I used to be in the Minister of State's position and got in trouble all the time for giving my opinion, but what is the Minister of State's opinion on somebody from the north west having the same access?

I am not going to get into the intricacies of what the solutions are for Dublin. I just want to commend the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, and the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on all of their efforts. One thing I know from the many contacts I have in the city is that demand for housing is savage. This is an effort to come up with novel ideas and new ways of doing things, as Deputy Bruton pointed out in regard to the State-led Land Development Agency, which has been in the making for a number of years. Any proposal t…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for selecting this issue. Deputy Cannon planned to be in the Chamber for the Topical Issue debate on Tuesday and Wednesday but it does not suit him to be here today. On the education side, many young Ukrainians, and primarily their mothers, will be overwhelmed on arrival by having to deal with such a dramatic change in their lives and the trauma of the recent past. Their fathers might not be with them. This will be very difficult. The first point of contact in the community will…

I thank the Minister of State for a comprehensive response. I will conclude by saying that at this stage I think there are over 10,000 pledges by individuals who want to help and want to accommodate individuals and families in their homes. That has to be acknowledged. Yet, from speaking to people within the Red Cross, there has to be a level of patience in getting it right, through vetting and by ensuring it is done in a proper way. I call on insurance companies to facilitate arrangements in respect of individuals …

Gabhaim comhghairdeas agus aitheantas chuig an gCeann Comhairle fá choinne a éachta agus iarrachta thar na blianta ina ról an Ghaeilge a bhogadh ar aghaidh agus fá choinne an spreagtha a rinne sé agus an jab atá déanta aige thar na blianta. Tá sé sin tábhachtach. Chomh maith leis sin, gabhaim aitheantas le Cathaoirleach Chomhchoiste na Gaeilge, na Gaeltachta agus Phobal Labhartha na Gaeilge, an Teachta Ó Snodaigh, fá choinne an freagracht, dualgas agus tionchar atá déanta aige mar sa Dáil, níl an beartas Gaeilge ná…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Ba mhaith liom aitheantas a ghabháil don Rialtas fá choinne na scéime seo. Tá gá mór léi agus tá sí práinneach agus de dhíth chun rudaí a insliú agus pumpaí teasa, fuinneoga agus doirse nua a chur i dtithe. Guím gach rath ar an Aire Stáit sa jab tábhachtach atá aige agus sa dualgas atá ar féin agus ar an Rialtas. Beidh práinn ann ó thaobh an one-stop shop. Sin an rud is mó anois. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, for the work he has put into this scheme. It has b…

Ba mhaith liom aitheantas a thabhairt don Aire Stáit as a dhíograis agus a thiomantas maidir leis an scéim seo. Gabhaim buíochas freisin leis an Aire, an Teachta Darragh O'Brien, as a thiomantas. I welcome the Minister of State. It is our fourth time to discuss this Topical Issue. I will make five points and perhaps when I make my next contribution I will be able to elaborate on them. The first point is that facilitators are needed on the ground in Donegal with immediate effect to disseminate information and to fil…

I thank the Minister of State. The response is consistent with the information the Minister has been sending to me. I will focus on several elements. The word "independence" was used a number of times in the reply. This independence has been somewhat tarnished by what has happened in the past two weeks. It is very important that whatever submission the homeowners make is not just seen as a listening exercise but also that they have something to contribute. It has to be done in a proactive way. Since 2014, when the …

Déanaim comhbhrón leis an Cheann Comhairle agus leis an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Niall Collins, faoin scéal faoin iar-Theachta Noel Treacy. Bhí muid le chéile ar an Choiste um Fhorfheidhmiú Chomhaontú Aoine an Chéasta fadó. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Bhille cuimsitheach leathan seo. Tá an-chuid deiseanna sa Bhille do dhaoine aosta agus do dhaoine atá ag iarraidh athfhoghlaim a dhéanamh, dul ar ais ag staidéar nó atá ag smaoineamh faoi athrú post. Táim ag labhairt faoin fhoghlaim fad sao…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Perhaps this is third time lucky. It is good to have the Minister of State back in the House. I know that at this stage he has a good and deep understanding of this issue, as do his colleagues in government. We hear that Tuesday next week might be the date, although it is not yet confirmed, but if it is, let us get the scheme right this time. We have to be ready from the get-go for implementation. There will be a very heavy workload and resources will have to be in place. I am wor…

