Charles Ward

Nurses play a vital role in caring for patients in hospital and healthcare centres. Their work and their impact extend far beyond medical treatment. They are often the first people patients see. They are the ones who spend the most time providing care and comfort for the sick and injured. They are often the ones who provide emotional support to families during extremely difficult times. They do al…

There is currently a capital advance leasing facility application for 60 new homes in Carndonagh in County Donegal. I cannot overstress how important this development is for Carndonagh. Families across Donegal are desperate for the opportunity to secure an affordable home and build a better future for themselves. The cost of houses has risen, soaring rents have left many unable to afford suitable …

Will the Taoiseach address the position confirmed in writing by the Government, the Housing Agency and Donegal County Council that homeowners in the defective concrete scheme are required to agree to a remediation determination for their home without first being provided with full engineering evidence, including petrographic and material testing, on which it is based? The Housing Agency has confi…

I have constantly raised the issue of side-by-side rebuilding under the defective concrete scheme through amendments, a motion in the House and parliamentary questions. This is happening in people's homes right now. For many families, side-by-side building is the only workable way to rebuild while staying within their communities in Donegal. The Government has indicated that it will be available i…

Yes.

With respect, there have been 300 homes built in the past five years. There are 3,000 people currently trying to go through the scheme who are stuck in the scheme. Families are waiting for the basics. Side-by-side building is where you go onto an acre of land that could have a house on one side that is defective and a house on the other, and then pull it down and keep the family in this house unti…

I agree with you that we do but we need to-----

I am one of them.

I support the inclusion of Fingal and Wexford in the defective concrete scheme. This motion exposes how the scheme is being delivered on the ground. Delivery is still happening in stages. Counties and areas are added one by one, often after long preparatory work has already been completed. This creates delay that is built into the system rather than delay caused by chance. The delay is shown in ho…

I welcome that the Minister undertook public consultation to further inform the development of the next rural development policy. It is important to view our rural communities. What matters most for rural communities is that the people in them are considered. I also welcome the fact that the consultation was done online. The latter is very important in order that everybody in the communities can h…

I thank Deputy O'Gorman and his staff for bringing forward this important motion. I particularly want to share my concern that despite a target of 5 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030, no offshore wind projects have been delivered. Ireland has huge potential to become a global leader in wind energy, particularly through offshore developments. County Donegal has immense potential given where it is …

I have an issue regarding the Minister for children not answering a question. The Ceann Comhairle ruled that the question was okay. It feels like we are being silenced here. I need the Taoiseach to ensure that the Government will take a whole approach to addressing children in support hubs with defective concrete.

It was to do with a support hub for children. The question was tabled and the Minister refused to answer it.

Every Member of this House knows that families are at breaking point, struggling to access supports for children with additional needs. Behind every policy discussion are parents trying to hold things together in a system that is not holding them. This motion is right: the State is failing children with additional educational needs and their families. An upsetting example is how families are trea…

The continued delay in I.S. 465 means families are still being exposed to defective materials with devastating financial consequences through no fault of their own. Following an EU complaint by Donegal homeowners, quarry audits were carried out and the Government is confident there have been no market surveillance failures since 2021. That claim is deeply questionable. FOI material released to me …

It is a disgrace that the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach are not here.

It is an absolute disgrace. It sums up their arrogance and ignorance, particularly regarding the many issues we have in Donegal. I was elected to the Dáil 17 months ago on a mandate of trying to deliver 100% redress for the people of Donegal. I have tried to engage with those in government, but it is like talking to a brick wall - pardon the pun. They do not want to listen. They do not care about …

People are at breaking point. They are struggling every day just to get by. Many of these people took to the streets last week to voice their concerns and engage in their democratic right to protest. What did the Government do? It vilified and threatened them. What kind of democratic republic are we living in when, instead of listening and engaging, our Government vilifies and threatens its citize…

This issue I raise remains unresolved and it is distressing people across Donegal. We have acknowledged the defective concrete crisis is in private homes but even that scheme is deeply flawed and continues to leave many families struggling to get onto it. At the same time there is still no dedicated scheme for social housing, which we are waiting on. Critically, there is no scheme at all for publi…

A defining feature of the defective concrete crisis has been the delay process. It is delay, delay, delay. We are currently waiting on the revision of IS 465 due this quarter, which is up on either Friday or Tuesday. This is the biggest scheme in the State so one would think the NSAI would make the Tánaiste aware if it is going to be published this quarter. Will it be published this quarter?

It will be quarter 2.

People across the country are waking up to the fact that in moments of real need, the Government again has failed to show up. It is completely unwilling to provide meaningful support where it matters the most. People have been abandoned and left to face the spiralling costs alone. What should have been a moment of leadership, compassion and decisive action instead has been a bluster of hesitation,…

I thank Sinn Féin for tabling this motion. I fully support it. I call on the Government to commit to a new cancer strategy. The postcode lottery in healthcare access across the country is unacceptable and deeply unfair. People in rural communities, such as Donegal, are at a severe disadvantage when they fall ill and require emergency treatment or treatment of any type. My constituents are facing c…

I rise to represent two constituents in Donegal who literally cannot speak for themselves. They are at the end of their lives and are living with advanced Alzheimer's disease. They live in cold, mould-infested, unsafe homes. They are confused and frightened, and deteriorating in a place that is stripping them of all dignity. If dignity in life means anything, dignity in death must mean more. Right…

I welcome this motion from Sinn Féin and Deputy Doherty. Families across County Donegal have watched in despair as the price of fuel at the pumps has continued to creep up. The cost of home heating oil has completely spiralled out of control. The price of fuel at the pumps has gone up so much that families are paying, at least, between €30 and €50 a week extra just to fill up their cars. For examp…