Peadar Tóibín

The Minister must admit it is quite shocking that it will take 14 months for a question asked in September 2024, about how many children have been taken off waiting lists without their parents knowing, to be answered. It points again to the dysfunction. I welcome that the Minister has met with parents about this. That is a good thing. The Minister mentioned money going into this section. Some €11.…

Is that the case? The Minister might answer that.

I think the Minister understands this perfectly well. Given that it has been so hard to get information from CHI over the last number of years, anything less than a statutory inquiry into the lack of care for children on scoliosis waiting lists is not going to get to the truth. The fact that there has been no information forthcoming from the individuals involved means that if we cannot compel peop…

I add my condemnation to the horrendous attacks that have happened outside the synagogue in Manchester. As the Tánaiste knows, the world has looked on at the horror that has happened for the last two years in Gaza and the fact that over 60,000 men, women and children have been murdered. Dozens of men, women and children are being murdered daily. Bombs are being dropped on schools, tents, religiou…

I have a couple of questions. Will the Tánaiste give a date for the occupied territories Bill? He mentioned the complexities in relation to Israeli arms flights over Ireland. There is a danger that people can hide behind complexities. The Ditch has reported that the Irish State authorities in the last two months have assisted FedEx flights flying through Irish territory as they illegally carried F…

This time last year, Aontú proposed a motion in this Chamber seeking the ending of the means test for the carer's allowance. That motion was co-signed by Seán Canney and Noel Grealish who are now junior Ministers in this Government and it had a timeframe of 2027 for the complete abolition of the means test. It is very clear that there is absolutely no will in the Government to abolish the means te…

8. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on Health last met. [49645/25]

I welcome the announcement that there will be an inquiry into the care of spina bifida and scoliosis patients by CHI. It is good news and I give credit to Stephen and Gillian and the advocacy groups for achieving this. It is really important that it be a statutory public inquiry. Any inquiry without the power to compel people or papers will not get to the truth in relation to this. It is also impo…

-----it is important that we get to a situation where we have a permanent office of inquiry to make sure-----

-----these inquiries can be delivered efficiently and speedily.

Some 66,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel's bloody war on the people of Gaza. Dozens of men, women and children are being killed on a daily basis. Hospitals, schools, refugee centres and churches are being bombed by the IDF. Bombs are literally atomising families in tents. We have never before seen this number of journalists, doctors, nurses and UN staff being killed in large numbers by …

86. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of former An Post employees whose initial applications for pensions were refused in each of the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51086/25]

There are major problems with pensions at the moment. People have to fight for their pensions. Aer Lingus pensioners come to me who are still not being paid their full pensions. Pensioners come to me who say that 70,000 of them have received letters stating they may have been overpaid on their pensions. They are living in fear about that. This question relates to An Post pensioners who have been l…

A pensioner came into my office recently who was one of six workers who started work on 25 July 1994. The rule, which the Minister mentioned, was that anyone who started before 6 April 1995 and worked on a continuous basis in an established position should be on class D PRSI contributions. The State made its decision. The scope section of the Department agreed with the decision. The class D contri…

I am happy to share any information I have about the constituent, but the question on the Order Paper asks how many pensioners are in a similar situation. This is not a criminal case that An Post is involved in, so I do not see why the Minister cannot give a view about the entitlement and rights of a pensioner. I know of at least 30 pensioners who are in a similar situation to this pensioner. It i…

93. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection if his attention has been drawn to the classification of employees of State and semi-State bodies (details supplied). [39838/25]

I am frustrated by the Minister's answer on the pensioners who have worked in An Post for decades who are being given a reduced pension. It is an incredibly serious issue. It determines the standard of living these pensioners have. Given the Minister's previous answer on this matter, it seems like he is outsourcing a decision to the High Court. It is the responsibility of the Government to set ou…

There is currently a case before the High Court. The Minister is in charge of the law at the moment. He quoted the Act determining the situation. There is confusion about the Act. It is obviously not doing what it is meant to do in clearly delineating the different responsibilities people have under the different classes. That is a problem. The Minister is handing over the decision-making process…

If this was an isolated incident, there would be some excuse for it. The truth of the matter is that we know there are dozens, potentially hundreds, of people who will be affected by this. Regarding An Post, a group of retired workers had to hold a national day of action in Dublin before the Dáil broke for its summer recess to protest the unfair pension cap. It was put in place due to the financi…

I welcome the decision to fold CHI into the HSE. We called for it a number of months ago. However, a number of serious issues have not been dealt with yet. First, I raised the case of Harvey Morrison Sherratt with Simon Harris about a year ago when he was taken off the waiting list for surgery. Simon Harris told me he would find out how many other parents and children had been taken off that list…

Like what?

I am sorry, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, but claims like what?

Like what, Minister?

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, it is poor performance by the Minister to make an allegation in relation to things I said and when I ask him to indicate what it was I said, he does not give that information. It is very poor.

As sure as every summer holiday finishes and as sure as the kids go back to school, there is a school bus crisis. It is incredible that there is a crisis every single year. Every TD in this House has been chasing their tail and chasing around the country to find solutions in individual cases. Let me outline the issue that really frustrates me. The Government's stated objective is to get people in…