Holly Cairns

I should not be surprised by this Government's approach to the budget. Time and time again, we have seen Fianna Fáil's and Fine Gael's approach to these things. It is just that no matter what, it is hard to understand how, at a time when the number of children living in consistent poverty doubled last year, the Government chose not to introduce a second tier of child benefit. I cannot, for the lif…

Can you answer the question, please? The cost-----

We are asking you about disability and the cost of disability payment.

On the cost of disability-----

How much the Taoiseach ignored disability in his reply is representative of how much it has been ignored in the budget. The Disability Federation of Ireland said it too; the Taoiseach does not have to take my word for it. It described the budget as a betrayal of disabled people, stripping away vital supports and deepening poverty. I recognise there was increased funding in the budget for disabilit…

Before I begin, I want to acknowledge that five Irish citizens have been kidnapped and detained by Israel today. If the Taoiseach and Tánaiste were here, I would appeal to them to do everything possible to secure their safe release and ensure Israel faced consequences for its actions. Instead, I appeal to the two Ministers of State present to relay that to the Taoiseach and Tánaiste. The real sur…

I thank Deputy Quaide for all his hard work on this motion. There should be no need for this debate. We are all in agreement that the means test for carers needs to be abolished, so the question is: why do we not just do it now? It is extremely insulting to reduce the work of carers down to numbers on a spreadsheet. It is the only type of work that is means tested like this. Carers who are slightl…

There is less than a week to go before the budget is announced and it is apparently "elbows out" at the Cabinet table, or at least that is what the newspapers are reporting. We are told there are battles going on behind the scenes as Ministers try to secure money for their Departments. You would swear this was a Government that made every single penny count. Of course, then we read the latest damn…

I do recognise the big surpluses, and something the Social Democrats highlight every year at budget time and, indeed, throughout the year is that they need to be spent wisely because they are not necessarily forever. It is exactly a year ago today since the previous budget, a giveaway on steroids basically to try to buy the election. Now that there is no election on the horizon, the Government has…

This Government constantly tells us that it values the work of carers. It has a chance to prove that in the budget next week. So far, carers have never been prioritised by this Government or previous governments. The Taoiseach does not have to take my word for that. A report from Family Carers Ireland last year was damning. It found that an overwhelming majority of carers - 70% - find it difficult…

The Taoiseach is acknowledging the need to abolish the means test for carers, from what I can gather. There is a commitment to abolish it over the term of this Government. The question is this: why wait? The Taoiseach says we do not acknowledge the work being done. I am acknowledging that this kind of work - these incremental reforms and the piecemeal things he is talking about - are bureaucratic.…

I will ask again: will the Government support the Social Democrats motion tomorrow on abolishing the means test for carers and will it be done in this budget?

I welcome the families of the brave Irish citizens on board the flotilla, who are in the Gallery today. I cannot imagine how proud they must be, and how scared they must be for their safety. We are all here today united in our demands that the genocide in Gaza must end, that the blockade must be lifted, that aid should be allowed to flow freely, and that no harm should be done to those on board th…

On behalf of all of the Social Democrats team I also want to thank Julie for everything. I wish her huge congratulations on her retirement. Before I begin, I want to say my thoughts are also with all those on the Global Sumud Flotilla, including Members of the Oireachtas, who were hit by drone strikes overnight. This is just another example of Israel operating in blatant breach of international l…

However, the Government has done nothing.

What will the Minister do to address this issue?

The fact of the matter is that the Dunnes Stores operation in the North has recorded a 44% increase in profits. Let that sink in. The Minister cannot tell me what Dunnes Stores' increase in profits is in this jurisdiction because Dunnes Stores, the country's biggest supermarket chain, does not have to be transparent here. In an interview with the Sunday Independent in July, Simon Harris said that…

-----narrating the problem instead of actually doing something about it?

You are the Government.

For two years, the people of this country have been watching a genocide unfold in Gaza in a complete state of disbelief, wondering how this can be allowed to happen and how so-called world leaders can stand idly by as that genocide is livestreamed before our eyes. I am not dismissing the fact that Ireland recognised the State of Palestine; it was welcome. It is also welcome that more countries are…

As the Minister said, we all welcome the fact that countries are now recognising the State of Palestine. We welcomed it when Ireland did so too. The point I am trying to make and the point the Minister is ignoring is that this is literally the bare minimum and that there is hardly anything left to recognise. The bar is literally on the floor when we are talking about Ireland being held up as an ex…

I did not say that. I asked-----

As this is my first time addressing the Dáil since my maternity leave, I hope the Ceann Comhairle will indulge me in saying a few "Thank yous". First, I thank my colleagues in the Social Democrats for their ongoing support. I would like to say a special "Thank you" to our deputy leader, Cian O'Callaghan, for stepping in during my maternity leave. I would also like to say a heartfelt "Thank you" to…

The Taoiseach tells us about increased investment and that disability is a priority, but even when it comes to something relatively simple, if we use the example of recognising the cost of disability and addressing it, his Government manages to somehow spectacularly miss the mark. A 2021 report calculated the additional cost of disability to be at €236 per week. What was the Government's response …

This is the view of the disabled people with whom I have met.