-----particularly with regard to the speed of the trains?

The big point is that in recent years the housing crisis has pushed a lot of people from Mayo out of Dublin. Covid and working conditions also played a role. We have seen many young people returning to live in Mayo and commuting to Dublin, if you can believe it. Many of these people travel to Dublin one, two or three days a week. The point I am making is that a journey of almost three and half hours on the train line from Mayo is unacceptable. The average speed is 80 km/h. Does the Minister of State have any plans …

I am glad the Minister of State mentioned ten years ago.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on social enterprises. I welcome the Minister of State's opening statement. It is important that we support social enterprises. I will highlight some of the great work in my constituency to emphasise the valuable work happening across Mayo. One example is the Kilmovee community housing centre. It is a small community but the social enterprise there is doing tremendous work. It is an approved housing body, runs social homes in the community, provides meals on wheels, runs after-sch…

I welcome transition year students from Ballyhaunis Community School in County Mayo, and their teachers, Bernie Osgood and Mairead Conway. It is great to have them here with us. I thank them for making the journey. I have no doubt some of the next politicians and leaders of the country are here today. I very much welcome the motion before us, brought forward by the Labour Party. I also welcome the housing Minister here today. Housing is fundamental when it comes to child poverty. The rates of child poverty have dou…

I welcome the auto-enrolment scheme. It will be very positive for a lot of workers across the country. I question the delays in relation to it. It is such an important aspect for particularly middle- and low-income earners and I urge the Government to prioritise its roll-out. However, I have some concerns. These concerns relate to compliance and to SMEs. SMEs are already struggling with the cost of insurance, the cost of doing business, the cost of energy and all of that and I hope this would not be another cost fo…

My question is about the deposit return scheme, DRS. What percentage of plastics and cans that are collected via the scheme are processed here and what percentage are processed abroad?

It is very important that this was sold as an environmental measure. It is clear that a significant volume of material is leaving the country. Does the Minister of State have an assessment of the emissions in that regard? What work is he undertaking to ensure we have the capacity and facilities available in this country?

I agree that such a plant should be established but the introduction of the plant should have happened in advance of the scheme. There is a great deal of inconvenience involved. A significant amount of money is going to a private company, which gives rise to a number of questions that I hope we will soon address. It is very important that a bottle-to-bottle recycling plant be set up. Does the Minister of State have a timeline for when the facility will be made available and be able to process the material in this c…

Has the DRS been a success? I am not just asking about the environmental aspect but about the financials behind the company, the percentage of unclaimed deposits and where that money has gone and the impact the scheme will have on families right across Ireland who may well experience higher bin collection fees as a result of the DRS.

The deposit return scheme has become another tax but it is not like a normal tax that might be used to pay teachers, nurses and gardaí. This is a tax that is going into a private organisation. Last year, at the end of 2024 the company had more than 100 million deposits from unclaimed bottles and cans. Last year, the company had a cash pile of €90 million after expenses. The CEO's salary is not declared. That is what I am asking the Minister of State. I am not disputing the fact there has been an increase in recycli…

It is over €66 million of unclaimed items in one year. The Minister of State has talked about controls. I have asked him how much the CEO is getting paid and what the salaries in this organisation are. That is the level of control I expect him to declare before us in the Dáil. It is unacceptable that he talks simply about the environmental aspect without addressing the issue the people of Ireland have, which is where the money is going, how much the CEO and senior management in return are getting paid and what the …

The salaries?

I wish to raise real concerns about Mayo University Hospital. The Minister for Health will know that last month the hospital was in a crisis situation, experiencing over 160 presentations daily despite the fact that just four or five nurses were rostered on a given day. This month we are way off peak in terms of the winter period but Mayo University Hospital has been forced to cancel elective procedures. That is how bad things have become. We are experiencing a significant and dangerous level of understaffing. In A…

The population is now more than 5.4 million. Last year, over 25,000 immigrants arrived into this country. That is a net figure of more than 60,000 people. In one year, that equates to the population of Sligo, Ennis and Castlebar. Yet, this Government has failed to deliver the necessary infrastructure to sustain that level of development. Over the past five years, just over 100,000 houses were built, with a net migration figure of almost 400,000. This is basic arithmetic that the Government fails to understand. It i…

I very much welcome the motion brought forward by my colleague Deputy Paul Gogarty. In recent weeks, the new Commissioner has taken office. It is really important to say that the previous Commissioner left the morale of the force in tatters. This is why the Minister for justice, Deputy O'Callaghan, now has a major job at hand in recruitment and retention in the force. I believe the first thing that needs to be reviewed is the new policing model, particularly in relation to the geographical areas. Mayo is in a distr…

I welcome the Bill and commend the great work of the members of An Garda Síochána and those officers who work in the Criminal Assets Bureau. It is important that we tackle criminals at source. The best way to do this is by tackling the proceeds of crime. We welcome that the turnaround time will be reduced from seven years to two years. This is something for which we in Aontú have called for quite some time. I ask the Minister to please ensure that we try to reinvest this money in the communities involved and in An …

I welcome this fundamentally important Bill. Aontú has been campaigning for this for a long time. The right to be forgotten is crucially important for cancer survivors. We welcome and support this right 100%. The State has effectively punished cancer survivors and victims on the double. The first way is in terms of delayed treatment and diagnosis. The Irish Cancer Society this week launched a report stating that five out of six targets are being missed by the State. In the second instance, they are punished through…

The rural pub is the heart and soul of rural communities. In many villages and towns, it is the last remaining space for villages and clubs to come together to support rural organisations. The rural pub is closing in dramatic fashion. Recently, a report by the Vintners' Federation of Ireland, VFI, found that there was significant pressure. One in four pubs has closed since 2005. This represents more than 2,000 pubs. This trend will continue. I want the Government to realise that there is significant value to the ru…

As a result, there are no taxis-----