Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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Five people are occupying the offices of Bord Bia at the moment. They do not want to be there; they want this situation to be resolved. In fairness, the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, in recent days put forward a proposal to try to resolve it. The IFA has offered a suggestion to the effect that the chairperson of Bord Bia step aside while a full review of the situation takes place. Will the Government please, in the interests of everybody involved and, in particular, the industry, which has been brought into disrepute because of what is going on, accept that and move the situation forward?

This week and last week, thousands of farmers attended meetings around the country. I attended two of those meetings. Farmers are angry, frustrated and annoyed and cannot believe that the Government cannot see the contradiction of the chair of Bord Bia importing Brazilian beef while being the main advocate when it comes to the sale of Irish products. Farmers are not stupid people. They hear Government telling them that they do not understand the nature of global supply chains. When the Government tells them that, what they hear is "You guys are stupid." They are not stupid. They are intelligent, sensible people who want a solution. Will the Government please bring this matter to a head and sort it out? It cannot go on. If it does, it is going to escalate because these farmers are not going to back down.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Farmers are far from stupid; they are the backbone of the indigenous Irish economy. They also know that this Government has their back. It had their back on nitrates and on Mercosur and will have it when it comes to the CAP and bluetongue. We know that they know we are with them and will be supporting them. We have had a point of disagreement with regard to the chair of a semi-State board. The Government has a job to do, and this Oireachtas has had a vote in respect of that. We have had committee hearings and there have been board meetings. The Minister for agriculture, Deputy Heydon, is engaging intensively on these matters. I thank him for all the work he is doing.

The board of Bord Bia held a scheduled meeting on Wednesday, 18 February. Following that meeting, the IFA submitted a document that consisted of seven strands and that requested that the board of Bord Bia commit to initiating a review process into the various issues that have arisen in recent weeks. Many of the seven strands relate to the quality assurance schemes. These can be dealt with by the farmer forum that Bord Bia is establishing on foot of the commitments given at the 18 February meeting. In addition, the Minister is examining the option to commission an expert-led governance review which would cover the other strands of the IFA proposal. There has been direct contact with senior members of the IFA regarding its proposals in the context of trying to find a potential compromise. The word "compromise" is important here, because compromise does not mean somebody getting their own way. I have spoken to the president of the IFA in recent days, as has the Minister. Everyone wants a resolution to this.

The board of Bord Bia will meet again on 2 March. We all agree that this protracted dispute is not in the best interest of the agrifood sector. Engagement is taking place and efforts are being made to resolve the matter.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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The Tánaiste will be aware that this is Eating Disorders Week. He will also be aware of the relentless work my colleague Deputy Sherlock has done and continues to do in this area. Yesterday, I attended the most impactful presentation I have ever be at in my many years on this campus. The presentation was made by Cared Ireland in the audiovisual room. Cared Ireland is a voluntary organisation that represents parents and carers of people with eating disorders. Those present shared absolutely heartbreaking stories. It is hard to get across just how powerful that hour was. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of all mental health illnesses. One in 20 people in Ireland will experience an eating disorder in their lifetime. A study by the Health Research Board has shown a 121% rise in hospital admissions for eating disorders among children. In real terms, the number of cases rose from 170 to 375 between 2018 and 2022.

Will the Government engage with Cared Ireland and listen to its demands, of which there are a number? Can it commit to an immediate emergency plan for those with no access to services, to the full resourcing of eating disorder teams in child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS and adult mental health services, AMHS, without delay, and to a mandatory transition pathway between CAMHS and AMHS?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy has been in this House long enough that when he says he attended the most impactful presentation he has been to, I take that very seriously. I will certainly arrange for the relevant Ministers, perhaps Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, in the first instance, to engage with that organisation and work through the list of, no doubt, constructive proposals it has put forward to try to make progress in support in this area.

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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Special education in this country is decades behind special education other modern countries. In recent weeks and months, we have witnessed the absolute shambles of the SNA cuts and the lack of appropriate school places for children with additional needs. Thankfully, the Government, in a late-night announcement on Monday, conceded to public pressure, and a promise of €19 million, and no cuts, was made. The public accounts committee has representatives from the Department of education before it at the moment. The Department of public expenditure has just stated that it does not know where the money in question is coming from. Where is it going to come from? Did the Government make the announcement because it just wanted to buy itself out of the difficulty it was in at the time?

