Pa Daly

The retrofitting scheme is clearly not working. We need to increase the number of homes that are retrofitted as part of the Government's retrofitting scheme. Will the Minister please discuss this? Many people are locked out of the scheme - those who need it most in particular - because of the way it is structured. According to a survey in December, many people cannot afford to retrofit their homes…

The programme for Government, which I think the Minister referenced, hinted at an area-based element - another proposal Sinn Féin had. Will the Minister provide more detail about this and how he plans to target low income households, many of which are excluded? Will there be targeting based on income, as we put forward in our fairer retrofit plan? A woman from Dingle contacted me to say how bitter…

Anybody who canvassed last month, whether in Dublin, Clare, Mayo, Galway or Kerry will know that the people dependent on solid fuel are those with the lowest of incomes. This scheme still fails to deal with solid fuel homes. Many people are left out in the cold as a result. Solid fuel homes are also linked to higher health risks. Those with open fires are twice as likely to have respiratory diseas…

It seems that every time housing is outsourced to the market, it causes problems. Whether that is for students, asylum seekers, people in nursing homes or people on local authority waiting lists, the answer from the Government always seems to be to outsource it again. Its idea is to build more units, not to focus on social and affordable housing. The housing crisis is the biggest issue facing the…

-----I will finish on this - not give kickbacks to developers, stand up for ordinary workers and families who want to put a roof over their heads, build more social and affordable homes, ban rent increases and ban bulk buying.

The hardworking staff at University Hospital Kerry in Tralee, all of whom have the best interests of the people of Kerry at heart, have been contacting me because they are frustrated with the situation there. It is at breaking point. The average waiting time in the accident and emergency department is now ten hours, which is the second highest in the country. One woman told me that she was waiting…

What is the Government doing?

We need a minor injuries clinic close to where-----

-----the people who attend the accident and emergency department are.

We also need a modular day unit.

This amendment amends section 32 and inserts “civil or”, with regard to reports of the marine safety investigation unit in order that they shall not be admissible in civil proceedings. When the Minister of State was speaking to the amendment, I was glad to hear him stress the importance of the independence of the investigation. When the general scheme was published in 2022 and the Government had a…

I have one further question about the interview process for the chief inspector. It seems that this recruitment process has already been completed before the Bill has been passed. Why has it already taken place? Is the Minister of State fully satisfied that the interview panel was completely independent as was recommended previously?

The Ceann Comhairle might formally put amendments Nos. 6 and 7.

She might put those amendments individually.

14. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Taoiseach to provide a report of his recent meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer (details supplied). [4388/25]

I wish to be associated with the comments about the former TD, Dan Wallace. The Taoiseach said he spoke about climate resilience with Keir Starmer. Just as the war in Ukraine showed how exposed this country is to the vagaries of the international energy market, the recent storm exposed how ill prepared we are to deal with the consequences and our resilience in terms of climate change. The Taoisea…

14. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider reviewing and amending the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund for companies that operate in illegal Israeli settlements. [5223/25]

I note the Minister said that ISIF considers a variety of factors. I presume genocide, killing civilians and facilitating illegal settlements are included in that. I acknowledge that there has been some divestment from illegally occupied Palestinian areas and the Golan Heights but this is not the entire story. It is important to realise that it had been reported that ISIF still had a €1.3 million …

It seems that some of the direct investments that were mentioned, which are controlled by ISIF, are not pooled investments. They are in banks such as Bank Leumi-le Israel BM, which is one of the largest banks in Israel. For decades, this bank has facilitated the expansion of illegal settlements. It granted a loan for a construction project in the Palestinian village of Azzun and bankrolled five il…

When we discuss road safety, we must remember the many families that have been left devastated by the large number of tragedies and deaths on our roads, especially in the last year. In the opening weeks of 2025, the country watched in horror as 19 people on the island died in January alone. In 2024, 174 lives were lost in the Twenty-six Counties alone. Every one of those was a daughter, son, paren…

He said it.

The Deputy must have been listening to the Taoiseach.

There is not a great deal to this Bill on paper. There are only two sections to it. In relation to super junior Ministers, rather than saying “appoint not more than 20 persons” it states “appoint not more than 23 persons". Rather than “not more than 3 specified holders of the office of Minister of State who regularly attend meetings of the Government” it states “not more than 4 specified holders o…

Over the past three weeks, we have witnessed the devastation caused by Storm Éowyn, how the Government failed to build up resilience in advance and then how it failed to mount an effective response in the aftermath. As our climate worsens, so too will these storms and extreme weather events. I am sure everyone will agree that business as usual will not cut it. However, this programme for Governmen…

I pay tribute to the ESB workers who risked their lives not only after Storm Éowyn but also after the severe snow alert. Eighteen days later, power has not been restored for many. For others, the power returned only to go back out again. Although Storm Éowyn was severe, power cuts are not unique to this storm. Despite paying the highest electricity prices in Europe, many people are regularly left …