Change the narrative.

The Tánaiste does not know what contracts are.

Over 4,000 children are waiting on a stage 1 assessment for services in the CHO 7 area of Tallaght, west Wicklow and north Kildare alone. Those 4,000 children waiting to be seen represents a 33% increase in the last two years in my area. The Taoiseach said today that tackling child disabilities is one of his priorities but parents and their vulnerable children in my area have seen little outward evidence of this concern. Children are being left behind in dire need of disability support services at an early age. Sup…

Even though nitrous oxide ranks among the top three drugs used by young people, it garners very little attention by the media or policy-makers. We have all seen with our own eyes the evidence of its growing use. I gave the canisters the name "silver bullets" because children are playing Russian roulette with this gas. The use of the gas has led to death and serious long-term harm to people who have used it to achieve a quick high. It is predominantly very young people who use it as it is cheap and easily accessible…

What about record homelessness?

Record homelessness.

14 years-----

And the children's hospital.

The events that led to the death of Shane O'Farrell were a series of failures by the authorities. On 2 August 2011, Shane O'Farrell was killed while cycling home when he was struck by a car driven by a man who was out on bail and should have been in jail. I commend the family of Shane O'Farrell on their fight for justice and truth. I have met them several times and have always admired their determined campaign in Shane's name. There has been an unacceptable reluctance by the Department of Justice to address these f…

Adequate home care provision allows older people to live with dignity and respect in their own homes. Additional supports also contribute to, and are vital for, independent living. The Government has often repeated there is a commitment to introduce a statutory scheme to support people to live in their own homes and Government members cite the fact that it is in the programme for Government. Like others, I want to see it in legislation and being budgeted for, rather than in meaningless statements in the Dáil or Sea…

I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter. Ideally, it would be helpful if a Minister from the Department of Health were present, but there is a certain urgency about this case. I would appreciate it if the Minister of State could feed what I am about to say to his colleagues in that Department. I am concerned about the lack of a dietician in CHO 7 and what this means for people who require the services offered by such an individual. Modern medicine relies on multidisciplinary teams, medical nurses and o…

The Minister of State indicated that progress has been made, but this family will want to know when that happened. It is all part of a much wider issue of failing to fill key posts across the health system which is creating massive gaps in service provision. This is just one case of a baby who cannot get access to a dietician at this stage of their development but the lack of public nurses is also a problem. Back in April, I received a response from the HSE on the waiting list for children’s audiology services that…

As previous speakers said, ending the housing crisis is about not just building new homes but also maintaining the housing stock we have. Every Deputy will give examples of what is happening in his or her constituency. We heard about black mould, which is common enough. We tried to get our local authority to use the county architect scheme to get people to come together and bring in their expertise. Dampness can be created when houses are being built but overcrowding is also a reason for black mould. We are not doi…

Answer your questions.

Build some houses.

Where are the houses?

There was talk of a slowdown in rent rises after the latest Daft report, but new rents in south Dublin still rose by 4.2%. Unfortunately, wages did not go up, which is the big crisis facing many families. An average three-bedroom rented house in Tallaght now goes for over €2,200 per month, which is €27,000 per year. What family or individual can afford this on top of ever-increasing costs like those of childcare and energy? What young teacher, nurse, soldier, garda, bricklayer or factory worker can afford to live c…

Where are the affordable houses?

It is not going away.

Over the past two years, the waiting list for children's audiology services in CHO 7 at the Russell Centre in Tallaght has been allowed to double. There are now 5,800 children on the waiting list. The response I received from the HSE specifically states that staff vacancies left unfilled due to the HSE recruitment freeze have led to these high numbers. Does the Tánaiste agree that the HSE recruitment freeze is only making the waiting list longer? Does he have any date for when this ban will be lifted? In respect of…