I thank the Labour Party for tabling this motion and welcome the opportunity to speak on it and give it my full support. As Sinn Féin’s spokesperson for older people, the health and well-being of our senior citizens is very close to my heart, as the Minister of State will be aware. I firmly believe our elderly deserve the very best care possible in order that they can enjoy their golden years with dignity and comfort. However, the continued failure of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to adequately invest in home care, pub…

I feel the Deputy's pain about waiting lists, I can say that much. Losing a loved one is never easy but for those whose loved ones passed away during Covid in nursing homes and care facilities without their families around them, it was especially hard. Families were denied access to their loved ones as they died and they are still being denied answers in respect of their deaths. The huge trauma and mental distress caused to families and care workers in nursing homes and care facilities is still being felt today. Th…

As Sinn Féin spokesperson for older people, I can only say that this budget does little or nothing for the elderly, including pensioners, struggling with huge increases in the cost of living and the costs of energy and food. Figures from the Parliamentary Budget Office show that, under the Government's budget, pensioners will be 5% worse off than in 2021. Does the Government realise that, according to Age Action, one in three are now living in poverty? That means that, for all 52 weeks of the year, their income is …

I welcome our guests here today and I thank them for what they do. I welcome the opportunity to speak in support of the essential section 39 and section 56 workers who are at the coalface of community and voluntary services every day providing essential care and support to some of our most vulnerable citizens. These workers have not had a meaningful pay rise in 15 years. That is 15 budgets where successive Fianna Fáil, Green Party and Fine Gael governments failed to recognise the value of these people and their wor…

I raise the issue of home care hours being granted but not fulfilled in south Kildare. A constituent contacted my office to say she was granted a home care package four weeks ago but it has still not been fulfilled. The lady is relying on her husband who is over 70 years to care for her and her personal needs. This man has been diagnosed with cancer and is simply unable to continue. My office team and I are contacted regularly by older people who have been granted care that has not been fulfilled or where if a care…

I thank my colleague, Deputy Funchion, for bringing this urgent issue before the House. Ordinary workers and families who are already struggling to make ends meet in this cost-of-living crisis are being further battered by increasing and unaffordable childcare costs. Families are already reeling from the effects of multiple mortgage hikes and ever-increasing food and energy bills. Let us not forget the Government's recent increase in petrol and diesel prices. Childcare costs are as much as rent or mortgage payments…

In the national positive ageing strategy, the Government promises to look after our ageing population. The promise is failing extremely in many different areas. In my constituency, Kildare South, I have an 83-year-old gentleman who was admitted to his local hospital when he became unwell. He had the added complication of very severe leg ulcers, which require frequent dressing changes to prevent infection. Incredible though it may be, the hospital did not and could not obtain an appropriate dressing for this man's w…

The report on failures to ensure the safety of already-vulnerable children at Temple Street hospital makes for shocking reading. It is no surprise that the HSE commissioned an independent external review. What is even more shocking is that the families and advocates of children affected by these failures were excluded from having any input into the review's terms of reference and have not even seen them. How are the parents of such vulnerable children going to have any trust or confidence in a review conducted by t…

I am here to speak to Sinn Féin's vital motion on the reversal of planned fuel price increases. I thank Deputy Doherty and his team for bringing it to the floor of the Dáil. The rise in petrol and diesel prices is adding to the stress on families during the cost-of-living crisis. Workers are struggling to afford the fuel to get them to work, not to mention students and their families with long commutes to and from schools and universities who can barely make ends meet. Having already added 7 cent and 5 cent per lit…

I am eager to start this Dáil term by speaking to Sinn Féin's urgent and necessary motion on mortgage interest relief, and I thank my colleague, Deputy Doherty, for bringing it forward. We find ourselves at a critical juncture, where the cost-of-living crisis has reached new heights, leaving families struggling in a web of escalating costs. Families are burdened with soaring mortgage costs, exacerbated by ten ECB interest rate rises in 14 months. These hikes are costing people a fortune. According to the Central St…

We are here again not to point fingers but to rally this House to action. The Minister of State has just heard one of his own Government Deputies speak on this. The plight of the oppressed in the occupied Palestinian territory is much worse than it was when last we met to discuss it. We stand here 75 years on from Nakba, with Palestinians still enduring appalling human rights abuses at the hands of the Israeli state. This week, the Dáil can send a potent message, as we have done in the case of Ukraine, of Ireland's…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion on the EU restoration law. It is our collective responsibility to safeguard protected areas and to nurture biodiversity, as without it, farming is not possible. However, the balance between preserving our natural world and ensuring the livelihoods of our farmers remain uncompromised is critical. They have, after all, been on the front line of our battle against climate change. As we scrutinise this law, it is incumbent on the Government and State bodies to shoulder t…

As Sinn Féin’s spokesperson for older people, I am proud to commend the motion to the House. Unfortunately, due to the Government’s inaction, the motion is urgently needed to address an issue that poses a threat to the dignity and well-being of our elderly, namely the alarming surge in nursing home closures across the State. Since 2020 we have seen the closure of 34 private and voluntary nursing homes, translating into a loss of more than 1,000 beds. That represents not only numbers but individual lives being displ…

The Minister has not read it all.

I thank the Minister of State for his response but I am concerned that the local authority in Kildare is telling me it cannot fix basic things on roads. I am not talking about potholes. I am talking about subsidence on the sides of roads and so on. Is it possible something can be done about this? Putting a cone on the side of a road and telling people to drive around it is not substantial. We end up having to call out emergency services to pull people out of the side of the road. Can something be done around that, …

As Sinn Féin spokesperson for older people, I see at first hand the effects of the failure of this Government and previous governments to properly plan for home care and home help for the elderly. There are people in hospital now who could be at home, but because there are no staff for their fully approved home care packages they remain in hospital, putting further pressure on already-stretched hospital resources. We have heard the phrase "bed blocker" on many occasions. I hate anybody who uses it.

It is an absolute disgrace. These are people who need to be in hospital and need to be brought home to get proper care. We cannot, and should never, use the term, but that is what is happening. These people need dignity and need to be approved further care. When will we see the implementation plan to enact the cross-departmental strategic workforce report? Can we see some urgency on this, given the chronic recruitment crisis? When can we expect delivery of the enhanced community care programme? I heard the Minister…

I too thank the Deputies for bringing forward this Bill. I welcome the opportunity to speak on legislation that seeks to abolish the age-based discriminatory practice of underpaying workers under the age of 20. Sinn Féin has long advocated for the removal of these discriminatory pay rates. We brought a motion before the Seanad last term but it was voted down by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Sinn Féin's Senator Gavan brought a motion before the Seanad on this topic nearly two years ago. I thank him for doing that. I ha…

I raise an issue about which I have been contacted by countless families, as Sinn Féin's spokesperson for older people. These families carry the anguish and distress of the tragic loss of their loved ones due to Covid in nursing homes. They cry out for a comprehensive inquiry, as promised by the Taoiseach in January. This is not merely a policy matter; it goes to the heart of their fundamental human rights. Therefore, will the Minister commit to a clear timeframe for the inquiry before the onset of the summer reces…

I wish to speak on behalf of approximately 500,000 family carers who tirelessly provide indispensable at-home care across the State. These unpaid and unsung heroes save the State billions annually through the care they provide for their loved ones without receiving the support they not only need but deserve. HSE essential respite services, which are a vital lifeline for our family carers, are in crisis. This crisis manifests itself in prolonged waiting times, stark geographical disparities in service availability a…