Will the Minister provide the details of any and all concerns she has communicated on behalf of the tourism sector regarding tourist accommodation availability for the peak season and any economic effects this may have on the wider tourism sector for 2023 to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and will she make a statement on the matter?

We are fast approaching peak tourism season. Notwithstanding the pressures we have been under in seeking accommodation for asylum seekers over the past 15 months or so, the use of hotel accommodation and the problems this might cause for the tourism sector have been flagged for at least the past year. We are right in the thick of it now. Nationally, the average use of tourist accommodation for asylum seekers is a little under one third. It is 34% when Dublin is excluded. In places like Longford, 71% of tourist acco…

The over-reliance on the tourism sector has been well flagged. The Minister told me in January: I can confirm that the Government has approved the construction of 700 rapid-build homes with the potential to house up to 2,800 individuals in family units. The rapid-build homes will be constructed on State-owned land. The Office of Public Works, OPW, is leading the development of this accommodation in conjunction with the Department of the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman. [The Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, is part of t…

My question is whether the Minister has considered or proposed a special recognition payment for tourism ancillary services, such as activity centres, tour operators and all of the businesses that will be directly affected because of the lack of accommodation. I have not heard what is being done to encourage domestic tourism for the visitor attractions the length and breadth of the country. The fear is that when word gets out that one third of the accommodation is not available, people will automatically consider t…

I know the Minister has said she is in discussions but the summer is on top of us. Has she proposed a special recognition payment for those ancillary services within the tourism sector which, if those predictions come true, will be at a serious loss of revenue and jobs could be lost. That is the case for activity centres, adventure centres, tour operators and festivals. If people have nowhere to stay, they will stay away. Let us not wait until the eleventh hour to put measures in place. We are talking about a loss …

Contact was made with the Ceann Comhairle's office-----

We did make contact with your office. I want to raise the alarming issue of Louth local authorities being forced to close to applications for housing adaptation grants, housing aid for older people grants and mobility aid grants due to a lack of Government funding. Shamefully, there are currently 600 people on the waiting list, many of whom have been waiting for years. There will be more vulnerable people applying in the coming months but the door will have effectively been closed in their faces. I am sure the Mini…

This State is rightly proud of the stand we took against apartheid South Africa. We did the right thing and we were on the right side of history. Today, we see those very same obvious injustices, atrocities and forced removals being carried out on the Palestinian people and, again, the so-called great powers turn a blind eye to them. These are not just historical wrongs lost in the mists of time. Since the start of 2023, 148 Palestinians, including 26 children and six women, have been killed by the Israeli occupyin…

In all seriousness, how long has the Minister been saying that safe staffing levels is a top priority? I wish that we could see the real results coming from that. The question is: when is a priority actually a priority? It has been five years since the final report of the task force on safe staffing and skill mix in Nursing. The Framework for Safe Nurse Staffing and Skill Mix in General and Specialist Medical and Surgical Care Settings in Ireland was published in 2018. It is five years then since it was published a…

In December, I also stood with staff and protested with them as they highlighted what they described as a third world service caused by lack of resources and capacity in the hospital and I listened to their pleading for more resources. At that time staff told me that there were 60 health and social care professionals vacancy deficits as it is, never mind bringing Our Lady's Hospital in Navan on board. There are 15 to 20 current deficits in clerical and approximately seven in emergency departments alone. There are t…

The Minister should look behind him and around him at the rows of empty seats. Government Ministers and backbenchers are showing utter contempt for thousands of people who face eviction and homelessness in the next ten days. Are they hiding in their offices or in the Dáil bar? They can hide from the debate tonight but they cannot hide from their constituents tomorrow evening if they vote to lift the eviction ban. Today there is no emergency accommodation in Louth - no hotel rooms, no bed and breakfast accommodation…

I raise the issue of Irish Water officials refusing requests from local authority officials and elected representatives to attend their meetings in order that they might answer questions on serious issues such as lack of supply, long-term boil water notices and discolouration, to name but a few. The only reason Irish Water is being asked to attend is because it is not answering questions and is not giving clarity at all, even at its clinics. In the past few months, councillors in Louth, Mayo, Galway, Cork, Tipperar…

That is not happening which is why I raised it.

Because of how precious cash can be during times of financial stress, many have said that cash is king. This phrase means that having liquid funds available can be vital because of the flexibility it provides during a crisis. It does not have to be a crisis, however. It can be as simple as granny slipping a few coins or, if they are lucky, a fiver into her grandchildren's hands with the phrase, "Buy yourself some sweets." Cash is the only form of money that citizens can hold without the involvement of third parties…

This Bill will allow Ireland to procure up to 450 MW of temporary emergency generation capacity to mitigate the security of supply risk next winter. However, the Minister cannot say the threats of blackouts just happened or blame this situation on the war in Ukraine. This is an unmitigated failure by the Government to manage electricity demand and supply. EirGrid has been raising this issue since 2016. Its generation capacity statements have warned of an increasing tightness between demand and supply. EirGrid has i…

I want to raise again the ongoing scandal of residents in nursing homes under the fair deal scheme being charged for items that are covered by the medical card. I raised this with the Secretary General of the Department at the Committee of Public Accounts more than a year ago, I raised it with senior management of the HSE and I raised it with the Minister, and still nothing. I have received a reply to a freedom of information request that revealed internal discussions within the HSE following on from my raising it …

We have had the recent scandal with nursing homes. This is an ongoing scandal.

When is the Government going to act?

Will the Government ask the HSE and the Department to put a clause into the contract to secure and offer those residents protection so they are not ripped off - the most vulnerable in society?

That is not happening.