On International Women's Day 2022, women who experience domestic violence and abuse are still being turned away from refuges. In fact, nine counties throughout the State do not have any domestic violence refuge at all. The Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, said there would be extra places by the end of the year, but women cannot wait that long. When will women be a priority for the Government? When will every woman in the State have a refuge when she desperately needs it?

The Government's retrofitting scheme is geared towards homeowners but there is very little thought given to and even less protection for renters in private rented accommodation. If a landlord decides to retrofit his or her property, he or she can ask the tenant to move out. One might ask where the tenant will go. When that work is done and the BER rating has improved in the property, however, the landlord is then exempt from the limits in the rent pressure zone, RPZ, and can hike up the rents. Although by law the l…

Will the Minister comment on reports that she intends to make changes to the television licence fee collection, and will she make a statement on the matter?

As the Minister said, the Future of Media Commission was initially set up to look at the TV licence and then it was expanded. The commission reported last July but the Minister has had that report now since last October and it still has not been published. Those of us who are not in Government have been working from leaks in the media. We learned from one of the leaks that apparently the commission recommended the licence fee be funded through the Exchequer, but apparently this was rejected by Government backbenche…

I am sure the Minister recognises it is important we have sight of the report for many reasons. We need to be able to debate and scrutinise any changes to the licence fee. We cannot do that without seeing the rationale of the commission in making its recommendations. Can I get a commitment that the Government will not increase the cost of the licence fee when we are in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis? Will the Minister confirm she intends to remove the contract for collection from An Post? That is a particular…

Has the Minister had discussions with Tourism Ireland regarding the extension of Fáilte Ireland marketing grants, including Ireland's Ancient East, Ireland's Hidden Heartlands and the Wild Atlantic Way to include counties in the North of Ireland? Will she make a statement on the matter?

The Minister will be as well aware as I am that Tourism Ireland is tasked with marketing Ireland, North and South. It was created under the Good Friday Agreement alongside the two existing tourism boards. I suppose my question relates to the lack of joined-up thinking in terms of the national tourism project. For example, the Wild Atlantic Way stops at Donegal despite the fact that the coast goes on into Derry and Antrim, and Ireland's Ancient East does not include Armagh, which would have much to offer in terms of…

We have a lot to offer and it is nonsensical that tourism experiences stop at the Border. Recently, I met with Tourism Ireland, and I got the distinct impression that it was put on the back-burner. I ask the Minister to flag up to Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland the simple things I pointed out, those no-brainer issues, such as why the Wild Atlantic Way cannot be extended along the coast to Derry and Antrim, and why the likes of Armagh, which has so much to offer, is not included in the Ireland's Ancient East bra…

My question was prompted by comments from the Minister on the establishment of the media commission, which indicated that the process would begin ahead of the passing of the Bill. The committee has corresponded with the Minister, as it appears that we are in a vacuum currently in terms of the commission and the Bill. We know that the staff of the BAI will be transferred, but is the Minister saying that the recruitment process has started or that it will not happen until the second quarter of this year? Are we looki…

Yesterday, we had Frances Haugen, the Facebook whistleblower, at the media committee. She was very clear about the responsibility of Ireland in terms of regulating social media effectively and having a regulator with real teeth. She stressed time and time again the need to ensure sufficient resources are available to address these issues because it is a completely new regulatory environment in terms of the tech giants, where we are starting pretty much at zero. Will the Minister expand on the funding situation? Wha…

The dental treatment purchase scheme is on the verge of collapse throughout the State. The scheme has been haemorrhaging dentists for the past two years. We have medical card holders with cancer, kidney transplant patients and people with diabetes who cannot access a dentist. This has gone on for a year now. The Government needs to take responsibility. People are suffering and it is inhumane. In Drogheda there is not one dentist available to take medical card patients. I do not get any sense of seriousness or urgen…

We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. The costs of energy and fuel have been front and centre of the spiralling price increases in the past year or so. The Government is giving the energy companies a payment on behalf of all households in the State but it is not addressing the root cause of the price increases. Given the scale of the price hikes, it will not be enough. Carbon tax is a regressive and unfair tax. The Government claims it will encourage people to change their behaviours but we all know that…

The policy of inviting and incentivising investment funds into the Irish housing market has been disastrous for a generation of young people in Ireland. People are in the ridiculous position of trying to compete with investment funds that can swoop in and buy up hundreds and even thousands of homes at inflated prices. This is pushing up the price of housing and contributing to the current shameful situation where for many young people, owning a home is nothing but a pipe dream. Fine Gael and the Labour Party introd…

Last month it was announced that east Meath would be added to the Drogheda Garda boundary. The Minister for Justice at that time had said that Laytown Garda station might be refurbished and we would see an increase in Garda numbers. I sent a parliamentary question to the Minister a couple of weeks ago looking for details of the plan. She did not answer the question. I put the very same question to the Garda Commissioner and the response I got was that there have been no discussions relating to the realignment of Ga…

I welcome the opportunity to speak to this very important motion that has been brought forward by my colleague, Deputy Sorca Clarke. We have all been horrified by the stories told in Ms Katie Hannon's RTÉ documentary from last September, which laid bare the horrific abuse, harassment and discrimination experienced by some female members of the Defence Forces. At that time, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, gave assurances that those affected would have input into the terms of reference of any investigation taking place…

I will raise the shocking announcement of 77 job losses at Hilton Foods in Drogheda last Friday. This news is bad at any time, but is especially so coming so soon after Christmas. It has been a devastating blow to those 77 workers and their families. I have appealed to the Tánaiste to engage with the company to explore all avenues as a means to protect those jobs. I ask the Taoiseach and the Government to take a proactive approach and to engage with the company to ensure that every single cost-saving exercise is be…

CAMHS and other mental health services in this State are so woefully underfunded that what happened in south Kerry should come as a shock to no-one. We spend 6% of our health budget on mental health. That is half the level recommended by the WHO. This needs to be increased as a matter of urgency. There are currently more than 3,000 young people awaiting appointments in a CAMHS psychiatry service. There are over 9,500 young people on a waiting list for child primary care psychology. Over 3,982 of these young people …

We are emerging from a pandemic and walking straight into the teeth of a cost-of-living crisis. We have among the highest costs for housing, childcare and energy in Europe. Inflation is at its highest level in 20 years at 5.5% in December and wages are staying the same. Low earners are extremely vulnerable. The 3% or 30 cent rise in the minimum wage will not go anywhere near making up for the huge increases facing families in costs for rent, food and energy. I heard the Taoiseach responding to Deputy McDonald yeste…

The dental treatment scheme is on the verge of collapse right across the State. The Taoiseach is aware of this because I have raised it with him several times. People with cancer, kidney transplant patients, people with diabetes and all medical card holders have been unable to access dental treatment for a year now. There are 2,500 children who have not had their first class dental check-up and 2,500 more waiting for their sixth class check-up, and that is just in County Louth. In County Meath, the figures are even…

No, there was one meeting in December.