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where they are going to live next year. By allowing landlords to reset rents in between tenancies, the Government is throwing these people, and eventually all renters, under the bus. I cannot understand why the Government is doing this as a stand-alone measure and not in conjunction

feeding tube. The power in their home in Swords was out for five days. Close by, an elderly man in his 90s who lives alone without supports was in the same situation, with no connection to the outside world. The most vulnerable people were hit the worst. Many … other means. A local hotel allowed residents in to use their facilities, showers etc., but those with mobility issues could not avail of that because, once again, the most vulnerable people were affected. The Government needs to step up to protect the lives and well-being of people

absorb enormous additional household costs simply to ensure their child can access basic services, people on disability allowance who are trying to manage rising energy and transport bills while living on a fixed income, and young disabled people who want independence and participation in society but face financial … protecting living standards and supporting those under the greatest pressure. Our alternative budget including proposals to increase core social welfare rates, strengthen energy and household supports, deliver broader cost-of-living measures designed to support vulnerable households, and scrap the means test of the carer's allowance

budget 2026 on Tuesday week. If we look at the measures that are being implemented across this year alone, we see the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance, a measure that has given needed support to 221,000 children. Very recently, we saw the free schoolbook initiative … work that has happened with the reduction in the electricity PSO levy. We have seen the significant expansion of the fuel allowance and carer's allowance. In June this year, 138,000 carers benefited, deservedly, from the carer's support grant. This is in addition to other measures

spoke to Lauren yesterday after seeing a video she posted online in tears at the heart-breaking struggle to find a place to live in Galway. She has tried everything - hundreds of emails, viewing after viewing, applying on rent.ie, daft.ie and through agencies, private student accommodation, digs … finally offered a studio, but the condition was €12,000 upfront for nine months, with no monthly instalments allowed. How is anyone supposed to afford that, let alone somebody fresh out of secondary school? Lauren said something else which stuck with me. She said she feels embarrassed

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

completely unwilling to provide meaningful support where it matters the most. People have been abandoned and left to face the spiralling costs alone. What should have been a moment of leadership, compassion and decisive action instead has been a bluster of hesitation, and the people have suffered. They … proper public transport to serve them. They are suffering because they still have to heat their houses, as do people who are living alone. The heat goes straight out the door for the owners of homes affected by defective concrete. They have to have the heating

uplift and they transform. I have spoken before in this Chamber about the wonderful Kafe Konnect in Wexford and how it transforms the lives of people and, at the same time, operates a top-class social enterprise in the heart of Wexford town. It is essential that … most passionate and resilient leaders in our country, but passion alone cannot pay the rent. We need the dedicated funding streams that support start-up, scale-up and sustainability. We need the multi-annual funding models that allow for long-term planning, not short-term survival. We must

sight. In one of my offices alone, in the last week there have been 15 notices to quit. That is just in a few days. Investment funds should not be permitted to bulk buy family homes full stop. Homes are for living in, not for speculating, stockpiling … squeezing profit out of hard-working people. Across Mayo, I am hearing the real-life consequences of allowing vulture funds to outbid ordinary couples. They are bulk buying homes that should be available to young people who are hoping to start their lives and families together. Any home

forward a very important piece of legislation - a Bill that would allow courts to impose a restraining order on someone convicted of a sexual assault, preventing them from approaching the victim when released from prison. Not alone would this increase protection for victims but also play a really … women regaining the sense of safety so violently robbed from them, and provide them with the security they need to rebuild their lives. This legislation has been called for by victims and it has been shaped by them and their traumatic experiences and insights. It is supported

world we live in. Today, it does quite the opposite. The Security Council can effectively veto whether or where Ireland sends its Defence Forces. The Opposition cannot credibly claim to defend Irish sovereignty. Sinn Féin, the party whose very name means "ourselves alone", would leave Ireland dependent … system where Russia or China can determine where Ireland sends its peacekeepers. Sinn Féin, ironically, would allow Britain more say than our Parliament over where we deploy our peacekeepers. This House is elected by the people of Ireland. The Irish Government is elected by Members of this House

battery storage, including plug-in solar solutions where appropriate. We should remove unnecessary bureaucracy from grants, allow people to improve comfort in both winter and summer, and prioritise older residents living in inefficient homes, especially in social housing. However, we also need that vision extended beyond a single … offshore wind, grid expansion, interconnectors, battery storage, green hydrogen and wave and tidal energy. This is not going to be cheap. Grid upgrades alone could require between €10 billion and €20 billion and should be fast-tracked. Offshore wind will require a much greater investment, and the State

Mayo for Sam. Before I proceed, I want to remember the ten people who lost their lives in the Creeslough tragedy four years ago today. I want to express solidarity with their families and friends and the entire community. Four years on, they are still waiting for answers … political traditions, united in defence of dignity and equality. The residents are not standing alone. They should not, however, have to stand vigil for another night to defend their right to live in peace. Their patience must not become an excuse for inaction. Their resilience must not become

