The pause means what I said as I discussed in response to earlier questions raised by other-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
The Ministers will engage with those schools and with the National Council for Special Education on that review. The schools themselves have appealed the decision, or will have appealed it, and there will be engagement.
Sentiment score: 0.54
Russia's invasion is and has been an horrific act, violating not just territorial integrity but also causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, including Russian soldiers, Ukrainian soldiers and the appalling attacks on civilian infrastructure. Circumvention of sanctions has been a feature of the war. Europe has tried everything it possibly can, including the appointment of a former Secretary-General of the European Commission, Irishman David O'Sullivan, to try to deal with the circumvention of sanctions across the board. I read the report this morning. There is no suggestion that the companies themselves have done anything illegal, but we will pursue this and follow it through. It is concerning. The circumvention has been a feature in many areas of the war and many aspects of supplies to Russia and so forth.
Sentiment score: -0.36
First of all, the age verification tool is currently being piloted, or the intention by the Department is to pilot it.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Robust age verification is part of the infrastructure we need to build to protect our children online. Our counterparts in Europe are of the same view on how to achieve this and we will work together to ensure the online realm is safe for children. Piloting, by the way, is about evaluation, asking whether it works and whether it has other implications. The intention is that it would be privacy-preserving and would protect people's rights but we will explore all that too. The other side of the coin is we need to enable children through programmes in our education system to be more resilient in terms of what they face in the modern era.
Sentiment score: 0.30
There is a workforce plan under way within the Department and the NCSE in respect of special needs assistants. Consultations are taking place and that would involve a review.
Sentiment score: 0.35
On the guidelines, there is a circular from 2014. As I said, the workforce planning involves all the issues the Deputy just discussed.
Sentiment score: 0.00
The Deputy is saying there are two patients left.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Again, I do not have the full details or specifics of the case but the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, will undertake to examine it and understand the full background of it before making commitments in respect of it.
Sentiment score: 0.71
Obviously I did not attend the committee and am not aware of the full details that ensued but if you were to look at every agency in the country and back at where staffing was three or four years ago - it may not be the case here and I put that reservation or qualification in - there has been an increase generally. Numbers in the public service have risen very considerably. We are going to have to look at methodologies, how we do our business and how we do our work. MABS is a very important service and I am very supportive of it but I am very conscious our public expenditure growth is up to 8% per annum, which is quite significant. We have good, robust public finances and we are being criticised for spending too much by the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and others and some economists worry about that too, so we need balance here. At a time when we are increasing services and increasing numbers, we need to keep a weather eye on outputs, whether we are doing things in the optimal way and whether we can do things more effectively. I make those points generally and without prejudice to the individual case.
Sentiment score: 0.32
Beidh an tAire Stáit, an Teachta Dooley, i nGaillimh Dé hAoine. Beidh sé ag bualadh agus ag déileáil leis na grúpaí áirithe ann. Tá a fhios againn go bhfuil daoine imníoch faoin cheist seo. Gan amhras, tá an reachtaíocht agus an dlí ann. Tá fonn orainn cearta chosmhuintir na háite agus na dúiche sin a chosaint chomh fada agus is féidir linn. Caithfidh muid é a dhéanamh i gceart, áfach. Is áis nádúrtha tábhachtach í an fheamainn. Caithfidh muid éagsúlacht na háite a chur san áireamh, mar aon leis na nithe eile ar ghá machnamh a dhéanamh orthu.
Sentiment score: -0.07
I acknowledge the concerns raised in respect of the schools Deputy identified regarding the outcome of the review of their schools and those that perhaps did not get the additional SNAs that they sought and so forth. The Ministers will engage with the NCSE in the context of those schools where it was indicated that there would be a reduction. We want to clarify this issue as quickly as we can. There will be a time lag because we paused the process in order to provide opportunities to re-engage on the issue, and for the Ministers, in particular, to engage with the NCSE and come back to the Government with a resolution framework for this.
