It concerns me that option 1 recommendations appear to be subject to an additional layer of scrutiny that does not seem to apply where engineers' recommendations are options 2, 3, 4 or 5. Can the Minister explain the rationale and outline the safeguards in place to ensure constant evidential engineering standards across the remediation options? Furthermore, where an independent I.S. 465 chartered engineer has assessed the property, determined the damaged threshold has been met and has recommended option 1, why is a…

I am aware they are technical but it is very important we get this right. Recommendations for option 1 can be subject to additional scrutiny by the Housing Agency. Where it is not equivalent relates to engineering and safeguarding for options 2, 3, 4 or 5, where homeowners and tenants must have confidence that remediation recommendations are subject to the same evidence and engineering standards regardless of outcome. Does the Minister accept that the current approach risks creating a perception that option 1 recom…

As the Tánaiste will know, over 100,000 public sector workers, including teachers, SNAs, healthcare workers, council workers, civil servants and people who work in this building, are now on a work-to-rule because the Government has refused to offer them a pay rise that would allow them to keep up with the current cost-of-living crisis. I fully support them. Over the past few days, I have talked to many public sector workers in Donegal, including members of the Inishowen and Letterkenny branches of the Irish Nurses …

I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this motion. It is very important. We are now dealing with a cost-of-living crisis that has gone on for years. While it has been going on, we have had electricity companies profiteering and the country has been awash with money, but the people on the ground are suffering in a way that has never been seen before while the companies profit off their misery. One in seven households is now in electricity arrears. That figure is not going to come down. If anything, it is…

I thank Deputy Daly from Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion on public transport and fare increases. Instead of working towards a goal and trying to increase bus services in rural areas, this Government is taking a step backwards. The decision to increase public transport fares by an average of 15% to 30% next year is a major step backwards. The people of Donegal simply cannot afford this type of daily increase for a service that is often very poor and is extremely unreliable, yet we are being expected to pa…

I will be voting for this motion tonight, but I am disappointed with it because there was a chance to get this right. There is a standard currently under review. We could have waited, got everything tied up and got everything out. I know we have it now and we have to go on. As of April, 3,150 households in Donegal were waiting for social housing. Given the ongoing housing crisis and sustained demand, that number will almost certainly rise in the coming months. At the same time, potentially, 2,400 social homes are a…

Will the Government amend the remediation of dwellings Act 2022 to provide a State-led rebuilding option for vulnerable homeowners who cannot negotiate or navigate the scheme? Will the Government consider a public body or a State construction company taking responsible for rebuilding homes where people do not have the physical, financial or emotional capacity to do so? I have a constituent in Donegal who is an elderly man living with dementia. His wife has since passed away. He is now facing the impossible task of …

I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire and his colleagues in Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion. I have said before and I will say again that it has never been more important to maintain our neutrality than it is right now. From Gaza to Ukraine, and from Sudan to the escalating tensions in Iran and the wider Middle East, we are facing an era of overlapping conflict, instability and displacement. Humanitarian crisis has now become the norm. The disabling effects of these conflicts are contributing greatly to global and …

During the fuel protests, the public came out and told the Government what needed to be done. It knew this was coming, it did not listen and it left it to the eleventh hour, and here we are. The Government will have been in place for two years this November. What it has achieved is that we have record levels of homelessness, food inflation and the highest energy prices in Europe. The homelessness number is 17,500. In one year's time, it will be in excess of 20,000. At the same time, Ireland is now the most expensiv…

I thank Deputy Kenny for bringing forward this motion. As a parent, I have seen the costs relating to sending children to school skyrocket over the past ten years. The situation is absolutely out of control. The recent back-to-school survey carried out by the Irish League Of Credit Unions shows that 59% of parents find covering back-to-school costs a major financial burden, with more than one in four getting into debt. I would say that number is rising now in view of the cost-of-living crisis. Technology is emergin…

I welcome Jennie's law. The publicly available register of judgments will be a life-saving resource, as people in relationships or considering relationships will be able to see whether people have histories of domestic violence convictions. I thank Jennie Poole's family, particularly Jason, for the work they have done on this in recent years. I have no doubt that, without them, we would not be where we are today. This could not come at a more crucial time. We are only halfway through 2026 and the number of women ki…

Will the Minister consider supporting farm agricultural buildings impacted by defective concrete? We are seeing a rise in the number of these buildings. Defective concrete has no discriminating factors. It is in tanks, slurry tanks and farm buildings. That is often overlooked as part of the defective concrete crisis. The impact on these buildings, particularly the environmental impacts on slurry tanks and cattle sheds, is disastrous for farmers. The crisis does not discriminate. We need a multi-departmental approac…

When we talk about defective concrete the national conversation quite rightly centres on family homes, but across rural Ireland the same materials were used in farm sheds, milking parlours, storage units, boundary walls and, critically, slurry tanks. They are not minor structures but central to functioning farms, animal welfare and environmental protection. The environmental impact is serious. There are failing slurry tanks, structural issues and environmental risks throughout the country. What makes the situation …

During the Celtic tiger construction boom, Ireland experienced unprecedented building activity. Rural development schemes, farm modernisation grants and many co-funded EU agricultural and rural development programmes supported investment in farm infrastructure. The funding itself was legitimate and well-intentioned but the materials used in these construction projects on farms were defective concrete materials. We are talking about thousands of buildings potentially affected. What is clear is that the State is now …

I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this very important motion. It calls for the Government to publish a five-year national strategic community living strategy for adults with intellectual disabilities. We are in desperate need of a strategic outline project for regional planning and annual targets to reduce waiting lists. Inappropriate placements for those with intellectual disabilities are happening throughout. The private model is benefiting from what should be a duty of care to our citizens. Disab…

Last week, I asked the Taoiseach when homeowners could expect the review of the remediation of dwellings Act, following the publication of IS 465, to be completed. His response was that it could take approximately three months to report to the committee and that the homeowners already know this. Will the Tánaiste provide a clear timeline as to when the necessary amending legislation will be published, enacted, communicated and commenced? Given that the science is now clear, the Government must ensure long-outstandi…

I thank Sinn Féin and Deputy Kerrane for bringing forward this motion on childcare, which I will be supporting. Ireland is in the grip of a serious childcare crisis which has been allowed to continue for far too long. Parents are not only struggling to afford childcare but they are also struggling to access it at all. Finding a crèche in places has become an enormous challenge for families across the country, but particularly in Donegal where thousands of children are left without a place. The latest figures from P…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — thousands of homeowners affected by defective concrete have spent years living with uncertainty regarding the safety of their homes, the adequacy of available remediation options and the long-term security of their families; — many affected families have experienced repeated changes in engineering advice, evolving scientific understanding and revisions to the redress scheme throughout that period; — for homeowners undertaking remediation works, decisions regarding whether ex…

I thank my colleagues who stood with me today and those who took the time to go beyond the briefing material and the political framing and had the empathy to understand what families are living through on the ground. Before we vote, I want to speak plainly, not in a language of schemes, standards or reassurance, but in a language that explains what is happening to people on the ground. I have sat in homes where families are in this crisis, and I have heard things that have never appeared in reports. People are lyin…

When IS 465:2026 was introduced, I welcomed the intent behind it but had reservations about how it might be interpreted by engineers. Reading several reports tells me I was correct. I reference one report where a house was given a group 4 classification, indicating the worst possible level of structural damage, with widespread deterioration and a clear finding of evidence of chemical damage. There is evidence of sulphate attack gypsum replacing binder secondary eclogite formation, mobile sulphates within the concre…