I thank Deputy Farrell for raising this issue. It is horrific to hear of anyone experiencing that. The Deputy said that she has heard of another case today but she said that she has heard of many cases. I will ask the Minister for Finance to consider this matter to see what further safeguards are needed regarding this and also how we can get beyond people talking to bots when they are looking for information. I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy on this matter.
Sentiment score: 0.02
I thank the Deputy for raising this matter on behalf of Willow and her parents. The Minister of State with responsibility for disability, Deputy Naughton, is sitting beside me. She is very happy to talk to the Deputy about this. I am pleased that Willow finally got her assessment. In the budget last week, we significantly increased the money to use private capacity for assessments but I acknowledge that is for the assessment. There is then the issue of accessing the therapies. We have seen a very significant increase in the budget for disability this year. It is up €618 million for 2026 on 2025. That will provide us with much more funding to hire more therapists. However, I have to be honest with Willow's parents and everybody here that trying to find and recruit therapists is a challenge we have identified. We have increased the number of training places in colleges. We are looking at international recruitment and how we can work with regulatory bodies in terms of more people coming in. We also looking at how we reform the legislation to make sure that people have a right to assessment of need but that it works in a more efficient and effective way for everybody. I will ask the Minister of State to speak to the Deputy on this matter.
Sentiment score: 0.28
Yes, is the short answer. I go further than that and say we would be interested in working with the Deputy and across the House in relation to this. I am conscious that this is an area in which the Deputy has expertise and a significant background. It sounds like she met a number of other experts too. I am very concerned about this area in terms of the impact on our democracy, on our children and on public safety in general. Social media and digital media is a good thing but the regulation is not where it needs to be. I would be interested in receiving those solutions from the Deputy. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, is proactive in this area. For example, at the moment, we have a digital age of consent is 16. Clearly, that is not being applied by the companies. We need to legislatively address that. President Macron and others have said that if Europe is not going to move, they will move unilaterally on this. We are checking that out with our Minister and the Attorney General as what we can do within our own scope while pushing for more to be done at a European level. Perhaps this is an area where I could ask the Minister to convene spokespeople or the likes from relevant political parties to see if we can derive some policy consensus in these areas.
Sentiment score: 0.31
I am a bit frustrated by this myself as I am often asked this question and I have to give the same answer. The Minister of State, Deputy John Cummins, has responsibility for this and is doing very good work on it. I am very grateful to him for that. We need to see these guidelines. I have to be honest that when we see the guidelines not everyone will be delighted with them, I am sure, but we still need to provide a degree of clarity as to what the planning landscape looks like from a guidelines point of view in terms of renewable energy. Deputy Catherine Callaghan raised this matter with me recently in relation to her constituency. The Minister of State has told me that the guidelines are forthcoming in the next months. I will ask him to keep the House updated. I am sure he will be happy to engage with Deputies who have an interest in this issue. The new Planning and Development Act outlines quite a bit of work to be done on noise. There will be a chance for people to have input on the final draft guidelines. I will ask the Minister of State to write to the Deputy directly and expedite this as quickly as possible.
Sentiment score: 0.21
I thank Deputy Collins for raising this matter. I want to pay tribute to Vera Twomey because if she was watching this she would be the first to say that she and I had a very testy relationship at the start. However, I very quickly realised that Vera was a mum who would do anything for her child. I think of poor Vera and the late Ava today. They changed Ireland in terms of the reforms that were brought about. I remember signing the licence for Ava to get access to medicinal cannabis in order to bring her some degree of ease from the most horrific situation. We owe Vera a debt of gratitude for the work she did and I thank her for that. I remember poor Ava fondly and I think of her and Vera and her family today. I will ask the Department of Health where this is at and how it intends to act on that recommendation. It is important the recommendation is taken seriously. Currently, there are two separate programmes, the legislative medical cannabis access programme, MCAP, and the administrative ministerial licence programme. I will come back to the Deputy directly on the matter.
Sentiment score: -0.01
I know Deputy Daly has a professional background in this as a doctor, which is important to acknowledge. The Minister's only interest, and I know it is that of the Deputy and everybody in the area, is the safety and well-being of expectant mothers and their babies. We all share that view and we all want to get that right. I remember the Walker report. I think I was the Minister for Health at the time when it was commissioned. It was seen as an important and seminal moment and it does need to be fully implemented. I am sure resources will be forthcoming. I know the Minister has a real determination to invest in Portiuncula as well. I do not like to hear what the Deputy said about any sort of confusion on this. I will ask the Minister to reflect on the Deputy's comments here today and liaise with him directly.
Sentiment score: 0.18
I thank the Deputy for bringing up this issue and her ongoing work on this with the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke. I thank the Minister for his work on this as well. The programme for Government is very clear on this. It says that the Government will "Ensure sufficient employment permits to support the agri food sector including the equine, dairy, horticulture, fish and food processing industries". We have given a commitment to do more to assist this industry by making sure there are sufficient employment permits. It is clear from what the Deputy is telling me that there are not enough permits at present. As she will be aware, the Department ran a scheme on a pilot basis to see how that would go for the sector. All of the extra applicants were taken up very quickly, which shows the demand in this area. As the Deputy has rightly said, the Minister is concluding a review of the employment permits scheme. In looking at a long-term position on this matter, he has had significant engagement with the sector. It is expected that a report will be concluded in the coming weeks. He will then consider the next steps. I will certainly work with and support him on that.
Sentiment score: 0.31
It is breaking my heart to think about all these schools, which were in my constituency before Wicklow was carved into two. The Deputy is minding them in the Wicklow-Wexford constituency until we are one day reunited. Tinahely National School is a school I know well. I will certainly work with the Deputy and Mr. O'Connor constructively on this matter. I will ask the Department and the Minister to come back to the Deputy. Coláiste Bhríde in Carnew is a large and growing school. I am aware of its expansion in recent years. I am happy to ask the Minister to engage with the Deputy on its sports grounds.
Sentiment score: 0.19
Deputy Lahart is entirely correct. There are 21 commitments on childcare in the programme for Government, which is a sign of how seriously we are all taking this and what we are hearing from our constituencies. There is a need to look at how we move sequentially and together regarding all of this because fees are a big part of it. It is a second mortgage for many people so it is a really significant issue. It also involves places. Access to places is a challenge for everyone but it is a more pronounced challenge in some parts of the country. The Minister, Deputy Foley, is doing very good work on this. A mapping or advance planning unit in her Department is looking at where the need will be most acute if and when we start investing in more public and community facilities because we will start there. The point the Deputy is making is that there is a need to get the funding and fee model right. We can have a headline figure that says one thing but if people are actually withdrawing from the scheme, that is obviously having a more detrimental impact on the Deputy's constituents. The Deputy can expect a road map from the Minister in the coming weeks that will set out how we get from here to where we want to go on childcare.
Sentiment score: 0.09
I thank the Deputy for raising this and for his ongoing focus on infrastructure delivery in north Kildare following our discussion in the House last week. It is our collective priority to ensure every child in the State has access to a school place. I know the Department of Education and Youth, and the Minister, Deputy McEntee, are working hard on that. We remain determined to do that. Kildare is an interesting county in the sense that you can see enough school places in the county as whole. Of course, as the Deputy has pointed out they are not spread equally across the county. There are pinch points, particularly in the part of Kildare represented by the Deputy. That is why the roll-out of the pilot Apply to School system marks a significant step forward in sharing information. I hope that can be rolled out nationwide. That also includes Celbridge. The Celbridge campus project has been devolved for delivery to the National Development Finance Agency. There are three schools within the campus project, St. Raphael's Special School, Celbridge Community School and Scoil Naomh Pádraig. In March, the Department formally approved the project to progress to stage 2A of the architectural design process. This involved the design team developing the design, fully costing the planning of the campus project and preparing the necessary documentation. The NDFA will be continuing to engage with the school authorities. I will ask the Minister to get an updated timeline for the Deputy.
Sentiment score: 0.24
I thank Deputy Donnelly for raising what is a serious issue for his constituents, based on what he has told me. From memory, I think there was some legislative work done on this in the previous Oireachtas. I need to refresh my memory. I will certainly ask the Minister for justice to seek the views of Garda management and respond to the Deputy directly.
