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grant they have is the same as 2008, nearly two decades ago. How are principals expected to pay costs for 2025 with 2008 budgets? A record number of schools are applying to the Department for financial assistance. Many schools still have to ask for voluntary contributions. Principals … burnout. When will the Government increase the capitation grant to a sustainable level for schools to pay the bills, have a buffer for emergencies and enhance teaching and learning

simply cannot escape responsibility for a disastrous and ongoing housing and homelessness crisis, which has plunged so many people into the misery of emergency accommodation, rotting for years and sometimes decades on housing lists and being crucified by unaffordable rents. Indeed, as reported by the Society … middle-income families are begging for help to get them through the Christmas months. This is from a Government that has record budget surpluses. The truth is that years of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Government have left us with this disastrous housing and homelessness crisis, with

importance of front-line policing. It is very welcome that An Garda Síochána conducted two recruitment campaigns this year and that the budget for 2026 set aside funding for the recruitment of 1,000 gardaí. Cork city has been under-resourced for many years, due to disproportionately … Garda stations are inaccessible - they are simply not open. Will the Tánaiste please convey the message back that there will be another class emerging from Templemore in November and Cork city needs a fair and proportionate allocation of those gardaí

list, which, as everyone knows, is time based. A parent with a severely autistic child who cannot be placed in a lot of emergency accommodation could end up being told to leave their home in the garden and live somewhere else. That does not make sense … building houses. There have to be proper rules, but it is one part of the solution, as is, as I mentioned in my budget contribution, the living cities legislation under which buildings can be refurbished. I mentioned the Croí Cónaithe rural towns and villages scheme as well, which

Government has a clear policy here about the need for the right care in the right place at the right time. Oftentimes, emergency departments are not the best setting for a person to present in a mental health crisis. It is already a chaotic environment and there … present. They need to know the State is right there beside them. It is important to look at what happened in the budget. It was a major step forward. It included 300 additional mental health staff and more than €15 million ring-fenced for crisis supports and suicide

10th May, 2023, then Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Neale Richmond T.D. convened a supermarket summit, an emergency meeting of the retail forum; — Minister of State Richmond gave supermarkets six weeks to bring down the cost of groceries, but failed … surging grocery prices reflect genuine input cost increases or price gouging; and — accounting transparency by large grocery retailers is essential to protect household budgets, restore consumer trust, and ensure fairness in one of the most critical markets for Irish consumers; and calls on the Government to: — introduce legislation

community. The CAST support forum has 14 partner agencies working together on a periodic basis to help frequent users of unscheduled emergency services. When will the internal and external evaluation of this project be conducted? Will the Minister of State confirm, subject to the evaluation confirming what … Limerick and, hopefully, rolled out nationwide? It is a very good initiative but it needs additional resources and its own ring-fenced budget

mental health services. We still lag behind the internationally accepted norms for spending on mental health as a proportion of our budget. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, has done some tremendous work in this regard. We have identified the tsunami of mental health issues that have arisen … pathways for them to achieve treatment. I have dealt with situations where young people in crisis, who are actively suicidal, have sat in emergency rooms for eight or nine hours waiting for an assessment. Putting specialist nursing teams into all model 4 emergency departments is a good initiative

which supports national and international aid organisations and UN agencies to work in co-ordination with local partners to respond to chronic and emerging needs. The fund has received a major injection of funding from the US Government of €200 million. Our support to Irish Aid partner organisations … Committee of the Red Cross in Chad, Sudan and South Sudan. Ireland will continue to be a trusted partner. When we see development budgets being slashed by other member states it has a very real consequence. We have famine in Sudan due to the conflict there

will be working to secure further significant increases in the coming years. We now have a mental health service budget of €1.5 billion, exemplifying our commitment to delivering vastly improved services for people. The investment is supporting the implementation of our national mental health policies across a broad … assessment nurses, SCAN, for the national clinical programme on self-harm and suicide-related ideation, which is now in place across all our emergency departments. This will allow for better community-based suicidal crisis supports. These are valuable developments in services that have been experiencing increasing demand

writing to the Minister, if she has not already received our correspondence, asking that she seek a specific allocation for Tusla in the budget that would be used to expand residential places within the voluntary sector. I am really uncomfortable with the reality right now whereby we have … unspent moneys, while at the same time, we see millions of euro being given at the drop of a hat for special emergency arrangements, SEAs. That is a kick in the teeth for those voluntary organisations that do everything right and have to fundraise to keep their doors

election time when it suits them. The Minister stated that the Government will consider a cost-of-disability payment in next year's budget. How can he seriously suggest that people with disabilities should have to wait for a year - spend a full year in poverty - and then … call on the Government not only to support this motion but to act on it and ensure it provides an emergency cost-of-disability payment as soon as possible

