I appreciate the Senator's interest and contribution. The Minister for Justice wants to be clear; Ireland must update its incitement to hatred legislation. If this requires further discussion and debate to reach consensus on how we do this effectively, she is prepared to examine the issues with a view to finding a way forward. While that is happening, we cannot ignore the fact that we need hate crime laws. Ireland is one of the last countries in the EU to legislate for hate crimes. The most recent figures from An G…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I am taking it on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Ryan. The Minister for Transport has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding in relation to the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with TII under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015 and in line with the national development plan, NDP, the planning, design, improvement and upgrading of individual national roads is a matter for TIl, in conjunction with the local authorities. I a…

I see the matter was addressed to the Minister for Social Protection-----

I thank the Deputy. I take on board totally what he just said and I will relay it back. This is about safety and saving lives. Yet again, though, I must read another such reply. I must read everything I am given because I am deputising. Approximately €411 million of Exchequer capital funds was provided to TII for national roads in 2024. In line with the NDP and Government policy, TII seeks to allocate national roads funding to local authorities in a manner that seeks to achieve the following key outcomes: the prote…

I do not know on whose behalf I am answering but I will answer it as it has been scripted for me. I thank the Senator for raising this matter. The civil registration service is an important service. There is a legal requirement on every person to notify the service of births, marriages and deaths that occur in the State and to do this in a timely manner. When a birth is registered, it automatically results in the allocation of a PPS number. This number is unique to each person and becomes the basis for identity and…

Absolutely. The Senator saw me trying to figure out which Minister I was answering for at the beginning. The answer I received from the Department of Social Protection clearly tells me the process involved in it. It also clearly tells us how they are trying to move to that digital space to make it more flexible, timely and everything else. It is also important to have that choice. I will, of course, bring it back to the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. I note the Senator's suggestions on an interim solution while recruit…

I thank Deputy Wynne for raising this important issue and for offering the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, the opportunity to respond. I am taking the matter on his behalf. A key objective for the Department is for all children to participate in ECCE, the free pre-school programme. The early childhood care and education scheme, ECCE, is a free universal two-year pre-school programme available to all children within the eligible age of two years and eight months to five years and six months. A child must have reached the…

As I am taking this on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, I must stick to the script. It is intended that, over time, all children with additional needs enrolled in early learning and care in school-aged children services will have access to supports under AIM. To this end, consideration is being given by officials in the Department of children to policy and mechanisms to extend AIM to under-threes as well an extension of AIM to school-aged children. As noted in the opening statement, it is critical the respo…

I thank the Seanad for allowing us to have this debate. It is not really a debate but an acknowledgement of the hard work that the Joint Committee on Autism has done on the report that was produced over 12 months ago. I thank its Chairman, Senator Carrigy, for making sure there were no barriers to this committee being an all-party, cross-party committee, where children, young adults and not-so-young adults were put at the centre. The report that it produced, with its 109 recommendations, has been the basis of the a…

The deal was most certainly done.

The KOSI process was put in place last year. Would you believe it, we are still working our way through the KOSI process. Only yesterday, I visited St. Christopher's Services in Longford. Its back payment of €1.2 million has been allocated and released by the HSE to the provider and will be passed on. A number of other section 39 organisations still need to complete the documentation with their local HSE branches. The funding is there and ring-fenced and will be paid directly to the providers.

It is important to begin by saying disabilities never had an embargo on recruiting OTs, physios, speech and language or for any form of therapy. Funding going from the Department to the HSE will be centrally allocated to each of the RHOs, which have sole responsibility for apportioning it according to the needs within their structure. If interviews have been done, I have no doubt the allocation of those jobs is under way as we speak.

I thank the Deputy for raising a similar issue to the previous contributor. It is important to reiterate there was never an embargo on recruitment in disabilities. In CDNT teams, we have 700 vacant posts which are fully funded and there is a continuous recruitment campaign under way. Regarding adult multidisciplinary teams, we have in the budget, for the first time ever, a pathway to ensuring therapists can be recruited onto such teams. It is a priority.

Can we just have clarification on whether this is disability or older people, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle?

Either way, on the section 39 pay that was agreed last year, the HSE is finalising its KOSI applications at the moment, so that funding should be making its way to the staff as we speak. For other details I will talk to the Deputy outside.

I feel that this is a never-ending saga. The Deputy asked me to reference Cork. I think it all focuses on Cork but I will stay on point for a moment on this. The frustrations of families of children with additional needs who attend special schools is acknowledged, as is the urgent need for therapy provision within special schools. The Deputy asked whether the HSE wants this to succeed. The answer is "Yes". I met with Bernard Gloster in the past three to four weeks to discuss this and he told me he has given a clear…

The Deputy asked a very clear question as to what is the next phase. October is the next phase for the intake of the additional ten schools to be rolled out in 2024-25. I might disagree with the Deputy when he says there are too many Departments and agencies involved. It was the lack of Departments and the lack of engagement between various agencies that siloed us and got us to the stage we are in. It is about co-operation among Departments and agencies and putting the child and the family at the centre to ensure t…

I would like to thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I agree with him. For context, we are discussing this since May 2021. I am advised that the then chief officer of HSE community healthcare Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, Sligo established an independently chaired strategic working group, SWG, in line with objective 5 of the HSE corporate plan 2021-2024, which is to "work to reimagine disability services, to be the most responsive, person-centred model achievable with greater flexibility and choice for th…

I acknowledge the advocacy and voice for the most vulnerable the Deputy has continued to provide in Donegal since-----

I know. I will give the Deputy the commitment tonight that I will talk to Mr. Lehane to see exactly how close we are to completion of it. I certainly would like to bring it to complete closure before this Dáil finishes up. I see it as one of the pieces in relation to safeguarding. I and the Minister of State beside me, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, talk a lot about safeguarding. There is a culture piece I want to see addressed. I want to see advocacy addressed and the voices of the individuals heard. I want to see that …