I welcome the motion, which is constructive and timely considering the present challenging trajectory of dental service provision in Ireland. Dental services are a subject that comes up repeatedly in constituency offices around the country. That is no surprise, given our increasing population and the declining investment in State-supported expenditure on dental schemes and care. The headline statistics show that the service is in crisis. Some 104,000 children, of the pool of more than 200,000 who can avail of them,…

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle.

We held a remembrance event in Waterford on Saturday to mark the recent passing of Brendan Cummins, someone who I recommended to the Taoiseach to the board of SETU. Brendan was a global CEO of Ciba-Geigy for many years and a board member of two companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but it was his civic work in Waterford he will be most remembered for, especially his outstanding work for Respond Housing Association. Ar dheis láimh Dé go raibh a anam dílis. Anger is an important emotion in politics. After …

I sometimes get bemused when I am making these statements because I wonder do I see different evidence from what the Taoiseach does when he responds to me. I would make the point here that the Taoiseach has raised the issues of SETU and what is happening. I point out to the Taoiseach that there has been no delivery on the promises that were given there, be it the courses, the teaching building or the development of the PPP. That is what people see and that is what people are looking at. In terms of the hospital, we…

We just spoke about how the health recruitment freeze is affecting the seven-day cardiac service, but it is also stopping other initiatives in the national hospital space. A large hospital in the country was able to transfer 220 patients who receive bimonthly infusion therapy into a community primary care setting because it had specialist nurses to help it do that. The patients remain under the active care of the hospital management teams but the topline results are demonstrated by this initiative. It reduced the h…

I had the pleasure of visiting Cappoquin a number of times in the last few months to review the funding there from the rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, which is progressing very well. I thank the Minister for that and also thank her for the recent grant of funding to Ardmore. Does the Department of Rural and Community Development have any oversight of rural supports for the Gaeltacht areas? I am reviewing replies to parliamentary questions that I received and they show that the Waterford Gaeltacht rec…

A little ripple of excitement went through Waterford and the south east last weekend when the Taoiseach and Tánaiste visited. Expectations remain sky-high, mainly built up by the Taoiseach, that South East Technological University, SETU, will meet the need of the south-east region for a university by adding new capacity and programmes. The past three programmes for Government, in 2011, 2016 and 2020, specifically prioritised the development of higher education in the south east. It is troubling and surprising that …

Like the Taoiseach, he was canvassing.

I wish to share time with Deputy Tóibín.

In the main, no one doubts the Minister of State's bona fides in regard to the work she is doing here. I welcome the arrival of this Bill. The preamble of the Bill refers to its purpose in regard to two existing legislative measures. It amends the Health Act 2007 to give new enforcement powers to the Chief Inspector of Social Services in HIQA, which consequently will provide for greater safeguards of residents of residential care centres. That is obviously to be welcomed. In addition, the proposed collection, shari…

Recently, there was recognition in this House of a 43-year-long struggle for social justice. We have another one now, which is the Waterford Crystal factory pensions issue, which has been going on for 32 years. It was visited by "Prime Time" last week, which brought up new information that showed there was understanding between the Irish Pensions Trust and the factory workers, where over 400 families were excluded from a pensions annuity option or the transfer of a pension. A case was taken to the ECJ in 2013. Thes…

I congratulate the Minister of State also on his recent elevation and wish him the best of luck in his position. I will speak on affordable housing and housing in general. We have an affordability issue across the board. There is no doubt we have entered into a very different period in the past five to seven years, particularly post-pandemic, as regards the economic and regulatory environment and sustainability and affordability. A large number of the current difficulties, although not all of them, are being driven…

When this Government was formed in 2020 there was a post office, a GP practice and an active Garda station in Gaeltacht na nDéise. Despite all the ráméising in this House about protecting our Irish language, having it listed as an official EU working language, mandatory publishing and broadcasting as Gaeilge, the Government supports required to protect our teanga are not in evidence in An Rinn agus An Sean Phobal, where the GP practice, the manned Garda station and now the last post office have closed. All of this …

This issue was brought up with the Minister of State during a previous debate the other night in this Chamber. I was quite surprised how strident he was in sticking to his guns. I echo what my colleagues have said today. I made a point to the Minister of State the other day regarding the kinds of voluntary organisations that are involved in raising money. I specifically pointed out to him that Waterford GAA last year raffled a house in Dungarvan and from the proceeds of that raffle, which was nearly €600,000, all o…

The previous day I contributed on this, I said to the Minister of State that he had engaged, unwittingly, in the law of unintended consequences. I understand where the legislation is trying to go and what it is trying to achieve but I believe, as has been highlighted by others, there was not awareness of what exactly was being proposed and the impacts it was going to have, particularly with regard to charitable and sporting fundraising. On the point the Minister of State made about him being now willing to bring in…

On accepting high office, the Taoiseach said he would work every day to realise the hopes, dreams and aspirations of all our people. The people in the south east have seen €125 million of public money being put into regional airports that excluded Waterford. We have seen a €2 billion capital programme for Dublin Airport. That is before discussion of the metro boondoggle the State is about to embark on. The previous taoisigh in this 33rd Dáil have committed to Waterford Airport. The Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny c…

This motion seeks that the Government would scrap plans to increase the price of petrol and diesel on 1 August and yet again on 9 October. It also seeks to reverse the price increase that took place on 1 April. The main rationale to the motion is to recognise fuel prices have risen by more than 30% in the past three years and to recognise the significant and pronounced negative effect this is having on the general cost of living and hard-pressed families caught in the grip of these increases. Much of the rationale …

Pardon?

Even if the Government did do that I can tell the Minister of State, from people I am talking to that-----

I have been down in Waterford and I have seen very few houses that have been retrofitted.