As was said about the Social Welfare Bill, I hope we are not in the Minister's head full time. It seems to be an affliction on that side of the House where it talks about Sinn Féin all the time. Maybe the Government should worry about its policies for a while. While the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage may not think there is a housing emergency, for many people across Tipperary and the nation, the crisis is very real. Daft.ie has revealed the average listed rental cost across the country has hit …

I also thank the Rural Independent Group for bringing forward this Bill. I am disappointed the Government will not accept it, but I am not in the least bit surprised by this. The Bill addresses the important issue of farm house and farmland repossession. It endeavours to tilt the legislative scale somewhere in the direction of fairness, which would be to the benefit of farming families. The Bill brings this issue into the light. As a representative of a large rural constituency in Tipperary, it is an important step…

I commend the Rural Independent Group on tabling the motion. I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this important matter, particularly as the Government's delay in taking meaningful action to address the challenges that continue to be faced by households and businesses is apparent both here and at the European Council. One action that could have a meaningful impact on the dreaded electricity bills coming in people's doors would be to decouple electricity prices from those obtaining in the gas market. This is som…

I welcome the recommitment of EU member states' solidarity with Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against annexation and I welcome the recent withdrawal of Russian forces from one of its regions. I also welcome the Council's intention to explore how the assets legally seized from Russian entities that may have sought to profit from the imperial actions of their President can be used to support Ukraine's reconstruction. I wish to discuss the issues of energy and the economy, in particular conclusion 18(d), in…

-----and will the Minister of State outline when he foresees it finally happening? The situation facing businesses and households is urgent and I call on the Government to act with haste and on the Minister of State to outline to the House what process is holding up implementation.

I am happy to speak on this. The importance of this issue cannot be overstated. However, it is an extremely complex area and my focus in relation to this issue and indeed the Bill is straightforward, namely, does it provide adequate protection to those who are or who may be subjected to hate crimes while at the same time protecting a fundamental right to free speech. The world is changing faster now than it has done in history. The Ireland that we see today is very different to the one that we were all born and rai…

I wish to address the concerns that have been expressed to me, as they have no doubt been expressed to the Minister and to other Members of this House, about the number of businesses that unfortunately have had to close some of their branches. I am referring to butchers specifically. Some of them have had to close branches or have had to shut their doors altogether. One such butcher in Thurles is a member of the Irish Butchers' Guild. He told me that he has been forced to close one of his branches and let go six st…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I spoke about businesses that have taken out major loans, like the one that invested €150,000, in the past 18 months or so. They took them out to deal with the consequences the pandemic had on their trade. The future is uncertain for many of those businesses because they will not be able to deal with that kind of debt. More can be done. Measures can be taken to offset the cost in other ways for these businesses. I refer here to tackling insurance costs. The Personal Injuries Ass…

I will not use the ten minutes allocated. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities obliges countries to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity. The committee report calls for a policy response that provides for people with disabilities and their right to live independently in a place of their own choosing, with the freedom to choose and co…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the discussion. I want to address the transfer of responsibility from local authorities to Irish Water and how the unresolved nature of this issue sets a worrying precedent for other problems that may lie in wait. Specifically, it is the ability of councils to take charge of housing estates with developer-provided infrastructure, DPIs. This has been discussed at the Committee on Public Petitions and relates to the many estates that have been left in limbo since the transfe…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. Since the cost-of-living crisis began to emerge last year, there have been repeated calls on the Government to act swiftly. Unfortunately, the Government's response has not been swift enough for many, but we must acknowledge when it does act. The Bill is important as it makes €1.2 billion available to SMEs, primary producers and mid-caps that have fewer than 500 employees. It will therefore provide low-cost unsecured working capital for SMEs and primary producers to …

Last year, when the Covid lockdowns were in effect, I raised the issue of a young man with muscular dystrophy. He was in receipt of minimal home care assistance at the time. I was told that despite being promised more care hours, they would not be provided due to shortages of healthcare workers in the south-east. Of course, Covid was used as a primary excuse here and yet here we are again speaking up for the many people who this Government has let down continuously because of its failure to plan for a significant w…

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the mother and baby institutions redress scheme. I begin by acknowledging all those who contacted Members across this House to outline their views and concerns on the provisions of the Bill. Before I address several matters of concern I have with the Bill, I must state that time is a crucial factor here. It has been said to me on numerous occasions that valuable time has been allowed go by while those who fell victim to these institutions awaited justice. That did not just happe…

"Fail to prepare, prepare to fail" is an age-old saying but it would be equally appropriate as a slogan for this Government and the previous ones it has led or formed part of over the years. Throughout those years, successive Governments have failed to manage energy supply and demand resulting in where we are today. We are faced with a heightened risk of blackouts this winter. As Mark Foley, CEO of EirGrid, said in recent times, this is another avenue this Government has led us down - another avenue that leads to u…

I am raising this matter because too many people are falling through the cracks apparent in the national retrofit scheme. In short, it is not working for the people who need it the most and therein lies the problem. I and many colleagues in the House see the homes that need to be made warmer and more energy efficient are being refused the assistance needed because of the nature of the house, the manner in which it was built or certain features that make it ineligible. Ability to pay is another aspect of this but I …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I appreciate the figures the Minister of State just rolled out to me. That is what we get every time we have a Topical Issue debate. I appreciate the Government wants 500,000 homes with a BER of B2 but I am talking about the homes that are generally the ones losing the most heat. They are likely to be occupied by the elderly in our communities who need the retrofitting more than the owners of a mansion down the road who, because they can afford €50,000, can then get another €50,…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, for being here to take the Bill. Too often, Ministers are not in attendance for debates. I thank Deputies Ward and Mythen for introducing the Bill and former Senator Máire Devine for the work she did on it during her time in the Seanad. Its purpose is to introduce a level of parity between the ability of young people aged 16 and 17 to consent to mental health treatment and their existing ability to consent to treatment for their physical health. For too long in this cou…

I raise the crazy system of the retrofitting scheme the Government has introduced. When will the Government realise it is not working and will not work because it excludes a large number of households? One example is stone-built houses that were constructed in 1965 or earlier. These homes could really do with deep retrofits but we are told that they do not qualify. Such homes are usually lived in by elderly people, parents or grandparents, who have stayed in the family home all their lives. They heat their homes wi…

These are the houses that need the deep retrofit.

Anything pre 1965 does not even qualify.