First, as we are not talking about this weather situation, we are not looking back; we are talking about here and now. I am conscious as we discuss this in the House today that a status orange weather warning is currently in place for counties Dublin, Wicklow, Waterford and now also County Louth. Yellow warnings are in place for nine other counties as well. On top of that, the Road Safety Authority has issued advice in the last little while asking people, particularly in the orange warning areas, but more generally as well, to try to avoid driving in impacted areas if possible today and if they do have to drive to allow significantly more time. We continue to work on this on a constant basis and have done so for what has been a prolonged period. I know well some of the communities that have been flooded, including communities in my county. The Government will do all we can to assist. We have already taken practical action in the here and now. The Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, opened a scheme for businesses to be able to get assistance and we took a decision this week to significantly increase the amount of financial assistance people can avail of, up to €100,000. There were 14 applications for that scheme when I last checked this morning. We opened the emergency assistance scheme for homeowners who have been affected and more than 100 claims have now been processed through it. Community welfare officers are on the ground helping people to avail of it and get assistance as quickly as they can. I have had a number of engagements in government this week. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, who is present in the House, for the huge amount of hard work he is putting in on the ground. He made the point to us which is worth amplifying that while a number of communities need large scale flood relief schemes - I will get to that in a moment - we cannot have a situation where there is a kind of impasse until those large scale schemes are delivered. We have to look at what can be done in the here and now. The Minister of State, Deputy Moran, made the point to me, that in such areas as Portrane, Clontarf and Listowel relatively minor works have made a real and meaningful difference. The Government's focus in the days ahead will be to work intensively with local authorities to identify what more can be done in the here and how, like AquaDams, pumps, embankments and minor works, alongside advancing the major flood relief schemes. It is not a question of blaming anyone. Met Éireann does an absolutely excellent job. There is no doubt about that, but there is a legitimate question to be asked about how we can modernise our warning systems even further. I hope the Deputy agrees with that. It should not be a partisan issue. A yellow rain warning can mean one thing if the river levels are low. It can mean a very different thing if the river levels are high. The county by county warning system can sometimes be misleading. The rain and wind do not neatly abide by county boundaries. There is a legitimate conversation to have about what more information we can put into the public domain, listening to the experts, scientists and local authorities. That is what we intend to do. More broadly, a lot of progress has been made on flood relief. There is €1.3 billion in funding in the national development plan to deliver major flood relief schemes. The OPW has already completed 56 flood relief schemes, protecting 13,000 properties and avoiding estimated damage of around €2 billion. We have seen 900 projects already funded and approved through the OPW's so-called minor works schemes. Ten schemes are under construction nationwide, including in Athlone, Crossmolina, Glashaboy, King's Island, the Morell River, Morrison's Island, the Poddle River, the River Wad, Templemore and Whitechurch. We will need, and I hope we will, have cross-party support on this. As well as doing the interim works I have mentioned, we will need to look at how we can assess this as critical infrastructure alongside a number of other areas. The Government intends to bring forward a critical infrastructure Bill. It is working around the clock on this with State agencies. I thank the people on the front line for the work they are doing in this extraordinarily challenging situation.
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That is a disgraceful comment.
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That is a disgraceful comment.
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I hope I will get the same latitude. Deputy Doherty just cannot help himself. Flood warnings are in place in Northern Ireland. If, God forbid, anywhere floods in Northern Ireland, I am not going to blame Michelle O'Neill, because this is not about party politics or partisan politics. This is about acting. If the Deputy wants to say that me doing my job, coming into this House and amplifying, as we have been asked-----
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Leave the bully boy antics out of the Chamber today and just for once take off the party jersey. If you are suggesting that amplifying, as we have been asked to do by the RSA, the fact that people should be careful on the roads today and avoid driving-----
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If you are suggesting that the glib weather forecast-----
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People are watching this today and it is extremely important to get the facts out.
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I do not care about engaging with Deputy Doherty but the people who are-----
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Please, Deputy. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle. A bit of decorum would be great. People are looking at this today and want to know what is going to happen, and I want to tell them. There will be an increased focus on allowing local authorities to fast-track more works that can be done in the here and now. There are already examples, with 900 that have been delivered. Flood relief schemes have been classified as critical infrastructure. There is an overhaul of the flood warning schemes and help for people, including business assistance and humanitarian assistance. I also hope-----
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-----the party that are climate deniers will come back and have a discussion.
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Today is not a day for party politics but, unfortunately for Deputy Doherty, he just cannot reach deeper, even on a day like today. Shame on you, Pearse.
