On the Critical Infrastructure Bill, it is good that there is a focus on trying to speed up these processes. We have heard from the Minister with responsibility for the OPW that it takes about ten years to deliver a Garda station. That is just one of many examples of how slow these processes are. It is not just about legislation, though. The Bill would give the Minister significant powers in terms of designation. What safeguards, oversight mechanisms or process would be in place to ensure that those significant pow…

I accept there is no mystery about these projects. They are all good projects. I cannot see why anyone would want to bring a motion to the Dáil to annul prioritisation of any of the projects under consideration. That is not really the issue. The issue is the bit of mystery about how the prioritisation will be carried out. What will and will not be prioritised? How will that be decided? That is the bit the Minister and the Cabinet will have information on but the Dáil, Oireachtas and public will not. That is the mis…

The point I always make about legislation is that it has to be drafted not just for this Government but the governments that come after. It has to be drafted for Ministers who will take these responsibilities in the absolute public interest but also for Ministers who may not do that. My concern is having that concentration of power without information around the process. If we have information as to how the decisions will be made on each project, at least we will be able to understand the rationale as to why a cert…

I thank my colleague, Deputy Gary Gannon, for bringing forward this motion and, indeed, everyone who has contributed to the debate. The price increase for every day basics are relentless. Rents, food, heating, electricity, petrol and diesel are all through the roof. People's wallets do not stretch indefinitely when their wages stay the same. We are reaching a breaking point. People contact me every day who are unable to cope. Could the Government not see that the country was already in crisis before the tractors ha…

The country was brought to the brink last week and it is extraordinary that the Taoiseach will not answer questions today after the Dáil being in recess for three weeks. Why will the Taoiseach not take questions from TDs and party leaders in the Dáil today? Why does he think that is a good precedent to set? Has he learned nothing from the past week and from the mishandling of it in terms of the need for accountability and listening to people?

Gach lá, gach seachtain, feicfimid Rialtas atá caillte agus nach bhfuil cúram air do ghnáthdhaoine. This is a Government that does not listen. It does not listen to the people or the Opposition. It also does not listen to its own backbenchers. Having ignored all the warnings, the Government stumbled into a full-blown crisis last week. When calm leadership was required, we got chaos. Instead of pursuing a strategy of de-escalation, Ministers decided to fan the flames. GI Jim O'Callaghan arrived on the scene thinking…

I want to start by saying to the Tánaiste that the Government has lost a Minister of State who said clearly that the leadership of the Government was not listening. When I was talking to the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach earlier during the confidence motion and reading out the experience of the cost-of-living crisis of a nurse who had worked for years for the HSE in this country, he and the Taoiseach were having a grand old chat rather than-----

Well, it is true. A couple of people have been in contact with me and I want the Tánaiste to listen when I outline their experiences. A constituent who contacted me this morning said: Now what about the rest of the people Pensioners like myself Every time l go into the supermarket items are going up. I can't afford to buy meat anymore. Maybe you could ask Michael Martin to walk around the supermarket with me to see the price of food. This is her experience. For the first time in her life she is not able to buy the …

She is a pensioner.

I did not say it would not help anyone.

I want to respond to a couple of points made by Deputy Fleming. Alarm bells ring for me when the explanation for why we cannot do pre-legislative scrutiny is because we cannot do it efficiently and it might take us six months, when we are talking about a Bill that aims to make processes efficient. I did pre-legislative scrutiny in the previous Dáil when it needed to be done quickly on the housing committee and it was done in a matter of a couple of weeks. We were able to do it quickly and efficiently. The Governmen…

I welcome the northside home care workers in the Public Gallery today. They do incredible work in the local community looking after sick and elderly people and they must be paid a decent and fair wage. Parents and carers from Before We Die visited the Dáil recently to highlight the housing needs of adults with intellectual disabilities. The name of their campaign group sums up the grim reality of what they are fighting for. They are loving parents who want to be sure their daughters and son will be cared for after …

This is incredibly traumatic and distressing.

This is cruel. There needs to be ring-fenced funding in next year's budget to build enough new residential places for adults with intellectual disabilities.

Taoiseach, will you commit to doing this?

I welcome the fact the Taoiseach recognises this needs to be addressed. Losing your mum or dad, your carer, your advocate, your home and your community at the same time is incredibly traumatic. For people then potentially to be offered a place hundreds of miles away from where they have lived all their life and everything they have ever known is deeply inhumane. That cannot continue and the Taoiseach must act on it. Will he commit sufficient funding that is ring-fenced to address this? I welcome the other approache…

It is nearly a month into this crisis and the Government is finally acting but the measures announced today do not go far enough. A temporary cut to excise duty to provide some relief at the pumps is long overdue but where are the targeted supports for those who need them most? The Government, having spent weeks and weeks reviewing the situation, has come into this House and done the bare minimum. It is extending the fuel allowance for a few weeks but it barely scratches the surface of what is required to support p…

It is the Parliamentary Budget Office's assessment.

The Taoiseach can disagree with my assessment all he likes but I was quoting the Parliamentary Budget Office, which is independent. Is the Taoiseach saying he does not accept its independent analysis of the budget? The proposal that we have put forward is fully costed - €362 million. It is targeted and affordable, as the Taoiseach says measures need to be. That would leave plenty of room for further measures later in the year, if, when and as they are required. Why is the Government not adopting our proposal? The G…

On the policy priorities in the Government’s statement of strategy and the priority of children in education, the Taoiseach has told us repeatedly that he is doing everything he can to ensure there is an appropriate school place for every child. Why then does a school that comes forward because it wants to provide additional classes face so many road blocks? I have raised Stapolin Educate Together National School with the Taoiseach before. It is doing its absolute best to provide two badly needed new and additional…