It is important to check the 6,500 notices of determination that have issued and the 5,200 of those that have been paid, as it means quite a number have not been paid. I do not have an issue with the system. It has actually worked quite well when people get into it and the application is processed. I have no issue there. However, that is a very significant gap and it could be checked. There has obviously been an issue raised as regards survivors who are living in England. Obviously, lots of people have lived in Eng…

I, too, welcome the statement making it very clear that there will not be an impact for those who receive money through this scheme in relation to their primary benefits, particularly pensions. Of course, the legislation has not been passed. There will be survivors who will be nervous and worried. There are also a number of survivors - I think about 700 - who have sought and received the payment and it is not clear if that has had an impact on their pensions and payments. That needs to be checked as well. Given the…

I again want to ask the Minister about the special care beds in the State that are closed. When I raised this issue with her here last month, she advised that 15 of the 26 beds were open. This issue was to the fore in the "RTÉ Investigates" programme last night. What more can and will the Minister do to ensure that the 26 beds that are there and that are needed will open?

I thank the Minister and acknowledge that there are real difficulties in hiring, recruiting and retaining professionals in these special care settings. The Minister will be well aware of the restructuring that is being undertaken by Tusla. Part of that restructuring is impacting the special care services. Is the Minister aware that front-line staff and managers within special care services have raised serious concerns in relation to the impact the restructuring will have on the special care services themselves? Bas…

We saw the need for special care beds in last night's programme. We saw the consequences of what happens when children in State care do not get the support they need. They enter a world of crime and drugs. They are abused and assaulted. They end up homeless. Those working in the special care services, who are highly trained and highly professional, are raising serious concerns in relation to the restructuring that is under way. I ask the Minister to please hear these concerns. I ask that there would be a pause on t…

On a point of order.

I have never heckled. Sorry, I have never heckled.

I will not-----

Never have I-----

Of the 1,800 children in Roscommon and Galway waiting to see a psychologist, over 1,000 have waited for one year. A business case is being submitted for a dedicated CAMHS team in Ballinasloe this year. The CAMHS service that was there previously was closed, and parents have to trek an 80 km to 90 km round trip to Roscommon for appointments. When this business case is submitted, will the Minister of State reinstate the dedicated CAMHS team for Ballinasloe as quickly as possible?

In January I was contacted by a father and husband whose wife had been diagnosed with cancer at the end of November. She had been referred to University Hospital Galway for chemotherapy. She has young children at home and she was obviously extremely worried, first, to be diagnosed with cancer but, second, with a cancer that had taken her mother. About five weeks into waiting for the chemotherapy, she travelled up there, she presented to the accident and emergency department in pain and, eventually, five weeks after…

I thank Independent Ireland for bringing forward this motion. It is always important to take opportunities to discuss issues of child welfare and child protection and to ensure that all the regulations relating to those responsible for ensuring children in our State are safe, looked after and cared for adequately and properly are upheld. There are a number of issues I want to speak to in addressing this motion. The first is the allocation of social workers. For a long time now, there has been consistent criticism f…

I am glad to get the opportunity to contribute to the statements on International Women's Day. In the couple of minutes I have I want to address some of the areas where the State is failing women, particularly in sectors that are primarily made up of women. I want to turn first to the ongoing exclusion of a number of women primarily who cannot access the mother and baby institutions payment scheme. We are now a couple of years into that scheme and there are a number of women primarily who are excluded. This is wron…

Yesterday, I stood outside with paramedics who are protesting over the latest decision by the National Ambulance Service management. Every graduating class since the introduction of the paramedic studies course has seen an automatic move for paramedics from a purpose contract to a permanent contract but that no longer appears to be the case. It is incredible, given the number of paramedics we need, that the management would now be putting roadblocks in the way of paramedics. It looks like management is saying we ha…

The Minister of State said there are 1,050 cases outstanding. It would be very helpful if she could tell us how many of those are minors. As we approach 23 April, and it is approaching quickly, it is worth noting this is not something that came out of the blue. The figures speak for themselves. Successive annual reports from the Courts Service showed the pace of discharge from wardship was incredibly slow. Many see this legislation as very last minute. No one here will stand in the way of such an extension – it is …

I will focus on an issue I found in Roscommon and Galway. This time, it is not in relation to cuts per se , but a situation where schools do not have the correct or adequate number of SNAs in the first place. I will give one example. I provided a letter of support for a school that is appealing its SNA allocation. That school has two full-time SNAs and one part-time SNA. The two full-time SNAs are with two children who are a flight risk and have a number of primary care needs. Those children cannot be left unattend…

In recent weeks especially, I have been contacted by a number of ECCE providers, as well as a number of childminders. So too have a number of my colleagues, and I am sure the Minister is well aware of this. They have been receiving commercial rates bills and have been contacted in relation to such moneys owed. I would like to know if the Minister is aware of this situation and what she intends to do about it in her role as Minister.

I appreciate that the Minister has engaged with the Minister, Deputy Browne. Clearly, this is something that needs to be sorted out as quickly as possible because, as the Minister acknowledged, there is stress and worry. A lot of childminders were shocked to hear from Tailte Éireann and then to receive such rates that they never had before. It is important this issue is dealt with quickly. I fully appreciate it is not within the remit of the Minister's Department, but I acknowledge she has reached out to the housin…

If that Act needs to be amended to specifically state childminders in particular, that needs to be done as quickly as possible. There still is not clarity. While I appreciate the Minister has been engaging, we need to hear that update on what is actually going to happen. As I said, we are at a critical juncture for childminders in the State. I and colleagues heard yesterday from a number of them, who are deciding after 17 or 18 years as childminders not to continue. Commercial rates were raised by each one of them …

I want to raise with the Minister once again the changes being made under the new guardian ad litem , GAL, national service, and specifically the issue of legal representation for GALs in court proceedings and the change that will see the Minister determine whether such legal representation is allowed in court. Could she provide to us the rationale for the change?