It is vitally important that we do not take carers and care workers for granted. Too often that is the case. Regarding carers themselves, there was an awful lot of talk about that in the general election. What has happened since then has not been anywhere near what was committed to. We are very lucky in this country that we have such a strength in terms of family carers who are willing to offer support out of duty, responsibility and love. The truth of it is that we should not take that for granted. Abolishing the …

This Topical Issue relates to Coláiste Daibhéid and its application under the additional school accommodation scheme. It is important to be open and honest in this place, and I declare an interest. This is where I attended secondary school and it is also where our 14-year-old currently attends in third year. All the same, the issue is substantial and it needs to be addressed because it has been carrying on for far too long. Coláiste Daibhéid is a school of around 200 children at this moment. It has a projected long…

I appreciate the update. I hoped for a bit more regarding when we might get through the next phase. I appreciate that the Minister of State's Department does not have responsibility in that regard. I would appreciate if he could, on my behalf, bring this matter to the attention of the Minister. I note the presence of my constituency colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, who is also keen to support the school. Perhaps he could use his good offices to contact the Department as well. The school wants to ge…

I have two minutes, so I will make three quick points to the Minister but I want to make the general point that when we are talking about water, we should take stock of the picture internationally because there are so many examples of situations where privatisation has led to absolute chaos. We have seen this very clearly in relation to Thames Water. I know that privatisation is not on the agenda but people in Ireland had a lot of concern that the infrastructure for that was being created. We should continue to mon…

These debates on the European Council are a useful opportunity to articulate many issues in the world. Unfortunately, ten minutes would hardly be enough now; 20 minutes would suffice. I want to start by saying how disappointed I am that the European Council spent so little time discussing the biggest conflict in the world at this moment in time, namely, Sudan. It is a conflict that has seen perhaps hundreds of thousands of people killed and millions displaced. Europe and Ireland have close relationships with a coun…

Absolutely, yes. I have acknowledged that and I agree with that but we also have to acknowledge that for other jurisdictions, including Ukraine, Greenland, Denmark and all those other countries I referenced, there has been a precedent set. Regardless of whether the Irish Government likes a particular government, it has to acknowledge that a precedent has been set. If it does not speak out in respect of international law in one instance, it will be constrained from doing so in another instance. It clearly has implic…

If we rewind back nine or ten months, an awful lot of people in Ireland, particularly those employed in multinational companies, were very concerned about the threat of tariffs. We have entered into a bit of a frozen situation in that regard. Some headway was made but I would not say the deal that was arrived at was necessarily perfect in every manner or means. The situation as is has already had an impact on certain agrifood sectors, particularly the whiskey industry. The Minister of State might give an update on …

The Taoiseach will be aware that Heba Muraisi is now on the 72nd day of her hunger strike in New Hall prison in Britain. Two more people have been on strike for more than 50 days so they could die any day. They are very much in that lethal period. Ms Muraisi has not been tried or convicted but has been in prison for a year, well over the usual six month pre-trial detention limit. The Taoiseach does not have to approve of Palestine Action to be concerned about pre-trial detention of more than a year for public order…

I ask the Taoiseach to make contact.

I ask the Taoiseach to make contact.

The Taoiseach is familiar with Cork Educate Together Secondary School. It is a school, which should be in our constituency, but since 2018 it has been based in the building of Griffith College on the north side of the city. In that temporary location, it has no access to PE facilities. Its special education facilities are severely constrained and a lot of their 400 students have to get buses across the city. It has a hard deadline in terms of its current location of September 2027 and it has to be out of there by t…

A minute or two ago, I could see the Minister become exasperated at my colleague describing this as cruel and "heartless", but it is important that she understands how this is being felt by people. When people went to their chemist or learned about this, it was very hard for them to understand why a government would come to such a decision because these blister packs are essential to people who have conditions such as Alzheimer's and dementia and other vulnerable categories of patient. A lot of these people are on …

It is reasonable for people to draw that conclusion. There is an obligation on the Minister to demonstrate that she will find a solution to this. That is why we have brought this motion to the Dáil. The Government is not opposing it, which I welcome, but we need a solution. A lot of our community pharmacists are being stretched very thin as things are. The agreement the Minister needs to reach with the pharmacies needs to ensure that vulnerable patients who have been relying on blister packs for a very long time co…

The presence of drones in Dublin Bay during the visit of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was the source of much commentary internationally and domestically. We are facing into a crucial year in which security, and the ability of this State to ensure the safety and security of high-level meetings and the people attending them, will be under a good deal of scrutiny, which needs to come through. We need to consider the protocol with regard to the response to this and in terms of equipment. It is not something we wish to…

To be clear, there is no doubt but that the presence of drones such as this in our airspace is a threat to our national security. The neglect of the Defence Forces by the past three Governments, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in their various turns, has created a threat to our national security. The Minister spoke about bringing forward the radar picture, the anti-drone system and counter unmanned air system capabilities. That was due to be delivered in the autumn - quarter 3 of 2025. It is in the Commission on the Defe…

There are many comments I would like to make but the first relates to the timeline. It sounds extremely tight. It will be purchased within the first half of the year but that is not a lot of time for the personnel to get used to this and ensure protocols are in place and so on. What struck me most was clearly the visit of President Zelenskyy was very welcome and worthwhile but the Minister has talked about it proving the radar system worked. These drones were 400 m or 500 m away from the naval vessels. They could b…

This is probably the Minister's first time debating this particular matter but the issue of the potential adverse health outcomes for former aircraft maintenance personnel in the Air Corps has been discussed a lot over the years. Many people who served in aircraft maintenance believe many have suffered very severe health outcomes, including untimely deaths, because of exposure to dangerous chemicals. What is the Minister going to do about that in respect of the category generally, not individual cases?

The reality is that this is not an issue that has only arisen in Ireland. We know that in other jurisdictions such as Australia and the Netherlands exposure to very powerful, strong and dangerous chemicals caused adverse health outcomes for personnel in those locations. Australia took a sensible approach. Officials evaluated the situation trhough the study of health outcomes for aircraft maintenance personnel and they offered health supports. That is key to what we do on this. That is the kind of approach that make…

The Minister is right that the men and women of the Defence Forces are its greatest asset. The weight of this needs to be emphasised. The Air Corps Chemical Abuse Survivors, ACCAS, group has identified what it believes to be 110 untimely deaths. It has used that language advisedly because the link needs to be proven in that regard. However the group has questions and concerns over that many deaths and serious illnesses. That is the concern, and indeed in other jurisdictions there was a connection between the chemic…

We have had a fair bit of discussion in recent weeks in on capital investment, but there is obviously the need for current investment. Our Naval Service has serious challenges because of a lack of specialist staff. Some of that is because of their attractiveness to employers in the private sector. The State invests in training people but then they are lost and not retained. That is holding back the full development of the Naval Service and it is something we need to come to terms with.