2026-05-20

The budget last October left disabled people €1,400 per annum worse off in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. For months, disabled people and their advocates have painstakingly and painfully told their stories. They tell us the choices they make daily. They are forced to choose between heating, eating and charging their vital mobility devices. Their appeals to the Government to deliver a cost-of-disability payment immediately have fallen on deaf ears. The Government says it needs to figure out what a cost-of-disability payment should be. The previous Government did a report five years ago. The Government's own report tells it exactly what is needed. Disabled people cannot wait. They need a permanent payment, and they need that now. Telling them repeatedly to wait is unfair. It is cruel. Will the Taoiseach listen to the voices of disabled people? Will he hear their call and give them that payment now?

In the most recent budget, we gave the largest ever single year increase in disability services. It went up 20%, which was €628 million. That is what happened with disability services in that budget. In addition to that, there have been significant increases to core payments and domiciliary care increases,. One-off payments for all were removed because they could not continue forever. We cannot do €3 billion in one-off payments on a continuing basis.

I asked about a permanent payment.

It is rhetorical, Deputy. It is not a back and forth.

He misunderstood, deliberately so I suspect.

I do not care. It is not a back and forth.

Work is ongoing on the cost-of-disability payment. There was a good summit recently. We have to engage with the sector before it is designed. The Deputy should not pretend it can be done at the stroke of a pen. It cannot, and she knows that well.

The Taoiseach has had the report for five years.

The Government says its VAT cut will save the hospitality sector and protect small restaurants and cafes from closure. The reality is that the big winners will be the burger chains. McDonald's alone will make €20 million as a result. The irony is that in my constituency, it is apparently a Government decision bringing about the closure or a successful independent cafe, which is the wonderful Silk Road Cafe in the Chester Beatty Library at Dublin Castle. On Monday, I met the cafe proprietor, Ibrahim Phelan. He and his staff are very distressed. They only learned some weeks ago that the Chester Beatty Library and the cafe will have to close from 15 June until the end of the year in the context of Ireland's EU Presidency. I have submitted a parliamentary question to the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Deputy Moran, to clarify why this drastic closure is necessary. However, I am asking the Taoiseach and his Government colleagues why the decision was only communicated so late in the day with little notice to the 14 staff due to lose their jobs on 15 June. I am also engaging with the Chester Beatty. There is a real concern that this is drastic action only communicated late in the day. There is then the closure of a wonderful cafe that has been in operation there for over two decades and is such a great amenity in the constituency.

I heard about that last week, and I am making inquiries on that and organising a series of meetings.

I thank the Taoiseach.

I am not clear as to why the cafe has to close for six months, to be frank. I will pursue that with security and so on. I will do that. On the hospitality sector more generally, thousands of people work in the hospitality sector. A lot of young people and students work in the sector and so on. It is a cynical Opposition play to talk about McDonald's. They are all owned by franchisees. The Deputy knows that.

And the very cafes she would advocate for.

Why does she keep on talking about the big boys? It is individual franchisees in any of these chains. She knows that. The bottom line is we have to sustain employment in domestic services sectors as well.

Deputy Hearne, do your best. It is your time now.

I take note of the Ceann Comhairle's earlier comment, and I thank her. I am back to the rents. Who can afford these outrageous rents? Does the Taoiseach know how much of a nurse's take-home pay is needed to pay the average Dublin rent of €2,600 per month? It is every last cent of it. This is the most cruel and callous Government since the foundation of this State. The Government parties knew their new rental measures would cause even higher rents and evictions, but they did it anyway. We have the highest rate of evictions since the Famine. Has the Taoiseach no sense of shame about the human misery being caused right now across this country by the Government's policies? I met a woman in Cabra yesterday who broke down in tears. She has cancer. She is being evicted. She has a colostomy bag. She cannot go into emergency accommodation. Where is she to go? Fianna Fáil has abandoned ordinary people. Why is the Government not putting in place a ban on evictions and freezing the rents?

