Education (Medical Emergencies in Schools) Bill 2026: Second Stage [Private Members] Dail Éireann — 2026-04-23 ============================================================ Neale Richmond (FG), Dublin Rathdown As I outlined earlier, there is absolutely no objection to Deputy Kenny's Bill, but the Government is asking for the timed amendment of 12 months to be agreed to allow for sufficient time to develop the legislative proposals in line with the principles of the Bill. I assure Deputy Ó Murchú, and all those who contributed in the House, that the Government will proceed with this Bill as quickly as is possible. There is a very clear bit of work that is needed to be done. The safety and well-being of all children and young people in schools is a priority for this Government. While the board of management of each school is responsible for the care and safety of pupils, it is the Department of education that consistently seeks to support them. While I welcome the provisions of this Bill, work has already started in the area, and that is why I asked Deputies to note that initial discussions are already under way between the Department of education and the Department of Health. In addition, there are additional discussions under way between the HSE and the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council. While these discussions are at an early stage, significant further engagement is required in this area with a wide range of stakeholders before further progress can be made. That includes the Health Products Regulatory Authority engaging with employees and those listed by organisations who have completed specific training on the conditions. I understand that a number of people have started this. I do not want to repeat the debate. I do not for an instant disagree with one comment that was made here in the Chamber by any Deputy. I agree with them. I appreciate the very real human and emotive need to get this done quickly. The fact that we are essentially 21 years behind the Canadians is something that does stick in my craw. The fact that something significant has been moved so recently in the far more similar jurisdiction of Great Britain just this year will provide an added level of motivation for officials to work across everything to make sure that this timed amendment provides a sufficient opportunity to explore the relevant matters. They must develop the comprehensive proposals that might impact on it in order to provide peace of mind so that when this Bill is enacted, which I very much hope will be the case, in 12 months' time that not only will it be fit for purpose - it clearly is already in its format here - but it will provide the overall surety and guarantee so that it is something that everyone can stand over, be it a teacher, parent, legislator or whoever else. Once again, I commend Deputy Kenny for his work on this Bill, and for introducing it here. I beg the House to pass this timed amendment to come back to it in 12 months. --- 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/dail/2026-04-23/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:48+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-04-23