I welcome the changes introduced by the Minister. They are very timely. The old limits, which were set in 2011, belonged to a totally different world. Over the years, when I asked when these changes would take place, I got the tired old answer that the matter was being studied. For those who were suffering under incredibly low thresholds, being told that the system was being looked at did not give much satisfaction. I am glad the Minister just went and did the simple thing. I often think that, in politics, we have …

Temperatures have fallen considerably below zero in the past week. Can the Minister visualise the situation of people forced to sleep in old caravans and mobile homes? I raised this issue last week but every night that goes by it strikes me how bad the situation is. The national Traveller-specific caravan loan scheme was extended but only to 75 caravans. In my constituency, we need 26 but were allocated four. To provide these people with caravans will take six years at this rate. Will the Minister give me an assura…

The temperature is forecast to fall to -4°C. Many Travellers are living in freezing caravans or mobile homes, some of which are more than 20 years old. The national caravan scheme was recently extended nationally, but a limit of 75 caravans was put on it. In the case of Galway, we need 24 replacement caravans but we were allocated four. As we come up to Christmas, it is a disgrace that people are sleeping in terrible, freezing conditions. I beg the Taoiseach to ensure that each person who needs a replacement carava…

I am glad the Minister of State is in the House to listen to this. What he has to try to get into his mind is what it would be like if tonight the people who are here had to sleep in a 20-year-old caravan or mobile home that is damp, in this kind of cold weather, and had to do this on a council halting site in this day and age. Quite rightly, we give out about the conditions for people looking for asylum and for students. Pettymindedness has done a great disservice to Travellers. When the Minister of State, Deputy …

In the words of Greta Thunberg, this is just, "Blah, blah, blah". I represent Galway West and in Galway city alone, there is a need, so that people can go to bed and sleep in a comfortable caravan. There is a need for 24 caravans now. What are we getting? We are getting process after process. We are spending billions of euro in this State accommodating people, and rightly so, but when it comes to Travellers, we seem as a State to be small-minded and mean. Is the Minister of State saying that the State cannot afford…

The Minister of State should be under no misunderstanding. The Department allocated the four caravans to Galway, not the local authority.

It was the Department that allocated the four caravans. The problem is the Department; that is why we are here today. The local authority and the Ombudsman will sort it.

Does the Minister agree, taking into account his recent comments on the triple lock and the fact that we will now be part of a military training mission and military funding in a war situation rather than participating in peacekeeping, that it would be timely for the Oireachtas to set up a joint committee to see how best Ireland can fulfil its constitutional obligations under Article 29 of the Constitution, which specifically commits us to peaceful resolution of international disputes?

I applaud the introduction of free school transport for everyone, but as the Minister knows, it raised a number of issues. I seem to have many late eligibles in my constituency who are still awaiting transport. I counted this morning and found that I still had 30 students waiting. Has the Minister any idea of the number of applications that have not been processed? In particular, does she know how many late eligibles there are? By that I mean people who are going to become eligible for school transport but are stil…

They prepared a long answer for the Minister telling me all sorts of things about the school transport system I have known for many years. I asked a specific question about the number of students who had not yet received a school bus ticket, the number of those who were what are termed "late eligibles", and if the Minister would make a statement on the matter. What number of applications have been received but not dealt with yet? Some late eligibles and concessionary ticket holders got tickets while others did not.…

The second answer was much clearer than the first, which I appreciate. There are 2,800 applicants left, but the Minister has not yet told me how many of those would have been eligible had they applied on time. The website had to go down during the middle of the summer for a period because it had to be updated when the free transport scheme was introduced. I applaud the scheme, but it had its gremlins and caused confusion. Bus Éireann has admitted that there was a problem where people with Yahoo email addresses did …

Cuirim fáilte ar ais arís roimh an Cheann Comhairle.

I note this Bill is not going to the select committee. I do not know whose decision that was and I presume it was the Business Committee, but would we dream of doing that to the Finance Bill? Is it because one deals with the big people and the other with the small people? This is the Bill that every year deals with the small people on the ground, for better or worse. I will certainly be lobbying within my own party next year for the Social Welfare Bill to go to the select committee for detailed analysis. At a selec…

I stand corrected. I was told it would not be going to the committee.

Before I commence my Topical Issue matter, my understanding is that, under Standing Orders, if a Minister cannot come into the House to deal with a matter, he or she should notify the Deputy concerned, who is meant to have the opportunity to get the matter deferred until the Minister is able to come to the House.

I checked all my emails when I came down here this evening from Belfast. I cannot find an email from the office of the Minister, or from anybody else, to say that the Minister wanted to defer the matter. I have been waiting weeks to have this matter taken. That decision is at the discretion of the Ceann Comhairle and I accept that. However, I find it totally unsatisfactory that when I eventually get what is a very important issue taken, I find that all I am going to get, with no disrespect to the Minister of State …

The Minister of State said, "As is the case with the current LEADER programme, the subregional areas for the new LEADER programme will correspond ... [to] county boundaries." The Acting Chair can tell him that the LEADER programme in Cork corresponds to the county boundaries but in three parts, which are contiguous. I will address the matter of Galway in the context of the county boundary and leave aside the islands for a minute, which are a separate issue. Leaving the islands aside, we are saying we will stay with…

The process involved in getting approval for major hospital developments is both contracted and convoluted and includes multiple stages, many times with significant delays at each stage. The reality is these delays make it very difficult to provide good quality services because of overcrowding and inadequate buildings. The second factor often overlooked is that, with building inflation costs running at a high level, the longer the delays, the more it costs the taxpayer and the less we get in results. What steps is …

I agree about working together. In that context I wish to raise with the Tánaiste a very serious issue, that is, the fact that five male republican prisoners who are on remand in Roe House, in Maghaberry Prison, are being strip-searched twice a day and being brought to and from court. That means over 100 strip-searches or, as they are called in the jargon, full-body searches, are being carried out on these men over a 12-day period. The prison authorities have the technology to obviate the necessity of doing this. I…

At COP27 the Taoiseach said, "Let us not waste a second more". In that regard, the barriers on the route to market in terms of the renewable energy industry are massive. What is the Government doing to remove the barriers so that we get a much quicker route to market in a comprehensive way so that we can get the renewable energy we need into play?