I delighted to be able to speak on the LGBTQI+ community, about our strategy and to listen to the Minister. To be fair, he spoke about many positive things. I certainly recognise that. To echo what Deputy Funchion said, we are in a much better place than we were when I went to school. A great deal of work remains to be done, though, and we all recognise this as well. I send my solidarity to the members of the trans community. I stand with them against the recent attacks on their very existence. This must be said to…

I recognise and thank my party colleague, Deputy Doherty, for the Trojan work he has done to help reduce insurance premiums and to deliver real insurance reform. Deputy Doherty has led this campaign and this call and I hope the Government will take on board the proposals and solutions of Deputy Doherty and Sinn Féin to help speed up and deliver insurance reform. The Government is delaying and is dithering. We need delivery now. We need to reduce and see realistic insurance premiums. The Alliance for Insurance Refor…

This week saw the Government vote against a Sinn Féin motion on special education. Instead of engaging and working with Sinn Féin and working together to come up with solutions for the most vulnerable children in the State, the Government again refused to work with us and to listen to those children and their families. There were 296 primary school special classes in Cork city in 2023. This compares with only 104 at secondary school level, where the ratio is 7:1. This means that there are 2,072 children in primary …

I have just listened very closely to what the Minister has said and I have heard her outline investment and funding that is going in to special education. If one was to listen to her describe the investment, one would say we were in a much better place. Last Saturday, I went to Grand Parade in Cork city for the second protest vigil organised by Families Unite for Services and Support, FUSS, with regard to services for children with disabilities. I listened to their parents. Parents and children with disability desc…

This year the Minister published a report that declared he would be cutting the cost of student contributions. This was a huge relief to college students and also gave hope to younger students who had ruled out college because of the cost involved. People eagerly await details on the amount by which it will be cut and when this will happen, but we are still waiting. On a future date, by an unspecified amount, college contributions will be cut. This is no good to students today. This is no good to students who have …

The homeless housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme is available only in Dublin but, unfortunately, the homeless crisis is not a Dublin-only issue. Rents have been skyrocketing and are now completely out of control across every county in the State. I am dealing with numerous families who are facing eviction. More than 30 of them are facing that prospect between now and October. I am dealing with one situation involving a lady in her 60s who has received a notice to quit. She has been on the Cork City Council, CCC,…

The question I asked has not been answered. I refer to an increase in the homeless HAP for living outside the Dublin area. As the Minister of State said, it is possible to avail of a rate 20% above the maximum rate outside the Dublin area, but discretion in this regard is set at 50% inside the Dublin area. I ask that the level of discretion be set at 50% across the State. I think that would be fair. We have seen dramatic increases in rent in every county. What we have now are people struggling. I am talking about p…

I agree with my colleague, Deputy Ó Broin. I welcome the report. I thank the chair and the committee. Sometimes we disagree and argue but in putting this housing and urban regeneration report together, people worked well because we need to come up with solutions, which the report outlines. There was extensive consultation with various groups that dedicate their time and energy to tackling dereliction and improving our towns, villages and cities. I thank all those who engaged in the process. I pay particular thanks …

As the Minister and the Minister of State will be aware, this Bill has the potential to be really transformative and make Ireland a leader in supporting those who need assisted decision-making. Unfortunately, I do not believe the Bill goes far enough in that regard. We need to do more. I have dealt with major issues in my constituency and nationally in the context of the existing process and how it has failed. We know that there is a need for this Bill, and we want to support it. My colleague, Deputy Ward, will bri…

Over the weekend, we witnessed shocking sights at Dublin Airport arising from issues with capacity. There was chaos, with more than 1,000 people missing flights, many of them unable to depart for holidays they had waited three years to go on and others delayed in visiting family or leaving for work opportunities. Some of those people will not get the time off work at a later date to take another holiday. For many of them, this was their one opportunity. Despite the Government support it received during the Covid cr…

While I was sitting down today writing this speech, I thought about the difficulties that many people were experiencing at the moment because of the cost of living crisis and about how they were suffering. They are finding it hard and life should not be hard. If you are going to work every day and doing everything right you should be able to put food on the table, heat your home and look after your family, especially your children. The other day I listened to the Tánaiste talking about full employment but where is …

World Skills Ireland has warned that we need urgent investment in apprenticeship infrastructure if the Government is serious about addressing the chronic skills shortages in areas like construction. Deputy Ó Laoghaire and I recently met representatives of MTU in Cork where we heard about its ambitious plans for apprenticeships. We also heard that it is teaching apprentices in old, dilapidated buildings and temporary accommodation. If the Government is serious about getting more apprentices, it needs to fund college…

Killian has had no services in three years. His teacher in the special school in Carrigaline says he needs occupational therapy, OT, and speech and language therapy. When he was three, he could speak six words. He is six now and cannot speak any words. Warren suffers from Hurler syndrome for which he attends six hospitals. It is a life-limiting condition but he receives no therapies, which he desperately needs. Both of these children are in north Cork city and Blarney's children's disability network team, CDNT. The…

First of all, I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan's comments on supporting the Bill and his acknowledgement of the constructive solutions Sinn Féin, in particular Deputy Ó Broin, has been bringing forward. It is a pity other members of the Government have not recognised the solutions Sinn Féin is offering. As my colleague said, on their own they will not solve the housing crisis, but together, as part of a jigsaw, they come up with a solution. To give the Minister of State a feel for where I am coming fr…

Shocking.

I thank Deputy Cian O'Callaghan and the Social Democrats for bringing forward this motion. What is shows, and having listened to the Minister, is how out of the touch he is with ordinary people. When the Opposition comes together to put forward proposals and to highlight problems with the Government's strategy on solving the housing crisis, we know the attitude he adopts to the Opposition. The way the Minister criticised Deputy Cian O'Callaghan earlier is like the way he criticises Deputy Ó Broin every week. The Mi…

I seek an update on the new school building for Gaelscoil Pheig Sayers in Cork.

I have been on the board of management of Gaelscoil Pheig Sayers for 11 years. Gaelscoil Pheig Sayers was originally founded in 1986 when a group of people who wanted to develop the Irish language on the northside of the city came together. For 36 years the school has had no permanent home. It has been brilliant to see how people have been encouraged to speak the language and the interest in Gaelscoileanna in the northside of the city. Students come from throughout the northside to attend the school. The school has…

This will be very welcome news for the almost 300 students, their parents and the staff. My youngest and eldest daughters went to the school. My eldest daughter is in sixth class and so she will not see the delivery of the new school. However, for the other children who are in Gaelscoil Pheig Sayers it will be wonderful to have a purpose-built modern school with special needs units. The school wants to be inclusive of all the children. The staff and in particular the principal, Adrian Breathnach, have always encour…

The Consumer Rights Bill 2022 is an important step forward in advancing consumer rights in this State. It is good to see the pulling together of consumer rights which is long overdue. While many of the protections in this Bill already exist in the EU, it is important to see them enshrined in Irish law as well. Granting the CCPC powers to enforce regulations is one of the most vital aspects of this Bill and one that will finally see an end to the disadvantage experienced by businesses which operate legally and withi…