Everything is fine.

Another report so.

I want to absolutely reject that final aspiration anyway.

I thank the Minister of State and very much appreciate this opportunity to discuss this important topic of sport, which is sometimes relegated. When we think of the lives we all live and of our communities, it is sports clubs and involvement in sport that lift so many communities, families and individuals, and even the entire country. Reference has been made to our international teams and how they have brought success. It gives everybody a great lift. Historically, though, we have underinvested in sport. On an EU b…

It is somebody else's fault now.

As the Minister knows, I have been raising the issue of the potential for a DEIS plus scheme over the last period. I know that the Minister, in her answer, will give me an extensive Government response on DEIS, its expansion and all that. I really need her to drill down into this specific proposal for trauma-informed supports for a number of extremely disadvantaged schools in a number of identified geographic locations in Dublin and across the country.

I am talking about a specific group of schools that the Minister referenced. I have met them. A letter was written by 30 or so principals in extremely disadvantaged schools in Tallaght, Ballymun and Dublin 17 in my constituency. They are witnessing things they never witnessed before. They are talking about intergenerational trauma. They say the Covid pandemic had a profoundly damaging effect on these children. They say to me that some children are being lost for good and forever because of a lack of supports. I spo…

With the greatest of respect, I cannot look a teacher or principal in the eye and say, "I know you really want resources but there is an OECD review". I cannot do that with any sort of straight face. I get incredibly frustrated when Government representatives tell me that some children who are disadvantaged do not go to DEIS schools. Every child who goes to a DEIS school, particularly in an area of profound disadvantage is a profoundly disadvantaged student. The school is their only hope and only chance. It really …

Will the Minister shed some light on the rather bizarre scenario of a school in County Offaly being prevented from getting a grant for a sensory room because it did not have a door?

I raised the case in County Offaly of Shinrone National School but it is an issue that lots of schools could come across. Apparently, it is Department policy not to provide a door to the opening into a quiet space. This allows for active supervision of the quiet space from the SEN classroom. However, it is my understanding that there is a clear distinction between a quiet space and a sensory room; they are not the same thing. A sensory room is a dedicated room with a door and a school must demonstrate that this is …

In fairness to schools and the Department, everyone is trying to do the right thing and ensure they can provide an environment for children in which they can flourish. These interventions are important. In terms of terminology and communication between Departments, we do not want a grant to be apparently refused because of a misuse of language regarding a door. We want different sections within the Department to deal with each other in a more communicative fashion. Can we streamline this to ensure that schools unde…

Shane O'Farrell was just out for a training cycle when he was knocked down and killed in August 2011 in County Monaghan. We in the Labour Party extend our condolences again to Shane's family. The pain caused by his death has been exacerbated by how needless it was. There are many moments during which it seems obvious, if the State or agents of the State had acted differently or had intervened at many different moments, Shane could still be alive. The O'Farrell family has been steadfast and persistent in their pursu…

I want to give the Minister the opportunity to inform the House of any movement that was made yesterday in the budget regarding fees payable to criminal barristers in light of the ongoing dispute and the withdrawal of criminal barristers from criminal proceedings in the courts last Tuesday.

If that had been flagged to the Bar Council two weeks ago, there would not have been the loss of an entire day of criminal cases. The Bar Council was not in any way aware of any move by the Government to do any sort of restoration of fees. If the Minister had said to the Bar Council two weeks ago what she has just said to me, its day of action would not have occurred, which was flagged on 12 July. As outlined in the budgetary submission from the Bar Council of Ireland, in September 2008, there was a non-payment of …

It is not good enough. The Minister could have prevented it from taking place. In July 2018, a detailed review process led by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions stated: That all parties are in unequivocal agreement that the ongoing flexibility being delivered by prosecuting counsel, documented above, is considered comparable to the flexibility delivered by other groups to justify the reversing of cuts imposed during the financial emergency. That was five years ago. It was written in conjunction with …

Hear, hear.

Governments are defined by the budgets they produce and the money they allocate to issues they feel are important, and we get a chance once a year to reflect on those statements by Governments about what they deem to be important. In these Houses, when we learn of people from other parties who are resigning or not running again, we sometimes wonder why we get up in the morning and come here to do this job. We wonder why we come in here and we reflect on that. Politics is a big influence on all our lives and it has …

Hear, hear.

Absolutely.

It feels like we are in the midst of a full blown crisis in our criminal justice system and I do not use that term lightly. As I said yesterday when the Minister was in the Chamber as I made my remarks to the Taoiseach, the criminal courts of justice effectively came to a halt because of industrial action by barristers. They have not been listened to. They started a discussion around their dispute on 12 July and nothing has happened from the Minister's Department or the Department of Public Expenditure, National De…