Thank you. The Taoiseach to respond.

Fianna Fáil has not abandoned ordinary people. The highest number of social houses built on record was built last year - 9,000 new social houses. That is the way to deal with the housing crisis which has led to the rent increases.

Where are these people to go?

Deputy-----

We are about building more homes but you are not. You are just thinking about savings schemes.

That is ridiculous.

Deputy-----

You are not.

That is ridiculous.

You have a challenge. It is not good enough to come in and attack the Government all the time and come up with nothing yourself.

You are putting words in my mouth.

And that has been the subject-----

That is not true.

I have looked online and looked at your proposals. They are empty.

That is your view.

Empty.

This is not a back and forth.

That is not my view. Anybody could go and look at it.

It is your view.

I call Deputy Stanley.

We will do our housing construction agency when we get around to it. For God's sake, come on.

I call Deputy Stanley.

The report yesterday on rents shocked a lot of people. I predicted, as did others, that this would happen but the scale of it has really shocked me. In County Laois a four-bedroom house has gone up 12.5% year on year, a three-bedroom one by 10% and a two-bedroom house, which is the type most in demand in the county, has gone up by 34%. That is in one year. Notices to quit are up and house prices are up. It is now €530,000 for a bog-standard house in Portlaoise in one estate. I am telling the Taoiseach that the Government cannot leave it totally to the market. We have seen where a laissez-faire approach that the market will sort it out has got us in the past. I hope the Taoiseach has not forgotten the crash and the noughties. What happened then was we had a laissez-faire approach and it led us into a black hole. The Taoiseach was there for that; he was a Minister then. I am asking him in a fair-minded way-----

In two seconds.

-----to please revisit this. There need to be some controls put in to protect tenants.

Thank you. The time is up-----

The fact that it takes a nurse's pay to pay a month's rent-----

-----the Taoiseach to respond.

-----shows there is something wrong.

Deputy, your time is up.

I appeal to the Taoiseach to do something.

Rents are too high overall. No-one is arguing about that. There is a lot of pressure on people. Supply is the only way to deal with it. What I would say on the reforms that came in is that the six-year tenancy rule is a very significant enhanced protection for existing tenants. Nothing like it was in place before. We are dealing with new tenancies here in terms of the Daft.ie index, but the vast majority of existing tenancies are not impacted in the same way at all. We need a long-term certain landscape in respect of the rental market. With housing, we are not leaving it to the market. The State is involved in every aspect of housing. Some €9 billion is being invested by the Government - taxpayers' money - to try to get housing going. We are at 36,000 houses and that is not enough. We are going to invest. You also need some degree of private sector money in as well-----

And more affordable housing.

-----to get to the €20 billion the Central Bank says is required to deal with the demand that is out there in respect of housing supply.

Thank you, Taoiseach. I call Deputy Richard O'Donoghue.

On the scheme the Government brought out for the agri sector for the fuel, some of the sectors are saying that unless you are under an agricultural contractor you do not qualify for this scheme. We have an awful lot of plant hire people who do agricultural work but they do not qualify for the scheme. We have people who might be registered as being a plant hire company but do agri work, and they do not qualify for this scheme. Why is that? If you are doing agricultural work, you should qualify for the scheme. Also, from the point of view of all the construction sector, there should be something for plant hire within the construction side as it helps to bring down the cost.

I thank Deputy O'Donoghue. I am delighted to see thousands of farmers and farm contractors applying for our fuel support scheme for them. That has a very clear definition. Under EU state aid rules, we have to define the activity and in this case it is agricultural production. The Government has committed to and is working on separate lines of support for those in the plant industry. Where agricultural contractors are using green diesel or marked gas oil and it is directly linked to the production of agricultural produce, that is covered under this scheme.

