I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 19, inclusive, together. The delivery and monitoring committee, which I chair, oversees implementation of the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030. This strategy, published last September, is the Government's plan to advance the realisation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities so that disabled people are supported and empowered to live full lives of their own choosing. The delivery and monitoring committee is part of robust monitoring structures that have been established for the strategy. These structures have been co-designed with stakeholders to ensure oversight and accountability, and will involve disabled people centrally so that their voices can be heard. The first meeting of the delivery and monitoring committee took place on 8 December 2025. It was attended by the Government Ministers responsible for delivering the strategy, including the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality and the Minister of State with responsibility for disability, alongside representatives of disabled persons' organisations and disability and civil society organisations. To mark the inaugural meeting, a number of additional Ministers attended, including the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Minister of State with responsibility for international and road transport, logistics, rail and ports, the Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion and the Minister of State with responsibility for small business and retail, and the circular economy. The meeting of the committee considered a first programme plan of action for the national human rights strategy for disabled people, which covers the years 2025 and 2026. The plan details initial measures that will ensure disabled people experience real progress in their everyday lives. Examples include the roll-out of the new education and therapy service, increased provision of respite and residential services, steps to address primary care waiting lists and the development of a new vehicle adaptation scheme. Respite services play a critical role in supporting people with disabilities and their families, and the value that these services provide cannot be understated. We made a commitment in the programme for Government to continue the expansion of respite services and budget 2026 reflects this ambition. It provides €25 million in additional funding for respite expansion, providing over 10,000 extra overnight and 15,000 day respite sessions. This funding is being used to increase the level of respite provision for children and adults around the country through a mix of alternative respite options. These include in-home respite, after-school and day respite, using existing overnight residential capacity to the maximum extent and providing additional overnight respite capacity where it is needed. The funding will also support the further development of home-sharing, a person-centred and community-based form of respite where a person is supported in the family home as a viable respite option. Following consideration by the committee, the plan of action was subsequently published. The committee will meet twice a year and future meetings are expected to have a thematic focus on specific issues that will be identified with stakeholders in advance. The next meeting of the committee has not yet been scheduled. The Government is committed to delivering real and tangible solutions to enhance services to better support disabled people in Ireland. The overall HSE disability budget for 2026 has grown to more than €3.8 billion, a 20% increase on the previous year, delivering increased investment in residential, respite and therapy services. This includes additional investment in the 93 children's disability services which provide services and support for over 45,000 children, an increase of approximately 2,000 children since 2024. While we recognise there is much more to do, CDNT waiting lists have fallen from nearly 13,000 in January 2025 to just under 9,400 at the end of December 2025. To support this growing investment, the HSE is driving intensive recruitment efforts and a dedicated disability workforce strategy will be developed in 2026. The Government is also firmly committed to supporting disabled people and improving their lives, including through addressing the cost of disability. The Government recognises the significant additional costs that disabled people can face in their daily lives and we are committed to improving outcomes for disabled people by introducing permanent measures. The programme for Government includes a commitment to introducing a permanent annual cost-of-disability support payment, with a view to incrementally increasing this payment. Work on this has begun, led by the Minister for Social Protection, and will include engagement with disabled people with a view to developing proposals for Government. A public consultation is currently open.

Sentiment score: 0.33

I thank all the Deputies who contributed on this matter. First, Deputy Ó Murchú outlined how he has met representatives from Acquired Brain Injury Ireland on the need for injury case managers-----

