I would like to tell the Taoiseach about a little boy who lives here in Dublin. He will have his fourth birthday in a few weeks from now. His mother wants what any other parent would want for her child, namely, for him to be happy and to have all of the opportunities that life brings. However, this little boy has complex needs. He had a preliminary team assessment for disability services nearly two years ago. He received no follow-up therapies and his family have not been contacted by the HSE to receive a full and …

The Taoiseach has been in government for 12 years. What he has read into the record of the Dáil just reflects a litany of failure and inefficiency, and a lack of priority given to this area and to these children. One of my colleagues, Deputy Browne, another Tipperary Deputy, heard today that a one-year-old child with autism from Tipperary got word from the HSE that the first services available to that child will be in 2028. There are other children waiting for services or assessments of need, who are being told tha…

You are running down the clock.

Yes, to do it properly.

I want to return to the Barnardos report that was raised earlier. It found that one in five parents struggle to put food on the table for their families. It found that one in three is either not eating or eating less to ensure their children have food. I am sure the Taoiseach will agree that this is an appalling situation and evidence of the poverty that is in our society and the pressure families are under in a cost-of-living crisis. Urgent help is needed. A suggestion has been made by Barnardos that the school me…

The review on dignity and equality issues in the Defence Forces has found instances of bullying, harassment, discrimination and sexual harassment persist. They are not features of the past. The authors emphasise the prevailing culture will not stop without immediate and significant steps being taken and that neither men nor women in the Defence Forces are working in a safe workplace environment. It is clear from the language throughout the review that implementation of its recommendations requires urgency. There is…

There are 4,500 young people waiting for first-time child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, appointments. That is an increase of 112% since the Government took office. This is despite the number of children with medical referrals being refused by CAMHS having jumped by 12% in the same period. There are 11,000 children awaiting appointments for primary care psychology, more than 4,000 of whom have been waiting over a year. It is hard to fathom how child well-being could decline so radically under this Go…

My colleague, Deputy Carthy, and I have repeatedly raised the long delays by this Government and the previous one to progress an inquiry into the death of Shane O'Farrell. It is nearly 12 years since Shane was killed by a man who should have been in prison and five years since the Dáil and Seanad adopted resolutions calling for an independent public inquiry into the actions of An Garda Síochána and other State agencies before and after Shane's death. The scoping exercise that was carried out is a mechanism devised …

I also extend a very warm welcome to our friends from Malawi. A report by the Central Statistics Office, CSO, yesterday revealed that since March 2022 wholesale electricity costs have fallen by 57%. Yet, electricity bills have soared by 63% for households in that same time. It is very clear, therefore, that these savings are not being passed on to consumers. While big companies’ profits keep rising, workers and families continue to be fleeced. The real-life impact of these extortionate costs is felt in homes the le…

I described for the Taoiseach a scenario in which an elderly woman could not put a headstone on her husband's grave. Her family found her sitting in the dark so terrified was she of another high electricity bill. The exceptional needs line the Taoiseach gave me was of absolutely no assistance to her. The Taoiseach has given a list of things the Government has done but the one thing it has not done is to intervene to ensure the big drop in wholesale costs gets passed on speedily to the consumer. I know all about hed…

-----but no actual result for households. What will he do now to effect a drop in energy bills for households, for the lady to whom I referred and others? Equally, what is he doing now to bring costs down at the till in supermarkets?

You did not.

They are not having the desired effect.

The woman is sitting in the dark, afraid to turn on her light.

On this day 25 years ago, the votes on the Good Friday Agreement referendum were being counted. I commend the Ceann Comhairle for organising an event this evening to mark this significant occasion. A few days ago, the North went to the polls and delivered a seismic change in the local government elections. The clear message is that Ireland has changed and is changing. The clearer message is that people want to see the Executive back up and running to deal with the issues that matter in health and housing, to delive…

Any and all forms of bigotry, racism, xenophobia, intimidation, abuse, physical or psychological attack are to be, and have been, roundly condemned. I take to my feet to condemn all of those actions without equivocation and to condemn the small minority of people who believe that it is not only acceptable but is in some way politically profitable for them to engage in this type of behaviour. It says something about political life in Ireland that the vast majority of those of us who put ourselves forward for leaders…

Workers and families are struggling and families are struggling to keep up with sharp increases in grocery costs and households are being fleeced, day in and day out. Food price hikes have hit people's pockets hard and still show no sign of coming down. Last week, the Government met food retailers and the Taoiseach said the Government would have a very stark message to deliver. In advance of the meeting, the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, said he was preparing a dossier on price gouging that he was going to co…

Last year, when costs at the pumps were skyrocketing, nobody was scaremongering. That was a reality that every person experienced when going to fill his or her vehicle. The Minister and I are in agreement. I do my weekly shop as well. We see with our own eyes, do we not, the evidence of increased costs. It is an absolute disaster for people on small or fixed incomes. People are really struggling. We know this. The Taoiseach has said that profiteering is happening. He made that statement. I want to know what the Gov…

It is not agreed. I too rise to condemn the outrageous, appalling attack over the weekend at Sandwith Street in Dublin. However, I listened to the Minister's fielding of questions from colleagues on this matter and I have to say she is most unconvincing in her presentation. The reality is that in a First World wealthy state, we have endured a housing crisis for more than a decade. Irish people find themselves homeless. Irish people find themselves sofa-surfing or living in their mother's box room without hope or pr…

-----this outrage and take questions on those matters.