Ba mhaith liom ceist a chur maidir leis na deontais tithíochta athchóirithe. The housing adaptation grants are a game-changer for many people who are older or who have a disability and need to get alterations done to their houses. However, many constituents have raised with me the delays they have in accessing the public occupational therapy lists to get the sort of reports and certifications for the modifications they need. I am asking whether guidelines can be put in place. We know that in many cases the report from the private occupational therapist is reimbursed as part of the overall grant package. However, even that cost can be prohibitive for a lot of older people in particular. Is there any guidance that can be given to local authorities to pay the grant in instalments so that the reimbursement may be made immediately? Perhaps a voucher system could be put in place for a private occupational therapist to make their report. Alternatively, the local authority could be allowed to directly fund or recompense the occupational therapist for the report they might provide.

I thank the Deputy for raising this. I will talk to the Minister for housing in respect of this. We should be trying to streamline the whole system, which we are doing. People are waiting for OT reports and so on and the idea of paying in instalments pending the receipt of the report is a valid option. We would like to see greater simplification of the requirements overall to speed up the whole application process. I will talk to the Minister about that.

The Taoiseach mentioned earlier all the money that has been spent on Blanchardstown. He might just keep me in mind for the courthouse in Portlaoise. The programme for Government commits to reducing childcare costs by €200 per month per child. I understand work is planned in phase 2 of the affordability measures. Will the Taoiseach confirm these measures will include the long-term goal of delivering that €200 monthly cost reduction? I acknowledge the €135 million allocated for State-led childcare, the acquisition of buildings this year and the Building Blocks exchange scheme. However, capacity and affordability remains a crisis in my constituency of Laois. A parent who contacted me is paying over €1,500 per month for a single child. Another has been hit with an immediate €200 per child fee increase. For many people, the €200 commitment is a lifeline and I am asking that it be implemented without delay.

In the last budget we increased the level of State investment in early learning by about 12%. We cannot do everything in one budget. This is a five-budget Government. Childcare is a key issue; it is in the programme for Government. All three parties in the Government are committed to it. Decisions were taken on the last occasion about disability, for example, which went up dramatically. The income thresholds are increasing from September 2026, which will allow more low- and middle-income families to qualify. We will have the budget in October to see how much further we can progress the commitment in the programme for Government to reduce the costs of childcare to people in line with the objective of the programme for Government.

The Taoiseach will keep me in mind for the courthouse, will he not?

I will keep him in mind for the courthouse.

I raise again the status of the long-promised primary care centre for Loughlinstown on the existing health centre site. The HSE confirmed last year that the operational lease process for the new Loughlinstown primary centre, along with full planning, collapsed when the preferred operator withdrew for viability reasons. The HSE advised that it was carrying out a service-led review before deciding on the next steps. However, the process seems to be stalled as there has been no consultation with public representatives. This is an area with one of the oldest populations in Dún Laoghaire. These are precisely the communities that most depend on an accessible, local primary care centre. Will the Taoiseach provide an update and will he ask the HSE to urgently engage with the local representatives?

First of all, it is as the Deputy has outlined in terms of the Ballybrack-Loughlinstown primary care centre, which was through the operational lease model. Then the preferred operator encountered difficulties with the economic viability of the proposed project. A service-led review is being conducted. The Department of Health is awaiting an update from HSE primary care in Dublin south on the status of this review. In parallel to this, HSE capital and estates is trying to identify the best location for this primary care centre and the most appropriate of method of delivery for expedience and value for money. The Department is continuing to engage with the HSE on this one in particular and I will come back to the Deputy on it.

Apologies, I missed Deputy Mac Lochlainn.

We have an extraordinary situation at Elm Park, Buncrana in County Donegal where nine families are living in defective concrete block homes which must be demolished, but these homes are also on a dangerous flood-plain. The Minister, Deputy Browne, and the Ministers of State, Deputies Moran and O'Sullivan, were working before Christmas on a scheme to relocate the families. That was announced by the Minister, Deputy Browne, before Christmas. We are now nearly in June and the families are absolutely traumatised. They are very concerned at responses to parliamentary questions that are very mealy-mouthed. The officials in the Department of housing need to wake up to this humanitarian crisis and present a reasonable scheme in co-operation with the families in those homes. They have waited for far too long. They have waited for years for a solution, so I am appealing to the Taoiseach to speak to the Minister and the Ministers of State and to get this sorted out urgently.