Sentiment score: -0.15

-----and two community-based specialists for the centre. I am familiar with the organisation. I will speak to the Minister and the Minister of State to see what the background to this is. I think it has been a very effective organisation and an advocate for people with acquired brain injuries. I am supportive of this but obviously I will have to talk to the Minister and the Minister of State and see where they are in terms of the specific request. I appreciate the Deputy raising the matter. Deputy Daly raised the case of 15-year-old Oliver. I will take this offline. The Deputy's suggestion sounds eminently sensible to me. The closer to home the child is, the better the sustainable prospects for the child and the family. I will talk to the HSE about this and see what we can do to get to the right solution. I appreciate Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan's comments about various interventions. I have met the Before We Die group. I am very conscious of the need to join together the disability Department, the HSE and the Department of housing in respect of sustainable long-term residential accommodation for disabled adults. There is a spectrum in terms of dependency and the needs for various levels of support for people to go into a housing situation. It cannot be a case where providers of services tell people to go to the local authority and apply for what will be general support services in time. That is not a sustainable model, in my view. I had a good discussion with parents in this situation. I have put it on the agenda for the next meeting of the Cabinet subcommittee on disability. I have asked the Minister and the Minister of State to come forward with clear proposals on how we can create a more sustainable framework for housing for people with disabilities in the long term. Some will need substantial supports, some will need fewer supports and some will need a sheltered or just a very basic supportive environment. The Department of housing has a funding scheme available. It is about how we pull everything together to make sure that it is sustainable going forward for those who need these housing scenarios. I am familiar with the case in terms of the mild to moderate diagnosis and again, there needs to be flexibility in how that is applied to services. In my view, there should not be a categorical cut-off line in situations to do with disability. There should perhaps be a more subjective view from clinicians. Nothing is that straightforward in terms of disability. The Deputy is right that the emphasis, particularly in the southern region, is on emergency cases at the moment. I will talk to the Minister about that hearing issue raised by Deputy Mark Wall to see what supports can be provided. Obviously, we have to try to get the waiting times down and get greater access. Audiology has been problematic historically. We need to get more people into training places and recruit more people. It is a key area and it is related to speech as well. There is an inseparable connection between that and speech and language therapy. I will pursue this with the Minister. I would say to Deputy Cian O'Callaghan that if they have sanctioned the classes, we will have to provide them. The timelines might be problematic but we have to provide a facility for those two classes if they are sanctioned, unless there are other spaces on the school campus that could it on an interim basis. I will talk to the Department in respect of that. I assure Deputy Quaide that I will ask for a review of the wage subsidy scheme. When we came into government last year, the Department had done its review. The Minister, Deputy Calleary, launched it and I was at the launch. Some employers get good use out of it, but I am hearing that for some it is not turning out the way people might have envisaged. It was never the intention that it would be a disincentive to employing more. I will pursue that. We want to create a tipping point for people to employ people with disabilities. There are certain services where disabled people provide very good services to the community. It is an economic model and a social enterprise. They are not exactly well served by it either. I will talk to the Minister for an overall review in advance of the next budget. I understand that the number of special classes that have been sanctioned - Deputy O'Rourke mentioned that the number is 351 - is already higher than the number for last year. I think it was about 302 last year. That shows the scale of what is happening. I will get a precise figure for the Deputy from special education. It will be significantly more than that. Our objective is to make sure children are adequately provided for and have a place because that is their constitutional entitlement. Deputy Boyd Barrett referred to an "infamous" circular. It has been the circular since 2014. Since that circular, the number of SNAs has increased. It was 16,000 in 2020. If we go back to 2014, what was it? It must have been 10,000 or 12,000 and it is now at more than 25,000. It will probably go higher by next September. I do not know why the Deputy is calling it "infamous". There has been some expansion of SNAs since then. There will continue to be a growth in the number of special needs assistants. There is a new circular being issued. There has been engagement with stakeholders. There is also a new redeployment scheme on which there has been substantive stakeholder engagement and that is imminent and near completion. There is then the workforce planning document on which a lot of work has taken place as well. What should happen ordinarily on a year-to-year basis is the resources should follow the need and need will change. There will be increased need in some schools and there will be reduced need in other schools. It should not be done every five years. Covid-19 apparently interrupted the NCSE's approach to this. There should always be regular assessment of need in respect of what schools require. That should not be contentious.

