disability,…

This motion is about taking steps towards providing the changes we need to be a more inclusive and equal society. It is about the budgetary measures and policies that allow people to exercise their rights. The scale and depth of the issues are known. What we need is the political will. This budget must address the cost-of-living crisis but it must also address the cost-of-disability crisis. Even before the current crisis, it cost between €8,700 and €12,300 extra every year to live with a disability in Ireland. Thes…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for including this Topical Issue matter. Before I get into it, I would like to say that for anyone who needs an abortion, the HSE's MyOptions service will help them find their nearest provider. People can phone 1800-828010 or go to myoptions.ie . Last week, the news broke that the US Supreme Court had overturned Roe v . Wade, the case permitting termination of pregnancies across that jurisdiction. It was a shocking reminder that rights established for decades can quickly be removed. Equa…

The Minister of State has said that current legislation enables all women to access abortion services but it does not. There were 367 women who travelled to the UK that we know of but clearly there are many more, and they did not have access to that healthcare in Ireland. It is deeply disappointing and concerning that the Government is determined to review only the operation of the Act rather than providing the changes necessary to prevent further suffering. Could we honestly say we are happy with the fact that wom…