I agree with a lot of what the Deputy said in the sense of these being extraordinarily harrowing cases involving extraordinarily vulnerable children. I want to answer his question. I know all of us in this House would say that these children do matter. Their voices do matter. All of us need to be their voice. I did have a good conversation with the CEO of Tusla earlier, with whom I have regular engagements. Tusla is making real progress in terms of opening more centres and reducing the reliance on what are called special emergency arrangements, SEAs. Alongside that, and regardless of it, there are laws in this country that have to be applied too. There are also matters that I believe are matters for An Garda Síochána. There are laws if anybody has committed a criminal act against a vulnerable child in this country and those laws need to be enforced. I understand there have been five Garda referrals and six centres were closed over a period.
Sentiment score: 0.07
Last year alone, more than 106,000 referrals were received by Tusla. There are over 6,000 children in foster care with foster parents or in registered centres doing well. The vast majority of children in care are thriving and are being well looked after. The vast majority of them are in education or training. That is not to take away from the harrowing failures. The Government will of course want to receive a full report from Tusla on this. I acknowledge that Tusla is working hard on this. We are seeing a reduction in the reliance on SEAs. We need to see an acceleration of that. We are seeing that against a backdrop of a greatly increased number of referrals. There can be no escaping the law in terms of any consequences for anyone who has breached the law.
Sentiment score: 0.07
I thank Deputy Cummins for bringing up the issue and I will have a look at that report. The question she is raising is a broader one that arises from time to time, where there is a model that works well in parts of the city or of our country and there are other communities saying that they too could benefit from that model. I am going from my memory now, but I know there was work to be undertaken towards the end of the last Government in terms of how we embed that good practice in other communities. On foot of the Deputy raising this today, I will link in with the Department of the Taoiseach, which is co-ordinating that. I will also point out, as I am sitting beside the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, that a number of funds are available to try to help communities, particularly to tackle disadvantage, and perhaps I will ask the Minister of State to speak to Deputy Cummins on that too.
Sentiment score: 0.31
I thank Deputy Healy and acknowledge this is not the first time he has raised it in this House. It does seem to have been going on for a very long time. Truthfully, I do not know the factual reason, whether it is regarding an inability to recruit or not. I know it often can be. The Deputy also raised the issue in relation to the transfer of services. On foot of him raising it again, I will ask that the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, interact with him directly on this matter.
Sentiment score: 0.07
I thank Deputy O'Flynn for raising this issue. On foot of him specifically raising that area, I will ask the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, who has responsibility for this area, to come back to him directly. The broader point as to how we make sure we can retrofit and make homes warm for people to live in and to have a higher standard more quickly is absolutely at the core of what we need to be doing now. We have so much discussion in this House about fossil fuels and chaos caused in the world. Actually, the action the Deputy outlined is the sort of step we need to be taking. We are eager to do more in this space. We have seen a significant increase in applications but I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy.
Sentiment score: 0.13
I thank Deputy McGrath for raising this issue. I will speak to the Minister, Deputy Burke, on this matter today. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, has told me he has spoken to him as well today. Pfizer is a great company and has been a great employer in the Deputy's own community but also in this country. I would like to have a better and deeper understanding of this and I am obviously very eager to support workers who are impacted. I know my immediate consideration today, and that of Deputy McGrath and the Minister of State, will be for the employees affected. All arms of the Government will work with them, but I will speak to the Minister on this today and ask that he also contact the Deputy.
Sentiment score: 0.29
I thank Deputy O'Shea for raising this issue with me and with the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, here who has responsibility for rural transport as well. I am pleased to see the investment in rural transport in Cork increased by 46% between 2024 and 2025 to more than €7.2 million. To the Deputy's point about Cork, passenger numbers on the rural routes are increasing by 95% so there is clear demand for this as well. I thank the Deputy particularly for raising the proposed new bus route 515 under the Connecting Ireland rural mobility programme. I know this is something the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, is very supportive of as well. It would serve a number of villages the Deputy has outlined in Cork North-West. The NTA tells me it is planning the advancement of these routes but has not yet given me a date for implementation. On foot of the Deputy raising the matter here, the Minister of State will come back to him directly.