Gael have overseen an Ireland where the cost of living is spiralling out of control. Motorists are paying some of the highest petrol and diesel prices in the EU. Car insurance costs are up 9% this year alone, which is double the European average, while profits … cost anything for the Government. The Minister if State is saying that Sinn Féin has not costed things. These are costs. We are allowing people to profit. Now, we learn that private toll companies operating under gold-plated public-private partnership contracts are recording millions of euro

intellectual disabilities, brain injuries or mental health challenges. Carers and front-line workers know exactly what will happen without them. These packs allow people to live independently. They prevent confusion, mixed doses, missed doses and double dosing. The human stories coming in since yesterday are stark. We heard … cannot afford to pay for, her grandmother loses her independence. We heard from front-line workers deeply worried about their frail clients living alone, often taking ten or more tablets a day, who are confused over what tablets to take and when. We heard from families caring

charge of managing this national emergency and that there was leadership at a time of heightened anxiety and uncertainty. It would have allowed the Taoiseach and the Ministers from the relevant Departments to come into the Dáil to explain their co-ordinated response to the unfolding crisis. Important … what was being done to identify the most vulnerable, including the elderly, families with young children, people with serious medical conditions and those living alone and left without light, heat and water in some of the remotest parts of the country. These are the things we rightly would

will point out in the context of budget 2026, however, that €12 billion has been allocated for pension payments. Many people who are living alone are predominantly pensioners. That €12 billion is an increase of just over €700 million from the 2025 Revised Estimates. The investment in pensions … went for a weekly increase in the overall pension rate and across all the weekly welfare payment rates. We increased the fuel allowance in the context of energy costs and the weekly rate of the fuel allowance. We also expanded the fuel allowance this year for the first

successive increases of €60 per week in the working family payment threshold and, as I said, we have expanded access to the fuel allowance for nearly 50,000 families who are in receipt of the payment. These increases are in addition to the expansion of the hot school … children. In the context of my Department, the total value in budget 2026 alone was €320 million. Many of these measures have not yet been reflected in the survey on income and living conditions, SILC, data on which much of the ESRI report is based. However, I note

from the domestic violence and potential threat to the lives of them and their children? Can they imagine the anger and devastation of living in a country we are told is rich, yet which cannot provide the most basic protection when a life may depend on it? That … every county, city and community in Ireland. While I welcome proposals being examined to allow gardaí to remove perpetrators from their home in high-risk situations, we have to recognise emergency powers alone will never be enough. Women need somewhere safe to go. They need housing, refuge spaces

people to live in rural areas as possible, because it was wrong. For too long, we had a planning system that prevented people living. We have a situation in the planning system where families have to go through report after report for bats and environmental report after environmental … impact is on this family and all of the families across Ireland who want nothing from the State except to be left alone and be allowed to build in their local areas. I welcome the progress and I urge the Minister of State to get on with

does is make women wait. It delays access to healthcare at what is already one of the most difficult moments in their lives. Do we really believe that women have not already thought long and hard about this decision before they walk through the door … State-imposed delay and allows a woman, in consultation with her healthcare provider, to decide what is right for her and when. The legislation recognises a very simple truth, which is that women are capable of making decisions about their own lives and their own bodies. We said

would strongly welcome the Minister doing that in the forthcoming budget. To come back to the fuel allowance in particular, many older people are struggling to heat their homes. They are often staying in bed rather than getting up because they cannot afford the gas or the home … households in arrears, according to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. I assume that many households like that include older people living alone. The Minister's Department, in particular, has an obligation to look at how it targets energy credits for different people. I know

Some 50,000 real people have benefited. We live in a country where over 470,000 households, or over one quarter of all homes in Ireland, now qualify for the fuel allowance. We have also reduced VAT on gas and electricity … householders, many of them pensioners, with an allowance of €420 annually towards their gas and electricity bills under the household benefits package. It is not correct to say that we are doing nothing. In fact, this year alone we are spending over €486 million on fuel allowance

survive. Yes, survive because that is all that many people are doing, particularly those on middle and lower incomes. The Government must not alone help and support our struggling citizens. We must also find ways to ensure that corporate greed does not consume our nation. All this comes … turf to help heat their homes and families. We must find a better way to both protect our environment and allow our people to live in some small comfort in a heated home. I ask that we do this initially by way of financial support and then

behalf of the Labour Party, I extend my deepest sympathies on the family members who have lost their lives in the horrific house fire in Waterford. It is truly devastating news. Our thoughts are with all those affected, with the two adults and two children who have died … them for the vital work they do in protecting people, supporting communities through tragedy and keeping the country going. They are not alone in carrying out an essential role in Irish society. There are over 300,000 public sector workers who are the backbone of our public services