I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Dog Welfare (Amendment) Bill. I thank Deputy Whitmore for putting it together and bringing it before the Dáil. At its core, the Bill seeks to close serious gaps in the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010, which is outdated legislation, and place welfare, not commercial-scale breeding, at the centre of how we regulate these establishments. For too long, the absence of a cap on the number of breeding females has created the conditions for large-scale puppy farms, where anima…

Once again, I am raising with the Taoiseach the N25, which is the transport spine of Waterford's infrastructure and long regarded as the most dangerous national road in the State. There has been no funding for safety improvements. Routine maintenance, resurfacing and line painting are not good enough at this stage. Bus stops are being withdrawn. There was another HGV incident this morning just outside Dungarvan. We need to see serious investment in safety improvements on the N25 right from Rosslare to Cork city, bu…

There have been no safety upgrades. There was a serious incident there this morning.

More than 150 children in Waterford are still waiting for an assessment of need and some have been left waiting for over two years. The Minister does not need me to tell her that is illegal. The law is explicit - children must receive an assessment within six months. This Government is routinely breaking the law and is breaking the law when it comes to children's rights. Across the State, 18,097 children are overdue an assessment. Cara Darmody, who is just 15-years-old, is undertaking her second 50-hour sleepout on…

Is maith an áit í tosú ag uimhir a haon. Tá ceist atá agam don Aire Forbartha Tuaithe agus Pobail, agus Gaeltachta, an Teachta Calleary, mar gheall ar an stádas atá ag na pleananna teanga in gach limistéar pleanála Gaeltachta agus bailte seirbhíse Gaeltachta. Cén obair atá ar siúl chun an chéad ghlúin eile do phleananna a fhorbairt? An ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh sin agus i dtaobh na moille atá i gceist le cuid de na pleananna sin?

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as an gcuid sin dá fhreagra. Tá dea-obair ar bun ag na hoifigigh phleanála teanga agus na ceanneagraíochtaí. Bhí mé féin mar oifigeach pleanála teanga i nGaeltacht na nDéise tráth dá raibh. Feictear go bhfuil fás ag teacht ar líon na gcainteoirí Gaeilge laethúla i go leor limistéar pleanála teanga. Tá líon na nGaeltachtaí a bhfuil fás ag teacht orthu ag dul in airde de réir an daonáirimh is déanaí, ach tá moill i Roinn an Aire agus sa chóras. Tá ocht bplean tagtha chun deiridh. Tá plea…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as é sin a admháil agus an obair atá ag dul ar aghaidh. Creidim go bhfuil obair ag dul ar aghaidh sa Roinn le dul i ngleic leis seo. I ndáiríre, ní rud maith é go bhfuil muid sa riocht seo. Ba cheart go seachnófaí é seo tamall ó shín. Caithfimid a admháil chomh maith go bhfuil fadhbanna le héiginnteacht. Tá sé go maith go bhfuil na pleananna chun a bheith sínte go dtí deireadh 2027 agus go mbeidh siad fós bailí agus a leithéid, ach caithfimid tuiscint go bhfuil difríocht idir an stádas…

LEADER funding has been cut in 2024 and 2025 and now it has been cut in the budget for next year. I would like to know what the rationale is for that and I would like a breakdown of what will be affected by that cut. The cut in LEADER funding for next year is in the order of €10 million. That has to be considered in the broader reconfiguration of CAP happening at European level and the Government's failure - this is bigger than the Department only as it is being led by the Department of agriculture - to come to ter…

I know the Minister of State is aware of the Déise Women's Shed in Dungarvan. I believe he has met some of its representatives, probably several times at this point. It was one of the first women's sheds in the State alongside the sheds in Naas and Midleton in east Cork. We all know and recognise the social, health and personal development benefits that come from these wonderful social spaces. While I do not want to pre-empt the results of the work plan and the facilitator's report, facilities and space will be key…

Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil an tAire an-dáiríre agus tiomanta mar gheall ar an gceist áirithe seo. Tá an plean tithíochta a nochtaigh an tAire tithíochta cúpla seachtaine ó shin lag ina iomlán ach tá sé thar a bheith lag i dtaobh cúrsaí Gaeltachta ach go háirithe. Ba mhaith liom rud éigin a chur ar an taifead anseo. Tá dhá píosa talún sa Rinn, i nGaeltacht na nDéise, ceann amháin gur leis Údarás na Gaeltachta í agus ceann eile gur cheannaigh an chomhairle áitiúil le tamall anuas. Tá na seirbhísí uisce timpeall orthu.…

Just at election times.

At developers.

Institutional investors

Child poverty has increased every year under Fianna Fáil .

I thank the Minister for finally coming before the Dáil to speak to this housing plan, a plan which is a blueprint for failure. It has next to nothing to say about rural depopulation because we know it will take real action to confront that problem. Communities across the State are being slowly hollowed out - in some cases quite quickly - because the Government has failed to deliver the homes, the services and the opportunities that young people need to stay rooted in their communities and their own places. Once yo…

Every community that depends on our Coast Guard air crews knows the truth. This State, our maritime nation and our coastal communities would be lost without the people who go out when everyone else comes in. They answer calls in the darkest hours and in the worst weather. They travel over sea and land when lives hang in the balance. They do all of that while working some of the most demanding 24-hour duty systems anywhere in the public service. I represent a coastal constituency that has been shaped by generations …

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

Not a single Government backbencher spoke.