The local property tax, or the tax on the roof over people's heads, was introduced eight years ago in 2013. Even people who own their home feel like they are still paying a mortgage, albeit at a lower level, and feel they are never truly finished paying for the privilege of living in their own home. The local property tax has no consideration for people's ability to pay. People are struggling at the minute with huge mortgages that they will have for the next 20 or 30 years, and many of them are in arrears. There is…

I commend my Sinn Féin colleague and our spokesperson on housing, Deputy Eoin Ó Broin, on bringing this Bill to the House. The Ban on Rent Increases Bill 2021 will give families and workers living in uncertain times a little comfort as they plan their finances without the fear of rent increasing. There is huge concern and a growing call for a ban on rent increases in my constituency of Meath West because rents have gone out of control in the past ten years. To rent a house in County Meath in 2011, a family would ha…

I wish to raise the issue of the spiralling cost of building materials. In the last six to eight months, the price of timber has gone up by 50% and this is to increase to 60% by 1 July. Insulation has increased by 20%, steel has increased by 20% and concrete has increased by 10% to 20%. Why are we not issuing tree felling licences in this country, which is one thing that could help? I spoke to a person yesterday who imports furniture. Twelve months ago, he could bring in a 40 ft. container and, for transport alone,…

On 28 January, I raised with the Tánaiste the question of reservoirs in Enfield, Longwood and Ballivor, County Meath, and every week since there have been water interruptions in all these villages. Even this week in Ballivor there were interruptions in the water supply three or four times, meaning the children were going to school with uniforms being wiped down rather than washed and people are unable to have showers. People are also spending a lot of money on water from the shops. This has gone on for years. In fa…

Hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli air strikes on Gaza and almost a third of that number are children. There are 1,000 people wounded while 17 hospitals and clinics have been damaged or destroyed in the Gaza Strip. Its only coronavirus lab has been wrecked and water pipes serving 800,000 people have been broken. Sewerage systems inside Gaza have also been destroyed, with dozens of schools also damaged or destroyed. Almost 100,000 Gazans have been forced to flee their homes. This is a massacre of the Pal…

I welcome that the Government supported Sinn Féin's motion on affordable housing last night, albeit by accident, it seems. The Government may have been asleep at the wheel again. I want the Taoiseach to tell the people of my constituency in counties Meath and Westmeath, many of whom pay huge rents with little hope of owning a home, what he and the Government will do to deliver on the commitments contained in our motion last night to deliver affordable homes for a maximum price of €230,000, cap rents at €900 and dou…

I raise an important issue at St. Mary's Special School in Navan, County Meath, which is attended by 80 kids with mild to severe needs. Parents have been told that, from 1 September, hot meals will no longer be provided. This service has been in place for the last sixteen years. The community employment, CE, scheme is no longer providing staff, at the direction of the Department of Social Protection. At this school, the complex functional needs of kids are addressed. St. Mary's is a fantastic school and the staff a…

I want to raise the new model of SNA allocations in my constituency of Meath West, at St. Mary's National School, Collinstown, County Westmeath. Twin boys with additional needs will start school in September but at the moment the parents of the boys and the principal of the school do not know if they will have access to SNA support. The principal has spoken to the special educational needs organiser, SENO, as I have. He cannot make any commitment until the allocation model is realised. One can imagine the stress th…

We are all aware that change needs to happen as regards climate action. To do nothing is not acceptable. Whether it is a heating system in someone's home or the mode of transport he or she uses, it is going to happen but it needs to be done over time and in an affordable manner. We need incentives for people to change, whether in regard to electric cars or speeding up the insulation and retrofitting of homes. I have previously raised the issue of the increasing cost of living through the prices of gas, coal, home h…

This Bill commits us to a 51% reduction in emissions by the end of the decade. In my constituency of Meath West, the one project that would make the most difference to climate action is rebuilding the Navan rail line. Irish Rail could rebuild the railway line from Dublin to Navan in three years if given the green light and funding was approved by the Minister's Department. Currently, a review is ongoing. We need it to be successful and for funding to be approved. We spend €2 billion a year on congestion. The Navan …

