I want to raise the serious issue of respite in west Cork. It is a matter I have spoken about in the House previously. Members know I do not mince my words when I speak on matters, and to say the respite service in west Cork is a disgrace at the moment is nothing short of the truth. The front page of today's Southern Star notes that 20 parents of families with disabilities have sent a solicitor's letter to CoAction and the Minister in terms of respite provision in west Cork. As we all know, to send a solicitor's letter must mean a situation is very serious, and such is the nature of the reason they have had to send this letter.

We have a system of respite in this country that I do not think is fit for purpose. Whether we are in government or out of government, I do not think it is fit for purpose. We have a service provider in west Cork. I hate to have to go on the record with this but it is well known and the dogs on the streets in west Cork know that there is more than €5 million in a bank account yet we have a severe shortage of respite. I hear in these Houses calls on the HSE to provide extra funding for this organisation. That is fair because organisations have funding and should be providing and developing systems and places for residential and overnight respite. The HSE does have a role here to investigate these organisations to see where the funding is going and what it is going to be used for. I know the board members of CoAction in west Cork have tried and are trying. They are listening to the parents in west Cork but we need to see action.

I know from having raised this matter here previously that the HSE has audited these providers. I am aware an audit has taken place but we need to see the findings of the audit. We need to see properties built. Properties and land are owned across west Cork. I am speaking here for the families. I have thought long and hard about what I should say this morning. People know that I work behind the scenes to try to find solutions but I have a duty to speak here this morning and ask where this money is going to be spent. When will these 20 families, and there are countless more across west Cork who could come together to write a letter, see respite?

We see the Before We Die campaign throughout the country. What we are looking for here is respite. Families have not received respite in years. We should be doing better as a State. The funding is there. The money has been raised from the good people across west Cork and it is not State funding. There is €5 million in a bank account. We need to do better. I call for a debate with the Minister for disability urgently on this matter so we can see the reviews of the audit and we can see increased respite.

I welcome my intern, Sophia Mulvany, the inestimable Sophia. She will be with me until Christmas. I am delighted to welcome her to the Chamber.

It is my first time to speak on the Order of Business since we resumed the Houses and I want to express my sincere sympathies and condolences to Senator Craughwell. Gerard is a big man with a big heart and, at the end of the day, all we have are our relationships with each other. Having lost his wife after 49 years of marriage it is very hard to see Gerard heartbroken and I wish him very well in the journey forward. We express our solidarity with him.

I want to raise a question on the Order of Business today regarding the debate on citizenship and the new rules. The speaking time has been reduced to 120 seconds for Members and I ask the Deputy Leader whether we can have an extension to this debate today.

I want to raise a couple of issues this morning. Exactly 15 months ago, on 25 June 2025, I introduced my Disability (Personalised Budgets) Bill in the House. It was time delayed by the Minister, Deputy Foley, for 18 months without any consideration of the Bill. I got pro bono advice from one of the large legal firms. It was the first time in the history of the State that an international firm worked with the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers. We took every piece of Government policy and consultation the Government had and drafted this legislation. I had a legal team from that legal firm for two years and the Minister just guillotined it with a delay of 18 months until Christmas Day 2026. I believe it is listed to be re-read on Christmas Day this year. This is a cynical abuse of the House. The Minister, Deputy Foley, said on the day that "Collaboration and co-operation will be the hallmark of how this Government approaches the disability sector". She called it a "sector". It is not a cost centre; these are people like my son. She then said, "Therefore, I look forward to working with everyone, including the Members of this House, to achieve tangible change for people with disabilities." She referred to "people with disabilities" but I think she means disabled citizens.

In the 15 months since then, I have written repeatedly to the Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins. This week, I received an email from the Minister’s PA, which outlined that the Minister was not in a position to meet me. The Minister is not going to meet me on this and disabled citizens all over this country are going to be left disempowered in this way, including members of staff in this House, who are well-known to all Senators and are struggling. I know one member of staff whose wife has to go with their disabled adult son every day to a resource centre in Tallaght. That is inhumane and wrong. The Disability (Personalised Budgets) Bill would solve those problems. In the absence of willingness on the part of the Minister or Minister of State to meet me, I ask for a debate in this House on disability personalised budgets.

I apologise to the Leas-Chathaoirleach for going over time, given the matters I had to raise earlier. The Disability (Amendment) Bill listed in the programme for Government is a catastrophic move. For the past four years, I have been saying that the only legal right disabled citizens in Ireland have is the right to an assessment of need. The Disability (Amendment) Bill that is being proposed will dilute and remove that right. We will have no rights. I am asking my colleagues to please not do this. This is like the referendum on care and the Green Paper on disability reform. It is a catastrophic step for disabled citizens dressed up as progress. It is not progress; it is a catastrophic step backwards.