I ask the Minister to reverse this very impractical decision.

What about the boiler grant?

It is worth reminding ourselves of the statistics and it is important that we read them into the record. I will read just the first few sentences of the motion. They read as follows: ... the World Health Organisation ... states that gender-based violence is a global pandemic and the greatest threat to the health of women and girls worldwide, a woman or girl is killed by a partner or family member every 10 minutes; in this State: — since 1996, 274 women have died violently ...; — 52 per cent of women have experience…

I congratulate the Minister and the Minister of State on their appointments and wish them well. Fundamental to longer and healthier living is the provision of wraparound home care supports. Our population is ageing, as the Minister has said, and the HSE accepts that the demand for home care increases by at least 4% per year. Funding for home care must increase by a minimum of 4%; anything less is a cut in real terms. It is extremely beneficial for people to continue to live in their homes and in their own environme…

The town of Clonmel is the social and economic hub not only for south Tipperary but also for east Limerick, north and west Waterford, south and west Kilkenny and part of north Tipperary. It has a rich history and heritage and it is a great town in which to live, work, shop and socialise. Unfortunately, however, the town centre has suffered a number of high-profile closures, including last week's announcement by New Look. The urban regeneration development fund, URDF, operated by the Department of Housing, Local Gov…

The disability service is not fit for purpose. Everyone in this House knows that. Every Deputy here, like me, is contacted by parents almost every day of the week who are at their wits' end, totally frustrated fighting every inch of the way for services for their child, whether that be a young child or an adult child. We have to stop fighting parents. A parent in my constituency had to go to the steps of the High Court last year to get a place for her child. She was fought every inch of the way by the Government. T…

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion, which is very practical and reasonable. We should all say that we would like to have an integrated public transport system across the country. However, we do not, and I have not seen see any great move on the Government's part or even previous Governments to do that. If someone is a young person from a rural area, it is particularly problematic to have a situation where he or she might be waiting up to 40 weeks for a driving test. To take Clonmel as an example, if…

It is generally accepted that serious challenges face the health services on a daily basis. These challenges affect patients, staff and the wider community. Staff are firefighting on an ongoing basis. They are burned out, frustrated and fed up continuously holding services together with minimum resources. Emergency departments are overrun, with trolley numbers in January of this year at an all-time high of almost 14,000. Waiting lists are similarly as high, and outpatient numbers are well in excess of half a millio…

The Minister has not addressed the question at all. In fact, she has avoided the question. My question was whether her Government would instruct the chief executive officer to withdraw the instruction. Today's edition of The Irish Times reports that her Government instructed the HSE only a few weeks ago - in January of this year - on this very subject. I ask the Minister again to address that question. Does the Minister accept this instruction from the chief executive is a breach of the framework agreement? Does sh…

The devastating housing crisis is undermining the social fabric of Irish society. This housing disaster was created by the Bertie Ahern Government, which privatised social, affordable and public housing, handed over the housing market to the profit motive of the private market and stopped local authorities building houses for 20 years. The result is the disaster we now have, and that disaster now looks like 15,000 families homeless, including almost 5,000 children. There are 120,000 families on local authority wait…

First, I congratulate the Minister of State on her appointment and I wish her well for this Dáil term. The programme for Government, under the mental health section, commits the Government to ensuring access to appropriate supports when and where people need them. The emphasis on when and where is very important because it is widely accepted that mental health services should be provided to patients as close as possible to their locality. This is because contact with and support from family and friends plays such a…

On Tuesday morning last, I was contacted by a very distressed parent. This mother, Tina Barrett has given me permission to raise this issue with the Tánaiste. Tina is the mother of Michael Joseph Barrett, aged five. Michael Joseph has a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder level 2. He had been waiting on an assessment of need list for more than two years, which in itself is a breach of the law. As a result, Tina has to take her child for a private assessment, which she could ill afford. Michael Joseph attends play…

This devastating housing crisis was created by the privatisation of public housing by Fianna Fáil under the then Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern. Local authorities were prevented from building social and affordable housing for more than 20 years and this policy was continued by successive Governments. The housing crisis is undermining the social fabric of Irish society. Everybody says repeatedly that housing is the single biggest issue facing the country. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste tell us daily that it is their highes…

The programme for Government continues the failed policies of its predecessor. It lacks ambition and is deliberately vague with no costings or timelines. It means the continuation of the housing and homelessness crisis, the cost-of-living crisis, hospital overcrowding, long health waiting lists, a broken disability service and the continuation of the health recruitment embargo, the so-called pay and numbers strategy. Everybody agrees the housing and homelessness crisis is the most fundamental issue facing this coun…

What is the basis for these additional ministerial posts? I listened to the Minister and Deputy Gallagher earlier and the Taoiseach and Tánaiste in recent days trying to justify the creation of these posts and quite frankly these justifications amount to a poor excuse, dressed up as policy to facilitate a shabby deal with the Regional Independent Group. The new posts are being created, effectively, to keep the Regional Independent Group sweet. Anyone who looks at the situation is clearly of the view that there is n…

I will be sharing time with Deputy Catherine Connolly. I congratulate the Minister on his appointment and wish him well in his ministerial role. I am sure his dad with whom I served in this House for nearly 16 years is absolutely delighted to see his son elevated to ministerial ranks. As I say, I wish him well. As everybody has done, we need to acknowledge and thank all those who were involved in dealing with the aftermath of this horrific storm. I mention county council staff, ESB staff, Civil Defence, Irish Water…

Disability legislation obliges the State to provide assessments of need for children with disabilities within six months of referral. This early assessment is vital as children use it as a gateway to access therapy services such as psychology, speech and language, etc. It is universally accepted that early diagnosis, treatment and support give the best outcomes for health, welfare and quality of life for these children into adulthood. More than 11,000 children are now waiting for assessments of need over the six-mo…

I acknowledge and thank all the staff involved in dealing with the storm and its aftermath, including in county councils, the ESB, the Civil Defence, Irish Water, the Garda, fire brigades, ambulance services, mountain rescue, local committees meeting in community halls and sports centres, local shops and the many individuals who helped out. The State was clearly unprepared for the storm and particularly for its aftermath. We still have some 18,000 ESB customers without electricity. To deal with events like this in …

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward the motion. I compliment and thank all those individuals and organisations throughout the country that are supporting the Palestinian cause, including Clonmel Friends of Palestine in my home town, who have been raising awareness, holding vigils and raising funds for the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund, as well as other groups in the constituency in Carrick-on-Suir, Cashel and Tipperary town. The situation in the occupied Palestinian territories is unsustainable. It is an il…

This programme for Government continues the failed policies of the previous Government. It lacks ambition. It is deliberately vague and has no costings and no timelines. That means a continuation of the housing and homelessness crisis, the cost-of-living crisis, hospital overcrowding, huge health waiting lists, a broken disability service and the health recruitment embargo, known as "pay and numbers". The housing and homelessness crisis is the most fundamental issue facing this country. This programme continues the…