She is the only working Minister in the House because she is the only Minister who turns up in the House by the look of things. That is a sad reflection because this motion was tabled three weeks ago for debate in the House. There is a Minister of State in the Department of Justice, with no disrespect to the Minister of State who is present. I would put a lot of store by what this Minister of State has to say more than any other. However, there is a junior Minister in the Department of Justice who could have been h…

We should get EU committees to come over.

I move: That Dáil Éireann: recognises that: — the increased cost of fuel is having a huge financial impact on people across the country; — people living in rural Ireland are in a unique position, whereby they require more flexible and accessible public transport links; — 55 per cent of commuters into Dublin are relying on public transport; — Ireland now ranks amongst the highest globally for urban traffic congestion; — public transport services in Ireland are unreliable and inaccessible, forcing people to use alter…

I will sum up the debate. I suppose I could be forgiven for thinking a reshuffle we knew nothing about has taken place and that the Minister for Transport has changed to the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, or the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, because nobody from the Department of Transport seems to have bothered to turn up to this debate, which is telling in itself. If there is a genuine reason a Minister cannot be here for a debate, normally he or she informs you beforehand that something has happened…

I arranged for the Irish Foster Care Association to meet with Deputies from Donegal the week before the budget to allow it to explain in detail the reasoning and need for the funding asked for in its pre-budget submission and to get a better idea of the service foster parents give to the State. I am sure those who attended will concur with the challenges laid out in very stark terms by board members, namely, Mr. Raymond Nolan, Dr. Helen Gogarty and CEO, Ms Catherine Bond. Primarily, they asked for an increase in th…

Given that I have only two minutes, I will be brief and to the point. The Minister and those on the Government benches can trumpet all the aspirational figures they want. The stark reality is these targets are not being met and will not be met. This plan is failing and will continue to fail. It is failing primarily because it is built on a foundation of sand that is the Government’s hard right-wing ideological belief that the market will provide, a blatant fallacy that time and time again has produced the same fail…

This is a further punishment for the victims of the mica scandal. That is what is really shocking about this debate. It is a further piling on of wrongdoing on top of them. The victims of the mica scandal are still waiting for the redress scheme to be announced, yet the costs they face will be increased by the levy the Government is proposing in the budget. That is completely wrong, but it is typical of what the Government is about and the lazy way the Government does its work. What can be said about this levy is t…

I am not sure what the purpose of budget day and these budget speeches is anymore. We all know exactly what is going to be in this document before we get in here and having to engage with this whole process is a bit of a sham really. This budget has failed many people who are struggling to make ends meet. This is very clearly a budget for energy companies, oil companies and landlords. It is a budget to facilitate the greed and eye-watering profits of those who are making money off a crisis that is crippling hundred…

It is not raining in Donegal, believe it or not.

We should nonetheless have a rainy day fund that is debated properly in the House and about which there is time to have a proper discussion. That is vital. The way this debate has been rushed through is a shambles and it makes a mockery of the Business Committee. Deputy McNamara is in the Chamber now and he will want to comment on this as well. The way we are doing this is wrong. I have to question whether there is a need for a rainy day fund as we stand. Surely, this is a rainy day in terms of what we are seeing i…

This question relates to the Local Link service in County Donegal. What are the plans to develop that in the future and where will that lead? Key to this is integration with Bus Éireann and other services. We need an integrated rural transport system.

That sounds like a lot of nice fluffy language but in reality, it does not reflect the day-to-day running of the service. Local Link in County Donegal is probably one of the most highly developed services around the country. There are still gaps, however, in terms of how it actually facilitates people living in rural Ireland. Those gaps need to be addressed. For example, a person living in Donegal town who wants to work in Killybegs cannot rely on public transport to do so because there is not an integrated service…

It needs developed quickly, particularly in a county like Donegal where buses are the only form of public transport available. There will not be a railway in the foreseeable future, unfortunately, although we will be pushing for that as well. The bus service can and should respond to the needs of the people. It is a case of putting on the service and giving it time to build so it can meet the needs of communities rather than waiting for the needs to be there and then providing a service. That will not happen and it…

Many of them are being shut down by Bus Éireann.

We need a pricing system for that as well.

It has not changed much.

Thank you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, for the opportunity to speak on this important legislation. I support what Deputy Ó Cuív said about local radio. There is a lot of information that local radio gives out that is not covered as local news but should be, and those stations should be supported in that regard. Highland Radio and Ocean FM probably have a 90% listenership in Donegal. RTÉ is low down the priority list there. That is important. Although I understand and agree with the intentions of this Bill, I am wary o…

My question to the Tánaiste today is quite simple. Will funding for North West Simon Community's early intervention and homelessness prevention pilot project be included in the forthcoming budget? On 26 August the Government published the most recent homelessness statistics, which show that 106 individuals, including 22 child dependants, were provided with local authority-managed emergency accommodation in counties Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo during the week of 20 to 26 July 2022. The overall statistics represent an…

There will be funding next year all right, and that seems to be case, but it will be focused on Dublin mainly. Homelessness is a nationwide problem in this country, unfortunately. The figures released for the north west showing 106 individuals and 22 child dependants are based on local authority-provided respite centres, which are full all the time, so they are not actually the real figures. There is a huge number of people in homelessness right across the north west who are couch-surfing, staying with friends, sle…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I may as well say that before I came into this House I worked as a water services caretaker for Donegal County Council for 16 years. Unfortunately, in spite of the positive words that have been said about caretakers in the debate tonight, that is going to be lost under the Bill because that system is gone and will be gone through Irish Water as well. I do not believe that anybody can tell me that will not be the case. Sadly, that is the reality of the situatio…