Ambulance response times are getting longer in this country. Handover times for ambulances in hospitals are getting longer. Six months ago, 12 ambulances were stuck at Drogheda hospital for hours. At the same time, no ambulance was available in Cavan, Monaghan, Meath and Louth at all. In 2016, there were 657 deaths before ambulances arrived. In 2023, that increased to 1,108 deaths. This February, I asked the National Ambulance Service the same question. It refused to answer the question. It is an accountability-fre…

No, I do not.

I have not said there was no progress.

I said there was a difference. The figure increased.

Ireland is the most expensive country in Europe for electricity. A total of 320,000 families are currently in energy arrears. Energy is not a luxury good; it is a staple. People have no alternative but to use energy, and reports have shown today that already, the increases in energy costs have taken about €2,000 out of people's pockets so far this year and that is going to get worse because it is forecast that electricity prices are going to increase. Last year, ESB made €636 million in profits. It is a semi-State …

Will the Taoiseach mandate the ESB to reduce the level of profit during the energy crisis?

What about the profits of the ESB?

This is a rip-off Government. The price of petrol, diesel, home heating oil, electricity, groceries, rents, house prices and childcare are all sky-high. The Government plays a significant role in jacking up the prices on all of those. It is hitting families really hard. I know of parents who are lying awake at night trying to work out what bill they are going to be able to pay. People on good wages and in good employment are actually living month to month now on overdrafts. Many families are just one thing going wr…

Tairgim: “Go léifear an Bille an Dara hUair anois." I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am delighted to be able to introduce this Bill in the House today. It is a good-news story. The Bill simply seeks to extend the democratic franchise, the right to vote, to all Irish citizens across the country in presidential elections. This is no small thing at all. Enfranchising 1 million Irish citizens is massively important. It is historic in many ways. This Bill would have significant consequences. To put i…

It is not about "abroad". There is nothing in the Bill about being abroad or emigration or diaspora. It is purely the North of Ireland.

I listened to the Minister of State's speech and looked at the hard copy of it here. The vast bulk of this speech - up to 75% to 80% of it - is about a topic that is not included in the Bill at all. There are a couple of reasons there is a significant problem with this. In the speech, the Minister of State mentioned emigration, overseas, the Irish abroad and the diaspora. This Bill has nothing to do with any of those people at all. They are a completely separate issue. I am not sure if this is a mistake or if it is…

But I have the hard copy-----

In fairness, if I stood up in the Minister of State's place, I would be ruled out of order very quickly.

I have the hard copy here and 75% of the speech is either an insult to Northern nationalists or is a mistake, and that is very problematic. The context of me saying this is the fact that the people of the North of Ireland have gone through very difficult times in the past 100 years - heart-breaking, devastating challenges over the past 100 years - but at the heart of the annoyance felt by Northern nationalists is the strong feeling that they have long been betrayed by the political establishment in the South of Ire…

Míle buíochas leis an Teachta Gogarty as ucht an Bhille seo a thabhairt os comhair na Dála. I welcome and thank the Alliance of Birth Mothers Campaigning for Justice for all the work it has done on this issue in recent years. One of the most difficult cases that regularly comes into my office is when a child is taken from their family or parents. That is because the act of forcibly separating a child from a parent is probably one of the most damaging things a State can do, if it is done in the wrong situation. It h…

There are 50 buses in Galway as well.

Electric buses.

The Government announced fuel supports and a reduction in fuel costs for particular sectors. I understand the package amounts to €750 million in total. Let us put that in perspective. A reply to a recent parliamentary question stated that the Government took in €4.3 billion in fuel taxes and €1.2 billion in carbon tax last year. Both of those were the highest amounts ever. The justification the Government uses when it comes to carbon tax is that it ring-fences it and uses it for carbon reduction measures. Of course…

-----except poorer people spend more of their income on it than other people.

Will the Taoiseach axe carbon taxes in this fuel crisis?