I will send them on.

I concur with Deputy Ó Laoghaire in the sense that all of us want to see NTA deliver transport systems that actually work for our people, but an absolutely necessary piece is public consultation, which is absolutely lacking at times. We all welcomed the signing of the new Enterprise fleet. The Dublin to Belfast line is a brilliant service that facilitates the likes of Dundalk. There is a need for a new fleet, but I do not think we will have it until 2028. At the moment, we get complaints about the number of people …

The Government amendment is nothing short of a disgrace. What is being proposed by Sinn Féin? We call for the immediate introduction of an emergency budget with supports for workers and families, including a €500 lump sum for people with disabilities. I know the Minister accepts there is a huge cost of disability. There would not be much point in having the consultation he had - with all of the deficiencies that were in it - if not for the fact the Government accepts there is a cost of disability. On the basis of t…

I commend those on the Global Sumud flotilla. It is a deep shame that people still have to do that to highlight the absolute criminality, that has not been brought to book, of the Israeli regime. We have all been disgusted by the video of Ben-Gvir, who is obviously a thug, a genocidal criminal and an idiot. When most people commit crimes, they do not actually put them on video. This is a guy who has been accused of being a draft-dodger by brothers in arms and his defence was that he was not allowed in the IDF becau…

When we talk about the Global Sumud Flotilla and what the Israelis are doing, what is it? It is kidnapping on international waters. This is absolutely illegal but they do not care. They do not care about anything and that is a fact. We always talk about apartheid South Africa and how it took many factors but one of the major ones was that they were taken to task, they were sanctioned and individual South Africans were made to feel like the pariahs of the world. That put pressure on their government and then they co…

We have a long history in Ireland of resistance to colonial oppression and of liberation struggle, albeit unfinished. What is this Government promising? It is promising the removal of the triple lock because it does not really matter. The only logic behind removing the triple lock is to move away from our long history of non-alignment and of having clean hands, which there is definitely space for in this modern world. What have we been stopped from doing on the basis of the triple lock? That is what I want to know.…

The Bill involves the winding up and dissolution of NAMA and bringing the sad story of the IBRC to an end. Nobody will be particularly unhappy about ending this part of Irish history. Nobody can look back to the circumstances that led to this in a positive manner. It is very difficult to look at NAMA, the bank bailout and the entire sorry story without seeing it as being open business for institutional investors and vulture funds and the people who had to pay were the Irish people. I remember the onset of the finan…

There was a huge cost. Just let-----

Okay.

In fairness to Deputy Rice, this comes from a point of view of ensuring there is not any workaround. We have spoken previously in relation to this legislation and the whole point is ensuring we have governance, regulation, fair play and a system that works for those who work as home carers but also for those who employ them. That is absolutely necessary. I will also put on the record that, while we welcome that we are dealing with the issue of homecare providers, we need to ensure there is not a long delay in deali…

I accept what the Minister of State said. It is about making sure we do not end up with an anomaly that allows for people to work in an unregulated system. There is also an absolute requirement to deal with the issue of personal assistants. It is about making sure that happens. All we want is a framework that works so the correct level of homecare and personal assistance can be provided to those who require it. I put a particular emphasis on those with disabilities, because it is sometimes forgotten about.

Has there been any engagement with the British Government to deal with the issue of the road user levy? This was introduced on all HGVs over 12,000 kg. Southern hauliers have to pay €10 per day to cross the Border. We know there are many Border crossings and how many times that can happen. There is also an administration issue. If you fail to do that, you could have a £300 fine. It is an issue that needs to be dealt with. I have dealt with my colleagues in the North who have brought it up, but it needs agreement wi…

I will say this straight out. Given the state of the roads in County Louth, an insufficient amount of money has been put forward for these budgets. The fact is that Louth County Council initially, following Storm Chandra, looked for €1.2 million and then for €2.9 million extra that was necessary due to the huge damage done by the storm. This was done on the basis of works that had not been done over many years and that need to be done and an insufficient amount of resourcing from central government. The fact is tha…

I thank Deputy McGreehan for mentioning Cú Chulainn, obviously Louth's finest hurler. Hopefully we will see his type again in the near future. It is much needed. I agree with much of what previous speakers have said. We are in an absolute nightmare with regard to biodiversity and the crossover point with climate change. A huge amount of work is being done by communities. Many have mentioned Tidy Towns. The danger with naming one group is that you offend those you do not mention. I will mention Dundalk, Blackrock an…

Can the Minister provide an updated timeline for the delivery of the retrofit scheme to all social housing units in County Louth? Louth County Council has been very good at delivering on retrofitting and has at times gone beyond its targets. I would like to think that it would be given the facility to get through the entire cohort of social housing units that require to be retrofitted.

Louth County Council has one of the longest lists for social housing. It must deal with the issue impacting on every local authority at this point , namely an insufficient amount of money to deal with maintenance needs. I constantly deal with those who work for the council and deal with maintenance. The reality is that from time to time you are robbing Peter to pay Paul and cannot always deliver to meet actual needs. People who have been tenants for many years and who may not have looked for anything from the local…

The Minister will always be welcome when we are talking about the opening of social housing in County Louth. The problem is that we need to see a lot more of it, The issue relating to Fulacht Fia or any of the other schemes is the huge numbers of people on the waiting list and of people who believe they may have a chance of getting a house. Unfortunately, the hopes of many will be dashed. To return to the issue of retrofitting, Louth County Council has at times showed a capacity to be able to retrofit more houses t…

I would give it to Deputy Sheehan.

See, I was magnanimous.

Will the Minister outline his or his Department's engagement with the Law Society of Ireland and other stakeholders in advance of the changes to the legal aid system operating in the District Court? I am told by many there is unease in relation to the possibility of an exodus of those who engage in the system. We want to see it streamlined and efficient and getting the best bang for our buck but we do not want to see backlogged courts and it causing more hassle than it needs to.