I send John Caldwell my best wishes for his recovery. Our thoughts are with him and his family. At a meeting of the Committee on Public Petitions last April we were joined by representatives of GSOC. During their contribution the chairperson recognised the level of changes this Bill provides for, especially in the composition and mandate of GSOC. It was noted at the time that, following on from the Bill, what is planned to replace GSOC, the office of the police ombudsman, will have additional powers and functions. …

I thank People Before Profit-Solidarity for bringing the Bill before the House. I welcome the Minister. It makes a change for him to be around for the debate-----

-----and not to have gone off someplace else.

When the Minister finally listened to us and introduced the eviction ban, he said its aim was "to afford time for housing supply to increase and to reduce the burden on homeless services and the pressure on tenants and the residential tenancies market". The Minister wasted that time. Yesterday, he failed the many in need by introducing nothing to reduce rents, to help with the rising cost of mortgages or to tackle soaring energy bills. It is renters who will pay for the wasted opportunity during the eviction ban un…

I raise with the Taoiseach a situation in Gortnahoo in Tipperary, where Eir is trying to construct an 18 m mast. The county council has turned down planning permission for this mast, as county councils throughout the country have done in similar cases. However, in its wisdom, An Bord Pleanála has overturned that decision. The residents in Gortnahoo want their broadband and all of that. They have offered four different sites but Eir has not even looked at them. Why are county councils spending a fortune drawing up d…

Does the Taoiseach realise what it would cost for a small business to seek a judicial review?

I am raising this matter because of the lack of clarity I received in reply to a parliamentary question about a 60-bed unit that was supposed to be built in St. Patrick’s Hospital, Cashel. We were told the money for the project was ring-fenced years ago. The response I received to that parliamentary question moved to discuss a 50-bed unit. I received an amended reply today that has returned to discussion of a 60-bed unit. I want to know what commitment has been given. Is the 60-bed unit going ahead? I need clarity …

I am not sure. I thought the Minister for Health was going to be here. He knows the situation. I am not having a go at the Minister of State but it is a joke that we are here again asking questions of a Minister for Health who has not appeared. The Minister of State has confirmed that it is a 60-bed unit. This reply states that it may be built on the existing site or on a new site. That throws everything up in the air again. There has never been mention of another site. It was always expected that this 60-bed exten…

What did it get wrong?

In the response to the parliamentary question, there is no mention of the other site raised in the reply the Minister of State has given me today.

I know. I appreciate that. I said that. It is a disgrace that the Minister has not turned up again.

I commend Deputies Ward and Gould for this Bill. It provides for something that has been missing for far too long. We need only ask the voluntary organisations that try to fill the gaps left by the State. They will describe the level of demand they have for the services they provide in the area of combined addiction and mental health and how the State does not provide for it adequately. In my time in this House we have spoken about dual diagnosis on a number of occasions. We have outlined shortcomings in service pr…

It is the Government's policies that are referred to in this report.

I am grateful to have the opportunity to speak to this Bill. Our Civil Defence is highly regarded in every community. They are our neighbours and our family members. The amount of work they put into the Civil Defence is unimaginable and often overlooked. Tipperary Civil Defence, covering north and south Tipperary, has carried out amazing work all over the county, especially during the pandemic and when Ukrainian refugees arrived. Volunteers are out in all kinds of weather, be it good or bad, and go up mountains and…

I thank the Minister for the opportunity to speak on the Bill. A derogation that would have allowed for responsible persons to continue to dispense some veterinary medicinal products, VMPs, without a veterinary prescription was not availed of by the Government. As the Minister knows full well, it led to a lengthy debate on the future of the role of the responsible persons under the new regulation, and the impact this could have on licensed merchants, co-ops and rural economies in general. The Oireachtas Joint Commi…

I will go back to where we are with accommodation for college students. The Minister announced towards the end of last year that funding had been released for 667 of the 3,000 remaining undeveloped sites. I accept that he said earlier to Deputy Conway-Walsh that he met with representatives from these colleges. When can we see progress on this? Dublin City University, DCU, has planning permission for 990 additional beds. That has been the case since 2019. Can the Minister make a statement on that?

I appreciate the Minister's response but the plan is a stopgap measure that still falls way short. Like I said, 667 out of 3,000 is a start but it is still does not come anywhere near what is actually needed in places like Waterford, Cork and Dublin. They have been left out of it. We are seeing the consequence of decades of underinvestment and now demand is outstripping supply. At least it is now being recognised that the strategy needs to change and bring all affordable student accommodation back into it because c…

If we assist with the students' rental situation the Minister will also assist with the wider problem, to some extent by taking the pressure off it. By its very nature, however, this kind of accommodation must be affordable. I am not talking about providing some affordable accommodation or restricting it to SUSI recipients. I am referring to all beds being offered at an affordable rates. Reference was made earlier to this. I am aware the Minister has said that it is not his Department but there is also confusion on…

The renters are being punished for the landlords not being registered with the RTB.

The Labour Party is in government now.