I have no doubt the Minister's objectives are well intentioned and I applaud his aspiration but I am not sure he understands the unintended consequences of the Government's lack of action. If a person is living on the Hook Peninsula on the Wexford coast and has to drive to Wexford town every day to work, there is no use in the Minister telling that person to use public transport as the cost will be reduced. There is none. There is no use in telling the carer who might cover as much as 30 km to 40 km on their day vi…

Extraordinary measures in extraordinary times.

But we have the tax. It is not a derogation.

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 37 and the name of the Member in each case: (1) Deputies Mattie McGrath and Michael Collins - a debate to discuss the efforts the Government is making to highlight the persecution of Christian and other minority groups worldwide; (2) Deputy Matt Shanahan - the continuing lethargy in delivering a promised expansion of hours to the cardiology suite at University Hospital Waterford, along with the lack of…

Farmers are being told that crazy targets of 22% to 30% are to be set for a reduction in agricultural emissions. Targets, if set at these levels, will decimate farmers, particularly those at the lower income end. KPMG stated that 56,000 jobs will be lost if these targets are set and imposed. Those are rural Ireland jobs. At a time when we face the worst cost-of-living crisis in living memory, and where we no longer produce sugar or mill flour, the Tánaiste’s party wants to put many farmers in rural Ireland on the b…

A vote on the question has been called but will be deferred until our next voting block next week.

As a member of the Committee of Public Accounts, I am pleased to have the opportunity to support and speak on this motion. I commend all those who worked on compiling the report, including the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, the committee secretariat, my colleagues on the committee, the Chairman, Deputy Stanley, and the witnesses who appeared before us. The Committee of Public Accounts met with the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board on two occasions, on 9 February 2021 and 13 July 2021. T…

Seanad Éireann has agreed to the amendment made by Dáil Éireann to the Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022, consequential upon its acceptance of amendment No. 48 made by Seanad Éireann to the Bill.

The Bill refers to the autism strategy, service delivery and all the various aims of the strategy. There is no doubt that education must form a central part of such a strategy. Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak on special needs education. We are falling short in many areas in that regard. In that speech, I highlighted a discussion I had recently with a parent of a child with special educational needs. She highlighted to me the constant battle for provision and resources that she has had to endure. The a…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the subject of respite care today and thank the Independent Group for providing that opportunity. The importance of respite care should not be underestimated and in fairness, I think its importance is recognised by politicians from all sides. Despite the best will or good intentions of the politicians in charge, however, we must accept that there are huge problems with the system as it currently is. These problems are noted in the motion. There is an unacceptable number of peop…

I always try to bring the concerns of constituents into my contributions, when possible, because the most fundamental purpose of us being here is to represent our constituents. The week before last I received an email from a lady in County Wexford, which is relevant to the topic of insurance reform. It stated: I am writing to you in relation to the Alliance for Insurance Reform. Ireland has an incredibly skilled circus industry featuring world renowned performers and coaches. Despite our industry being small in num…

Provision for children with special educational needs is vitally important. These needs present themselves in a variety different forms. There is also a range of needs, from those who have specific learning difficulties to those who are exceptionally able and need to be challenged in different ways. Thousands of people work on a daily basis with those who have these special educational needs and we should recognise and appreciate the importance of this work. In school settings we have special needs assistants, spec…

They are the worst kinds of emissions.

Our approach to climate action is wrong. It is being highlighted more clearly with each passing day. We cannot discuss climate action unless we look at it in the context of the cost-of-living crisis and the way in which our approach to climate action is exacerbating that crisis. I do not expect the Government to be able to provide solutions to all problems or to those problems over which it has no control. The imposition of carbon taxes, however, is one area in which the Government does have full control. On Monday…

A recent Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, survey found that more than 30% of nurses said it is likely or very likely they will leave their jobs in the next year. I am reliably informed that 11 of the current 12 interns at Wexford General Hospital have plans this year to emigrate to greener pastures. Our valuable nurses and junior doctors are leaving this country in their droves to work in health systems that offer better pay, fewer hours and simply show appreciation for their invaluable skills and voca…

I wish to ask the Minister his views and those of his Department on the real concerns regarding viability under core funding within parts of the ECCE sector, and to make a statement on that issue.

A lot of that sounds very positive but often the headline figures are used as indicators of Government support for particular areas and the true picture can only be seen when that breakdown of funding is examined in greater detail by those who will be able to avail of it or not, as the case may be. The headline figures do not in this case account for the variety of services being funded, nor do they show shortcomings in funding for any particular services. I commend the work of Elaine Dunne, chairperson of the Fede…

That is something with which they would disagree. That is why I would encourage the Minister to certainly keep talking with them. They have a range of optional extras that they put to him that can be implemented. I think the Minister will find that most of what parents want is quality first and availability second or both in tandem, absolutely. The reality is there are many hidden costs in childcare that nobody has accounted for and even parents do not consider. This includes the training and education that now goe…

It is very positive and I commend the Minister-----

Have I? I apologise.