There is no doubt that families are under serious pressure from energy costs. Electricity and gas bills remain far too high and hundreds of thousands of households are now in arrears. According to the CRU, over 500,000 energy accounts are in arrears. We now have around 200,000 children in this country living below the poverty line, with this figure rising to some 260,000 children when housing costs are taken into account. Barnardos is seeing families cutting back on food, heat and electricity. In a wealthy country …

The Cathaoirleach Gníomhach might indulge me as I would like to pass on my condolences to Treasa, Cillian and Aisling and their family on the loss of Seamus Carroll. Seamus was a lovely usher here in the Dáil. He was friendly, charming and full of fun and was always so very helpful to us all, especially me and my office staff. We will miss him here in Dáil Éireann. May he rest in peace.

Ireland has always been a welcoming country and raising legitimate concerns about immigration does not make somebody anti-immigrant. Independent Ireland supports legal immigration and we recognise the enormous contribution people who come here legally make to our economy, our health services and our communities. However, we also have to be honest about capacity. We have a housing crisis, enormous pressure on our health services and communities being asked to accommodate significant change without proper consultatio…

I attended a meeting in Moate in County Westmeath last weekend with up to 2,000 people. Hauliers, farmers, families and fishermen told us they are in a crisis situation. We have a week before the budget. We need to firmly debate the issues they put before us and asked us to bring to the Dáil to relay the concerns of the crisis they are in. We need to set aside time this week to debate that to make sure we get the budget right next week and make sure the families can survive and people can pay their electricity bill…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill because for me, this is not just a theoretical issue. I know what it is like as a sitting TD to be pursued with legal correspondence and to be threatened with legal action while simply trying to represent the people who elected me. When a constituent comes to my office with a serious concern, my job is to listen to them, investigate the matter, ask questions and where necessary, raise those questions with the relevant authorities. That is what I was elected to do. How…

At a time when families, workers and pensioners are already under enormous financial pressure, increases of around 15% across many public transport services, including Local Link, rural services, buses and trains will be another blow. The biggest problem we have in this country is accountability regarding transport. I do not think the NTA is accountable. I thank Sinn Féin for this very good motion. We had the NTA before us at the committee. West Cork Connect has offered to take over the whole running of the Kinsale…

Today, people are being crucified by the cost of fuel. Farmers, agricultural contractors, hauliers, small businesses and ordinary working families are being hammered every time they pull into a filling station or fill the tank with home heating oil. What are they being told? They are being told that diesel costing about €2 per litre could become the new normal. I want to make one thing absolutely clear on behalf of Independent Ireland. We will not accept €2 diesel as normal. There is nothing normal about families h…

I beg your indulgence, a Cheann Comhairle, for a few seconds to welcome all the councillors from Independent Ireland, from all over the country, that have come up to the Dáil today, especially Councillor Mark Casey, who is joining Independent Ireland. He is our 27th councillor. We welcome him. I want to talk about what is happening to families all over the country when it comes to the debacle that is school transport, because you could not make some of this up even if you tried. I will give the Minister a sample of…

I thank the Minister. The school transport scheme has been reviewed and promises have been made yet children are still being left behind. This is the major issue we have. How can a child have no transport while a bus passes their door with ten empty seats? Why are priority concessionary pupils receiving no apparent priority? When will the nearest school restriction, and this is a very serious question on which the Government has promised but not delivered, be changed? Have the promised 100,000 additional places bee…

I wish to raise the completely unacceptable situation facing families on Cape Clear Island off west Cork. One family who contacted me is caring for an elderly mother who has a progressive neurological condition and who requires 24-hour care. Her 81-year-old husband and daughter are doing everything they possibly can but they cannot replace a proper health service. The facts are stark. Cape Clear had no nursing cover whatsoever for the entire month of July. A nurse was present for only five days in August. Across th…

Independent Ireland will support measures that generally speed up assessments for children with disabilities. However, let us be very clear that speeding up paperwork is not the same as speeding up care. I have repeatedly raised the waiting times for assessment of need. Families are waiting far beyond what is acceptable. Parents are exhausted, fighting the system while vital years in their children's development are passing by. These are not statistics; these are families. I know of a five-year-old child referred f…

It has been 23 days since the drug Skyclarys was approved for roll-out to Friedreich's ataxia patients. To date, not one patient has been contacted in regard to how they can receive this life-changing drug. Can we have a debate in the Dáil today to clear that matter up?

I have raised the issue of Friedreich's ataxia sufferers with the Taoiseach on numerous occasions in this Chamber for well over a year. There is a need to approve the drug Skyclarys for people like Emily Felix, Paudie Coady and Emma O'Shea - the latter of whom the Taoiseach visited when he was in west Cork. She has asked me to convey her thanks to the Taoiseach for doing this. The huge fight these sufferers have had to go through to have the drug Skyclarys approved by the State leaves many unanswered questions on h…

Independent Ireland knows full well that crime has changed. Criminals are using mobile phones, computers and new technology, and the law has to keep up. I said many times in this House that giving gardaí powers is only part of the answer. We need gardaí on the ground as well. In rural Ireland, particularly in west Cork, people have seen Garda stations close and Garda resources stretched. I raised the fear that rural crime causes, particularly for elderly people and those living alone, and I have called for greater …

One hour for debate on such an important issue today is very unfair to the people of this country - the people who cannot pay their energy bills and the people pulling up to the filling stations who cannot pay for their fuel. We have found out today that part of this debate will kick out the farmers' rebate for farming contractors. That will not be tolerated. It could lead to strikes in this country, which we do not need to see again. We need further and proper debate today in this Dáil.

The time limit on this today is very unfair. We tabled constructive amendments, which will not be listened to today and are being kicked out, effectively. I have been talking to the farming sector, which is very seriously concerned because the previous cuts, which we supported, also included a rebate for farmers. As that is going to be kicked away this time, the farmers are going to get an awful kick back on this and are furious. They are talking about protesting. I am trying to keep the peace like we tried to befo…

Every parent knows that September has become one of the most expensive months of the year. While free schoolbooks are welcome, many families now face growing costs for other items. Parents are being asked to purchase laptops that cost €400 or more, make increased payments for school transport and pay charges to cover examination fees. For hardworking families with two, three or four children travelling long distances to school, these costs add up very quickly. At the same time, schools are struggling because the ca…

This matter has been raised twice already this morning, but it is hugely important. I will make a personal appeal to the Taoiseach regarding Skyclarys and the further delay that has now arisen. Yesterday, Emma O'Shea came to Leinster House from west Cork with her mother, father and brother. I am in regular contact with Emma, but seeing her here again yesterday fighting courageously for a medication that could help to slow the progression of this cruel disease had a profound impact on me and my staff. Emma is just 2…

------because of delays. I urge the Taoiseach to please do everything in his power to get this medication across the line.

Emma's family and other families like them simply do not have time to wait.