The test of any disability Bill is very simple. Will it deliver better outcomes for children with disabilities and their families? Those families have heard enough about reforms, reviews and new processes. What they need has been stated many times. They need assessments and they need services. What I want to know is if this legislation will improve the scandalous situation affecting children with disabilities and their families in Monaghan and Cavan. There are 794 children in my constituency waiting for assessments…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an deis labhairt ar an tairiscint seo. Ardóidh mé roinnt nithe gaolmhara leis an Aire. As I have stated repeatedly in this House, proposals to opt into measures under Protocol 21 should always be subject to careful consideration. While Sinn Féin is not opposed to this proposal and believes it is appropriate to opt in on this occasion, it is important to recognise that Ireland's national interests must always take precedence over wider EU considerations. In relation to matters governing the areas…

Making a speech and coming up with nothing.

For the benefit of bringing the Minister of State down from her ivory tower and into the real world, I will read into the record an abridged email I received from a constituent: Hi Matt, From a worried working family mother of three children, one just did his Leaving Cert ... a fifth year student and a first year student, I'm self employed and my husband is a full time joiner, we are scraping the barrel to stay above paying our bills, keeping food on the table and running a car, we are truly grateful that we have w…

I ask the Minister to outline, further to previous parliamentary questions, the initiatives that he and his Department have taken to encourage prospective new owners to establish a business at the former site of the Bose, subsequently Newbaze, factory in Carrickmacross.

I thank the Minister of State. I am a bit disconcerted. There seems to be a takeover by the wee county, with plenty of Louth heads in the Gallery. They are very welcome. I am surprised the Minister of State needed the script at all. She should nearly know that off by heart at this stage because that is the exact same answer that has been provided to me in respect of this building for several years. Of course, the only distinction is that in 2025 we finally heard what had been suspected for quite some time, namely, …

That is all very well and good, but we need to actually see the evidence of it. It is an absolute scandal. If a factory of this prominence was in the centre of Dublin, we would not have the senior Minister refusing to engage on it at all, despite my repeated requests for him to take a hands-on approach. We would not have the same answer regurgitated by Enterprise Ireland time and again, talking about something perhaps happening. It is not good enough for Ministers to say that is Enterprise Ireland's remit. If this …

Is PJ going to buy it?

"We", or Enterprise Ireland?

It has been idle for ten years

As a Monaghan man, I object to that.

Has the Minister of State's Department received any reports from the National Waste Collection Permit Office? I do not know if his prepared remarks touch on the issue of the number of waste collectors in each local authority area but there is a fear around the impact consolidation is having on consumer prices.

The reason I ask this question is that I believe there is a need for a hands-on approach to one particular issue. I do not know if it is the same across the board but in many rural counties we have seen a pattern of behaviour where large multinational waste collection companies decide to come into a county. In the first instance, they try to purchase all the local waste collection services. Where that does not happen, what appear to me to be very aggressive marketing strategies are employed. This can sometimes invo…

We all have a shared objective in that regard; we all want to reduce the amount of waste. The difficulty is that in the scenario I spoke about, where these multinational companies essentially secure de facto monopolies in local authority areas where they are the only real option, the knockdown prices go very quickly. You are then back to what are eye watering, staggering costs for waste collection that would not be in place if there were local competitors. Will the Minister of State ask his Department to carry out …

I return to assessment of need, specifically in my constituency, to ask for details of the number of children currently on the waiting list for an assessment of need in those counties, and the numbers waiting for more than three, six and 12 months.

I hope the Minister of State's voice gets better soon. I know it is difficult when one is in this position with a sore throat. However, I have to say that regardless of the tone in which she is able to deliver it, her answer is incredibly worrying on a number of fronts. First of all, there is now a backtracking. I have a parliamentary question response from the HSE in January where I was given county-specific data. Now, the Minister of State is telling me the HSE does not provide that. Again, there are difficulties…

To be clear, this is an important point. I asked, through a parliamentary question, as is my constitutional right, for the assessment of need number in Cavan and Monaghan, by county. The Minister of State is telling me that the HSE does not provide that. I am telling her it did provide it, as recently as January. I am aware of that because I have a parliamentary question response. That is telling. If it is not dealing with the Minister of State and sending her into this Chamber with a shortfall in the information s…

As time passes, the situation gets worse.

I am asking the Minister of State to knock some heads together and sort this out once and for all.

Go raibh maith agat. Cuirim fáilte roimh an deis labhairt ar an ábhar seo. There are sensible provisions in this Bill that Sinn Féin can support. Giving local authorities access to collision data from An Garda Síochána and the RSA should help to identify dangerous locations and target investment. Allowing a jury to consider careless driving where there has been an acquittal on a charge of dangerous driving is also reasonable. Modernising the national vehicle and driver file and removing unnecessary bureaucracy also…