I appreciate the answer from the Minister. We all did considerable lobbying on the hourly rate and welcome its increase, which was not before time. The only way this can become sustainable to allow these people to offer the absolutely necessary services to those with disabilities is by putting a proper 52-week contract in place. Work needs to be done by the Department along with other Departments. We all fear when we hear about interdepartmental reviews but we need to ensure the part that needs to be done here is d…

Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil an-suim ag an Aire Stáit san ábhar seo. Everyone has recognised it is an issue the Minister of State has great interest in. There is a need for him to have a great interest in it because we are not exactly where we need to be. In 2019 a biodiversity emergency was declared in this State and across this island, so it is an absolute necessity that we follow up on what needs to be done. We have a huge crisis, with significant declines in many species and habitats. There has been a 40% drop in …

I agree. Louth-Cavan-Monaghan does not work as a sensible divisional decision, and I get that the Taoiseach's answer is going to be that that remains for the Commissioner. It is, however, an issue that needs to be looked at. The Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, said here that the community safety partnerships are going to happen quickly. That needs to happen post-haste because we know there has been a failure to have joint policing committee meetings, and we need that engagement. There are questions to be asked. W…

We have all stood here many times before and spoken of the disgraceful attack by Russia on Ukraine and its continued policy which is just nouveau imperialism. It is no different from what has happened many times before in Russian history and the history of many other states beyond that, unfortunately, as we know too well. We need to stand with Ukraine and against Russia but at some time there has to be peace. There has been some element of engagement. It is very difficult to talk about America’s engagements at this…

After that, I should commend the Louth ladies and the under-20s, who are through to the all-Ireland final. It was unfortunate that our minors could not do it in a really great game against Offaly. Rural housing is a major issue. Last summer, we were told that the draft guidelines on one-off rural housing were with the Attorney General for legal review. Given that we will be considering reviews of all the development plans at the end of the year, it would make sense for us to deal with the issue, publish the guideli…

He is very unreliable.

We are all here and having this discussion because 14-year-old Cara Darmody and her dad Mark are outside on a 50-hour sleepout. It is nothing short of scandalous. Obviously she is doing this on behalf of her brothers, Neil and John, and all the other Neils and Johns. The figures were spoken about earlier. At this point, we are talking about 15,296 children who have been failed. That failure is to deliver on an assessment of need within six months. We could be looking at a figure by the end of the year of 24,796. As…

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

Many people have said that it is particularly sad that Cara Darmody has to carry out a 50-hour sit-out outside Leinster House. Many of us have met her over several years. This is not the first time she has been up here or the first time she has been out protesting alongside her father Mark, on behalf of her brothers John and Neil, who have been abjectly failed by the State, and on behalf of all the other Johns and Neils who have not got the services they require in any way. The only thing there is going to be agree…

There is another supplementary question.

I recently had a meeting with IFA officials, as I stated previously. A line I used before is that the organisation is very good at keeping the Minister’s feet to the fire in relation to issues. The officials had recently been at a meeting in Brussels and obviously spoke about their fear of cuts to CAP under Pillar 2. They spoke about the whole conversation as regards ReArm Europe, etc. Obviously, the argument needs to be made. Another point that was made – the officials were very decent in that they provided me wit…

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Claire Kerrane - To discuss reform of the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme. Deputy Pat Buckley - To discuss the lack of a pension scheme and unequal terms and conditions under which school secretaries work. Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss the placing of vulnerable elderly sick people in nursing homes distant from their homes. To discu…

We have all seen modern methods of construction, such as, for example, 3D concrete printing in Muirhevnamore, in operation. Whether we are talking about modular 3D printing or timber-frame housing, we need to see a plan for a significant ramp-up, while accepting that all of these solutions represent only a percentage of housing supply. Could we get some sort of detail on this matter? I agree with the previous speaker that we need to see real movement as fast as possible on the possible option of modular units in ba…

What about the guidelines for the one-off housing?

Our thoughts are with the family, friends and colleagues of Garda Kevin Flatley as we deal with issues in relation to the number of gardaí. It is clear that despite the high-profile recruitment process, there has been no significant increase in the number of gardaí who will be trained. The current Garda Commissioner dismissed the claim by the Government that 1,000 would be trained this year, pointing out that the maximum that could be trained is 800. The Minister vocally endorsed the recruitment campaign earlier th…

I ask the Minister about the establishment of the community safety partnerships. There is much in this we welcome, including the involvement of the Garda, the local authorities, the HSE and other stakeholders. However, there are questions about the membership, especially about which elected representatives will be on it and how they will operate. Local authorities have issues with who can be the chairs. The biggest issue is the timeline. If the Minister has any proposal to make changes, what are they and how does h…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. The main thing is that "very soon" needs to be very soon. We need to see these up and running and I will put the question back in the short term because of the anomaly that JPCs, which did great work, are not in existence now. Would it be possible to have them in the short term? Is the Minister proposing any changes to community safety partnerships? There are certain things we would all like to see in terms of ensuring there are sufficient elected representatives and others on the par…

We need this legislation signed off as early as possible. There are questions about the membership, including membership of TDs and other stakeholders. We need to ensure we have something that is fit for purpose. I request that what Deputy Ward said be followed through on. There must be some consistency. In Louth, it has been a considerable period since we have had joint policing committee meetings. When the Minister has his work done, we need to see that. It needs to be resolved as soon as possible.

I welcome Francie Gorman, president of the IFA. I had a recent meeting with Kevin Sweeney, the local chair, and a number of other IFA members. They are better than most groups at keeping your feet to the fire in respect of the issues. I thank them for that. Luckily for me, they were just back from meetings in Brussels. We are all aware that the idea of CAP is to ensure a stable supply of affordable food and that farmers can make a reasonable living. The Minister and I have spoken many times about that. It is also a…