To be fair to the Minister, Deputy Browne, I think he has been very responsive to these issues. The fact is that the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, and the Minister of State, Deputy O’Sullivan, went to visit and saw the situation at first hand. I will talk to the Minister and the Ministers of State in respect of the progression of such a scheme, if that has been committed to, to see what the up-to-date position is.

I want to highlight a situation facing families in County Kildare following a suspension of the paediatric community assessment tool service in CHO 7. Parents have been told that there are no clinicians available, and ten families have directly contacted me. As a result, children who have already been accepted for an assessment have no clear pathway forward. It is obviously creating worry and uncertainty for families. These parents want to know what interim supports can be put in place, how they will be kept informed, and, more importantly, when we can expect the service to resume.

That is very worrying indeed. I will talk to the Minister for Health in respect of this issue in terms of whether interim measures can be introduced to provide a service to the parents and children involved, and then on what the longer term solution will be in terms of recruitment.

The square in Kenmare town has been flooded many times over the years. To that end, I thank the Minister of State with responsibility for public works, Deputy Moran, for going down there and taking stock. A scheme is promised to deal with the situation. However, a sewerage pipe is crossing the eye of the courthouse bridge which collects debris and trees and practically blocks the river. This is what causes most of the flooding. I am asking if that sewerage pipe could be removed in the interim. To facilitate this happening, a small pumping station would have to be put in to pump the sewage over the bridge rather than it going through the pipe crossing the eye of the bridge. It is a simple project that could be done. I am asking if the Taoiseach will talk to the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, to expedite this matter.

I thank the Deputy. I call the Taoiseach to respond.

It would save people’s businesses from being destroyed and ruined as has happened many different times before.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Minister of State has been down there, so he is very well aware of the situation. I cannot get into the specifics of the engineering resolution of the problem, but I will talk to the Minister of State and ask him what can be done in the interim.

I wish to speak again about Arklow’s Eímear Byrne, who is awaiting life-saving surgery that is not available in Ireland. Only last week, Ms Byrne was made aware that she is not a suitable candidate for the treatment abroad scheme. Her only option, therefore, is to travel, at enormous expense, to the Johns Hopkins clinic in Baltimore, USA. As the treatment abroad scheme does not cover the USA, the people of Arklow and the surrounding area have stood up and set up a fundraising campaign. There has been an absolutely incredible response. I am aware that we currently do not provide financial assistance for treatments in the USA, but I am asking if we can look at the policy again, as cases such as that of Ms Byrne, who cannot get treatment in Europe, simply cannot be ignored. I spoke directly with Ms Byrne’s mother this morning, and, in her words, we are dealing with a life-and-death scenario. We are here as TDs and our main focus is to look after and support our constituents and their communities. If ever there was a case that needed support, it would be that of Eímear Byrne.

I thank the Deputy for raising this case and I commend the people for rallying behind Eímear Byrne, a young teacher, and her family. I will talk to the Minister for Health in respect of this case. I am aware of the treatment abroad scheme being confined to the European area. There is some talk of engaging with the European reference network on rare multisystemic vascular diseases, ERN, and similar conditions. I am not clear as to whether this treatment can be done in Europe, but, equally, I take the Deputy’s point. We have had a good relationship with the Johns Hopkins clinic over the decades in respect of other matters. I will talk to the Minister in respect of this case to see if we can get an opportunity here to be of help and assistance to young Eímear and her family.

