I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for his continued interest in this matter. It is an issue in which I know he has a personal interest and one on which he has advocated considerably in this House and elsewhere. I thank him for that continued work. As the Deputy knows, the current position in relation to this major development project in Coláiste an Phiarsaigh, County Cork, is the responsibility of the Minister for Education and Youth. She has asked me to outline the current position. The project referred to has been devolved to the joint managerial body for delivery. The project brief for Coláiste an Phiarsaigh provides for a long-term projected enrolment of 750 pupils, including four classrooms for students with special educational needs. That is an important function and part of the overall project, because the Government has a considerable focus on providing appropriate locations for children with special educational needs. The project is currently at stage 2b of the architectural design process, as the Deputy said. This allows for detailed design and planning, obtaining the necessary statutory permissions and the preparation of tender documents. Planning permission was granted in November 2025. The Department awaits submission of a stage 2b report. Once received, it will undergo a detailed technical and cost review in line with the Government's infrastructure guidelines. It is clear that the joint managerial body needs to get that stage 2b report to the Department to allow for the next stages along the way. As the Deputy will be aware, the Department recently published the €7.55 billion NDP sectoral investment plan for the education and youth sectors for the period 2026 to 2030. The NDP sectoral investment plan involves a strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and prioritisation of school building projects to meet the most urgent needs. In this regard, there will be a strong special education dimension to project roll-out. That is one of the important facets of the project, so that when it gets through the stage it is at, it will have significant prioritisation in the mix of other schools. Of the total €7.55 billion investment, it is envisaged that circa €5 billion will be used for project roll-out to support the delivery and modernisation of school buildings. This will build on the progress made over recent years with the continued roll-out of projects on a prioritised basis to meet the most urgent needs in terms of provision of additional capacity and modernisation of existing facilities. In this regard, a list of the 105 school building projects in the first tranche to proceed to construction or tender over 2026 and 2027 was published and this included 12 schools in Cork. The progression of other projects through the pipeline will form part of overall programme management and prioritisation. The timing of a pipeline project moving from one stage to the next requires careful planning and is determined by a number of factors, such as confirmation that any existing or emerging school capacity in the area is being, or will be, optimised; confirmation of compliance with all technical and cost requirements relevant to that project stage; outcome of prioritisation assessment; and timing of affordability within annual NDP funding parameters, taking account of overall programme requirements. In moving projects forward, the Department maintains a strong focus on delivering value for money and affordability, and includes phasing arrangements, where necessary, to ensure that spending remains sustainable. Functionality, long-term suitability and the specific needs of schools, including special education requirements, are also considered at each stage. This approach ensures that projects not only progress in a timely manner but also deliver maximum value for money and target priorities of the school estate. This prioritisation process will be informed by engagement with school patrons and management bodies, which is currently under way. The project at Coláiste an Phiarsaigh will form part of this overall process.

Sentiment score: 0.31

The Deputy has made a strong case for this project. I set out, in broad terms, the criteria that apply to all schools and building projects. I set out, in a clear way, the commitment of the Government, from an overall financial envelope available over the next number of years, to complete these projects and how they get assessed. Of course, there are more projects than there is money to address them over the next five years. That is why the prioritisation is part of it, but just because I have set out the prioritisation, it does not necessarily mean the school is not part of that. The first tranche has been announced. What is important now is for those preparing the stage 2b report to get it into the Department. Knowing the Deputy as long as I do, I know his capacity to advocate. When the report is on the Department's desk, the Deputy will probably be back in the House looking for a further update. Of course, we will provide him with one. I know the Deputy will be advocating through his contacts in the Department as well. At every stage, I encourage the school to get the documentation and report in. I have identified the priorities for the Deputy. The key priority is that it is a Gaelscoil, but the fact that the focus is firmly on the special needs or educational element for children with special needs is a significant part of the overall jigsaw. I suggest that the Deputy emphasise that and continue to advocate. Sooner rather than later, the Department will be, I hope, in a position to move the project to the next stage. There are a number of stages, but every time the project moves on, the school gets closer to that mark. I apologise that I cannot give a timeframe, but it would be foolhardy for anyone to give a guesstimate given that the report is still awaited. I have every expectation that officials will be in touch with the school and that they will move on that.