Yesterday, one of my colleagues in the Labour Party referred to the fact that far more special education places are needed than Government has planned for and that, perhaps, 800 to 1,000 students will be left without appropriate school places. The Opposition party leaders met following yesterday's country-wide protests, and there is a groundswell of public mobilisation against the Government's disastrous handling of this matter. I know that the Government wants to build back trust and do the best it can for every child in this country. How is it going to fix this and how long is that going to take?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Government has voted expenditure of over €118 billion. Within that voted expenditure, this additional allocation of around €19 million will be made to the Department of Education and Youth. No official should be in any way glib in that regard, because we are very sincere in respect of this matter. That money will be provided. I say this as a coalition leader and as the Minister for Finance.

I take the point that after the week we have had, trust has to be earned back. That is a fair point. People were deeply upset and hurt. I can outline the rationale and all the statistics, but what I have said is also true - people were upset and hurt. How you earn that trust back is by listening and delivering. Therefore, in the first instance, we will deliver on the part of the review that would have seen additional SNAs being allocated to schools. We will not go ahead with the part that would have seen a reduction in the number of SNAs. We will revise Circular 0030/2014, and it is a long time since then. We are happy to hear the Deputy's views and the views of others in relation to that. We will get the SNA redeployment scheme over the line.

I say the following to be constructive- I said it a moment ago, and I know the Deputy has a sincere interest in it. We in this House need to look at how we can have wider engagement on the broader policy issues. The demographics are bringing us into certain areas, as are the complexities involved. We need to have an informed discussion about the policy approach we want to take, as well as about the funding approach.

Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Local government is the beating heart of democracy. That heart was torn out of democracy in 2014 with the abolition of town and borough councils. The latter were replaced by committees with no powers, no functions and no funding. This has done serious damage to towns across the country in the context of their economic and social development. It is now widely acknowledged, even by a former leader of the Labour Party, Brendan Howlin, that this was a very bad decision.

The local government task force established to examine the position held its first meeting on 26 June last year.

Its report and the recommendations in it were to be with the Minister within a six- to nine-month period. We are now at the end of the eighth month of that period. Has the Minister received the report? When will the Government re-establish town and borough councils and will they be in place in time for the local elections in 2029?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I truthfully do not know if the Minister has received the report, but I will certainly find out for the Deputy and ask that the Minister write to him. The programme for Government is clear in relation to this. There are examples around the country. I should declare an interest that I am a former member of a town commission in Greystones. There are examples of how town councils and town commissions provided excellent work, not just for budding politicians who might have wanted to go from a town council to a county council or maybe even the Dáil, but also for people who wanted to just serve their communities in that role. The councils organised events such as the Christmas lights or St. Patrick's Day parades and fostered a sense of civic pride. This is something the Government is actively considering. It might be something that bridges the political divide in Tipperary, because Deputy Murphy has also raise this matter in the context of Clonmel. I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, and the Minister, Deputy Browne, to come back to Deputy Healy regarding the timeline for that report.

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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The Tánaiste's party campaigned in the run up to the general election to review and remove the eight-year deemed disposal requirement for Irish domiciled funds and life products. As he will be aware - but, just for everyone else's benefit - the system taxes people 38% every eight years on gains they have not made yet. This was reduced slightly in the budget, but it is still regressive and in practice might be pushing ordinary savers into property investments when they could be funding worthwhile projects, especially if a wider number of schemes were to be introduced. I understand that some progress on this matter may be made through the taxation of retail investment. It would be great to get a timeframe as to whether the Government will definitely be doing it this year and if it will be introducing a simple ISA-style investment account, which, I suggest, could be purposed towards providing funding to help build housing or critical infrastructure. Is that being considered?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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In the two budgets that I intend to deliver as the Minister for Finance, I am absolutely determined that we do something in relation to retail investment. Irish people are among the best savers in the European Union, but we have one of the lowest rates of participation in investments. The reality is that good, hard-working and decent people right across the country are trying to do the right thing and put aside a few bob - even very small amounts because times are tough -but that money is not earning them anything. We have to fix that. In that context, I am actively considering how we might bring in a savings and investment account in line with the Savings and Investment Union at EU level. I am looking at what has been done in the UK, Sweden, Canada, Japan and a number of other countries. I intend to convene a stakeholder forum on this within the next month or so, with the view to having options in advance of the budget. Deemed disposal is something that definitely deserves consideration. There is an unfairness in relation to it, and it was brought in at a very different time. I am minded to see what progress can be made on it in the time ahead. Specific taxation measures are obviously a matter for budget day.

Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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I want to speak on behalf of the small businesses that are the backbone of our local economies. They are the real heroes at local level in light of the extent to which they invest local, spend local and hire local. These businesses are under huge pressure as a result of increased costs, something that is acknowledged on page 15 of the programme for Government. The programme for Government contains a commitment to making changes to employers' PRSI to ease the pressure on small businesses. Is consideration being given to a PRSI rebate scheme for employers that would be linked to lower paid employees and that will ease the pressure on these heroes at local level, many of whom are in the eye of a perfect storm in the context of increased costs?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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SMEs remain the backbone of the Irish economy. While this country proudly has a good tradition - and one we want to continue - in terms of foreign direct investment, including in the Deputy's county, the biggest employer in Ireland remains small- and medium-sized enterprises the length of breadth of the country. This is why we took a number of measures in the budget to support small businesses, to protect jobs and to try to maintain competitiveness. We also brought forward the reduced VAT rate on gas and electricity for SMEs and the reduced VAT rate on hospitality will come into place on 1 July. The Minister, Deputy Burke, has established the cost-of-business advisory forum. This will consider all of the costs that businesses face, and particularly small and medium businesses, and any regulatory, infrastructural or policy or budget changes that should be addressed. Specific measures as to what we may or may not be able to do in the budget are a matter for budget day. I assure the Deputy that the next budget, just like the most recent one, will be about protecting jobs and supporting Irish businesses.

Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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There was a recent announcement of funding for roads in County Clare. An amount of €2.5 million has been allocated for the Drumeen to Darragh section of the N68. It is stated that this is for pavements. Yet, after a back-and-forth, the senior engineer in Clare County Council has stated that it is for resurfacing works on the road in question. A local campaign group has been calling for safety measures on this road. A Garda report shows that there have been 33 collisions on the road and that some of them involved fatalities. In the context of the programme for Government and the road safety strategy, the Government has adopted the Vision Zero strategy with the aim of eliminating all road deaths. Why does the document relating to the funding announcement to which I refer state that the money allocated is for paving work when it is actually for resurfacing works? Will public lighting and road realignment be included? Why have much-needed road safety measures not been included? When will such measures be put in place to ensure that no more lives will be lost on the road in question?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the very specific issue in relation that particular stretch of the N68. I will follow up directly with the Minister on the matter, on the funding involved and on the purpose for which the Deputy believed and which the documents indicated-it was for versus what she has heard locally. I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy on the matter.

I join with the Deputy regarding the broader point in relation to the importance of road safety. We are not that far into 2026, and we are already seeing road fatalities going in the wrong direction. This is an extraordinarily serious issue, after years of progress, and it is going to require all of our best thinking, not just from a policy perspective but also from an enforcement and individual behaviour perspective, to try to reverse this awful situation on Irish roads.

