Mark Wall

This is good news. I think I last raised this matter on 29 April 2025 so I think it has taken a slight amount of time to get everything uploaded. It is so important for parents to be able to see what is available for childcare in their areas. We all realise that there is a lack of places, but where there are places, it is important for parents to be able to look at prices. Previously, the Ministe…

I thank my colleague, Deputy Sherlock, for bringing forward this important motion. I also acknowledge our MEP, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, for his considerable work. He has brought many of us in the Labour Party on a journey in relation to drug education and its effects on society. It is an education we can all be part of and need to be part of. The Minister of State mentioned in her remarks a political di…

I wanted to raise with the Minister today the car park the M7 and N7 have become over the recent period. Yes, we all believe in public transport but unfortunately, we all know that will take time. This morning, as I made my way to work, it took me three hours to get here from the town of Athy. I have been inundated with emails today from people from Rathangan, where it is taking two and a half hou…

80. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he will outline the new RAPID programme announced in budget 2026; and when he expects the programme to be operational by. [55400/25]

I thank Sinn Féin for tabling this very important motion on the cost of disability payment. I welcome the fact the Minister is in the Chamber for the debate. I will begin with an email that was sent by a constituent who has multiple sclerosis, in response to budget 2026. She writes that she cannot work and her husband's wage is above the disability threshold. She has a son in college and another …

It seems to me from what we saw in the budget yesterday that the Government does not recognise the pressures that many of our working families and working individuals are facing at this time. Examples provided by the Government in its budget documentation yesterday tell us that a married couple with two children on a modest income of €55,000 a year will be down €50 on their income compared to last…

Hear, hear.

I thank the Minister of State for coming into the Chamber this evening and the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this very important topic. I want to talk about services in my home town of Athy in Kildare South. The population of Athy, in the recent census, was over 11,000 people. That is a growth of 82% since the 2002 census. Every morning, almost 50% of the working population of the town leaves it t…

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, too. It is good news that the DART+ fleets are being rolled out, albeit on the Drogheda line, because that will free up carriages on the Drogheda line, which is what we want. We are first up, best dressed in Athy looking for those additional carriages that come as part of the new DART+ carriage…

I thank the Minister of State.

I begin by sending my solidarity to the global flotilla. A number of boats in the fleet have already suffered attacks as Israeli aggression tries to derail the flotilla's journey. I condemn these attacks and hope that all the crew and passengers will remain safe. I highlight a petition by one of my constituents, Holly Caffrey, calling for action on Gaza. It is one of many actions by the people of…

You learn something new about your colleagues every day in this House. Every euro spent on sports funding is money well spent. At a time when there is a housing emergency, the Government must concentrate on the provision of the largest number of houses possible, but as I have said before in the House, this cannot be done without the proper social infrastructure, including sport. By investing in sp…

83. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide the number of requests for an oral hearing over the past four years; the number of oral hearings that have been held virtually, in-person and over the phone, in the past four years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50021/25]

I think we can all agree on the importance of oral hearings as part of the social welfare appeals process. To that end, I ask the Minister to set out the number of requests for oral hearings over the past four years, and the number of oral hearings held virtually, in person and over the phone.

I thank the Minister for the reply. My concern is that a reply to a parliamentary question from my colleague, Deputy Duncan Smith, stated that social welfare held 5,397 oral hearings in 2018 and the Minister has confirmed that the 2024 figure was down to 432. I am sure the Minister gets many requests for appeals. I know my office does. One of the mechanisms my office has used is the appeals proces…

I have to disagree on the importance of oral hearings. Much as virtual contact is good and modern, I deal with many people who cannot come to terms with that new technology. I used to attend 30 to 40 oral hearings. I am sure other Members of the House used to attend them as well. I have hardly attended one in the past two years because of the lack of oral hearings being held. When you are sitting …

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Niamh Smyth, for coming to the House. I want to talk to her about childcare, particularly in Kilcullen, County Kildare, in my constituency. It was the end of July when I was contacted via email and phone by a number of families in Kilcullen about the lack of childcare in that growing town. I met with a large number of mothers on a very sunny day outside a loc…

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. She is right; it is a problem in County Kildare and a problem throughout the State, but it is particularly bad in the town of Kilcullen. Nowhere else that I know of has 110 families facing childcare difficulties in the one town. The population of Kilcullen is just over 4,000, so one can imagine the percentage of families seeking childcare. I have given…

In accordance with Standing Order 85(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time on Wednesday, 1 October 2025.

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — the number of children in consistent poverty nearly doubled in 2024 to 8.5 per cent, rising by over 45,000 in one year to 104,780, up from 4.7 per cent in 2023; — the research by Economic and Social Research Institute shows one in five children, over 225,000, live in families below the poverty line when housing costs are accounted for; — the cost-of-li…

I hope that is something we can all agree on in this House. An eviction ban on cases where children are involved should help to provide some respite for the many households that are struggling. We can help to protect future generations and that would lead to a long-lasting, positive outcome for Ireland's young people. The eviction ban during the Covid-19 pandemic prevented people entering homeless…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I appreciate the promotion. I raise the importance of the housing aid and housing adaption grants that are administered by the local authorities. In particular, I refer to a letter recently received by all public representatives in County Kildare stating that the grants have been paused. My office is aware of more than 20 applicants who have been told to apply again ne…

I am glad to get the chance to speak on auto-enrolment which is a very important topic for workers in this country, as has been said by colleagues throughout the House. The Labour Party broadly welcomes the introduction of the auto-enrolment scheme which is very much needed. It will and should provide an uplift to the basic standard of living in the future for workers in this country who cannot af…

I thank Deputy Eoghan Kenny for affording me the opportunity to raise a number of matters. I welcome that the Minister of State is before us this evening. Like many Deputies here today, I have been inundated with queries from worried parents who are struggling to get answers from Bus Éireann on their children's school bus places. In many cases, parents were contacted a week or two before the start…

2. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans for introducing a right to respite for family carers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50022/25]