I wish to raise the issue of what is happening at Dublin Airport. People right across the State have been told that there are no more car parking facilities there, that the car parks will be full in the coming days and that the situation is likely to be the same right through the holiday period, into the summer months. The Tánaiste will know about this from his time as Taoiseach. I understand that DAA had been in correspondence with the Minister for Transport and that, in a note to the Tánaiste on the issues with c…

The Tánaiste was told last May and the Government rejected both proposals.

Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil uafás léirithe ag muintir na hUaimhe agus léirithe ag daoine ar fud na tíre faoin ionsaí ar an mbuachaill a bhí 14 bliain d’aois agus é ag siúl abhaile ón scoil ar an Uaimh inné. Tá ár smaointe leis an ngasúr agus leis an teaghlach ag an phointe seo. Níl áit ar bith inár sochaí don chineál ionsaithe seo agus don bhulaíocht den tsórt atá feicthe againn. As a parent of four boys, I, along with everybody else, was utterly disgusted and sickened to the core to see and hear about the unprovoked…

I welcome the Tánaiste's words. I agree with him that much work has been done by school communities and different organisations through different programmes and that many of our schools are far more inclusive. However, that sickening attack many of us saw or heard about in Navan is a reminder to all of us that there is far more work still to be done. That trend that is happening, which we see not only on our island but on our neighbouring island, of orchestrated attacks for social media content is very real. Many o…

I am sure the House will join me in sending best wishes to Ireland's finest, the undisputed world champion, as she makes her homecoming on Saturday in her bid to be world champion in two weight divisions. We are all waiting for the words "and still" to be uttered at the end of the fight. On Monday I attended the A5 public inquiry. This project is crucial to opening the north-west; transforming one of the most dangerous roads in the country; and reopening the economic potential of the north west. In the next few day…

Hospital overcrowding has become an endemic part of our health service, not least at Letterkenny University Hospital. This is despite the hard work of the staff there, who at all times are putting the interests of patients first. Last year, over 7,000 patients went without a bed at Letterkenny University Hospital, the worst year for overcrowding at the hospital on record. It should come as no surprise. At the beginning of this year, the chief executive of the Saolta University Health Care Group, which includes Lett…

I know the parents and board of management of St. Eunan's National School in the town of Raphoe have written to the Minister of State. A number of children who have a full diagnosis need an ASD classroom. There is a spare classroom in the school, and the board of management want to have an ASD classroom. This year, we have seen the terrible situation of a child having to leave the school in their catchment area because there was no ASD classroom in it. All three children I have spoken about have siblings in the sch…

The problem with the NCSE saying "Not right now" is that a child had to leave that school and must now go outside the catchment area. Their siblings are still at the school. In September, another child, who has a full diagnosis of ASD and two siblings in the school, will have to separate from their brothers and sisters. Next year, in September 2024, the same will happen again with a new child who has already got a full diagnosis. The classroom is there. There are no capital works involved. The school has a sensory …

Tá sé fíorthábhachtach d'fhorbairt eacnamaíoch san iarthuaisceart go ndéanfar uasghrádú ar bhóthar an A5 ó Dhoire go dtí Achadh na Cloiche agus chun saolta a shábháil fosta. Tá moill i bhfad ró-fhada ar an mbóthar seo mar gheall ar chásanna cúirte agus tá sé in am anois fosta ag Rialtas na hÉireann an gealltanas a thug sé ag Comhaontú Chill Rìmhinn maidir leis an tionscadal seo a chomh-mhaoiniú ag leibhéal 50% a chinntiú agus go gcuirfear i gcrích é. The A5 road is a vital infrastructure project that was agreed by …

I thank the Minister. As somebody who travels on that road every single week, I recognise the importance of the potential of that road but also the heartbreak that communities felt. Two weeks ago we were not able to go home via the A5 because of the tragic accident in which three people were left dead. When myself and my colleague, Deputy Mac Lochlainn, along with our delegation, left St. Andrews those 16 years ago after getting a commitment that the A5 would be upgraded to dual carriageway status and that 50-50 co…

