Search the record

many. If one talks to some of the providers in the sections 38 and 39 organisations, they are all dealing with emergency cases. That is not satisfactory, so we have got to get a more planned approach to this transition. I think there are also issues in terms … Daly and others raised the income disregard and the cost of disability. The cost of disability will be looked at in the next budget and there is a working group established in relation to that. On the relationship between work and disability payments, there are some supports there

costs skyrocket, it is not an inconvenience for ordinary people. Rather, it is profound. It is an immediate strain on already stretched household budgets. As the Tánaiste probably knows, prices at the pumps are now regularly surging over €2 per litre. The cost of home heating … renewable energies. We need relief now. Workers and families need relief. Here are the steps that can ease the pressure. This is an emergency that demands an emergency response

does not lead. It is entangled in the process, paralysed by indecision and blind to the urgency of this generation’s housing emergency. However, let us not pretend those bringing forward this motion have all the answers. They have spent years shifting the blame from government to local … surprised. I congratulate my friends on this and agree wholeheartedly that we must have a permanent, ring-fenced refurbishment beginning with budget 2026. We must end the spending caps that cripple local authorities to deliver. We must have a national standard of a 12-week turnaround period

Their experience and stories about what they are facing are very concerning. They spoke about significant increases in presentations at the accident and emergency department without any increase in the numbers of nurses and consultants. We also heard from the head of the physiotherapy department, who said patients … Naas hospital to meet staff members and patients in order to understand that this is not simply a matter of being over budget but, rather, under-resourced

fewer older patients waiting longer times. We intend to try to reduce that further this year. It is important to acknowledge that our emergency departments see over 5,000 patients a day. The vast majority of patients who need a bed get one in a timely manner … live well in their own homes. At the moment, the State is supporting approximately 58,000 people to receive home support. The overall budget for home support stands at €838 million, which is an increase of 70% on 2020. That allocation meant we could provide more than

bury bad news. As the hapless culture Minister cut funding for RTÉ to save face after the culture card chaos, it emerged that there would be no living wage in one of the richest countries in the world. The Government deigned to allow the 79 cent an hour … rules and not only will the Government ignore people, but Jack Chambers and Micheál martin will patronise and disrespect them, too. Since budget day, we have had the Minister and the Taoiseach taunting public sector workers. There is no basis for a strike, they say, but the record

less by the end of 2030 from the current rate of 7.8%. This target is guiding decisions, action and investment across government. In budget 2026, the Government prioritised targeted supports for those impacted by poverty. Some €28.9 billion will be spent on social protection this year, including over … tackle long-term homelessness. This funding will be used specifically to acquire suitable units to exit families who are the longest in emergency accommodation and for Housing First units for individuals with complex needs who are experiencing homelessness. Given the importance of this issue for child well-being

cold damp conditions, in private or in public housing. Housing inspections have increased significantly. There has been a massive ramping up. We have budgeted for increased funding to local authorities to increase that capacity for inspections even further. Local authorities, I think we can all agree, are getting … supply of accommodation available for tenants, including HAP tenants, leading to increases in presentations to homeless services and increased demands for homeless emergency accommodation. This would have a financial cost for the Exchequer but also come at a significant social cost. It is vital that an appropriate balance

emergency accommodation. They will also introduce an obligation on local authorities to have regard to the best interests of the child when emergency accommodation is being provided to a person and a child who normally resides with them and a definition of what a child … requirement on Residential Tenancies Board adjudicators and tribunals to have regard to any advices of the Money Advice and Budgeting Service in making determinations in relevant dispute cases will be more appropriately placed by this Bill as new sections 97(4A) and 104(8) of the Residential Tenancies

craft, and, extremely importantly, RNLI rescue craft. This delay could have serious implications for lifeboats in the future in the event of an emergency. I urge the Department to do what it can to get this project moving as soon as possible. Other improvements are required … Hague preferences where its quota is below the threshold. I know the Minister of State is familiar with those proposals. I welcome that budget 2026 provides a significant €157.7 million to support the fisheries sector. This funding will provide much-needed financial assistance and essential investment in infrastructure

clear that this reserve is a safety net. It is not a strategy. A reserve is what we draw down in an emergency. It is not what keeps the lights on year after year. I will use my remaining time to speak about the bigger picture … winter ahead, the Government must act to protect the most vulnerable. I ask that we increase the fuel allowance in the budget and seriously examine a further energy credit for households, particularly those in need. People have been through a challenging number of months and certain households will

wonder if you look at the Government's record on disability, its failure to even acknowledge the cost of disability in the budget, the highest unemployment rate for disabled people in the EU and the failure to provide long-awaited justice to thalidomide survivors, who were promised … that Ivy's surgery was delayed for so long that she was no longer operable. That report also noted that grave concerns have emerged around the safety of some children with scoliosis being treated within CHI. This year alone, there have been three further damning reports into

