Ar dtús báire, ní aontaím leis an Teachta. Tá an-chuid déanta againn. Gan amhras, tá i bhfad níos mó le déanamh againn maidir le daoine le míchumas. Tagraím don infheistíocht atá curtha isteach againn, go háirithe sa cháinaisnéis anuraidh. Ba é an méadú is mó riamh in aon cháinaisnéis. The investment in disability has been very strong. The last budget saw one of the largest ever increases in disability services, up to 20% of an increase, which is significant and is having an impact, in particular in terms of service providers who are providing services to people with disabilities. In respect of the cost of disability, the Deputy is being somewhat disingenuous by pretending it is one consultation after another, the process is simple and the Government should just go and do it. It is not that simple. There could be over 1 million people who identify with a disability in the census, about 22% of the population. One can go through all of the various age categories. It is not that simple. The Minister, Deputy Calleary, as the Deputy knows, organised a significant public consultation which has received a significant number of responses. I attended the strategic focus network summit on the cost of disability on 13 May. It brought together all of the key stakeholders to share perspectives and inform our approach. This is a significant and complex initiative. It is better that we do this in a structured and targeted way so that those most in need will avail of and benefit from it. It is not just a once-off payment. That will not work on a sustainable basis Work is under way now to bring together all of the views and evidence. The Minister, Deputy Calleary, will bring forward a paper in July in respect of the cost of disability payment arising out of all of that consultation. We will then assess that in the context of the Estimates for decisions in the next budget. As I said, the previous budget deliberately prioritised permanent structural supports that will endure in five and ten years' time. The core rates went up significantly. Child support payments went up dramatically again. For any child over 12, it went up by €16, to €78 a week, and for anybody under 12, it went up by €8, to €58 a week. There has been a sustained increase in child support payments over the last number of years. On education, Deputy McDonald is deliberately ignoring the dramatic increases in resources in education in terms of special needs assistants, special education teachers and also classes.
Sentiment score: 0.20
We will have places for children next September. As Deputy McDonald knows, with the decision of the early entry portal, many more applied than was anticipated and 6,000 children who are within existing mainstream schools applied for special class status, which will be provided for and very substantial additional resources have been allocated to meet that need.
Sentiment score: 0.29
No one can deny the extraordinary and very significant investment that has been made - rightly so - in special education.
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It is quite significant.
Sentiment score: 0.27
The Deputy has an awful habit of interrupting. I have never interrupted her once in anything she says.
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I beg your pardon?
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Okay, we will leave it. We will leave it.
Sentiment score: 0.06
I recognise the issues facing people with disabilities. The first thing I did in government was to set up a special disability unit within my Department to prioritise and drive delivery of services and to improve them in every single Government Department and in a whole-of-government approach. We have established a Cabinet subcommittee on disability to deal with all aspects of public services and departmental responses and we have launched a human rights strategy in respect of disabled people. The prioritisation is clear and the investments have followed that prioritisation, especially in special education. There have been many more new special schools established in the past 12 months. There have been hundreds and hundreds of additional special classes added. Staff numbers are up 27% since 2020 in special education.
Sentiment score: 0.45
We will have 26,000 special needs assistants by the beginning of the next school year. There will be 26,000 of them and I could go on.
Sentiment score: 0.20
We need to do more and we will do more, as we have with the school therapy services.
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It is not delayed.
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That is great.
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I reject very strongly the Deputy's assertion that we are not taking climate seriously. Her reference to the Green Party not being in government is false.
Sentiment score: 0.23
We are doing things differently because there is a problem, which the Deputy referenced in terms of the Critical Infrastructure Bill. One of the issues is the fundamentalist, purist and perfect is always the enemy of the good. We will achieve far more on climate than perhaps the Labour Party approach or, at times, the Green Party approach because we need to bring people with us. That consensus has broken down. I can see it in the Dáil in the past few years. The Government's commitment has not lessened on climate. We will get there in a more practical and effective way. To be frank, the Deputy is saying we can build infrastructure - we cannot, in many instances, because environmental law has been weaponised at every turn.
Sentiment score: 0.12
It has been. The Deputy needs to face up to it and not be naive. At every turn, significant infrastructure and even infrastructure that will improve the climate has faced challenges because environmental considerations have been weaponised. That is a problem and a challenge. It is a problem all over Europe, by the way. It is all over Europe. That is why some of the renewable energy directives, REDs, were brought in at European level to make sure the overall good is prioritised, as with offshore wind farms. These will benefit climate but because of some aspects related to nature they can be delayed interminably. Choices always have to be made with development. It is not apple pie in every single scenario. The bottom line is that Ireland now has the lowest level of greenhouse gas emissions in 35 years. The Deputy said it is rising. Our emissions are decreasing. One of the successful things we have been able to do is decouple economic growth from emissions. The EPA's latest projections predict we are likely to either achieve our first carbon budget or marginally exceed it, as well as showing significant emissions reductions across major sectors of the economy. Emissions in agriculture are set to decrease by between 4% and 19%, and those in transport are set to decrease by between 16% and 28%. These reductions in our largest sectors are significant and should not be dismissed. Emissions from electricity generation are estimated to reduce by between 53% and 60% by 2030. With additional measures, we are projected to meet our overall Carbon Budget 1 programme target, with only three sectors set to miss their 2025 sectoral emissions ceilings: transport, industry and public and commercial buildings. The Deputy did not refer to any of that in her opening remarks. The projected reduction now has increased to 25%, as opposed to 23%, which was the previous assessment of the EPA. Therefore, we are making progress. The issue is how we can make progress faster.
