Is breá liom Seachtain na Gaeilge. Is maith liom a bheith ag éisteacht le gach duine agus iad ag caint as Gaeilge. Tá Gaeilge álainn san Oireachtas seo. Níl a lán Gaeilge agam agus níl a lán confidence agam caint as Gaeilge ach is breá liom páirt a ghlacadh sa díospóireacht seo inniu. Agus mé ag tabhairt faoin óráid seo a scríobh, thug mé faoi deara go mbeadh gá le téarmaíocht nár fhoghlaim mé ar scoil. Ionas go mbeadh ciall leis an méid a déarfainn, bhí orm téarmaí nua a fhoghlaim, téarmaí ar nós “díth ábhartha”, …

My question, as the Minister will see, is simple and straightforward. I hope he has plenty of very enlightening answers for me. The question concerns the issue of youth unemployment and, in particular, the impact of automation and AI, which is causing a bit of what might be called a bottleneck. Where previously there would have been a pipeline to move through, a lot of younger people are getting stuck because jobs they would traditionally have moved into are now being done by AI and automated in other ways.

That will be welcome. A number of factors need to be considered. I welcome the fact that the Minister is concerned because I am, too. I feel that when we are both concerned about something, we might be able to do something about it, which would be good. I welcome publication of the report into AI. However, there is an issue. Youth unemployment is rising at a faster rate than that of the general population. Therefrom comes both of our concerns. What is needed is a bespoke programme for younger people. We are heading…

I thank the Minister. He mentioned that Intreo staff are engaging intensely. He might provide me with a note on the type of engagement and where it is that Intreo is directing people. We know that 50,000 young workers are either working part time or on low-hours contracts. In some instances, much and all as they should not be, they are on zero-hours contracts. I met representatives of the National Youth Council of Ireland. They are saying clearly that there is not just youth unemployment, which is an issue and whic…

This question relates to the youth rates of jobseeker's payments and whether the Minister has any plans to equalise them. Coming from a trade union background, we always said there should be equal pay for work of equal value. However, for those dependent on a social welfare payment, it would be wrong to assume it is pin money or is somehow not relevant to the young person and his or her family.

My constituency has the youngest population in the State. Youth unemployment is rising at three times the rate for the general population, as we have discussed, and constituencies like mine will feel that the hardest. A total of 18% of 25-year-olds went back to their parents' house after attempting to live on their own and 43% have never left. This means 60%-plus of young adults remain in their family home. The Minister referenced the need for bespoke strategies. I hope to hear more from him about that in the comin…

The purpose of jobseeker's payments and other social welfare benefits should be to help people to get back on their feet and back into the labour market. However, having subminimum reduced rates for younger people cuts them off and leaves them further adrift. The two-tier element is not a good thing. I appreciate that the full rates are available for those participating in training and employment opportunities but the Minister needs to take a long, hard look at the reasons for non-participation. Very often, it is n…

My question relates to the engagement the Minister has had with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, or the energy providers, or hopefully both, in relation to pay-as-you-go meters, or as they are sometimes called, hardship meters. We had a discussion yesterday at committee in relation to a particular incident. I will not ask the Minister to comment on that but there is an issue of what I would call microdisconnections. If people on a prepay meter are on the vulnerable register, it is meaningless becaus…

It is very expensive to be poor in this State, if a person finds themselves on a pay-as-you-go meter. I do not give a continental what the energy companies say. Many people are on those meters and they do not want to be. They either believe they have no choice or they are put onto them. They are then charged the most expensive rate of electricity. Thanks to my colleague, Lynn Boylan MEP, we learned in the newspapers yesterday that domestic customers pay twice as much for their electricity as data centres do. It is …

I welcome that. It is good work to be done but the question was specifically about the engagement the Minister might have had with the CRU or the energy providers. I appreciate that he is going talk to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and I wish him the best with that with. However, it would also be important that the Minister would engage with the CRU. I do not think people are engaging with this issue. I see it, and I am sure the Minister sees it in his constituency clinic as well. I am not talking about a massive n…

I thank the Minister for acknowledging my interest in this, and particularly in the role of meals on wheels, which is in the community, already delivering healthy, nutritious meals to people. I would differ with Deputy Hayes. I do not believe there are benefits to being reliant on the private sector. I think that is a backwards step but we are all different in our own lovely ways. Has the Minister had any formal engagement with the national meals on wheels organisation and if he has not, will he have that formal en…

The next slot is a Government slot. Deputy Aird, le do thoil.

I do not know where to start. There are a huge number of issues and the lads opposite will be familiar with them, given that they are the cause of most of them. We are here to discuss the specific issue of homelessness. I want to talk about hidden homelessness. There is a rising number of families affected by relationship breakdown. Because they are petrified of homelessness and have nowhere to go, they are stuck in the home that they started together. They do not want to be together any more and that happens with …

We are not under pressure for time.

Yes.

My apologies. The clock was wrong. The Minister of State had ten minutes. I apologise for that. The final speaker will be Deputy Malcolm Byrne.

Is cuid ríthábhachtach den phobal iad na cúntóirí riachtanas speisialta. Ceadaíonn na cúntóirí riachtanas speisialta do pháistí foghlaim agus fás. Another fine mess that the Government has created. I am genuinely here in disbelief at the absolute hack of the Government backbenchers, rambling in, every single one of them, pretending to be shocked at the implications of the budget that they bloody well voted for. I want to talk to the Ministers about a woman I know, Niamh, who is an SNA. I asked her how the Governmen…

I thank the Minister of State for being here to listen to the statements. For my part, flooding is something that happens occasionally. It is usually from the sea rather than rivers in my area but it is the impact and aftermath of flooding. The state of the roads in north County Dublin is shocking. They are the kinds of words people use. If you come around by an area like Blake's Cross, you will often see tyres and parts of tyres on the side. Added to that situation, which was already bad, we then had flooding on t…

In accordance with Standing Order 85(2), the division is postponed until the next weekly division time.

Seanad Éireann has passed the Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 without amendment.