They heard that they are on their own.

It was revealed this morning that the Minister for housing, Deputy James Browne, will jet off to an event on the French riviera paid for by developers, large corporate landlords and vulture funds. We must bear in mind that this is the same Minister who is rolling out the red carpet for these funds, the same types of funds that will make a fortune from the Government's rent hike Bill. Documents show that officials expect private market sponsors to pick up the tab for what is called the "Ireland Pavilion", from where…

So it is cosy.

Two hundred and fifty seven post offices closed over the last ten years. Those were 257 post offices that were in rural and urban communities which have now gone. People know Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael were in part responsible for that but I listened to the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae’s comments earlier and it is quite something to have sat here before the last election and watched as the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, challenged the Government quite robustly on its failures for rural Ireland day in, d…

Hear, hear.

Manners.

The appalling ongoing treatment of children with scoliosis and spina bifida is absolutely disgraceful. This month is eight years since Simon Harris made that commitment that no child with scoliosis and spina bifida would have to wait longer than four months for life-changing and, in some cases, life-saving treatment. What has happened since is appalling, and it really shows how bad things were in CHI. Before I get to that, I want to acknowledge that there are some excellent staff working in Crumlin, Temple Street a…

I want to make a few brief remarks, if I can. We will get through this very quickly. Obviously, I support the Bill. For a long time, I have been calling for a ban on single-use vapes and it makes sense for obvious reasons. There is an amendment that I have down that we will get to. I suspect the Government will not be accepting it but I will speak briefly to it. I want to quickly raise issues regarding a proposed parallel Bill that was signed off on by Cabinet yesterday, as I understand it, or at least the heads of…

I support the intent behind Deputy Rice's amendment. We have seen in the sale of alcohol, for example, where the industry has tried to get around changes which were brought in in relation to the display of alcohol in supermarkets and shops. The industry, whether the tobacco industry, the vaping industry or the alcohol industry, will always be looking for ways to get around legislation that we bring in for specific and clear purposes. Deputy Rice is correct. It is important because this Bill is for one purpose only,…

The Minister of State spoke on the issues I raised earlier relating to the parallel Bill signed off on by the Cabinet yesterday. I would support the vast majority of that Bill, or of what I saw reported of it. Banning the sale of pouches to under-18s is something I would support. Colour images and packaging geared towards children should be banned. Vapes that resemble toys and all of that should absolutely be banned. I have a slight concern about limiting the sale of flavours to just nicotine. I could give a number…

I commend Deputy Rice on tabling this motion. GP care and GP services are an important issue. This motion is about something very simple but also important, namely, that when people need to see a GP, they should be able to see one, and they should not have to worry about whether they can afford it or not. GPs are the backbone of our health service. The GP is the first person most people turn to when they are sick, worried, pregnant, struggling with their mental health or managing a long-term illness. I am a great a…

Previously and over the course of a number of hours last week, we spoke a lot about the asylum application process itself and the need for transparency in that area. We spent a lot of time today and last week as well on the previous amendment that was taken in relation to the community impact assessments, which the Minister did not accept. Again, that was about transparency and making sure communities were at least consulted and had a voice in relation to what was happening in their communities. We have a similar a…

Which is why there should be transparency.

I think the Minister is confusing providing information with transparency. He said earlier that there is a high level of transparency. It depends on what information he is providing. If the information is vague and does not provide what should be provided, I am afraid the transparency is not there. In relation to the profiteering that we certainly see in this area, I will get to the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report shortly, given that it was very clear about what it uncovered. There are also issues in relat…

The Taoiseach mentioned the HSE capital plan announced earlier. I welcome the €50 million for the surgical hub adjacent to University Hospital Waterford. However, there is also a need for a new adult mental health unit in Waterford, a multi-storey car park at the regional hospital and a new medical school in South East Technological University, SETU. Unfortunately, plans for a primary care centre in Lismore have been put on hold. I also want to ask the Taoiseach about the need for 24-7 cardiac care, specialist care…

They would be recovery beds. If you have a hip replaced, you need a bed to recover.

That we were promised.

Over the last number of weeks, children, SNAs and parents were put through mental torture because of a decision made by the Ministers' Government. What happened was disgraceful. The Ministers had a plan to cut SNAs from schools and to deprive some children of the supports they had. They thought they would get away with it. Over the course of the last two weeks, I listened to both Ministers doubling down because they thought this would blow over and go away. They were asked time and again on national media whether a…

That is not what was happening.

It should have been done first.