Once upon a time, in its heyday, this site housed 330 men. I always said that when the temporary protection applicants moved in there, we should have done up the old buildings and housed them there. We should have utilised the buildings, rather than putting modular units in the square. That did not happen, unfortunately. It did not happen because we did not have a plan in place, and because we were reacting to the development of this site. We need a concrete plan going forward so we can know exactly how this site w…

The Taoiseach said when he assumed office that supporting people with additional needs would be a key part of a re-energised partnership in government. Surely access to a school place for children with additional needs is a key priority. Tyrrellspass National School in County Westmeath received a letter of sanction from the NCSE for special classes for pupils with autism spectrum disorder to start in 2024 or 2025. Despite the fact that the NCSE sanctioned this approval, the school building unit is questioning the n…

I thank the Minister of State for coming in this evening. How can we justify our allies' role in the genocide happening in Gaza? Can we stand by and say nothing? The simple answer is that we cannot. I refer to the line used by our allies, namely, that Hamas carried out its attack first. This was an attack that this Parliament was united in condemning, but an attack the UN Secretary General said, "did not happen in a vacuum". Our allies have said that every country has a right to self-defence, which of course is tru…

I welcome the Minister of State's reply. He is correct that St. Patrick's Day is a unique opportunity for unparalleled access across the globe and is something we should be very proud of. We have an opportunity this year to promote our values. The values we are talking about are our opposition to the war in Gaza. I welcome that he said that in the event that no ceasefire is in place by St. Patrick's Day, Ministers will bring the urgent message of a ceasefire. While a temporary ceasefire is one thing, we need a perm…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I welcome my constituency colleague to the Lower House. I am not sure whether his party colleague would do so, but I certainly do. I compliment him on the good work he has done in the area of autism. I know he is personally involved and he brought that personal commitment to this report. I congratulate him and his colleagues on publishing a very worthy report in the context of the rising rates of autism globally. It really is timely that we debate the issue he…

I welcome the fact that the school transport scheme went to Cabinet for approval today. I worry that it is reported that improvements will not be implemented until the 2025-26 academic year. Please do not raise the white flag already. Please try to ensure that recommendations can be introduced in the coming academic year. Working families in particular are waiting on the broadening of the availability of the scheme. Will the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform ensure the M…

The Taoiseach will be aware that, because of ash dieback, a significant number of ash trees have to be felled this year in the interest of public safety. Due to the significant number of trees to be felled, there is a backlog and farmers are finding it more difficult to access contractors to do this by 1 March in the hedge-cutting season. Is any consideration being given to extending the hedge-cutting season, even by a number of weeks, to facilitate farmers in carrying out this much-needed work? As we know, many of…

What we are witnessing in Gaza at the moment is horrific with the slaughtering of innocents and the withholding of aid. The past number of months have been horrific. I acknowledge the role the Tánaiste has played. Indeed, the Taoiseach has been very much to the fore in condemning what is going on there. The Taoiseach's intervention yesterday with his counterpart in Spain, the Tánaiste's press conference today and meeting this morning, and the allocation of a further €20 million in aid to the Palestinian people are …

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. Anything that gives consumers greater protection is to be welcomed. Unfortunately, we are all too well aware of situations where financial institutions have shattered the trust that has been placed in them and have exploited people's lack of financial expertise for their own material gain. Only in the last few days, we read a report by Charlie Weston in the Irish Independent about the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman. He claimed that it is on the verg…

The Minister will be acutely aware the Government introduced debt warehousing as part of the response to difficult trading conditions for businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic. Businesses that availed of debt warehousing are now receiving letters from Revenue demanding repayment. I welcome that the Minister stated a few weeks ago there would be flexibility. Today, if possible, I would like him to update the House on what that flexibility would look like.

I welcome the Minister's reply. He is right. This was a critical support at the time of the response to Covid. It helped businesses through a very difficult trading period. The environment is not as challenging as it was during Covid but it remains very challenging for businesses. We have high energy costs, the increase in VAT, auto-enrolment, sick pay and the increase in minimum wages. Some of these are very positive in their own right but they are all coming together at the same time and making it very challengin…

I do not think there is much further to add. It is critically important that the message goes out from this House that businesses should engage with Revenue and should not bury their heads in the sand. When they are forthcoming and engage with Revenue, the Minister is saying today that flexibilities will be forthcoming and we should know very shortly what those flexibilities will look like. Businesses need certainty. They are planning. They do not plan day to day or week to week but, quite often, a year in advance.…

I think we all did.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for accepting this issue for debate and I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Neale Richmond, for coming to the House. We are all very aware of high-profile closures in the past number of weeks. I will focus on one in my constituency and a communication I received from another business in my constituency. The Corner House Bistro was a hugely popular restaurant in Athlone. The owners, Linda and Joe Connolly, decided to close it doors a couple of weeks ago with the loss of jobs for 20 staf…

Will the Minister of State ensure a communications-----

-----campaign is undertaken to make people aware of the small company administrative rescue process, SCARP, that is available for sustainable businesses to restructure?

I welcome the Minister of State's reply. I do not for one minute question his commitment in his role, which I acknowledge. I am only relaying the frustration that is felt out there by the industry. I welcome the Minister of State engaging with them. It is important that we retain this ongoing engagement with industry. Will he convey to the Minister the need for certainty around the flexibility of the debt warehousing date in order that businesses can plan for the future? The report on the cumulative increase in bus…

COP 28 will reinforce the existential crisis we face if we do not take some drastic action very quickly. When the Taoiseach and I served in the Department of enterprise, there was an agreement to implement non-financial reporting for large companies and listed SMEs. That is for companies to annually say what they are doing with regard to reducing their carbon emissions. The implementation of that has been deferred by one year already. I learned recently that there are plans to defer it by a further two years in cer…

In the programme for Government a commitment was given to end direct provision during the lifetime of this Government. Obviously, that commitment was made before the Ukrainian war and is not something we will be able to achieve. It is very important, however, that the State provides shelter that is safe, secure and warm for people seeking international protection. In light of the fact that we are unable to provide an end to direct provision, can we commit to ensure that when people come here seeking international p…

I listened to the Taoiseach's responses earlier and I agree that, as a country, we are far richer because of the diversity of the people who have chosen to live here and call this country their home. The Government's response to those seeking international protection has been largely comprehensive given the huge numbers. That said, challenges remain, such as in seeking appropriate accommodation. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, brought forward a proposal to impose a 90-day limit. Another challenge is that some seekin…