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It is what-----
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I thank Deputy O'Callaghan for raising this important issue. I thank Tony for his advocacy in relation to his daughter, Aoife, and for speaking up for all the other mums and dads. This is an issue I have come across in my own constituency when I knock on a hall door and meet somebody behind it who, not to age people, is perhaps in his or her 70s or 80s. Deputy Whitmore meets these people in Wicklow too. They have been doing their best. In some cases, the family are working well, but are of course worried about what will happen to their loved one if and indeed when they pass on. It is a real issue. I am familiar with the work of the group Before We Die. I have been following some of its advocacy, particularly in recent weeks. I happened to have a conversation with the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, on this earlier this week. She will meet this group next week, I think on Wednesday, about its specific campaign. When we raise these issues, Government members generally read through statistics and talk about progress we see, and Opposition members talk about areas in which they do not believe we have seen enough progress. I want to be clear that we have not made enough progress in this area. The issue is legitimate and real. It is one reason why we have increased the budget for disability services by 20% this year, so there is an extra €618 million. Of that, €40 million is going to provide new residential places. I think there is a commitment to at least 152 new residential places. It will require a conversation that is deeper than just the number of residential places because not all people are the same, not all people with a disability are the same and not all needs are the same. The Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, is very committed to working with this group but also more broadly, under the national disability strategy, in terms of how we get this plan in place. The Deputy used the word "transition" in the context of transition plans when a person with a disability wants to move from primary school to secondary school. At the other end of the life spectrum, there is the need for that level of transition planning and much earlier conversation. At a high level, we are increasing the disability budget significantly. We now see 8,911 residential places provided for people with disabilities between the HSE and 90 service providers. We have provided significant additional funding this year for more places. That is important and welcome. Between 2020 and 2025, we created 955 new priority one residential places. Is it enough? The answer is "No". Is there complexity beyond the number of places in terms of having a person-centred approach? There is and we look forward as a Government to engaging with this group through the Minister of State next week. I will also ask that she might engage with the relevant Oireachtas committee about how we develop a way forward on this.
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It is a fair question. I understand why the Deputy says what he says and why parents can feel like that. Certainly the State is not waiting for that to happen but we need to avoid that emergency and cliff-edge moment where the conversation the State has with the person with a disability only happens at a moment of crisis, personal trauma and loss. That is what we need to get much better at. The Deputy asked about what we have done regarding the disability capacity review. We have genuinely tried to ramp up significantly the investment in disability services, both capital and current. I can point to additional places. I do think, and I say this humbly because I do not profess to speak for parents or people with disabilities about this, that there are probably mixed needs in terms of services. Some people are living in a family home and may have other family relatives. Other people manage to live reasonably independently in that home and they may need a level of in-reach support. Some people may require a residential place. It involves pulling all that together. Between the Minister and Minister of State using the structure of the national disability strategy, it is our intention to bring that forward. The Minister of State has a meeting next week. In fairness to the seriousness of the issue, I will then come back to the Deputy in writing in terms of the next steps.
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I get blamed for everything sometimes but I am certainly not behind that proposal nor is there one. I thank the Deputy for raising the issue because road safety is an extraordinarily important issue. Our road safety statistics in this country are going in the wrong direction. We all think of Grace Lynch. We are pleased and proud in this House that the new regulation on scramblers will be named in her name, in her honour and in her memory. I think of her family this morning. The action we have taken regarding scramblers is important, proportionate and clear. Scramblers do not belong on public roads or in public spaces and there needs to be no ambiguity about that. Most people agree that we need to do more regarding e-scooters, most particularly in relation to our children. Somebody under the age of 16 is already not permitted to be on an e-scooter. However, talking to doctors, as we all do, they say that e-scooter accidents are the number one cause of induced brain trauma in children in Ireland. It is horrifying. Yes, it is illegal but when I talk to gardaí, the current structure is a bit cumbersome. We need to make it easier for An Garda Síochána to enforce the regulations and give gardaí the power of seizure. I think they have to issue summonses at the moment, which is too complex. The Minister for Transport and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, are coming back to Government on that. As the Deputy very clearly said, we need a conversation about how different users share the road. We need to do a hell of a lot more about that and education on road safety more generally. Of course, wearing a helmet is an important and safe thing to do - we all agree about that - but there are no plans to change the law to make that mandatory. That would be a really bad use of Garda time and the immediate answer to everything does not have to be a new law. I saw some reporting of the comments yesterday and found myself largely in agreement with many of the points being made by Cycling Ireland, which is why I was rather bemused by some of the reportage this morning but such is life. We can and should differentiate. The letter "e" is a bit of a giveaway. If something is motorised and electric and can do great speeds, that is one thing that needs to be looked at but with regard to traditional pushbikes, we should use education, engagement, enforcement of existing laws and continuing to make sure we invest in safe infrastructure. That is the Government position. The concerns articulated by Cycling Ireland reflect a broader evidence base on existing enforcement gaps. It makes the point about the risk of counterproductive regulation. At a time we are about simplification, I do not see the need for new legislation in this space.
