I am happy to have the opportunity to speak on this matter. Just this week, on Monday, I had members from the Carlow and Kilkenny Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, ICSA, in my clinic. When this item was on the agenda, I said I would take the opportunity to raise some of the concerns they raised with me. As people will know, both counties of Carlow and Kilkenny have a good mix of rural and urban but there are many people who rely solely on their income from sheep farming. As we know, and has been said by m…

I welcome the women who are visiting the Dáil and commend their courage and bravery. I commend all of the women who spoke up. We owe them a debt of gratitude. Speaking up is not easy to do in any way, shape or form, but especially when dealing with such a male-dominated organisation. I also commend my colleague, Deputy Clarke, on her work on this matter. Too often, the Dáil debates issues that have negatively affected women. When I heard there was going to be a statutory inquiry, I welcomed it because that will be …

I wished to speak to this grouping of amendments, but specifically amendments Nos. 3 and 4, because I was looking for clarity. I know there was some discussion with regard to this in the Seanad. There seem to be some amendments accepted that would have been put forward by Senators Ruane and Higgins - I wished to see where exactly this is - with regard to the rate of pay. We know about the financial hardship. We have discussed it in various forums, but something not highlighted is faced by many women in this situati…

I welcome amendment No. 18, which refers to the Minister laying a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas within six months of the passing of Act. It is quite a good amendment.

I thank my colleague, Deputy Ó Broin, for bringing forward this Bill. Exactly seven years and one week ago, I made my first speech in the Dáil. That speech was on the housing crisis. When I was preparing for tonight, I felt I could have dusted off that speech and used it again but for the fact that matters are an awful lot worse. In the intervening seven years - the Minister of State might be very interested in this - Sinn Féin and its housing spokesperson have introduced countless items of legislation, motions and…

That is what they have to date. That is the information they are going on.

I thank An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach. Given that people are being advised to go to them for everything, is there any chance that local authorities will be provided with additional in staff in order, particularly because, as matters stand, they are totally overburdened? I cannot describe how frustrating it is, seven years after my first speech in this House, that not only are we still in the same housing crisis but that it has become far worse. It seems like an obvious observation to make but housing affects all aspec…

I ask Deputies to adhere to their time as there are a lot of questions in this group.

I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak on this issue. I have not seen Deputy Cairns since she was elevated to her new position, so I take this opportunity to offer her my congratulations. We wish her the best of luck with the role.

The war in Ukraine had only begun a week or two before International Women's Day last year. It is difficult to imagine that a full 12 months on, the war is still raging, with no end in sight. Last year, I started my contribution on International Women's Day by sending solidarity to the women who had fled here with their families. I reiterate that again. Also, as we are unfortunately aware, there are reports of rape and widespread sexual assault being used regularly as weapons of war, not just against Ukrainian wome…

I apologise, but can I confirm we are on amendment No. 28?

I thank Deputy Sherlock for moving this amendment. It is concerned with the timeframe in the context of this scheme, which we have been discussing and which we discussed the last day as well. I refer to the age cohort involved. As I said previously, it is difficult to talk about the subject sometimes when we have such difficulties with the legislation. One thing we definitely do not want is delays. The phrase "as soon as practicable" is just too vague. We are already seeing huge issues and delays in the processing …

I move amendment No. 30: In page 15, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following: “(c) shall, when applicant has reached the age of 75 years or older, prioritise applicant and process within 15 days.”.

I move amendment No. 31: In page 16, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: “(c) specify the length of time said information will be stored, confirmation if at the end of this period said information will be destroyed and by what means,”.

In fairness, this is our last chance to make any sort of appeal.

I appreciate the Ceann Comhairle's indulgence. It is probably one of the last occasions on which we are going to have the opportunity to discuss this in the Chamber. For those of us that have been dealing with it for the last number of years, , just even in this context, it is important for us to make the final points. First, I will speak to the technical aspects of the amendments. We do not support amendments Nos. 34 to 38, inclusive, on the basis that they refer to the dissolution of the agency and handing the po…

That is a different question.

I also want to speak to amendment No. 56 which I am totally opposed to. It refers to somebody being required to submit additional information and yet the Minister just said that in many cases the records are not available. If we know the records are not available, what additional information can people possibly submit? Tonight and during countless debates we have asked why people who were born in the institutions and spent less than six months there have been excluded. One of the answers we get back is that the Min…

If it is the case that someone misses the 180 days and they can come back, why is the 180-day period there in the first place? Why can it not be a rolling process? Why is there any timeframe? I guarantee they will not be able to come back. It will be a whole new application again. Even the most basic application forms for a medical card or even sometimes the community welfare forms are so daunting for people.

It is off-putting. We all come across people who do not apply or appeal because the forms are like an essay. If it is a case that you can come back after the 180-day period, I do not see the need for the 180 days. I have a feeling it is not as straightforward as that and it would be like a new application and starting from scratch. That is going to put people off. I think there is a phrase about not being able to sign away your rights. If somebody is deemed eligible for this scheme, then they are eligible. It shoul…