Tonight we are discussing another motion on high energy costs, and with good reason. Everyone in this Chamber is receiving emails and is meeting constituents, families, individuals, carers, people with disabilities, those on low, fixed incomes, those who have to measure the value of every €5, indeed every euro, they spend, and people telling us they cannot make ends meet. They are making hard choices between food and fuel. They are afraid of their living lives of the next bill that arrives on their doorstep. This i…

I welcome the legislation. I wish the Minister of State well in her new role and the very best in guiding this important legislation through the Oireachtas. I am not sure if it is her first Bill but, one way or the other, I wish her well. I hope she will be open to at least listening to some of the arguments put forward on amendments, changes and, perhaps, improvements to the Bill. In saying that, I recognise the hard work and widespread consultation that has taken place up until now. I commend the Minister of Stat…

All of us are used to meeting delegations. I just spent half an hour outside the gates speaking to sheep farmers from all over, some from Sligo and others from Donegal and Mayo. It is a long time since I met such a dejected group, some of whom are at their wits' end. Many of them are on the floor and are losing money. They watch French farmers and other European farmers get up to €8 per kilogram for their ewes when they get about €6 per kilogram, knowing they are at the mercy of the factories, with no real chain of…

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion on the unacceptable situation in the National Ambulance Service, which is completely stretched across the country. The service is at crisis levels in certain areas where wait times are simply unacceptable. Last week, Mr. Robert Morton, the director of the NAS, gave evidence at the Joint Committee on Health. When he was asked about response times and geographic locations he said: ... we conducted a demand and capacity analysis. We commissioned it in July 2021 and it…

In accordance with Standing Order 80(2), the division is deferred until the weekly division time tomorrow evening.

I think Deputy Connolly has taken a third slot. Are we on another question?

Are we on the first oral question?

I think we have taken that. Deputy Connolly is up next for the next oral question.

I am pleased to support this motion, which unequivocally condemns the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation on 24 February 2022, one year ago this Friday. As an Irish citizen, I strongly support the right of Ukraine to defend its territorial integrity and its independence. As a European citizen, I strongly defend the European values of human rights, equality, the rule of law, democracy, freedom, and human dignity. Ukrainians should, like every single one of us in this Chamber and this country, enjoy those r…

I raise the urgent need to regularise the contracts of adult education tutors employed by education and training boards, ETBs, and the establishment of a salary scale that accounts for their years of service. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, is in the Chamber. He will know I have raised the matter with him and submitted parliamentary questions many times. There are approximately 2,500 full-time adult education tutors. That is what we are talking about. …

I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. He mentioned the 3,300 tutors employed in ETBs. Approximately 2,500 work full time. I know that the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform uses the 3,300 figure when it talks about the costs but the other 800 tutors are on two four-hour contracts. That is a small point. The Tánaiste is right that some progress has been made. He raised the issue of public service pensions. We must remember that a public service pension will be based on a 37…

I want to recognise, insofar as any person not directly affected by war can recognise, the horror and the pain of the loss of family, of friends and of a home; it is your life literally disappearing in front of your very eyes. It is important to say that is the context in which we speak. The challenge facing Ukraine, Europe and Ireland is unprecedented, and that is the right word to use. When we discuss issues in this House it is important that we look at the bigger picture, but equally we must look at the detail. …

From Sinn Féin, I call Deputy Ó Murchú, who is sharing time with Deputies Martin Browne, Patricia Ryan and Pat Buckley.

The Bill will be read a Second Time on this day 12 months.

I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this very important motion, which allows all of us here on the Opposition benches to call for the immediate introduction of a windfall tax on energy companies and to ring-fence that tax for households, many of whom are struggling to pay exorbitant energy bills, for the many who are living in fear of their next bill, and for businesses, especially small businesses, whose profit margins have eroded or simply disappeared and whose very viability is at risk because of t…

Once again, I raise the issue with the Taoiseach of more and more private and voluntary nursing homes closing - 18 last year, two this year already - because they are no longer viable. Before the current cost-of-living increases, it was recognised that fair deal scheme payments to nursing homes were inadequate. There was an 8% increase in inflation last year and 7% is forecast this year. More and more nursing homes, especially those that are smaller and family-run, are struggling to survive, and more will close thi…

I want to thank Sinn Féin for the motion we have before us this evening and I note we also have an amendment from the Government. The Government's amendment lists all of the supports, both once-off and permanent, that it has put in place, and some of those are significant. I know some people who consider that the supports they have been provided with are a type of safety net. While those people are still stretched, they have noticed the mitigating impact of those supports on a day-to-day and week-to-week basis, and…

It must be difficult for the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, to sit here and defend a policy strategy that at the time made every effort to take away or minimise the eligibility of people for the nursing home subvention scheme. Those people, and some with disabilities, were denied their rights. That is what we are talking about. We have all heard about the Ombudsman's report and we know what its findings say. The 2010 report recommended significant repayment of moneys to those who were forced by the State to over…

The Sinn Féin motion to reintroduce mortgage interest relief is worthy of serious consideration. I say that for many reasons but, in my short time, I will address two that stand out. First, the proposal is made in the context of inflation levels of more than 7.7%, allied with very significant price increases for many daily essentials such as food, home heating oil, petrol, diesel, etc. I heard the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, say that this issue cannot be considered in isolation, but it is not bein…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Uachtarán go dtí an Teach. As a former MEP, I remember her when she was also an MEP, in particular in her role as vice chair of the petitions committee, where many petitioners from across Europe, including Ireland, came to make their case. I remember her humane approach and consideration, which was appreciated. However, we did not always agree politically. As a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, ALDE, which is now the Renew Europe group, I remember we were sometimes …