In the past decade, we have seen more cars on the roads and more younger drivers. In addition, those younger drivers are driving more powerful cars because it is no longer possible to insure older cars. This is an issue the Government should examine. Years ago, parents could buy their children a banger in which they could not go over 30 km/h or 40 km/h. Now they can get into a modern car and drive it at 80 km/h, 90 km/h or 100 km/h, no problem. In 2004, I wrote to the then Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, ask…

I do not propose to use the full time allotted to me. My colleague Deputy Naughten is the Chairperson of the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development, and the Islands, and he will speak for 20 minutes later. He has a lot more detail than I have. Automatic enrolment seeks to address the present position of a pension coverage gap and will apply to all employees who meet an age criterion and certain other criteria but are not already a part of an occupational pension plan. It is proposed t…

I raise the plight of the Gaeltacht community in Waterford, An Rinn and the whole parish. The GP services have closed recently. The refurbished Garda station is now shuttered and the gardaí have been transferred. There are no gardaí there and now the post office is to close. An existing retailer in An Rinn is looking into a post office contract and was asked to contribute €44,000 to an An Post fit-out scheme to service a completely unsustainable contract, which is basically worth €4 to him for a 47-hour week. The G…

The Central Bank has just produced the latest liability data up to 21 December 2022. It has taken 15 months to publish that. Will Government give a commitment to publish the 2023 data before the summer recess to see what is happening in the insurance market? The headline takeaways in terms of the report that was just published are that insurance profit margins have risen 55% in the last year, in comparison with 9% and 14% in the previous two years, but liability insurance cover has risen this year by 8%. The cost o…

I wish fair winds to Deputy Varadkar. While he got some big calls right on the macro economy, the pandemic and Brexit, this has not been a Government for all people or for all parts of Ireland. People have become divided during the term of this Government. It has pitched urban against rural, motorist against cyclist, agriculture against the environmentalist and house buyers against immigrants. The social contract for young people is burst. Expectations for housing, good work and services have all been knocked back.…

I wish to share time with Deputy Naughten.

I congratulate the Taoiseach on his elevation. I also congratulate his new Front Bench members and wish them all the best in their new roles. We have heard many times over the past two weeks of the soul-searching and renewal in which the Taoiseach's party is currently engaging. I wish his new ministerial line-up every good fortune. I say that sincerely, as one hopes their success in bringing new direction and management to their respective portfolios can only benefit our national population. I remind the Taoiseach …

I thank the Social Democrats, particularly Deputy Whitmore, for tabling this motion. One of the first words in the motion is "humanitarian". It is important that we remember that this should be at the centre of whatever policy we are trying to enact here. The Government's responses and actions not only frame the national attitude to potential immigration but also underline the competency or otherwise of the State services to adequately manage and discharge the responsibilities we have given them. It is shameful tha…

I have heard the Minister speak many times about his ambitions for South East Technological University but I remind him these cannot be realised without money. The president of the institution, Professor Campbell, produced a strategic plan in September that calls for €350 million in capital investment over five years. Along with this, she needs changes to the borrowing framework. Lecturers' contracts are also a part of this context. The most immediate evidence of investment would concern the public private partners…

I will not delay the House. I will just make a few observations. If there is an opportunity for Ireland to opt into this process and have some influence on it, then that is what we should do. The Minister of State pointed out that we have been issuing 31,000 work permits. I think he will be aware of what I am going to say, but changes in the work permit scheme are coming and these will result in a rise in the base rate of pay. I have a concern about this aspect in terms of how work permits are working for all secto…

Former Deputies John Deasy, Paudie Coffey, Pat Deering, Phil Hogan, Liam Twomey and Michael D'Arcy and Deputies Paul Kehoe and John Paul Phelan all are or have been Fine Gael TDs from the south east. All have either fallen or are on the precipice. Fine Gael, remarkably, won 50% of the 14 seats in the 2011 general election in the south east of Ireland. Once this Dáil has been dissolved, all these people will have left national politics. It is an incredible reflection, actually an indictment, of Fine Gael's decade in…

The Minister obviously did not listen to me if he said I did not listen to him. If the Minister wishes to talk about commitment to the south east, he might put on the Dáil record now if the Government is prepared to endorse the €350 million project plan issued by the SETU president. This would be something like a game-changer. Is the Minister prepared to announce the development of the engineering building, which was first promised in 2009?

It is still sitting in a public private partnership, which has still not been approved. Perhaps the Minister might approve that. Perhaps he might like to go down to the hospital and explain why it was cut out of the €650 million in capital funding given to the other eight model 4 hospitals last year. Perhaps he might answer the question of why in a decade that hospital received just one third of all the capital funding given to each of the other eight model 4 hospitals. The Minister can shake his head and think he …

The Government did not do much for SETU.

I have to be there to make sure they are announced.

They are easy to count.

With respect, I am not taking credit. I pointed out to the Minister that it was the least funded and it remains the least funded.

Those are walkways, not roads.

Will the Minister provide an update on the management of international protection activities within her Department?

I thank the Minister. It is good that we can have a dignified debate on immigration. Many of us recognise the positives of inward migration, particularly into areas like our health sector. Ireland is not a racist country but there is no doubt that there is some racism in it. This is largely because of the perception rather than the reality. I am glad to hear the Minister talk about an increase in resources for the IPO. That is very welcome. Can we have a discussion at some point about the issue of safe country list…