As the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, knows, since July, the European Central Bank, ECB, has increased its key interest rates seven times, with at least one further increase being expected in the time ahead. These interest rate hikes are putting real pressure on households that have mortgages. It has resulted in a significant shock for hundreds of thousands of borrowers. Last week, we heard the Central Bank say that 20% of all borrowers and mortgage holders have seen a 50% increase in the cost of rep…

The Minister spoke about scarce resources, but people will be mindful that the budget’s surplus is predicted to be €10 billion this year. While the Minister is speaking about October as a time to take decisions, a letter is about to land next week on the floors of hundreds of thousands of individuals to tell them that their mortgage costs have risen again. The Central Bank’s report last week was really important because it told us that on average 20% of homeowners have seen their mortgage interest rates increase by…

Not only the Minister but his party leader, the Tánaiste, called for mortgage interest relief rates to be increased when he was on this side of the House but, again conveniently, he forgot all about that when he got back into power. The Minister made the point that budget time is the appropriate time to examine this, but there have been changes at other times and the Finance Bill passed in the Seanad just a few hours ago. There have been changes to hospitality tax measures in the tourism sector; there have been tax…

There are many issues for those whose homes have defective blocks in my county of Donegal and right down the west coast. However, tonight I want to focus on one part of it which is the issue of the banks, mortgages and access to finance. Because of the scheme brought forward by the Government, all families are left with a significant shortfall in rebuilding their homes and rebuilding their lives. Despite this, they are trying their best under the scheme. In some cases, their homes have been knocked down and are now…

The Minister said he would do all in his power. I will give him an idea of what should happen. I have been meeting with the Central Bank for some months to discuss the matter. I have met with the banking industry more recently on the matter. The Minister should call in people from the mica group who are on its sub-committee which deals with finance and insurance. They have become experts on this. Some of those who are involved have actually had their houses demolished and are going through the scheme. The next day …

I met representatives of the BPFI and I put that directly to them. In fairness they did not hesitate in saying that they would organise that structural engagement with its members which is to be welcomed. However, there is also a role for the State here. Why are these families in this situation? It is because the Government scheme does not provide 100% redress. It is because people are expected to put their hands in their pockets to find the €60,000 or €70,000 themselves. These families are paying a full mortgage w…

It has been estimated that the price of second-hand cars has risen by 80% since the pandemic. I want to raise the impact of recent changes to the tax treatment of second-hand vehicles coming in from the North and its impact on the all-island car market. Recent changes mean that three charges may now apply to these vehicles, namely, vehicle registration tax, VRT, which we always had, but also now custom duty at 10% and VAT at 23%, which are new charges in many cases. Can the Minister clarify if these changes were re…

I thank the Minister for putting all that on the record. We will look at that. I have read the Revenue guidance in detail. However, there is an impact here. The North has been a big supplier of cars as, indeed, has Britain. The figure we were looking at in 2019 was approximately 120,000 but the North, in particular, and, obviously, Border counties, would have had more. Revenue gives an example of the two additional charges that now apply, that is, customs duty, which would not have applied in the past, and VAT, whi…

We are all monitoring the situation but, as I said, there has been a significant increase. The car we could have purchased a number of years ago at €32,000 is now €43,400 just because of taxes. Car prices have also increased because of the pandemic and the shortage of supply. There are other issues that I will take the opportunity to raise. There is increased frustration among many dealers in respect of the requirements they have to fulfil with Revenue in terms of showing a car was imported from the UK or that it w…

Inniu, táthar ag dréim go n-ardóidh an Banc Ceannais Eorpach rátaí úis don seachtú huair ó bhí mí Iúil ann. Tiocfaidh sé seo mar bhuille eile do na mílte teaghlaigh. Is é anois an t-am chun faoiseamh úis mhorgáiste a thabhairt isteach chun tacú leis na teaghlaigh seo. Today the European Central Bank is widely expected to increase interest rates again. This would be the seventh time it has done so since July. This will come as a hammer blow to hundreds of thousands of families. It will immediately affect those 250,0…