It is desperate and pathetic.

As people are being disconnected, the Tánaiste is just going to mislead.

One of the most basic functions of a Government is to keep a roof over somebody's head and keep the lights on. Yet, as we speak, after 12 years of the Tánaiste being at Cabinet, there are 10,805 people in emergency accommodation, of whom, shamefully, 3,200 are children. EirGrid's annual generation capacity statement published today raises concern about the State's ability to keep the lights on over the next decade. It highlights that the electricity system will continue to face a shortfall of supply over demand eve…

You were already fact-checked on this issue.

Does the Tánaiste need another 12 years or 20 years?

You have been in government for 12 years and the threat that the lights will go out is getting worse.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an deis labhairt ar an ábhar seo tráthnóna inniu. We are all aware that the insurance market is not working for consumers. PIAB was established to facilitate compensation to people who suffered personal injuries in a way that was fair, transparent and cost-effective without the need for costly litigation. PIAB has been effective in reducing costs and producing prompt outcomes for claimants. From 2015, right through to 2020, the average personal injury award for motor claims through PIAB was €22,…

Agus muid ag labhairt anseo inniu, tá os cionn 17,000 páiste ag fanacht ar theagmháil tosaigh ó fhoireann mhíchumas leanaí. Tá an Rialtas ag fágáil na bpáistí seo ar leataobh de bharr córas nach bhfuil ábalta freastal ar a gcuid riachtanas. As we speak, there are 17,000 children waiting for initial contact with children's disability teams. There are 2,500 children who are waiting for and overdue an assessment of needs. As the Tánaiste knows, these are crucial assessments the families and the children involved are e…

What these parents want is a plan. Unfortunately, what the Government has is a Minister of State who is not forward-planning. One third of all positions in disability services are vacant yet there is no plan in the budget to deal with this. The Government was brought to court by these families and it was found the law was being broken in relation to assessments of need. That is how dire it has got, and the Tánaiste is now talking about how maybe we need a different approach. Of course we need a different approach. …

We provided five times the amount of money that the Government did-----

-----in our alternative budget.

The Tánaiste has been in government now for a decade-----

-----and these children have been left on the sideline.

The Tánaiste has been in Government, he has been a Minister-----

-----he has been the Minister for Health, he has been Taoiseach and he has been Tánaiste-----

-----and these children wait and wait. That is the reality.

Bank of Ireland has been fined over €100 million for overcharging more than 15,000 customers and 81 breaches of regulations. To date, it has been forced to pay back €186 million it took from affected customers. Bank of Ireland inflicted serious harm on customers and ruined many of their lives. Even during the tracker mortgage examination, it continued that harm, leading to the loss of seven family homes during the period. The cruel irony is that the bank is likely to pass on the fines to its customers. The problem …

Today, the Government had the opportunity to give people certainty as they face into a winter of rising costs, including certainty about energy costs, certainty on rents and certainty that those on fixed incomes would be shielded from the price rises that they have seen. The Government had an opportunity to plan for the future and deliver on housing, health and real climate action, but it has not done that today. Time and again, we have seen Ministers come into this Dáil and deliver budgets that promise much, but u…

-----and we would have given certainty to those families and households for the winter months, ensuring that all households received fair support and certainty in the time ahead, based on the energy they use. Perhaps the Ceann Comhairle would like to inform the Government backbenchers who are heckling-----

-----that this measure is an option under the European Commission’s energy toolbox and has been since March of this year. It is a measure that provides households with certainty and the support they so desperately need. That is precisely why other countries throughout Europe have implemented it – from Austria to France and from Poland to the Netherlands. It was the right choice and a better choice, but one this Government has failed to take, leaving those households vulnerable to these energy companies. The cost-of…