I thank Deputy Currie for raising this matter which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport. From the aviation safety perspective, the regulation of the recreational and commercial use of drones, or unmanned aircraft systems as they are technically known, is provided for under European Union regulations that are directly applicable to Ireland. Two drone-specific EU regulations ensure that drone operations across Europe are safe and secure. In that context, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945 and the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 set out the common rules for the regulation of drones and drone operators, including training, licensing and registration. Regulation 2019/947 sets out the operational rules that apply to professional drone operators and those flying drones for leisure. Regulation 2019/945 sets the common EU-wide technical requirements for drones, which are the features and capabilities that drones must have in order to be flown safely. This regulation also seeks to foster investment and innovation in this sector through a harmonised framework across the European Union. The aim of the EU drone regulations is to achieve the same level of safety for drone operations as manned aviation. The Irish Aviation Authority, the civil aviation regulator, oversees the implementation of the EU drone regulations and standards. The drone regulations are operation centric and focus on the risk of drone operations, so regulation is lighter on low-risk operations and more demanding on higher risk operations. Under the EU regulatory regime, drone operations are classified into three broad categories - open, specific and certified - with different regulatory considerations applied across each category. Commercial drone operations may fall into any one of these categories depending on the risk associated with the operation. Low-risk commercial drone operations, such as aerial photography, may fall in the open category where regulation and oversight of operations are lighter. Other commercial drone operations, including drone delivery operations, are more closely regulated. These types of commercial drone operations may fall into the medium-risk specific category, which may require specific authorisation by the IAA. This type of authorisation is recognised in all EU member states. To obtain operational authorisation, an operator must provide a comprehensive safety portfolio which includes assessing and addressing both ground and air risks with appropriate mitigations. These might include, for example, co-ordination with air traffic control and fitting the drone with a parachute and flight termination system. At national level, SI 24/2023, Irish Aviation Authority (Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Drones)) Order 2023, which replaced an earlier drones order, came into force on 2 February 2023. It states the investigative and enforcement powers of the IAA and provides for arrangements between An Garda Síochána and the IAA in relation to enforcement of EU drone regulations. It also includes a section on privacy rights, which draws the attention of drone operators to the need to prepare a data protection impact assessment where required, in accordance with the EU general data protection regulation. In addition to complying with EU drone regulations, drone operators must also comply with national laws, including environmental, planning and, as mentioned, privacy laws. In addition to the two EU drone regulations to which I referred, there is also a European regulatory framework, comprising Regulations (EU) 2021/664, 2021/665 and 2021/666, which allows for the safe development of the drone services market, including drone delivery and the integration of drones into airspace. The U-space regulation - Regulation (EU) 2021/664) - emerged to support commercial operations with drones, especially those entailing greater complexity and automation, to provide for the safe integration of a number of drone flights in a volume of airspace. Essentially, U-space is an area of airspace where drone operations may only occur with the support of U-space services. At a minimum, these must include network identification, traffic management, flight authorisation and geo-awareness. U-space full services are not envisaged to happen until 2030. The establishment of U-space in high-density drone use areas may mitigate some concerns related to privacy and security.
Sentiment score: 0.17
Aviation is obviously a highly regulated area, but I agree with the Deputy that the rapid pace of drone innovation and its commercialisation have created a challenge. The Government is aware of the impact of that and of the growing drone sector, particularly in the context of the increasing volume of operations. The programme for Government includes a commitment to finalise and implement a policy framework to guide high levels of strategic planning and the development of the drone sector in Ireland through supporting its growth and innovation but also ensuring other aspects, including safe and secure operations and managing environmental concerns. A public consultation seeking feedback from the public on several key areas, including how to respond to public concerns about the increasing use of drones, how to position Ireland as a potential front runner in this emerging sector and the responsible development of the drone sector, was held in 2024. The policy framework seeks to strike a balance, as the Deputy stated, between those concerns. I will take her comments back to the Minister as I know she will. As someone who represents a constituency that is similar to hers, some of her concerns have been raised with me on an ongoing basis, particularly in relation to noise impact of continuous drone operation in residential areas. I very much hear what the Deputy is saying.
