I wish to ask about Boyne Community School in my hometown of Trim, which was granted an extension well over a decade ago now. The Department is well aware of the situation and the need for the school to grow. It is so aware that it has granted 24 prefabs over the years to accommodate the growing school community. A few years ago, a site was purchased for the only girls secondary school in the town and the Gaelscoil to co-locate on a state-of-the-art campus. It somehow has jumped ahead. It is at stage 2B, whereas th…

I am a TD for Meath West and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda is one of my local hospitals. Like so many Meath people over the years, I was born there and have had many experiences in it. Michael Shine's unspeakable depravity is not an abstract to me. It is personal, it is local and it is still profoundly shocking. There is nearly half a century between his sick acts and the wholly separate issue of the scoliosis scandal of today. It may seem strange to many people looking in that we are discussing these to…

I want to share with the Taoiseach some experiences of women in my constituency of Meath West. One granny said to me: My daughter welcomed a baby boy, my first grandchild, into the family in 2023. It was an occasion of great joy for us. When it came time for my daughter to return to work after her maternity leave, that joy turned to stress as she tried to finalise childcare. The end result is that myself and the other granny have been minding our grandchild for well over a year now. This is a last resort as I have …

I thank the Taoiseach for his considered response. It is welcome. I reiterate that we need to expedite delivery on that commitment. We need to alleviate the pressures on our families as a real matter of urgency. The Taoiseach mentioned the workforce. Women tell me they are forced to family-plan on the basis of our high childcare costs and low availability. That is not good for them or for society as a whole. We want to keep women in our workplaces and we need to make that workforce as accessible for them as possibl…

I recognise that progress has been made in the last 12 months in relation to the cost of childcare, with the expansion of the national childcare scheme subsidies, improvements to core funding and a lowering of the maximum cap on fees. This has brought weekly costs for childcare to around €200 for families who are paying the highest rates. Many of my constituents in Meath West have told me that there has been good progress in the downward trajectory of their childcare bills. About 15% more families availed of subsid…

I thank the Minister of State. As I have said, Louth is at the centre of the Dublin-Belfast corridor. It offers scale, connectivity, a strong industrial base and a pipeline of skills. Dundalk is home to the newest university in the country and it will be a major asset to attract and embed high-value research-driven employment. The IDA sites in Drogheda and Dundalk provide a huge opportunity to grow the economy not only in the north-east but nationally.

I have a really important question to ask the Taoiseach on behalf of all the parents, carers and children across Ireland, especially my two children at home in Meath, Liam and Hannah. We have had lots of special and important visitors to Ireland throughout 2025 but our most important one will arrive here on 24 December, Christmas Eve. I would like the Taoiseach's personal assurances that our airspace will be clear for Santa, Rudolph and all of his reindeer to allow them to deliver all the well-deserved presents for…

I welcome the new accelerated infrastructure legislation and ask that the Minister ensure it is applied to one of the most critical transport projects in Meath and wider mid-east region, namely, the Navan rail line. Navan is one of the largest towns in the country and is without a rail connection. Every day, thousands of Meath commuters face long unreliable journeys because their transport network has not kept pace with our population and economic growth. The route selection work is under way and public consultatio…

Realistically, under the current legislation and timelines, the Navan rail line will be delivered in 2036. Can we do better with than that this legislation? The purpose is to remove obstacles, streamline approvals, cut duplicated processes and ensure that key national projects like the Navan rail line move efficiently to delivery. In my very biased opinion, there is no project more deserving than the Navan rail line. Fast-tracking the rail line will ease the pressure on our roads, support housing and jobs, and give…

Is the Government concerned about a developer's ability, under current insolvency and receivership law, to convert themselves into a secured creditor during the collapse of their own residential project? This is the shocking scenario that homeowners have faced in my constituency in Ringfort, Rathmolyon, County Meath. The developer now ranks ahead of Revenue and the contracted home buyers, which may leave the State at some loss but, more importantly, these five families at a huge loss. Will the Government review the…

I want to raise the urgent issue of the transition from child disability services to adult disability services. A constituent has told me that her child was not seen by child disability services until he was almost 18 and that was eight years post her first contact. The family had no clarity on what supports they were entitled to when he was a child, let alone what they were facing into from adult disability services. Another constituent - another mother - has told me some therapies her child receives now are not g…

I thank the Minister for the update on the commitment of the Government and Minister to family resource centres across the country. I welcome the opening of new centres as I know how much they can do and add to our communities. I know how much family resource centres add because there is an extremely active and hard-working one in my home town of Trim. I cannot impress upon the Minister enough how important it is to provide additional supports, not least financially, to existing facilities like Trim Family Resource…

I thank the Minister. That is welcome news. Trim Family Resource Centre will not be found wanting in the type of projects it will allocate that money to. It is involved in projects such as zero tolerance, which tackles domestic violence, as well as low-cost rental for partyware, which is a relief to many families in my area. My question remains the same. I know the Minister is committed to the programme. I ask her to keep the pressure on in government and keep the funding for and allocation to family resource centr…

People in Clonard and Enfield in my constituency of Meath West are very angry about their water supplies or lack thereof. Abbeyfields and Meadow View in Clonard are home to about 150 houses. They have not been served properly by a proper water service for over 30 and 40 years, respectively. Finally, in August, Uisce Éireann confirmed a new bore hole would be dug there and that it was imminent, along with an improvement in communications but neither has happened. Machinery is on-site but again, no one is quite sure …

I recently met a lady in my constituency of Meath West who was finally approved for a carer's allowance nine years after she first started to care for her beautiful daughter who has many additional and complex needs. A short time later, this lady's husband got a modest increase in what is a good income, shall we say. That income, though, does pay for many private supports and therapies they need to get. In this instance, carer's allowance was going to someone who saved the State so much money by caring for her daug…

Will the Minister give an update on the supports being provided for naíonraí?

I thank the Minister for her comments and for recognising the importance of naíonraí in our communities. As a TD for Meath, which has two of the only Gaeltacht areas in Leinster, namely Ráth Chairn and Baile Ghib, the importance of the Irish language and culture is not lost on me. We have some quality settings in the Gaeltacht area, for example, in Navan. At present, thankfully, we are seeing the Irish language under the spotlight like we have not for a while. The importance of speaking the language and being proud…

I ask the Taoiseach to engage with the Minister for Health and ask her to review and, indeed, expand the long-term illness scheme. It rightly acknowledges a number of chronic illness and conditions, but it fails to acknowledge many others, such as those living with serious mental health conditions over the age of 16, heart conditions such as sarcoidosis, rare diseases like factor V Leiden and autoimmune diseases such as Crohn's and colitis. These illnesses do not go away; they are managed for life. Our drugs paymen…

The programme for Government committed to reducing childcare costs to €200 per month per child. Families across the country are under financial pressure. It is imperative that this commitment is delivered on within the lifetime of this Government. I urge the Taoiseach to ensure it remains a key focus of the Cabinet committee on children and education. Affordable childcare-----

Childcare, yes. Affordable childcare is not only essential for parents, but also for workforce participation, equality and the well-being of children. I appreciate it is complex and I appreciate the work already undertaken by the Minister, Deputy Norma Foley, to realise this commitment but could the Taoiseach outline any progress to date and when we can expect further progress?