Results 81-100 of 33,848 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy's raising of this matter gives me an opportunity to remind us all of the value of the scheme. It now stands at a value of €14,000 per year. In recent years, we have seen a considerable increase in the number of taxpayers who are availing of it. It went from being roughly 10,000 per year to 16,500 in 2023. It is playing an important role in the availability of additional...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I remember being in Clonmel with the Deputy during the summer. On what was otherwise a bright and great morning, the Deputy walked around the centre of Clonmel and pointed out to me the number of properties that were not being used and were on the verge of dereliction. I cannot give him an exact timeline for when this fund will be available, but I can assure him of two things. First,...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue on behalf of Rebecca. I will ensure that the Minister for Health is aware of the status of this medicine, Veozah, and that it is given the consideration it needs. I cannot second guess or answer on behalf of the independent bodies that look at the variety of available medicines and whether they are appropriate and can be made available in a...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I have seen few people who care more about children with scoliosis and their health needs than Simon Harris. I have seen at first hand the commitment he has had to making a difference to their lives and health.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I have seen few people who are moved more by the pain they are in and the needs they and their families have than Simon. I absolutely refute some of the things Deputy Tóibín has said about him and tell him that some of the claims he has made are cynical.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: They devalue the commitment-----

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: -----the Tánaiste and the current Minister for Health have to making a difference to those who need support.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: In relation to the points the Deputy made, the Government has made available - because we know it needs to be done - additional operating capacity in Ireland to support families who need that healthcare and we have put in place the surgeons and support to do it. I will certainly follow up on the status of the need for children to travel abroad to get that healthcare, but in many cases it can...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for reminding the House of the nature and detail of the motion. He was calling for the consideration of ideas in this area. We should all be able to participate in that. The Government is certainly happy to do so. Regarding the specific proposal around a Bill, I will have to consult the Minister, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. I take care around putting really important...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: They do make the odd appearance over Phibsborough, but for many who live very close to the airport, it is an important matter. As Deputy Ó Muirí said, changing the airport cap at Dublin Airport is really important, not just for the airport, but for broader aviation and growth within our economy. Regarding how we are going to respond to the matters raised, it will first be by...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: The last thing we are looking for in preparing the budget is plaudits, particularly from Sinn Féin. I do not hold out any hope of us ever getting them from Sinn Féin. If we were to, I would be convinced we were doing the wrong thing. Regarding what we are looking to do, the Government's track record on trying to help students is pretty clear by this point. For example, the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: -----the current Minister, Deputy Lawless, is clearly building on that. Efforts have been made to look at eligibility for SUSI grants to ensure they can play a role in the cost of living for students going to college. The Government is well aware of the sensitivity of the decision we will make about registration fees for students. No decisions have yet been made, but all of the...

Ceisteanna ó na Comhaltaí Eile - Other Members’ Questions (25 Sep 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy. Of course, the sustainability of our social insurance scheme is an important concern of Government. What are we doing in relation to it? First, it is important to acknowledge the Social Insurance Fund is in healthy surplus and is a big part of our overall healthy public finances at the moment. Second, this is the very reason we are going ahead with the auto-enrolment...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I have seen at first hand the important role our SNAs play in classrooms all over the country, giving that little bit of additional support and help to young girls and boys who need it as they begin their school life and throughout their educational journey. There are 23,000 SNAs in our country. Compare that with where we were a number of years ago. In 2011, we had just over 10,000. There...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy. I was not aware of the matter until he raised it. I can only imagine it is really difficult for somebody to live in a partially repaired home in which work has been going on for so long. I know the Deputy would not raise it if he did not think it was serious. I will make sure the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, is aware of this. My office will contact him after this...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I have to say that in most cases I find the line between antisocial behaviour and criminal activity is very thin. For those who experience antisocial behaviour, which I am sure the Deputy has to deal with in his constituency, it can be very intimidating and difficult but I accept some activity may well be outside the parameters of criminality. We allowed a motion to be passed here for...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I do not need to be lectured by the Deputy on points of procedure and how this Parliament works. I was making the point that just because a motion was passed in the Dáil does not mean the Government was bound to implement every element of it. The Deputy knows that. Regarding Housing for All, the Government, with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Browne...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: When we speak of children who are left on the side of the road, acknowledging there are issues we need to address, I emphasise to the Dáil that nearly 180,000 families and their children get support and the service they need through this scheme. This is at an overall cost to the taxpayer of more than €0.5 billion in recognition of the issues raised by Deputy Collins today and...

Ceisteanna ó na Comhaltaí Eile - Other Members’ Questions (25 Sep 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. We are now very much in a phase where not only is the number of people living in our country growing, which is a great gift to the ability of our economy to grow and our society to grow and flourish, we are also seeing more people who are older and have the level of care need to which the Deputy referred. Growing life expectancy in our country -...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2025)

Paschal Donohoe: For a country with our long-standing tradition in the context of respect for human rights and our neutrality, diplomacy is the way conduct our affairs. It is also the way we seek to influence the world and protect the rights of our citizens. Words are not powerless. Words are not an absence of action. Words are do not represent a lack of effort. Words and diplomacy are the way we seek to...