Sentiment score: 0.27
I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising this important issue and for offering me the opportunity to respond. The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 was commenced in 2023, and it represents a landmark legal reform in this country. The Act replaced the 1871 Victorian-era wards of court system with a rights-based model for tiered decision support arrangements. It is a key component of our compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD, and has positioned Ireland as a leader on capacity law internationally. The 2015 Act was developed in close consultation with a wide range of stakeholders and was welcomed by disability groups, advocacy groups and safeguarding groups alike. A review of the Act not later than five years after its commencement is required under the legislation itself, and the programme for Government also commits to a review. In assessing the operation of the Act, it is important to bear in mind that the Act represents ambitious and systemic reform of a system that predates the Irish State. We need to distinguish teething pains and the adjustment of sectors and professions to significant change from the areas where the Act itself must be improved. Legislative review can only be approached with the insights of a sufficient period of operation. Where improvements to the Act may be necessary, they will be made. In that regard, the operation of the Act is continuously monitored to ensure its effective operation. Issues arising are examined and addressed, as appropriate, and co-ordinated by an interdepartmental steering group chaired by the Department. The Minister has been paying close attention to the operation of the Act and is pleased to see that the available data shows significant and increasing numbers of people engaging positively with the new system. To date, the Decision Support Service has registered almost 4,000 decision support arrangements, including more than 2,300 enduring powers of attorney, indicating a robust uptake. Ensuring the accessibility and efficiency for decision supports is vital. While some aspects of the Act relate to court processes, within the Minister’s direct remit is the availability and quality of DSS services. Both the Department and the DSS have engaged with a wide range of stakeholders to understand the experiences of the Act and to identify and address any difficulties that may be arising. In the main, experiences have been extremely positive, but action has been taken to address barriers to accessing services and supports. This has included engagement with the legal profession in respect of their role in the EPA application process and the establishment of a dedicated EPA helpdesk to ensure individuals who require additional assistance in completing an online EPA application are supported in doing so. Individuals who are unable to utilise the online portal, for a variety of reasons, are facilitated in making an EPA application manually. Officials in the Department will continue to monitor and review the operational issues as they arise. In all aspects, the Minister’s primary concern is that the Act delivers appropriate, safe and rights-based supports.
Sentiment score: 0.41
I reiterate that the Minister’s aim is to ensure the most effective operation of the assisted decision-making (capacity) legislation and to ensure that its principles are upheld and that its objectives of promoting and enshrining the rights of those with capacity difficulties to retain as much autonomy as possible are realised. We must always make sure that our laws are working for the people they are intended to serve. For this reason, the Act itself has a built-in review of its operation after a five-year period following commencement, recognising that with any significant change some issues will need to be addressed with the benefit of a period of operation and hindsight. Critical to the forthcoming review will be the experiences of stakeholders and, in particular, of service users. The role of the interdepartmental steering group that I mentioned earlier, which has been monitoring implementation since the commencement of the Act, will also be critical. The Minister will continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure that the required review of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act captures the lived experience of people with capacity difficulties and ultimately ensures that people in Ireland are supported in retaining their autonomy and dignity in circumstances where they lose the capacity to make certain decisions and require appropriate, accessible, safe, and rights-based support.
