I previously asked for a debate on disabled persons grants. A review was carried out and my understanding is that it was completed before Christmas. This looked at the local authority grants that are allocated to disabled people to allow them to adapt their homes. So far, we have not seen the detail of the report. I would like to adjust that ask into a wider debate. I know the Leader likes to make it wider than one specific issue with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. I would like a debate on the various schemes availa…

I will be brief. If I was just to listen to Senator Higgins I might agree with some of the points, but the amendments as listed do quite the opposite to what she stated. I have served on two occasions as mayor and it is not appropriate for the mayor to be bringing forward their own motions. The mayor's job, as head of the council, is to chair those meetings and to deal with the business of the meetings, which the councillors run. To be clear on amendment No. 16, the mayor will be accountable to the council. That is…

Just to clarify, on the mayor piece, I was referring to the existing mayor role. In the context of my comments the príomh chomhairleoir is the position.

I listened very carefully to Senator Higgins. While I do not feel there is a necessity for amendments Nos. 24 and 26 in terms of the council being able to reject or approve the delegation of functions, there is validity to amendment No. 25. There should be some basis for people knowing whether the mayor has decided to delegate a function or not. As Senator Higgins noted, perhaps what is suggested in amendment No. 27 is already captured in the legislation. If it is, that obviously negates the need for the amendment.…

I report progress.

Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.

I echo the Acting Chair’s comments wishing Senator Craughwell’s daughter the very best. This is an important Commencement matter. I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting it. I put it on the agenda for last week but time did not allow for it. I thank the Minister of State for joining us in the House for this debate. I acknowledge the lack of rural GPs is not specifically in her remit but it affects many older persons who I am sure are often in contact with her good offices also. The lack of GPs in rural areas in par…

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. I am going to home in on those two cases. There are other cases that I have but I specifically picked those ones because in my view, there are extenuating circumstances in both that have been assessed by the HSE. In both instances, there was an application to move and, in both cases, the application was refused. The wrong decision was made but there seems to be no ability to appeal such decisions. I asked for clarity as to what criteria are being used. If geography and t…

It is very difficult to follow some of the tributes paid by my colleagues in the Chamber and in the Lower House. Naturally, I too extend my deepest condolences to John's wife, Finola, his children, his brother and our colleague, Richard, especially, and his sister. The Fine Gael family has been mentioned quite a lot by my colleagues. It is true that we have lost a great of our party, but this country has also lost a great statesman, someone who had great courage and integrity, and somebody who was kind, loyal and c…

I call for a debate with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage or the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, on housing adaptation grants. I tabled a Commencement matter on this issue last year and I was told that a review of the three grants, the housing adaptation grant for people with disabilities, the mobility aid grant and the housing aid for older people grant, was under way. I understand that review is well completed now. What I asked at that time and what I am still asking is that the grant …

I thank the Minister of State for taking the time to be in the House to listen to all of the contributions. All of those who took the time to speak on this very important motion did so in good faith on behalf of the near 500,000 carers we have in the country. The Government wants to continue to expand the supports we have in place for carers. It is very important for families that we ensure that the carer is cared for. If the latter does not happen, we have a breakdown of the entire support system. My family cared …

Well said.

I feel this is an important and timely Commencement debate on the pressures being faced by small businesses right across the country. To be clear, I am talking about those that are predominantly high-labour, low-margin, food-based businesses, but also small retailers like the corner shop and newsagents. We all know that many elements of our economy are doing exceptionally well at the moment. There are record-low unemployment levels because of the pro-business approach by the Government over the past number of years…

I also hope they have an enjoyable day. To follow on from some of the Minister of State's points, the increased cost of business scheme must get to businesses quickly. I stress the need for immediate dialogue with local authorities to ensure it gets to businesses. It is not misinformation but more of a misunderstanding of what the scheme actually is. A communication campaign by the Department around what it actually is would be useful. When will the report on the increased cost of business be published? Most import…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House to start our debate on what is a fundamental change in local government, namely, this Bill. The people of Limerick were brave in the decision they made in 2019 in going along with the proposal put to the people in a plebiscite. As the Minister of State knows, at the time, the people of Waterford and Cork were also given the opportunity to vote and the proposal was narrowly defeated in those areas. Perhaps that matter can be revisited at a later point. The fact that we ar…

We are all experiencing difficulties with HSE responses to queries at the moment, especially parliamentary question responses. One of those a colleague of mine submitted regarded the costs associated with reviews of medical cards for those over 70 years of age. The reason I am looking for the cost of doing those reviews for over-70s is that I estimate that more than 100,000 of those reviews are done every year, and by their nature people who are over 70 are on fixed incomes. Barring winning the lotto or starting a …

On what basis has it been ruled out of order?

Because it mentions the Seanad.

I have sympathy for the Labour Party amendment No. 5, which was ruled out of order. It suggested that the electoral area would suffice for the address that goes on the ballot paper. I note in his contribution on Committee Stage that the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, said there was latitude in the process for returning officers to facilitate that. It is important that a note is made that the person is in a certain electoral area in a constituency for the purpose of the ballot paper. I ask the Minister of State t…

Will it be the commission or the Department?