I welcome the opportunity to speak for the Labour Party on this motion, which we will be supporting. I thank my colleagues — including Deputies Howlin and Sherlock, councillors Níall McNelis and John Maher and others in the party — who have contacted me to express their concern over the tendering process proposed by the Department and to express their support for this motion, which I am glad to support. I have received other representations from individuals in local employment services and those affected in Dublin,…

I ask the Minister to make a statement on the student protests which took place on 23 November led by the Union of Students in Ireland. How does he intend to reduce the cost of the student contribution and address the rising and alarming cost of student accommodation? I ask in the context of the socially distanced protest outside Leinster House which I was glad to support last week. It had an acerbic title for a demonstration but with an important message.

And I did not.

I will not repeat the title of the protest, but it was an effective way of conveying students' immense frustration and dismay at the spiralling cost of accommodation in particular but also the cost of the student contribution. I have seen the figures for students' eligibility for free fees and I very much welcome the increase in the SUSI maintenance grant and the Minister's commitment to having that review completed by Christmas as well as his acknowledgement that the SUSI scheme needs overhaul. As the Minister sai…

I thank the Minister for raising the broader question of the student contribution to the funding of the third level sector. As he said, the matter has been kicked around for too long. The Cassells report is now five years old and it was supposed to be the blueprint for reform. Labour certainly wants to see the State taking up the challenge in one of those three options in the report; we want to see that option rather the option of fees or loans. It is welcome to hear there will be progress and the Cabinet will be b…

I welcome the second opportunity this week to speak for the Labour Party on this really important matter. It is helpful to come back a second time in the same week to discuss this matter and engage with the Minister. First, I express my sincere sympathies on behalf of my Labour Party colleagues to all survivors and their families. All Oireachtas Members have received a great deal of communication and have had engagement with and met many survivors and affected persons. I thank all who have been so generous as to ge…

The Taoiseach has outlined his meetings and speeches at COP26. In his address to COP26, he said that every second of delay makes the task to cut emissions that bit bigger. He is correct. The crisis is cumulative and while we wait to take action we allow the problem to get worse. Unfortunately, not only were many of the outcomes of COP26 frustrating in betraying a lack of urgency at world leader level, in Ireland we are also seeing repeatedly long delays and missed deadlines in this Government's response to climate …

I thank the Taoiseach for the outline. I want to ask about the Government's spending on temporarily renting private beds in private hospitals. The Labour Party has continually advocated for expanding public healthcare by purchasing private hospitals outright. We are conscious that with the Covid plans, the Government essentially, at one point, took over full capacity of the private system. We now have this arrangement for leasing. We know that this arrangement cost the taxpayer €350 million between March and June 2…

I welcome the opportunity to join this debate today on behalf of Labour. It is timely, following the conclusion of COP26. Although many of us might have mixed feelings about what was agreed on COP26, undoubtedly some progress was made, albeit not, perhaps, as much as we would have liked. Certainly, the onus is now on countries such as our own to deliver on the climate commitments made. I welcomed the recent publication of the Government's climate action plan which, as Members are aware, sets out 475 separate action…

I welcome the opportunity to debate this motion so ably proposed by Deputy Funchion. My Labour Party colleagues and I were happy to co-sign the motion to render it more of a truly cross-party motion. I welcome the Minister's announcement that the Government will not oppose it and I look forward to further constructive engagement on the legislation the Minister described that will be introduced in the new year that will form the basis of the scheme. It is a genuine attempt to work to strengthen and improve the redre…

I have sought to discuss the crisis in staffing in the home care sector and Government proposals to address it. The reason I raise this matter is because I have been contacted by a number of constituents who are extremely anxious about the current difficulties with recruiting staff to care for people in their homes. In other words, home care workers. We know that we simply do not have enough home care workers and that hospital patients who are ready for discharge are occupying scarce hospital beds because of a shor…

I thank the Minister of State for his response and for setting out the Government's aspirations, but it is shocking that nearly 5,000 people, according to his figures, have been assessed and are still waiting for a carer to become available. There is no indication, although he might be able to provide it, as to how long they have been waiting. The shortage of home care workers clearly indicates there is a recruitment crisis, which is causing immense hardship, distress and suffering to many of those who are awaiting…

I thank Deputies Cairns and Canney for giving up their time. I acknowledge the presence of the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte. As a former member of the committee in my role as a Senator, I was glad to take part in some of the hearings that led to the production of this report, albeit I had to leave the committee on my election to this House before the report was completed. It was, as Deputy Canney has said, a powerful experience to hear the testimonies of persons with disabil…

Hear, hear.

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am glad to introduce this important Bill on behalf of the Labour Party. Following the publication of the Government's climate action plan and the conclusion of the COP26 talks in Glasgow last week, we have seen increased urgency and increased public focus on the need to take urgent measures to tackle the climate crisis and the need to ensure we put in place a just transition and climate justice measures. In all of our constituencies, such as my own in Dublin Bay …

That is not true.

That is simply not true.

That is ludicrous.

This is farcical.

Rubbish.