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measures taken in the budget, we can see that: the disability support grant was removed, resulting in a loss of €400; the living alone allowance was removed, resulting in a loss of €200; the fuel allowance was reduced to €160; the October double payment was removed, resulting … resulting in a €250 loss. The total amount of those losses is €1,404. This is outside of the impact of cost-of-living increases. The loss in question affects for people with disabilities who work and those who do not work. The Government reduced

introduced in the last budget. The disability support grant was €400 previously. It has been removed, meaning a loss of €400. The living alone allowance saw a loss of €200. The fuel allowance saw a loss of €160. The October double payment saw a loss … longer able to afford to put her child in a crèche. These are horrendous stories and the Government has made these people's lives worse. It could reverse that. We will come to the next question on an emergency payment while we are waiting for this annual cost

been said again and again but cannot be said enough that the disabled support grant has been cut by €400, that the living alone allowance lump sum of €200 is being cut, that the fuel allowance is being reduced for disabled people with a net loss … poverty increases to between 65% and 76%. We know that 39% of those who are unable to work due to disability are living in enforced deprivation, which is quite grinding poverty. We know we have the worst rates of employment of disabled people of any country

should inform any legislative framework. These include independent living, privacy and dignity, quality of care and the protection of adults receiving professional home care. These principles are not adequately contained in this Bill. Section 21 of the Bill allows for regulations concerning needs assessments, the care, welfare … well-being of service users and the preparation of support plans. This is positive but regulations alone are not enough. There must be a clear statutory requirement that home care is delivered through a rights-based approach, one that not only considers needs but the outcomes desired

income support payments for disabled people, including disability allowance, partial capacity benefit and invalidity pension. There are approximately 231,000 recipients of disability income support payments and 170,000 recipients of caring payments, including domiciliary care allowance. Expenditure across illness, disability and carer’s schemes combined … This month, the fuel allowance payment increased by €5 to €38 per week. This represents an increase of 15%, providing recipients with an additional €140 during the annual fuel allowance season. Both the increases to personal rates of payment and the fuel allowance are ahead of the general

described her relationship with the State in the audiovisual room recently. She is not alone. It is the one thing that always comes back when we talk to disabled people about their real lived experiences. It is a constant struggle for them. They are trying to fight … leaving them that far behind in the annual budget. I know it is planned to bring in a cost-of-disability allowance. That is really welcome, but there is a gap. People are struggling now. This motion is very modest. We are talking about €400. However, it will

seek out supports and protections for our farmers in the event the agreement would ultimately be adopted. Crucially, Ireland did not stand alone and shout from the sidelines. The Sinn Féin Deputy who criticised Government and Opposition Members' absence is himself absent having made that assertion … Trade is not an abstract concept for this country. It is central to our economic model, to our employment base and to the living standards of our people in urban and in rural communities. Ireland is an open, outward-facing economy. Our prosperity has not been built

this country, including Cork, Kerry and parts of Limerick. Some 900 people are waiting for home care support in Cork and Kerry alone. Some 4,945 people are on a waiting list, as of June of last year. That is a huge amount of unmet need. The cost … industrial dispute. It also comes down to the hours that are worked and making sure that people get proper transport and other allowances. It is also about reaching out to the many people, in particular women, who are outside of the labour force. We often talk about

allowed to travel with him. When he arrived at the accident and emergency department, he was placed on a chair – it was one of the most overcrowded emergency departments – and told he would have to wait for hours to be seen. He was alone, traumatised and completely overwhelmed … feel they have no worth, and the absence of services tells them exactly that. People are dying. Dedicated mental health emergency rooms save lives. This must be sorted

simple photo, and within seconds, the AI generated a stunning transformation. The ability to adjust the level of nudity was particularly impressive, allowing for a customized outcome. What an amazing review of such a deviant app. We must condemn, in the strongest possible terms, any platform that treats … enables exploitation. We must absolutely condemn the culture of "move fast and break things" when what are being broken are people's lives. We must most definitely ensure that the people responsible face the rigours of the law and face criminal conviction. We, as a Parliament, must show