I commend my fellow Deputies on introducing this motion. Some 500,000 family carers across the country provide in-home supports every week. They are loyal and dedicated and save this State up to €20 billion each year. In most cases, they work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with the majority not getting paid for half the hours they have worked. The latter equates to up to 19 million hours per week unpaid. We need to acknowledge the care they provide for the most vulnerable people in our society. Family carers ar…

I will raise the issue of one-bedroom accommodation. In my constituency of Meath West I called the local authority yesterday on behalf of a woman who is on the housing list. She has Athboy, Trim and Navan down as her three preferences. Athboy is currently dealing with 2006 applicants, Trim is dealing with 2008 applicants and Navan is dealing with 2009. On top of that, the maximum housing assistance payment, HAP, for one-bedroom housing for single people or couples is €690. One will not get anything around Navan or …

If the Minister does not mind, I will go off track for a second to discuss diabetes services at Mullingar regional hospital. He has been in touch about this matter. In recent days, Professor Michael O'Grady confirmed to parents that the hospital's plans to recruit a temporary nurse had failed to materialise and that, even if a temporary nurse was available, the only way the service could resume would be with appropriate permanent resources. The service cannot resume based on promises. All March appointments were ca…

Here we go again back to the good old days. It is the good old days for developers who have an open door directly into the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to write the policy for the Minister. The shared equity scheme is in tatters. The ESRI has dismissed it. Auctioneers have dismissed it. Fine Gael councillors in Dublin City Council - one of whom is a senior adviser in the Department of Finance - have dismissed it. Two of the Minister's Green Party colleagues in Government have dismissed it. T…

In my constituency of Meath West, there are three Bank of Ireland closures, in Athboy, Castlepollard and Enfield. A person can drive from Kells to Mullingar, which is 30 miles, through Athboy, Clonmellon, Delvin, Castlepollard and all the way to Mullingar, before finding a bank. It is very difficult to get businesses set up in these towns if there is not even a bank. Enfield, another town, has grown massively in population, with hundreds of houses approved for it. There are 3,000 or 4,000 people there already and B…

I wish to raise an urgent issue in respect of children's diabetes services at Mullingar regional hospital. Parents have been notified in writing that, due to ongoing unsafe staffing levels, all paediatric diabetes clinic appointments have been cancelled with immediate effect. This affects people in five counties. Many of the parents of the 130 children and adolescents attending this much-needed service have contacted me. They are panicking at the thought of having to travel to Tallaght, Temple Street or Crumlin hos…

I will leave a bit of time as the Minister might update me on the Navan rail line. Twelve months ago, we were all elected to the Thirty-third Dáil. During my campaign, one of the biggest issues to arise was the Navan rail line. Navan is the largest town in Ireland not serviced by rail. We have always maintained that the re-establishment of the Navan rail line must be a priority for whoever is in government. We were supported in this not only by our own voters but also by Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party, …

I thank the Minister for his support. Keep it coming.

I want to bring to the Tánaiste’s attention an urgent issue in my constituency of Meath West, namely, in Enfield, Ballivor and Longwood, where the water supply is constantly tripping and cutting off. This has been going on for a long time. Meath County Council have in place planning, design and the contract ready to move on with water and sewerage projects. All they are waiting on is €1.5 million funding from Irish Water. Can the Tánaiste write to Irish Water for a date as to when the funding for these projects wil…

I wish to take two minutes and then give the Minister two minutes to respond, after which I will come back in for the final minute. In these tough times, when Covid is affecting every person and every area of the country and when all areas are dependent on a little help from the Department and the Government, may I tell the Minister about my constituency of Meath West? The Department recently announced funding. I will give her a few examples of how it distributed that funding. The educational disadvantage funding f…