Is that the case with LMETB or are there specific circumstances in its area? I do not know whether the Minister was going to make a point on that. The figures I have from the service plan for 2025 show further education and training funding was €87 million and that this was revised on foot of a funding letter down to €73.7 million. That is a cut of in the region of €14 million, by any measure. There are genuine concerns in relation to it. The Minister mentioned in an earlier response the possibility of a supplement…

It is really important that these courses proceed and that people be allowed to work their way through the system because we need a conveyor belt of graduates in all courses. There was a reference earlier to reflection on how we have ended up in this place. None of the students or apprentices has dropped out of the sky; they have been in the system. Has SOLAS dropped the ball? Did the Minister’s predecessor, Deputy O’Donovan, do so? What has gone wrong such that we have ended up as we have? I hope that through the …

Funding for further education and training has been cut by approximately €40 million. In my own area under the Louth and Meath Education and Training Board, the funding cut is in the region of €14 million. That is very significant and will have an impact on apprenticeships and further education courses. They will be delayed, postponed or cancelled. We have also been contacted by adult education teachers who are already dreadfully treated. They are being told they will not have jobs in September. They will be protes…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue for debate. It is an important one and sits within road safety. This was a tragic day on our roads in Donegal and east Meath. I extend my deepest condolences to all those affected. Internationally, in the world of sport, there was a very high-profile death on the roads. Road safety is incredibly important and this is a really important case in respect of Carlanstown. I raise it here because avenues have been pursued in M…

I thank the Minister of State for that response. I did not go directly to TII myself. I await a response from it, but this response from the Minister of State is helpful because it sets out the position. Meath County Council has pointed to a pathway involving a TII-initiated process. That does not look like it is happening. In TII's inspection and its review Carlanstown has not come up. My question then was whether Meath County Council has the capacity or licence to initiate, through its own feasibility and options…

It is scandalous that, every year, schools are forced to rely on so-called voluntary contributions from parents to plug funding gaps due to the Government's failure to provide proper investment. Parents already pay €54 million in contributions and now, as the funding crisis in schools escalates, it looks like they will be asked to pay even more. The Catholic Primary School Management Association, CPSMA, says it has never been contacted by as many schools in financial distress as it was last year. It says that volun…

It is really important that when we have CSO information, we use it to plan for services in areas. I look at my own county of Meath, which has the lowest number of mental health beds, the lowest number of GPs and the lowest number of gardaí per population; has some of the largest class sizes in the State; and has the lowest number of playgrounds per population. The issue of GPs has been in the news in the past 24 hours. I have written to the Minister for Health and the HSE about a case in Ashbourne where, thankfull…

I welcome the review and the review process. I welcome the publication of the report and the comments of the Minister and Minister of State. I have to say the proof of the pudding will be in the eating and I come to this with something of a jaundiced and critical eye. I accept there is evolution in thinking, in processes and in language but it has fundamentally always been obvious what is needed here. It is a matter of recognising that all children are equal and that the State has an obligation to support them to r…

Last week, Children's Health Ireland confirmed just 105 appointments have been offered so far to the children potentially affected by the scandal of unnecessary hip surgeries. Only 60 people have been seen so far out of a total of 2,259 children who had hip surgery since 2010 at Children's Health Ireland or the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Cappagh. At this rate it will take more than 20 years for every child to be assessed. To make matters worse, CHI has also confirmed that it is only conducting a once-off review…

It was a shock for the whole community because we are talking about 217 jobs. Some workers in the area I grew up in and in the wider area have been in that factory for decades. It was known as a really good employer in the area and the impact on both direct and indirect employment is significant. It is an important employer in the area. In the first instance, this period of examinership is about securing a sustainable future and protecting as many jobs as possible. In the event that there are job losses, we must en…

In the first instance, this is about protecting as many jobs as possible. I have raised with the Minister for enterprise the importance of making every effort to identify an investor and save as many good jobs as possible. This is also about ensuring that those who lose their jobs are supported in every way possible in terms of understanding their rights and entitlements and the supports that are there for them, including support to retrain and find alternative employment. The Minister mentioned that pay-related so…

In the area of special education, hundreds of children do not have an offer of a school place. They number in excess of 250 and possibly in excess of 260. Many more children have an offer but their offered places will not be ready for 1 September. I have one such example in Corpus Christi National School in Drumcondra in Dublin. This is a major concern. We potentially have hundreds of children without an appropriate school place for 1 September. Considering we are fast-tracking planning for attic conversions, are w…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I welcome the opportunity to discuss the Healthcare (Transparent Payments) Bill 2022, which I am co-sponsoring with my colleagues Deputies David Cullinane and Seán Crowe. I thank Dr. James Larkin, senior postdoctoral fellow at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, for his research in this area and for his help in preparing the legislation. The Bill seeks to make it mandatory for pharmaceutical companies and medical equipment suppliers to declare payments, gifts…

I thank all the Deputies on both sides of the House for their contributions on this Second Stage debate. In particular, I thank Deputy Toole, my constituency colleague, with whom I previously discussed this legislation. She has a particular interest. This is an important intervention we are trying to make from a number of different perspectives. We have touched on a few of them. I point to the marketing budgets of pharmaceutical companies and compare them with their research and development budgets and ask why they…

With regard to special education preparedness for September 2025, how many children with special educational needs are currently without an appropriate school place for September 2025? What plans are there to address this? In what way will special needs assistant be allocated to these children and all children with special educational needs in September 2025? Have all schools with new special classes due to open in September had their SNA allocation confirmed, for example? I ask the Minister to make a statement on …

I will drill down into those headline figures. They are figures which have been iterated for some time. My question was on the number of children with an identified recommendation that has been notified to the NCSE but who do not yet have an appropriate school place for September. Do we have that figure today? The Minister outlined that some schools have not yet opened up their offering and that is an issue in itself. Last year we were notified at the start of September that 126 children did not have a place. On Sa…

The Minister will be before the committee and I, as well as all those in opposition, would appreciate detailed, regular updates between now and September on the progress being made. Headline figures tell one story but I hope, as we accommodate more children, we can get the detail on that. I make the point again on the children in Dublin and the four children in Sligo. I can send on details. There are five children in Murhur National School, Moyvane, County Kerry. There is potential there to accommodate children. Th…

In light of the deep concern relating to, among other things, the resourcing of schools, training of teachers and impact of artificial intelligence on the validity and authenticity of additional assessment components, and the related recent vote of rejection by the ASTI union, will the Minister pause her accelerated plan for senior cycle redevelopment and re-engage with teachers and their representatives to ensure their concerns are addressed and the quality and integrity of the leaving certificate is maintained?

We need to separate some of the issues here. Nobody is arguing against senior cycle redevelopment. What is relevant is the approach. We need to be clear that the issue is the accelerated approach and the level of preparedness at school and departmental levels across the board to make these changes. The resourcing of schools is a very clear issue. The resources to adequately resource schools are not there and neither are the plans. It is the same with the training of staff. I wish to focus on the issue of artificial…

Very real concerns have been articulated regarding the use of AI. I made that point from the research in Deakin University. This week, at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence, I asked the witnesses from Research Ireland how this impacts at third level. They said they have specifically changed their assessment process to ensure AI is not being presented as a student's own work. There are fundamental questions about authenticity, validity and equity that have to be considered. I do not think they…