It is waiting.

Two weeks ago, the Government approved legislation to amend the defective concrete scheme to allow for retrospective payments, extend the timeframes and include new provisions for vulnerable families. I voiced my opposition to the fixing of a cut-off date of 29 March 2024 for the increased scheme cap and the updated grant rate, as I believe it is extremely unfair and will leave a number of families behind. I hope this can be considered when the Government is drafting the Bill. The Bill is well overdue. Impacted hom…

I thank my colleague, Deputy O'Gorman, and his staff for putting forward this motion on the public transport experience. I fully support the motion and its call for public transport that is affordable, accessible, convenient, connected and safe. In particular the motion seeks to ensure the full implementation of the Connecting Ireland rural bus programme. Developing transport in rural Ireland is very important as many transport services in rural parts of the country are poorly developed and unreliable. This is an i…

On behalf of the 100% Redress Party I voice my strong support for the Raise the Roof campaign. We need to call the housing and homelessness crisis what it is; a national emergency. This is a national emergency and requires a national emergency response. This crisis has been going on for over a decade. Over ten years there has been a lack of housing, rising rents, crumbling homes and increased homelessness. House prices have risen by more than 130% in this time and rents have risen by more than 80%. We have seen rec…

I will start by thanking the housing Minister for bringing forward, in his first few months, a Bill that will address some of the changes needed to the defective concrete scheme. However, I have communicated to him there are a few issues that need changing. The decision, for example, to fix a cut-off date for the increased scheme cap and updated grant rate as of 29 March 2024 is simply unfair. It flies in the face of what the previous Minister for housing, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, said when he publicly promised earl…

I met members of the Irish Wheelchair Association outside the gates of Leinster House yesterday. Listening to them describe their experiences of trying to live a normal life in our country was truly heartbreaking. Wheelchair users face daily challenges in our cities and towns, in particular when dealing with public transport. It is a disgrace in this day and age that public transport is still so inaccessible and insufficient. This is particularly the case in rural Ireland, especially in Donegal where many wheelchai…

Yes, in rural Donegal.

I have highlighted here a few times now that changes urgently need to be made to the defective concrete block scheme. I acknowledge the engagement of the Minister for housing in this matter. The Minister, Deputy Browne's, visit to Donegal was a positive step. His commitment to amending the Bill to improve the scheme to reflect the necessary changes by I.S. 465 was reassuring to the impacted homeowners. I would be grateful if the Taoiseach would give me a timeline for both of these Bills, those being, to provide a 1…

Multiple community playgroups in County Donegal face closure because they have been affected by defective concrete. The cracks in the walls of these buildings have been growing at a concerning rate. Like many buildings in the county, there is only one option, which is full demolition. Unfortunately, however, under the current redress scheme for buildings affected by defective concrete blocks, these childcare facilities do not qualify for any funding for demolition and rebuild because they are not a home. Early chil…

I thank the Tánaiste for engaging on this matter. The reality is that the defective concrete crisis still leaves many behind. Many community buildings throughout Donegal have been excluded from the scheme and classed as commercial buildings, despite the fact that they are not-for-profit. The scheme must be extended to include these buildings. We are faced with losing community centres, childcare centres, leisure centres and adult further education centres. If we do not address these issues, our community centres in…

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on the motion and thank Independent Ireland for bringing it forward. I fully support the motion and its call on the Government to abolish the means test for carers to ensure equal access to financial support, and to recognise the essential social and economic value of care work in communities. I also support its call to provide increased capital and operational grants to community hospitals, residential care homes and day centres, including specific provision for dementia …

Some 14,000 babies in Gaza will die if aid trucks do not reach them in the next couple of days. Just think about that. We cannot help but question where the humanity is in this world today. Israel is carrying out a blatant, deliberate genocide for the world to see. What are we doing about it? How can we allow this to go on? We are seeing shocking images of dead and dying children every single day in Gaza. We are hearing reports about children who are so malnourished that the doctors cannot even tell what age they a…

When does the Minister of State plan to publish the review the Department undertook on the family reunification process? I understand the review was completed months ago but still has not been published. I would be grateful if he could give an exact timeline as there are many people waiting on its publication.

Before I became a TD five months ago, I was a healthcare worker in a dementia unit. I had the privilege of working with healthcare workers from many different countries. Unfortunately, many of them are undergoing a horrific experience of being separated from their families, sometimes for years, because of the unfair family reunification system in this country. There are people who are doing essential jobs who have been recruited in Ireland because we cannot fill these jobs ourselves. These people are doing essentia…

I have been in touch with the Department about a healthcare worker whose family reunification application was refused because she took a brief drop in income last year due to her pregnancy. She should not be penalised for that or anything like that. It is a time when she should be able to access that family support. I ask the Minister of State to look into this woman’s appeal and to consider abolishing the income threshold for family reunification altogether. I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge our …

I thank Deputies Murphy and Coppinger and their staff for bringing this very important legislation forward. I support the Bill and its intention to provide mandatory union recognition where 20% or more of the workforce are members of a union. Union representation is extremely important to ensure that union reps have access to their members' places of work. This is vital. It is also important that unions are able to negotiate with employers on pay, hours and conditions. Sadly, this is not always the case in Ireland,…

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion on housing infrastructure, which I support. I thank the Minister for housing, Deputy James Browne, for taking the time to visit Donegal. He had positive engagement with the 100% Redress Party and the homeowners impacted by defective concrete. It is important for the Minister to see at first-hand the crumbling homes across the county, which he did. Having met homeowners, particularly the downgraded homeowners, the Elm Park homeowners who are seeking relocation, and …

When visiting Letterkenny University Hospital last week, the Minister’s colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, said the location of the new surgical hub has not been decided yet. Donegal is in desperate need of a surgical hub. Patients across the county are forced to travel very long distances to access essential and life-saving care. Letterkenny University Hospital is severely underfunded and has insufficient resources to address the healthcare needs of the people of the north west. There is …

I support the Sinn Féin motion on childcare. There is a serious crisis of childcare in this country that has been ongoing for years, yet the Government continuously failed to address it. Parents not only struggle to afford childcare, but also to access it. Accessing childcare is an enormous challenge facing many families across the country but particularly in Donegal. A recent survey by Early Childhood Ireland has revealed shocking figures. In Donegal alone, there are 1,345 children under the age of four on childca…

We welcome this motion from Labour. There has been a complete failure on the part of the Government to adequately plan for school places for children with special and additional educational needs. This comes up every year without fail. It is across the whole country and yet the Government fails to plan for it. Every year, there is no change. Parents should not be forced to try to ensure that their children are not denied an education. Schools should not be forced to turn any child away on foot of a lack of places. …