I am supporting a lady in my constituency who is currently in unsuitable housing. She is housed by Cork City Council. She has applied for a transfer and the council has agreed to this. It has offered to her to go on the transfer list and is assessing her situation. She is a survivor of the mother and baby homes. She is someone who the Minister probably knows personally. She has assisted the Department and the Minister in revealing the truth of what happened in these institutions. The Minister previously said that s…

The Government has planned three excise and carbon tax increases on petrol and diesel this year. These increases should not go ahead. The Dáil will be on holidays in August when the review of prices, which the Minister of State talked about, will happen. Does the Minister of State know what happens in August? Parents get ready to send their kids back to school because they are back in the third or fourth week of the month. These are the same parents who have to try to get money together to get their schoolbooks, th…

Not all children have the free schoolbooks scheme. That is not in place in August. Will it be in place? The fact is that ordinary people are trying to send their kids to school or college and to go to work. The Minister of State talks about a just transition. Can I explain something? If the Minister of State ever goes to Grenagh in Cork North-Central, which is my constituency, in a rural area, or to Whitechurch, Carrignavar, Glenville or Watergrasshill, he will see that people do not have one or two cars in the dri…

I spoke to the Minister last week regarding the Before 5 childcare facility in Churchfield. It had a preschool, after-school care, a crèche and adult education. It had everything and was in a DEIS area in the heart of Churchfield and Gurranabraher. It has closed down but €364,000 will get it open. That would get hundreds of kids into childcare in our community but we cannot get the money. The people of Churchfield and Gurranabraher deserve answers. The children deserve answers. I had a parent in with me during the …

Good morning. I want to start by laying out the background to the issue relating to SouthDoc in Blackpool. As my constituency colleague, the Minister of State must be well aware of this matter. In 2020, the close of SouthDoc in Blackpool was announced on foot of the Covid-19 crisis. At the time, I raised concerns. Those concerns proved to be well founded when SouthDoc clearly stated that it was not going to reopen its service in Blackpool. This meant that constituents of mine in the north side of the city had to tr…

I do not want to be disrespectful, but if the Minister for Health does not understand what is happening in the HSE in the context of SouthDoc in Blackpool, that is shocking. Some €7 million was paid to SouthDoc to provide an out-of-hours service, which it is not doing. If the Minister of State looks at my Facebook page, he will see the number of constituents by whom I have been contacted who cannot get appointments there. The only time someone can get in there is if the doctor is not on call. This means that at lea…

It is not open out of hours.

Only in Blackpool.

On the north side.

The treatment of family carers by the State is completely unacceptable. Time and again families come to me exhausted, frustrated and angry because they cannot get the home care packages they need. On occasions when packages are sanctioned, the staff are not available to supply them. They also come to me because they are struggling financially and because they cannot get respite care. I am dealing with the case of a young man who looks after his mother. He cannot get away for one week. He loves his mother and minds …

I support amendment No. 11. We are trying to protect charities and sporting and community organisations so the Act does not negatively affect them, while excluding gambling companies or people looking to profit on the back of charitable events. There could be a situation where an event is being held and maybe 10% goes to the charity. That is being used as a backdoor around this legislation. The amendment stops companies abusing and getting on the shoulders of charities, sporting organisations and community groups.

I move amendment No. 11: In page 21, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following: “ Non-application of Act 3. (1) This Act does not apply to gambling activities carried on, by or on behalf of any organisation— (a) that is a registered charitable organisation under the Charities Act 2009, and (b) that has a charitable or philanthropic purpose, which shall be construed in accordance with section 87(4) , and is designated by the Authority in accordance with subsection (2 ). (2) Provided such activities are for th…

One of the first things I learned when I became a TD is that when it comes to legislation and amendments, there is the possibility of unintended consequences. The longer one is here, the more experience one gets and one learns that a Bill or an amendment, in and of itself, might be introduced for the right reasons but it can have ramifications or consequences that are way beyond whatever it set out to do. I am a member of St. Vincent's GAA club. The Cork County Board runs a fabulous draw that clubs buy into, at €10…

What the Minister of State said was very disappointing. As I and everyone else said here, we thought this debate would be constructive. We worked with the Government and said how important the legislation is. I made a point about unintended consequences. A Minister can make a mistake and the Department can do so just as easily, just as I could, but we tease things out and discuss them here. This is the forum for that and we try to come up with solutions. The Minister of State said Sinn Féin wants to exempt everyone…

I did not interrupt the Minister of State. I knew people who lost their lives because of gambling. I know people who have lost their families and their homes. That is the stuff on which we support the Government and we have come to the Chamber to back it. They did not lose their lives or their homes by buying a ticket to a GAA draw. They lost them on slot machines or in betting offices. I am not sure when the Minister of State was last in a betting office. They are like casinos. I invite people to go in and look at…

It is not.

I brought froward that Bill and the Minister of State is accusing us-----

When will the Minister of State fix it?

No. If it is a problem, the Deputy is the Minister of State. Why has he not fixed it?

Yes. It has been broken already.