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The building “is not fit for purpose to operate without considerable risk” and “is unsafe and poses a serious immediate threat to the well-being, health and safety of the occupants and users.” This is a consultant's report in relation to St. Patrick's National School in Celbridge. Those occupants and users are children, teachers and staff. The Minister for Education and Youth visited the site just over a month ago. What are needed right now are new modular units. There is a long-term plan for a permanent school, but new modular units are needed immediately. I have proposed a solution to move modular units that are not in use in another school in Kildare to the site. This is something we need to act on now. I am more than happy to share additional information with the Tánaiste.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Ó Cearúil for raising this important issue in relation to St. Patrick's National School in Celbridge. I am pleased to hear that the Minister visited the school in recent times and will, therefore, have an awareness of the situation. I am also conscious of the health and safety information the Deputy has read out in respect of the seriousness of this matter. On the basis of what he said, it seems that there may be a temporary situation that can be put in place to help alleviate this, including new modular accommodation. The Deputy is being constructive in bringing forward ideas as to how unused accommodation could also help. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Naughton, to look further at this issue and to revert to the Deputy directly.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Most of the wastewater in south-east Dublin is collected at the West Pier pumping station and then pumped under the sea to Poolbeg for treatment. There is an attenuation tank at the West Pier to handle overflow because during high rainfall events, run-off means that there is more water there than can physically be pumped to the pumping station. The attenuation tank at the site is 70,000 cu. m, so it is huge, but when there is an awful lot of rain, it is not big enough. When it fills up and there is no room in the tank to pump the water in, it literally overflows into Dublin Bay. I welcome the nitrates directive, which may be unrelated, but it places a greater obligation on us to deal with water quality issues. This is a water quality issue in Dublin Bay. We eat fish from and we swim in Dublin Bay. This is a major problem. The solution is the construction of a second attenuation tank at the Gut at the back of the West Pier in Dún Laoghaire. Is that something we could look forward to, particularly as it will solve a major water quality problem?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Ward for raising this serious issue regarding water quality in Dún Laoghaire and Dublin Bay and more broadly. We have made a lot of progress on water quality in recent years. We are investing more now through Uisce Éireann. On foot of the Deputy raising this issue, I will speak directly to Uisce Éireann in respect of it. We have provided a lot of additional funding to Uisce Éireann for the years ahead. I will certainly ask that it considers the point he has made about the need for a further attenuation tank. I will come back to the Deputy directly.

Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein)
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In the HSE Capital Plan 2026, a new ten-bed specialist community mental health unit has been included in the plan for Wexford, which is more than welcome. Since the closure of St. Senan's acute mental health beds in 2009, Sinn Féin representatives across the county and I have campaigned for their replacement, which was promised by the Minister for Health at that time. In fairness, the Tánaiste visited Wexford last week and stated that the lack of 24-7 psychiatric care in Wexford is a major concern.

I come from the old school - if you cannot see it or touch it, then it does not exist. When can the people of Wexford expect to see these 24-7 acute beds in operation? Will it be within a five-year period, a ten-year period, or more? We can only speculate on how many lives would have been saved over those 27 years if that promise had been honoured in the first place.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I sincerely thank Deputy Mythen for raising this very important issue. As he rightly says, I was in Wexford very recently and I took the opportunity to visit the hospital. I met with the hospital manager, Linda O'Leary, and the team there who do very good work. I was very conscious in all of my engagements in Wexford that there is an acute issue with mental health services in the county. I have had very good discussions with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, in relation to this. I welcome the fact that the HSE's capital plan in recent days tries to move this forward, with the commitment to a ten specialist bed unit in Wexford. I will ask the Minister of State to come back to the Deputy directly on timelines as to how quickly we can advance it.

In the limited time available to me, I am also aware there are other measures in the here and now that I think need to be advanced, including the provision of 24-7 ED consultant presence in terms of mental health expertise within the ED in Wexford, which I believe is also lacking. I will talk to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and ask her to come back to the Deputy on timelines.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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On 12 April 2025, serious concerns were raised by people in Grenagh, County Cork regarding the demolition work on the former piggery site where asbestos was present and became airborne. I can confirm that no planning permission was granted by Cork County Council for the demolition works, no planning was granted in respect of the asbestos materials and no disposal plan was in place for these asbestos materials. Both the HSE and HSA have engaged. Remediation works stopped in September last, which is six months ago. No completion timeline has been provided by the land owners to Cork County Council. It is now almost a year since residents flagged this, and they are still living in uncertainty. Local businesses and sports clubs have been affected. Families have questions about safety. People are afraid to use the playground in the area, and property values have significantly declined. Does the Government accept that unauthorised demolition involving asbestos is a serious breach of planning and environmental law? Will the Government now take action to ensure compliance and immediate remediation works in Grenagh?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy O'Flynn very much for raising this issue and the concerns of his constituents and the community in relation to the presence of asbestos and the actions that have been brought about potentially as a result of demolition works. While I am not familiar with all of the granular detail, on foot of the Deputy mentioning that the HSE and the HSA are both familiar with it, I will ask the Minister for Health, who has responsibility for the HSE, and the Minister for enterprise, who has responsibility for the HSA, to engage with both of those organisations and to come back to the Deputy directly. I will also ask that we follow this up with the planning authority from a planning enforcement point of view.

Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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It was clearly outlined to me just now at the Committee of Public Accounts that the Department of education does not have the number of special classes and special school places available to match the level of need and provide for the number of applicants. Therefore, right now we have children without a place for the next academic year. I was told that all Government leaders are aware of this. When was the Tánaiste made aware of this? Will he put on the record that every child that requires a special class or a special school place will get one for the next academic year, considering that the Department of education just stated that it does not have the resources to match the level of need?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Kenny very much, and for his ongoing work in this important area. I can assure him that the Government is working on this constantly through both the Minister, Deputy Naughton, and the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan. As a Government leader, I am being kept up to date regularly on this, as are others. There are a number of issues here. There is the opening of additional special classes. There is the fact that the portal opened earlier this year to try to have advance and earlier knowledge of the number of places needed. There is also the fact that through no fault of their own, other parents needed to apply after that date. There is also the fact that there may be some students in mainstream classes who may now require special classes as well. There is quite a piece of work going on here to try to clarify all of these matters. We have provided significant funding for more than 400 new special classes, and at least 400 new special school places. This will see almost 3,000 new special education placements created for next September. I assure the Deputy that active work is going on to ensure that places are provided in advance of September. The Government at every level is working closely with the Minister for education and the Minister of State with responsibility for special education on this issue.

Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I believe the Tánaiste has already spoken about St. Patrick's National School with Deputy Ó Cearúil. I want to build on that. I have just spoken with the Secretary General at the Committee of Public Accounts. Everyone is aware of this now, especially with the damning findings of the architecture report. We need to bring everyone together on it at this stage. We could have modular units in the short term. The Tánaiste has to see it to believe it right now. Is there anything we can do to expedite this?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. What he said is right based on what I have heard today from the Deputy and his colleagues - that you have to see it to believe it. The good news is the fact that the Minister for education has seen it. I know she was out at the school in the past month or so. On foot of the Deputy raising this, I will speak to the Minister, Deputy Naughton, later today and ask that she would endeavour to pull people together to see if we can find a temporary solution that seems to be based around modular, while planning for the longer term future and advancement of the school. The immediate priority has to be to address the health and safety concerns and modular may well be an option and a way forward there. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Naughton, to come back to the Deputy directly.

Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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Today, I want to raise an issue regarding frequent power outages in my constituency, especially for communities in Palmerstown and Clondalkin. Over the past 12 months there have been 11 outages in Palmerstown village, which have impacted an older population and initiatives such as Palmerstown meals-on-wheels. There were two outages in Clondalkin on Saturday affecting 4,000 households. I have been in touch with the ESB, and it has given me reasons for this but the broader point is the resilience of the network in that general area. As the Tánaiste is aware, Dublin Mid-West is one of the fastest growing constituencies in the country. There is a scale of building happening there right now and we need a resilient energy system and power grid. We need to try to minimise the frequency of these outages so that they do not impact initiatives, and residents and businesses as well. Could the Tánaiste turn his attention to that to see what we can do to increase the resilience of the network?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Moynihan very much for raising this issue, which I can only imagine is causing significant concern for residents and businesses in Palmerstown and Clondalkin in his Dublin Mid-West constituency. On foot of him bringing it to my attention, I will speak to the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, who is the Minister with responsibility for energy and also ask that he engages with the ESB in relation to this. There is a broader issue in regard to our need and wish to invest more in our energy grid, and energy network. The Government has identified significant additional funding for EirGrid among others. It is important that the investment plan is put in place as quickly as possible.