Sentiment score: 0.33
I thank the Deputy for the question and for giving me the opportunity to reply on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth and to outline how the Department is working to ensure that there is appropriate school accommodation in place to meet the school place needs of all children. I stress that enabling students to receive an education appropriate to their needs is an ongoing priority for the Government. To plan for school place needs, the Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a geographical information system, GIS, to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources including child benefit data, school enrolment data and information on residential development activity is used for this purpose. Additionally, Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets inform the Department's projections of school place requirements. While the Department is aware of enrolment pressures and demand for additional school places in some areas, it is important to note that where enrolment pressures arise, it may not be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by the following factors: duplication of applications, school of choice, single sex schools and external draw. Notwithstanding the aforementioned issues, in some areas demographic pressures and other factors are driving a requirement for additional school places. Where demographic data indicates that additional provision is required, the delivery of such additional provision is dependent on the particular circumstances of each case and may be provided through the utilisation of existing unused capacity within a school or schools, extending the capacity of a school or schools, or the provision of a new school or schools. The expansion of existing schools is typically delivered by means of the Department's additional school accommodation, ASA, scheme. It is open to all school authorities to make an application for additional accommodation through the ASA which is available at www.gov.ie. Since 2020, the Department has invested more than €5.9 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of more than 1,350 school building projects. Between projects currently under construction and projects moving to construction in the coming months, investments by the Department are adding in excess of 610,000 sq. m of new and modernised capacity to the school estate. This is a record level of investment in schools. It will expand the number of school places, significantly increase provision for special education and upgrade and modernise our school infrastructure. The impact of this will be felt in communities right around the country. The programme for Government recognises the importance of strong capital investment in the school building programme and supporting this with enhanced allocations through the national development plan process. With regard to the school referred to by the Deputy, I can confirm that the Department of Education and Youth received an application under the ASA scheme for temporary accommodation for the upcoming school year. The assessment of the school's ASA application is complete. I can confirm that departmental officials have engaged with the school in recent days and have approved temporary accommodation to facilitate the intake of a second junior infant class at the school. This engagement will continue over the coming weeks with a view to delivering permanent accommodation solutions to the school and its community.
Sentiment score: 0.14
Again, I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. I reassure him that I will convey that concern back to the Minister to ensure that continued engagement takes place. I have no doubt that the Deputy will continue to raise it and engage on it himself too.
Sentiment score: 0.28
At the outset, I stress that enabling students with special educational needs to receive an appropriate education is an absolute priority for this Government. It is the Government's priority to ensure all children have an appropriate school placement and that the necessary supports are provided to our schools to allow children with special educational needs to flourish and prosper. There continues to be an increasing need to provide additional special school and special class places to support children with complex needs. To meet this need, 16 new special schools have been established in recent years and capacity has been expanded in a number of others. As the Deputy is aware, five of these special schools have been established for the 2025-2026 school year in counties Cork, Dublin and Monaghan and in Nenagh in County Tipperary. As the Deputy is aware, the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, visited a number of schools in Tipperary in recent weeks, so he knows first-hand the wonderful work being done in schools in the county as well as the need to bolster provision. Of the 400 new special classes places provided for in budget 2025, 399 of these classes have been sanctioned for the 2025-2026 school year. These new classes have been confirmed earlier than previous years. A total of 17 of these are in County Tipperary, which will provide just over 100 new special class places. These will be added to the 3,335 classes already in operation in the country, of which 138 are in Tipperary. The NCSE is engaging with another school to open two more classes, which will bring the number of new classes to 401. For the coming school year, there will therefore be a total of 155 special classes across County Tipperary supporting more than 900 children. The location of these classes has been decided based on known local demand, and schools that have capacity to expand have been approached in the first instance to accommodate the classes. The NCSE actively encourages expressions of interest from schools to open special classes, and the efforts taken by boards of management in expressing their interest are to be commended. However, it is not always possible to open a special class in every school that expresses an interest. When assessing the needs in the local area, the NCSE identifies schools in the neighbouring vicinity with available special class vacancies or capacity and assesses their capability with consideration to demographic and statistical data. At a local level in County Tipperary and nationwide, the NCSE examined which schools had capacity to expand and focused on medium and larger primary schools with available accommodation and no existing special class to open a new special class for the 2025-2026 school year. This consideration will continue to factor in planning for the 2026-2027 school year. This will ensure classes can open quickly as existing accommodation can be reconfigured in a more streamlined and efficient manner. It also ensures new provision is established in as many schools as possible. This not only provides parents more options when deciding which schools to apply to but ensures provision continues to grow in a diverse number of schools across regions. As in other years, however, where schools have no available accommodation, especially at post-primary level, and there is known demand in a local area, the Department will continue to provide additional classroom accommodation to provide necessary places. I know that both the Minister and the Minister of State, in keeping with the commitment in the new programme for Government, will be working to secure further funding in the upcoming budget to provide further special class and special school places in 2026 in County Tipperary and throughout the country.