took place across multiple forums, at European Council meetings, sectoral meetings and bilaterally. We did not focus our efforts on member states alone. There was close and direct dialogue with the European Commission, including during the visit of the trade Commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, in October last year … economic success, our employment base and, essentially, our living standards and that includes those of our rural communities. Our openness to the world and willingness to engage, compete and build partnerships beyond our shores is what has allowed a small island nation to develop a global economic footprint

range of areas, convenience generally comes at a price. It is a kind of Trojan horse that we invite into our lives. The infrastructure that makes AI possible is a network of data centres. AI has significantly driven the demand for the roll-out of such centres across … search consumes between ten and 30 times the amount of energy of a normal Google search and that one data centre alone can consume an equivalent amount of electricity to the city of Kilkenny on a daily basis. Meta uses 3.1 billion litres of water for the cooling

with these issues, it is often at the end of a conversation, when we are talking about the other pressures in their lives, that they also mention they cannot get the care they need for their father, for example, who is at home and needs support … despite this Government's stated commitment to introducing a statutory home care scheme, remains undelivered. Delivery of this key Sláintecare reform has been allowed to drift for almost a decade. In 2017, the current Tánaiste and then Minister for Health, Simon Harris, committed to a statutory right

wishes to bring them forward but we want to respect the integrity of the PA service. It is hugely important. We want to allow the PA review group under the Department of children to do its work within the HSE. The three or less clients provision is included … quality, safety and consistency of service delivered throughout the length and breadth of Ireland. It is also important to note that this year alone we are looking at 1.7 million additional home care hours. Since 2020 we have increased from 17 million hours to 30.6 million hours. This

funding allocations and reform plan. The infrastructure division will take on a proactive oversight and monitoring role for this plan. This role will allow my Department to take early action where barriers arise in the delivery of critical infrastructure programmes. These commitments to strengthening the construction sector … driving proportionality and parallel processing across consents in order protection of people and nature will be delivered with efficiency, not delay. Reforming regulation alone is not enough, however. We must reform how Government and the public service work. That means clear risk appetite statements approved by the Government

when permanent solutions will be delivered. Our motion is rooted in the lived experiences we have brought to the House again and again. Allow me to set out a few of the worst affected places in Cork South-West. This is a national picture but I will give … public representatives. When a school has to close, a plant overflows or a village green is flooded with sewage, there must be a live line and a mandated escalation path to a responsible decision-maker with authority to act. We want binding delivery schedules and annual Oireachtas reporting

Government, demonstrated by the record funding increase since 2020. Funding has increased by over 50% in this time and this has allowed us to recruit more staff, develop new digital services, provide more counselling and roll out specialist services across the country. The ambition of the Government … areas that require more focus. The new policy implementation structures will be supported by a lived experience panel hosted by the National Suicide Research Foundation. We continue to embed lived experience into Government policy formation and delivery. Last year's public consultation involved surveys and a series

independence of the appeals body. The Government is very unclear about the scope of the chief inspectorate and whether oral appeals will be allowed. There are also issues with the powers the Minister will be granted. There seems to be a pattern within the Department regarding … very clear how that will be achieved. Moving on to the issue of family reunification, to be straight about it, not alone do we feel this is unfair and ill judged, it is downright cruel because it is not three years. Effectively, when everything is added

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to increase the living alone allowance. [2901/26

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated net loss of income faced by a single adult on disability allowance living alone in 2026 compared with 2025, arising from the discontinuation of once-off supports such as the €400 disability payment, €300 fuel lump

undertaken an assessment of the cumulative impact of Budget 2026 measures on households where a person is in receipt of disability allowance, particularly those living alone; and if he will publish any such analysis. [1595/26