What is clear after the budget is that there is no Government plan to alleviate the pressures placed on households by the energy companies. While short-term measures are needed, Sinn Féin knows that to address the dysfunction in the Irish energy market, longer term measures also need to be taken. Wholesale energy prices have fallen by 75% since their peak, yet households are still paying 70% to 80% more, and 30% to 40% are in energy poverty because the energy market does not function for ordinary workers or familie…

I want to follow up on comments from the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste earlier and ask them how they have made this budget work for children with additional needs who do not have a suitable place, like Josh in Clonmel, whom we spoke about in the House last week. How have they made this economy benefit the 11,000 children waiting for an assessment of needs or scoliosis surgery? Why are there more than 4,000 children homeless and 230,000 children experiencing material deprivation? How is the flagrant waste of money that…

It is welcome to finally see some legislation that might put some manners on the banks. They have tried to reduce the ability of people to access cash when and where they want over the last couple of years. Let us not forget that cash remains the preferred payment method of one in five people in Ireland. It is also important for social and financial inclusion for many people, and is a primary safeguard of privacy and against financial fraud, which is a greater risk than ever before. Last year when AIB tried to remo…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach. I also thank the Regional Independent Group for bringing this motion before the House. For people who contribute so much to the well-being of people who need care, it is unjustifiable that carers are expected to contribute so much, yet are expected live on payments that fall way below the established minimum essential standard of living. That is why to incrementally bring social welfare rates in line with a minimum essential standard of living over time, we are cal…

I welcome the opportunity to discuss this Bill because the current system of largely pen-and-paper patient records has been a source of some disappointment and frustration, for clinicians and patients alike. When the general scheme of the Bill was before the Oireachtas committee on health last year, Mr. Muiris O'Connor summed up the matter up with the following comment: "The reality is that, at present, the health information system does not exist at a coherent and co-ordinated national level." This claim is backed…

I commend Deputy Cullinane for bringing the Private Members' motion before the House. Before I begin, I want to take a moment to express my sincere condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of Aoife Johnson. The conditions that Aoife encountered when she arrived at the emergency department of University Hospital Limerick should never have been present. Indeed, the conditions that the people of the mid-west have been forced to deal with since the reconfiguration of services should never have been allowed to …

The fact that this Bill was subject to so much delay and will not be introduced in the lifetime of the Government indicates the lack of urgency the Government ascribes to mental health services. It is a shame that the level of urgency shown in closing inpatient psychiatric beds in Clonmel has not been applied to the review of the Mental Health Bill, but that appears to be the standard approach of this Government. There is a crisis in communities across the country. We have a lack of acute care and a lack of crisis …

I commend People Before Profit-Solidarity. I wish to speak about a young boy in my own county by the name of Josh. His local special school could not take him on the basis that his needs were outside its remit as his condition was termed moderate to severe. Incidentally, this is the school his brother also attends. Unfortunately, this contradicts the Department’s notion that a child’s designation should not be a reason for the child not being accepted into a school. Another school was eventually identified to his m…

It is three minutes each.

Last week, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour councillors and some independents in County Tipperary voted in favour of increasing the tax on family homes in Tipperary through the local property tax, LPT. Yet, these same parties were the ones that opposed the payment of Apple billions that were due to our State when this country was reeling from the disastrous effects of the financial crisis, brought on by the mismanagement of the economy by a Fianna Fáil Government, which saw the suspension of many capital projects.…

I commend Deputies Kerrane and Funchion on putting this motion together and bringing it to the House. Despite the lack of a coherent message or plan from the Government parties about the structure of childcare going forward, Sinn Féin’s policy and its plans are clear and costed and are designed to address the immediate needs of parents and the sector. The system, as it is currently designed, is not in line with what the Minister has just told us. It does not work effectively for parents, for many children or for ea…

Movement is definitely needed on facilitating the needs of students who are facing sky-high rents. Addressing the situation whereby students find themselves having to sign a contract that would lock them into paying for potentially unused accommodation for the summer months has been required for some time. Specifically, this Bill stipulates that specific student accommodation contracts cannot exceed 41 weeks. If a student requests to occupy the accommodation for a longer period, then they can request the landlord's…

I also thank the Labour Party for bringing the motion before the House. I also thank Natasha and Bláthnaid and other women who have got this issue back on the agenda again, because we as public representatives must ensure every woman feels safe, going forward. Considering all that has been discussed this morning and what will be discussed later when members make statements on tackling all forms of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, it is fair to focus for a moment on the third national strategy. I want to …

My party colleague Deputy Cronin made the point earlier that what we owe to our Defence Forces personnel is to maintain a system that minimises risk and maximises the contribution they can make to global peace, but the unfortunate reality is there are only 7,500 personnel, as opposed to the target of 11,500. The Tánaiste may revert to the claim that the issue was inherited by the Government, but the rate of recruitment and subsequent retention shows that this claim holds little water. The year 2023 saw fewer Defenc…

I, too, welcome the students and Ógra Shinn Féin to the Gallery and thank Deputies Farrell and Ó Broin for bringing the Bill before the House. The rent-a-room scheme, or digs, is increasingly becoming a necessity for people, especially students, when there is a lack of available or affordable accommodation. While incentives have been put in place to make the proposition more attractive for property owners, those benefits are not accompanied by obligations towards their tenants. This means tenants in digs, essential…

I thank the Independent Group for bringing this Private Members' business before us. A clear message was sent to us in the audiovisual room last week by primary school principals from across the country, including Tipperary: urgent action is needed immediately. A lack of support staff to give teaching principals the time they need, the lack of consistent funding schedules to aid school budget planning, the inadequate resource allocation for SNAs and SETs - the list goes on, and the Minister is well aware of this. T…

Ahead of the previous European Council meeting, many contributors in the House warned of the potentially catastrophic consequences of the Israeli Government's planned incursion into Rafah. After an operation in which more than 1 million people have been displaced, the Israeli Prime Minister expressed his hope that the ground operation in Rafah would be completed soon. He is moving on regardless. Following Ireland's decision to recognise the State of Palestine, he treated our ambassador unacceptably and tried to use…

I, too, extend my best wishes to the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, on his promotion to his new position. I am disappointed, however, that the Minister for Health is not present. I thought someone with responsibility in the area of health would be present. I have asked-----

So be it, but the Minister for Health has a habit of not appearing in the Chamber for Topical Issues, and this has been raised before. I have asked for this matter to be discussed because it is reflective of the difficulties that can be experienced by people with life-long conditions and their families. The constituent of whom I am speaking is a 17-year-old girl. When she was born she was diagnosed with Treacher Collins syndrome, cerebral palsy and chromosomal abnormalities. She requires access to a variety of medi…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I know every effort is made by the HSE to keep it within the framework of the legislation. Will a simpler system be brought forward so that families like Natalia's and Natalia herself, who has lifelong complications, are not faced with an 80-page document, dozens of phone calls and over and back trying to source a medical card? Will the Minister consider the two suggestions they made? One was that a medical card be given straight away to people with life-long conditions.…