This time last year, in advance of the general election, the Government injected a sugar rush of once-off measures into the Irish economy, including a double payment for long-term social welfare individuals; €300 for fuel allowance on 4 November; €400 for working family payment on 4 November; €400 for disability invalidity pension and blind pension on 4 November; two double payments for child payment for each child, one on 5 November and the second on 3 December; €200 for the living alone allowance on 11 November; …

A cost to rural Ireland.

Budget 2026 is remarkably flat. It is a budget without vision. It is absent of ideas and innovation. The budget looks like it was written by a senior civil servant just looking to keep the system ticking over. I imagine maybe that is what happened because the Minister, Deputy Chambers, was too busy. He was involved in the omnishambles of the presidential election campaign.

I am not mentioning any candidates in the election at all.

It is important because we had an individual whose job it was to be the director of elections of that campaign and who was also at the time expected to produce a budget. That individual, and the truth be known, went through a serious crisis while trying to introduce a budget. That is a mistake. It is a mistake in relation to making sure that this issue of budgetary development is so important. It should have the full attention of an individual and not what has happened over the past number of weeks. In many ways, t…

-----and this year they will retrench on it. One of the major problems with this Government is that it is focusing on the actual cycle itself. This post-election budget hammers the middle-income earners. Instead of the tax cuts the Government promised for middle Ireland, there is a tax increase today. It is an incredible situation. Instead of the cuts to student fees, there is a fee increase today. Instead of a once-off energy credit for families suffering from the cost-of-living crisis, there is a carbon tax incre…

The Minister mentioned today----

I will leave it at that. Go raibh maith agat.

It is now eight years since the Minister's predecessor, Simon Harris, said that no child would be left waiting for longer than four months for a scoliosis operation. This time last year I asked him how many children had been taken off operation waiting lists without their parents knowing. He stated he would find out. However, as yet, there is no evidence that he has found out and let us know. Does the Minister know how many children were taken off the waiting lists without parents knowing, in a similar manner as to…

The Minister must admit it is quite shocking that it will take 14 months for a question asked in September 2024, about how many children have been taken off waiting lists without their parents knowing, to be answered. It points again to the dysfunction. I welcome that the Minister has met with parents about this. That is a good thing. The Minister mentioned money going into this section. Some €11.6 million was provided to outsource operations abroad for children who need it. As of now, there is no child scheduled f…

Is that the case? The Minister might answer that.

I think the Minister understands this perfectly well. Given that it has been so hard to get information from CHI over the last number of years, anything less than a statutory inquiry into the lack of care for children on scoliosis waiting lists is not going to get to the truth. The fact that there has been no information forthcoming from the individuals involved means that if we cannot compel people and papers to find out the truth on this, we are simply not getting to the facts. I have been here for a while and I …

I add my condemnation to the horrendous attacks that have happened outside the synagogue in Manchester. As the Tánaiste knows, the world has looked on at the horror that has happened for the last two years in Gaza and the fact that over 60,000 men, women and children have been murdered. Dozens of men, women and children are being murdered daily. Bombs are being dropped on schools, tents, religious locations and churches, hospitals and asylum centres. The level of destruction and murder that has been happening in Ga…

I have a couple of questions. Will the Tánaiste give a date for the occupied territories Bill? He mentioned the complexities in relation to Israeli arms flights over Ireland. There is a danger that people can hide behind complexities. The Ditch has reported that the Irish State authorities in the last two months have assisted FedEx flights flying through Irish territory as they illegally carried F-35 combat jet parts to an Israel Defense Forces air base. The F-35 fighter jets have dropped 900 kg bombs on Gaza. It i…

This time last year, Aontú proposed a motion in this Chamber seeking the ending of the means test for the carer's allowance. That motion was co-signed by Seán Canney and Noel Grealish, who are now junior Ministers in this Government, and it had a timeframe of 2027 for the complete abolition of the means test. It is very clear that there is absolutely no will in the Government to abolish the means test by 2027, which is shocking. This particular motion had the will of the Chamber here. The big problem I have with th…

I welcome the announcement that there will be an inquiry into the care of spina bifida and scoliosis patients by CHI. It is good news and I give credit to Stephen and Gillian and the advocacy groups for achieving this. It is really important that it be a statutory public inquiry. Any inquiry without the power to compel people or papers will not get to the truth in relation to this. It is also important that the terms of reference are in agreement with the family of Harvey Sherratt and the advocacy groups. We have b…

-----it is important that we get to a situation where we have a permanent office of inquiry to make sure-----

-----these inquiries can be delivered efficiently and speedily.

Some 66,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel's bloody war on the people of Gaza. Dozens of men, women and children are being killed on a daily basis. Hospitals, schools, refugee centres and churches are being bombed by the IDF. Bombs are literally atomising families in tents. We have never before seen this number of journalists, doctors, nurses and UN staff being killed in large numbers by the IDF. Food is being denied to the whole nation as a tool of war in order to starve the people of Gaza, which is unbel…

There are major problems with pensions at the moment. People have to fight for their pensions. Aer Lingus pensioners come to me who are still not being paid their full pensions. Pensioners come to me who say that 70,000 of them have received letters stating they may have been overpaid on their pensions. They are living in fear about that. This question relates to An Post pensioners who have been left in limbo about their pension rights. A High Court case is coming up, which seems like it is looking to deny them the…