I welcome all that the Minister has said. I know he cannot make airlines land in certain airports, but I am sure he can help make the other airports more viable for these airlines to land in. We would welcome working with him in that regard. We have seen the chaos in Dublin Airport. This is not an anti-Dublin Airport statement at all. We welcome the lift on the passenger cap too, but the regional balance needs to be looked at. It is very unfair to have 86% of flights going out of one airport and not the others. As …

In my county of Clare there is a high demand for early care and education places. Parents have to put their children on multiple waiting lists and there still may not be a place for them in the end. I know of a couple who have two young children and the best option for them is to have one child in a service in Sixmilebridge, which is approximately 9 km from where they live, the second child attend a service in Caherdavin, which is a further 13.9 km away, and then drive back to work, which is approximately 48.9 km. …

A commitment was made last autumn to make the increase in the cap for the defective block grant scheme available to all homeowners and not just new entrants. This is a straightforward amendment to the 2022 legislation and should have been brought through the Dáil and the Seanad before now. A large number of homeowners are facing real financial hardship trying to make the final payment to builders for remedial work. These people are already struggling and suffering with the fact their houses have defects. Leaving th…

There is the possibility of hundreds of children having had unnecessary surgery for hip dysplasia just in the period 2021 to 2023. That is hundreds of children who were put through the pain of surgery and the difficulty of recovery. Hundreds of sets of parents, guardians and wider families who were put through the anxiety of having their child operated on. They had to watch their children suffering and they now find out that it may all have been unnecessary. It must add further heartbreak on top of what they have a…

I am sure we are all relieved that so far pharmaceuticals and chemicals have been exempted from the 20% tariff imposed on exports to the USA from the EU. However, reports are now suggesting that President Trump will be introducing tariffs on these sectors. While tariffs are usually seen as a tool to protect local industries, they can also have a negative impact for small, export-driven economies likes ours in Ireland. Tariffs imposed by the USA in 2018 and reciprocal tariffs imposed by the EU resulted in reduced tr…

I thank the Minister for taking my question this morning. The apprenticeship system is unfit for purpose and has been for several years now. What measures does the Minister intend to introduce to address the problems faced by apprentices and the system more generally? These have resulted in the system failing to produce qualified tradespeople at a pace that meets demand. These problems have plagued the system and previous Ministers have failed to address them. What reassurance will the Minister give us that they wi…

While I agree that measures have been made into the phase 2, will this not push the backlog back into phases 4 and 6? We have a drop out rate of 3,400. Have they been included in the Minister's figures as well? When that number of people drops out, it shows that it is unfit for purpose. The apprenticeship system is essential to problems the Government has yet to address. Consider the issue of housing. Skilled apprentices who are needed here to work on housing and other essential projects for the future are emigrati…

How many of those in these figures are actually finishing? There are 3,376 who failed to finish because they are not getting paid enough. The programme for Government states that the Government would "Ensure a skilled labour force by providing practical support for on-the-job training and apprenticeship schemes and consider additional measures". Has that process begun? At what stage is the process and what additional measures are currently under consideration? The Government also promised additional funding for app…

Should I ask my question or speak to it?

Yes, that is fine.

The Minister will have to excuse my scepticism. He is bamboozling me with figures on this. The programme for Government commits to continuing to reduce the student contribution fee over the lifetime of the Government. What the Minister is saying here falls far short of the commitment to reduce the fees to zero. There is no timeline for this or detail on the increments. Higher education is a public good and those who avail of it contribute immeasurably to society. As already said, people are put to the pins of their…

Free fees worked in secondary schools and has helped Ireland greatly. There are huge issues with the SUSI grant. People who are trying to prove they are separate from their parents in order to get the SUSI grant are not getting it. There is an issue with the way in which SUSI considers people's circumstances. If you were working two years ago, SUSI will look at your income at that time, not at the past year, in which you might have lost your job and did not have an income to pay for the fees. Education is a fundame…

Under the austerity measures introduced after the economic crash, funding to third level institutions was cut. Universities were asked to do more with less money. To make up the funding shortfall, a student contribution was introduced. Austerity is supposedly over and we were promised these cuts would be reversed but this has not happened. What measures does the Minister intend to introduce to close the funding deficit and when will they be enacted?

I welcome that the Minister said he will try his best to get this but this €307 million deficit was first raised in 2016. The Irish Universities Association, IUA, has said it will not fund pay increases. Has this been sorted? That also lends to this deficit. The austerity programme introduced in the State punished ordinary people and bailed out the banks and the bondholders, and it caused increasing hardship for many of the most vulnerable of our citizens. It is incredible that it is still causing hardship today. T…

I ask again about the pay increases that are not being funded. That is a big issue and while I welcome increased investment in higher education, there is still that deficit to be filled. More funding does not necessarily mean better outcomes if inefficiencies persist, as students already contribute significantly through fees, so there is a clear need for the Minister to assess the needs of higher education. I acknowledge the Minister has said he is committed to doing so and I look forward to seeing great advances i…

Recently, we have seen shocking stories and harrowing accounts of young female students being attacked, abused, followed and harassed. This is a serious and urgent issue. Too many young women live in fear on the streets, in schools, on college campuses and even online. They face catcalling, stalking, spiking and, in the worst cases, assault. It is shameful to think that young women in Ireland, who should be excited to be facing a new chapter in their lives, are finding that it all goes horribly wrong when they are …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Ó Snodaigh for bringing forward this motion agus also buíochas le conversational Irish classes Gaeilge le Chéile i mBaile na Sionnainne so tá cúpla focal agam anois. I raise the issues of school recognition and school transport. Gaelcholáiste an Chláir in Ennis has been struggling to be recognised as a stand-alone school rather than being part of Ennis Community College. The Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board is in ongoing discussions with the Department of Education to…

Insulin pumps are not available as a treatment option for adults with type 1 diabetes in the HSE mid-west region, even though they are available for children. Ours is the only region where this is the case. Patients who require pumps have to go on the waiting list in other regions and then travel for treatment. This is an extra burden on the host regions' overstretched services and on patients who have to travel for treatment that should be available locally. The only other option is to go to a private endocrinolog…

I thank our colleague, Deputy Pa Daly, for bringing forward this motion. While I welcome that the Minister will not oppose it and I accept that many tests have been completed, there is no denying that the waiting list is growing. Is the Minister saying he cannot step in and that this is all down to the RSA? We all know a driving licence is not a luxury; it is essential. Not being able to drive might mean missing out on work opportunities, education, family occasions and more. This is especially true outside of larg…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and congratulate him on his position. There are no dedicated public inpatient beds for adults with anorexia or other eating disorders in the mid-west region. Nationally, only three public inpatient beds exist for these patients, all of which are located at St. Vincent’s hospital in Dublin, serving local catchment areas. The HSE introduced a national model of care for eating disorders in 2018. This included the appointments of 16 specialist teams and 23 adult inpatient beds across t…