Mark Ward

25. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on disability will next meet. [56980/25]

I was at a public meeting last Monday in Neilstown hosted by parents of children with disabilities. They raised a multitude of areas and how their children are being failed. There are long waiting lists for assessment of need, speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. There is no access to appropriate school places. There are limited SNA allocations. They also talked about not even get…

As we speak, Irish drivers who are going about their business and driving home from work are paying more for their petrol and diesel than drivers in other European countries. The Government will point to geopolitical factors as the reason for these high petrol and diesel prices, but people should not let the Government fool them. It is Government policy that is driving up the cost of filling up th…

One of the main problems within the justice system is the length of time it takes for court cases to be heard. Justice delayed is justice denied. These long delays in relation to sexual violence cases increase the trauma for victims. I was at a very emotive briefing today, hosted by my colleague, Deputy Carthy, where we heard very powerful testimonies from women who were victims of sexually based …

I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this really important motion. I apologise to Deputy Sherlock for interrupting her photo opportunity earlier as that was not my intention. What underlies addiction is poverty, and a symptom of poverty is trauma and a symptom of trauma is addiction. It is a circle that keeps going around. I am from north Clondalkin. I grew up there in the eighties. It w…

When the Government decided to purchase Citywest as a public IPAS centre, I found out in the national newspapers. No information was supplied to Opposition TDs. On 17 June, I asked the Taoiseach if the Government was purchasing Citywest. I did not get an answer. At the same time, the Minister for justice was on the plinth outside announcing the purchase of Citywest. Residents of Saggart and Oppo…

I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak on men's health. As a person living with multiple sclerosis, MS, I am going to speak in a personal capacity in order to raise awareness. I will also speak as a TD and use my platform to call for additional resources. I have mentioned it before - and I do not talk about it too much - but at least once a year I come in here and talk about being diagnos…

Gillian Sherratt and Stephen Morrison are constituents of mine. They are my neighbours and the parents of Harvey who, as we all know, died tragically earlier this year. I got to know Gillian and Stephen very well over the last while. I am really fond of them. They are just an ordinary family trying to do their best for their children and build a life for themselves. They carried themselves with di…

The Government has broken its promises to carers. In the general election, the Government promised to abolish the means tests for carers. This was another broken promise. In this budget, so little money has been allocated that at this rate of investment it would take 30 years under Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and, in the case of the Minister of State, Independents, to abolish the means tests. This is a…

No, we are sharing time between the two of us.

I see Deputy Sean Crowe is here. I apologise.

The Government has abandoned whole communities to the drug crisis. Yesterday, it reduced the overall budget for drug and alcohol task forces by a shameful 25%. I am a director of an addiction service in Clondalkin and I know the devastating effect this is going to have. The cut will have a negative and immediate effect on some of the most disadvantaged communities. In the area where I grew up, the…

You let them down.

A 25% cut. Come on.

The budget is a pittance overall. In Europe-----

The Deputy is standing over a budget that cut €3 million-----

9. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the number of new affordable homes in Dublin for 2025; the proposed number for 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53922/25]

This question is about so-called affordable housing schemes.

I thank the Minister. One of the problems we have at the minute is that the Government’s social and affordable housing targets are too low. Not only are they too low, but they are simply not being met. The Government has failed in its pre-election promise of 40,000 new homes to be delivered this year, but I want to concentrate on the affordable purchase schemes. Last year, the Government only deli…

The Minister can criticise Sinn Féin’s housing plan all he wants, but I am going to be straight with him. I live in the real world, and the prices of affordable houses in my own area in Dublin Mid-West are simply not affordable. I will give some examples. A two-bedroom affordable home in Clonburris costs €380,000. A three-bed affordable home on the same scheme costs €418,000 and a four-bedroom aff…

These are public homes built on public land.

Our spokesperson wrote a book on it.

You have had 100 years.

7. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to set out the level of funding allocated to League of Ireland clubs for academies; if this funding will be increased in budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52515/25]

I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this motion. It is simple: the means test for carers needs to be abolished. The means test excludes thousands of carers right across this State. I will give some examples. These are real people from my constituency who have come into my constituency office looking for help. There is a woman from my own area who was in receipt of carer's allowance. …