As the Minister well knows, people of all ages are struggling to pay their rent. I regularly have people come to me - friends, family, neighbours etc. - who are struggling or unable to pay their rents. These are people my age who may be looking to start a family and who have to move back to the family home because they simply cannot pay their rent or, if they can, they certainly are not able to save for a mortgage to be able to move out of their rented, shared, overcrowded accommodation. However, it is not only my …

I must say that when the Minister got up to speak earlier, I thought I was in some kind of alternate reality or universe, whereby we, in Sinn Féin have been in government for the past years, when he said that the thing we need to do is to build homes. That is something that we have long been calling for. However, it has been the Minister and his party who have been in government and have overseen this housing crisis and the increase in homelessness and the absolute desperation of people trying to pay rents and find…

Covid-19 has shown that we need capacity and bed numbers to keep patients safe and away from risk. Sadly, this is not the case at present. Galway University Hospital has long had an issue with capacity, which means that, as the Minister of State knows, most families in Galway have had a loved one stay on a trolley rather than in a hospital bed. Indeed, it was this capacity issue that left us on the back foot at the onset of the pandemic and it still impacts on our fight against Covid-19 now. It was horrifying to se…

I echo the words of my colleague, Deputy Martin Kenny. This really is a capacity issue. While budget after budget outlined the additional capacity that would be added to our hospitals, the reality is people in Galway having to leave their granny overnight on a trolley in Galway University Hospital as so many families have had to do in recent weeks. That is just not good enough. They need to see the impact on the ground.

What is the progress to date of the interim procurement reform board under the remit of the Minister of State's Department?

The national children's hospital was initially estimated to cost €650 million but the latest estimate stands at €2.4 billion, an increase of approximately 270%. The national broadband plan, initially estimated to cost €350 million, is now estimated to cost €5.7 billion, an increase of 1,530%. Behind schedule and over cost are hallmarks of procurement failure and the OGP does not collect data on the specific reasons for cost overruns. It seems that from a public policy perspective, this kind of information would be …

It will please the Minister of State to learn I have a Bill forthcoming that relates to public procurement. One of its aims is to improve the approach to procurement data collection. Another Bill I have introduced, the Regulation of Tenderers Bill, which has passed First Stage, attempts to address the issue of bid rigging, something that everyone now understands is a problem. We often hear that Ministers want us to come up with solutions, and there are solutions in my Bills. I hope the Minister of State will suppor…

Regarding the Open Government Partnership, OGP, I ask the Minister to advise us concerning the issues it will be addressing with him and if he can give us some more detail in that regard.

I welcome the Minister’s response. Many people would agree that there have been major concerns regarding transparency and accountability. I do not need to rehash those concerns because I think we have debated regularly in this Chamber. It is welcome that there will be an open government round table multi-stakeholder forum and that the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, will be attending. Equally, however, it is important that the collaborative effort consists of more than discussion and that firm action will b…

I will also be introducing legislation on protected disclosures. It will be intended to strengthen the legislation in this area, because it does need to be strengthened. Turning to freedom of information provisions, I have been clear that the current regime needs to be strengthened and that is why I have brought forward legislation and submitted amendments in that regard. The same goes for the issue of lobbying. When we have a situation where Bills intended to strengthen transparency and accountability are ready to…

We can make all the decisions now.

We have a crisis in Galway county with all five municipal districts rejecting their proposed budgets due to the severe lack of funding of Galway County Council. This should come as a surprise to nobody as Galway elected representatives have been highlighting this year after year. In 2020 we had the second-lowest spend per capita of all counties, with only €714 being spent per person in our county, compared with more than €1,000 in Clare, more than €1,200 in Leitrim and almost €1,200 in Longford. In a ten-year perio…

The Minister of State's answer is outrageous. She said it would not be appropriate to increase the funding for Galway County Council only, but we have just outlined the fact that spending per capita for Galway County Council is significantly lower than in other counties. It is not something that only Sinn Féin is arguing, but it is something that councillors from all parties are saying very clearly. That is why they have rejected the budgets in the municipal districts. They have been clear that there has been under…

This is a highly technical Bill but it provides two main reforms, which I will deal with in moment. First, it is worth providing some background context on what the ESM is, what its forerunner was and what Ireland's previous experience with it was. While most ordinary people are probably not familiar with the ESM, they will surely be aware of what transpired and led us to requesting financial assistance from its forerunner, the European Financial Stability Facility. That was in 2010, a year when multiple Fianna Fái…

Given the exceptional circumstances in which we find ourselves arising from the Covid pandemic, as my colleague, Deputy Doherty, outlined, Sinn Féin will be supporting the motion. A large volume of public expenditure was required to ameliorate the impact of Covid-19 and this was necessary to prevent the worst. This means that the €500 million annual contribution for transfer from the Exchequer to the national surplus reserve fund, or the so-called rainy day fund, to be made this year will place an unnecessary burde…

Is léir do chách go bhfuil an Stát ag teip ar an iarthar agus ar na pobail tuaithe mar gheall ar easpa infheistíochta cuí agus níl sa phlean forbartha naisiúnta ach leanúint den treocht sin. Ní féidir gan na torthaí den treocht seo a fheiceáil nuair a bhreathnaítear ar staid na mbóithre i gConamara. Tá an R366 ó dheas agus an N59 ó thuaidh an-dainséarach ar fad. Ní féidir le daoine rothaíocht nó siúl orthu go sábhailte agus bíonn timpistí orthu go minic. Tá grúpa ar an gCeathrú Rua ag impí ar an Stát ar feadh blian…

The right to freedom of expression and the freedom of the media are protected by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. It is considered one of the pillars of democratic society and security in Europe, yet when it comes to the persecution of journalist Julian Assange our Government's and the European Council's silence is deafening. He is still incarcerated in Belmarsh prison. He has been incarcerated for years and we know he is in very ill health. It is generally accepted that if he is extradited to…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle agus leis an Aire as an mBille seo a chur faoi bhráid na Dála. Ar ndóigh táimid anseo chun plé a dhéanamh ar Bhille Airgeadais 2021 de chuid an Rialtais agus is mór an trua é, i ndáiríre, nach bhfuil fís ann nó nach bhfuil sé ag déanamh tada do ghnáthdhaoine atá ag streachailt lá i ndiaidh lae ag iarraidh a gcuid billí a íoc ach, ar an taobh eile de, tá sé ag cabhrú leo siúd a bhfuil an t-airgead acu cheana féin. We are here to discuss the Bill, which outlines the taxa…

I welcome the motion that has been brought forward. It is very important we have an overarching autism strategy that brings all the different services and supports under the one umbrella to ensure that children and adults get the supports they need. I know the Minister of State is very much aware of this, but I question how many times we have to bring forward motions, Bills and discussions before we see this kind of overarching strategy that we all agree needs to happen. My colleague, Deputy Funchion, brought forwa…

I will be quick, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle