Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-18
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Mary Lou McDonald (SF), Dublin Central

The difficulty is that the priority and focus has not been on the well-being of children and young people. In fact, many families and parents wonder what on earth is going on with this litany of appalling treatment of children and young people. We have children whose SNAs are being taken from them, children waiting for an assessment of need, children with no school places, parents forced to campaign and fight for basic services, and children with scoliosis and spina bifida waiting for surgery. Seven-year-old Roxanne Kelly and her family now have to fundraise for the surgery she requires in America.
Parents and families are literally battling the State daily for basic services and support. This has now become a hallmark of Government and a hallmark of how our society operates. It is deeply unacceptable. What about accountability? Who in the end is answerable for all of these things that happen daily to children and young people, let it be said on the watch of the Taoiseach's Government?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:39+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-18