All Members in the House today are very passionate about this issue. They all have their own personal stories of people who have lost loved ones. I thank my Sinn Féin colleagues for some very good contributions. We talking about a Bill that is not perfect - we have Second Stage debates to try to tweak legislation - but it is not merely a Bill; it is a lifeline for thousands of families. We often come in here and talk about doing the right thing. This is the right thing. As people say, you do not need a marriage cer…

I wish the Minister well in his new role. The tenant in situ scheme has been hugely successful in preventing hundreds of families in Cork from becoming homeless. This scheme has allowed Cork County Council to buy up properties for tenants who face a no-fault eviction notice allowing the family to remain in the property as council tenants. This scheme is working and should be expanded to ensure the maximum number of tenants at risk of eviction and homelessness can avail of it. Instead of increasing this vital protec…

Prior to last year's election, I attended a briefing at Carrigtwohill Family Resource Centre where I was humbled to hear about the invaluable work it does on a shoestring budget for people in need in this community. I had a positive engagement with the staff there and I commend them on their fantastic work in supporting the local community in Carrigtwohill and the surrounding areas of east Cork. Their work is vital for addressing social exclusion, poverty, assisting marginalised groups and providing equal opportuni…

I thank the Minister of State. He said the Department's work in this area is administered by Tusla. There are other trains of funding but the centres do not have the resources to try to pull money from each and every angle. I cannot stress strongly enough that the core funding must be increased. It is as simple as that. That will give the resource centres the ability to fully function. The Minister of State is well aware of the issues. We see a lot of instances in this country where something is working right but, …

I wish the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Foley, the best in their new roles. I listened to the Minister's opening speech a while ago and to many of the Deputies. I will cut straight to the chase, hoping that one of them might be able to assist me. I have been working with someone who is now a young woman, but was a child when we started this. Her mother wrote to me and said: I am a mum to an 18 year old lady with cerebral palsy. She also has a dysplastic hip, retroverted pelvis, twisted femur and autis…

I congratulate the Minister of State. We have been at this a while now-----

-----and unfortunately it is still going at a very slow pace. In Cork city and county, 336 adults and 921 children and teenagers are currently waiting for mental health services. Some are waiting for 12 months, while some are waiting as much as four or five years. The Minister of State mentioned A Vision for Change. We definitely need to refresh that strategy. There is a recruitment crisis. We have had this over and over again. It is a bloody disaster. It has to be addressed. If we do not have the recruitment issue…

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I notice she saved the best for last. I thank everybody in east Cork, in my constituency, for putting their faith in me and putting me back here for a third term. I thank my family and my supporters on the ground who canvassed for me. I congratulate the Minister, Deputy Calleary. I hope we will have plenty of good banter and battles here, but most importantly, that we will have results. The Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2024 is important legislation which …

I apologise to the Ceann Comhairle, as I never congratulated her on her official status. I welcome the Minister's response and the fact that the Bill is being finalised. I read the report of the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands. In fairness to its recommendations, I was a bit worried when the Minister said there might be some complications. However, if a draft Bill is now being finalised, I would be very interested in working with him. We will give any support we…

I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire for bringing this powerful motion to the floor. It is about having respect for carers and those with disabilities, and giving them support and a voice. It is about doing the right thing. I hope the Government will not oppose the motion and will come on board and support these people who are affected. As previous speakers said, these jobs are done out of love and necessity. It is 24-7. Last year or the year before, I raised a Topical Issue regarding a mother who had cared for a child for m…

I listened to the Minister's response. From this side of the House, I say Sinn Féin will move heaven and earth to fix the housing crisis. He mentioned shared equity. All I will say about that is that we should look at what happened in the UK when the Government came to collect the tab with the number of suicides. It is a dangerous thing. What have we got from the Government? We are talking about affordability. Let us start with the children's hospital. There is affordability. I call them bonkers house prices: €425,…

I raise the issue of the redress schemes for survivors of mother and baby homes. A lot of people, survivors of the mother and baby homes, have been in touch with me. They are extremely frustrated at having missed out on redress measures, whether the so-called enhanced medical card or another part of the redress scheme, because the days they spent living in a home fall short of the 180-day requirement. One was nine weeks short, while another was told they missed eligibility for the redress scheme by six or seven wee…

I appreciate the Minister of State's response. As I said, sometimes no matter how many times we ask questions, we never seem to get the answer but at least there is an option available here. I will go back to the people I have spoken to who will have to call the helpline themselves. I will probably get back to the Minister of State or the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, in writing to state how they got on. I appreciate that there is some avenue for dialogue to try to resolve these issues.

I first thank Deputy Tully for bringing this motion forward and I am glad the Government is not opposing it. I have listened to the whole debate. The first thing that comes to mind to me is the workforce planning. Without any workforce planning, nothing happens. Even in Sinn Féin's housing strategy, we had 10% of all social housing to be specifically designed for people with disabilities. It is about going forward and doing the right thing. The Minister of State mentioned section 38 and section 39 organisations whe…

He probably will turn up. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, for attending. We are here again to raise issues relating to flooding in Midleton in east Cork. I acknowledge the work that has been done on the rivers and so on and so forth in the Moore's Bridge area. The engagements we have had with some of the Departments and Cork County Council have been exemplary, but I have to note they can only work within limits. We have had a number of meetings. Deputies Stanton, O'Connor and I have met many groups…

Yes. Lets be realists about how the long term flood mitigation plan is long term, but I wanted to flag that with the Minister of State because many people are worried they will not have enough money to even pay for those prevention measures. Gleann Fia is slightly different because of the timber-frame structures there. There were suggestions to the effect that the adjacent land be used, and the farmer who owns it had agreed. There was talk about getting an engineer out to try to assess the position. It was also sug…

Gleann Fia.

I thank the Minister of State-----

That is no bother. I thank the Minister of State for his response and there is a lot of work in it. He has mentioned that he is meeting with Cork County Council again, and I welcome that. Reference has been made to the Owenacurra and Dungourney rivers, the Lidl bridge and the old Cork Road bridge. Deputy O'Connor and Deputy Stanton will be aware that years ago we used to dredge the slob, as we used to call it, in Ballinacurra. That used to be dredged at the mouth of where the Dungourney and Owenacurra rivers meet b…

I thank the Minister of State and I appreciate that.