Once I get my time on the clock, the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach can say what he likes.

I will be delighted if they come in.

That is correct. As there are live investigations at present, I would not like to target any one individual in the context of the matters that are being investigated. I am so delighted that after five years of being here that UHL is finally being investigated. When the investigations are done, I hope criminal charges are brought against the people who have put others at risk and that there is accountability across all sectors if wrong has been done. It is for the protection of lives. If I have to get into hot water…

This is from an 88-year-old man from Bruree, County Limerick. He told me that as his TD, he wanted me to speak up in the Dáil about using Apple's unpaid tax money for building public and affordable homes and to say that the next Government has a chance to finally tackle our biggest shame as a nation, which is the fact that so many people are forced into debt, despair or poverty because we do not have affordable homes. He said he looked forward to hearing me call this out in the Dáil. We are back again to what I hav…

How can we help people who suffer from mental health problems? Like everything else, we have to start at the start with early intervention. The biggest problem we have with early intervention is that services for early intervention are not available. Where they are available, people will wait for 18 months or two years. Some of the people who have come to us looking for help move into the adult bracket before they can get early assistance. More and more younger people with mental health issues are coming to us look…

As a father and grandparent, I know that early years learning and childcare is a necessity, but in my experience and that of families around me, getting childcare is next to impossible. That is why I will support the motion. Currently, two people in a household have to work in order to survive, and then they have to try to get childcare for their children, which is a massive cost. People are now thinking they might be better off at home, not working, and they might then be able to take care of their children. This …

Yes. I am sorry I could not make it to meet the Minister because I was meeting constituents, but I had not been notified of his visit, and whenever I am notified of a visit from any Minister, I make it my business to attend. Whenever a Minister comes to the area, I show him or her ample respect. I was not notified in advance, however, and I have my own schedule for meeting the people of Limerick, which I have to try to keep to. Having said that, out of respect, I would have turned up if I had known. Early years chi…

In 2020, people got 16.5 gallons of fuel for €100. Today, that same 16.5 gallons of fuel costs €139.42. In 2020, per €100 of fuel, the Government took €45 in tax on diesel and €50 in tax on petrol. Today, the Government is taking €62.74 in tax on diesel and €69.71 in tax on petrol. For a gallon of fuel, which is the same product we are paying for and getting today, the Government has now increased tax on 16.5 gallons of fuel by €17.74 for diesel and €29.71 for petrol. Even though we are getting the same product, we…

In 2020, it was €120 per sq. ft. to build a house and, today, it is anywhere from €180 to €200 per sq. ft. Given taxes at 23% on a 2,000 sq. ft. house, the Government was taking €4,600 in VAT but is now taking €9,200 because the base cost of that house has gone from €240,000 plus VAT to €380,000 plus VAT. It is the same house but the Government is taking more tax. What is happening is that people in this country work and they pay taxes, but they do not qualify for anything. What I am looking for is a reward for som…

There are higher taxes.

I want a reward for somebody who works.

I spoke in the Chamber last week. The Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, was present. We discussed student accommodation and the fact that people have to rent properties for more than 12 months. The Minister of State said that there would be legislation in this regard. However, the legislation before us relates to student accommodation, not private dwellings. My son goes to college; he and three other people rent a property together. We were told he had to rent the property for 12 months because they are afra…

I thank Natasha O'Brien for coming here today. After what happened to her, the first phone call I got about it was from a man, Evan, who said he had spent time with Natasha in Lourdes on their school trip, where they went out to help people with disabilities around Lourdes. He said that she is a lovely girl and that he was absolutely disgusted by what happened to her. What followed on from this, however, when the person who caused the harm to Natasha and beat her unconscious was brought before the courts, was a cou…

I acknowledge the work the Minister has been doing and the commitments she has given on domestic violence and refuges for women who have suffered domestic violence. At Christmas, I visited ADAPT House in Limerick. My office staff and I go around during the Christmas season trying to help people in various areas – not only women who have suffered domestic violence, but also their children – so that they can have some normality at Christmas. We try to do that every year. I am thankful to my office staff for how they …

I welcome anything that will help tackle knife crime and other forms of armed crime. I welcome the appointment of more judges. I also welcome that gardaí, prison officers and members of the Defence Forces can stay on for an extra two years to 62 years of age. However, if we cannot keep them until they are 60 anyway, it begs the question of what is wrong. Some 98% of rank-and-file gardaí voted no confidence in the Commissioner. To me, that was also a vote of no confidence in the Minister, given that she took the Com…

There are great pressures being put on people who have children in third level education needing accommodation. It has come to my attention that students who were previously paying for accommodation for the college year, which is approximately nine months, are now being forced to keep their accommodation for the whole 12 months. College students who wanted to earn a few euro for the following school year or for travelling are now being forced to use that money to cover the rent on their accommodation over the summe…

I thank the Minister of State. However, we must make sure it is done sooner rather than later. The arrangements must be in place in time for the next college year. We do not want this happening to students. They work long and hard when they are in college. They should not have to pay for their accommodation for 12 months of the year. It is one thing for the legislation to be introduced next week. It is another thing to have it enacted and enforced in time for the new college year. The Government can say at any time…

I thank the teachers, SNAs, cleaners, communities, caretakers, parents and schoolchildren who go above and beyond to make sure their schools stay open. The work they do outside of what is funded by Government goes above and beyond. Look at what smaller schools have to do. They do not get the same funding as schools with more than 100 students. There are criteria whereby smaller schools - which are the rural schools - do not get the same type of funding. They get only a certain number of secretarial staff. I thank t…

At the outset, I want to address the lack of policing in this country. In the interim, would it not be possible for gardaí who have retired and who have left the Garda to be brought back on a part-time basis for a certain number of hours in order that it would not interfere with their retirement packages? This would mean that specialists who were trained in the field could deal with criminal cases that have been delayed in the courts for a long time. They could do ten or 11 hours per week, and this would not impact…

There must be an election looming again because Sinn Féin has done another U-turn. It now states it no longer wants open borders. It now wants to look at things differently. I work with many nationalities in this country and always have done so. It is harder now to get into the country with paperwork than it is without paperwork in certain cases. I refer to people who come with paperwork and want to work here. How many letters has the Minister's office received from me and my colleagues regarding truck drivers who …