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people from cliffs or rough seas. They are literally the last line of rescue for families in Waterford, across the south east and right around our coastline. We owe them more than applause. We owe them safety, fairness and lawfulness in how they are treated. The motion notes … lost four crew members in the Rescue 116 crash. That tragedy led to hard-won safety recommendations that everybody in this House supported, including a strong focus on fatigue risk management. It is simply unacceptable that in the years since, we have a system that appears designed

countries, while still being very high. However, they are having a broader positive effect in somewhat suppressing inflation growth. Sometimes people in this House ask why we did this for the motorists. We did it for the motorists but it has helped suppress food inflation and economists … look and take a step in that direction in this budget and we will do that as well. The Deputy is also right to say that we have to look at how we continue to invest in infrastructure because in her constituency, which is the youngest and fastest

ataxia and Duchenne muscular dystrophy and to recognise the very brave patients and their advocates who have made this case in Leinster House. Skyclarys is the first and only approved treatment for Friedreich's ataxia which around 200 people live with in Ireland. This medication can slow … concerted lobbying by parents and patients to achieve. The Minister says decisions around pricing are not made by her personally and they are rightly in the hands of experts. That is the right approach but the issue is not with the making of the decision

huge problem for rural communities. I mentioned Laois and Offaly in particular. At the moment, a huge number of wind turbines are planned right across the area of the south Laois-Kilkenny border. These turbines can be put up in close proximity. People have to put up with … deals with noise and shadow flicker. This is very important because we know it is a real problem. At the moment there are houses where shadow flicker passes over them. This is unfair to residents. The Bill clearly sets out that they need to be located far enough

told you there was a contract signed for a centre and no matter what, even if you thought it was not the right place, it did not matter. That is how the Government handled where individuals who came from Ukraine are to be located. The same thing happened … that would be part of an assessment that would be carried out regarding this. If we look at it now, we have social housing development in the Gaeltacht. In every single social development in the Gaeltacht in Donegal, 80% of the houses have to be given to Irish

constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny. I particularly look forward to seeing the improving nutritional composition of meals going forward. That is to be welcomed right across the country. We all know that regular physical activity is so important and we need to promote at least 60 minutes of physical … need to provide additional resources and support for mental health, including counselling, if needed, for our younger people. I will give the House an example. In St. Luke's hospital in Kilkenny, a fantastic hospital, any child who is in there who has type 1 diabetes does

uncomfortable or complicated. We are the only people in this country with the power to fix laws that are causing harm. Right now, our law only permits a termination where the condition is likely to lead to the death of the foetus before birth or within 28 days … medical ethics. Healthcare should be regulated as healthcare as opposed to through the threat of criminal sanction. I ask Members across this House not to close their minds to this legislation before the work has even begun. Allow this Bill to move to Committee Stage, because that

existing service, both official and staff sides will consult on the development of a service plan which evaluates and compares the in-house service and the outsourcing option. The public service pay agreement 2024-2026 reaffirms the commitment to the above and states that where a dispute arises … past five years we have seen an extensive and positive expansion in the numbers of public servants across many areas of remit, and rightly so. If there are any changes, there is a process under the public pay agreement to manage them

being spent on assessment of need. I am not suggesting this is easy, and we want to work constructively to get this right, but I would be misleading the Deputy if I did not say that we were going to bring forward reforms regarding the legislation around assessment … this issue, as would the rest of the Government. We need to kick off a number of major bodies of work across this House in the next few weeks

additional Special Needs Assistants bringing the total number to almost 24,900; — in addition, Budget 2026 provided: — €130 million under the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with Disabilities; — a €25 million allocation to the Public Transport Accessibility Retrofit Programme, to deliver bus and train accessibility … commitment to introduce a permanent Annual Cost of Disability Support Payment; — this commitment was reiterated as a core objective of the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, which the Government published in September 2025; — under this strategy, the Minister for Social Protection hosted a Cost

them are 15 or 16 years of age now and they have been dealing with this for years. This plays out in multiple houses throughout this country. There is going to be an epidemic of mental health issues regarding algorithms moving forward. We have a responsibility … responsible. As a parent, I am responsible, and I take my responsibility, just like everybody else up and down the country. Right now, these companies are not helping us. They are failing us. As parents, we are struggling to deal with this

help people with energy poverty this winter. If someone is an older person living alone, this week, he or she will, quite rightly, have received a double payment of their State pension. Older people will receive the fuel allowance, which is now up to over … likes to call them "developers" because that is, in his view, a dirty word. I like to call them people who build houses and people who build houses in a housing emergency. It is a serious point. Deputy Murphy can laugh and have his little ideological view

bills. I ask the Government to look into this and the energy regulator to do something about it. Where individuals build their own houses, the banks are stopping them from putting in chimneys or having solid fuel heating because they want the energy rating as high as possible … utilised at all. We are being told we have to purchase the gas when we need it, whatever the price. That is not right. I ask the Minister of State to consider this in order to determine whether we can store gas when it can be bought cheaply

