The Minister said that the end of April is the completion date, and that is very welcome. Normally when we hear about reviews, they to go on forever and a day. As a result, I welcome the fact that there is a bit of urgency about this. Farmers' participation will be central to it. We have to learn from the fiasco that we have had over the last few months. We all need to look at what happened there and try to move forward in a more positive way.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this today. In doing so, I recognise the role women have played in bringing about revolutionary change in this country. Indeed, they have been to the forefront of it on many occasions, including the fight for independence, the right to vote, social changes, workers' rights, trade union rights, economic changes and in every area of politics. In recent decades women have fought in the campaigns for divorce, contraception and gender equality. We need to acknowledge the cruel manne…

Prior to the imperial oil war in the Middle East being waged by the USA and Israel, we already had a cost-of-living crisis. We are now really in a difficult situation. In County Laois the lowest price for road diesel is €2.10 per litre and it continues to increase. In this State, the increase in home heating oil is eight times the average increase across Europe. It was €480 for 500 litres. It is now €585 from suppliers in the midlands. It has almost doubled in price. Of course, once fuel goes up, everything goes up…

I ask the Government not to go ahead with the planned increase in it in March. There should also be targeted energy credits and supports for middle-income and low-income households.

I agree around the cost of living and particularly the cost of energy to households at the moment. That has obviously escalated further this week. We have one of the highest gas and electricity prices in the European Union. Added to this is the fact that householders are paying almost double the cost of electricity that data centres are paying. The average cost per household is 36 cent per unit while for data centres, it is 19 cent per unit. They are clearly using their financial clout to get their way but househol…

I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. He said the Government will make an informed evidence-based response. That is fine but the evidence is there. There are in excess of 320,000 households in serious arrears and we are only talking about electricity there. It is one in four is in arrears with gas. There is a real problem. I have constituents contacting me - people who are on middle incomes - who just cannot make it all go around. I am sure the rest of the Members are hearing this as well. I wish to highlight one ext…

The staff of the ambulance services are currently balloting for industrial action. The ballot will take place over the next four weeks. Should this develop into strike action, the impact will be catastrophic. The reason for this ballot is that changes have been implemented unilaterally by the HSE and the management of the National Ambulance Service. One of the changes will mean that trainee paramedics who have completed their degrees and have been working with ambulance crews over the last three years will no longe…

It is four weeks.

I thank People Before Profit for taking the initiative and bringing this important Bill forward. Is it necessary? Of course, it is necessary. I saw the repeat of “Prime Time” last night, which dealt with the experience of a young woman, Caitlyn, in UCD. She is roughly the same age as my granddaughter, who is also attending UCD. It stopped me in my tracks to see that people could have such attitudes. Where does that come from, and how did it develop? What is the role of online in this regard? We hope that Caitlyn ca…

I welcome these timely proposals from the Social Democrats. We must accept that the bedrock of any health system is having good primary care in place, and to have good primary care we need GPs. The ratio of GPs in this country is completely out of kilter with what it should be. The World Health Organization says there should be one GP per 1,000 of population. In County Laois, we have one GP per 1,700 population. More than 60 GPs are practising at any one time. In south Laois, the ratio is 1 per 2,300. The populatio…

The programme for Government commits to the timely delivery of school projects. St. Fintan's National School in Mountrath, which is my former national school, has been waiting for a badly needed ASD classroom, sensory room and general purpose hall. The school and the staff are doing everything possible to utilise the existing space, for example, sub-dividing rooms, etc. The 123 pupils and the two ASD classes do not have enough and are going to be under further pressure in September. The extension works that were to…

The proposed cuts and review, as it was called, which were really cutbacks, were a total disaster and have generated a massive amount of concern. There has been a huge backlash to it from parents, SNAs, teachers, unions and families. In County Laois, two schools were going to have their SNAs, vital supports, cut. It has created all those concerns and uncertainties and fear in those schools and in the families who need them. The plan must be scrapped, not just paused. In Laois, Timahoe National School and Rath Natio…

I ask the Minister to give full consideration for Laois to be given one of the first directly State-led, publicly owned childcare facilities. I say that in welcoming the new scheme that was announced on 21 January. Laois is one of the fastest growing counties in terms of population outside of Dublin, and there is real pressure on childcare places.

As outlined, there is a chronic shortage of spaces in the county, including for one- to three-year-olds. We have the private model, but we are over-reliant on that. It has weaknesses in the context of having to have separate leases or ownership of buildings, separate insurance, separate administration and payrolls, etc. While many are providing a good service, there are weaknesses. There are also shortages. There are no all-day spaces in Stradbally or Mountrath, and there are shortages in larger towns like Portlaoi…

According to the childcare committee in the county, Portlaoise needs four full-day facilities. Portarlington needs one, as do Mountmellick, Mountrath, Graiguecullen, Rathdowney, Abbeyleix, Durrow and the Cullahill area. The pilot of eight to nine is obviously welcome. It is a small start. We could put all eight or nine in Laois, but I urge the Minister to put at least one or two there. The current model is not able to match the growth in population in the county. We are behind other European states that have privat…

I want to ask about the review of SNAs, which some have described as cuts. I understand reviews have to happen and that two thirds of schools will not be affected but one third will be and Rath National School and Timahoe National School in Laois have been notified of cuts. No account has been taken of the children being enrolled for September and their special needs. Circular 32/25 will mean some of the most vulnerable children losing their support and that support is essential. The pause is welcome but the Govern…

What about the guidelines?

There are some good things in the Bill, and there are some things that need to be changed. The speeding-up of the processing time is welcome, as is the speeding-up of the appeal times. Obviously, we want to help successful applicants to get through the process and allow them to integrate into Irish society and communities. That needs to be assisted in every way possible for people who are genuinely fleeing war, persecution or famine. I have raised family reunifications with the Minister before and I will raise it a…

That is grand, I will keep to it now. Amendment No. 1, on staffing the centres, is very positive in ensuring that the systems are working, that the resources are there and that the administration and staff are there. I welcome the change in the Sinn Féin position because that was not always the position held - one, two, three or four years ago. I welcome that this change is happening now, because with what was there, if that was advocated and carried through, we would not have the services to meet that. I will be s…

I welcome this proposal and support it. The fact apartments are not included for higher tax and within the maximum of nine needs to change. The Central Bank estimates 47,000 homes are owned in the State by investment institutions or vulture funds, with 500 of those in Laois. This distorts the housing market. It drives up house prices and means these investors are competing with first-time buyers. We need to make thousands of affordable houses to buy and cost-rentals that are not for profit available. There is a chr…