I thank the Minister for the opportunity to speak and to echo the comments made so far by my colleagues Deputies Kerrane and Wall on the eve of our first committee meeting that will take place tomorrow. The brief the Minister has before her is one that is ripe with optimism about impact and outcomes for children, young people and those affected by issues of equality in our society. I wish the Minister continued success in her brief over the next couple of years. Having had the honour of becoming spokesperson for ch…

At the weekend, Mark Tighe reported in the Sunday Independent on the apparent toxic workplace environment and irreparable damage happening at the Corporate Enforcement Agency, CEA. In his piece, Mr. Tighe referenced the disintegration of the CEA's leadership team and the gaps in experienced police investigators. Many of those posts are vacant or were never filled at Garda sergeant and inspector ranks. According to the piece, soon just three of 16 gardaí that can be employed will remain. The memorandum of understand…

Tairgim: Go gceadófar go dtabharfar isteach Bille dá ngairtear Acht chun an Bunreacht a leasú. I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Constitution. This Bill is the Forty-first Amendment of the Constitution (Reduction of Voting Age to Sixteen Years) Bill 2025. I take the opportunity to thank the OPLA and the Bills Office for their support in preparing this Bill for introduction. I commend the work of Senator Lynn Ruane, former Senator Fintan Warfield, Deputy Malcolm Byrne, De…

Tairgim: "Go dtógfar an Bille in am Comhaltaí Príobháideacha." I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I thank the Minister of State for his contribution. I commend the work of my colleague Deputy Jen Cummins - or, of particular interest and of importance in this debate, Dr. Jen Cummins - who has dedicated her professional life to education, both formal and informal. I say that just to add even further credibility to the validity of this motion. This is evidence-informed and it is important that we are discussing this. I ask the Minister of State to reflect on the contributions we have made and their content. I have…

In 2023, 5,500 safeguarding notifications regarding concerns relating to adults aged over 65 years were submitted to the HSE safeguarding and protection teams. In a response from the Minister for Justice this week, he said that while criminal offences in general, including coercion, harassment, theft and so on apply across the board, the coercive control legislation specifically applies to a spouse, civil partner or person who is or was in an intimate relationship with another person. It does not extend to children…

I thank Deputy Kerrane and her colleagues in Sinn Féin for proposing this motion. We have had many conversations about childcare in recent months since I have been the spokesperson for childcare but, more importantly, since my time as a parent to three young children. I have been really interested in the similarities that face the early years education and childcare sector with the healthcare sector and the transformation we have seen in that sector in recent years. In the last couple of months I have met many key …

On a point of order, is that my amendment?

There has been an agreed change to the order of Priority Questions. We will move to Question No. 6 in the name of Deputy Joe Neville.

We have a supplementary question from Deputy Conway-Walsh.

Before we move on, I will briefly welcome a group of fifth year students to the Public Gallery. They are peer mentors from Enfield Community College in Enfield, County Meath. They are doing incredible work. We can see them up there and we look forward to seeing some of them down here in the coming years. I congratulate them and thank their principal, Shane, and teacher, Gráinne, for doing that. You are all very welcome this morning.

We will have time to introduce the question and for one supplementary before the end of this session, if that is okay.

We are set to see the roll-out of the free HRT programme on 1 June. I commend the work of the Government on trying to progress this. However, I must represent the significant concerns raised with me about the feasibility of the implementation of the programme as it currently stands. Independent pharmacies are not seeking to profit from implementing this programme, but the Taoiseach must admit that they should be able to break even when doing so. The Irish Pharmacy Union has published independent research that sugge…

I have it. I have the breakdown of it.

It is a loss.

The Department of Health said it was €6.50.

The programme for Government outlines an ambitious plan to progressively reduce the cost of childcare to €200 per month, and commits to a review and increase of core funding, a reduction in the administrative burden on providers, capital investment to build State-owned childcare facilities and so much more. What steps has the Minister taken to progress these actions? Will she outline what plans are currently in motion?

I thank the Minister for her reply. The Social Democrats believe that solving the systemic problems facing the childcare sector in Ireland will not happen by doing more of the same. A triple threat is facing the sector. We cannot ignore that any longer. A dearth of places faces children and young people. There is a real capacity issue in many counties. There is also a lack of affordability for parents. The third key piece is very much the issue of compensation and benefits for a sector that is providing such a cruc…

The scale of what the Government is proposing, and what parents are demanding and what the sector deserves, is very significant. To see that type of growth and investment requires strategic cross-party thinking on this. I wrote to the Minister a couple of weeks ago proposing that we establish a special select time-bound committee, páistecare, which would perform a similar role to and take an approach like that of Sláintecare, to spell out the vision for the future of childcare and early education in Ireland. There …

I thank the Minister of State for being here. The community sports facilities fund, CSFF, is seen by clubs and groups throughout this country as a vital cog in the revenue raising machine, specifically when it comes to development or expansion works that sports clubs might require in order to grow. I know that in County Kildare, the fund is very much relied upon for the development of pitches, clubhouses and other relevant infrastructure. In 2024, the Government stated that it allocated more than €250 million to co…