I have a vested interest in ensuring we have safeguards in place for older people. We are, thanks to advances in medicine and the tireless efforts of staff in the HSE, living a lot longer. We want to continue living in our own homes and our own communities. We want to be surrounded by siblings and grandchildren. That is the least anyone can aspire to in a modern and progressive Ireland. There are challenges in home care, as many people have said. The biggest challenge is probably the delivery of the service in rura…

I raise the case of a successful County Longford businesswoman who has endured an unrelenting nightmare since she underwent what was meant to be a root canal procedure in May 2019. It left her with permanent injury that will require treatment and medication for the rest of her life, but that is not the worst of it. The worst is the absolute failure of any regulatory body, in this case the obvious, clear and fundamental shortcomings of the Dental Council. I have debated whether to name the dentist at this juncture b…

I did clarify earlier that I was not going to do so. The same dentist is involved in numerous High Court and Circuit Court cases relating to allegations of negligence in the provision of medical care. To date, my constituent and I are unaware of any actions or sanctions by the Dental Council against this dentist. In fact, a letter from the Dental Council of October 2023 clearly stated it cannot do anything to follow up on reports of professional negligence. My constituent and many others are rightly and passionatel…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I had hoped for a more robust response from the Department. Given its commitment to the comprehensive review and “reform of oral healthcare services, including legislative reform, as set out in the national oral health policy”, I would have expected the Department to be much more stringent in its terms and specifically set out areas of regulation that it wished to address. I note that the Minister for Health met the Dental Council on 15 January to discuss the regulato…

We have had seven months of uncertainty and disquiet for staff, service users and family members of service users at St. Christopher’s Services in Longford. Figures have been bandied over and back with the HSE. We have been assured that a new funding structure is to be put in place. At the moment, they are running the service with a shortfall of at least €140,000 per month. Staff are due to vote again on a pay agreement that will only take their increments up to 2021, which is far from satisfactory. I understand th…

As the Tánaiste knows, the escalation of decarbonisation brought forward the closure of the Lough Ree power plant in Lanesborough, County Longford to 2020, resulting in a five-year loss of rates in the region of €1.2 million per annum to Longford County Council. Thankfully, in each of the four budgets since, central government stepped into the breach and provided €1.2 million each year to the council. Will the Tánaiste give an assurance that budget 2025 will ensure a similar commitment to the council to allow it to…

I will be the first from the Government benches to put my hand up to acknowledge we have been far too slow to respond to the immigration crisis. We entered Government in early 2020 with fewer than 3,000 arrivals per annum and a commitment to end direct provision as part of the programme for Government. Over the intervening four years, numbers have soared and we have peppered the country with a series of pop-up accommodation centres to the detriment of local tourism and commerce. We did not react decisively and fail…

It has been nine very difficult and worrying months for staff and the families of service users associated with St. Christopher's Services in Longford. The service has been historically underfunded and issues have been compounded by its section 39 status. I appreciate that the HSE has forward-funded the service since October, but it still needs an additional €140,000 per month to stand on its own two feet. I would also expect and hope that the soon to be advanced KOSI money in the region of €800,000 can be retained…

I was in the Chamber this morning when Martin from the usher's team was congratulated on his retirement. I did not get an opportunity to speak then, but I want to congratulate you. You have given exemplary service, as do all the ushers. Twenty-two years here is a long time. If I get 22 years here, I will be very happy, but I think it will be harder for me to stay the 22 years. I welcome the legislation and commend the Minister of State's work on it. The Bill will provide protection and timely compensation for motor…

Like many of my rural colleagues, I was giddy with excitement at the 2023 Ard-Fheis when the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, announced changes to the septic tank grant scheme-----

Indeed. I have been living ever since with disappointment and a feeling of being unfulfilled, however, given numerous constituents have come to me and pointed out the shortcomings of the scheme. Just 19 grants have been paid out this year by the Department to householders with septic tanks and the Department is coming under increasing pressure to revise the eligibility and application process, which many people, me included, argue is too restrictive and convoluted and does not address one of the biggest challenges …

I thank the Minister of State and appreciate him standing in on behalf of the Department of housing. It is somewhat disappointing a Minister was not available to take the question but I am sure the officials will relay my dismay and frustration with this grant scheme. The reality is that in the case of County Longford only a small number of inspections, possibly three, are carried out over the course of the year, so it is virtually impossible to access this grant in Longford. I am familiar with one elderly lady who…

I want to speak to the issue of the extension of access to the junior certificate school programme, JCSP, digital libraries to all schools, particularly DEIS schools. Notwithstanding a proud literary tradition and as a son of a county that gave us Maria Edgeworth, Goldsmith, Padraic Colum and, more recently, John Connell and Belinda McKeon, it is regrettable that our schools network is strangled with an underresourced and restricted library service. Ironically, we often criticise our near neighbour's delivery of ed…

I thank the Minister of State very much. It is safe to say there was nothing in that reply that will send me home with the wind in my sails this evening. Notwithstanding that, I note there are probably young secondary school teachers who will tell me they were in junior cycle when it was agreed to carry out a review of the JCSP as part of the implementation of the framework for junior cycle back in 2015. I appreciate that work was paused as a consequence of Covid-19 but at least it is good to hear that it has now b…

If the Ceann Comhairle will indulge me, I welcome members of Drumlish Hill Club. It is a predominantly female audience in the House. I think there are three men among 19.

I know we are talking about enterprise and retail but I want to get them out of Dublin as quickly as possible because they are spending too much money, so I want to get them back to Longford where it is to be hoped their money will be more productively spent. I think this is my first time to address the Minister in his new capacity. I commend him. I know he is a number of weeks into the role. I welcome the work he has done to date, especially in the increased cost of business supports. It is no secret that small bu…

I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter. A well-intentioned local solicitor opted to raise concerns with me regarding the appointment or assignment of guardians ad litem . Guardians ad litem are typically, but not necessarily, legal people, such as barristers or solicitors, and are appointed by judges to represent the interests of children in care. Their key functions are to ascertain the views of children who are the subject of care proceedings and to advise the court of these views as well as giving …

The response from the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, is somewhat alarming. His written response reads: The existing legislative provisions do not set out the criteria for appointing GALs or legal representation to a GAL. Tusla is obliged to pay GALs and their legal fees but has little oversight of how these roles are fulfilled. Currently all GALs operating in the courts are self-employed individuals with many supported through a network arrangements in relevant organisations. In the current system many children do not …

I will not be supporting amendments No. 6 and 7 but they give me a segue to raise a concern I have. I hope the Minister will be able to allay it in his closing remarks. The Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill is hugely important. The Minister has championed it and I commend him on it. It will allow us to protect pensions and the health service in the future. It will provide sustained investment in transport, nature restoration, community facilities and affordable sustainable energy …

I commend the Tánaiste on his recent and very successful trips to both Egypt and Jordan. He has personally taken a firm lead in shining a global light on the continuing horrors in the Middle East. News reports this morning regarding a formal recognition by a number of EU states on 19 May of Palestine as a state are a direct result of the Tánaiste's cast-iron efforts in this regard. Will the Tánaiste comment on how this has transpired and what we can expect on 19 May?