I have been contacted by elderly constituents, including people with disabilities, who need to have their homes adapted to their needs. Would the Government consider increasing the thresholds to adaptation grants for older people and people with disabilities? At present, the grant only extends to a maximum of €30,000 for houses that have been built for more than 12 months and only €14,500 for those that have been built for less time than that. Building materials and the cost of labour have risen an average of 33% a…

When will it be finished?

I thank the South African Government and its legal team, especially the Irish barrister, Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh, for successfully seeking a provisional order from the ICJ to restrain Israel from committing potentially genocidal acts in Gaza. The highest court in the world has found there is a plausible risk that the Palestinians right to be protected from genocide is under threat from Israeli actions. This is an historic occasion for South Africa and the Palestinian people against the backdrop of enormous pressure pil…

As the Taoiseach is aware, assessments for child and adult psychology services are taking far too long. This is causing major problems for the people involved and loading major stress on their families and siblings. For instance, there is no psychologist in Wexford General Hospital in my constituency, which means that people who are often in an immediate mental health crisis or who have suicidal ideation tendencies are referred to Waterford. This is adding hours - often vital hours - to the process whereby people r…

As the Taoiseach is aware all children, including those with special needs, have a constitutional right to be educated in a place and manner that is appropriate to their needs. I understand the Educate Together school in Gorey has an ASD unit fully funded and ready to go. It has space for six students and a further 18 on its waiting list. However, it is waiting on the go-ahead from the Department, which is holding up the project. Will the Taoiseach please investigate the cause of the delay? It is most important to …

Retained firefighters provide fire and first responder emergency services 24-7 to our communities. I thank County Wexford members for their unwavering dedication to their job. Their recent industrial action has successfully led to an agreement on improved conditions, improved rosters and a guaranteed minimum incremental retention income of €18,000, along with an increase in the number of recruits. Will the Taoiseach give a fixed date for when the retained firefighters will be paid their promised incremental retenti…

The recent Residential Tenancies Board report states that new rents have increased annually by 11.6% and that existing rents have risen by 5%. This represents the highest annual increase on record. The latest figures for inflation show that it is 3.6% in Ireland. The consumer price index has risen by 5.1%. Food is up by 7%. Electricity, gas and fuels are all up by 7.2%. When these costs are combined with the extortionate rent increases, one can see why something must be done immediately for renters. Young couples, …

Irish neutrality is and will be undermined by the removal of the triple lock and the changing of legislation on the dispatch of Defence Forces personnel overseas. The Government's language and U-turn on military neutrality do not keep faith with the Seville Declaration, which states that for Ireland to participate in any military operations overseas it must have authorisation by the UN Security Council or General Assembly, the agreement of the Irish Government and the approval of Dáil Éireann. These three stipulati…

I thank People Before Profit for bringing forward this motion. Children screaming out the names of the their dead parents, frantic fathers running with their badly wounded children wrapped in their trembling arms, mothers bereft of any emotion looking upon a maze of dead bodies wrapped in blood-soaked sheets while others search in vain for their children entombed under tonnes of rubble and concrete where Gaza has become a mass graveyard of children: this is our daily viewing in our news feeds and on TV. Hospitals, …

On behalf of farmers and the gardening industry, particularly in Wexford, I ask for an extension of the ban on green waste burning. This year's exceptionally wet summer and autumn has delayed the work in disposing of the piles of bracken and brush from ditches and so on that were saturated during the summer. I am aware that burning is allowed until 30 November. Farmers need some flexibility to allow burning to take place up to March 2024, before the new nesting season. Currently, there is no viable alternative to b…

The recent announcement by the CEO of the HSE will have an immediate and very serious repercussions on public health services. Up to 7,000 front-line posts will be withdrawn from an already overstretched workforce, one facing the real possibility of not being able to provide necessary and vital care to communities across the entire country, including County Wexford. It was obvious from budget 2024 that the health budget was way off the mark. The fallout from this on the Minister's Department and the Cabinet decisio…

I was recently contacted by a woman whose husband was diagnosed with dementia and Parkinson's disease. He is just 57. His condition is deteriorating and he needs a wet room and an extra bedroom to enable him to live and be cared for in his own home. They were quoted €80,000 for these works. As the Minister of State knows, the maximum grant is only €30,000. With today's prices, that would not get one a decent shed. The housing adaptation grant for older people and people with disabilities was last reviewed in 2014. …

Just talk to the people.

I thank Deputy Ó Broin and my other party colleagues for bringing this motion to the Dáil. We are all very familiar with the plight of our constituents contending with the Government's absolute failure to provide social and affordable housing on a scale that represents the true demand and that is required to fix this nation's biggest and most urgent housing emergency. It is heartbreaking to see children and their parents falling into homelessness. In fact, there has been an increase of 47% in homelessness this year…

According to the most recent census, the population of County Wexford reached more than 160,000 people. Wexford General Hospital has a capacity of only 280 beds. A 96-bed unit was promised and included in the capital plan. What capital has been allocated this year to progress this project? Is there projected capital to progress it in 2024? Can the Tánaiste guarantee that funding for the 96-bed unit at Wexford General Hospital will be available next year?

The Minister will be aware of the huge underfunding of the health sector in budget 2024 starting at €1.3 billion as already mentioned. In reality, the follow-on from this means there will be no additional services this year or into 2024 and there will be no moneys for future strategies. The health service is already creaking at the seams. Due to these cuts, the system has instantaneously experienced cuts to front-line services, with the loss of 7,000 unfunded posts, and a recruitment ban in respect of some front-li…

Following yesterday's severe flooding in Midleton, Youghal and Waterford, it feels like Groundhog Day as I once again refer to the Enniscorthy flood defence scheme on the River Slaney. The scheme was rejected by the Minister for Finance but a partial phase was accepted and approved as a separate preliminary scheme, which consists of building a new bridge. This new bridge is essential to the development of the town and would relieve most of the flooding of Enniscorthy, which is mainly caused by the low elevation of …

The current impasse between the Garda and the Commissioner on the rota needs to be quickly resolved. Cool heads are required on both sides. The public are worried about their communities and safety. Confidence and morale within the force have reached an all-time low. Recruitment and retention issues are causing internal problems within the force with specialist units being broken up and personnel being assigned to regular units. The replacement of staff who retire is another situation that must be dealt with as soo…

The Government repeatedly says it recognises that our country is going through a cost-of-living crisis and that it understands the financial difficulties families and grandparents are experiencing, yet time and time again, it votes against any measures brought forward by the Opposition - particularly those of my own party Sinn Féin - that would alleviate the high costs of childcare and early learning, and remodel it to a mandatory national fee structure system. I hope this very important issue for families in Count…

I commend Deputy Doherty's motion to all Deputies across the House, especially to my fellow Deputies from County Wexford. The Minister for Finance urgently needs to reverse the planned decision to raise petrol and diesel prices in October 2023. These purposeful price increases will add to the already substantial living costs of ordinary families. Wages have stagnated, food inflation is running at 6.6% and rising, rents in my county have increased by 19.5% year on year and fuel inflation is running at 16.4% even bef…