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We need an honest debate. Let us deal with the facts. Ireland now has the lowest level of greenhouse gas emissions in 35 years.
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No. Hold on. Look at what else has happened in the 35 years. That is in the context of an increase in population of 1.5 million, more than 1 million new homes and over 1 million more vehicles on the road. Those are dramatic statistics. We are growing as a population. We were relatively under-populated historically but our population is now growing dramatically. With 1.5 million more people, 1 million additional homes and 1 million additional vehicles, we have the lowest level of emissions in 35 years. We have decoupled economic growth from this issue, which is key. I set up a clearing house in my Department to drive offshore wind energy development. We are not delaying it. We brought industry in to obtain a systemic assessment of the issues that could be a factor in developing offshore wind energy generation. The Deputy knows what has happened in the US, where there is a public policy against offshore wind. That is impacting on the economics. We are driving forward-----
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-----and we have offshore wind proposals in planning.
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I have made inquiries. The issue he raised did happen. It is unacceptable from my perspective, particularly given the enormity of the issue for the individual householder concerned, that she should have received two emails with completely opposite positions on the one day. My understanding is that the chair of the board accepts that an error was made and that it should not have occurred, and is immediately instituting a change in the process by which communications are issued to ensure it will not be made again. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has asked that the chair immediately meet officials in his Department to ensure the process is robust and that errors of this nature do not occur again. The Department itself does not process the appeals, as the Deputy knows. He is not questioning that. The Department passes them on to the Housing Agency. The appeals board is separate from the Housing Agency and the Department and is chaired by a senior counsel. The error should not have happened, particularly in the context of about 3,500 applications having been made to the scheme to date. Good progress has been made to date, with approximately 500 homes already fully remediated and approximately 750 having works done right now. It is a large scheme but that in itself does not excuse what occurred. The authorities concerned need to focus on how decisions are communicated to applicants, particularly where there is a question mark or appeal process under way, given that it will be a question of whether full demolition or remediation is required and whether better forms of communication, other than email, should be part of how things are done. The Deputy is correct in saying the scheme is one of the biggest in the State. About €300 million has already been provided to assist homeowners, with an average grant of approximately €350,000. This has been communicated. The Deputy's point is well made. Everybody must now ensure that the error is not made again.
Sentiment score: 0.10
I have to defer to the Minister. I will ask him to communicate with the Deputy directly in respect of the matter. I am always loath to give precise timelines on behalf of other Ministers but I will make sure that this is followed up because commitments have been given on it. We will make sure that it gets done.
Sentiment score: 0.27
I thank the Deputy for raising what is an important issue for people in the mid-west more generally. I acknowledge that the Deputy has acknowledged some progress in respect of developments in health services in the mid-west. He paid tribute to the chief executive officer and the team there at UHL regarding that progress, which was needed. We need to continue to work to enhance services, particularly the quality of services, and best outcomes, and, in particular, to ensure that patient safety will always be at the centre of everything that is done. The first principle of medicine is not to do any harm. That is something clinicians, and indeed everybody else involved in the administration of a hospital, must always have uppermost in their minds. The 90-bed block that was built recently was delivered on time and within budget. We need to acknowledge that. A lot of infrastructure is, by the way, but, understandably in the context of accountability, it is the ones that are not that get the headlines. We are confident that the next 90-bed block will also come in on budget and on time. The contract has already been awarded for that. That is crucial and critical. The Minister will shortly be establishing a project board to deal with health services not just in the context of a new hospital in Limerick but the broader health services for the mid-west. Ennis and Nenagh hospitals will need more services. One has to look at the entirety of the hospital campuses in the mid-west in order to get the optimal outcome. We have seen that in the north east. We have seen that in terms of some of the hospital groups whereby the utilisation of other hospitals, apart from the tertiary centre, has been advantageous to patients, with access to outpatient clinics or endoscopy, or a variety of diagnostic facilities and so on. That complements the work that takes place in the acute hospitals or tertiary hospitals. The objective of the project board that the Minister will establish is to get the complete picture for the entirety of the mid-west. Deputies from Clare and Tipperary are very focused on that aspect, as well as on developing a new hospital. The good news is that a site has been secured. As we all, including the Deputy, know, if you are building anything, a school or anything else, securing a site is key and can help us to accelerate the deliberations in respect of it. The objective is to have the best, state-of-the-art services to cater for a population in the mid-west that is going to continue to grow,
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I have always been a strong advocate for investment in Nenagh, Ennis and Clonmel-----
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-----which has benefited from significant investment, but that is in a different area from Nenagh and Ennis, which is part of the mid-west provision of services. The most recent 90-bed block was delivered on time. Along with the investment, we need constant reform as to how we provide services. There has been a lot of investment in health services in the past five years, which needs to be acknowledged. There has to be a relentless focus on outcomes from that investment and quality of patient care. Things have changed. Clinicians are changing practices all the time and advancing technologies, mechanisms, methodologies and so on to improve efficiency all round. The Deputy can be assured that we are focused, and the Minister is, in particular, on timely delivery of the next commitments, particularly the 90-bed block that we want delivered on time and within budget.
Sentiment score: 0.15