Mark Wall

I move amendment No. 2: In page 5, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following: “Report 3. The Minister shall, not later than 3 months after the passing of this Act, make a report in writing to each House of the Oireachtas on the estimated number of persons affected and the estimated savings to the Exchequer achieved by the provisions of sections 4 and 8 to the effect that an entitlement t…

Like Deputy O'Reilly, I am prepared to listen to what the Minister might say in reply.

I move amendment No. 18: In page 13, to delete lines 3 to 41, and in page 14, to delete lines 1 to 5. Again, like with amendment No. 7, I would like to get the Minister's comment on the amendment.

I know the Minister is only joining us now but my colleague, Deputy Ahern, has laid this out very distinctly. Realistically, it is vital we have laws and proper functioning courts in place to deal with crime in this country and that is what Deputy Ahern has said. Also important is the fact that non-jury trials should be the exception rather than the rule. I will concentrate the rest of my contribu…

I thank the Taoiseach. I am informed the time for Taoiseach's Questions has finished so we will move on to statements on nursing homes and care for older persons. We will wait for the Minister of State to join us.

That is what I have been informed by the clerk.

I am told the rule is 45 minutes. The time is up so I have to proceed to the next item on the Order of Business, which is statements.

86. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection to outline his plans for a pay-related carer’s benefit payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33117/25]

I would appreciate if the Minister could update the House on his and his Department's plans for pay-related carer's benefit payment, given the importance of that particular payment and the need for a pay-related part of it for so many people.

It goes without saying that carers in this country save the State €20 billion. We know we have more than 500,000 carers in the State. One in nine of those people are reported to be trying to juggle a job and their caring responsibilities at the same time. I appreciate what the Minister said. Obviously the pay-related jobseeker's benefit is something new, as he said. What we are looking for and wha…

I think we can both agree that the sudden change or cliff edge, as I call it, causes so many problems for so many people who have to leave work, and unfortunately their income drops accordingly. That is the issue that we are trying to raise with the Minister today. In fairness, he has come back to say that he recognises there is an issue and that he will review this as part of the consultation lat…

I want to raise the issue of an email I received from my local authority last week regarding an email from the Department of housing saying that the local authority was not to proceed with 73 social homes and a community building under PPP bundle 3 at a site in Ardrew in my hometown of Athy. My understanding is that in this case the preferred bidder was selected as long ago as last October. The r…

Go raibh maith agat. We have been here before. It has been 20 long years, as other Members said, since we saw the distressing footage of conditions at Leas Cross nursing home. Unfortunately, what we saw on the "RTÉ Investigates" programme replicated those horrific and dark days. I thank Aoife Hegarty, the "RTÉ Investigates" programme and, of course, Clare Doyle, the whistleblower, for exposing the…

It is more than 6 km from Kildare town to the Curragh Camp. No matter what road is taken, and even the motorway can be taken, there are no footpaths. The majority of the three or four routes are winding country roads, with little visibility and a lot of danger for anyone who might want to walk them. I will come back to this. I want to discuss Curragh Community College. This is, and has always bee…

The good news is that at the moment we have 20 pupils, double Bus Éireann's requirement. There are potentially another 12 students so 32 students could avail of this. These students are residing in Kildare town, some of them less than 500 yards away from the site of the very welcome, proposed new school that will be built over the next two to three years. That will accommodate 1,000 pupils. At the…

Every 40 minutes, a child is killed in Gaza. Before their childhood even begins, it is over. By the time we finish discussing this motion, at least three children will have been killed in Gaza. This is the cold, unrelenting truth we must face. It is more than a war; it is a war on childhood and on the children of Gaza because every war, no matter the context or the reason, is a war on children. Is…

64. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development his Department’s role in addressing child poverty under the six priority areas identified by the child poverty and well-being unit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26343/25]

Regrettably, child poverty is on the rise in this country. It is particularly challenging in rural areas but in many of our communities as well. What is the Department's role in addressing child poverty under the six priority areas identified by the child poverty and well-being unit?

First, I join the Minister in thanking the staff of the many SICAP groups in the country, across 31 local authority groups. They do tremendous work - there is absolutely no doubt about that - but the figures we have been presented with from the Central Statistics Office, CSO, show that child poverty in this country has almost doubled, from 4.8% to 8.5%. As I said, it is a particular problem in rur…

I will again put on record my thanks to the Local Link service. It has made a difference in rural communities but there is no doubt it can do more, particularly in areas like Ballitore, which is a small village on the outskirts of my hometown. However, there is a lack of services coming from that particular village, which, as the Minister said, is impacting on those who are seeking education and e…

I do. I cannot let the occasion go without putting on the white jersey as well, which is what we do regularly in County Kildare across the parties. Deputy Neville is right that there is a huge issue in the major towns of County Kildare. The population of Kildare is very urban-based and town regeneration is needed. I welcome the fact there are town regeneration officers in County Kildare. As Deputy…

I thank the members of the Independent Technical Group for bringing forward this very important motion. The first motion I brought to this House along with my party regarded young carers, so it is positive to see Members continuing to highlight the issues impacting family carers. During the general election, disability and care were central policy areas. I am glad to see that it continues to be a …

Night after night on our news channels we see the devastation as bombs rain down on the innocent civilians in Gaza. Aid has only begun to trickle into Gaza after 11 weeks without anything, and we are told today that this is only six aid trucks. It is only a drop in the ocean of what is required and what this state was used to before the bombardment started. As a country that recently commemorated …

I welcome the Minister to the House. I also thank her for the briefing note. As Deputy Kerrane said, it has been very helpful to us in preparing our few words tonight. I want us all to go back to the previous debate and our discussion of the accommodation recognition payment. I again put on record our thanks for that payment and state how helpful it has been to the Ukrainian community in helping …

Not a single day goes by on which this Government does not break the law regarding the statutory timeline under the Disability Act for an assessment of need. In a previous Commencement matter with the then Minister of State, she described it as "Groundhog Day" and "as bad as it can get". Unfortunately, it has got worse since then. Now over 15,000 children are waiting on an assessment in my own are…