I welcome Ambassador Gerasko to the Oireachtas today. I thank President Zelenskyy for his courage, leadership and ability to inspire confidence and hope in the Ukrainian people. Most especially, I thank him and the Ukrainian people for their defence of liberal democracy, something too many of us take for granted. We sit comfortably in our seats in Dáil Éireann today as Ukrainian members of Parliament vow to defend their country and their people by all means necessary. There could not be a greater contrast. When thi…

I welcome Ambassador Gerasko to the Oireachtas today. I thank President Zelenskyy for his courage, leadership and ability to inspire confidence and hope in the Ukrainian people. Most especially, I thank him and the Ukrainian people for their defence of liberal democracy, something too many of us take for granted. We sit comfortably in our seats in Dáil Éireann today as Ukrainian members of Parliament vow to defend their country and their people by all means necessary. There could not be a greater contrast. When thi…

Many individuals and families are struggling to cope with the cost of living increases, but some are especially heavily burdened. Included in that group are families who support and care for persons with disabilities. Yesterday, Family Carers Ireland launched a report compiled by the Vincentian Partnership that detailed the additional costs to a family caring for an adolescent with a profound intellectual disability. That additional cost is already more than €160 per week and the rising cost of living adds to it. W…

I thank the Regional Group for bringing forward this well-thought-out and comprehensive motion, which outlines a series of proposals to utilise the many vacant and derelict properties throughout the country. In my opinion, the proposals outlined here are reasonable, practical and could be implemented in a timely manner. I believe the Government will not oppose this motion, but as so many Deputies have said, we need urgent action. We are all aware of the extent of the housing crisis. While the Government tells us ab…

This motion contains some good proposals. Will the Minister of State please tell us he will take some on board?

It is correct. Which Minister is taking this matter? We addressed it to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I have huge respect for the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, and his portfolio, but I had hoped we would have a Minister or Minister of State from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. However, like Deputy Michael McNamara, I will keep my powder dry because maybe we will get good news, which is what we are here for. To provide some context for the Minister of State, a landslide …

I appreciate that the Minister of State came in here and read out what is in front of him. I will not direct my sheer annoyance and anger at him. This is completely unacceptable, however. If we look at what happened when other landslides occurred in the Minister's constituency in Inishowen, we will see that the whole thing was processed and dealt with in just over five months. If we look at what happened at Pollatomish in County Mayo, we will see that it took less than a year for compensation to go to farmers. I am…

I thank Sinn Féin for tabling this motion and giving us the opportunity to debate it. The provision of a quality, universal, public childcare system is essential for families, not just for parents who want to go to work, but for all families because quality childcare has a significant positive impact on the development of young children. In Ireland, historically, we have had significant underinvestment in childcare and while the Minister's proposals are an improvement, they are starting from a very low base. The Mi…

I thank Sinn Féin and Deputy Tully for giving us the opportunity to discuss and hold the Government to account on the deteriorating situation in regard to services for children with disabilities. It is most concerning that just over two weeks ago the High Court decided that the HSE is in breach of the rights of children with disabilities as set out in the Disability Act 2005. That is 17 years ago. The assessment of need that is conducted is simply not adequate to identify the extent and nature of the disability or,…

Next Sunday, the postmasters will hold an emergency meeting to consider balloting on industrial action because they have reached a tipping point with regard to payments, for example, their fit-for-purpose payment agreed in their contract of 2018, their Christmas payments of 2021, and payments for additional work due to the money laundering directive that was agreed nearly a year ago. There is more and more work but payments have not been forthcoming. Also, an interdepartmental group was set up one year ago to exami…

My time is short so I will make three very brief points. First, on the upcoming European Council, I am satisfied with Ireland's position on Ukraine's application for EU membership. However, I want more clarity on our position on sanctions particularly around purchasing Russian coal, oil and gas. The impact of sanctions in this area would be very powerful but it would also hit the European and Irish economy very hard. We have to make choices and ask ourselves if we starve the Russian military machine now and literal…

I was happy to sign and support this motion, which promotes workable solutions to the current unacceptable circumstances in regard to the issuing driving licences. For many people, including those with poor or no broadband, those who want to use cash and those who expect the State to provide a quality public service for the issuing of driving licenses, the service is not fit for purpose. Covid-19 saw the temporary cessation of walk-in services for driving licence applications. Now most public offices have reopened …

I recognise that we are in the middle of a global crisis and I have intervened on that issue twice in the past few days. However, there is also a real crisis nationally in the community and voluntary sector, which provides services for children and families. While I will refer to the situation in Sligo-Leitrim this morning, this is a nationwide issue. The community and voluntary boards in Sligo-Leitrim provide and run services funded by Tusla but they are not in a position to pay their staff decent wages commensura…

The Taoiseach is right that there has been an increase in funding and services. I welcome that and I stated that but those services are delivered by staff; by the workers who man those services. The Taoiseach said himself that this has been the way since it started but I would put it to him that it is time to change or at least review that. The average salary in these organisations is €33,000 per annum, yet the average wage in Ireland in 2019, based on CSO information, is between €40,000 and €49,000. Most of these …

I fully support this motion and unequivocally support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. Implicit in that is the absolute right of Ukraine to determine its own future and alliances, including membership of the EU. I am pleased to see that the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly, with just nine against, to approve EU membership for Ukraine. The right to self-determination includes Ukraine's right to join NATO if that is the choice of the democratically elected Ukrainian Government. The first …

The publication of this town centre first policy document is a much-needed call to action. In so many of our small, medium and large towns there are derelict buildings in need of regeneration. Today is a good news day. The Northern and Western Regional Assembly recently published a vacancy and dereliction analysis for the region. It makes for dismal reading. I will give some details in regard to a number of towns in my constituency where there was an increase in vacant commercial stock between 2015 and 2020. In Car…

I thank the Rural Independent Group for bringing forward this most comprehensive motion which captures the impact of rapidly rising inflation and the high cost of living, which affects every Irish citizen, but disproportionately affects those on lower incomes, middle incomes and, above all, fixed incomes. The motion captures many of the specific cost increases for those who work and live in rural areas, in addition to the increases already felt by all Irish people. It is important to make the point that those who l…

I welcome the all-female delegation from Ukraine. I want to pass on my best wishes to them, their family and all Ukrainians. All I can offer to the ambassador and her colleagues are my words, but they are sincerely and strongly spoken. This House, representing the Irish people, is overwhelmingly supportive of the right of Ukrainian people to self-determination and territorial sovereignty. We repudiate the idea that any state, through force of arms or cyberattacks, can attempt to extend its sphere of influence beyon…

Can the Minister confirm that the new 2023-2027 LEADER programme will be ready for activation at the start of 2023?

The Minister clearly said that the timeline for implementation is closely linked to the negotiation of the CAP strategic plan. In that context, we know that it is not unusual for programmes to be delayed. If, for example, we are not ready to go by 1 January 2023, the Minister and I know some companies would struggle to keep going financially. The transition programme is in place to 1 January, but some companies are tight enough, especially when it comes to administrative funding and would have real difficulty going…