This is needed and there is an opportunity for a gain in capacity. The unit is there and it has been refurbished.

We need to do it and look after it.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this debate. The provision of water supply and wastewater infrastructure is critical for sustainable development. With housing being our number one priority, we must have the infrastructure to go with it. In County Laois, despite the best efforts of Laois County Council, there are major shortcomings that will hold back developments. The county is undergoing significant population expansion, but there are huge gaps in infrastructure. That is according to Irish Water's own docume…

The Minister must bring forward the referendum to make sure it is put into the Constitution that water services cannot be privatised.

The debate around this is very important. I generally welcome the Bill, which is important. Safeguards for users and providers are important. That it covers the care of both the elderly and those with disabilities is the crux of this. However, there are issues around provision and standards that we need to keep an eye on as well as the availability of home help hours and home care hours. We have censuses and we have them for a reason. They allow the State to plan for what is coming down the tracks. Everyone knows t…

-----but it is an area that may need to be looked at. I know what the Government is trying to do. It does not have to do away with the informal pieces that are there. I think Deputy Charles Ward is okay with my taking another minute or two. As regards the informal care and what the Government is trying to cater for there, I do not want to kill that off altogether, but it may need to be examined. I am not totally sure about that. It makes sense to have informal arrangements. Overall, I welcome the Bill. The Minister…

I ask for the Minister to resolve the issue of school bus drivers, when they reach their 70th birthday, having to bow out and retire. This has to be addressed because it is causing problems. I have been raising this issue since January of last year. Right throughout the year, I have been at it. I hope there is some progress being made.

I thank the Minister of State for that. The issue is straightforward: bus drivers on the school transport scheme cannot drive beyond their 60th birthday. They cannot drive a minibus for two or three hours a day with ten or 15 pupils on it, yet they can drive a 50- or 60-seater coach hundreds of miles, and are doing so. School bus operators are losing drivers every year, and in Laois this is a real problem. They are finding it very difficult to replace them because the work is part-time and really suits retired peop…

The school bus scheme is working fairly well, and it is good that is happening. I think problems were ironed out a bit quicker this year, and that is welcome. I acknowledge that. However, we have to have the drivers to fill the positions, and it is the Government's ambition, as I understand it, to expand the scheme, maybe to bring in people who are closer to the school and to reduce the distance from the school to qualify for it. If the Government is going to expand the scheme, that, along with an expanding populat…

The issue I am raising with the Minister is house prices and the availability of housing. In County Laois, house prices are up, rents are up, homelessness is up and notices to quit are up. Despite the best efforts of the council, which has a good active housing programme, the homeless figures increased by 60% when you compare December's figures with those last year. The Government's social housing target for 2025 was 10,000 - a low enough, modest target. In the first nine months of the year, just 3,143 were constru…

I thank the Minister for his reply. He quoted different sets of figures from the CSO. I am quoting figures from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Yes, it has to be a priority, but the Government needs to scale up the delivery of cost rental and affordable to buy for that wedge of people, workers and families, who are caught just above the threshold for social housing but below the level of income that would make getting a mortgage achievable . One of the things I would say to the Minister, a…

There is a clear commitment in the programme for Government regarding the occupied territories Bill. The Bill was published eight years ago. The International Court of Justice said the Government had an obligation to ban all trade in goods from occupied territories. The Taoiseach admits that in the programme for Government, which I read this morning. There are 160 legal settlements in the West Bank, 69 of which came into force since 2022. In recent weeks, the Israeli Government announced 19 new ones. Palestinian ho…

We have done all of that, though.

When we joined the EU Single Market back in 1972, there was supposed to be free trade, but also fair trade, between the states of Europe, and all treaties since underlined that. The Single Market was sold as a level playing pitch with standards harmonised. However, with substandard products coming in from outside, it is not harmonised. The Mercosur deal completely undermines it. Farmers are having to compete with food produced to lower standards from other countries. The importation of 99,000 tonnes of beef and 180…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion. It is a very important issue. I am glad the Minister for Health, as the senior Minister, is here to address this. We are having this conversation in the context of us being just days away from Christmas. This is one of the last sittings of the Dáil. Here we are, discussing a measure and what is up for consideration is a very small amount of money. On the other hand, it is about saving people's lives and looking after people's health. We are also having the debate i…

The programme for Government states on page 68 that the Government will support the school building unit in the timely delivery of school building projects. Coláiste Íosagáin in Portarlington has been waiting for a decade and a half. Portarlington is the second-biggest town in County Laois and the school is full to capacity. It has a catchment area taking in Killenard, Lea, Emo, Ballybrittas and Courtwood and, in Offaly, Walshisland and Bracknagh. There is huge pressure on student places and a large part of the sch…

The fact that the Government is still breaking the law years after this matter was highlighted is absolutely scandalous. Referrals are supposed to be made in three months and assessments completed within six. The situation is getting worse, with the number waiting now over 18,000, as has been outlined here. In Laois–Offaly, the figures are ballooning. What is happening is an absolute scandal. The average waiting time for a referral is 21 months-plus. It can be plus another six, eight or 12 months, and some must wai…

Will the Minister consider granting funding to homecoming festivals in various locations in the country to promote tourism and increase investment, particularly in rural areas? What is his opinion on this? What supports can be provided?

What the Minister said in the last couple of sentences, in relation to finalising plans for 2026, is timely. This is a great way of improving tourism and visitor numbers. As we all know, tourism figures are down this year and there are various reasons for that. Some of it is due to high prices being charged by some hotels and over-pricing, and the industry has to take that on board. The first homecoming festival was organised in Laois this year and it was a huge success. It took place on 4, 5 and 6 September. A lot…

I thank the Minister for his reply. I acknowledge the support given to the Old Fort Quarter festival and other projects in County Laois through the LEADER fund and I accept that. The key thing is that sometimes the information on what is available and where it can be accessed is unclear. I know some bureaucracy is necessary and it is important that money be accounted for properly and that things be done the right way. However, we need to try to streamline this. There can be a multitude of places to go to for fundin…