I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I appreciate that the survivors of the horrific abuse perpetrated by Seán Drummond are in the Gallery today. I was not aware that they would be here today or that the issue would be raised but, notwithstanding that, there is no question that the trauma experienced by them and others as a result of the heinous acts of this individual, Seán Drummond, and indeed many others in previous years in our schools and across other areas of society, has been truly traumatic and has had a life-changing impact on the people abused and on survivors. There is a shocking history of child sexual abuse in this country and there has been in many institutions. As the Deputy knows, the report of the scoping inquiry into historical sexual abuse in day and boarding schools run by religious orders was published in 2024. It recognised the significance of the issues for survivors, the issue of redress as well, and their expressed wish that those running the schools, in this case the Christian Brothers, where child sexual abuse happened should be held accountable - not just held accountable in terms of what happened but held accountable financially. An interdepartmental group was established on foot of the scoping inquiry report, to each recommendation of that report. The interdepartmental group recognised that there were far-reaching implications, so there is a lot of detailed work under way now, as the Deputy knows. It is examining mechanisms that may be brought to bear to ensure that those responsible for the schools where sexual abuse took place meet their obligations to survivors. It aims to complete its work by May 2027 and will make a report to the Minister, based on which the Government will give consideration to that. While I appreciate the specifics of this case, there could be many more involved. The issue for Government more generally is to try to look at this comprehensively in terms of all issues that may arise in the context of the work of that interdepartmental group. That said, I was not aware of the confession letter of Seán Drummond, which the Deputy outlined. I would like to get more background on that and to see what is the best way to take it from here in respect of the specific issue of an independent investigation into why that letter did not appear before now. That is where we are right now in relation to it.
Sentiment score: -0.10
As far as I can see, this is new information in respect of this letter. Was this a confession letter written to the Garda at the time or to whom? I am not sure as to who, but we can discuss that.
Sentiment score: 0.12
I will take this further, and I will examine this. To be fair, I did not anticipate that this would be raised this afternoon, but I certainly will take the issue the Deputy raised in respect of this letter that written by Seán Drummond in the 1970s further and see how best to examine and deal with that. As I said, there is an interdepartmental group, but I will reflect on this and discuss it with the Minister for education and others in respect of this specific case.
Sentiment score: 0.52
The Deputy's portrayal of the Government's position on special education is wrong and does not accord with the facts. We have expanded provision for special education year after year, and we continue to do so, with thousands of more places, hundreds of extra special classes, new special schools, thousands of additional special needs assistants, SNAs, and additional special education teachers. The numbers speak for themselves. It is not credible for the Deputy, notwithstanding the trauma and pressure that parents are under, to portray a picture of a Government that is not engaging with special education, because we are. The figures speak for themselves. The number of extra teachers and SNAs all speak for themselves. Last year, we brought it forward to 1 October, correctly, because it was too late in previous years. The result was a dramatic increase in the numbers applying. Applications were received from about 7,860 children for a special placement for September 2026. That is more than twice the number who did so ahead of the 2025 school year. Bringing the date forward was effective and impactful, resulting in a substantial increase in the allocation to education to cater for the additional needs in terms of special classes. About 580 new special classes have opened as a result of that initiative last year. There are 60 new inclusive special classes and so forth. In relation to 1 September, there has already been huge engagement from parents. Parents are engaging with the portal. Again, that will facilitate earlier planning and earlier provision to make sure we can get as much as we possibly can done before the school year. There has not been a change of policy in respect of the circular that issued. The Department is seeking information, which is something that should always be done. The Deputy is now saying the date should put back. In many respects in the previous year, the information was coming in too late to organise the new special classes and provision. Bringing it forward has enabled us to do an awful lot more this year, for the current school year, than we would have been able to do in previous years. A very significant additional €646 million on top of the allocated Estimate to education was given by the Government in response to the increased demand. In total now, there will be about 4,200 special classes operating in mainstream schools next year. That is an increase of about 130% since 2020. Our objective is that every child will receive a special school placement by September.
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Thousands of additional places were secured last year. Where-----
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Sorry, I am answering the questions but the Deputy is making false assertions.
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The Deputy is.
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She keeps with her feigned horror and all the rest of it. It is a feigned kind of presentation.
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We are involved with parents. We have all been involved-----
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-----in special education.
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We know about it. The Deputy is not the only person who knows about special education. We all know about it because we all go about our work. I know about it. I have known it for a long time.
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Deputy Cairns made it about me. She made it about us. She made the remarks. It is a serious issue. It was the Deputy who started throwing them out again, not concentrating and focusing on the actual key point.
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There is ongoing engagement by the NSCE and the Department with schools and parents. There was a dramatic-----
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In the past two years alone, there have been 2,000 additional special classes.
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Come on, acknowledge the expansion that has occurred.
