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less than what was spent last year. We are not going to see an increase in supply to get people out of emergency accommodation. The budget increase for this year is not really an increase at all but simply reflects the high level of expenditure on emergency accommodation … going to do differently? What new initiative to prevent people from becoming homeless or get people out of emergency accommodation more quickly was announced in the budget yesterday

funding for crisis support and suicide reduction measures in budget 2026. As I said, this includes specialist nursing teams. It also includes three new crisis resolution services including drop-in Solace crisis cafes as community alternatives to emergency departments in areas with model 3 hospitals. They will … funding to develop a new crisis response pathway for children and young people, with 19 new CAMHS specialist doctors for emergency liaison and out of hours. Budget 2026 is a continuation of the investment and recruitment which are critical to modern and responsive mental health services. An additional

time. The Government has no plan to end the housing crisis because it simply does not see it as an emergency. In last week's budget, it had an opportunity to provide enough funding to our local authorities to build social and affordable housing to meet the needs

Department. Astonishingly, neither the Minister for Finance nor the Minister for public expenditure and reform even referenced homelessness yesterday. The budget book simply references an increase for emergency accommodation, hardly a sign of success. Will the Minister outline the actions he intends to take in the coming weeks

budget was where it has been for a long time, namely, with the Government, developers and big business. They emerged as the big winners from yesterday's budget. The VAT cut for developers that was voted in last night, a measure the Government said was to boost supply

capital funding to make our hospitals safe, to drive on the elective hospitals and to guarantee a second emergency department in the mid west. However, this budget again falls way short in relation to all of that. Níl meas madaidh ag an Rialtas seo don phobal teanga

support smaller research and development projects. Building on the action plans on competitiveness and productivity and market diversification, this budget will also deliver on tax simplification for businesses. We will see an expansion in supports for the visual effects and digital games sectors. These are two important sectors … react with a multifaceted response and with all arms and agencies of the State acting on an emergency basis. That is what we see in the budget, with a massive capital investment in housing, water and energy to enable the provision of the infrastructure we need. The Minister

timely intervention can save lives. That is why the cornerstone of this year's budget is a robust investment in crisis services. We will fund specialist nursing teams in all model 4 hospital emergency departments to provide out-of-hours support for those in crisis. In the community … hired as quickly as possible. There is a geographical element to my budget, which is important. For the first time ever, having clinical nurse specialists and advanced nurse practitioners in the level 4 emergency department out of hours will make a significant difference to people who present

just want to put that on record. With regard to the budget, I cannot believe that we have utterly failed to learn from the pandemic and the declaration of the climate and biodiversity emergency in 2019. Over the years, the Government has acknowledged the planet is burning … vain in the two speeches to see whether there was a recognition of not alone the emergencies we have declared, but the necessary transformative action. While I do not expect any budget to sort out those crises, I expect a budget to be put in the context

drive the ambition of the Lisbon declaration. Critical to supporting households to exit homelessness is our continued investment in the social housing programme. Budget 2026 has continued the record level of investment in social housing with €2.9 billion in capital allocated to support the delivery of social homes … this year. Ensuring that families and children experiencing homelessness are provided with accommodation and supports is critical. Budget 2026 provides an allocation of €513.5 million to provide homeless emergency accommodation and supports. Capital funding of €50 million has been allocated to support the provision and maintenance of quality

Government's approach. This budget again fails the necessary work of bringing home ownership back within the reach of working people, building the affordable and social homes needed, banning rent increases for three years, delivering the investment needed to end the housing emergency and to restore the hope … this Government when it comes to the delivery of healthcare. However, in this budget, it knowingly underfunds the health service. It delivers a recipe for deepening catastrophe that sees our hospitals overcrowded, accident and emergency departments under huge pressure every day, a year-round trolley crisis and hundreds

will do something about homelessness. The only thing the Government did in respect of homelessness in the budget was to increase the amount of money going to emergency accommodation. It did so to cover the fact that so many people are being made homeless in this country every … Tánaiste headed off to wherever he was going and did not hang around to listen to the debate. He said that the budget allocation for the Department of housing will see significant increases for the delivery of starter and social homes. What are those significant increases? Ten thousand

