I wish the Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, and the Minister, Deputy Lawless, the best of luck in their positions. What has education taught us about people who want to have a right to education? It has taught us for decades that we do not have the accommodation for people who want to go to third level, either on or off campus. We have a housing crisis but we have known this for years. I have a son who is in third level education. The biggest worry he has is that we cannot get him accommodation in Galway. I have a…

The Minister of State and I sat on the housing committee together. It is like déjà vu . I am delighted to be the chairman of the budget and oversight committee, which will have a big role to play in ensuring accountability in respect of the money that is being spent. I sent a letter to Uisce Éireann about Pallaskenry, County Limerick. Three weeks on, I am waiting for a letter back to say there is capacity in Pallaskenry. I know there is capacity because nothing has been built there since the new plant went in, but …

I am submitting this question on behalf of Independent Ireland. What is the cause of the high volume of refunds in employment permit applications, which are resulting in processing delays?

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I am delighted that the new portal is finally up and running. We have a bigger problem with this. The processing of permits is starting to work but there is not much point having a permit if people cannot get the visa with it and the Department is not speaking. Many people who are getting permits are not getting the visas. It is as if one Department is not talking to the other. While the Minister has excelled on the permit side the Department on the other side is not get…

I look forward to that. This week I have seen permits that came through and the visas came to us within two days of those. However, others go back two and three months. I am looking forward to this new system to see if it will work in tandem. Many companies are waiting for permits at the moment. Many people who have been working in companies here for a couple of years and want their families to come here are having problems getting visas for their families. I know of one person who has been working here for four ye…

On International Workers' Day, I will talk about speed limits. I will give a few figures because I like figures. There are 3.2 million vehicles in this country. There are 5,413 km of national roads; 2,696 km of national secondary roads; 13,122 km of regional roads; and 81,293 km of local roads. The Government has reduced the speed limit on local roads to 60 km/h. Some of these roads are 6 m wide. Rather than allow local authorities to reduce speed limits on roads that are unsafe or, for example, only 3 m wide, the …

That is what I am looking at.

It is not saving lives. The Minister is stating that putting a speed limit of 60 km/h on roads that are not safe is saving lives. Does she realise what 6 m is? It is only the distance from where I am standing to where the Tánaiste is sitting. That is the width of the roads I am talking about. The Government has imposed a blanket speed limit on local roads across the country. I ask that we reduce speed limits on roads that are unsafe and impose appropriate speed limits on roads that are safe. The Government has just…

I thank the Tánaiste. I am glad he said that local authorities should have had a part to play in this.

They did not have a part to play previously. I have asked that they should make decisions on the speed limits that should apply on roads are safe and those that are not safe. Some 89% of the vehicles in this country use either petrol or diesel. How many of those over there drive petrol or diesel cars? Be honest. Some 89% of the vehicles in Ireland use either petrol or diesel, which means that 89% of those who are being overtaxed are the working people the Government talks about in the context of the minimum wage. T…

We have run out of fuel.

I know the issue of special needs is close to the Minister of State's heart. We see delays in assessments for children. If we cannot get assessments on time, why can we not put in place a reimbursement scheme for people who can get them? We have done it for hips and knees. In the interim and until we get the assessments done, why can we not have a reimbursement scheme for those who are able to get an assessment somewhere else? That could speed up the process. We could get the children assessed and looked after fast…

Representatives of the national Meals on Wheels programme are across the way in Buswell's Hotel. They are looking for more funding. Some 2.8 million meals were provided in 2024. There were 228,000 users of the service. When the service provides a meal and delivers it to someone, the cost of the meal is €7, and the service charges the person €7. The service does not have funding for the running cost of its vehicles. If anyone goes to any restaurant anywhere, even to get a sandwich, it costs a serious amount. We have…

The number of users has gone up.

I will not oppose this amending regulation. It ensures the importance of the establishment of civil justice between European states. With regard to insolvency in this country, we have to look at how many businesses were forced into insolvency as a result of inflation or Revenue interest and penalties? We are talking about small businesses as well as large businesses. How many companies entered insolvency once, twice, three times, four times or five times and reopened each time under another name? How many had a sis…

I acknowledge Richie Herlihy and his friend Paul Lenihan who are in the Gallery. I welcome them to the Dáil. We can do all the frameworks we like with all the best of intentions but unless you have the infrastructure, you can build nothing. I will provide the Minister of State with an example of an application that is with Uisce Éireann at the moment. There are 42 houses to be built in Pallaskenry. I will ask for the Minister of State's help with this. All that is needed is an A4 page stating that there is capacity…

The Minister is a person of her word. I am glad she came to UHL unannounced. It was great to see that she went there. I heard from staff and management that they were delighted to see her come unannounced because it gives her first-hand knowledge. She made that commitment to me. I told her I would work with her to help UHL. She has done the first part for which I thank her. There is something else I will ask for the Minister's help on. A woman contacted me today who has three children aged between ten and 12 who ha…

I am again speaking with the Minister. I thanked her for visiting UHL. Everyone has spoken about the surgeons who have made mistakes and all the rest of it. It is not always the surgeons. I can speak about a personal issue. My son had kyphosis. He underwent an operation. He had 136 staples and two rods inserted in his back. Some 12 or 14 months later, the rods snapped. That was not the fault of the surgeons, but rather the materials used. It is not always about the surgeons. I cannot thank the surgeons enough for w…

What is our first problem when we see tariffs? Trump met our Taoiseach before St. Patrick’s Day and invited Conor McGregor to meet him on St. Patrick’s Day. That is what he thinks of Ireland. He looks at Ireland as a tax haven for companies but what he needs to realise is that it is a tax nightmare for workers. Trump also needs to realise that one in every ten people in the US claims Irish ancestry. I ask the people in the US who have Irish in them to make that quite clear to him. He also knows that, to Europe, Ire…

I wish Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett well in his treatment. Please God everything goes well for him. This question is for the Minister of Health and relates to the freeze on UHL. Two Limerick people are coming home from Australia. One is a physiotherapist and the other is an ICU nurse. The ICU nurse had been told they had a position in the hospital but they received a letter to say it was sorry that there is a freeze on taking on staff in UHL. These are two Irish people who want to return home and join the health ser…