Peadar Tóibín

22. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the plan for a new disability unit in his Department. [63513/25]

33. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the plan for a new disability unit in his Department. [65832/25]

It is all in the delivery.

The children's disability network team, CDNT, in Meath is not fully staffed. According to statistics I received today, there are 20 vacant posts across disability teams in Kells, Dunshaughlin, Navan, Slane and Trim. Separate data received by Aontú today show that the Government is actually reducing the number of college places for speech and language therapists, from 370 in the year before Covid t…

Aontú obviously supports this Bill. We support the arrangements to allow for seating in public spaces for pubs and restaurants without a need to license it. There is a big question here regarding what is happening our pubs in this country. There is a significant fall-off in the number of pubs on an annual basis. There is a significant change in the social behaviour of society. More alcohol is sold…

Aontú believes that we as a country should do our best to help those who are fleeing war and violence. We believe that there are many people who come to Ireland and make a really valuable contribution to our society and that there are many essential sectors that would not function properly if we did not have these people here. We believe that everybody who is here should be treated with respect if…

This Government has been an absolute disaster when it comes to building homes. It is by far the biggest failure of this Government over the past while and it is hitting families massively and especially young people hard. House prices are now eight times the average earnings and the average house price sold last year was €426,000, an amazing figure. The average rent currently for a two-bedroom ho…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an mBille seo agus beidh Aontú ag tabhairt tacaíochta dó. I very much welcome this Bill. It makes sense that according to the courts a victim of sexual violence should be able to get the protection order automatically upon the conclusion of the court proceedings. It is appropriate we are having this debate on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.…

12. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has any plans to investigate the rate of home vacancy around the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65819/25]

I draw the Minister's attention to a number of vacant homes in Ringfort housing estate in Rathmolyon, County Meath. The families concerned did everything right. They paid their deposits, spending tens of thousands of euro, but the builder has refused them their homes. They have been put under massive stress, with some of them putting off starting a family and some having to move back into their pa…

I accept the question I am asking the Minister is tangential to the one on the questions paper. I urge him to go off script for the next couple of minutes to address it. We have a situation where houses that were built are vacant. At the heart of this particular problem is that there are two separate companies with the same owners and directors. One company has bought the debt of another company, …

I appreciate that and I am not going to comment on the insolvency process happening at present, other than to say the State is now on the hook for €700,000 because Revenue is one of those creditors. There are tools the State can use to protect its own interests in this, such as the office of corporate enforcement, which can take a High Court challenge to a liquidator that has been selected. Revenu…

I attended the launch of the Religious Freedom in the World report this morning. It is shocking reading. It estimates that two thirds of the world's population live in countries where practising their faith can cost them their livelihoods, their freedom and their lives. The report states that all faiths are under pressure in different parts of the world. I welcome that the war in Sudan was raised …

Cuirim fáilte roimh an rún seo inniu. Gabhaim buíochas leis an nGrúpa Teicniúil um Neamhspleáigh agus Páirtithe as an rún seo a chur os comhair na Dála. The disaster unfolding in Gaza and Palestine is absolutely horrific. It is a significant stain on the international community that it has been allowed to proceed in the manner it has. The images we have seen over the past number of years of an en…

Yesterday, families from Rathmolyon, County Meath, gathered in a Dublin hotel to attend a liquidation meeting. These families spent tens of thousands of euros on deposits for homes five years ago. In the intervening period, many have put off having a family while they were waiting, some were forced to move back into their parents' houses and others have spent €50,000 on rent. Two companies with th…

Can the Taoiseach talk to Revenue as well? It has a role here.

15. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on water quality will next meet. [63511/25]

Keeping the lights and on and water in the taps is surely one of the basic responsibilities of any administration but we live in a country where that is simply not happening. For a country where it seldom stops raining, it hardly goes a week before there is a water or hosepipe ban in this country. In my county of Meath, things are out of control currently. As we speak, a burst mains causing major …

30. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the shared island unit. [63512/25]

BBC Northern Ireland runs a podcast called "Borderline". The podcast is part of the significant debate on Irish unity that is happening across the country. One of the themes of that podcast is the fact that the Irish Government is not participating in that discussion. Many voices have stated there is a serious reluctance from the Government to even discuss the issue of Irish unity. The debate has…

This morning the BBC mentioned that the Irish Government is the only place where this planning and preparation could happen.

When will the Taoiseach step up to the plate?

The Government is the best place to do it.

I want to raise the issue of the Mercosur deal. It is a significant threat to the livelihoods of farming families across this country. It was designed by industrialists in the rest of the EU seeking to improve their export opportunities to South America. The Mercosur deal was designed by industrialists in the rest of the EU seeking to improve their export opportunities to South America. It looks …

In her opening remarks, the Minister said her door was open to TDs to bring specific cases to her attention. I have engaged with her Department on, for example, the case of Mikey, who was so long on the waiting list that he aged out. The Department shut the door on me and said it was not its place to intervene with clinicians regarding the care of children. That is one problem. Second, if we are …