Sentiment score: 0.16

In response to Deputy Paul Murphy, again, the budget has put in place substantial provision, particularly in terms of our child support payments - record increases in child support payments. In terms of the domiciliary care allowance, there was a substantial increase of €20 again, which was on top of last year's €20 increase. Combined with the working family payment, increases in entitlements and expansion of their access to entitlements, particularly free fuel, overall, there has been a very substantial embedded provision. There is also the 20% increase in disability services. In response to Deputy Heneghan, an aidhm atá againn ná níos mó tacaíochta a thabhairt d’fhostóirí, níos mó daoine faoi mhíchumas a fhostú agus níos mó deiseanna a chur ar fáil dóibh. Táimid chun é sin a dhéanamh agus tá a lán slite againn chun é sin a dhéanamh agus an aidhm sin a bhaint amach. Is pas saor i dtaobh taistil de a bhí faoi chaibidil ag an Teachta agus fiosróidh mé leis an Aire cad é an scéal agus conas is féidir linn an scéim a fheabhsú. In response to Deputy McDonald, I will talk to the Minister for Education and Youth in respect of the Holy Family School for the Deaf in Cabra. There had been an issue with the recruitment of Irish sign writers - full-time teaching positions. I do not know whether that is the background to this or not, or whether it is a sanction issue, but it would be much better if schools had permanent in situ teachers as opposed to hiring people in. I will follow it up.

Sentiment score: 0.25

Sorry, the Deputy is talking about interpreters - point taken. In response to Deputy McGreehan, the disability committee is very outcome focused. From the get-go, we worked through the school-based therapy scheme. That is now up and running. The recruitment has started. The money was allocated. We are close to finalisation on a vehicle adaptation scheme under the Department of Transport, in combination with the Department of Finance. That will take some time to implement and work up but we are in a position where it will be a very positive outcome. We looked at the assessment of need issue. That committee took decisions on that in terms of legislation and legislative proposals. In terms of the investment in disability this year, there is an extra 20% in the HSE disability budget to go towards respite and residential support. All of that is coming out of the work of the committee. In terms of the budget, including the whole issue of the domiciliary care allowance, we had a specific disability focus as well from that disability Cabinet subcommittee and from the unit in my Department, which did work in advance of the budget and has done a paper on the outcome of the budget, and will do the same in advance of the next budget.

Sentiment score: 0.17

I propose to take Questions Nos. 20 to 32, inclusive, together. Ireland's well-being framework is a cross-government initiative to measure progress and policy impact in Ireland in a more holistic way. The framework consists of 35 indicators grouped under 11 dimensions which reflect different aspects of well-being. It is supported by a dashboard hosted by the Central Statistics Office which brings together all of the framework's economic, social and environmental statistics in an integrated way. Each year Understanding Life in Ireland is published, which assesses Ireland's well-being performance across these 35 indicators. Ireland's framework tracks 35 indicators grouped under 11 dimensions. These dimensions are subjective well-being; mental and physical health; knowledge, skills and innovation; income and wealth; housing and the built environment; environment, climate and biodiversity; safety and security; work and job quality - both paid and unpaid; time use; connections, community and participation; and civic engagement, trust and cultural expression. The 2025 assessment shows that Ireland's overall performance is positive, in particular in areas including work and job quality, and our social connections and community. Only two of the 11 dimensions - the environment, climate and biodiversity dimension and the mental and physical health dimension - showed a negative performance. The analysis also highlights there is more work to do. In particular, there are some groups in our society for whom progress is unequal across multiple areas of well-being, including people with long-term illness or disability, single-parent households, unemployed people, younger people in the workforce, households with lower incomes and households in rented accommodation. To assist expenditure policy-making, we continue to integrate the framework into the budgetary process. The well-being framework was featured at last year's national economic dialogue and is part of the summer economic statement. The well-being framework was also part of the documents and analysis underpinning budget 2026, and this included analysis of the dashboard in budget day documentation and a paper showing how selected expenditure measures in budget 2026 are enhancing well-being was published by Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation.

Sentiment score: 0.08

Deputy O'Sullivan might make it.

