I have ten minutes, and I am sharing time with two of my colleagues. I welcome the opportunity to contribute. We will support the Bill on Second Stage because the private homes support sector must be regulated, and families deserve basic assurances of safety standards and accountability. However, supporting a Bill is the not the same, as I am sure the Minister of State will agree, as applauding the Government's record, which I wish to turn to. This legislation is necessary, but it is also a stark admission of how l…

I want to agree with Deputy Mac Lochlainn. We all have very similar problems with Uisce Éireann. We are on the front line of dealing with these issues. Communities come to us because they have no way themselves of getting through to Uisce Éireann. They expect that their democratically elected public representatives can get fast information for them. Through no fault of our own – because we try – we cannot. Deputy Mac Lochlainn is right. We send the emails, we get a reply and very often the reply is inadequate but i…

That is a different target.

The Bill proposes to ban single-use vapes and creates a framework to achieve this. The ban will be in effect within six months of the commencement of section 7 of the Act, as the Minister said. I support this Bill because it is simple in what it seeks to achieve, which is to ban single-use vapes. I will offer my opinion on, and a critique of, the Government's wider approach to this issue. I will first talk about single-use vapes. We are already seeing the industry attempting to get around these measures. We have se…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — in September, the Government accepted and published the new Community Pharmacy Agreement 2025, which was negotiated by the Department of Health; — the Community Pharmacy Agreement 2025 explicitly excluded reimbursement for monitored dosage systems (MDS), which had previously been reimbursed through the phased dispensing reimbursement mechanism, a practice which was widely known, accepted, and unchallenged by the Government; — MDS, such as blister packs, are an essential and …

I do not understand this approach. It may not have been the Minister who gave the speech in the Seanad but certainly it was a Minister who essentially doubled down. Nowhere did the reply say there would be any agreement. In fact, what it said was that this is a private matter between patients and pharmacists. I understand that this was funded indirectly; I said so at the time. It seems that this was funded through the phased dispensing scheme and that pharmacists were essentially offsetting the cost of blister pack…

I will clear a number of things up for the Minister, who is not here, because she seems to think we do not understand how this works or what issues are at play here. We have never said that every patient has had blister packs paid for. That was never the case. We also understand, and I acknowledged this at the time the community pharmacy agreement was being reached, that phased dispensing was being used by some pharmacists to offset the cost of blister packs. Whatever about the rights and wrongs of that, which is w…

The Port of Waterford is a critical infrastructural asset and has very important potential to support Ireland's growing offshore renewable energy sector. This would obviously create jobs across the south east but it would also ensure the State can meet its climate action targets. I have met the chairman and representatives of the port several times over the last number of years. They have very ambitious targets and plans. They are looking for State support. Like Rosslare Europort, it is a very important asset for t…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I agree that the submission of a planning application is obviously a very important first step and is a very clear statement of intent by Waterford Port in this area. The Minister of State echoed some points I made earlier by saying that Waterford should work closely with Rosslare Europort, and, indeed, Cork Port, because the DMAP for that whole area obviously creates huge opportunities for offshore renewable energy. While the planning application is going through, it…

It is not so long ago.

I move: “That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am not surprised the Government has indicated that it will oppose the Bill. The previous Government signed up to Sláintecare a number of years ago. I was always suspicious of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael signing up to a plan that delivers universal healthcare and seeks to streamline and reduce waiting lists. I contrast that ambition with the evidence of almost 1 million people currently on some form of waiting list, if we include acute, community, diagnostics and so…

If I was in government and was handed a script like the one the Minister of State was expected to deliver this evening - I assume by officials in the Department, but I do not know who crafted the speech - I hope that I would say, "No thank you, I am not going to read that out." It was embarrassing in the context of the reasons given for opposing this Bill. It is embarrassing for one simple reason, namely it is what the Minister of State and the Government signed up to. It is what we all signed up to when we agreed …

I have attended dozens of meetings with parents of children with disabilities throughout the State. They are heartbreaking meetings because the parents are trying to do their best for their children. It strikes me that what really drives them mad, and I do not blame them at all, is hearing the Government say you do not really need an assessment to access services and you can access services without an assessment. Most of the parents I meet at these meetings do not get services. The services are almost non-existent.…

It will not be lost on anybody that this Government wastes no time whatsoever in showing up for those at the top. It does not waste a second when it comes to big tax breaks for corporate landlords, developers and banks. However, when it comes to children with disabilities, the Government comes in, as the previous Minister did, and talks about "complexity". The word "complexity" is actually shorthand for Government failure because this issue is not as complex as the Government presents it. In 2005, a previous govern…

I welcome the opportunity to set out Sinn Féin's position on gender identity and trans healthcare. I welcome all of the guests in the Public Gallery as well. Too many trans people in Ireland are being left waiting years for care. This is not about numbers or statistics. It is about people's lives, well-being and dignity being put on hold. The delays, the uncertainty and the sense of being bounced around a system that is not fit for purpose cause real harm and distress. We cannot, should not and will not stand over …

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — the Irish Coast Guard's search and rescue (SAR) helicopter service serves a vital role in saving lives at sea and supporting emergency responses across the State; — SAR air crews are required to work 24-hour shifts, yet these shifts are being recorded as only 16.5 hours of duty time under Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) approvals; and — this under-recording arises from "factoring" schemes, normally applied only to standby or reserve crews, which reduce a full 24-hour continuo…

Hear, hear.

Both Ministers of State who spoke gave good impressions of Pontius Pilate. Both washed their hands of any responsibility when it comes to the safety of crew and fatigue management. You cannot outsource this to the Irish Aviation Authority. Yes, it is the regulator but the Government has political responsibility and it is letting down all those valuable search and rescue crew who have been raising fundamental issues in relation to how their time is clocked and reported by the authority. I want to close this debate b…

I also lend my support to the previous topic that was raised. The fact that the N24 was not funded for this year is a disgrace, given that the preferred routes were in place.

In fact, the only funding that was given from the Government this year was to buy out the contract of the company that actually did the work on the preferred route. There are real concerns that this vital road is now being put on hold. The Waterford to Limerick road really needs to be improved. Deputy Conor McGuinness and I, and all the Oireachtas Members from across the affected counties, will continue to raise this to ensure that it gets proper funding next year. Today, we are here to raise very important issues …