I appreciate the Minister of State's reply. Perhaps we could add "realistic" to "timely, reasonable and consistent". It has to be realistic. The previous scheme was not the scheme I signed up to, but it became inaccessible to many people. It has to be realistic. I acknowledge the role of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, in this. He is a busy Minister. The Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, is in the hot seat here and he knows how busy ministerial work is. The Minister has a lot in hand and many challenges, but …

Tugaim aitheantas don Rialtas faoin mbuiséad. B'fhéidir go bhfuil an buiséad forásach. Cinnte tá deacrachtaí ann ó thaobh na dúshláin, na deacrachtaí agus na fadhbanna atá i gceist sa tír seo faoi láthair maidir le costais. Mar shampla, luaim fuinneamh agus na rudaí atá daoine ag fáil ó lá go lá. Cinnte tá an brú ar dhaoine ach rinne an Rialtas jab faoi na rudaí agus na dúshláin sin a bhaint amach agus níl achan freagra ag an Rialtas faoi sin. The Government does not have every answer for the real costs that are lo…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle fá choinne an tseans labhairt ar an ábhar iontach tábhachtach seo. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. As thousands of people from all over the country descend on our capital to highlight a humanitarian matter of untold proportion, I wish the march well tomorrow and everybody a safe journey to Dublin and back home. This evening I will speak about William and Trish, who started out in secondary school together, went to university together, got married and brought up four grea…

I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate his statement. I know he will talk directly to his party leader and we all look forward to the meeting between the three party leaders. His colleague, Michael White, in Moville, has contacted the mica group in the past few days. Once again, to focus on the issue of timeliness, this has gone on too long. There is nobody more disappointed than me that the original scheme did not work out. I worked closely with the mica group on it but when a thing is not working, we all hav…

Níl mé cinnte go bhfuil mé sásta leis an bhfreagra faoi leasú Uimh. 14. B’fhéidir go mbeidh an tAire Stáit in ann dul ar ais agus ag amharc arís air. Bheadh áthas orm dá mbeadh sé ag dul ar ais sa Seanad agus breathnú arís ar an bhfoireann shinsearach sna comhlachtaí poiblí. B’fhéidir go mbeidh bealach dearfach ann maidir leis sin agus táim buíoch den Aire Stáit go bhfuil sé ag tosú ag amharc arís air.

Táimid ag labhairt faoi leasuithe Uimh. 21 agus 114 agus faoin chothromaíocht atá i gceist don Ghaeilge in aon bhileog ar nós ábhair mhargaíochta mar shampla. Táim ag smaoineamh faoi bhileog a d'eisigh An Post agus bhí trí leathanaigh as Béarla ann agus leathanach amháin as Gaeilge agus bhí an leathanach as Gaeilge ar chúl na bileoige. Níl sin ceart agus sin an bealach a bhfuil muid ann faoi láthair. Chomh maith leis sin, táimid ag amharc ar leasú Uimh. 114 agus an gá le spriocbhliain a chur le lógónna reatha a ath…

Ba mhaith liom an lánmhuinín atá agam i mo chomhghleacaí, an tAire, an Teachta Coveney, a chur in iúl. People in public life make mistakes and will continue to do so long after we are all gone. Public representatives should be held accountable for these mistakes. Deputy Coveney has accounted for these mistakes at committee not once, but twice. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we have Sinn Féin standing right at the top of the high moral mountain and calling for Deputy Coveney's head on the grounds of a mistake he made…

I concur with my colleagues regarding young drivers, in the main, who are looking for driver theory tests. I speak tonight on behalf of one young gentleman, Mr. Liam Mooney from Malin Head. He is a 19-year-old man who applied for his driver theory test in September 2020. It has been cancelled five times. He is a young man with a disability. Once he gets the driver theory test he is going to have to wait for the test itself and then apply for a primary medical certificate and go through further assessment and delay.…

I appreciate that the Minister of State cannot make individual interventions but I reiterate my request to make a special case for people with disabilities who have been waiting or who have been let down. They have to go through a longer process than others because they have to go for the primary certificates as well. I am making this intervention on behalf of a cohort of people rather than an individual, and it emphasises the importance of this for young people with disabilities. They had to spend so much time at …

I would like to hear the Minister’s opinion on the traditional art of stone wall building. I also ask him to contact his colleagues, for example, Minister Humphreys, to see how we could incorporate stone wall building into potential artwork along the sides of roads. A heavy emphasis has been placed on modern art thus far in that regard. Beautiful pieces of art have resulted and they have all been worthwhile. However, we must look as well at the traditional art of stone wall building. Places such as Arraheera in Fan…