I thank the Regional Group for bringing this motion forward. The Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, has been listening to many Deputies here in the House today. I have been talking to small business owners. I spoke to a lady on Thursday last who is absolutely terrified of what is coming down the road here when it comes to energy supply and energy costs. I also spoke to one business owner and he gave me a breakdown of his costs for a shop in the year to June 2022 and for the same period in 2021. There was a 94%…

This is a bit of a tricky issue. I will give some brief background with a synopsis of this lady's situation. Her name is Margaret. She wrote to me to say she is the mother to her daughter of 36 years. Her daughter has Fraser syndrome and to date is the only one in Ireland with that syndrome. She is deaf, dumb, registered blind and autistic. She explains how she does the hardest job in the world rearing her disabled daughter, which is extremely demanding and a thankless job. Her day starts at 5.30 a.m., showering, d…

I thank the Minister of State for the answer. There is hope and light in his response. The Department provides the social welfare inspector, so at least there is an avenue there. When the information comes back from the Department, it outlines the deadline for appeal but does not state that the person has opportunities if his or her circumstances are different. I welcome that. I got more than I expected because, I suppose, I am a realist. This woman wanted to stand up because she suspected that there were other aff…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion this morning. I commend Deputy Cairns and the Social Democrats on bringing this motion forward. I also welcome the people in the Gallery. I remember being here in 2018 when we ratified the UNCRPD, although the optional protocol was kind of left out of it. I listened to all the speakers today. From my own experience, unfortunately, a disability is just a label for people because this is not about what condition a person has; it is about what rights a person should ha…

I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire for bringing forward this extremely important motion. Back-to-school costs each year shamefully expose the deep divide that exists in our society between rich and poor. What sickens me to the stomach at this time of the year is thinking of children who are all too aware of what their parents are facing and what they have to struggle with, and they can do little about it aside from suffer anxiety, fear and, in many cases, even embarrassment. The measures proposed by Sinn Féin in the motion…

I thank Deputy Stanton for raising this important question regarding new special schools in Midleton. I have listened to the Minister of State's replies. I welcome anything positive but, as Deputy Stanton said, Glanmire to Rochestown is a long way with traffic, the tunnel and the whole lot for families to travel. We have massive population growth in east Cork, predominantly on the Midleton side towards Youghal. On top of that, I have often discussed the constituency database here and a fresh one will come out short…

I thank Deputy Stanton for raising the very important issue of extra places in secondary schools. I welcome everything the Minister has said. The development of the campus in Carrigtwohill is very positive. She mentioned Youghal, Cobh and a couple of other areas. Doing some maths quickly, I see there are to be approximately 3,000 extra places. At least the Department has acknowledged that the area is growing rapidly. I echo Deputy Stanton's sentiment with regard to Educate Together. It has a very solid plan and is …

I listened to the response of both Ministers earlier. I commend my Meath colleagues on bringing this motion forward tonight. The downgrading of any services and centralising emergency departments only cause a funnel and it is like gridlock, which I heard some of the earlier speakers say. In May, the Minister visited Cork where the average waiting time at Cork University Hospital, CUH, is 28.8 hours. At the Mercy University Hospital in Cork, it is 26.8 hours. It was said earlier that anybody over the age of 75 must …

The boat sailed years ago. This Government and previous Governments have not listened to the Opposition parties in this House. As was mentioned, in the previous Dáil, of which I was a Member, Deputy Stanley tried to introduce a microgeneration scheme. Individuals and small businesses acted on this but they still cannot get excess electricity back into the grid or sell it to the grid. Microgeneration is a solution that was in place; it was not just an idea. The refund scheme was another solution but this Government …

I welcome this opportunity to speak about the Bill. It is about restoring Garda court presenters and it is more than urgent to pass it. I want to make a few brief points on it. We do not always agree here but when there is a matter of urgency, we can come to a gentleman's or lady's agreement. We do not oppose the Bill. We accept it and the waiving of the requirement to undertake pre-legislative scrutiny, but as has been raised a number of times on the side of the House, one slight amendment is required. I ask the M…

I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire for tabling the motion. I call on the Government to withdraw its amendment. Deputy Ó Laoghaire's motion is factual. It calls for immediate action. I have been here for the past seven years and am black and blue from calling for this every year. Once June comes, children and families are pitted against each other and fight teachers in Aldi and Lidl because their children cannot get a place in school. Children with special educational needs are at a significant disadvantage. In her opening …

I thank the Minister for his presence. We know there is a crisis but I do not know how many times I have come into this Chamber and said that we are reactive more than proactive. Since I represent east Cork, I will specifically stick to east Cork when it comes to Ukrainian families. I do not like to call them refugees because they are not refugees. It is a war-torn conflict, but they are families. My issue is that I have conflicting reports from volunteers and hotel owners about how these families are being treated…

I thank the Minister for the reply. I welcome the fact we now know there is a point of contact. The Minister mentioned quality of food; my comment was not about quality but quantity. I know the matter has been resolved but there was an issue with a buffet-style system where it was kind of like "stretch or starve". If the people were there in time, they got something to eat, but they did not if they came later. I know that has been dealt with, thanks be to God. The crux of the problem is that many of these families …

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, for her comments on the Bill. I echo what the other speakers have said. I wish to touch on a few additional points in the short time I have. In her opening remarks, the Minister of State mentioned that we ratified the convention in 2018. Back in 2016 and 2017, I remember the then disability spokesperson, former Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin fought very hard for the optional protocol to be included in the Bill. It is one of the most important parts of any Bill when it co…

Having listened to the debate, it is right to say that people are very frustrated. We are probably now known as lastchance.com . I have listened to the stories that have been shared in the course of the debate. I have a pain in my head because I have spent the past three quarters of an hour on the phone trying to sort out issues for one lady. Another issue that has come up again and again is errors in applications not being identified in one fell swoop. Some errors are identified, the person fixes them and then oth…

I too welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill and acknowledge the fact that the Labour Party has put it forward. This issue is not something new. A recent article titled "Sinn Féin TD says 'living wage' is needed to address cost of living crisis" stated: Speaking in the Dáil on a Sinn Féin proposal to introduce a 'living wage' of €12.90, local TD Brian Stanley said there was a "crisis in the cost of living" with rents and other prices soaring while wages remained static... This debate goes back to 2015. We ar…

I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter. I suppose the question is again in the heading. It is about the boil water notice that has been in place since November 2019. There was a little bit of a break of a week or two. On 25 December, Christmas Day, another boil water notice was issued. We are now into May. As far back as March, Irish Water put out a statement that "Irish Water and Cork County Council would like to remind customers supplied by Whitegate Regional Public Water Supply that the Boil Water …

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. The devil may be in the detail or perhaps there is a hidden message in it. I welcome the fact that Irish Water has given a date of May or June for the completion of the works in respect of the silt or, as it calls it, the turbidity. However, many people will not be too happy and will be stocking up on water for the next couple of years if the completion of the permanent solution is that far away. I am surprised to have been given the answer now. I welcome it because at l…

This is greenwashing.

The Minister met with families of the Owenacurra health facility in Midleton, County Cork, and he is aware of that situation. The needs of some 400 people have not been met in the past two years because of two short-term respite beds. The Committee on Health and the Sub-Committee on Mental Health have called for the reversal of the HSE's decision to close the centre. I ask the Minister to go back to the Ministers to tell the HSE to reverse that situation. Last Saturday night, a woman who was refused services slept …