At a time when petrol and diesel costs are rising again and when the Tánaiste's Government has indicated that it intends to raise carbon tax even further, does he understand the anger of people who cannot drive on their local roads because of the conditions? People in rural areas, as well as paying for huge fuel costs, are forking out for motor tax, local property tax, which the Government has increased, and soaring insurance prices, yet many local roads are in the worst condition in decades. In that context, it is…

Have the Tánaiste's representatives not been telling him?

The Government cut the funding for local roads by €800,000.

But the Tánaiste is not answering it.

That is not good enough. We need a review.

Well said.

In recent weeks, we have seen how important special education is as an issue, not just for the children and families affected but to the wider community that recognises if a child gets the right educational support in the right school at the right time, it can have a profound and life-long benefit. We know special education will take different forms. For many children an SNA in a classroom will allow them to participate and thrive in mainstream schools. We know for others there is need for units within mainstream s…

I want to be clear that whatever modules or extensions are needed in the short term to increase capacity at the current location should happen without delay. The Minister of State mentioned that the Minister visited the school and, of course, she was very welcome. I was in the vicinity when the parents of the children who attend had a discussion with her. They had one ask, which was to make sure there is a permanent school that has capacity for future demand. The truth is that successive Governments have been far t…

The local post office is far more than just a place to send letters. In towns and villages across Ireland, the post office is the lifeline for communities. For many older people, those living alone and especially for people in rural communities, the post office is where the pension is collected, bills are paid and where the friendly face might be the only social contact somebody has that day. It provides vital access to cash and State services in communities. Despite that enormous social and economic value, however…

If we want to support our rural communities, we have to support the services, and the post office is the critical service among them.

I want to say what is abundantly clear: the failures for children with spina bifida and scoliosis represent a major scandal and the investigation and review of that scandal needs to be comprehensive. Families have been failed for far too long with too many broken promises. Therefore, nothing should get in the way of full truth and delivering on promises made. I welcome progress made on the Michael Shine case but it is hard to celebrate the appointment of a senior counsel to carry out a scoping exercise because the …

I thank Deputy Ó Broin for his work on this legislation. This Sinn Féin Bill seeks to end the current planning exemption for IPAS and temporary protection accommodation. That exemption has been in place for too long. A standard measure of a democratic system is that communities should have the ability to provide input on planning proposals that affect the area in which they live. Legislation currently allows for IPAS accommodation to be exempt from this minimal public engagement process. We have seen examples where…

That is not true.

There are no statistics to that effect.

There are no statistics to that effect.

I am speaking in response to the Minister. He is the one who wanted to bring this to the floor of the Dáil. He is the one who refused the opportunity provided to him by the Oireachtas justice committee to have deliberations across every single amendment and section where these should be discussed - in the committee chamber. He was the one who wanted to allow it to take place on the floor of this Dáil, which means that every Member of this House is entitled to come in and speak to whatever amendment they wish to spe…

Pressed.

I move amendment No. 16: In page 26, after line 30, to insert the following: “Transparency of accommodation contracts 14. (1) The Minister shall publish all contracts, subcontracts, financial schedules, performance reports, and compliance assessments relating to accommodation or services provided to international protection applicants. (2) Publication shall occur no later than 30 days after the signing of the relevant document. (3) Information may be withheld only where strictly necessary to protect commercially se…

I have to say, the Minister talks a really good game.

The problem is that the facts do not back up what he is saying. He has spoken a number of times tonight about how he has increased State-provided accommodation. That was through the purchase of one centre. Let us be absolutely clear about it. It did not actually increase the capacity at all because it was a centre already in use at Citywest. I would argue that the way in which that purchase was handled vis-à-vis the local community and indeed the residents leaves a lot to be desired in respect of the potential succ…