Sentiment score: 0.41
I restate that in excess of 28,000 children are now being supported in special schools and classes. The number of special classes has increased by 100% since 2020. It is the statutory responsibility of the NCSE to work with schools to provide sufficient special education provision each year. As I outlined, budget 2025 provides funding for 400 new special classes - up to 300 additional special school places. The NCSE has announced the location of 399 of these in April, which is much earlier so as to give information at an earlier period in the year. This has provided much-needed clarity to parents as a result. Any schools not sanctioned this year will remain as potential options for future years when demand requires classes to be established. The Department and the NCSE are looking to the 2026-2027 school year and will continue to monitor the need for additional special school provision based on demand. If the Deputy has any particular query about the specific school or children, the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, will be more than happy to follow up directly with him as he is not here today.
Sentiment score: 0.39
I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I have a reply to read on behalf of the Minister but the Deputy knows what the Minister would say. I want to talk as someone who held the job. There is only one disagreement I have with what the Deputy has said. He said that hundreds of thousands of lives are at risk. I think it is millions. I have seen these issues at first hand. I have travelled across Africa. Irish Aid and our NGOs do an incredible job. The scale, breadth and depth of what USAID was doing on the ground was one of the largest operations in the world, if not the largest. It was unmatched. The absolute devastation of USAID, and the impact it will have on the countries the Deputy so eloquently mentioned in his contribution, cannot be overestimated. It is one of the harshest cuts that the US Administration has introduced. It does not receive enough attention on a global basis because of what else is happening but it goes right to the heart of those people who will pay the price. They are the poorest children and people in the poorest countries across the world. The Irish Government is conscious of that. We are going to work with our NGOs and the UN partnerships we have. We are not in a position, and very few countries in the world are in a position, to make up the damage that has been done by the cuts to USAID. However, I know the commitment is there, having worked in the Department and seen that commitment in the staff and people within the Department, on the Irish Aid side, and in the incredible work being done by our NGOs. As the Deputy rightly mentioned, many people give tirelessly of their time, lives and careers to work in this space that includes some great agencies, including Concern and GOAL, etc. To see those jobs being lost and wiped out is devastating. I hope that collectively, on a European and international level, through UN involvement, and in working to see what we can do within our own Government commitments, we can, in whatever way possible, work with the agencies to have an impact on what is happening. As I said, I do not think any country would ever be able to compensate for the devastating impact of what has happened to USAID.
Sentiment score: -0.09
I thank the Deputy. He makes the valid point that while what has happened with USAID is the most impactful, we have also seen impacts in the range of countries that have reduced their aid budgets, including the UK. At the heart of what we do has always been the process of reaching the furthest behind first. We target our ODA on that basis. The Government is committed to that approach and I reaffirm that it remains at the heart of our approach. There have been annual increases to our ODA. We are working towards a target of achieving 0.7% of gross national income. That commitment remaining at the heart of where we are and our approach to our development aid programme is welcome and important. I know that involves an ongoing determination on our part to ensure we maximise our relationships with our European and international partners and our NGOs to ensure we can get the best benefit from spending our money. We commit to increasing our support for our own programme and working towards that 0.7% target.
Sentiment score: 0.26