I acknowledge the work that the Minister of State and his Department have done on this. It is critically important for the Government and Ministers sitting around a table to address this issue at a governmental level across the board. When we talk about community-led projects, many would involve sections 38, 39 and 56 organisations in towns. When we talk about the community, voluntary and charity sector, we are talking about a vast array of really vital services that are provided to the community. There is a growin…

Ivan Cooper, the CEO of The Wheel, recently talked about that service. He said that having lost 40% to 50% of its staff in the last year alone, it is struggling to find experienced people to replace those who have moved on. Less experienced staff cannot reasonably handle as much work as experienced employees or provide care to the same high standard, so the service is forced to reduce the number of individuals it can provide care for or risk a serious fall-off in the quality of that care. We are talking about some …

Will there be another round of the community recognition fund in 2024?

It is a really good scheme and it is very welcome in all the communities that have welcomed people into the country. There has been feedback that the timescale was tight. I understand that is so of necessity. There will be a split, with €30 million this year and €20 million available next year. Will the scheme for the €20 million be open towards the end of this year or will it open next year? It is important that people have time to think of the projects. These are good projects but proper community consultation is…

As I raised previously with the Minister, it may be that unexpected hiccups are encountered, particularly in the case of community centres. There needs to be fluidity in the movement towards getting those projects up and running. Has the entire €30 million been allocated to the 800 projects? Do the applications that have come in account for the entire €30 million? Can some of those projects apply again for funding next year or is that €20 million for next year for entirely new projects? Does that make sense?

How much funding has been drawn down from the rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, in each month since the Minister took office?

This issue is incredibly important. We see it especially as we travel around many of the towns and villages. Certainly when I travel around the country, I see quite a number of areas with a lot of dereliction where a lot of structural work is needed. I therefore welcome the Minister's work. Local authorities are important in the cross-collaboration of different agencies for delivery. Is the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage also involved in the process?

I can see those projects being delivered. It is important to get the infrastructure in place so other developments can take place. Sometimes a blockage can prevent other projects from progressing. Category 2 is important because sometimes organisations or communities do not have the €10,000, €20,000 or €50,000 it costs to do a feasibility study or get a project up and running. This funding is welcome to enable them to develop their projects.

People are struggling to pay bills and for the basics. Luxuries are something they look forward to in the future. For now, however, it is about surviving from paycheque to paycheque. People I have spoken to on the doors want the Minister to introduce targeted and temporary mortgage interest relief to support homeowners facing significant increases in their mortgages. They want fairness and a change. Sinn Féin has committed to introduce mortgage interest relief for principal private residents, equivalent to 30% of t…

I thank the Labour Party for tabling the motion. Anyone who is involved in sport recognises that a club having a home, having its own place and having security of tenure gives it the capacity to plan, organise, grow and develop. I commend the mentors, coaches, background volunteers and all those who give thousands of hours free and voluntarily. All they ask for are facilities. Sadly, for most football clubs facilities are not available. There has been progress and recently I attended the opening of an amazing facil…

It would not be too far off.

Instead of presiding over a housing disaster, the Minister can bring in the following measures to help those in the rental sector: a three-year ban on rent increases; the creation of a refundable tax credit to put one month's rent back in the pocket of every private renter; a temporary reintroduction of the ban on no-fault evictions; an expansion of the tenant in situ scheme for social and cost rental tenants; and the use of emergency planning and procurement powers, combined with new building technologies. The lat…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. We are now just weeks into this scandal and for RTÉ, it just gets worse with daily photographs of highly-paid RTÉ presenters using RTÉ State-owned properties as a backdrop to their latest commercial advertisements and promotions. This needs to stop now and RTÉ management needs to get a grip on this immediately until there is a root and branch review of these practices within RTÉ. I welcome the Government's commitment to a forensic audit of RTÉ and its commercial entity. It is clea…

I welcome to the Gallery the people from the A5 campaign Enough is Enough. As a Dub, I have been travelling to Derry for many decades. My journey on the A5 started many years ago when I made my first visit to Derry for the Bloody Sunday Justice Campaign. In those days, we did not stay in hotels or bed and breakfast accommodation. The people of Derry opened their homes to us to enable us to stay up and support them in their fight for justice. That trip led me to meeting friends who I still visit every year, sometime…

I raise the issue of planning and strategic planning, in particular, by the Department of Education and by the Government. In Dublin West, every school has been developed following huge campaigns by parents followed by hollow promises and timelines. We have schools needing either demolition, replacement or massive upgrades because they were built decades ago. We have new developments right across the constituency, in Hollystown, Ongar, Carpenterstown and Diswellstown, where new schools need to be developed. Can the…

I think the biggest con job that has ever been played on people is that neoliberalism convinced them that if we sold all of our State-owned infrastructure and energy companies, it would lead to competition and lower prices and things would be cheaper. I think we know from our experience that that is a complete and utter con job. Imagine what we would have had had we not sold them out. Looking at Norway, there are trillions in its sovereign wealth fund that are at the behest and support of the people. We sold Teleco…

I draw Deputies’ attention to a line from a statement from the European Council on the ongoing situation in Palestine and the crimes inflicted on the Palestinian people by Israel. The council stated, "Settlements are illegal under international law. Israel must stop settlement expansion, prevent settler violence, and ensure the perpetrators are held accountable". The perpetrators of murder and violence against Palestinian men, women and children are the Israeli Defence Forces. The Israeli authorities, backed up by …

At this moment we face into a serious problem as regards nursing homes and care homes. There are closures happening all over the State. Thirty-four have closed with a loss of more than 1,000 beds, and there have been four closures in Dublin with a loss of 169 places. This is not a time for empty words. It is not a time to simply nod this motion through and then slink off for the summer recess and hope it goes away in September. We know it will not go away. A significant number of nursing homes are reporting huge op…

Many of us met advocates from the Irish Wheelchair Association yesterday. One of the issues they raised was the loss of personal assistants, PAs, and the difficulty in trying to get more. Some of this has to do with pay parity and pensions for workers in sections 38, 39, 56 and 10 bodies in the charity and voluntary sector. These skilled workers are voting with their feet and leaving in their droves, while others are not choosing to enter the sector. For people without PAs, it means losing their independence or not…

I welcome the increase in the number and types of apprenticeships that are available. There is no doubt that the workforce and our working lives are very different to when I started working on building sites many years ago but the basic issue remains the same. We treat apprentices differently from other workers. They are learning on the job but they are also working on the job and they need to be paid for the work they do. The Minister was absolutely correct when he said it is not fair that workers are paid submini…