I will give the Minister and the Minister of State the live messages that are coming in. One message states, "The crews are more angry now after listening to this crap." Another states, "This Government has just given the middle finger to all firefighters and their families tonight." Another states, "I am now four years living in a van because I cannot get a mortgage or even find a place to rent." These are all live messages I am getting. Retained firefighters are first responders. They do one of the most mentally …

I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter this morning. I want to discuss the fact that the parcel offices in Midleton and Youghal, County Cork are to be relocated. The Youghal parcel office is to be relocated to Dungarvan, County Waterford, which is strange. An Post wants to move the Midleton parcel office to Little Island, which is now part of Cork city. If this goes ahead, there will be no depot for collecting parcels in the eastern side of east Cork. The more worrying aspect of this is that employees…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. It is one I expected. I understand the part of commercial companies and so on. Transformation will end up like the banks and supermarkets, where people do not talk to staff anymore because everything will be done by machines. The sustainable model is one issue that confuses me. I live in Midleton. If my parcel cannot be delivered, it will be sent to Dungarvan. It will not be a fairly sustainable eco-footprint by the time I get to Dungarvan to collect my parcel and drive …

I thank Deputy Tully for bringing forward this motion. Carers work all year round. They do not get holidays and are not entitled to them according to Family Carers Ireland, FCI. We spoke about this issue at the meeting of the Joint Committee on Autism this morning. The representatives of FCI said that families who have members with autism have additional costs. This works out, on average, at €244 weekly or €11,700 annually in additional costs. It was mentioned already that FCI is seeking a national audit of respite…

I thank the Labour Party for tabling this motion. Going to the High Court to fight for assessments of need for your children in 2023 is not on. I recently heard from a family that had to go to the High Court. As many speakers said, it is embarrassing for families to give their personal details or their children’s details. I read those reports. It went to the High Court but the HSE decided if it changed the assessment of needs the process would start again. The case was dismissed and the family have gone back to sta…

I listened to the Minister's response to the first speakers. I went through his amendment to compare it to the motion, which is a simple little two-pager. When I say "simple", I mean that it calls for the introduction of a windfall tax, the provision of financial relief and certainty for householders, the reversal of the increase in carbon tax and the provision of new regulatory powers to the CRU. The amendment has 52 paragraphs. As with the Minister's speech, most of it is about the Government patting itself on th…

The news is that the impact of the decision to unwind the rebalancing is estimated to reduce an average domestic customer's annual bill by €40. This is what the Government's amendment calls for. The Minister has already heard speakers this evening. Everybody struggles with household debt. A recent interesting article stated that fuel poverty equals household poverty equals child poverty. I have written a note on this although I do not like doing so. It was a little article in The Irish Times about addressing child …

This matter is self-explanatory. It is a sensitive case. It involves about 4,500 families and workers and their safety. It has been reported in the press this week that there was another incident in the Stryker factory in Carrigtwohill. Unfortunately, One gentleman is on life support as we speak. I am not raising this for kudos or anything of that nature. This matter dates back to 2020, when I received a protected disclosure. It was a very large protected disclosure. I forwarded it to the Health and Safety Authorit…

I thank the Minister of State for his response and his honesty. He is right; we can all work together on this. This is the most important thing about it. I am passionate about workers' rights, health and safety, protected disclosures and what has happened in the last year and a half. We are all very lucky to be elected here. The Minister of State knows as well as I do that when you get a protected disclosure you are duty-bound to report it. We put faith in those organisations to which they are reported, but the res…

It is all in black and white.

I will cut straight to the chase. I thank Deputy Doherty for tabling the motion and I ask the Government to withdraw its countermotion. The Minister mentioned a few payments. He should remember one thing. Governments are supposed to serve the people. The payments the Minister mentioned are taxpayers' money. The Government is giving it back to the same people. It is not targeting it. I refer to figures from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul's summary report, Warm, Safe, Connected. It is about energy deprivation. In…

I thank Deputy Farrell for introducing the Bill. She has raised the three relevant points on it. It is about working together and enhancing accountability. We need accountability within the HSE and other entities. In this regard, we could probably consider some more legislation. It was not too long ago that Deputy Farrell and I worked on the protected disclosures law. We worked with the then Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath. We did not seem to agree on everything but, in fairness, …

First, I thank People Before Profit-Solidarity for bringing this Bill forward. I listened to what previous speakers had to say. The one thing we must realise is that this is an emergency. In times of emergency, you think outside the box. It was mentioned previously that this is for the public good. It is for the public good. We all have people coming into our offices every day who are absolutely distraught. The knock-on effect of the crisis is that it is destroying families. It is also destroying marriages because …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle and I thank the Minister of State for being here. This Topical Issue matter is exactly what it says on the tin. It is to discuss additional financial supports for people in the first two years of apprenticeships. I raise this matter because the first two years are the most crucial. I have been talking to many of the families involved, even as late as this evening when a gentlemen rang me whose query I will also raise. The family qualifies for a medical card because of …

From all of the inquiries I have received - I will not say complaints - from people and families on the apprenticeship issue, nobody actually questioned their employer. These people are very happy. It is the small additional costs that are difficult. I note the Minister of State mentioned the social welfare system. I see a problem with that. I am airing this issue to see if we can get some answers. Where both parents in a family are working in good jobs and the apprentice's brothers and sisters are in good jobs and…

We are here to discuss just exactly what this enhanced medical card will be for the survivors of mother and baby homes. I know the issue has been ongoing for a long time. Unfortunately, when I say it has been going on for a long time, I mean that none of these people are getting any younger. I am being constantly asked when this enhanced medical card is going to be given to survivors, what it covers and more importantly, what it does not cover. I am being asked for an actual date for its release. I contacted the Mi…

I thank the Minister of State. I am disappointed by that response. The Minister of State said, "Alternatively, they can choose to receive a once-off payment of €3,000 in lieu of a card". To remove two cataracts costs €3,000. That payment is a one-stop shop. A survivor receives that one-hit payment for a life's suffering. That is an absolute disgrace. I understand the offer of counselling and so on. We will be talking about mental health later. Many of these people do not want that counselling. I welcome the offer o…

Survivors do not have access to that money.

I will follow up on that. I thank the Minister of State.

I acknowledge the work Deputies Ward and Gould have put into this. I also acknowledge that the two Ministers of State are here and that there is a joined-up consensus. The Minister State, Deputy Butler, would have been aware, as well as the former Minister of State, former Deputy Jim Daly, and the Minister, Deputy McEntee, that sometimes there is no colour, class, creed, religion nor politics when it comes to mental health. Sometimes we argue here and we agree to disagree at times. As legislators, though, whether w…