It is way ahead of Galway anyway.

The Department of Health disability capacity review commits to providing sustainable quality services for all users, yet none of this can happen if voluntary organisations cannot recruit and retain the staff needed to deliver their existing funded services. Over two thirds of all disability services are delivered by the voluntary sector, with their terms and conditions covered under section 39. On the ground in Donegal, organisations and workers are telling me there is a disparity in pay and conditions between sect…

I am sharing time with Deputy Connolly. I am happy to support this motion on the retained firefighters and I thank Sinn Féin for bringing it forward. It is a sad reflection on the Department and on the Government that the firefighters feel they have no other option but to take strike action to have their concerns listened to by the Government. The firemen have commenced a rolling stoppage throughout the country to ensure we have no area without coverage while trying to have their grievance heard as well. This is so…

This question relates to correspondence I sent to the Minister on 23 August 2022 and again on 17 May 2023 to which I received no response. In order to try to get a response I put it down as a question here today.

Yesterday.

This is what I am talking about. The action as outlined in the correspondence yesterday could be done on a national basis by the Department of Health or the HSE actually talking to the Cuban ambassador and the Cuban authorities about the provision of doctors throughout the whole health service and for the hospital service as well. They are available but it requires the Minister actually to ask, to pick up the phone and have a conversation with them in regard to the actual possibility of this happening. This could h…

Doctors from Cuba have been working in Portugal, Spain and Sweden, all within the EU, all recognised and all providing cover for the health services in those countries. What is so different about Ireland that this cannot happen? In County Fermanagh, in Enniskillen’s South West Acute Hospital, the health trust recently met with the Cuban embassy based in England and is now putting in place a procedure to look at how Cuban doctors can assist it in meeting the credentials it has in regard to providing cover there. It …

It would be better if they would link in with the Cuban Embassy.

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this Bill. This is important legislation and I support its introduction. The rise in the involvement of young people in crime is concerning. Some 400 drug offences were committed by children and adolescents aged ten to 17 in 2016 and that number rose to approximately 1,000 in 2020. It is clear that legislation is needed to address this issue but we cannot rely on legislation alone. I will also speak to that fact. Young people in this country should not face recruitment …

I thank An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach and I can understand her losing her way. It sounded like Fianna Fáil was on both sides of the House speaking about this. I thank the Social Democrats for tabling such an important motion. I fully support this motion that calls on the Government to increase dramatically the delivery of genuinely affordable-to-purchase homes and to ensure that public money is not invested in the delivery of private rental-only developments that are unaffordable to rent and unavailable to buy. Housin…

We have had an ongoing crisis for a long time in this country and it is one that has underpinned all other crises, that of inequality. Ireland is renowned for its wealth inequality and new data for 2022 show Ireland maintaining its status as the most unequal country in the EU by market income. The most recent EUROSTAT data show that Ireland's top 20% have about 15.5 times the income of the bottom 20%. High rates of income inequality and poverty have sadly become the norm in Irish society. This is an issue that affe…

Yes, except that the welfare package in the last budget did not meet people's needs. That is the reality of the situation. The Taoiseach can cherry-pick what he wants out of the various measures across the country or across the world, but if we are doing so well on all those measures, why are we doing so badly and why are there more than 12,000 people homeless in this country? The reality is that it could be a lot better, and that is what the Government is failing to achieve. According to Social Justice Ireland, wi…

Eating disorder support services have reported a huge increase in demand post pandemic. At the end of last year, Bodywhys, the Eating Disorders Association of Ireland, reported that over a 12-month period, there had been a 55% increase in those attending its services and a 125% increase in those attending family support services. With eating disorders, early intervention is key in preventing the person from reaching a stage of hospitalisation. These support services are often a lifeline for those who need them. Des…

We are already there.

I welcome the recent announcement that SIPTU and Fórsa members employed in the community sector organisations funded by the Department of Social Protection have voted to accept the pay rise recommended recently by the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. I am even happier to see that the Government has committed to engaging in a mechanism for the workers to negotiate future pay rises. This is a welcome step along the road to collective bargaining for the sector and a good win for the unions involved. To my mind, it…

I am thankful for the opportunity to speak today on Government commitments on offshore renewable energy referenced in the Policy Statement on the Framework for Phase Two Offshore Wind. After reading the policy statement, I have to say I am less than impressed. The statement lacks any real detail and its commitments are vague and unclear. The first line states, "In response to the unjustified Russian aggression against Ukraine and the resulting twin energy price and security of supply crises across Europe, the Gover…

I am sharing time with Deputies Connolly and Joan Collins. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on the issue of accommodation needs for new arrivals to Ireland. We have been dealing with an accommodation crisis for a long time; long before the war in Ukraine and the increase in the number of migrants coming into the country. This is not a new issue, and it certainly is not a migrant issue. Anyone who suggests otherwise obviously does not have a clear understanding of the issue or he or she knows…

I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach for the opportunity to speak today. I fully support this motion and commend Sinn Féin on putting it forward. The motion calls on the Government to legislate for mandatory safe staffing levels in hospitals. The current waiting lists for Sligo and Letterkenny hospitals are completely unacceptable, and many of my constituents have reported long waiting times and understaffing in both hospitals. These hospitals are buckling under the strain following years of neglect and lack of inve…

Following on from our Private Members' debate yesterday, when I raised the chronic state of medical waiting lists, I want to talk about the specifics of orthodontic services in County Donegal. My office is dealing with a number of cases and recently constituents have written to me. One stated that their 14-year-old daughter has been two years on the waiting list just to be assessed for braces. She was told when she went on the waiting list that even after assessment, she could be another two years waiting for treat…

Are we better?