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I certainly will. I know Ciarán Cannon well from his past posting in the House. I know him to be a very good and reasonable person and a good, evidence-based advocate. He was in this House and he is in his new role. If there was ever an issue that we should not be partisan on, and it is not in our discussion, it is road safety. We all want to see a reduction in deaths and injuries. I think we are all alarmed - I am certainly alarmed - at the dangers we see on our roads. There are more distractions than ever before in cars. Some distractions are illegal and should not be happening while others just seem to happen. The environment, in general, is more distracting. There are more road users and a greater volume of vehicles. There has also been an increasing in cycling, which is a good thing that we want to continue to support, but driver and cyclist education is also important. I take the Deputy's point on e-scooters that there are laws and regulations there. I remain to be convinced that there is not more to be done on e-scooters. I just think there is. I am deeply concerned about this. The Deputy's comment on enforcement is definitely right. We also need to listen to An Garda Síochána to make sure that what we put in place is enforceable and practical. This is an important point, but I am happy to have further engagement with Cycling Ireland on this, and the Government will continue to engage closely.
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I acknowledge that this is an issue that the Deputy has raised a lot in this House. It relates to Uisce Éireann, how it functions and, perhaps almost as importantly, how it answers to and engages with the Government, the Oireachtas and communities as well. To be honest, I expect a bit better in relation to this too. I can assure the Deputy that it is not just an issue on his side of the House. On this side of the House, many of my colleagues point out the need for better community engagement and better engagement with public representatives. I spoke to the Minister for housing, Deputy Browne about this in recent days and to the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, who is due to meet Uisce Éireann shortly. We need to have a conversation. I saw a debate in the Dáil, I think it was last week, about how Uisce Éireann even answers to Oireachtas Members and that it is not included in parliamentary questions and the like. We need to look at getting a better information flow because, at the end of the day, we have to answer to our bosses, who are the people of Ireland and the people in our constituencies. We need that information and that regular and respectful engagement. The Government has an open mind on how to improve that flow of information in terms of accountability and the likes. We will engage on that with Irish Water as well. I want to make a broader point. It is, of course, answerable to quite a number of bodies. There is extensive oversight and regulatory control of Uisce Éireann as well. It is commercially audited in accordance with the Companies Act. It is subject to an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General. It is subject to the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies. It is accountable to Oireachtas committees, including the public accounts committee, which is always a body that focuses the mind. The Commission for the Regulation of Utilities is responsible for the independent economic regulation of Uisce Éireann and that ensures that it operates efficiently as well. The Minister, Deputy Browne, has emphasised the importance of better and improved communication with elected representatives and with communities. He made that point when he met Uisce Éireann. He received assurances that it will be back to them with proposals on that. We want to see them urgently because this is an important issue in many communities right across our country. To be balanced in our comments, I want to point to some significant successes we have seen since the establishment of Uisce Éireann. For the first time we have a single public water utility organisation. We have seen the investment in infrastructure grow from just €300 million in 2014 to €1.4 billion as part of the budget that we agreed in this House last year. We have also seen significant improvement in the provision of water services in many areas. Hundreds of water and wastewater treatment plants have been upgraded. Thousands of kilometres of new or rehabilitated water mains have been installed. The national leakage rate is still too high but has been reduced, and, overall, the quality of drinking water does remain very high as well. One of the things I am most eager about is the developer-led infrastructure delivery. We had a frank conversation with Irish Water and I do not mind sharing it here. We have significantly increased the amount of taxpayer funding to that organisation. In return, we want to see developer-led infrastructure where relatively small-scale developers can deliver the infrastructure to an Irish Water standard, but they can deliver it. We also want to see an improvement in connection rates and a direct correlation between the extra investment we are giving to Uisce Éireann and the delivery of housing supply. I take the Deputy's point about engagement and accountability and I will be back to him on it.
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The only reason I am smiling is I thought it was a very good way of sticking in the name of the Deputy's by-election candidate. We will select our by-election candidate on 22 February for Galway West. The point the Deputy made is a very serious one. I take his support for the developer-led infrastructure. It is important. It is particularly important in rural communities where even forgetting developers, local authorities and public representatives say to us they could deliver 15 homes here or 20 or 30 homes there. If that is added up across the country, it is quite a lot of homes but we need to have the ability to put in the water infrastructure. Yes, this was done badly in the past but that is not a reason to not go back and do it properly this time. We did not have an Irish Water in the past to oversee it but we do now. I expect progress on that by the end of this month and we are engaging closely on that. In relation to Adrigole, which the Deputy referenced, I am told that a case for mains rehabilitation works is currently under consideration by Uisce Éireann. I ask that it would assess that quickly because I know this is causing a significant challenge for the Deputy's constituents as well. Ultimately, CEOs of all semi-State agencies need to be judged on the basis of their performance. We have resourced Uisce Éireann. It has a good leadership team, we have resourced it well and now it needs to get on with the job.
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