Sentiment score: 0.17

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and for allowing me to update the House on what has happened. I acknowledge the significance of a very severe fish kill that occurred on the River Glyde and the devastating impact it has had on the local communities, anglers and users of this important river catchment. I want to pay tribute to the angling community and those who use the river for leisure and other activities for the way in which they care for that river. As in many cases around the country, they act as citizen scientists, notifying IFI of various events that happen on the river. In fact, it was an angler who first identified the discharge and the death of fish. IFI reacted very quickly and was on site within about ten minutes. Within about four hours, using kayaks and drones it was able to identify the source of the effluent entering the river and end the discharge. Were it not for the fast action of all concerned the situation could have been far worse. That is not at all to undermine the damage that was done to the ecosystem of the river but I want to identify and thank people for that. We estimate that around 20,000 fish have been lost, including Atlantic salmon, eels, brown trout, pike, minnow and coarse fish species. That, of course, will have a devastating impact on the people who use the river but also on the ecology of the area. The Deputy rightly asked what the next step is. The investigation is ongoing and IFI is putting together the details of what has happened and will prepare a file that will go to the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, and then a decision will be taken on whether or not to prosecute based on the evidence that has been procured. The Deputy raised an important issue in reference to the comments I made. I do not believe, quite frankly, the punishment, fines or the way the process is structured is in any way commensurate with the damage that is done. Therefore, I do not think it acts as a sufficient deterrent. Often in a case like this it could be a licensed operator. I am speaking in general terms because I do not want to get into the specifics as I am conscious there may be a prosecution at some point. There can be a licensed entity, usually a commercial entity that has a licence to discharge into a particular body of water. The licence is issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA. I think that at times the reissuance of licences should not be done - the continued issuance of a licence where there have been breaches. I have said this to the EPA and asked it to give me its views on what the fines structure should be. I have my own views but I must follow the professional advice and I await that determination. Last year, soon after taking on this role with responsibility for inland fisheries, an event happened on the River Blackwater which again had devastating consequences. At the time, I asked both the EPA and IFI to look at the body of law that is there, to look at the fines and to come forward with suggestions. I await that information and will certainly move as quickly as I can as soon as I get it because the Deputy is right, in that I do not think it acts as a deterrent. The Deputy is right in saying that sometimes it is wilful neglect because the fine is not serious enough to prevent accidents. Sometimes it is wilful destruction where somebody chooses to do this where, as the Deputy said, rather than investing, it is easier to breach and be fined and not be impacted. We have to elevate the fines and the punishment to a level in order that people take heed of the necessity to protect our rivers and waterways.

Sentiment score: -0.09

I thank the Deputy for his contribution. I know Deputy Eoghan Kenny and other Members of this House were centrally involved in the Blackwater issue. As referenced, I cannot recount if a licence was ever removed. I know licences have been suspended in cases and it may be that there is a difficulty from the EPA's perspective on how it might do that. Maybe that does require to be codified better in the law. The lessons learned from the Blackwater fish kill continue to inform Government policy and are certainly guiding me. We did a review among the agencies involved but then we got an independent review undertaken by the European Commission's joint research centre and it identified some practical recommendations to strengthen prevention, detection and inter-agency co-ordination in responding to fish kill incidents. Those recommendations are now being implemented alongside the modernisation of inland fisheries legislation to strengthen enforcement powers and ensure penalties provide an effective deterrent against environmental pollution. We are on a pathway to update the legislation and I look forward to the engagement of Deputy Nash and others in the House when we bring it to Committee Stage or on pre-legislative scrutiny, when there will be an opportunity for all to get involved. I acknowledge the work of IFI, the local authorities and the many volunteers and community members, including the Dee and Glyde Fishing Development Association, who have responded to the incident. The Government remains committed to supporting the recovery of the River Glyde and to promoting Ireland's rivers for future generations. The overarching point here is that this cannot be done in isolation. We have to make the penalty and fines structure suitable for and commensurate with the damage that is ultimately being done. We mitigate the risks. Accidents do happen, for sure, but we have to ensure a lot more mitigation is taken because there is a lack of understanding of how important our rivers and oceans are from a biodiversity and climate change perspective.