The pensioners of CIÉ have been left waiting 18 years for any increase at all in their pensions. This is causing huge hardship during the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. The increase was agreed between CIÉ and the unions last May, which is one year ago now. When I raised this issue with the Taoiseach in February, he said it would be done imminently. When I raised it with him last week, he said he would talk to the Ministers. Has the Taoiseach talked to the Ministers and when will this long overdue increase for the pensioners who have been waiting 18 years finally be signed off on?

I am sorry, Deputy, but the ballot was last year and not 18 years ago. There were a lot of discussions and a lot of negotiations and a proposal came to the Government. I have spoken to both Ministers, and my understanding is that NewERA was examining, as a final step, the entirety of the scheme and that the board was going to give it consideration. I hope we can get this issue resolved very quickly now. I have, though, been talking to the Ministers about it.

I am not sure if the Taoiseach saw the "Prime Time" special recently in relation to rare diseases and patients' inability to access much-needed drugs. I know the Taoiseach is very familiar with the topic as he previously served as the Minister for Health. I want to bring up this issue again because we have given a commitment in the programme for Government that we will reform the reimbursement process. We really need to start that body of work now. If the Taoiseach had watched the programme, he would have seen Emily Felix and other people with Friedreich’s ataxia. Craig Coady from Cork, whose child suffers from the same condition, has lost a child already and his wife is seriously ill. On that programme, Professor Michael Barry indicated that the reason pharmaceutical companies do not want to come here to reimburse drugs is because they do not make enough money. That might be true in some cases, but it belies the fact that the majority of them do not come here because it is too much hassle to go through a health technology assessment. The review I am asking for would at least review that process and, hopefully, streamline it so we can get more effective and efficient decisions in future.

I thank the Deputy. I call the Taoiseach.

We have a budget process that we are all heading into at the moment, and we need funding for rare diseases and new drugs to be included as part of this budget.

I call the Taoiseach to respond. I thank the Deputy. The time is up.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. He has been a strong advocate for reform of the reimbursement scheme, particularly insofar as it applies to what we might term orphan drugs. There is a growing issue here in terms of how some of these drugs are coming onto the market, the level of engagement between some companies and the State and, yes, our own system as well. Some companies are more accessible in terms of engaging with than others, but that is of no value to those who need the medicines quickly. I am aware of the cases the Deputy mentioned and the urgency attached to them. I have spoken to the Minister for Health about this issue. There is engagement with the company involved in the case of Friedreich’s ataxia. The Department had been awaiting responses, but that engagement is vital to trying to get this resolved for Friedreich's ataxia cases.

I thank the Taoiseach. I call Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh.

I accept the need for a review.

Mikey Henry Benson, who has scoliosis, as the Taoiseach will know, recently turned 18. I visited his home on Saturday, where he is in the loving care of his mum, Penny, his dad, Michael, and his sisters. He is a bright and happy young man despite the torture he has been through. Mikey Henry has been utterly failed by Children's Health Ireland, CHI, while his spinal curvature has regressed to 130°, crushing his vital organs. His parents will never give up. They continue to fight for his life. With the help of the Mater Private Hospital, they have now found a pathway to get the necessary surgery to save Mikey. I ask the Taoiseach to do three things: to appoint a designated person in the Department of Health to help Mikey’s parents to work through the logistics of getting Mikey to the appropriate hospital and the expert surgeons who are willing to operate; to allocate the necessary funding to save Mikey’s life; and to approve the use of the Air Corps for transportation. We have a chance to save Mikey and other young people neglected by CHI and failed by this Government.

Again, I do not have the specifics of that. The Deputy said it is going to the Mater Private. Can she send me a note on the case so that I can see the different stages? It seems unusual and I do not know what the relationship with Temple Street is, with the system there or with CHI more generally.

I will do that.

