What happens is that a person gets an electric car and then applies for a charger. It is backwards.

I ask the Taoiseach one simple thing. Can he please reverse it? It makes sense to have the charger in place before getting the car.

Will the Taoiseach ask the Minister to get back to him on that issue?

While the Government is spending billions to ease acute cost-of-living pressures, it is then taking it back in the form of tolls. The highest rise in tolls of 60 cent per journey was confirmed last week by the State agency Transport Infrastructure Ireland, with the blessing of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan. While the decision to defer these increases for six months announced today was welcome, this leads to kicking the issue down the road. Let us take note that the decision by Transport Infrastructu…

One of the health priorities of this Government is to tackle hospital waiting lists. Last weekend's Fine Gael Ard-Fheis included promises to tackle lengthy waits. Although the winter plan 2022-23 makes significant promises on additional capacity and improved pathways to care, I wish to raise the terrible situation of one of my constituents in County Louth. On 4 October, I emailed the Minister for Health about my constituent, John Evans from Dundalk, who, having previously undergone a kidney transplant and a leg amp…

Next Tuesday, 29 November, John Evans has an appointment to see Dr. Sullivan, a plastic surgeon in Beaumont hospital.

His appointment is only to be seen. Will the Government help John Evans?

At the Ard-Fheis at the weekend, An Tánaiste, Deputy Varadkar, pledged to make home ownership affordable again. However, an entire generation of people are locked out of secure and affordable homes. The median selling price for a house in Ireland during quarter 3 stood at €301,000, that is €26,000 up on the same period last year. That is only going to rise due to the impact of inflation and higher interest rates. The promise of social and affordable homes for purchase or rent aims to eliminate homelessness and addr…

I welcome the motion, which seeks to extend sections 1 to 7, inclusive, and section 9 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act to allow for the sale or supply of liquor in outdoor seating areas for four to six months - from 1 December next to 31 May 2023. We can all recall why this arrangement was required. The Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, which came into force in July 2021, was in direct response to the issues streaming from Covid restrictions, whereby those in the licensed trade, the tourism i…

I am going to read from an email I received from a constituent of mine whose sister has long Covid: I am writing in relation to a motion being debated by the Dáil on Wednesday of this week. The motion calls on the Government to take immediate steps to provide the supports needed by those suffering from Long Covid, to establish professional Long Covid hubs and to acknowledge the fact that Long Covid is an occupational injury/disease affecting frontline workers, including those who contracted Covid in a work environm…

In the budget, the Government announced an investment of €23.4 billion in Ireland's health and social care services. However, it has come to light that on 25 October, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, recorded the highest number of patients on trolleys in 2022, when 669 people, including 28 children, were without a bed. I raise with the Minister the issue of hospital overcrowding this winter, specifically in County Louth. Although the winter plan for 2022 to 2023 makes significant promises on additi…

I would appreciate if the Minister would reply.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important Bill and will support its progress on Second Stage. Irish businesses are facing into energy price increases on top of supply chain problems in the middle of another significant jump in the official inflation rate. There are incredible challenges right across the business and SME sectors, particularly for companies such as leisure centres, call centres and food processors, which use large amounts of gas or electricity and whose business model has been completely d…

There is an acute labour shortage of home care workers in the State. However, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment refuted those labour market shortages in August, suggesting that the recruitment challenges were because of a failure to guarantee hours of work and the lack of travel and subsistence payments. Although it was aware of this reasoning, the Government did not address those long-term pay and conditions issues, which have subsequently harmed recruitment and retention. Instead, the Government …

What is the Minister of State's interim solution for householders in rural areas waiting on broadband that is some years away under the national broadband plan, NBP? Will he provide further details of the efforts to accelerate the roll-out of national broadband, and will he make a statement on it?

There are many black spots in County Louth that need urgent attention. It is creating a divide between rural and urban areas. It is also costing small businesses jobs. It is stopping people from working from home. Households and businesses cannot wait for years. Several people have come to my constituency office saying they cannot continue to survive. I cannot understand why they are not connected to this essential broadband service. A business family has told me that, according to the national website, they are sc…

The last thing we want to do, especially in County Louth, is to drive people away from the countryside. It is bad enough having local needs and people not being able to build on their land along with everything else. It is very frustrating. People come to me knowing there are households and companies down the road from them that have broadband installed and ask me what is going on. I understand the Minister of State has said Louth is one of the best for connections, but to me it is not for the simple reason that th…

Will the Minister advise on matters arising from correspondence, details of which I supplied to him, regarding broadband in an area and his plans to supply a high-speed broadband service to this location in County Louth?

I have correspondence which reads: I am a resident of Ravensdale. Currently there is no wifi / broadband available in our area and myself along with other families and residents have very limited access to the internet. The main area of Ravensdale itself has a broadband supply, however once past the Carrickdale hotel (we are along Edentober) there is nothing available to us. I am self employed and run an online business. I have recently had to move into my parent’s house as we are trying to buy/ build our own house…

The Minister of State's second answer was from the heart. He realises the problem we are having but this is not just one family as there are others. We are trying to encourage people to work from home, and that is what these people are trying to do. I agree with the Minister of State. The correspondent asked me to ask the question and the Minister of State has given me a few different solutions. As he knows, I am very involved with the GAA. There is a GAA club in the area and maybe that is another way of looking at…