Sentiment score: 0.34
I thank Deputy Donnelly. I am very proud to be a member of the Government that has introduced the DEIS plus programme. For the first time ever in the history of the State, we now have DEIS plus and I thank the Minister, Deputy Naughton, for her work on that. The Deputy and I have discussed this before. It is a start. The schools have been chosen on the basis of need, with criteria that are above and beyond politics in terms of trying to identify those most in need. That is not to say we do not wish to see DEIS plus expanded or rolled out further. Of course we do. On the other specific issues, including HSE-related issues, I will ask both the Minister for Health and the Minister for education to come back to the Deputy. While I am on my feet, I welcome the youth advisory panel who Deputy Keira Keogh, Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Children and Equality, said are in the Gallery. I know they spoke so very well yesterday on the topic of online safety. I think there are representatives form Webwise, Youthwork Ireland, the NYCI and the Ombudsman for Children's Office. I welcome them to Leinster House and thank them for being here.
Sentiment score: 0.21
I thank Deputy Maxwell for raising this. It is not the first time he has raised it with me. I know his constituency in Cavan and Monaghan has been significantly impacted by Storm Chandra. While we have increased the funding for roads in Cavan and Monaghan, which is important - there is an increase in the funding in 2026 versus 2025 - I want to see that money, and more importantly the Deputy wants to see that money, in Cavan and Monaghan being spent as it was intended and not sucked up by the road damage. We have gone out to the councils. When I say "we" I mean the Department of Transport has gone out to the councils and asked them to come back to us in terms of their storm damage so we can see if we can allocate additional funding for that storm damage within the Department of Transport Vote. That is the direction the Taoiseach and I gave a special Cabinet committee on the flood damage. There is currently an application in from eight local authorities, of which Monaghan is one. That is now being assessed. I am not saying this to be difficult but I am not sure if we have one in yet from Cavan. On foot of the Deputy raising this, I will follow that up. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, who is in that Department, will also link in with the Deputy on it.
Sentiment score: -0.02
I acknowledge that this is certainly not the first time Deputy Heneghan has raised this issue in the House. The Deputy raises it almost every time we meet, either formally or informally, around this building. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta for all the work he is doing in relation to it. It is now one of the 105 large-scale school building projects that will go to tender and-or construction during 2026 and 2027. In other words, the project is definitely moving forward. The 600-pupil post-primary school project was authorised to proceed to tender on 12 November 2025. The invitation to tender issued on 28 November 2025 through the eTender portal. A request for an extension to the tender return period was granted. The school has also been granted a two-classroom special educational needs unit to be configured within the existing layout. An addendum is to be added to the invitation to tender shortly. The short-listed parties have been issued a clarification. It is expected the tenders will be returned approximately two weeks after that addendum in the second quarter of this year. The timeline remains on track. I will get a detailed note sent to the Deputy by the Minister, Deputy Naughton.
Sentiment score: 0.15
I take Deputy Kenny fully at his word and do not doubt in any way the accuracy or bona fides of what he has shared with the House. I also accept the HSE is often very busy and under pressure. There are very many fine people who work in our health service and we thank them for that. There is, however, no excuse for anybody, no matter how busy they are, to discharge somebody without making sure there is an appropriate care plan in place. Surprising relatives and the like is not an acceptable thing to happen. I am not doubting the Deputy but on foot of him raising it, perhaps he will share the details, if he would not mind, in a confidential and an appropriate manner with the Minister for Health. I will ask that she would directly pursue that with the HSE. There are very clear protocols in place, as Deputy Kenny said, in relation to these issues. I am very sorry to hear about those two cases. The Minister for Health will engage with the Deputy directly.
