To be very clear the record needs to be corrected. Leaders' Questions were not scrapped previously. Taoiseach's questions were not scrapped previously. Questions on Policy or Legislation were not scrapped previously.

It is completely untrue to say this is normal.

This is not normal.

This is immunity from accountability.

That is nonsense

With a straight face.

Is this a comedy? Maybe he will do stand-up next week?

Absolute nonsense. That is wilful nonsense.

How much more time does he get?

The arrogance and smugness of the Minister-----

It is not agreed. The Government has had weeks now to respond to this crisis. There has been a lack of communication to the Opposition. We have been frantically trying to get clarification on votes to allow us to prepare amendments. This is no way to do business and we strongly object to the way this has been handled today. We will push a vote on this matter.

The Minister of State should not misrepresent what we said. The way this has been handled today is completely disrespectful to the Opposition. We had no chance to prepare amendments. We are frantically trying to get information from the secretariat and there is a vacuum. We are calling a vote in protest at the way the Government handled this today, considering it took it weeks to get to this point. It also briefed all the journalists in recent days. It knew what it was doing. It just did not have this organised tod…

In a county like Donegal, we are uniquely impacted by these increases in oil and fuel. We rely heavily on home heating oil to heat our homes. You cannot work in Donegal unless you have a car or van to get around. Public transport just is not there. We are uniquely affected. I find it astonishing that we are weeks into this crisis now and there is not a clear indication from the Government that it is going to cut the excise duty and reduce costs at the pump and for home heating oil. I urge the Minister again to make…

Deputy Ó Laoghaire advises that he is on his way.

This question relates to the waiting lists of 324 for home support services in Donegal. I am very clear from speaking to staff in the service that the HSE recruitment policies are preventing it from recruiting the necessary assistants to get those waiting lists down. That also has a knock-on impact on Letterkenny University Hospital. I wish to get a sense of what is happening and why it is happening.

We are very proud in Donegal that we have the strongest level of home care assistance delivered directly by the State through the HSE and that is the way we want to keep it. My concern is that there is an agenda to privatise the service in Donegal, that is, to hold back recruitment in the public system and secure the services of private providers. I am aware of incidents in Donegal where the HSE has had to step in after a poor service by private providers. There are real concerns around this. The facts do not lie. …

I will continue to monitor this closely because it is clear that in recent years there has been an agenda at senior level in the HSE for a sneaking privatisation of the service in Donegal. In a response to a parliamentary question, it was confirmed that the use of private providers increased from 13% to 19% in one year. I am clear that recruitment through the HSE for home care assistants is being held back by policies there. By its own admission, it is looking to bring in private providers to fill the gap. That is …

The Minister will know that his predecessor, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, asked the SCSI for the costs of building a typical home in the areas affected by defective concrete blocks. That was two years ago and the costs have increased substantially. That means the gap between what the State will pay families through the grant scheme and the actual costs is getting ever wider. Will the Minister ask the SCSI to get this done?

The Minister and his Department officials continue to insist the people of Donegal, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim, Clare and Limerick are receiving 100% redress based on SCSI costings. It should be remembered that does not include the foundations and other matters. This has to be based on real-world prices. The prices he is working off are at least two years out of date. Indeed, the data used in the March 2024 SCSI report are from 2023. I am going by his standards. He tells me he is giving people 100% redress based on SCSI …

Please just accept our testimony. I can only speak with authority about Donegal but I listened to families in Mayo and Clare recently when they were before the Oireachtas housing committee. It is crystal clear we do not have anything near 100% redress in the west. That means the scheme currently benefits those of a certain age who can project-manage or can access €40,000, €50,000 or €100,000. The Minister heard me give an example and I could give many more of people having to find almost €200,000 and being locked i…