University Hospital Limerick, with 64 in my local hospital in Galway. I am sure many of us have been in accident and emergency departments recently and we have seen what it is like. Many of those people are lying in corridors that are bright, cramped and noisy. They … copied and pasted the mental health section from last year’s budget and changed seven words. No one in crisis should be turned away or told to wait until the morning for access to emergency mental healthcare. Mental health is 24-7; it is not just from nine

something it has never done and never will do. We need an emergency programme for the building of social and affordable houses by local authorities on public land. There is no additional funding in this budget for the tenant in situ scheme, which prevents homelessness. This scheme

therapies such as speech and language, occupational therapy, psychology, etc. I welcome the additional moneys for the assessment of need included in the budget last week. I commend the teenage disability rights campaigner, Cara Darmody from Ardfinnan in south Tipperary, who has extracted two tranches of funding … disability based in the Taoiseach's office. However, we have seen no coherent plan emerging from this committee to tackle the assessment of need waiting list. Dollops of money at budget time alone will not solve this problem. Last week the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters heard

this has to do with their mental resilience. I was particularly pleased to see in the budget specialist nursing team out-of-hours services in all model 4 hospital emergency departments. I will come back to this because it is a particularly important intervention. There will be three

level of funding will be instrumental in the delivery of homes, support services, infrastructure and amenities for people and families across Ireland. In budget 2026, the total Exchequer funding being made available for the delivery of housing programmes is €7.21 billion, comprising capital funding of €5.19 billion … billion for water services of which €11.7 billion is for Uisce Éireann. This budget also provides for critical and capital investment in other areas such as Met Éireann and fire and emergency services

service, which provides non-emergency patient transport for qualifying patients in the south-east region, was set up in 2013 on a discretionary basis by the HSE. The Minister is also informed that hospitals in the south-east region are allocated an annual budget to provide limited transport … other acute services. I understand that Wexford General Hospital has a total budget under its control for all patient transport costs in 2025 of €1.56 million, which includes ambulance transportation for inpatients, taxis and non-emergency patient transport services. For patients who require the non-emergency patient transport

billion increase on this year’s allocation. An additional €6.1 billion will be allocated for current expenditure, with the budget for capital projects increasing by €2 billion. The current expenditure package will provide: €2 billion for social protection, to provide for our growing population, expand existing schemes … time, Ireland faced a very different set of challenges - a young State with scarce resources, emerging from war and conflict. Yet, the State had the courage to commit 20% of its national budget to build Ardnacrusha, one of the most ambitious engineering projects in the world at that

about showing that the services are there, close to home and getting stronger year-on-year. Since 2020, funding has risen sharply and budget 2026 builds again on that. I want to commend the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and her team on securing a record allocation … investment not only in posts, but in people. Budget 2026 is really encouraging in this area. The allocations and investment secured by the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, will ensure faster access through out-of-hours emergency teams, more services in the community and work on a single

ESRI introduced its proposal for second tier of child benefit in 2023, giving the Government ample time to act. Its absence from the budget shows up where this Government's priorities lie. We know that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have utterly failed to get to grips with … consequences. I want to tell the Minister of State about a constituent of mine named Arash. Arash and his family have been in emergency accommodation for over eight months. The children in the family must travel 21 km to school each day and they have no direct transport

absolute disgrace. People are already facing a challenge or risking their health because of their financial circumstances. In September, in advance of the budget, I had the pleasure of hosting the Rehab group in Leinster House. Those who spoke on the day were mainly Rehab service users … nothing in the event an emergency comes. Others had to move back home now because they could not afford to keep paying high rent. Those with a disability are already suffering financial hardships. The €10 disability allowance increase in last week's budget will not alleviate

builder-developer sector to build more good-quality homes in every county in the country for working people to buy. In our alternative budget, Sinn Féin set out a different approach. It was one that would have doubled investment in the delivery of social and affordable homes, activated … supports, protected renters with a ban on rent increases and a refundable tax credit up to €2,500 a year, and introduced an emergency package of measures for people at risk of, or in, homelessness to prevent them from becoming homeless or to get them out of emergency

budget 2026, we have made mental health a priority, with a major focus placed on crisis support and suicide prevention. There is over €15 million in new funding for crisis support and suicide reduction measures, which include specialist nursing teams in all model 4 hospital emergency departments … hospitals. We know already from the five Solace cafés we have opened that presentations by men and women in distress to the emergency departments have reduced by 18% as a result of having those cafés as people's first point of call. We will also have additional suicide

introduced legislation to increase penalties for assaults against emergency workers, ensuring stronger protections for those who serve the public. More broadly, for those who think this Government is done, we have only started. This was the first budget of five. We cannot remind people enough of that