Yes. I am fairly certain it was emailed in.
Sentiment score: 0.34
This question relates to the cost-of-disability payment. Obviously, a big political issue over the past six months was the cut in the budget of €1,400-plus for disabled people and the call for emergency cost-of-living disability payments. In response, the Government stated that it is working on a cost-of-disability payment and is going to introduce it in budget 2027. The Minister had promised to bring forward a concrete proposal by the end of the month, but this has not appeared yet. Where is it? Will the Minister guarantee that it will be included in budget 2027?
Sentiment score: -0.02
I do not question that the Minister knows the real impact of having a disability, and he knows the figures. He stated at the conference that the additional cost for households with a disabled person is up to €555 a week. I am sure the Minister knows that the official risk of poverty rates are 32.5%. When we take into account the cost of disability, however, this rises to over 65%, which is obviously immense. The issue is whether the Government is going to deliver on what it said in the context of the uproar, rightly, about the budget last year and that we were going to introduce this. The Minister told the conference he would bring a concrete proposal on a new cost-of-disability payment to the Department by the end of June. The Minister did not repeat that commitment in his answer here. I wonder will the Minister repeat it now. It does seem to me that the timeframe is very tight in terms of this actually being delivered for budget 2027. Disabled people cannot be asked to wait again for another budget, which I worry we are on track for.
Sentiment score: -0.12
The tough choices I am in favour of the Government making are putting a levy on data centres, putting a wealth tax on the multimillionaires and increasing corporation tax. They are the tough choices that we make in our budget proposals on an annual basis and in which we included a cost-of-disability payment for a number of years. They are better tough choices than forcing disabled people to live in poverty. The Minister is saying that it will not be the end of June or early July any more. I presume he accepts that that is a very tight timeframe for a concrete proposal to make its way into a budget. The Minister made the point, and the point was made at the conference, that the cost would not be insignificant if a universal payment was introduced, which we support. This needs to be in the budget. There need to be measures to address the deep poverty that disabled people are sinking into. The figures are going to be worse reflecting this year's budget. I stress very strongly that this needs to be done as soon as possible, and it needs to be included in the budget.
Sentiment score: 0.02
113. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Transport if he will seek additional investment in public transport in light of the fuel crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46090/26]
Sentiment score: -0.20
My question to the Minister is on whether he is going to seek additional investment in public transport in light of the fuel crisis. Two days ago, the Minister got the Climate Change Advisory Council's annual review of transport. It is pretty damning as an assessment in that, already, the sectoral emissions ceiling has been exceeded. The 2025 one is projected to exceed the second one. The report also calls for investment to be expedited in a range of public transport infrastructure projects. Will the Minister go along with that?
Sentiment score: -0.07
I thank the Minister of State. We are in a deep climate crisis and we are missing our sectoral emissions targets with regard to transport, as well as our targets as a whole, by a very wide margin. We are in a cost-of-living crisis. An immediate answer to both of those is investment in public transport. Yet, what the Government is doing is delaying investment in necessary public transport projects. I will quote from the Climate Change Advisory Council review: ... under the current National Development Plan ... DART+ South West construction will not commence until post 2030 and construction of Luas Finglas ... will not commence until 2029. The delays in construction for these shovel-ready projects are unnecessary. The Council believes that allocation of funding to advance both projects should be expedited and strongly recommends that the Government commit funding to these projects in Budget 2027. Is the Government going to do that? Why is this delay taking place? The Government cannot blame planning or funds. Is it because of grid issues? Data centres are effectively using up all of the power in the greater Dublin area.
Sentiment score: 0.02
Can the Minister of State repeat that? Did he just say we are meeting our climate change targets?
Sentiment score: 0.00
Can the Minister of State repeat it on the record? We are meeting our climate change targets.
Sentiment score: 0.00
That is not meeting our climate change targets. Our legally binding climate change targets are set out. They state that we have to reduce emissions in this sector or that sector by certain amounts. The Climate Change Advisory Council review states, "The sector has likely exceeded its first sectoral emissions ceiling (2021–2025) and is projected to exceed its second (2026–2030)." The Government is not meeting its climate targets. It is not coming anywhere close to meeting its climate targets. It is trying to lull people to sleep by saying things that are inaccurate such as, for example, that we are meeting our climate change targets.
Sentiment score: 0.05
The fundamental point the Minister of State is missing is that the Government is choosing to delay investment in public transport against the advice of Climate Change Advisory Council. That is a fact.
Sentiment score: -0.27
I will ask again. Is the reason the Government is not proceeding with the project down to the fact that all of the power is going to the data centres?
Sentiment score: 0.00
I refer to the briefing note prepared for the Government's major project governance oversight group, which warned that there is insufficient power in the ESB network to support DART+. The target is 100%, and we need ten times more power. Where will that come from?
Sentiment score: 0.12
I would like some good news.
Sentiment score: 0.66
I have.
Sentiment score: 0.00
We are not charging the vehicles. The NTA told the Committee of Public Accounts that we are not charging them because the data centres are using all the power. We have electric buses that are sitting there not being charged.
Sentiment score: 0.05