Sentiment score: 0.00

I think swimming should be obligatory and mandatory for everyone in this House. It would take a lot of tension out of the House. It would be very therapeutic for all the Members. Táim an-sásta an-chuid oibre a dhéanamh chun níos mó tacaíocht a thabhairt do na daoine atá ag snámh sa tír seo.

Sentiment score: -0.06

Táim an-bháúil le daoine a bhíonn ag snámh san fharraige go háirithe. Níl an t-am agam é a dhéanamh mé féin i rith an gheimhridh ach, le cúnamh Dé, beidh níos mó seansanna agam chun snámh san fharraige i rith an tsamhraidh. In respect of sexual assault, Deputy Coppinger is not here, but I need the background of the case. I think the assertion was that in UCD, a student lost their place in medicine as a result of a sexual assault, which should not happen. I do not know the background to it but I would be interested in getting the full case. I will ask my officials to contact UCD in respect of this, because the dignity and respect framework should be observed and adhered to and absolute priority must be given to a victim of gender-based and sexual assault. Also, I do not understand how a rapist would be allowed to complete their degree on campus, if that was the assertion. Rapists should be in jail and convicted for such heinous crimes. If I could get the background of that, I will engage with UCD in the first instance because it was mentioned and I would like to hear its perspective on it. In response to Deputy Ó Murchú, the Minister, Deputy Dara Calleary, is preparing work on the cost of disability and has already initiated a public consultation on that. That is a sustainable way of dealing with the cost that people with a disability undoubtedly have. It is better to do it in a proper, measured, sustained way that is researched properly and evidence-based. That is the approach the Minister is taking. The Deputy has already raised the issue of the hearing, which I have already responded to. On the National Ambulance Service, I will talk to the Minister for Health to get the full background. If commitments were made to people, they need to be realised. It is a pity because the professionalisation of first responders and emergency paramedic technicians is the one area we have made great progress on. It is a very important area that has done a lot to reduce death and provide early interventions prior to someone being transported to a hospital. It is critical. I was involved in establishing it, in terms of the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council, so I have an interest in it. Deputy O'Sullivan raised the issue of water quality. My understanding is that overall water quality has improved but there is an issue in Carrignavar. There is an issue on the north side of Cork city in terms of water quality, which is quite poor. We have made a lot of representations to Irish Water. There has been some progress made in some areas. Again, however, Irish Water has internal reforms, which it is progressing in respect of addressing any issues that might pertain to Irish Water itself. Deputy McGreehan spoke about social prescribing and community health projects. I would be very enthused by those. They are very important. There is a lot more we can do there. The Deputy has identified some areas of the report in terms of single parents being under pressure and the area of mental health, where there is a greater need for not just clinical interventions or primary care and community care-based interventions but also broader supports and strengthening multidisciplinary teams in addition to psychiatry alone. Deputy Hayes raised the well-being framework. Again, he mentioned social justice. The well-being framework we have is a very comprehensive one. I would prefer if social justice inputted into that framework so that we would have one framework. Maybe this framework is too positive in most of its outcomes. That is the problem; we do not do positivity very well in this country

Sentiment score: 0.14

We are not positively disposed to positivity - I will put it that way - which is fine. I can understand that, too, to a point. We must always strive for better and do things better in some areas. Deputy O'Rourke raised the issue of special classes. We spoke earlier on that. The Minister will be coming back to us in respect of that. There will be further discussions at Government level. I have answered Deputy Boyd Barrett's question, which was similar to Deputy Ó Murchú's in terms of first responders-----

Sentiment score: 0.24

Paramedics, yes. I would say to Deputy Murphy that war is a terrible thing. I have no interest in war. I would prefer if all issues could be resolved diplomatically through peaceful means. I am satisfied that Ireland's approach to world affairs is one of peace and trying to help other people, generosity and particularly helping those who are furthest behind, which has always been the hallmark of Irish foreign policy, aid and peacekeeping.

Sentiment score: 0.14