Yesterday the Government announced new rules and legislation regarding puppy farming. This is very welcome because for far too long, this and previous Governments have ignored animal welfare issues. However, there is a glaring omission in the legislation and that is the mention of a cap. Is it still the case that puppy farms will be able to have 300 female dogs breeding on site and potentially thousands of pups? If it is, then that is a huge flaw in the legislation. Last December the Social Democrats brought forward a Bill that had a cap included. The Taoiseach has been talking about cheap politics here today and he is constantly talking about how the Opposition does not offer positive solutions. In December we brought forward a Bill and Government Ministers, on the floor of this Dáil, asked us not to bring that Bill to a vote because they wanted to work with us on it. I have had no communication regarding the Bill in the last five or six months. That is not good enough.

The Taoiseach to respond.

It says an awful lot about the Government and about the Ministers in Government that-----

Deputy, be fair to other Deputies. You are now way over time.

-----what was stated here and the promises and commitments made to us that night were not upheld.

Nobody has a monopoly on passion or care for animals, including horses and dogs, or any other elements of animal welfare. As Minister with responsibility for animal welfare, I am determined to drive an agenda of change in a whole host of areas. I was part of the negotiations on the programme for Government when we transferred the control of dogs back to my Department, which is the right place for it. This is a clear outworking of that. What was agreed yesterday by the Cabinet was the heads of a Bill on dog control and how we approach dog breeding establishments. This is a key element of that. It is something in which Deputy Whitmore has a keen interest. I look forward to working with her and all Members of the House as that Bill progresses through all Stages in the Dáil, the Seanad and at committee, as we put in place dog breeding establishment legislation that will take away some of the bad practices that happened in the past. That is something that I know Deputy Whitmore wants to do, as do I and my colleagues in government. I look forward to working with the Deputy and all Members of the House on that.

Everyone in this House should be extremely concerned at the ongoing situation within the National Ambulance Service. Paramedics save lives. We need them and we need more of them. I was very proud to stand with paramedics and others on the front line on strike in Loughglynn in Roscommon town last week. During that first strike action there was a lot of commentary on deals that had been on the table previously that were rejected. Of course, what was not said was the fact that those deals gave with one hand but took away with the other in terms of allowances. The main finding of the 2020 independent report was that salary scales needed to be updated to match the major upskilling we have seen over the last two decades. Paramedics have waited six years since that report. We need to see that finding delivered. That recommendation needs to be implemented. Only the Department of public expenditure can implement it. While I respect the ongoing talks and it is important they conclude, as they go on and as strike action is due again next week, we need the Department and the Minister to acknowledge that the recommendation will be implemented. I believe that can do this.

First, I welcome the fact that talks are in progress right now through the labour relations machinery. I do not want to prejudice the outcome of those talks or say anything that might harm them. Dialogue is key to resolving this. We have modernised the service very significantly over the years. Everybody has been involved in that, including workers and all concerned. It is important that these discussions can get a resolution to this.

Yesterday I visited the proposed site of the national children's science centre at Earlsfort Terrace. I walked through the derelict north wing of that building with members of the board. It is a space that is full of potential but today it lies idle in the heart of our capital city. The Taoiseach stood on the site in December 2022 and announced, to be fair, the great redevelopment of the National Concert Hall. The fear now is that unless both projects proceed in parallel, the new concert hall will face closure for a prolonged period when, and if, construction eventually begins on the national children's science centre. We know now, following arbitration last December, that the OPW is legally obliged to deliver this project by the end of 2029, with annual work commitments already falling behind schedule. Will the Government unequivocally commit to delivering the national children's science centre? Which Department will lead the delivery of this? Will ring-fenced funding finally be put in place for this vital national project?

Is the Deputy referring to when I was at the site of the National Concert Hall?

Yes, on the same site.

That was for the concert hall.

Yes, absolutely.

Why is the Deputy saying it will not go ahead?

I am not saying-----

Perhaps further engagement is required. It is not a back and forth-----

The National Concert Hall might have to close if construction was to begin again on the science centre.

That is a separate matter completely.

It is on the same site.

The Deputy knows there are huge issues with that. Come on.

That is not-----

Further engagement, as I said. Thank you.