Let us take the first step first.

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil le Sinn Féin mar gheall ar an rún seo a thabhairt os comhair na Dála inniu. Is rún uafásach tábhachtach é. Tá sé dochreidte go bhfuil muid ag fanacht an méid seo ama le haghaidh an bhóthair seo agus tá sé dochreidte go bhfuil an méid sin daoine tar éis a mbeatha a chailleadh ar an mbóthar seo le fada an lá. I thank the Enough is Enough campaign for its efforts to bring to the fore, publicly and politically, this particular campaign. I thank them for their presence in the Dáil here…

Hear, hear.

If we were to reduce class sizes by just two pupils throughout the country, it would make an enormous different to the lives, education and future of children. The Irish National Teachers Organisation, INTO, has said it would cost only €13 million in budget 2024 and would bring us into line with the rest of the EU. This would be particularly important for DEIS schools and children with special educational needs. Will the Minister commit to that objective for budget 2024?

It sounds like a small thing to reduce a class size by two or even just by one, but it is something that will make a significant difference to children in the State. Primary schools are significantly neglected in funding when compared to secondary schools. Primary schools receive a capitation grant and, when that is calculated, it translates to approximately €1 per child per day to cover the costs associated with running the school. Secondary schools get almost double the funding. I would love if the Minister could…

I wanted to raise a slightly related issue, if I may, because of the number of parents who have called my office in recent times on this issue. The Government is imposing a new social, personal and health education, SPHE, curriculum on children as young as 12 years old in secondary schools. Much of the content of this is ideologically based and is not scientifically based. The textbooks that have been published have actually gone significantly further down the ideological road than even the curriculum. Parents’ gro…

It did not listen to the consultation from parents.

Sure.

That is exclusionary.

The Government has given the go-ahead for an increase in the cost of tolls from Saturday next. Transport Infrastructure Ireland has stated that motorists are highly likely to suffer another increase in the cost of tolls within six months. That is absolutely outrageous. The Government is hiking up the cost of tolls during the most serious cost-of-living crisis in living memory. It is involved in highway robbery of citizens who are struggling just to get to work. Commuters are already being hammered with increased pr…

How can tolls be hiked up?

That was too late.

Ireland has the highest cost of electricity in the whole of Europe. The per-unit price is double the average being charged in Europe at the moment. The Minister is not correct in saying that the Government has been active in significantly reducing the cost of energy. There is no contractual obligation on the Government in the context of the M50. The M50 is owned by the State. The truth is that these tolls are being used as an ideological stick to put people off the roads in the same way that the hikes in excise and…

What about the M50?

The Government took more in VAT and excise than that.

It is falling now.

There are some wind superpowers in this Chamber at the best of times. We are finally discussing the windfall tax on 29 June 2023, as we approach the close of the first half of the year. After months and months of promises about the windfall tax, we are actually finally debating it. In the first instance we were told that it could not be done, then we were told that it was a competency of the EU, then we were told it would be delayed. Proposals and discussions have been mentioned practically every week in the media …

I welcome the motion from the Rural Independent Group focusing on this really important issue. Agriculture is currently in a crisis state in Ireland. I do not make that statement lightly. Every year farmers are leaving the land. The number of farmers is reducing each year according to Teagasc. The Minister may smile at that but it is a fact. According to Teagasc, one third of farmers are making a complete loss and many of those are going into debt and into poverty. One third of farmers are only making a living beca…

The Taoiseach mentioned his discussions with the Prime Minister of Luxembourg on the issue of migration. One of the challenges that has raised its head in Ireland just recently is the issue of nursing homes. The Taoiseach may not be aware of this, but currently there is a funding crisis in respect of nursing homes, which is leading to nursing homes being closed, which in turn is leading to older people being evicted from their nursing homes. That is heartbreaking because these are the people who went through the di…

Today, Sr. Eilís Coe came to Leinster House to discuss with me and others the issue of child trafficking. It is a serious problem in Ireland. During the Taoiseach’s last trip to the USA, he said that human trafficking was not a particular issue in Ireland because our seas were so vast that people could not get here by small boats, but human trafficking is a significant problem in this State. It is happening in plain sight throughout the State. Indeed, Ireland is so bad that it is on a human trafficking watch list. …