Commission on the Defence Forces report recommended significant changes for the Defence Forces and defence provision in Ireland. Following the commission, the defence budget is increasing from €1.1 billion to €1.5 billion in 2022 prices, which is approximately €1.7 billion or €1.8 billion, by 2028. This will … increase since the commission met in 2022. It is clear that no state acting alone can address the entirety of our existing and emerging security challenges. Therefore, Ireland has engaged constructively with the development of the EU white paper on the future of European defence, which was published

people pleading for it to help? The decision time is now and there are no more hiding places for the Government. This emergency legislation would immediately reduce the cost of diesel, petrol and home heating oil. It would make sure the Government's plan to increase the cost … prices under control, the Government took away the cost-of-living support that so many people were depending on. It brought forward a budget that left workers worse off. It is no wonder we have a situation now whereby 320,000 people cannot pay their energy bills. People

country is unparalleled. What was the Government's response? It was a budget for this year that increases poverty, according to the Parliamentary Budget Office, and leaves disabled people €1,400 worse off than they were last year, according to the Irish Wheelchair Association, driving an exceptional level … left too many behind. As my colleague, Deputy Cummins, said last week, the Social Democrats put forward a measure for a modest emergency winter payment for disabled people to help the most vulnerable population in the State with this cost-of-living crisis. We were met not just

military spending in general. I wonder about the agenda behind it all because they are not putting as much effort into a CAP budget or ensuring food security. It seems that military spending is far more important for the Government's EU masters than issues like food security … Irish sovereignty is being eroded all the time. These considerations have often been absent from the discussion. Ireland's policy of military neutrality emerged not from isolationism or indifference but from a determination to maintain an independent foreign policy and independent judgment on questions of war and peace

were problems with flooding and the likes of that need to be sorted out. The most difficult part I have found in this budget relates to the people who, as a former Taoiseach, Mr. Varadkar, said, get up early in the morning and go to work … have looked after them. Going to college will cost €500 more this year than it did last year. I know that was an emergency measure, but I would have gone to the extra €46 million. I think the whole thing cost €92 million altogether last year. Bear

bring that to the Government as part of the budget 2027 negotiations. We are only at the end of February and the budget negotiations are not yet under way. This issue will be my priority going into those discussions. I invite Deputy Hayes and all the political parties … look like and how it should be structured. We had a very good engagement with the groups yesterday. They continue to pursue an emergency winter payment but my focus is on fulfilling the programme for Government commitment to introduce a permanent payment rather than a temporary

strategic policy to look at options. Option A was another 96-bed unit, option B was expanding the emergency department and option C was a hospital on another site that could have a step-down facility. We came up with a consensus at meetings of all parties … private hospital built in Limerick in 16 months, from the time the sod was turned until it was finished. It was built on budget and on time. Our children's hospital has gone €1.2 billion over budget. Why is it that every project a Department takes on goes

would reach that level. It is a matter of trying just to get things put back until we can find there is no emergency accommodation in Dublin. I do not know if there is any discussion on that in the Dáil. People are just expected to go onto … entire life, was paying her rent, the landlord wanted to sell and the council would not acquire the property because the budget was used up. She ended up with the sheriff coming and being pulled out of the house in her dressing gown, onto the street. She actually

know what has not happened for mental health in this State. The Government did not even invest the time to meaningfully update the budget document. A copy-and-paste job was done for mental health. Just seven words were changed from last year's document. It is absolutely … everybody on referral and made critical investments in vital programmes for eating disorders, dual-diagnosis, ADHD, crisis resolution, suicide prevention and urgent and emergency care. This is the type of investment and policy that could have made a real difference for those struggling with mental health

that is ambitious, structured and forward looking. That is precisely what we have sought to do within the Labour Party. In our alternative budget, we proposed an additional €26.1 million in capital funding to accelerate the delivery of special classes and special schools. This is about ensuring that … also provides us as policy makers with real-time data on demand, allowing for more accurate planning and earlier intervention where gaps are emerging. We do not need to replicate that model in its entirety but we should certainly adopt its core principle: that the State, not parents

consulted again about whether they are struggling. They are telling the Government that they are. Failure number two was cutting supports in budget 2026. The Government removed cost-of-living payments which are worth around €1,400 a year to disabled people. While costs remain constant and unavoidable … crisis. There is permanent pressure from a cost-of-living perspective, so why is the Government still treating it like a once-off emergency? A once-off payment might help for a week, but it does not fix a lifelong cost. It is the Government's whole approach

hours of nine to five, two outpatient scanning per week from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and 24-hour seven-day-per-week emergency department services provided. There is always a well-acknowledged challenge in respect of radiographers and radiologists but it certainly shows that there is capacity … Monaghan hospital a number of times. It is really important to express how much investment in additional staff have gone in there. The budget has increased by 54% since 2020 and the number of staff in the Monaghan element of the Cavan and Monaghan hospital has increased

potential throughout the rest of their lives. Across many disciplines and areas, that does happen. Since 2020, the Children’s Health Ireland operational budget has increased by 52% to €586 million in 2024. CHI has also grown its permanent staffing cohort from 3,545 whole-time equivalents … Street. It also funds the current activity being provided by CHI. The scale of activity in CHI is significant, with over 80,000 emergency visits each year, 50,000 urgent care centre visits, 50,000 inpatient or day cases and 140,000 outpatient appointments. However, behind every number