Retired An Post and Eir workers, some in wheelchairs, protested outside the Dáil yesterday to have agreed increases in their pensions approved by the Government. Those increases have been agreed by the company board, the scheme's trustees, the Communications Workers' Union and actuaries. Some of them were due from 1 June 2025 but cannot be paid until they are approved by the Ministers for communications and public expenditure and reform, respectively. The increases in question will give pensioners little more than …

The pensions of An Post and Eir retirees. People who retired from those companies-----

I ask the Taoiseach to intervene personally, because they have been waiting months.

This Bill involves an erosion of migrants' rights and a shift towards deterrence. It is rushed legislation that is deeply flawed. We are being told by the Government that there is going to be a raft of amendments. As a result, we cannot scrutinise the Bill properly. The Bill leans towards the far right and racist lobby that is opposed to all migration, be it legal or illegal or whether it relates to IPAS centres, students with education visas or workers with employment permits. Those in question are on record on th…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. I thank the Sinn Féin Deputies for bringing it forward. I welcome the Bill. It is important legislation, although it is short, that is vital for the protection of the public, both adults and children, to stop the creation and distribution of intimate images without consent. Unfortunately, there are gaps in the principal Act of 2020. This legislation deals with that by creating a stand-alone offence of the creation of non-consensual intimate images. This is an area wh…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — a cost-of-living crisis exists in this State; — Budget 2026 was predicated on an inflation rate of 2 per cent, but it is now at 3.2 per cent; — prices have increased by 23.5 per cent in the last five years; — food prices have increased by 5 per cent in the last year; — Irish electricity prices are among the highest in the European Union (EU), 24 per cent higher than the EU average; — electricity companies have announced an average increase of 10 per cent; — gas prices have a…

I am shocked by the Government's amendment. In effect, it is saying that everything in the garden is rosy. However, low- and middle-income families know very well that everything in the garden is not rosy. The Government's amendment does not even acknowledge the cost-of-living crisis that exists. It does not acknowledge the huge financial pressures on families. There is no acknowledgement that budget 2026 created higher levels of poverty and took up to €1,400 out of the pockets of the less well off and the disabled…

The only guarantee in the Bill is that the already unaffordable rip-off rents will be increased to extortionate proportions, and I mean all rents, not just those affecting tenancies, from 1 March. Over a very short period, all rents will increase to extortionate proportions. It is an outright attack on renters. Some 60,000 renters will have their rents increased every year by anything up to €3,000 to €3,500. It will lock renters out of the market and increase homelessness. This Bill is written for, on behalf of and…

I want to raise again the fact that the people of south Tipperary have had no ophthalmology service for almost 18 months now. There is a huge waiting list, heading for over 3,000, of children and adults waiting for urgent eye treatment. Hundreds of children have never been seen. Hundreds of people with glaucoma have either never been seen or are awaiting follow-up treatment and some may be facing blindness. The HSE failed to fill the vacant consultant post which arose from a retirement on age grounds even though it…

Remote, flexible and hybrid working is here to stay. Recent demands to return to the office from banks, IT companies and Departments seem to challenge that view. Long-term arrangements must be put in place for this type of working. These working arrangements are essential for modern work-life balance and must not be treated as temporary or pandemic-related. These working conditions must be based on a legal framework, giving an entitlement to these arrangements. Recent surveys by the Fórsa trade union found that 86%…

Senior executives of Irish Water got bonuses of up to €32,000 in 2024. This was on top of six-figure salaries ranging from €122,000 to €255,000. Some 47 people got bonuses of between €6,600 and €32,500. Over 560 staff on salaries of between €83,000 and €154,000 got bonuses of between €1,000 and €22,000. There are no bonuses paid to workers who are out at all hours of the day and night fixing bursts or working on boil water notices. This is an insult to lower paid staff and to consumers, who are suffering the absolu…

People with disabilities and their families incur considerably more expense to survive on a weekly basis, due to their disability. While the Government promised a weekly cost-of-disability payment, it reneged on that promise or, at least, it has not introduced that payment. When will that payment be introduced? Will the Minister make a statement on the matter?

People with disabilities are entitled to live with dignity, security and equal opportunity. Unfortunately, reports show that disabled individuals are four times more likely to live in poverty. In fact, one in five disabled people who are unable to work live in consistent poverty. Two in five experience enforced deprivation and are unable to afford essentials like heating, new clothes or social contact. These individuals and their families have substantial additional costs over other individuals and families, for in…

This is an urgent situation. It cannot wait 12 or 18 months or whatever period the Department and Minister have in mind. It is urgent and needs to be dealt with now. This Government talks about targeted measures. This is surely the most targeted measure it could devise. It is a one that deals directly with the poverty being experienced by disabled people. If it is not the Minister's intention to introduce this payment immediately and urgently, surely he will consider announcing an immediate once-off payment for thi…

Irish Water is not fit for purpose. It should never have been established and it should now be abolished. It is hiding from the public. It has no public offices. It refuses to meet elected representatives in open, democratic forums like county council meetings. Consumers cannot meet any Irish Water official face to face. Of course, they can report a problem to a call centre. They may get a report back in a week, a month or maybe not at all. Irish Water has contempt for consumers and councillors alike. It refuses to…

As the Taoiseach knows, Clonmel is a significant economic, social and cultural hub with significant employment in industry and services. However, the town centre requires considerable refurbishment having been hit by changing retail trends and the resulting closure of businesses, including long-standing family businesses. Tipperary County Council has a significant town centre upgrading project ready for call 4 of the urban regeneration development fund. Approval for that project is vitally important for the consoli…

The Mercosur deal threatens the future of Irish agriculture and Irish farm families and it harms rural communities. The European Commission concluded negotiations with the four Mercosur countries in December 2024. The deal was to be subject to the approval of national parliaments and unanimity at EU level but, in a political stroke in September 2025, the deal was split into two separate sections, meaning that national parliaments would have no say in the ratification of the deal and only a qualified majority would …

I welcome and support this Bill. I thank Deputy Coppinger for bringing it forward. The supporters of fox hunting like to present this issue as a rural versus urban one. Nothing, of course, could be further from the truth. This issue actually unites urban and rural communities. Every poll and survey shows a significant majority of the public, both urban and rural, are opposed to fox hunting and want a ban to be introduced. I live in the countryside in a small townland called Scrothea West in the foothills of the Com…

That is nonsense.

Would the Minister stop?