What is the demand?

The Minister must have an idea of what it is going to cost.

The Minister must have an idea of how much it will cost. Is she saying she does not have any idea of what the expected level of evictions will be in the next ten months? Is she honestly saying that the Government has made such a decision-----

We have 25 seconds left.

But I have asked a question and the Minister has not answered it. It is a very relevant question.

It is important that the Minister responds. It is scandalous that a Government Minister would make a decision on evictions without knowing how many people will be homeless.

There is growing frustration among many parents around the country that the Department is focusing on ideological battles, against the will of parents, rather than focusing on the bread and butter issues of the education system. Most parents would rather that the Department focuses on having school buildings that are operational, yet the Government has paused the building of new builds at the moment. My question concerns the issue of subjects. The Irish Mathematics Teachers’ Association appeared before the Oireacht…

One of the objectives of the Department should be, first and foremost, to listen to teachers. Teachers have a deep understanding of how different students learn and what their needs are, and most polling of teachers in this circumstance shows that they are pretty much unanimously opposed to the Government's deletion of foundation level mathematics. A recent poll showed that 87% of teachers either disagree or strongly disagree with the Government's policy. Removing foundation level mathematics is having a serious co…

I would suggest to the Minister that we front-load research in terms of the decision-making process. I welcome that there is a review but my worry is that this process will be slow and that many children will have to go through the current system with regard to foundation level mathematics and that will cause major difficulties for thousands of students around the country. If we start with a platform of making sure we have an education system that is designed around the needs of the students, first and foremost to …

When?

There is a massive crisis in the education system. While the Department of Education seems to be more interested in culture wars against the will of the majority of parents in the country, most parents just want schools built in their local areas. Thousands of children are currently going to inefficient, rotten, cold school prefabs. In some cases, the second generation of the same family is going to school in the same prefabs. Other children are going to school in buildings that are over 100 years old and are a thr…

Will they be resolved this year?

Will all of those-----

I move amendment No. 2 to amendment No. 5: To insert the following after "increased capacity in the construction sector": "calls on the Government to make provisions to ensure that no person can be evicted if they fulfil any of the following criteria: — if the tenant or a member of their family living in the relevant accommodation has a disability; — if the tenant or a member of their family living in the relevant accommodation has a terminal illness, a cancer diagnosis, has suffered a stroke, has advanced heart di…

Given that there is less than ten votes between the two sides, the gravity of this particular issue, and the fact that this amendment simply seeks to protect people with disabilities, people with very young families, older people, and people with terminal illnesses from eviction in ten days' time, under Standing Order 83(3)(b), I ask that the vote be taken by other than electronic means.

I welcome any efforts made by the Government to reduce the costs on families in accessing healthcare. There is no doubt that health has a significant cost to many people and that it is a barrier for many people in accessing healthcare. The level of ill-health is far higher among people who live in lower socioeconomic groups, and people's life expectancy is far lower in those areas too. Every single step the Minister and Government take, which reduces the cost to people, must have a positive benefit for their access…

The Aontú councillor, Ms Denise Mullen, recently met Mr. Jon Boutcher, who is investigating a large number of murders of Irish people as a result of British collusion. Mr. Boutcher stated that his investigation team requested important and relevant documentation on a large number of murders from the Garda. These murders include, for example, the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and numerous other murders of Irish citizens. The Garda has still not provided these documents to the Boutcher investigation, despite the fact …

The recent elections in the Netherlands have sent shockwaves through its political establishment. Hundreds of thousands of citizens broke with all expectations and voted for the farmers' party in protest against their political establishment. We have a similar disconnect between many people in regional and rural Ireland and the political bubble that exists in this country. The majority of political parties in this country are heavily Dublin-based. Indeed, ten counties currently have no Minister, yet in one Dublin c…

Farmers in Ireland are suffering big style currently. One third of farmers are currently making a loss. They are not even making a living out of their farms. Another one third of farmers currently have to work off the farm to make a living. Only a third of existing farmers are making a living out of their farms. Many of them are living in fear. They want to do the right thing on climate change but they feel this Government is disproportionate in loading the climate costs on their families, while at the same time op…

The cost-of-living crisis is burning away in communities throughout Ireland. It is having a material effect on the lives of so many in terms of nutrition and mental health. It is even resulting in people, especially older people, being forced to go to hospital because they do not have proper food or heating. It has been a particularly difficult experience in rural and regional Ireland, where many people feel that they are being attacked by a Dublin-centric Government. Farmers have been particularly hard hit by the …