The Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands met this morning to discuss pensions and social protection-related issues with representatives of Foster Care Ireland and the Irish Foster Care Association, along with foster parents. We discussed many aspects of the fostering system. The committee will write a report and submit recommendations to the Minister. One issue I think should be raised here is that of the foster allowance, the weekly rate of which has not been increa…

The foster care allowance is an urgent issue and cannot wait for the budget. Other areas can wait but the allowances cannot.

I will outline my points in three areas. A free, widely available and decarbonised public transport system must be at the heart of a just transition and transformation. In Ireland, transport makes up the largest demand for energy. It is responsible for more than 40% of energy-related CO2 emissions. In 2021, private cars represented 42% of total transport energy demand. In the same year, bus or coach represented only 3% and rail was less than 1% of that demand. To remove the dependency on private cars, we need to tr…

I am not sure. I thought he would have been here. He is expected here.

I thank the Acting Chairman. I have been at stalls in my constituency over the last couple of weeks to build for the demonstration on 18 June by the Cost of Living Coalition. There is much anger and frustration from workers and people on social welfare. I was talking to a young woman who has two children. She said she has been really impacted by the rise in the cost of her shop. She made the point that a pack of toilet roll that was €2.90 up to a couple of weeks ago has now gone up to €5.20. Another young woman and…

Deputy McNamara is not in the Chamber so I will divide the time with Deputy Pringle. I listened to the Minister of State's update on the passport service and the unprecedented number of passport applications that have been received and processed by the Passport Office. I accept that to a point, but the fact that we are a year into this means that patience is beginning to get thin. As we have heard, many Deputies are representing large numbers of constituents who are in a panic as they wait for passports to be issue…

I salute the medical scientists in the Public Gallery today and all of those who were on the picket line yesterday and last week. I thank People Before Profit for tabling this important Private Members’ motion in the Dáil. The intervention by the Labour Court is to be welcomed, given the key role that medical scientists play in the delivery of our healthcare, but the HSE and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform have to move to take responsibility for the situation and resolve it. The Labour Court cannot …

There is an ongoing crisis in our mental health service for children and young adults. There are 3,900 young people on waiting lists, up 40% in the past year. One would imagine that for the HSE, this would require an urgent response to increase services but, quite incredibly, the HSE has announced a national cut in services, with the closure of almost half the beds in the Linn Dara facility in Cherry Orchard. Linn Dara is a key facility for child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, nationally, and for the…

I repeat that there are 3,900 young people on waiting lists, which is up by 40% on last year. Covid-19 has had an impact on the mental health of many young people and adults over the past two years. To see the HSE cutting beds rather than maintaining them is completely incredible. The Taoiseach said the HSE has been looking to bring in teams from other areas. The issue that arises is that where any child is brought to an adult care facility, it will be breaking their human rights. They should be cared for within CA…

This question is for the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. I have been contacted about the number of home care workers across the country who are currently employed on immigration visas. I have been informed that on previous occasions, the Department of Justice has issued an automatic renewal for visas about to expire. The most recent automatic renewal applies only to visas due to expire before 31 May 2022. This means, for example, that more than 100 carers employed in south Dublin whose visas expire shortly after …

As the Minister of State is aware, I raised this question on Leaders' Questions this morning. I made the point that Linn Dara is a key facility for child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, nationally and for the greater Dublin area, Wicklow, Kildare and, in particular, Louth. The HSE stated that these bed closures, a reduction of 11 beds from 24 to 13, is a consequence of a shortage of qualified staff. In acknowledging Sharing the Vision, the Minister of State said that she was hopeful that this implemen…

The waiting list for CAMHS nationally was 3,500 in December of last year. We do not yet have the figures but it is likely up to about 4,000. Cutting these beds in Linn Dara must have an impact on children accessing those needs that they can access there. I am asking the Minister of State, as others have asked, to sit down and discuss recruitment and retention with the PNA. It has to be done.

This morning, Dr. Robert Sweeney, senior economic and policy analyst with the Think-tank for Action on Social Change, TASC, launched a report on the cost of living, which is reaching highs not seen since the 1980s. We know it is going to increase further. It also deals with inequality and we know over a million people were pushed below the poverty line in the past year. He stated Ireland has always been a high cost-of-living country and long-standing issues that elevate our costs include consistent failure in plann…

I raise the serious issue of medical scientists and their trade union, the Medical Laboratory Scientist Association's 21-year campaign to implement their pay parity claim, which was approved by the then Minister for Health in 2001. With no resolution in sight, the workers were forced to take strike action yesterday. I wish to put it on the record that in 61 years, the medical scientists have only ever had one other strike, which was in 1969. They are not a mad, radical group of workers dying to get out on to the st…

I was hoping for a more positive response from the Minister of State. Building Momentum only provides for a fund of 1%, which means that the pay increase will be €1.45 million for the 1,800 medical scientists. That is 7% lower than the 8% committed to back in 2001 in respect of pay parity. Surely, there must be some way that the Department can think outside the box to deal with a legacy pay parity claim dating back 21 years. It is hugely unfair to force these workers to remain under the restrictions of the Building…

Of course it was going to cause disruption.

The Department of Health signed off on pay parity 21 years ago.

Where there is a will, there is a way.

Last week in Dublin City Council, there was a special meeting on O'Devaney Gardens. Councillors had the opportunity to withdraw from the rotten deal. The Labour Party, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party voted to maintain the deal. Bartra, the developer, was clearly in breach of the development agreement by not beginning construction within four weeks of the granting of planning permission. Planning permission was granted last September but Bartra chose to challenge it legally to ensure maximum profits. The …

I thank Sinn Féin for introducing this Private Members' motion. I absolutely support it and agree with what it states. Unfortunately, however, it is irrelevant, just like the three other motions on the issue that have been moved in the Chamber, by the Social Democrats, Deputy Connolly and me, none of which was opposed by the Government. This tactic is being used increasingly by the Government to demonstrate its complete disregard for supposedly democratic procedures in the Chamber. The pause by the Government in ru…