We have been waiting for years.

The workers were not allowed vote for it.

The Swedish eco-activist Greta Thunberg famously described COP26 as a load of "blah, blah, blah". She went a bit further with COP27 describing it as a sham that provides a platform for "greenwashing, lying and cheating". There was also plenty of blah at COP27, and none better than from our Taoiseach. If you were to believe the Taoiseach, you would think Ireland is leading the world in addressing climate change. The reality, however, is very different. While Ireland may have very ambitious emissions reduction target…

Will the Minister provide a specific clothing allowance as an exceptional needs payment due to the energy and cost-of-living crises? A constituent came to me a couple of weeks ago who was looking specifically for a clothing allowance. I sent the form in to see whether I would get a response on it. The guidance states that the "Additional Needs Payment is a payment to help you with an expense that you cannot pay from your weekly income." It goes on to state that this is for, "Food, clothing and shelter after an emer…

I thank the Minister. The information on the additional needs payment gives a list of who can get the payment. The guidance states: You can get the Additional Needs Payment to help you with an expense that you cannot pay from your weekly income. For example: - An increase in your fuel or electricity costs - Essential repairs to property, including motor vehicles ... - Funeral costs - Deposits for private rented accommodation - Bedding and cooking utensils, if you are setting up home for the first time - Food, cloth…

That is not what it states.

What is the Minister of State's view on whether updated special needs reports should be ceased, given that schools are still seeking updated reports for children with special needs, in particular for secondary schools, and the fact that parents are stressed attempting to access private assessments to obtain a place for their child? Private assessments can cost anything up to €1,500, so it is an expensive avenue.

I was asked to put the question to the Minister of State by members of the Campaign 4 Autism Inclusion in Dublin 12. What they are seeing now are the difficulties posed for many of their children who have gone through primary school and are moving on to secondary school. As Deputy Ward said, many parents are starting to worry. One of the criteria for most secondary schools is that a child needs an updated report to access an autism class, irrespective of whether the child was attending an autism class at primary le…

I welcome that. Does the Minister of State know how long the review will take? We will have a perfect storm with parents trying to find places in secondary schools in the time ahead unless we move very quickly to get special classes into secondary schools. There is also pressure on parents being out of pocket for €1,500 or more as they try to get an assessment of needs for their children prior to them accessing secondary level. The group is raising the issue with the Minister of State in order to map out some way t…

I do not think that it will come as a surprise to anyone that the 2022 OECD report has found that our current mobility patterns, that is, the movement of goods and people, are incompatible with our greenhouse gas emission targets. The report quite correctly pours cold water on any notion that simply converting to electric vehicles, EVs, will achieve the necessary reduction in emissions; it will not. Even if all vehicles on our roads were electrically powered, there would be trade-offs. There would be a huge increas…

Everybody welcomes the once-off payments. They are a help to people. I will concentrate on the core social protection payments. I will read the Age Action analysis because the work done by Age Action on this is second to none. It strongly urges the Minister to reconsider increasing the social welfare basic payments by €20 rather than €12. The Minister can do that. Age Action states that despite the united call across most civil society organisations for a €20 increase in core welfare rates, the Government got it wr…

Dublin City Council's annual budget meeting was held last night. Six councillors voted against it, including Councillors Pat Dunne and Sophie Nicoullaud. I support their position. Between amendments and variations on vacancy refunds, the fundamental baseline of the budget is wrong. When the local property tax was introduced, it was clearly stated by the Government that the tax would assist in funding better services and that people in Dublin city and all over the country would see better services in their local aut…

-----went to housing and roads, which were previously funded by central government. There is only €3 million left for the local authority in the city of Dublin, which is €2 per person. Will the Government bring back central funding to local authorities?

It is to do with central funding.

They did.

No, I am talking about central government funding for local authorities. There was a rise in the local property tax.

The Government is so insulting.

I was contacted this week by Thomas Barry regarding his brother, who has serious health issues and has been in hospital for more than two years and in and out for over five years while waiting on permanent residential care. This will be Thomas's brother's fourth Christmas in St. James's Hospital if a residential placement is not secured for him. He frequently leaves the hospital and makes his way home, causing much anxiety for himself and his family. Gardaí are frequently asked to intervene. I received a response f…

The HSE has not done it for two years.

The Office of the Ombudsman for Children published No End in Site in May 2021. One of the recommendations, at section 7.14.2, states, “That a system is in place to ensure routine and emergency maintenance works and upgrade works are addressed in a timely manner and that contracts with external service providers are proactively managed.” Cork City Council formally responded to this, stating it would put an updated system in place to ensure routine and emergency maintenance and upgrade works are carried out efficient…