Sentiment score: 0.32
I agree with the Deputy. There was an internal review by the National Ambulance Service in 2024. It apparently identified potential benefit-in-kind tax liabilities for NAS staff using NAS response vehicles to travel to and from work and the HSE sought a ruling from the Revenue Commissioners on the matter. In the interim, it took the decision to inform staff that there could be an issue, which has led to the result of the Deputy outlined. I am informed that the Revenue Commissioners responded to the HSE with a potential way forward to address the benefit-in-kind tax liability issue. I understand engagement has been ongoing between the HSE and Revenue Commissioners on the matter. In light of the Revenue Commissioners' ruling, a process involving the drafting and agreement of revised policies has been ongoing within the HSE, involving negotiations with the recognised unions. I understand the process is ongoing. The HSE is obliged to comply with Revenue Commissioners' regulations regarding what is a potential personal use of publicly owned vehicles. I have just received this information. People need to have a bit of common sense and pragmatism. I will speak to the Minister for Finance to see if a regulation needs to be changed so that the speed of first responders-----
Sentiment score: 0.08
We will proceed with the increase in the number of SNAs for the school year commencing September 2026. We have budgeted for additional numbers and that will not stop. We will continue to increase the number of SNAs. Our concern will always be to prioritise the needs of parents and children to enable their full participation in school. Special needs assistants are a key part of that.
Sentiment score: 0.28
Clearly, the Deputy was not at a nightclub last night. He is full of the joys of spring, despite the rain and all the rest. Deputy O'Gorman raised a similar issue yesterday. I undertook to speak to the Minister for justice in this regard. Maybe I should have left him take the question. There is a broader issue. Clearly, we will discuss this with the Minister concerned. There was an earlier iteration of this under the previous Government in terms of a broader policy. Towards the latter end of the previous Government, the issue was revisited and there was a reduction in enthusiasm for it, to put it bluntly. The night-time economy is important, in particular in terms of our broader framework for visitors and so on and young people. The nature of nightlife has changed. There is much more autonomy. People are not shepherded into one venue. The interest of young people is key-----
Sentiment score: 0.21
-----and a few older guys who want to hang around in nightclubs.
Sentiment score: 0.08
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It has always been a complex issue; it is not simple. More than 20 years ago we set up the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction and it has taken that time to get a legislative framework to deal with the many issues pertaining to assisted human reproduction. I will talk to the Minister for Health in this regard. She has prioritised the commencement of this legislation and the creation of a proper edifice and framework to help people, particularly in respect of the surrogacy issue the Deputy referenced.
Sentiment score: 0.23
There is an expansion in the number of SNAs. The number will go up to 25,000 in September from 23,000. I listed earlier that since 2020, we have had an extra 8,000 plus SNAs. That is the level of expansion that has occurred. It is enormous by any standard and that should be acknowledged. There were pressures on certain schools as a result of the recent review and therefore we have paused it. Ministers will engage now with the NCSE and there will be engagement with all the schools that got an indication of a reduction. I caution Deputies on the role and remit of SNAs. They cannot solve all problems in schools; they were never meant to. Their fundamental role is to facilitate and help the participation of children in schools. Other aspects of the needs of those children will have to be supported in other ways. That is the reason we are introducing therapies in schools, for example.
Sentiment score: 0.14
We need to look at other potential supports for children to ensure good fruitful inclusion and participation in schools.
Sentiment score: 0.79
The Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O’Connor, has been very focused on this. The implementation will be imminent. These are necessary Bills and we want to get them done and implemented through both Houses and see what more we can do to get rid of these things and protect young people.
Sentiment score: 0.29
Imminent.
Sentiment score: 0.00
I have responded to this on a number of occasions this afternoon. We have increased the number of SNAs and will continue to do that. There will have to be reviews on an ongoing basis. Members accepted that in the House this afternoon. One has to evaluate all of the time. Needs change in schools. Some schools have additional need; others may not.
Sentiment score: 0.10
Obviously it will be after a substantial review. It should be school by school, ongoing and regular, so there are no big surprises like what happened with the letters that were sent by the NCSE when some schools were told they would lose four SNAs. That was never the case. Approximately 68% of those 500 are staying the same and increasing.
Sentiment score: 0.00
I acknowledge the very significant contribution healthcare assistants make to our health system. The difficulty here is there was a Workplace Relations Commission hearing on 10 March last year between ICTU unions and the relevant Departments. An agreement was reached on pay and conditions but that applied to section 39 organisations under the health Acts, section 56 of the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, section 10 of the housing Act and section 40 of the Domestic, Sexual, and Gender-Based Violence Agency Act 2023. It applied to all bodies falling within those. There are many healthcare assistant work and homecare services, such as the Northside Home Care Service, which are funded through a separate, competitive, tendering process. That is a separate mechanism to the funding of section 39 organisations. The HSE says those tender processes and services commissioned by those tender processes are governed by separate contractual arrangements with providers. There is an issue there. It is not easily resolved. I will talk to the Minister. There is a one-day stoppage. We do not want industrial action taking place. I appreciate that people feel they need to do it. I will talk to the Minister again and see what we can do about it.
Sentiment score: -0.02