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necessary action when the opportunity allows. The Minister agreed with me that cost-rental housing can help with the issue. Thanks to new rules, housing charities can now give priority to local people when allocating these homes. That means people who live and work in these areas have … need more funding is a sign of success. It means they are building more homes and helping more people. In County Clare alone last year, approved housing bodies received €36.1 million in funding from the HFA from which it delivered 146 homes. In County Clare, approved housing bodies

minimum wage, there is a slight increase but it falls way short of the €16 needed for it to result in a living wage. On housing, the Government failed to abolish stamp duty for first-time buyers. The change in the renter's tax credit is minuscule … over that, it loses its medical card. What about cancer patients? I have appealed to the Minister, and I appeal again, to allow cancer patients to have a medical card automatically. The Government has failed them. On public dentistry, there is no sign of a ring-fenced budget

carer's allowance being changed to allow more people to come under the umbrella of being able to get the carer's allowance. These are excellent people, saving the State an awful lot of money, taking care of people in their own homes. That commitment is being kept … every €10 worth of fuel. This is a problem that is contributing to the cost-of-living crisis. Let us look at the increase that people living alone or old age pensioners are receiving in this budget. It will be very quickly evaporated in the spiralling cost

does not mean anything to the Minister of State, but it is a lot for the people I know. Workers must be allowed to decide for themselves whether they can afford to pay contributions to a pension scheme. Making it compulsory for any amount of time completely fails … middle income earners are under. This also comes at a time when the Government is rowing back on the cost-of-living supports that are vital to keeping people’s heads above water. Another problem with this legislation is that it would hand the money to the private

provide a stable funding source for further and higher level education, which is the engine of our economic growth and near full employment. Allowing for the use of the fund for capital investment within the defined purposes of the 2000 Act will enable the better … current accumulated surplus over the next five years, the fund will still have an annual surplus of €230 million this year alone. This is sustainable revenue that can be used to extend the social safety net and improve benefits for workers and employers. We in the Labour Party

buildings. They are part of the social infrastructure that allows people to remain connected and supported, that allows people as they get older to remain independent and to continue living independently in rural Ireland. On that point, I wish to acknowledge something positive in the strategy. I welcome … ngleic leis an bhfadhb seo. Isolation is not confined to farming communities. It affects older people and younger people. It affects people living alone and families across rural Ireland. We need a sustained whole-of-government response to tackling isolation and loneliness, supported by proper resources and investment

will allow for the constitutional ratification of the trade agreement between the EU and Canada and other international agreements. I am not alone in acknowledging the transformative effect that open and fair trading relationships have had on this island. I am also not alone in acknowledging the major … live in a geopolitical climate that demonstrates the true value of long-term rules-based and amicable trading relationships. If we are to secure the benefits we accrue from our trading relationships, the message is clear: rules matter. Of course, it is important that we do not allow

country. I would really like if you could bring it to the goverment that while the rest of us barely get by, they live on wages that are off the scale. So is there not room in their budget that they could all take … lump sum in the bank. This is not how a hard-working person should be thinking but I’m sure I am not alone. Why should someone that works round the clock their whole life feel that having to die is the only way to provide

adult carers have to put their lives completely on hold. Their lives are so disrupted that they cannot continue with their education, social lives or friends and simply being children is no longer available to them because of the care responsibilities they take on. That is purely … mums and others parenting alone. When we think about this motion and what flows from it, one of the big issues that is prevalent, and many people raised it with me during the election campaign, is the means testing of carer's allowance. What we are doing

Central for many years and I wish him, his wife and his family well. I genuinely hope that the next chapter in their lives brings them good health and much happiness. Today, we must confront honestly the record of the Government he leaves behind, a record defined … young life. It is a painful reminder of the system that fails a child and not alone him, fails families and not alone his, fails communities and not alone his, and then, worst of all, fails to own up to it. While the Government was consumed by scandals

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

past year alone, the rent for an average home in County Galway has risen by more than 10%. Lack of supply and unaffordable prices have not happened by accident. They are the direct consequence of failed Government policy. The legislation brought forward in March has allowed rents … earth can the Government call that affordable housing for first-time buyers? What planet is the Minister of State living on? It is an absolute insult to people. When I went to the information evening on the scheme in Athenry last week, people there were absolutely disgusted when

existing planning permissions. This is a practical and sensible reform that has the potential to unlock housing delivery in the short term. By allowing those updated standards to apply to existing permissions, the Bill will improve the viability of a large number of schemes and help turn permissions … live in that rural area, but I could never get a copy of the letter from the Minister who had sent it to the local authorities. With regard to the county development plans going forward, I ask one thing of the Minister of State. Will he allow

