I welcome the Minister of State. While I welcome any debate which highlights the pressing issues of insurance costs and accessibility, we must move beyond words and deliver tangible solutions for our citizens. This motion, like many before it, rightly identifies the challenges but the question remains: does this Government's action match the urgency of the problem? I want to focus on two critical areas where the current system is failing: the existential threat facing homeowners of our unique thatched homes, and th…

I highlight a deeply concerning gap in supports for children with disabilities, particularly around the availability of summer services and structured activities during school holidays. I am not speaking about July provision or anything within schools. In recent years, Enable Ireland and other service providers secured places within private summer camps to enable children with special and additional needs to join and have a chance to attend. These are not just social outings; they are crucial developmental and supp…

That all sounds amazing. The funding is desperately needed. I get the staffing issue. Would there be a way to alleviate that issue through special needs assistants that are qualifying and need to do a placement? Would it be an option to try to get their placement as a summer camp? Similarly, special education teachers who are qualified and vetted need to do some training or placement. Could we look at giving something like that to this service so they are not just going into a classroom and are not just doing their…

I wish to raise an incident that happened in Newcastle West in County Limerick last weekend. Vile videos were sent to me of fighting on the streets between two different groups. They were absolutely disgusting to watch. People were being kicked in the face while they were on the ground. One person was knocked out, jumped on and punched about 20 times while he was knocked out. This happened on the street parallel to the Garda station. I do not know if it is a lack of gardaí. The gardaí in Newcastle West are phenomen…

Yes.

I welcome the Minister of State. I welcome the progress towards the local democracy task force. My party has long called for more power to be given back to our local elected members. Ireland has the most centralised system of local government in Europe, with limited democratic decision-making powers and insufficient funding and resources for local authorities. While the EU average for tax revenue spent at local level is 23%, in Ireland it is just 8%. Our overly centralised system means far too many decisions are be…

I second the amendment. Every day that action is delayed more lives are lost in Gaza. More than 50,000 people - mostly women and children - have been killed. This is not a war; this is a slaughter. The deliberate campaign of destruction is playing out before the eyes of the world. We in this House have expressed solidarity many times with the Palestinian people. The Irish public have marched in their thousands demanding real and meaningful action, yet we hear credible allegations that weapons destined for Israel pa…

I welcome the Minister of State back to the House. I will speak about the delay in driving tests, which is an issue that has spiralled completely out of control. At the end of April, the national backlog had grown to a staggering 83,486 applicants, a number mentioned across the floor this evening. It has increased by 10,000 since the start of the year and by 20,000 in the past six months. The average waiting time is now 27.3 weeks or nearly seven months. In some areas, learners must wait anything up to ten months f…

I want to raise the issue of the sheer lack of home help supports, which, I am sure, is the case throughout the State, but I am going to concentrate on County Limerick. A case that stood out to me among the many I come across involves a family living in County Limerick. The father, who was once a fiercely independent man, is now living with advanced dementia. He needs 24-hour care. For mobility reasons, he needs two people just to move around his house. His elderly wife, who is a healthcare assistant, and their gro…

I welcome the Minister of State. Today, during biodiversity week, I want to speak about the urgent need to protect and restore biodiversity, especially through a better approach to forestry. I also want to reflect on what that means for my county, Limerick. Ireland is in the grip of a biodiversity disaster and crisis. One in five rare species is at risk of extinction. Our native woodlands, once thriving, are now scarce, reduced to just over 1% of our land area. In County Limerick, we are fortunate to have pockets o…

I welcome the Minister to the House. I am pleased to stand in support of this Bill. I commend Senator Lynn Ruane and her team on the thoughtful and considered proposal. The Bill addresses the clear procedural gap in the current parole framework, one that undermines natural justice and leaves applicants vulnerable to decisions made on the basis of undisclosed evidence without any avenue, response or redress. What the Bill proposes is modest, balanced and grounded in best practice. The Bill proposes the introduction …

I wish to bring to the Minister of State's attention something that is deeply concerning for families in County Limerick and throughout the State, namely, the persistent and unacceptable wait times for domiciliary care appeals. I am acutely aware of a case involving a family in County Limerick who are in their 37th week of waiting to hear about the progress of their appeal. This delay is not just a bureaucratic failure but a human crisis for this family. I will give the Minister of State their story. This is a fami…

I thank the Minister of State. I am excited to hear about the AI. We all go through our lives with everything happening in an instant. It would be fantastic to see quicker ways of processing these appeals, but this will not help this family today. I will get on to the Minister directly because 37 weeks is too long for the family to wait and to feel invisible. When my office contacts the Minister, we receive a generic reply that a case is in an appeals process and it should take however many weeks, be it 20.9 weeks …

I want to raise an issue I have raised as a Commencement matter twice, but since it is pressing I said I would raise it again today. It concerns the waiting times for domiciliary care allowance appeals. I am dealing with the case of a County Limerick family who have been waiting for 36 weeks just to hear back on the appeals process. Every time they ask, they are told it is in progress and still on a desk. The parents contacted me and described their 12-year-old daughter as a gentle child who faces daily challenges,…

I welcome the Minister of State. I want to take a moment to recognise the incredible work being done through a youth diversion programme in Rathkeale in County Limerick, a programme that was relaunched by the Minister of State earlier this year and which is already making a real difference. Rathkeale is a town that has often been unfairly stereotyped. This programme is helping to build trust, opportunity and hope, and not only for the young people but for the entire community. Youth workers on the ground are doing …

I want to bring up an issue regarding section 39 workers. After a long and difficult process, an agreement was reached at the Workplace Relations Commission to improve these workers' pay. They are vital front-line workers involved with disability and home care. The question remains as to when the Government will enact and recognise the agreement. In November 2023, there was a WRC agreement put in place which was never enacted. Furthermore, the section 39 workers face structural inequalities, particularly in relatio…

I welcome the Minister of State. Forestry should be a key part of Ireland's response to climate change, supporting rural communities and protecting biodiversity. However, the reality for many forest owners is one of delay, financial loss and frustration. One major ongoing issue is ash dieback. Although the Department has the reconstitution scheme for plantation owners, there is no financial support for farmers and landowners with ash dieback on their hedgerows. Dead and dying trees along public roads are serious he…

I welcome the Minister of State. I wish to take a moment to speak on the section on realising our island and marine potential. The current approach set out in this section is quite weak from a fisheries and seafood perspective, in particular the importance of embedding the principle of consensus and co-creation between the fisheries, the offshore renewable energy, ORE, and environmental protection sectors on the formation of marine protected areas and the identification of future sites of offshore renewable energy …

I raise the issue of thatched homes. Thatched home owners are facing a growing crisis. They are part of our built heritage. They are not just homes. Every year the owners face the struggle of finding house insurance. Many insurers have just left that sector altogether. The ones that have stayed in the game are charging anything up to €2,500 for house insurance once the owners can find somebody to insure them. They also face the issue where if they cannot get house insurance, they cannot get a mortgage or sell their…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Flooding is no longer an occasional crisis. It is an ever-present threat affecting lives, homes and livelihoods throughout the country. From County Limerick to County Cork and from County Galway to the midlands, communities are living in fear of the next storm, the next flood warning or the next disaster. We saw this again just a few months ago when Storm Bert battered the country. In west Limerick, the River Feale burst its banks, submerging roads, homes, and entire sp…