Sinn Féin could not in all conscience allow the Government to end the eviction ban without doing what we can in the interest of renters across County Tipperary and the whole country to change the Government's mind. If we cannot change the mind of the Government or backbenchers, we must look to the Independents who propped up the Government last week. I use the word "Independent" very loosely because if you scratch just below the surface, their true colours start coming out. If they stand by the actions of last week…

They do not have anything.

The Government might want that but it is not happening.

Because you did not buy his book.

Defend the truth.

Gobshite.

I thank Deputy Harkin and the Independent Group for bringing forward this motion. As a result of the policies of this Government and the previous Government, we are living in an age where carers can be classified as underpaid or very badly paid. Despite the fact that carers take the pressure off the hospital system to the tune of €20 billion per year, the best they can expect from this Government is a fight to get the carer's allowance in the first place. If they are successful, they can expect to live hand to mout…

Let us remember the many cases when the Government was pressed by the Opposition to take numerous measures in the interests of the hard-pressed public at a time of high inflation and general global turbulence. With regard to mineral oil tax, referred to in section 2, the reduced rates of 21 cent per litre of petrol and 16 cent per litre of diesel are due to continue until the end of May, at which stage they are scheduled to increase. Petrol will increase by 6 cent per litre and diesel by 7 cent per litre. On 1 Sept…

Have the Minister of State or the Minister sought clarity from the Commission as to whether Coillte will be able to avail of grants and premia? Has the Minister obtained any independent legal advice about the matter? Will Coillte be able to avail of grants and premia under the revised state aid rules? If so, will this be provided for under the new forestry programme?

It has been raised numerous times with the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, that the issue of state aid and Coillte was a matter that should have been addressed when state aid was being revised, and not after it happened. The Department knew negotiations with Gresham House were taking place and at that time it was looking for the alternative way to benefit from the state aid. Why then did the Minister of State and the other Minister at that time not seek clarity about the potential beneficiaries under the draft …

I thank the Minister of State. We had a meeting with Coillte last week, and believe me it was not as clear cut as the Minister of State is telling us here. It was like drawing teeth trying to get answers out of some of them. If the wording of the revised state aid was such that the Department has since felt compelled to seek clarity from the Commission, will the Minister of State tell us if revisions around the potential beneficiaries of the afforestation grants and the premia under the revised state aid rules were…

That is the issue.

I wish all the women in the House and across the complex - and I better mention my wife Helen at home - the very best of luck on International Women's Day. The children's disability network team, CDNT, staff census and workforce review was published during the week. To be truthful, its contents are troubling to say the least. Of the 2,102 approved full-time equivalent places, a staggering 707 are still vacant. That equates to a national average of 34%. I want to focus attention on the areas that cover north and sou…

I thank the Minister of State for her response but the figures she laid out generally relate to positions that are vacant. The vacancy rate among speech and language in CHO 3 is 17%. In CHO 5, it is 46%. That is nearly half of the available posts, and the number of staff has reduced by five in that area. The vacancy rate for occupational therapists in CHO 3 is just 25% - a reduction of 5% on the 2021 figure - but CHO 2 has a 50% vacancy rate. Among psychologists in CHO 3, a quarter of posts are vacant. In CHO 5, at…

I also thank the Rural Independent Group for bringing this motion before the House. Last summer, AIB attempted to make 70 of its branches cashless. In my constituency of Tipperary, the branches at Cashel, Cahir, Carrick-on-Suir and Roscrea were targeted. The response from the public was straightforward; they said "No." The Government dithered but people power ultimately won out and the decision was abandoned. Why was the public outcry so strong? It was because cash is important in providing for social and financial…

I thank Deputies Daly and Conway-Walsh for bringing the Bill before the House. If enacted, it would bring transparency to the area of pay in job advertisements. This has always been a glaring omission in job advertisements. People looking at the advertisement for a particular position they are interested in, and which they feel might suit them, never see a reference to the rate of pay. This immediately puts people on the back foot. They are unsure of what is going on, what they can apply for and whether it would su…

On numerous occasions, I have raised the availability of autism spectrum disorder, ASD, classes and the challenges faced by parents in accessing those classes for their children. In my county of Tipperary, Carrick-on-Suir is one of the areas that has been the focus of my concern since I was elected to this House. For many years, parents have been faced with uncertainty at the start of each school year. I have no doubt the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, is faced with this issue in her office, as is every Deputy …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. As I said, I appreciate the Department is under pressure on this issue, which arises every year. Every Deputy will have met the same problem. However, I do not get a sense that the Minister of State realises how serious this issue is for some families in certain places. When there are no special needs, parents can make plans from the time their child is in preschool for what primary school he or she will attend. For children who need an ASD class, parents have only a couple of m…

I thank the Regional Group for bringing this motion to the House. I welcome the opportunity to discuss it because County Tipperary is particularly affected by the Government's failure to support ambulance services and paramedics. The HSE's standards require an ambulance response time of 19 minutes or less for 80% of life-threatening incidents. In Tipperary that is far from the case. I will praise the ambulance staff, including the paramedics, first responders and all those across the services. I warned about this i…

I hope the Minister of State enjoyed her visit to Tipperary and especially Cashel a couple of weeks ago. I saw her going into Walsh’s butchers before she left town and I hope she got something nice there. I am pleased to speak on this Bill today. In my area, just like in many communities across the country, the value of credit unions cannot be overstated. The purpose behind enabling the credit union movement to grow is worthy, and this Bill seeks to begin to deliver on that to an extent. In recent times, we have se…