As we are dealing with the Order of Business for this week, I ask, given the comments of the Taoiseach, that the Minister make himself available and that it be arranged for tomorrow.

I think we can sit a bit longer but that is up to the Ceann Comhairle and the other members of the Business Committee. A Minister has misled the House and the public after being corrected by Deputy Ó Broin and by a statement of the Central Bank. It needs to be dealt with in the House.

Get out of here. Come on. Nobody believes that.

There has been a great effort here this evening on behalf of the Government to divert attention from the core issue. We heard some of that tune played just a moment ago. Let me remind Members that the last time there was a similar controversy surrounding a Fine Gael Minister of using his influence to do favours for his friend, it was the Tánaiste. When he leaked a confidential document to a friend, we were told to move on, there is nothing to see here, this is game playing, political stunts and so on. It is now nin…

Address the issue.

It is not the handling; it is what the Minister did.

The Minister cannot even acknowledge what he did. Business as usual.

I welcome this motion. I commend Deputy Mairéad Farrell on the work she has done on this issue and also on the lobbying Bill. Stalling that Bill for nine months was ridiculous. What was the purpose of it? SIPO has been looking for those powers for years. The Government has not delivered. Its predecessors in government have not delivered. Deputy Mairéad Farrell and I have drafted the legislation and it is there. Let us work on it and deal with this issue. Maybe some of the stuff that has come to haunt the Minister's…

Last week, we had data from the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, PIAB, showing that the average personal injury award has fallen by 50% as a result of the new personal injury guidelines which came in to effect on 24 April of this year. This has halved the cost of awards relating to personal injury claims by insurance companies. It is clear that the reduced cost in claims is not being passed on to consumers in the form of reduced premiums. A survey I conducted since the new personal injury guidelines came in to e…

I welcome the Tánaiste's comments on my legislation. He has said before that it was a sensible idea. We have translated that into legislation and it has passed Second Stage. Unfortunately, however, the process of putting a nine-month stay on it just does not make any sense and nor does it make any sense that we cannot look at the Bill or even, as a committee, ask the Central Bank its views on it for nine months. This can serve only the insurance industry's interests. The Tánaiste talked about two months' data and n…

I echo the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's sentiments and thank everybody for their assistance over what was a challenging time for all workplaces but no less for the Dáil as we operate in two different sites. On behalf of Sinn Féin, I thank all the staff. I also thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and the Ceann Comhairle for keeping the show on the road. I am sure none of us will miss the convention centre, as the Dáil will reconvene in Leinster House in the autumn. The mica and pyrite scandal has touched the hearts of people…

These amendments are grouped. Some of the sections it is proposed to amend are already contained within this new legislation, but a new section extends the boundary beyond an acre. I am sure the Government will have valid reasons to explain why that is important. Normally, though, when ample time is afforded to consider legislation and pre-legislative scrutiny is undertaken in a proper way in committee, we would be able to tease out some of the language in this legislation and consider its text. I would like to do …

We will all be glad to get back to the Dáil Chamber in Leinster House where we can all see each other better at such a late hour. Deputy Lawless made a very articulate contribution on how the process works in his local authority, which is good. I am sure councillors were doing what he described before the introduction of the local property tax, providing services such as surfacing roads and ensuring amenities were available to local communities. I know that with my own council and across the board, particularly wit…

I know the Minister fully understands our position because we present it every year in our alternative budget. Local authorities should be funded by central government. When this legislation passed the Oireachtas and came into effect in 2013, the Government gave with one hand by charging property tax on the residents in local authorities and then took with the other hand the grant that had been provided. It is not a case of leaving a local authority starved. The Minister knows this and if we want to have a sensible…

I move amendment No. 5: In page 9, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following: “(d) a liable person forms a view that the property has been damaged as a result of the use of defective concrete blocks,”. Táimid ag plé le section 18 den Bhille agus tá seo ag déileáil le tithe a bhfuil impleachtaí ó thaobh mica agus pyrite ag baint leo agus nach dtagann faoin cháin seo sa reachtaíocht seo. An cheist atá agam ná cad iad na coinníollacha a chaithfear dul tríothu le díolúine a fháil ón cháin seo? Nuair a fheictear …

I will be pressing the amendment. We are discussing the legislation so now is when we either decide to trust the homeowners or not.

As the Minister of State is aware, Covid-19 has presented a particular hardship for those caring for a loved ones. They have been without a break and respite. It is heartbreaking to speak to mothers and fathers who are finding it difficult to cope. In particular, I want to ask about two respite facilities in Donegal. When does the Minister of State plan for these facilities to resume the provision of respite care services? The first is Drumboe Respite House and the second is Seaview Respite House. As the Minister o…

I assure the Minister of State there is no decent complement of services for families in Donegal. We have been aware of the realities of Covid-19 for well over a year. Notwithstanding the fantastic job many staff are doing in facilities such as Drumboe Respite House, Stranorlar, which is being used as emergency accommodation for a number of vulnerable adults, children and families are being asked to forego respite care services. There is no end in sight for them. If it is the case that contingency plans for accommo…

It is not open for respite services and the families would like to know a date. Seaview Respite House in Mountcharles is another facility that provides a lifeline for many families in south Donegal and further afield. I have been raising the issue of this critical service for many years. The Minister of State said it is open for five days a week and she would like it to open seven days a week. There is no reason this cannot happen bar a budgeting reason. Will the Minister of State give a commitment to make the fund…

Tá rudaí ag dul in olcas ó thaobh an bhreithiúnais atá déanta ag an Rialtas ó thaobh ospidéal náisiúnta na bpáistí. Tá na hamlínte sínte amach arís agus tá an buiséad imithe suas go dtí níos mó ná €1 billiún. Tá an cuma ar an scéal, ón méid a dúirt an bord leis an choiste oireachtais inné, nach bhfuil deireadh ar bith leis an scannal seo. Is í an cheist atá ann ná cad atá an Rialtas ag déanamh leis na héilimh ar chostais bhreise uilig atá curtha ar an mhéar fhada? Cén uair a bheidh an togra seo críochnaithe? Cad é …