It is the Regional Hospital Mullingar.

Looking at the Government's proposal to read the Bill again in nine months' time, I cannot decide whether the Government is trying for "kick the can" champion or is planning on passing off Deputy Doherty's homework as its own. The Minister of State believes that an industry whose practices have been exposed time and again by my colleague, Deputy Doherty, and which has been found to reward loyal customers by price gouging at the time of renewal, will voluntarily disclose the savings being made and pass them on. No o…

That is perfect. I ask the Minister and his Department to engage with the representative bodies, particularly on the experiences serving members are having due to the housing crisis. They are at the pin of their collar. Many live close to if not on the poverty line because of ever-increasing and exceptionally high rents. This is the number one housing issue that comes through my Athlone office, which is very close to Custume Barracks. I ask the Minister to engage with the representative bodies to see if a clear pla…

Among the many cohorts of students whose needs are not met by the educational system is that comprising those who are described as gifted children. The Centre for Talented Youth has stated that there needs to be appropriate educational challenge and that these learners need to feel valued and be surrounded by peers of equal academic achievement. The programme for Government refers to implementing a strategy to support gifted and talented students. These children are like all other children. They will experience dif…

What progress has the Government made in respect of the strategy in this regard?

I welcome this Bill to introduce a new category for those involved in evictions. However, I will address a concern I have about one aspect of the often overlooked private security sector, namely, persons who install security systems, access control, fire alarms, etc. They are also regulated and licensed by the PSA. At the beginning of the pandemic when lockdown and all the restrictions were still very fresh, these professional, regulated installers continued to operate to ensure closed premises were secure, safe an…

Free sale, fixity of tenure and fair rent were the three Fs demanded by the Land League many years ago. Yet here we are today, with many renters in a very similar situation to that of their ancestors. In my constituency of Longford-Westmeath, the average rents may be below the national average but they are rising quickly. As one constituent put it to me, "It is only upwards that they go." I ask the Minister to think about that statement for a minute and about the dismay, hardship and hopelessness that come with it.…

The programme for Government commits to developing end-of-life services. Can the Taoiseach then explain the shameful treatment of the South Westmeath Hospice Committee? It is a voluntary committee that has been treated with utter disdain by the HSE and that is now resorting to legal advice. A written undertaking was given to this committee by the HSE that, should St. Vincent's Care Centre, the site of the current hospice, be sold, the services and facilities would be transferred and mirrored in a new premises. Four…

As leader of the Government, will the Taoiseach please act in this regard? It is the most urgent of issues.

This Bill offers some tentative first steps in the right direction but it is not quite there yet. Engagement with all sectors from local government to each Department is something climate activists have been crying out for for years. Specific goals offer an attempt at long-term strategising but achievement on that must be sensible, consistent and within a framework that is unambiguous. The Bill falls short in a number of areas. The long-promised commitment to end the issuing of licences for offshore exploration and…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue. It affects thousands of families throughout the country. Like my colleague, Deputy Wynne, I am proud to say that I am an autism mammy. There is a perception that living with someone with autism is a constant burden and that it is always difficult or draining. That is simply not true. People with autism are among the most amazing people we meet but they face challenges on a daily basis. The real difficulties do not come from diagnosis or from the person in question b…

As the Tánaiste will be aware, cabin crew and many other workers have been on short-time work support in addition to reduced wages, which have been cut by as much as 40%. Some of these workers have now had that payment stopped. Others have been told by social welfare that they need to take a further substantial loss in earnings before they will be eligible for any other support. One lady was told that she had not taken a big enough pay cut by her employer. These workers are not off work by choice. They are off work…

Will the Government review this scheme?

The short-time work support scheme for those on "Xs and Os".

At a time when our Naval Service is shockingly understaffed and the working conditions of our service men and women are in dire need of being addressed, we should be seeking to make our Naval Service fit for purpose and to look after those personnel and value them appropriately. The Commission on the Defence Forces is well underway. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to chart the course of the Naval Service and our Defence Forces in general. Instead, we are debating Ireland's participation in yet another join…

The past year has seen a global health emergency the likes of which none of us could have imagined. However, in the midst of this pandemic another health crisis has been spreading through every town and village in the country for which there is no vaccine: the crisis of mental health. Years of underfunding in the health service in general and the lack of focus on mental health issues in particular have created a backlog that has been exacerbated by this pandemic. Lockdowns have had a dramatic effect on people's psy…

The Government's decision to dramatically alter the vaccine roll-out overnight has caused an unforgivable amount of concern and anxiety for workers who last week were classed as essential or front line. I have spoken to teachers, gardaí, prison officers, retail workers and other essential front-line staff who are beyond angry over these changes. Has the Minister at least arranged to meet and speak with their representative bodies? Members of our Defence Forces also need assurances and the Minister needs to be expli…

It is not just those who are housebound but those with no transport.

Why did the Department of Defence oppose the military service allowance for the 96th cadet class, which was involved in the HSE contact tracing programme? It is only through arbitration and an adjudicator ruling that the cadets were awarded €800, as was strongly endorsed by the general staff of the Defence Forces. These cadets were employed in the same way as fully trained personnel while on these vital Covid duties and the same cadets are some of the lowest paid members of the Defence Forces. What possible justifi…

I commend my colleague, Deputy Ó Snodaigh, on bringing forward the Bill. It is the product of a long campaign by those concerned with our cultural and revolutionary heritage. The management and development of our heritage, culture and history cannot be left in the hands of private developers. To do so would be a catastrophe and, above all, a terrible indictment of how the State has failed to value that history. The Bill offers an opportunity to preserve the built heritage and create a truly cultural quarter where t…