John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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I want to raise with the Tánaiste today the lack of wastewater treatment capacity in the town of Kanturk in north Cork. We are very lucky to have five or six sites in development at the moment, with a number of houses being developed right across the town. We have a number of other applications for planning permission which do not have a wastewater connection at the moment. I believe there is a plan to install a modular wastewater treatment plant alongside the wastewater treatment plant that is currently in place in Kanturk. That will allow for an increase in the population equivalent, PE, in the wastewater treatment plant, which would allow for ca. 230 more houses to be built. I bring this to the floor of the Dáil today in the hope that we could push it forward in the future. Could the Tánaiste give me a response?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy O'Shea very much for raising this matter on behalf of his constituents. My understanding is that the Kanturk wastewater treatment plant has provision in the current RC4 investment cycle. There are plans to initiate a wastewater treatment plant upgrade project. This project is currently at stage 1, where Uisce Éireann develops the project objectives and outcomes and indicative range of costs. This work will continue through the year and I hope we can get this to the business case stage as quickly as possible. More generally, we need to see this moving quickly in terms of water and wastewater. One of the big focuses the Minister, Deputy Chambers, has been working on is that where we have identified need and provided funding, we reduce the regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles in terms of the length of time between the identification of a project and its delivery. Perhaps this is an example of such. As this business case is developed, I will keep in close contact with the Deputy to see that we can deliver the project as quickly as possible.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Bailíodh breis is €41,000 i bPort Láirge chun clinic soghluaiste máithreachais a chur ar fáil do mhná i nGaza. Tá an t-aonad seo i gCaireo na hÉigipte faoi láthair mar nach bhfuil cead aige dul isteach i nGaza. Tá mná ag iompar agus ag saolú leanaí i gcoinníollacha contúirteacha, míshláintiúla agus mídhaonna. Over €41,000 was raised by Gaeil ar son Gaza in order to fund a mobile maternity clinic for women in Gaza.

This unit is currently stuck in Cairo in Egypt because they are not being permitted entry into Gaza. At the same time, as the Tánaiste knows, Gaza's health system has been devastated and pregnant women are forced to give birth in conditions that are unsafe, dangerous and inhumane. I ask the Tánaiste to urgently intervene and ask the Minister for foreign affairs to do likewise to secure immediate access for these Irish-funded mobile maternity units? Will he use Ireland's voice at EU and UN level to demand safe humanitarian medical access for mothers and newborn babies in Gaza without further delay?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I will indeed, and I thank the Deputy for highlighting the issue. I thank his constituents in the community for the incredible amount of fundraising they have done, raising €41,000 for maternity care that is no doubt urgently needed in Gaza where the health service has been obliterated and utterly decimated. I will ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to inquire with our embassy in Cairo on this issue to see what assistance Ireland can provide and she can revert to the Deputy directly.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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This Saturday at 1 o'clock in Parnell Square, disabled people, disability groups and the Affordable Ireland Coalition, of which I am a part, will be mobilising in a protest, demanding that this Government relent and concede the demand for an emergency disability winter payment of €400 for those with disabilities and, beyond that, implement a cost-of-disability payment. A young man named Jack, who was at our press conference yesterday promoting the demonstration, was on the radio today describing how he had to buy an extra duvet because he does not want to turn on the heating as he is afraid to the cost. He gets anxiety attacks when he has to go to the shops. He has additional energy costs because he has to power his wheelchair. He is facing all these cost-of-living pressures. The Government hammered those people in the budget by taking €1,400 away from them. Will the Government concede their demand for an emergency payment before the demonstration on Saturday?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett. The Government is in the process of working to develop a cost-of-disability payment. The consultation opened on that last week. We are actively engaging now with people with disabilities directly and also with their representative bodies. I encourage everybody and political parties in this House to get involved in that process as we try to design, for the first time, a cost-of-disability payment. I appreciate the cost-of-living challenges are real people, which is why we took a number of measures in the budget that were targeted, including expanding the eligibility for fuel allowance. I also make the point that emergency payments are available through community welfare officers for anybody in any difficulty.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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People should not have to beg.