moment will never leave me. She passed away in April at the age of 84. Sadly, I was here for a vote on emergency fuel excise reductions when her funeral was held, but I lit a candle in her memory in her local church, which she went … dignity they deserve for as long as they can. I urge the Government to do all it can in the forthcoming budget to support all people with dementia and to chart a future for our people where everyone is cared for regardless of their condition

thank all the Deputies for their contributions. One theme emerged, namely, all of us working together. It is vitally important that we do not play politics because for the past number of weeks and years gone by, we have all seen the devastation flooding has caused families. While … works scheme increasing funding from €750,000 to €2 million. People talk about blockages in rivers. For the first time, I provided a budget and I will appeal to local authorities to deliver on it. Long before what has happened in the past few weeks, I visited Kerry

year. We cannot run the economy like that. We just cannot; it is not sustainable. We have to get back to an annual budget and that is what we said we were going to do, and that is what we have done this year. The Deputy talked about … 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 of the world

want to reflect on how far we have come as a nation in the last 25 years in relation to health. Our budget in 2000 was €5.6 billion and this year it is €27.4 billion, which is a fivefold increase. We see improved individual outcomes, economic growth with … perform at every level, and there are plans for further development of dialysis, an oncology day ward and an extension to the existing emergency department. It proudly boasts one of the lowest emergency department trolley numbers in the country. I visited recently and saw this at first hand

opposing. In fact, we all share many of its objectives. They are shared priorities but real, lasting solutions require more than emergency funding; they require structural reform, workforce expansion and smarter delivery. I welcome the Government's allocation of an additional €10 million this year to deliver nearly … about access, delivery and outcomes, and that is where our focus must stay. We are also investing in school places and specialist support. Budget 2025 provided for up to 2,700 new special education placements and nearly 400 new special classes. We are on track to deliver five

households to absorb this latest energy shock can be traced back to poor decisions made by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in budget 2026, particularly in two areas. There was a failure to fully index core social welfare rates, which has exposed to an even greater level those … that. I am interested in the idea - and I accept that it is well-intentioned - of a national framework for economic resilience and emerging fiscal planning. Who could argue with that? However, the idea that businesses and industries will have some kind of visibility in the context

Byrne, will provide further detail on the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, including the question of possible new own resources for the EU budget, as well as further detail on migration, oceans and multilateralism. I will deal with all other issues. I welcomed further discussions at the European … deliver services. It will be important to accelerate European Union funding for the Palestinian Authority, including the immediate release of the remaining emergency funds committed to last June. We have also seen a renewed escalation in Lebanon. I commend the vital role being played by Irish peacekeepers

people in emergency accommodation do not have a legitimate right to housing. I ask the Minister to respond to this. Do people in emergency accommodation have a legitimate right to housing? We know that of course they do. What is being done by the Government is a deflection … City Council is capped in terms of its borrowing. Also, the Government is not giving Dublin City Council sufficient funding. We have a budget that will end up giving over €1 billion in VAT cuts to developers and fast food giants and yet our capital city's council

that night and on Committee Stage of the Finance Bill a couple of short weeks ago. We sought to make the point on budget night and introduced amendments that were, unfortunately, ruled out of order that we are required to comply with the VAT directive. There … were not captured by this proposition. Apparently that is what this new resolution seeks to deal with but it is something of an emergency fix which should have been anticipated. Moving to the points made by Deputy Doherty on the deadweight effect, there are a number of different

debate them every six months. Years after the Covid pandemic, when the measure was first introduced, the Government is still operating under emergency legislation when it should have regularised the position of outdoor seating areas on a permanent basis long before now. This is to be done … cost-of-living crisis is impacting on the money people have to spend in their local shops, cafés and restaurants. The most recent budget only made the situation worse. I commend Monaghan County Council on its initiative of a rates waiver for new commercial businesses operating within town

those areas has been permitted by local authorities on public land or private land next to a licensed premise. This was emergency legislation that was brought in during Covid. Five years later, we are still dealing with six-month extensions of that legislation. I am a member … Dublin County Council to power-wash the streets of our village. This would not happen if the local authority was given an adequate budget by central government. I want to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers in the Clondalkin Tidy Towns group for the unselfish work

clear whether that is for Saturday and Sunday. We need to have that clarity. In my constituency we have had children in adult emergency departments waiting for days for a service to become available. It points to the lack of inpatient mental health services for children. In regard … eating disorders are to private facilities or private charity providers. That is simply not good enough. I note the commitment in the budget this week but we have a long road to travel to ensure there is sufficient provision for those suffering one of the most difficult mental

relying on GPs but because GPs are not accessible and because people cannot get a timely appointment, they end up going to the emergency department. I say that in the context that we need to better resource and support our pharmacies, particularly in disadvantaged communities. The deprivation grant … that this is a really important service for women. We need the Minister, as a woman, to champion this within the health budget. We look forward hopefully to some progress on that. There are two final issues I want to raise. The first concerns the reports this week