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The Deputy is incapable of acknowledging it.
Sentiment score: -0.38
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The loss of life and the murder and killing of women is shocking. As the Deputy said, a large percentage of women are killed by people known to them. The horrific killings of Jamey Carney and of Adina Raluca Constantin in Portlaoise are quite shocking and the numbers are not going in the right direction in terms of the continued extreme violence that is occurring. There is a societal response required, more generally. Obviously, there will be investigations in respect of the most recent killings and those who committed these crimes need to be brought to justice. More broadly speaking, we are supportive of any measure that would help women who are victims of continuing domestic violence. There does need to be a far greater degree of flexibility in housing policy, for example. The Minister for housing has, since the Deputy last raised this issue, updated Cabinet in respect of measures to transfer time in social housing between local authorities to facilitate women to leave where they are and to go another location but also to develop protocols with local authorities in respect of how women in circumstances of domestic violence can avail of housing, the provision of safe houses and, of course, additional refuge spaces. Cuan, the new agency the Government established for domestic violence, is leading that. I will speak to the Ministers concerned in terms of the Deputy's proposal around the safe fund; it is not a huge amount of money. We would have to engage with the organisation in terms of the specifics of that. We want to make sure there is a programme of additional refuge places and safe houses. Also, in every local authority allocation, there should be a reserve held to facilitate women fleeing domestic violence. I will ask the Ministers for housing and justice again to talk to the Deputy in respect of the specifics of what she has put forward. I favour as broad a degree of flexibility as possible to facilitate women who are under the constant threat of either coercive control or violence in any shape or form that might take. We have to provide opportunities for people to flee that violence, to leave it behind them and to take that decisive step. I will leave it at that for the time being.
Sentiment score: -0.05
Again, I thank the Deputy for raising this. I should have referenced that the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Dara Calleary, has announced the introduction of domestic violence travel supplement. The Deputy is probably aware of that.
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It was announced since the last time the Deputy raised this. That is an important additional measure. Broadly speaking, we have a significant issue more generally in terms of the level and scale of violence and attitudes. In particular, and separate from the murders that occurred, access to violent pornography, for example, by young males is an issue as well, which could be creating an environment that is leading to the kind of shocking levels of violence perpetrated against women. We need to look at this more broadly, which we are doing, but we have to continue to look at what is the most effective way to change the societal context of all of this.
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I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. In the first instance, each political party has its own rules in respect of a vote of conscience. In the Government parties' situation, it is in respect of human life issues. That is well known. Across the political system, parties vote in accordance with internal debates and under the Whip system. That is the position. Coursing is regulated significantly more tightly here as a result of previous legislation. The post-ban experience in Britain and Northern Ireland witnessed a rise in illegal hunting and poaching and the need for dedicated police operations. If you over-regulate or introduce a ban, it can lead to worse practices. That is something that has to be factored into this. More generally, in terms of any change in practice, you do have to bring people with you. I can recall earlier periods in this House when other practices were legislated for and the campaigns that developed around them were far in excess of the specific issue. In other words, people felt that their entire way of life was going to be challenged. The Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 has very specific regulatory protections involved, with far greater penalties for violation of the regulations on hare coursing. Regulated muzzled coursing, operated chiefly by the Irish Coursing Club, ICC, exists under a significant overlapping statutory framework: the Wildlife Acts of 1976 to 2018; the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013; the open seasons order 2005; the Greyhound Industry Act 1958; and the ICC rules, directives and guidance notes. Coursing licences carry 44 separate conditions overseen by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS. Those coursing meetings are supervised by the NPWS to ensure compliance with those 44 conditions, associated with the section 32 and section 34 licences issued by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. A panel of pre-coursing inspectors, selected for hare expertise, inspects every club in advance of a meeting and issues a certificate to courses only where standards are met. There is a monitoring committee involved in the Department of agriculture with the ICC and the NPWS to monitor developments in coursing. The situation is kept under constant review to ensure that this is done in accordance with the law and the regulatory framework that governs it.
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I have not seen the report-----
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-----and to be frank with the Deputy, the provenance of the report is not something that I have knowledge of. It is not surprising that people would have done studies and analysis on this, but it is more than just economics in any event. When I referred to bringing people along, I meant there are people in rural Ireland who would have diametrically different opinions or approaches from the Deputy, and there are. That is what I meant about engaging with society on these matters because over time people have felt that their way of life is under sustained attack and threat, no matter how alien it might be to the Deputy's perspective or other people's perspectives. Whether that is justified or not, that is the reality. In many ways these measures can actually create a counter reaction that is far disproportionate to the actual specific issues that have been raised here from time to time. That is a factor in our society, whether the Deputy likes it or not. It ultimately has manifestations that are much broader than the specific issue of hare coursing itself.
Sentiment score: 0.03