I thank the Minister. I want to be very clear that the national service is needed. I have no issue whatsoever with it and do not believe the vast majority of GALs have either. However, with regard to what is being proposed under the national service, legal representation has been raised by GALs. I take their point because they have decades of experience in some cases. It is really important that we listen to them. I cannot understand why the provision exists. Is there an understanding that GALs are choosing to have…

I welcome the fact that the Minister is to meet the GALs next week. My understanding from engaging with them is that legal representation always existed where they needed it. They could seek it and have it, and there was no issue in that regard. Now, however, they will have to seek it through an application to the service. If GALs were choosing to have or seeking legal representation without merit, it would make no sense because there would be nothing in it for them. My concern is that a GAL who may be new to the r…

I raise again the need for a State pension for foster carers. I appreciate that this mainly comes under the Minister for Social Protection. However, in light of that, what engagement has the Minister had with that Minister with regard to the commitment in the programme for Government, which I acknowledge, to ensure a State pension for foster carers is delivered as quickly as possible?

I welcome that engagement between officials in the Minister's Department and the Department of Social Protection will take place. It is important that we get the State pension put in place for foster carers as quickly as possible. It is wholly unacceptable for any foster carer in this State, many of whom have provided decades of support to provide a loving and caring home to some of the most vulnerable children in the State, to be left at 66 without a State pension or relying on the means-tested State pension. That…

I acknowledge what has been brought forward to improve things for foster carers but none of that will matter if someone is 62, 63 or 64, does not have enough contributions to access the State pension and is approaching 66, as quite a number of foster carers are. Again, it is not acceptable that a foster carer who has provided a loving home to some of our most vulnerable children would get to 66 and not have a State pension. It is wholly unacceptable and it needs to be dealt with quickly. I have repeatedly said the …

I ask the Minister to provide details on the number of special care beds currently open. Across the three special care units there is capacity for 26 beds. I do not know if all 26 beds have ever been open but would like to know how many are open today.

It is really alarming to hear that four children in the State need a special care bed but there is not one there for them. I appreciate, understand and welcome the change to the payscale made in 2024 but we need to look at that again to see whether it is enough in the context of recruitment and retention of staff. I have raised with the Minister previously the report of the external review group on special care which raises the same issues around staffing and capacity. That report, published in April 2025, identifi…

I would like to see a timeline for the implementation of each of the recommendations of the external review group. Fifteen special care beds are open but we should have 26. There are four extremely vulnerable children who have been advised, told and directed to special care but it is not available for them. The report is especially damning. It describes "severe challenges" and talks of a "crisis". The report makes it clear that it looks at "the immediate operational issues", or what needs to be dealt with immediate…

I come to speak to this amendment in a slightly different way in terms of my own experience in my home town of Ballaghaderreen. When I was elected to the House in 2020, it was before the war in Ukraine but we had already experienced the arrival of Syrian refugees to begin with. Ballaghaderreen was actually one of the few towns that very much gave the céad míle fáilte and I was very proud that it did. The hotel in the town had been closed for some time. It is not owned locally but that was the accommodation provided…

A number of weeks ago, I was contacted by a mother in Loughglinn whose son had an asthma attack over the Christmas period. The rapid response vehicle arrived from Roscommon town within 17 minutes and saved his life. If that call had come in on a Monday night, the rapid response vehicle would not be available because it is parked up for 12 hours. The overtime the National Ambulance Service has been paying for a number of years has been pulled and the rapid response vehicle is no longer available for the people of Co…

I am very glad to have the opportunity to speak to this Bill and I welcome many aspects of it. I hope the many amendments to the Act as outlined will be positive and that they will provide greater supports for children who need them when they need those supports. I hope there will also be greater oversight of child protection, particularly in relation to the interagency committee. All of us have a responsibility when it comes to child protection and all of us have to play our part. The recent report into special ca…

A commitment was made in 2011 when the accident and emergency department in Roscommon town was closed that because of the much greater distance to the nearest such department, we would have 24-7 advanced paramedic cover from the rapid response vehicle. In the last number of months, the overtime that was being used, initially on a Thursday night and now on a Monday night, has been pulled so the rapid response vehicle is parked up for 12 hours. Why is that happening?

I thank the Minister. The advanced paramedic roster, which includes four advanced paramedics, has been in difficultly for some time. I have been raising this issue for about a year and a half and I met the director of the National Ambulance Service last year on the matter. For the last year and a half or so, paramedics have been put on the advanced paramedic roster. The overtime was in place for that Monday night and it is no longer there, yet there are four people on the advanced paramedic roster. One of them is a…

That is a line the director has given to me as well. However, Roscommon, Nenagh and Ennis all lost their accident and emergency departments and were all given a commitment to a 24-7 rapid response. Nenagh and Ennis had an action card that was put out there by the National Ambulance Service to protect the rapid response vehicle. Nenagh and Ennis got it but Roscommon did not. I am confident that if that same protection for the rapid response vehicle was put in place in Roscommon, that role would be filled. What is ha…

I am really glad to have the opportunity to speak on this very important legislation. In reading through the Bill, I was reminded of the very damning HIQA report that was published at the time, which called for a complete overhaul of home care services. That report raised concerns around the fact that there are no minimum standards of care when it comes to home care services. I recall raising this very report during Leaders' Questions. At that time, I was assured the regulations were being worked on by the Minister…

I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach and the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this important issue. During the Christmas period, a young person in my constituency had an asthma attack. The rapid response vehicle, RRV, arrived and the advanced paramedic on the RRV saved his life, and of that there is no doubt. I say that because we have had a continuing issue in County Roscommon. I think this is my seventh time to raise it in the House. The rapid response vehicle promised to the people of Roscommon on the…

I want to be clear on the issue of the rapid response vehicle being parked up. This was done on Thursdays but I now understand it is done on Monday nights for 12 hours. The RRV is not being parked up because efforts to get an advanced paramedic have not been successful, whatever those efforts may be. That is not the reason because a paramedic is provided on the RRV every other day and night of the week. I believe it is being parked up as a cost-saving measure. If not, I do not know what the reason is. It is not bec…

This is the third motion brought forward by Sinn Féin in relation to the Mercosur deal. The Government's position was not clear here in Ireland. On Wednesday, the Taoiseach said a lot of progress had been made, and then, on Thursday, he said we were not backing Mercosur. We had our motion last month in this Chamber, when the Minister for agriculture refused to categorically state the Government’s opposition to this deal. If the Government’s position was not clear here in Ireland, then I would imagine it was not cle…

I raise again the regulations put in place for some time now for childminders and the many issues they are facing. We know about 150 childminders out of 14,000 or 15,000 have registered with Tusla, which is a small amount. Will the review of the regulations take place early in the new year?

I am sure the Minister will agree that the fact that just 150 childminders to date have registered with Tusla should be causing concern. It is a tiny number compared with the overall number of childminders out there. Childminding Ireland has been excellent in its engagement on issues with the regulations. One such issue I have mentioned to the Minister before is the regulation regarding having a close contact, that is, a person who will be available at all times. That is next to near impossible. Some of the regulat…