I wish to ask the Minister for her views on the delay in issuing PPS numbers by her Department and the plans that are in place to tackle this delay.

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I accept the difficulties that have been experienced by the Department over the past six or seven months, in particular in respect of the crisis in Ukraine. I commend the workers in the Department who have been operating in very difficult circumstances. An Irish citizen who worked in the UAE came home to get a job. We are asking people to come back and contribute to our society. He is from the North and sought a PPS number on his return to Ireland. He had to wait three m…

I accept the response from the Minister of State.

I commend everyone involved with this Bill. I also commend the Sonas refuge in Dublin 15 on all its work in supporting women experiencing domestic violence. I welcome this legislation and all its elements. I refer in particular to the stand-alone offence of non-fatal strangulation causing harm, expanded harassment offences, a stand-alone offence of stalking, the provision of court orders restraining certain behaviour and the introduction of procedural protections for alleged victims during court proceedings. The Is…

I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion. We will not have a community and voluntary sector if the pay and conditions of these workers are not dealt with, similarly to how the public service was dealt with. As someone who served as a member of a board for many years, I remember how, before 2011, people started off on the same pay. That link was broken and has never been restored. It should be restored. We talk about funding of €100 million. As the Minister alluded to, that funding is being provided…

I am delighted to co-sign this Bill with Deputies Daly and Cronin. I was a child welfare officer in my local GAA club, St. Peregrines, and I know the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, was a child welfare officer in his club, St. Brigid's, in the same constituency. I am sure he understands the predicament and how difficult it is. I fully support and agree with the Garda vetting process but it can be overly bureaucratic, cumbersome and difficult for people to remember. I have often had people come back to me trying…

In Dublin 15 there is no emergency accommodation. Would the Taoiseach support emergency planning legislation similar to that being used for the Ukrainian refugees and modular housing in local authorities like Fingal County Council so that we can house people who are currently facing a notice to quit in coming months?

Yes, I have seen them.

More important is the emergency planning legislation that is being used for Ukrainian refugees.

Not if there is a wealth tax.

I echo the concerns that have been expressed about the members of the Travelling community and some tenants who may not see this money. I say to Deputy Ó Cathasaigh that the Sinn Féin position is that a price cap, as we have clearly stated, must go hand in hand with a windfall tax on the profits of the energy companies. While this Bill will be welcomed by many ordinary workers and families who are struggling to keep food on the table and send kids to school and sports etc. and who are trying to make sure they have …

I wish to raise the issue of the Citizens Information Board and paid employees and volunteers in an office setting, a matter I have tried to get on the agenda for quite a while. As people are aware, the Citizens Information Board adopted a policy whereby full-time office staff must be fully paid employees and volunteers were given what they described as menial jobs in the offices. Traditionally, Citizens Information Board offices are located in community centres or local authority buildings so, in essence, they are…

I note a couple of things in the Minister of State's statement, particularly with regard to the decision-making process. It is stated very clearly that this is a group of independent bodies that acted jointly and came out with exactly the same strategy at exactly the same time. There was obviously very significant co-ordination on this matter between the board and those independent bodies. It is extremely unfortunate that all of this was done without the input of the volunteers. There is no doubt that Covid has cha…

The defective concrete products levy proposed by the Government is badly designed and will have the effect of increasing costs to homeowners. Indeed, the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, SCSI, has stated it will increase the cost of a home by more than €4,000. If it is implemented, the cost of 800 houses, including social and affordable houses and cost rental, at a development at Church Fields in Mulhuddart will increase by €3.2 million. Sinn Féin agrees that a levy is needed and that it would be the right a…

Budget 2023 is reminiscent of previous budgets brought forward by the present Government. It just does not go far enough for those who really need it. Time and again we are reminded that the community and voluntary sector must be recognised and nurtured. The buzzword I have heard over the past 24 hours is that we are all valued. However, many in the community and voluntary sector are feeling very far from valued. The cost of living and energy continue to rise and why? It is because the Government has refused to red…

The use of public transport depends on the confidence of its users in the delivery of a reliable service. I would like to raise the issue of the 70 bus service, which runs between Littlepace and Dunboyne and has been withdrawn by the NTA. This is going to leave passengers without a direct service when BusConnects eventually comes in in 2024. More than 4,000 people have signed a petition against the removal of this bus service. Will the Minister use his office to connect with the NTA and the BusConnects team to have…

The debate is taking place in the midst of a massive rise in the cost of living. I urge people to attend the protest on Saturday, 24 September, at the Garden of Remembrance at 2 p.m. It will be one of the biggest protest marches we have seen in a long time. The existing national retrofitting plan has two distinct streams. These are the better energy warmer homes scheme, which aims to provide free retrofits to those on certain social welfare payments, and the one-stop shop service that requires households to have si…

I raise the case of a constituent of the Tánaiste and of mine who is waiting on a relatively minor operation for a hernia on his leg. He has been waiting for six months and has been told that he has another six months to go. He has been out of work for six months and must continue to get sick pay for another six months until the operation is done. His savings have been depleted. He approached the community welfare officer, was refused and is desperately worried about how he is going to pay his bills. He was willing…

I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire for bringing forward this motion. Sinn Féin proposes to put in place a significant package of €161 million in cash payments. I welcome the measures introduced today but they do not go far enough and will not deal with the situation facing a great many families. We need to do simple things. We need to give a back-to-school allowance to middle-income families with a household income of less than €80,000, increase the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance by 50% and work towards abo…

I wholeheartedly welcome the Bill and I would like to take time to speak on Part 8 of it, which deals with the tragic fire in the Stardust disco in Artane in 1981, 41 years ago. There have been 41 years of families seeking answers on the events of that tragic night and on the circumstances around the deaths of their loved ones. At every turn the families have met obstacles in trying to get justice for their loved ones who lost their lives on that fateful night. The owners of the property still avoid any responsibil…