most recent election, neutrality and the triple lock did not really feature at all as issues affecting people’s lives. Issues like housing, health and education were a key focus for most people. When it came to foreign policy neutrality was not at the forefront. What people made … these decisions. It is not just about military policy; this is about democracy, trust and whether this Government believes the people have a right to a say in the future of our neutrality. They want to have that say. If the Government truly believes this change is necessary

places for their children because both have a child with special needs. Why should this be? Each year, all of us in the House deal with these cases. They are fighting, fighting, fighting. It is so unfair to those people. Tina Barrett and her husband, and Samantha Bray … indeed, his own partner, and others as well just to get political funding. Then, they do not think of stopping our speaking rights here. My colleague who has just spoken so eloquently and Deputy Carol Nolan are two female members of our group and they were denied speaking

general thrust of the Bill, there cannot be any serious objection to the notion, if we are trying to expedite the housing programme, that we try to save extant planning permissions. The point was made that three and two years, or five years in total, is too long … will know that an applicant for judicial review can use various tactics to delay the process until time runs out. It is only right and logical that loophole be closed, as it were. I will use the time left to bring two other matters to the Minister

pleased to contribute to the debate Dáil Éireann is having on the role of artificial intelligence, the advent of which has been rightly compared to the industrial revolution due to its transformative potential, as has been said by other Deputies. We live in an era when the word … world of work is changing rapidly. The jobs that our children will do have not yet been conceived of. Before entering this House, I worked as a data scientist, an occupation that did not exist when I was filling out my CAO form. As we think

welcome the opportunity to address the House today on the vital issue of men’s health, and in particular, men’s mental health. This is not just a health issue; it is a societal issue, a family issue and a personal issue. It affects every community in Ireland … barriers that prevent men from seeking help. Legislatively, we are progressing the Mental Health Bill, which will modernise our mental health laws, strengthen rights-based care and ensure that services are delivered with dignity and respect. In budget 2026, we have made mental health a priority, with

thank Deputy Ó Broin for raising this important matter. I cannot imagine the trauma many families are going through right now as a result of the conclusion of An Coimisiún Pleanála on this file. This was a dark time in our past. Many families were affected by institutions … plan for survivors and former residents of mother and baby home institutions a number of actions. In November 2022, the then Minister for housing wrote to local authorities, including Cork City Council, requesting adequate consideration be brought to bear in development plan processes and consideration be given

Separately, a reserve constituency will need to be provided to facilitate the return and count of the ballot papers from citizens exercising their right to vote. On freedom of information, section 42(h) of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 provides that the Act does not apply … nominated either by i. not less than twenty persons, each of whom is at the time a member of one of the Houses of the Oireachtas, or ii. by the Councils of not less than four administrative Counties (including County Boroughs) as defined by law. To alter

Minister to collect the money that is outstanding now. We want him to get Revenue to put a levy on people who hoard houses and let them rot. This levy must start now, not in two years' time. Regarding local government funding, the Minister of course wants … week. A household with two working people is now €57 worse off because of the budget. How can that be right? How can people be worse off every week and every month after the budget? People are working hard. Many have to buy the cheapest food possible

come here and the availability of public services. How can we be encouraging people to come here to work and study if housing is not available to them or it costs up to 60% or 70% of their wages? For some who are here, working and contributing, there … their application is sitting in a queue. I call on the Minister to establish a permanent bridging mechanism that protects eligible applicants' employment rights while their applications are being processed. Administrative delays should never be a barrier to people's ability to work, pay their rent, support their

possible learnings from the Farrelly commission regarding a future model for public inquiries, particularly for people with disabilities. For the information of the House, I have also arranged to meet with Caoilfhionn Gallagher, the special rapporteur on child protection, to discuss the concerns she raised following the publication … public authorities has already been investigated and reported upon by the commission. The circumstances of Grace's case were truly unacceptable and rightly caused great concern when they came to public attention. I again pay tribute to the whistleblowers who made protected disclosures relating to the handling

thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I am sharing time with Deputy Gould. When Deputy Darragh O'Brien was the Minister for housing and he launched a once-in-a-generation review on consolidation of the planning and development Acts, one of his main arguments was that … external experts and professionals to ensure the legislation, which will affect the lives of thousands and thousands of people for generations, is gotten right. It seems the very fact this Bill is before us shows it was not right the last time and that does not inspire confidence

have let them down so badly. I want to praise the Before We Die campaign. Those people have had to come into this House and to the Seanad to tell personal stories and private things. They should not have had to do that. They should not have … again - there will be a State apology about this issue and how we institutionalise people with intellectual disabilities. We need to get this right. We will keep pushing the Minister of State. We hope she will listen and do all in her power