Carbon tax is regressive taxation. It punishes the poorest people in society. The people who are paying the most carbon tax and most fuel taxation are those in diesel and petrol cars, many of whom will never be able to afford solar panels or electric vehicles. Many are renters who will never have the opportunity to retrofit their homes. That is the truth. Carbon tax punishes the poorest people in society. I want to be clear. Five years ago, every party in this Chamber, with the exception of Aontú and a few good Ind…

----- this Chamber must be addressed. Introducing climate action legislation that contained legally binding targets was wrong and must be called out. The U-turn and the change in rhetoric are welcome. Over the past few weeks, I have done quite a bit of research on taxation on fuel that I want to put on the record of the House. I want to be honest and transparent with the people of Ireland in the weeks ahead because I have no doubt that the Government will make every effort to outline to sectors that it cannot affor…

I wish to speak on behalf of the residents and businesses in Newport who have endured the most horrendous situation, where untreated wastewater is being pumped into Clew Bay on a daily basis, yet despite this, the businesses of Newport continue to be billed for charges in relation to wastewater from Uisce Éireann. Many constituents have asked me how can the State demand payment for a service when the infrastructure underpinning that service is so incredibly inadequate. In fact, it is non-existent. If a farmer or an…

My question is a very simple one. It is not whether or not Uisce Éireann has the authority to issue bills but whether it is fair and proportionate. Does the Government believe it is fair to issue bills for wastewater services to a community that cannot avail of those services and which has been so badly treated in relation to the wastewater treatment plant? This is a community that has been given the runaround for far too long. I have worked on this tirelessly since getting elected in meeting MARA, Uisce Éireann an…

Will the Minister of State answer the question?

The question is on wastewater bills.

Will the Minister of State answer the question?

Postponing a bad decision does not make it a good one. Families do not need a stay of execution for six weeks. They need certainty. In rural Ireland, fuel is not a luxury; it is a staple. It brings families to work, children to school and elderly people to appointments. The price of fuel does not stop in terms of the cost at the pump. Every lorry delivering to a supermarket carries the price of diesel onto the shelves. That is what the Government is doing. It is driving the cost of inflation across this country. We…

What arrangements are in place for parents and parents' representative organisations to raise concerns directly with the Department regarding the national education curriculum and the provision of resources such as books, etc.? How frequently does the Minister meet with these organisations, stakeholders and parental bodies?

Confidence in our education system depends on quality resources but parents remain seriously concerned about inappropriate material that is being promoted in our schools, libraries, etc. Concerns have been raised in relation to the book What's the T? by Juno Dawson, which contains sexually explicit material and was promoted to children by Children's Books Ireland and RTÉ. It received significant publish backlash, and rightly so. It has been reported that a teacher raised concerns with the Department in an email bac…

Is the Minister aware of the controversy surrounding the What's the T? book by Juno Dawson? Is she aware that the book was promoted by Children's Books Ireland? That is very important. The idea that the Minister would say she is basically not responsible is, I believe, questionable. She is the Minister for education; the buck stops with her. For her to say she is not responsible is unacceptable, in my view. The Minister has such an enormous responsibility for the children of this country and if it is the case that …

Is the Minister aware of the What's the T? book?

I want to raise the case of a children's online safety company whose management is accused of defrauding at least 15 victims, across seven different countries, of more than €500,000. This is an Irish company and is based in Limerick. My constituent Aisling Waldron, a dedicated advocate of child safety, was hired to oversee child safety. She is owed over €72,000 in unpaid wages. She was recruited on the back of fabricated user numbers and, indeed, fabricated and falsified contracts from the Vatican Bank and the Port…

I am glad of the opportunity to speak on the issue of Irish unity. Aontú is one of the few parties in this House that is active North and South and that stands candidates in elections in every county. At this time, the poll figures indicate that we are moving in the right direction. Even our opponents on this issue are almost accepting the inevitability of a united Ireland. I feel an enormous privilege and responsibility as an elected member of this House at such a time in this nation’s history when we are on the c…

We are in a cost-of-living crisis. Groceries are up by 40% and diesel is up by 60% over the past five years, yet another bill is landing every August for families who send their children to school. That bill is an ICT bill. It is a bill for a laptop. Incredibly, the Government introduced free books last year but has this year introduced what is effectively mandatory ICT at a cost that is significantly higher than the books ever were. Many families have contacted me and outlined bills of €1,000 for a laptop. The sam…

I commend Margaret Loftus from my own constituency of Mayo for her work in raising awareness of domestic abuse. I also commend the report recently published by the justice committee. Ms Loftus has raised many concerns. The in camera rule is one of them. She told the committee that the in camera rule prevented a lot of information from coming out. It is essentially a veil of secrecy. It needs to be looked at and reviewed. I welcome the publication of the Women's Aid report. I have read and studied it. We see record …

I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this very important motion, which Aontú will support. According to the Disability Federation of Ireland, there are between 5,000 and 6,000 households with a social housing need due to disability and a total of 10% of everyone on the waiting list are people with disabilities. I want to raise an important issue in my constituency. A senior citizen who has been caring for her daughter with Down's syndrome for decades is afraid to die, not because she is afraid of death…

I want to be clear from the outset that I support the right of Ukraine and Moldova to develop, prosper and integrate, but I have serious concerns about this Government's Presidency. The Taoiseach is on record as stating that Ukraine belongs in the EU. As we take up the Presidency, it is the Government's stated ambition to make historic progress on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova. I condemn Russia's actions in relation to the war in Ukraine. Precisely because I condemn them and believe in peace, I believe we sh…

The post office service is really important and I welcome support for post offices across the country. It is particularly important for senior citizens in rural areas. In many rural areas the banks are closing and withdrawing services and face-to-face services. That is why it is particularly worrying that so many post offices are closing. In the past ten years, 19 post offices have closed in County Mayo. Let us look at the region of Kilkelly, where nine banks have closed. This is in an area between Ballyhaunis, Cha…

I know of a family in Mayo. The mother attended the local primary school in the parish. Her father attended the same local primary school. Her children are now attending the same local school. She sought planning permission to build in the catchment area of that primary school. She was denied on the basis of local planning need. Three generations living in the same area and she was refused planning permission. That is how discriminatory and unfair the planning system is in Ireland. I very much welcome the fact ther…