acknowledge the survivors of Bill Kenneally's abuse, who were then boys and are now men, who carried this alone for decades and found the courage and strength to force this State to look honestly at how it failed them. This is not an isolated failure … harming were trusted, connected or useful to someone more powerful than the poor children themselves. This report shows that pattern again in living memory - not in some distant past that we can console ourselves is behind us. Senior gardaí knew about this in the late 1980s. They knew

absolutely necessary. This Bill responds to that reality by strengthening board responsibilities, clarifying the role of directors general, increasing transparency around remuneration and allowing greater scrutiny. It puts into effect the recommendation of the independent review that the Comptroller and Auditor General be appointed as auditor … television licences to pensioners and older citizens is entirely right and proper. It is an important social support, particularly for people who are living alone or on fixed incomes. We need to be honest about how this arrangement has operated in practice, however. During the years

listen to people's opinions and come to a conclusion on the matter in a fairly urgent manner. This is urgent; we cannot allow what is happening to continue because it will just multiply. I describe it as being like a virus that gallops through people … victims will have had to put up with, live with and dodge the existence of such images for years. Technology is enabling non-consensual harm. In that context, the burden should not fall on the victims to fight back alone. That is why we are here. Stronger safeguards

people already in energy arrears. The only thing that is protected is the profits of energy companies. They have been allowed to hedge prices up and up, insulating their profits from any global shocks without the smallest regard for the bills that land on the kitchen tables … finding it increasingly hard to get by. For weeks we have called on the Government to introduce an emergency cost-of-living budget, with energy credits to help thousands with these rip-off prices. The Government has ignored us and our demands. This legislation is testament

about all the things they cannot do and all the ways that their lives are impacted. It is leaving people in unsafe living conditions with damp and mould. There are cases where people cannot escape a bad family situation because they have nowhere to go and no resources … Bill represents a false solution. That is crystal clear in the simple fact that part of the goal of this Bill is to allow rents to continue to rise. We are faced with market-driven solution after market-driven solution. I know we are given the message back

what additional resourcing and structural measures are being put in place to ensure completion within the extended period. Second, the Bill proposes to allow the High Court to extend the discharge period where "good reason has been shown" and "it is in the interests of justice … bridge to completion, not a resetting of the clock. Third, the Bill provides that wards are to be notified of proceedings. Notification alone is not enough. The NDA research records that despite significant information efforts by public bodies, many wards and committees experienced what was described

violence; — the activities of these criminal gangs represent a direct assault on community safety, with residents, families and local businesses forced to live in fear in their own neighbourhoods; — drug-related intimidation extends far beyond those involved in drug use, with parents, grandparents, siblings and innocent family members … violence; — recent deaths and serious incidents of drug-related violence have demonstrated the devastating consequences of allowing criminal gangs to establish a foothold in communities; — drug dealers must not be allowed to exercise control over streets, housing estates or neighbourhoods, and no community should be abandoned to organised

homeless citizens in emergency accommodation - not including those on the streets - including 4,775 children. Why is the Government allowing this to continue? I spoke to a young man in Wexford town only yesterday. He is 34 years old and his wife is 30. Their rent was increased … families in the same predicament, why those houses are empty in a chronic housing crisis? Each of these houses should have a family living in it. Surely, in a country with huge surpluses amounting to billions, it is not an unreasonable ask to properly fund local authorities

investment. Allowing a jury to consider careless driving where there has been an acquittal on a charge of dangerous driving is also reasonable. Modernising the national vehicle and driver file and removing unnecessary bureaucracy also makes sense, of course. I have to say, though, that legislation alone will … declined by 40% since 2009. How did we reach a situation where gardaí encountering someone driving a stolen car recklessly, potentially putting innocent lives at risk, have not been given the specialist training and resources needed to respond? We know that a pursuit will not always

households relying on organisations such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to keep the lights on. The Government sits back and allows big energy companies to rip people off at every opportunity. Now, as the days get darker, families will be forced to cut back … they flick on the light switch because they know it is costing them a fortune. Is that an acceptable way for people to live? The big question for me is this: how many wake-up calls does the Government need before it acts? Four energy companies announce

legal issues and others need major renovation that owners just cannot afford. At the same time, more than 17,000 people are living in emergency accommodation, including 5,000 children. If even a portion of these vacant homes were brought back into use, it would make a real … difference. It would provide homes for families, ease pressure on emergency accommodation and help bring back life to the towns and villages not alone throughout my county of Laois, which I represent but every county in Ireland. This is a problem that can be seen in all towns

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