I thank the Minister of State. To be quite honest, I am a little taken aback by this response. I tabled this matter previously and the Minister came back to me to say it was not her responsibility. This is her constituency, however. This is her area. The people of the Ashbourne area and Laytown-Bettystown coastal area deserve a 24-hour station. The area in which the current Laytown Garda station is situated is the middle of a housing estate. There is no way it can upgrade that facility there. In 2009, Fianna Fáil a…

I welcome our visitors from Presentation Secondary School Warrenmount in Dublin to the Public Gallery. I apologise for delaying the Minister of State.

I call for a full inquiry into the ongoing system of unsafe medical practice in Ireland. On foot of the news over the summer that the UK's interim report by Dr. Hilary Cass found that the standards of clinical care, assessment and treatment at the Tavistock and Portman gender identity clinic fell below acceptable levels, we should have instantly examined how this has affected Irish children who were sent there. To my knowledge, this was not done. Having spoken to an expert from the National Gender Service, I know t…

These are children we are talking about.

Hear, hear. Well said.

I wish to raise the issue of the 35 Irish children with cystic fibrosis who are not yet being supplied with Kaftrio, a groundbreaking and life-saving drug. Many of us know that the exclusion of the 35 children stems from a price dispute between the HSE and the manufacturer Vertex and the fact that their inclusion was not foreseen in a 2017 pipeline agreement. All other eligible children and adults with cystic fibrosis in Ireland have already gained access to Kaftrio with the exception of the 35 children at the cent…

I understand the merits of this amendment, but I believe the Minister said yesterday that where there was a shortfall, people, particularly the elderly and people with disabilities, can apply for the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, grants and for the housing adaptation grant, and that is up to €30,000. The mobility grants are available up to €8,000. There are different schemes the Minister specified people could access if there was a shortfall, and that is for that cohort I am referring to here, name…

I would ask both sides to please stop playing politics with people's lives and homes. We are here as legislators to do what is right by the people. These are their amendments and I will support all those that have been proposed by the people. While it is cumbersome to apply for these additional grants, we have to ensure they know they are available and that there is opportunity for people to get them. We need to let them know the information is there and that they can go to any county councillor or Citizens Informa…

I missed the earlier part of the debate, so forgive me, I do not know where I am coming in.

The second grouping of amendments.

Right. Okay. I have prepared something so I will continue. A headline I saw yesterday encapsulates the essence of this Bill and the amendments presented to us today. It came from the satirical Waterford Whispers News website. The headline was, "Government Celebrate Winning Confidence Vote By Ramming Through Planning Laws Only Developers Want". The amendments before us undermine citizens' rights to access justice and are contrary to the letter and spirit of the Aarhus Convention. This Bill is opposed by several orga…

Well done.

I also wish to be associated with the condolences to Senator Timmy Dooley and to Deputy Alan Farrell on the deaths of their fathers. I offer congratulations to Councillor Ian McGarvey who will be 92 years of age. I met him and Marjorie on his 90th birthday. Good health to him for many more years to come. I submitted a Commencement matter this morning that was not selected, but I really want to air the issue prior to the summer recess. Earlier this week I also highlighted the matter with the Minister for Education. …

Now that he has said it all.

I thank my colleague, Senator Boyhan, for bringing forward this amendment, the purpose of which is to change the definition of “defective concrete blocks”. We believe that the definitions listed in the legislation and in the amendment proposed by Sinn Féin Deputies in the Dáil do not go far enough. The current definition in the legislation is too restrictive. Too often, there is a problem in Ireland whereby people are deprived of much needed support because they do not adhere to some strict criterion or other. We s…

It is really hard to get a builder at the moment. Anyone who has tried to get someone to do any work will know how difficult it is. I am getting work done on my home and I am waiting more than a year for the builder to visit. I support the amendment. I am concerned by some of the comments we have heard in regard to the shortfall in funding. I ask the Minister for his attention on this issue. Several speakers have claimed people will be out of pocket by tens of thousands of euro. In the case of elderly homeowners an…

I am delighted to see the Minister of State, Deputy English, here his morning to answer this really important question. I hope I will get a very favourable answer due to the fact he is from County Meath and knows the area. Figures from the Central Statistics Office, CSO, clearly show that our population has increased by almost 13% over recent years. The development of new houses, along with the granting of planning permissions in our area and the surrounding areas, shows that another secondary school is needed. Alm…

I look forward to that review. There is a great deal of development taking place in the south of the county towards Grangerath and Mornington. There is a 1,000-pupil school being built there currently, but that will be filled with what is coming down the line due to population increases in that area. I am specifically seeking a secondary school for my area. The need and demand are there. I am not sure if it will be a 1,000-pupil school, but certainly 500 to 600 children could use the school. It is a 27-acre site an…

Hear, hear.

Well said.