Sentiment score: 0.25
I will not cut across the Minister, other than to say that we can differentiate, and should be able to do so, between governance failures and shortcomings in an agency or organisation and the vital work done by artists on the ground in the community supported through that agency. I know that is a view shared by the Minister. I will ask him to come back to the Deputy directly on this. The basic income scheme, which was meant to be a pilot, was rolled over and has now become a permanent scheme. The Deputy welcomed that, and I welcome that. We also need to look at the overall capital and current budget for arts and culture in the round in terms of the investment we will see in major arts and culture projects in the years ahead. I will ask the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, to come back to the Deputy directly.
Sentiment score: 0.18
It is an important issue. The idea of any child being othered in any school on the basis of their own wishes and choices, and those of their parents, on the education they access is not appropriate. I know the Minister, Deputy McEntee, would share that view. I will talk to the Minister about where her mind is at with regard to a circular. It certainly sounds sensible to have some degree of clarity and consistency and ensure what is meant to be in place is actually happening in the school community. I will ask the Minister to talk with the Deputy directly and I am sure she will have a look at it.
Sentiment score: 0.29
I thank the Deputy. There is a lot of merit in what he has said. The Government has published in recent weeks a market diversification plan recognising, as the Deputy states, that while we do a lot of trade between the United States and Ireland, and the United States and Europe, and intend to continue that, we also have to make sure we look for other opportunities for Irish business in both directions. Those connection routes are really important. There has been an unprecedented number of Government Ministers in Japan over the course of the year because of Expo being hosted there, and the opening of the new Ireland House in Tokyo. I will ask my Department to undertake that piece of work and come back to the Deputy. We will do it under the umbrella of the market diversification strategy. I will also have it raised as an issue at a future meeting of the Government trade forum.
Sentiment score: 0.25
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue with me and previously with the Minister for education, and not for the first time. I know this is something he has been following and working on intensively since his election to the Dáil to represent Tipperary South. I welcome that it looks like we are at a moment where it is about to move on to the next phase. What we then need to make sure is that there are no delays and that we progress this with a bit of momentum behind it. I know how important this is. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, has worked very hard in terms of increasing the budget for special education, both capital and current. I know this is a school she will keep in close contact with the Deputy on, as will I. I look forward to visiting Cashel with the Deputy in the time ahead and perhaps being able to meet with the school community there.
Sentiment score: 0.28
The Deputy is right to raise this, and I have heard it raised in the House over the last couple of weeks. I am pleased to be able to say that we now have significant funding for 2026 onwards. The Deputy’s question is a valid one, namely, whether there is anything that can be done between now and the start of 2026. My understanding is that the Department of housing keeps this under review and, as it gets closer to the end of the year, if there is an ability to provide additional funding to local authorities that can carry out the works, it tries to do that. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Browne, to look specifically at the case of Monaghan and revert to the Deputy directly.
Sentiment score: 0.18
I sincerely apologise if the Deputy did not get a reply to that. I will check that.
Sentiment score: 0.35
Yes, I know, but you should have got a substantive response. My sincere apologies if that did not happen. I will ensure that it does now because there can be zero tolerance for this. “Zero tolerance” cannot just be a phrase. The Defence Forces cannot recuse themselves from zero tolerance. It has to apply to every part of Irish society, including the Defence Forces. I am open to meeting that individual. I just need to take advice on the appropriateness of it and what the current status of the case is. Certainly, let me come back to the Deputy in relation to that and the appropriateness of it. On the victims of crime Act, again, I want to engage with my officials on it, but it seems logical to seek to extend it to the Defence Forces More broadly, the Deputy rightly mentioned the Women of Honour, which is important. They have done the State a huge service. We have established a tribunal to investigate the many important issues. The culture needs to change. There can be zero tolerance for any gender-based violence, domestic violence or sexual violence within our Defence Forces.
Sentiment score: 0.18
I thank the Deputy for bringing the matter to my attention. I will certainly ensure that contact is immediately made with the Minister for children about the Happily Ever After childcare service. Perhaps there is also a role for the county childcare committee in relation to this. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Foley, to look into the issue and to revert directly to the Deputy’s office.
Sentiment score: 0.30