Only four of them are in Dublin 12.

I welcome the opportunity, along with fellow Opposition Deputies, to introduce this Bill on behalf of the Simon Communities of Ireland. I am supporting the Bill because it is a progressive step for people facing increasing notices to quit and will protect them from eviction and homelessness. In October, 8,830 women, men and children were in emergency accommodation, an increase of 4.2% on September. The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (Extension of Notice Periods) Bill 2021 will allow local authorities to determin…

Our public services face a crisis. They face under-funding, staff shortages and general lack of resources. This has created intolerable working conditions for those who provide essential services and life-saving services. This motion deals with just one element, which is staff shortages and the consequences for Dublin Fire Brigade. I salute the firefighters on their professionalism and dedication to their job and to the citizens of this State, but that must demand respect from the powers that be, who have the respo…

For 25 years, our national drugs strategy has been underpinned by a community development approach. In 1996, the then Minister, on behalf of the State, acknowledged to community leaders who had been campaigning on the drugs issue for years that the then Government had not listened. The Minister set up a partnership structure that included community representation as a right to ensure that would never happen again. With the publication of the midterm review, it appears that the Department is attempting to bring that…

I accept the point made by the Minister of State that CityWide and the community sector have not been taken out of the equation and that CityWide, the National Family Support Network and Uisce will continue to be on the national oversight committee. If the groups are not named to be on the committee, they are not recognised. It is important that they are named. I hope we will continue to see that positive continuation of the partnership in the meetings with the Department of Health.

What issues is the Minister of State talking about?

It has been backdated.

I genuinely would like to be standing here welcoming an increase in the basic welfare payments. I cannot do so, however, because the budgets for 2020 and 2021 provided no increase in those payments. Given inflation, they were, in effect, a cut in the payments and a continuation of the austerity affecting the most vulnerable in our society. Before the pandemic, 630,000 people in Ireland lived below the poverty line, including 165,000 children. A key component in reducing poverty is our social welfare system. Without…

I welcome that the Government did not oppose the cross-party motion last night. There is, however, no commitment in the Minister's speech to include all of those who are excluded: the children who spent less than six months in a mother and baby institution; the children who were boarded out; and the children and mothers who were in institutions not covered by the mother and baby homes commission. I support the calls here tonight about the interim payments. All survivors should get an enhanced medical card. As we ha…

It is déjà vu .

Last week I raised with the Taoiseach the issue of the inability to recruit and retain staff in home care services. Since then, several people have contacted me. I wish to put their stories on the record of the Dáil because it is really important. A woman rang me who is a healthcare worker. She said her mother lives with her. She is 89 years old and has advanced Alzheimer's. She has been in receipt of a HSE home care package approved in May 2017, delivered via the private agency Care for Me. On 8 September 2021, th…

This is the reality on the ground, Taoiseach.

We might have the capacity, but we do not have the personnel.

For this family, nothing is being done.

This is a woman who had care for the last number of years and it has been withdrawn.

It is becoming very clear that the Covid-19 vaccines are not the silver bullet we thought they were going to be or could be. Despite our 93% vaccination rate, we are now in a fourth wave of what may be more of an endemic than a pandemic. I believe Covid-19 is here for the foreseeable future, with all that entails, such as future mutations and new variants. Currently, Europe is at the epicentre of an outbreak. Despite our generally high vaccination rate in comparison to only 8% of the population of Africa, a new wav…

There are many issues I could raise, such as the national maternity hospital or redress for mother and baby homes, but I wish to raise the inability to recruit and retain staff across the public health service. It is now reaching a crisis point. This is particularly the case in the crucial area of home care services. Despite the increased allocation of hours by the Government, people dependent on the service are actually receiving cuts in their hours due to staff shortages. I give the example of Kevin, who suffers …

It is not having any impact.

The fact of the matter is that in recent times workers from the private home care sector have been going into the HSE because the jobs are better paid, they are respected more and they get a pension and sick pay etc. In addition, people are not taking up the jobs in the private sector because of the conditions. It is a fundamental issue facing the healthcare service across the board. Last night we discussed the Sinn Féin motion on ambulance services and learned that the annual spend on private ambulance services ro…

Would it not be better to employ them through the HSE?