Sentiment score: 0.01

I thank Deputy O'Reilly very much for her series of questions. I know her interest in this area and she has been a strong advocate, not just for specific schools in her area but also for the educational needs of children. The Government is fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the programme for Government makes several commitments to deliver on this objective. The summer programme is a vital and targeted intervention that is specifically designed for children with complex special educational needs or those at risk of educational disadvantage. While it is delivered during the summer months, it is an educational programme and should not be viewed as a replacement for recreational summer camps. Since 2021, the Department of Education and Youth's inspectorate has evaluated the programme annually. Its findings consistently highlight the programme's positive impact on the many children and young people who have taken part, with parents, staff and the children themselves reporting improvements in confidence, attitude and readiness to return to school in September. Deputy O'Reilly has asked a series of questions. I do not have all of the answers but I will ask the Department to communicate directly with her and the school on the specifics and I will speak on the general point.

Sentiment score: 0.29

The original intention and the continued emphasis of the summer programme is to mitigate the impact of learning loss on those children while schools are closed. An increase in special educational needs prevalence rates, particularly of autism, and the presentation of children with more complex needs has meant that the summer programme is more important than ever. Details of the summer programme were communicated to schools and stakeholders in early May. While it is acknowledged that the details of the programme are typically announced earlier, the Department continually kept in touch with stakeholders querying when the summer programme might be announced to ensure they understood that it would be forthcoming and that schools should start their preparations. As a result, the online application portals for both the school-based and the home-based programmes were opened from 6 May to 15 May. The Minister, Deputy Naughton, and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, listened to the concerns of schools that wanted to apply after the deadline, and the application portals were reopened from 2 to 5 June. Details on this reopening were communicated to all schools on Thursday, 29 May 2026. The summer programme has been well established for several years, so even though there was a shorter window for applications, schools were prepared in advance. The Department subsequently received more applications for the school-based scheme this year than were run in 2025, with increases across primary, post-primary and special schools. In addition, the number of home-based applications has significantly increased on last year. Officials in the Department have been engaging with schools on an individual basis in relation to the running of their summer programme. Schools have now received their sanction letters with their staffing allocation. This allocation is based on the number of children who are taking part in accordance with the published terms and conditions of the programme. Schools can engage with the Department if they have unique circumstances that require additional resources, and the Department will work with these schools on an individual basis to ensure that they can meet the needs of the children taking part. I believe this is what Deputy O'Reilly is asking, with regard to having a child-centric approach. Equally, it is acknowledged that there are some children with complex special educational needs whose school is not running a school-based programme or a place on the school-based programme is not available. In this instance, these children can avail of the home-based provision which allows for tuition or care support to be provided on a one-to-one basis or in a small group setting. I hope this response outlines the general position to some extent. We will certainly try to ensure the Department comes back to Deputy O'Reilly with greater detail.

Sentiment score: 0.30

I thank the Deputy very much. As I indicated, there has been a significant increase in demand for both school-based and home-based tuition during those months. From a departmental perspective, it does take a little bit of time to iron out all of that. I will ask the Department to communicate directly on his specific questions and that, perhaps, there be a level of engagement between it and the school so that the school does not have to be at loggerheads or not have all the information available to it that it would need to take whatever actions it has to in the coming months. If that flow of information does not happen, I ask the Deputy to come back to me and I will be happy to follow through on it for her.

Sentiment score: 0.35