Sentiment score: 0.25
As I was listening to what the Deputy was saying, I also had colleagues here saying to me that they are not unfamiliar with the significant inconvenience, anxiety and practical issues it can cause for constituents, including the constituents the Deputy referred to. On foot of the issue being raised by Deputy Murphy, I will ask the Minister and the chief executive of An Post to examine the specifics of the issue the Deputy mentioned about the proposed move of the sorting office from Edmondstown to Lucan. We also have to look at the opportunities to use local post offices and collection points there as well. An Post needs to think outside the box and be flexible as well. There are practical ways people need to go about collecting post, collecting parcels and like. We do have a very extensive post office network in addition to the sorting offices. I will ask the chief executive of An Post to engage with the Deputy.
Sentiment score: 0.20
I thank Deputy O'Callaghan for raising the issue in relation to the need for a new emergency department for Beaumont Hospital. I accept that the Deputy is accurate. This is something that has been long discussed and much needed in Beaumont. I do not have the specifics in front of me here, so I do not want to give the Deputy or his constituents false information but it is my understanding that it is part of the HSE's capital plan. I will ask the Minister for Health to come back to the Deputy directly in terms of a timeline. I also hope that some of these projects can be progressed in the healthcare space using the critical infrastructure legislation and other common-sense ways to try to speed up processes, with processes in parallel. I accept that emergency department is badly needed. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, to come back to the Deputy.
Sentiment score: -0.00
I thank Deputy Kenny for raising this issue on his own behalf and on behalf of Councillor Rasmussen. They represent a beautiful part of this country. I know so many people who live there and who visit there from home and abroad. I take seriously the points the Deputy makes in relation to garda numbers in Cobh, in Carrigtwohill and in the area more widely, and in relation to the operating hours of the Garda station. I will ask the Minister for justice to engage directly with the Garda Commissioner who is responsible for the deployment of gardaí. We are now seeing a significant increase in the Garda budget and in garda numbers in Templemore. I will raise the Deputy's concerns directly with the Minister.
Sentiment score: 0.29
I thank Deputy Roche for raising this matter. I know he has been engaging with the Minister for agriculture on this issue also and I thank him for it. We all know a TB breakdown can cause significant emotional and financial impacts on farms, and the recent changes are necessary to help drive down the levels and prevent more farmers experiencing these very difficult impacts. The changes are targeted to ensure they focus on a group of animals that are responsible for the largest number of reactors, namely cows, while also ensuring farmers can continue to sell them at livestock marts to achieve a competitive price. The Minister wrote directly to all farmers in advance of the changes, and officials from the Department continue to engage with farm organisations - it is very important for all of us to listen and engage on this issue - and with the livestock marts to try to guide them through the changes. I am aware of the financial impact and I will discuss with the Minister the points Deputy Roche has made on compensation schemes and changes. I know changes were made to the scheme in 2023. I will discuss the matter with the Minister, Deputy Heydon.
Sentiment score: 0.36
I thank Deputy Guirke for raising this issue in relation to Shannen and her children. I am pleased to hear that Evie is thriving but I very much take the point about people wanting their child to be able to thrive in their own community and not be isolated from that community. I take the point. There is also anxiety as to whether Fionn will have an appropriate place. The budget we are working through for 2026 allocated funding for 433 additional special classes. Of these, 432 have been sanctioned and this week the Government allocated significant additional resources to the Department of education. Much of this will be for special education to increase further the number of classes. I believe we will need a number much closer to 600 by this September. If Deputy Guirke wants to send the specific details to the Minister, Deputy Naughton, I will ask that she comes back to him directly.
Sentiment score: 0.23
I want to be really clear that the Government does not give any direction to An Garda Síochána in terms of implementation of the laws of the land. Anybody who participates in peaceful protest is entirely in accordance with the laws of the land. Peaceful protest is an important part of our democracy. I have participated in protests and I have been protested at. Protest is a good thing in our democracy. What is not a good thing in a democracy is breaking the law, and anyone who breaks the law will face the consequences of the law, as An Garda Síochána applies laws without fear or favour.
Sentiment score: 0.14