The previous speakers have outlined clearly that Sinn Féin supports the legislation, although we will be tabling amendments because we recognise the reality that many families rely on health insurance because they feel they have no choice. That is not a reality that we savour or are heartened by. In truth, we have a very poor model, a model that is expensive and ineffective because of the duplication that exists in the public and private systems. This is the case with several public services, unfortunately. We shou…

I appreciate the Acting Chair for coming back to me. Is ar ábhar tromchúiseach atá an díospóireacht seo. Níl aon amhras ann ach go bhféadfaimis a bheith ag féachaint ar ghéarchéim dáiríre agus go bhféadfadh tionchar a bheith aige, ní hamháin ar an tír seo, ach ar an domhan ina iomlán, ar eacnamaíocht an domhain agus ar phobail ar fud an domhain, go mór mór iad siúd sna tíortha ina bhfuil ioncaim ísle. The situation we face is undoubtedly urgent, grave and requires urgent action. In the past couple of years, discuss…

I blame the national broadcaster for my delay and I apologise for that. The Minister will be familiar with the survey that the Irish Primary Principals' Network, IPPN, published last week during its conference. It found that some 52% of school principals in County Kildare did not have their full quota, 65% in County Dublin and 46% in County Wicklow. Similar problems exist at post-primary. Much of it is caused by the cost-of-living crisis. What does the Department propose to do about it?

Many of those measures are for the longer term. The Minister will tell me it is the job of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage's, which it is but some of this problem relates to the fact that teachers cannot afford to rent or get a mortgage in or around Dublin, Cork or Galway, and a whole-of-government approach is required. Regarding what the Department of Education and the Minister can do, much of what she referred to was at primary level whereas some of the most profound issues are at post-pri…

The Minister answered several other questions but she did not answer the questions I asked regarding additional positions. I do not believe that is necessarily what will resolve it at primary level but I am talking particularly about post-primary level where some teachers work on a part-time basis and others do not have a permanent contract. If they can be offered a permanent or full-time contract, they will stay with the schools and they can be recruited, particularly in the areas where there is significant pressu…

I am encouraged by the commitment to free schoolbooks. Myself and Sinn Féin have raised this issue for several years at budget time. I regularly make the point that we are 70 years behind the North in that. To get that delivered is not just a case of announcing it. We need to know what the model will be, where suppliers, publishers and so on fit in, and how schools will manage it. Could the Minister tell us a bit more about that?

I share the Minister's sense of the value of the measure. It is a shame that it was not extended to post-primary level, where the books are more expensive, but we will have that debate another day. The question I still have concerns how the arrangement will work. It does not seem there is any clear sense of that. It is two months since the budget. I presume this was discussed within the Department for some time before the budget. The Minister talks about the education partners. Who they are is not a vague concept b…

I am not seeking to get into that.

I want to see this succeed but it all has the ring of "It will be all right on the night." The Minister refers to the education partners but she has not challenged me on, or disputed, the fact that they do not include the publishers or booksellers. I am open to being challenged on this. It does not seem there have been any discussions. The Minister's reference to autonomy indicates there is a relatively decentralised model and that schools will be provided with a fund with which to procure the books. Am I picking t…

It is more than just the Department of Education.

Who the education partners are is very clear.

Of course, but-----

Excuse me. That was probably out of order. I accept that.

Bearing in mind the discussion on special education on RTÉ, where we need to get to with special schools and special classes is not where we were in the past couple of years, which involved panic in April and May over where children would go. I have already been contacted by parents about September 2023, and some were worried about September 2024. We need to ensure the forecasting is right and that we can wrap this up early this year, or early in the spring, so we do not have panic. I want an update on that from th…

I will take this opportunity to go to the parish pump. If we are recruiting SENOs, I wish to state that there is an absence of them in my area. The Minister of State might take note of that. There is a shared objective, namely, that we do not have a scramble every year. There are almost 1 million children in our 4,000 schools and there is easily the capacity to accommodate these children, provided we plan early enough to ensure every child has an appropriate school place. We are not yet at that point, but that can …

I am aware of the number of schools in Cork with places. As is the case everywhere else, there is a significant discrepancy between what is available in primary and post-primary schools. One of the biggest challenges we need to address is the number of places in post-primary education. One of the most frustrating issues to deal with is people who are looking for places in post-primary schools, and whether the NCSE or local schools have provided enough places. Parents have children who are 12 years of age, have had …

The Minister might have seen that Sinn Féin launched a document in recent days outlining our belief that schools have potential to be real leaders in challenging climate change. Some of it is to do with the curriculum and some to do with energy efficiency in schools. It is a real shame that very few of the 4,000 primary and post-primary schools have solar panels because the regulations are outdated, even though it would make a great difference to the costs of the schools and also in reducing emissions.

On the school buildings that have been built in the past 15 years, the Minister will find no dispute from me. They are fantastic, energy-efficient buildings using the best of materials and so on, but the difficulty is that there are more 4,000 schools, many of which were built in the 1950s and 1960s by the Christian Brothers, for example, which are not the best in terms of energy efficiency. We have a big job to bring the schools estate, generally speaking, up to scratch. I return to the issue of solar panels and I…

I certainly agree with the point regarding young people. In the case of green flags in public buildings, many of the first ones we saw were in schools and other buildings in local communities. Great initiatives have been shown by young people and schools have been leaders in that regard. On solar panels, the Minister has not given a specific date regarding the regulations. Schools cannot enter the planning system and that is a big problem. To return to the retrofitting issue, the pathfinder programme is beneficial,…

Will they be two separate programmes?