This is a moral and political issue, namely, whether we provide for our elderly and pay what people are owed or drag them through prolonged legal battles to cut costs. The fact remains that thousands of people who were entitled to State care were denied it. This was covered up, and when it came out successive governments, led by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Green Party and the Labour Party, did everything possible to make sure those people got nothing back. The Attorney General's report may be a useful political too…

The housing situation is a crisis for everyone in the country. More and more people are feeling it. It is just getting worse. Doctors and nurses cannot find homes. Some 70% of young people are considering having to leave the country. High rents and mortgages are affecting families all over the country and we have over 11,500 people in emergency accommodation. That is the highest figure ever recorded. The number of people in emergency accommodation is an absolute scandal. How can the Government say that Housing for …

In reply to a written question on this issue, the Minister stated the trial involving 63 schools was completed in December. Has the Department completed its review relating to the 63 schools that piloted filling out the education component of the assessment of need, AON? Does the Department intend to roll out the process beyond the pilot scheme? If so, when? Was a particular school, the details of which I have supplied to the Minister, included in the pilot scheme?

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. She stated that, since yesterday, the NCSE will write to any school that needs an education assessment on the AON. In October, the Irish National Teachers Organisation, INTO, AsIAm and other organisations such as Inclusion Ireland expressed concern about this process. AsIAm stated the Department of Education and its agencies require education assessments for various supports, including access to reasonable accommodation and exams. The Department has clearly defined in pr…

AsIAm notes the inclusion of "carry out" in the wording of the Act and states that the process principals were being asked to do does not sound like conducting an assessment but, rather, simply collating existing information. It went on to say that even if principals had the knowledge and felt confident to do the assessment, there would be a conflict of interest. Principals assign the additional needs resources within a school and should not also be responsible for assessing what is needed. AsIAm states the process…

I thank the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Autism, of which I am a member, for pushing for this debate to take place today. I welcome the report on the summer programme produced by the committee. From her work, the Minister of State will be aware of the background and details of many of the parents and groups, and she will have heard their testimonies at the committee hearings last year on the July provision, or lack thereof. Many of those who needed provision most did not get it. The committee highlighted the urgen…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: acknowledges that: — as demand for housing continues to grow, thousands of housing units will need to be built in the State, largely in sizeable and concentrated developments; — urban and rural communities around large population centres will see substantial increases in population as new developments are built; — increases in population will see significant changes in landscapes, communities and quality-of-life; — spending on community projects and services, by councils and other funding…

Are copies of the Minister of State's remarks available?

Yes, I will only take as much as I need. I thank everyone who spoke on the Private Members' motion. It really reflected the difficulties that communities are having with regard to large developments being built in their areas. I agree with Deputy Pringle that it would have been better if the Government had voted against it or tabled an amendment to it because the communities would have seen their demand for 20% of development levies to be put into the communities in which these developments are being built taken se…

I share the concerns and questions voiced by Deputies McDonald and Shortall about public nursing homes but I want to raise the issue of the cost of living. A recently published Red C survey outlined some of the struggles people still face with the cost-of-living crisis. It found that 30% of people struggle to make ends meet, with young people and elderly people being hit the worst. Only 9% of people have not had to make any changes to their spending while 70% of people have had to reduce spending in the face of the…

The Taoiseach says that inflation is slowing down. It is still at a high of 8.9% or 9%, depending on who one gets figures from. People are still facing huge costs in their daily lives. The end of February is only four weeks away. The review will be in two weeks. The Government will have to come out of the box very quickly to explain what supports it will give to people. Will there be another cost-of-living double payment to assist people? A gentleman who is 69 years of age came into my office the other day. He had …

Like everyone who read the report on CAMHS last week, I was shocked by the lack of care and badly needed reform provided by the Government for some of the most vulnerable children in this country. In common with everybody I have spoken to regarding this area, I am deeply worried about the Government's plans to address the crisis. These do not reflect the urgency of the situation and do not go nearly far enough to addressing the issue adequately. Mental health is a real issue in Ireland. We need to put real resource…

What we see here, despite what those in government have said, is a sell-out. We all know the dangers of climate change that we are facing. We all know that forestry is one of the best ways this country can help fight climate change. This deal shows the lack of seriousness of the Government towards climate change. This deal shows the Government's lack of an effective plan to deal with it. Only 100 companies are responsible for 71% of global emissions. This crisis was created by large corporations. Large corporations…

I thank Dr. Susan Finnerty for producing the interim report. It should be noted that in every Mental Health Commission annual report, she always has a section on CAMHS and always makes the point that the situation is dire. This interim report has shown once again a total breakdown in our health services. We see again some of the most vulnerable people in our State being let down again and again by the services that are supposed to look after and care for them and be their safety net when they are ill. We see childr…

A constituent contacted me yesterday. He applied for a primary medical certificate last April to provide relief from vehicle registration tax and VAT on the purchase of an adapted car as he has CIDP, a disorder which is characterised by progressive weakness and impaired sensory function in the arms and legs. He was turned down and appealed this in September. He is still waiting for that appeal. On investigation, it appears all the board members resigned from the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal last year. I…

It has been nearly a year.

I support and welcome the Bill. I believe it was 2018 when there was a coming together of the Irish Donor Network, IDN, with various groups making the case for the opt-out system and for a human tissue Bill to be introduced. It is important that all Bills undergo pre-legislative scrutiny. I share Deputy Connolly's concerns in that regard. The IDN has warmly welcomed the Bill and has stated that the Bill does not just bring the obvious benefits to the recipients, but also benefits recipients' families and society in…

A constituent contacted me recently regarding local parents whose babies and children are registered with the Old County Road primary care clinic. The clinic is no longer doing baby and child developmental checks. Several local mothers have reported being told by the clinic that these checks cannot be carried out on their babies or small children due to staff shortages. They are being sent postal questionnaires in the place of physical checks, including, in some cases, the crucial three-month and ten-month checks. …

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. What is happening in the area in question? I understand there was a lot of restructuring and that public health nurses were redeployed to deal with the Covid crisis but this issue relating to developmental checks has been going on for a year. The Covid crisis lifted in April last year and one would have expected that staff would have moved back into their roles at that stage. The Minister of State pointed to retirement and so on and stated that parents who are concerned …

I support the motion from the Regional Group. I thank the Deputies involved for putting it forward. The debate is badly needed in this Chamber. There is quite rightly deep anger at the moment over the trolley crisis in the HSE. However, the health crisis extends much further than what is taking place in our accident and emergency departments. The DTSS for people on medical cards is in a total state of collapse. The Irish Dental Association has called it unfit for purpose. Dentists are leaving the scheme in their dr…