I wish to raise the issue of the passport service because of the sheer volume of queries my office has received from people on a daily basis who are anxious to have their passports returned to them in advance of their travel dates. I acknowledge the tremendous work the staff have been doing. When I have spoken with them, they have been both professional and courteous on every occasion. They seem, however, to be snowed under with the sheer volume of passport applications they are receiving. Citizens suffered two yea…

I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate his comments on the volume of passport applications being received but that is no succour to people stressing over being unable to travel aboard for holidays. Providing a passport is a basic function of the Department of Foreign Affairs and, unfortunately, it is often shambolic and a national embarrassment when people have put in applications on time and cannot travel for often very valid reasons. I appreciate one should ideally make sure to have an in-date passport befor…

I am delighted to see this Bill, introduced in February along with my colleagues, Deputies O'Rourke, Guirke and Cronin, reaching Second Stage today. The amendment from the Government would delay the Bill for six months. I would rather it was not delayed but we will accept that amendment and move forward. It is positive that the Government is listening to what we have put forward. We are very fortunate on this island that we have an abundance of natural resources, in both the waters within the State and those that s…

I welcome, on behalf of Sinn Féin, the passing of the Bill. It is an important day for workers. It is the first time we have had a statutory right to sick pay for an awful lot of people. I welcome that very much. There were a few issues we had with the Bill, but we are happy to support it. The Minister of State referred to the issue of sick certificates for people who are sick. That is a particular problem for low-paid workers who do not have a medical card. Having to pay to go to a GP can cost some of them up to h…

I never thought I would be hearing us speak about space, but here you go. This is probably the longest ratification process in the history of the Dáil. The first treaty was ratified the year I was born and we are working towards approving it in the Dáil now. That is a bit of progress anyway, so we will get there. The cosmonaut Alexei Leonov said, "The Earth was small, light blue, and so touchingly alone, our home that must be defended like a holy relic." I thought of these words today as I considered these proposal…

Raise the Roof was established because the housing policies failed workers and families. In Limerick recently, the first and biggest public meeting since the easing of restrictions was held. I have no doubt the rally taking place on Saturday will be big as well. The housing market in Limerick is broken. I want to talk to the Minister about three specific issues we have there. The first is about renters. Anybody who has a constituency office like I do will know there is something noticeable with every single person …

I move amendment No. 2: In page 30, line 38, to delete "12 months" and substitute "24 months". I am moving this amendment on behalf of Deputy O'Reilly. We submitted this amendment to ascertain the reason there is a timeframe of 12 months, instead of 24 months, for a customer to prove that the goods supplied under a sales contract are not in conformity with that contract. Article 11(2) of the sale of goods directive permits a period of 24 months. Will the Minister of State indicate why a period of 12 months was chos…

On foot of the Minister of State's answer, I withdraw amendments Nos. 2 and 3.

I move amendment No. 5: In page 44, line 13, after “in” to insert “concise,”. These amendments follow on from the wording of the Bill, which aims to ensure that information relating to contracts, communications, guarantees, etc., is expressed in plain, intelligible language. However, these amendments seek to build on this to ensure that contracts, communications, guarantees and so on are also concise. If they are accepted, the legislation would state that all information will be in concise, plain, intelligible lang…

Deputy O'Reilly had an amendment to the Government's amendment No. 12. The reason we proposed it was to make sure that consumers who contact a trader or business about a product or service are not left waiting on telephone lines for inordinate periods. We regularly hear of consumers left on the phone for hours to resolve a broadband issue, to query a guarantee or a contract or for any other reason. It is unacceptable that a customer would be left on a phone line, for which they have to pay, for a long period. The t…

Yes.

I move amendment No. 15: In page 109, line 25, after “in” to insert “concise,”.

I move amendment No. 20: In page 135, line 31, after “in” to insert “concise,”.

The cost-of-living crisis has been felt most keenly by those on low to middle incomes. That is no surprise to anybody. A greater proportion of their earnings is devoted to the purchase of food, payment of rent and heating of their homes. In Limerick, we have seen rents spiral out of control and beyond the means of many. We need a ban on rent increases and we need the Government to put money back into renters' pockets through a refundable tax credit worth a month's rent. There is no emergency accommodation available…

I raise the issue of University Hospital Limerick. Unfortunately, I feel myself having to raise it almost every week. Today there are 100 people on trolleys in our hospital; yesterday there were 105. There have been 915 already in the month of May, a higher number than for any month previously. It is an ongoing crisis. University Hospital Limerick has 530 inpatient beds, with 76,473 presentations to the emergency department in 2021. Compared with St. James's Hospital, which has 698 such beds, with an emergency depa…

Every month this year the numbers have increased. They increased in January, February, March and April. May has historically high numbers already.

I have already submitted a Topical Issue matter for response from the Minister for Health. He stood there, walked out the door and left it to somebody else to respond.

The last chance he got, he did not even mention it.

Time and time again, the families of children with disabilities have to fight and scrape to get the resources these children are entitled to. It is a challenge to get an assessment within the timeframe mandated in the Disability Act and to get their children into schools with the necessary facilities to ensure those children have a positive educational experience. The parents of children with disabilities are some of the most inspiring people you will ever meet. In the humdrum daily ritual of life, they face additi…

I listened to the Minister's opening statement which was absolutely tone deaf. He did not mention Dublin Airport in his opening statement and I had to ask myself if he is actually for real. It is absolutely incredible. His Cabinet colleagues must be cringing. The issues affecting Dublin Airport over the last number of weeks have been well documented. On Sunday 1,000 people missed their flights due to delays at the airport. I worked in the travel industry for 19 years and I find that absolutely unbelievable. It is u…