Not yet.

Are the doctors in Germany, England and France all different then?

Are the all doctors-----

I welcome the debate today. Ireland has a proud history and tradition of myths and legends, from Cú Chulainn to Tír na nÓg to the Children of Lír, which have passed down through the generations. However, the latest myth and legend some people are telling is far more damaging. There are people who claim that we cannot afford Irish unity. They are using false data and made-up numbers to try to stop the unity of our Thirty-two Counties, saying it will cost billions upon billions. John FitzGerald wrote a paper on how I…

The bus service in Cork has been in crisis for a number of years. Buses do not turn up. Buses are late. There are ghost buses. There are buses that have "out of service" displayed on them as they drive past dozens of people waiting at bus stops for them. There is an app that does not work. People are looking at the app which says there is a bus due shortly and after a while the bus disappears from the app. It is unbelievable that the crisis in the bus service in Cork is this bad and has been this bad for so long. I…

The Minister of State referred to the new 90-minute fares and the fact that people can tap on and tap off. I want to let her know that the fare is €1.90 but next week, it will be €2.40. That is a 26% increase in the fare. How can that be justified? The people of Cork are being forced to pay 26% extra for a service they cannot even depend on, a service that might not turn up or might be delayed. People are depending on the bus service in Cork but it is not reliable. Can the Minister of State imagine this? Drivers ar…

AI poses a threat to Irish art and Irish artists. They must be protected. I am really lucky to come from County Cork, which I am very proud of, which has produced some amazing poets, singers and actors, including Miles Gaffney and John Spillane, who are friends of mine. They are unbelievable musicians and singers. There are actors like Siobhán McSweeney, Fiona Shaw and Jennifer O'Donovan, whom I saw recently. There are walkways around Cork where poetry is being written. Along the Clogheenmilcon walkway, a legendary…

That was not the question.

I have campaigned for years for extra dementia unit beds and nursing home beds on the northside of Cork, especially in Heather House. Some 19 dementia beds have been built in Heather House. They were announced in 2022 and built and finished last November. I have campaigned to get them open. I was told in May that they would be open in June. They were supposed to be open in June but were not. I have been told by members of staff and families that there is no definite date. People have family members in nursing homes…

In 2008, the then Minister Phil Hogan announced a local government fund allocation in budget 2009 of €1.6 billion. In budget 2026, €670 million was allocated to the same fund. That is almost €1 billion less. Has the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, considered asking the European Union how member states fund local authorities and how European local authorities have more democracy and autonomy and are not in constant crisis? Local authorities around this State are in crisis at the moment for funding because of cut…

An issue that has rightly got a lot of coverage over the last few months is the disease called Friedreich's ataxia. There is a drug out there called Skyclarys. Citizens of a number of European countries are able to access that medicine. We have come here and families have come here and spoken about it. I appeal to the Minister of State. I know a meeting is to take place this month. I have been dealing with Craig Coady in relation to his son Paudie, who is dying. They lost another son to the same illness. It is an h…

Sorry. Can the Minister of State also look at if it is passed in Europe, that it is in each individual country then? It is the bureaucracy, red tape and time. It is not about this specific drug. I ask the Minister of State to look at it from a European point of view-----

Like other speakers, I think the Minister is making a major mistake. I was just talking to my party colleague Deputy Ó Broin. A lady contacted me today. She has been in recovery for eight months and is four months pregnant. She is homeless and on the streets. Tonight she is in the maternity hospital at Cork University Hospital, CUH, because there was nowhere else for her to go. If she goes into emergency accommodation where there is open addiction and open drug taking, her fear is that she may fall back into addict…

There is no need for that comment.

Yes, there was no need for that.

Can I just ask one question of the Minister? That lady refuses to go into the emergency accommodation because she is in recovery and the accommodation presents a risk of her relapsing. This applies not just to that lady but to anyone in a similar position. They have no right to appeal and they then have to reapply to go on the housing list, which in Cork city takes five months on average. Where should they live for the five months? I do not need to go into the whole lot of it, but if the legislation the Minister is…

I will not repeat what my colleagues have said but the fact is we are denying tenants their fundamental protections and rights under the RTB. That is wrong. Tenants who are paying their rent every week, including where there is antisocial behaviour, are entitled to their rights. We are creating a two-tier system, with renters who are covered by the RTB on the one hand and then, on the other, people living in these beds in sheds. We are talking about independent accommodation in people's back gardens. It is not like…

I will be brief and will not go over points my colleagues have made. The Minister of State used the example of Vienna. I think the minute he said it, he knew he had made a mistake. As has been pointed out, the Minister of State is talking about smaller apartments but they are only a part of it because there is a need for a mix of two-bedroom, three-bedroom and four-bedroom apartments. The Minister of State is proposing apartment after apartment of one-bedroom bedsits. That is what they will nearly end up as. The Mi…

Glass houses.

The Minister cannot stand up and tell the truth.