An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-17 ============================================================ Fiona O'Loughlin (FF), Administrative Panel I support the Order of Business as outlined by the Leader. Last Wednesday, in the debate on a Commencement matter I raised regarding proposed cuts in the allocation of special needs assistants, SNAs, I described those cuts as indefensible. I was really glad to hear of the decision by the Cabinet this morning that this review of SNA allocations has been paused. Some 200 schools were impacted by the proposal. I spoke last week about Patrician Secondary School, Newbridge, County Kildare, which is absolutely renowned for its very inclusive education and the excellent work it does in the area. I was also conscious that Scoil Bhríde Naofa was told it would lose five SNAs. This morning's announcement is an important recognition that SNAs are not just an optional extra and are very important in supporting vulnerable students in our schools. The pause is very welcome and I hope it will become a permanent one. I call for a debate in regard to women working on building sites. This issue was brought to my attention by somebody in Kildare over the last week or two in terms of the difficulties that there were for women working on sites. At this point in time, there are about 70 apprenticeship programmes spanning a wide range of industries. It is wonderful to see more women becoming apprentices every year. Last week, the Rose of Tralee, an apprentice herself, was in here for the motion on apprenticeships. By the end of 2025, there were approximately 3,010 female apprentices, an increase of 196% since 2023. Women now account for approximately 10% of apprentices. However, there are issues on the ground, for example, with toilets. Toilets on sites where there are women are just unisex and I honestly think that we should have separate toilets. I was quite shocked at some of the behaviours I was told about. A lot of it may be down to a male cultural thing over the years without having women present while working on building sites. We need to have a debate, probably with the Minister for higher education, because it is between enterprise and higher education but it is something we need to look at. The Kildare Volunteer Centre has done a wonderful job over the last two decades, supporting volunteers and matching volunteers to events that are happening. There was a really good event in the Keadeen Hotel, attended by the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, at which it and they presented its strategic plan. I thank Michelle, John and all the team. They have an excellent board and an excellent group of people working with volunteers. Volunteers are the lifeblood of every village and community organisation from Tidy Towns to sport and I wish them all well. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-17/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:38+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-02-17