I do not doubt the Minister's bona fides on this. It spans - the Minister referred to it there quite lightly - a number of Departments. We have significant challenges in housing. We have significant challenges in a different cost-of-living crises in terms of paying for groceries, for example, running a car, and the different type of relationship one has with parents at home on whether they are able to afford to contribute to one's living. The Minister will agree that ensuring education is within reach for everyone …

The debate the Minister referred to in his first contribution is essential. It is important and we all need to contribute towards that. The only question I have in relation to the student support facility that is in place is that the emails I am receiving tell me that they cannot afford this new measure and this new cost. I then go back to people and ask them whether they have applied for SUSI. They have applied for SUSI. They cannot access the full grant but still cannot afford the new increased cost. Unfortunatel…

I thank the Minister. He made a very important point towards the end of his reply in terms of employers and apprentices meeting each other halfway. I have an aunt who has a hair salon in Mallow and I know from her of the difficulty of taking on an apprenticeship student and trying to make that work with one's own work schedule. Are incentives for employers to take on more apprenticeship students being considered? That would be welcome because it would incentivise employers to bring on more apprentices. The main foc…

I have a slight difficulty with wages being negotiated between the students themselves and the employer. The State must have a role to play in the negotiations between apprentices and employers in terms of how wages are set. While it is the case that employers are not taking on a fully qualified person but someone who is moving into the trade, it is important that apprentices get a fair wage. I do not believe that €7.41 is a fair wage to start off on, especially in the context of running a car, renting a room in a …

On behalf of the Labour Party, I express my sympathies with the families of those involved in the car crash in County Donegal yesterday evening. Yesterday the HSE CEO, Bernard Gloster, revealed that the waiting list for assessments of need will get worse before it gets better. It is quite clear now that there are over 15,000 children waiting for an assessment of need and a prediction for 25,000 children by the end of this year. This is an absolute scandal and a failure of the State under the obligation of law to ca…

I wish to address the provision of incontinence products by the HSE. Although the Minister of State is not the line Minister, I wish to raise this serious issue for families across the country. Incontinence products are essential. They are used daily. I wish to speak specifically about incontinence products for children. I refer to a specific case raised by a parent with me in relation to her son. I will read out some of her correspondence to me, with her permission: My son was born prematurely before 26 weeks in M…

I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate that. When I offered my sympathy to the family, including the parent, the parent told me directly she did not want it. I appreciated that because, from a public representative's point of view, it was quite difficult for me that a parliamentary question did not outline specifically whether the child would be provided with the necessary incontinence products he so needs. At four years old, the child, along with his mother, has gone through so much, as outlined in the mother…

I second the motion. I thank my Labour Party colleagues, particularly Deputies Wall and Sherlock, for their work on it. I do not for a minute doubt the Minister of State's personal view on this issue but what we saw in the "RTÉ Investigates" programme proved there absolutely are systemic issues within HIQA. The fact HIQA took more than four months to investigate issues identified by RTÉ is beyond belief. We are talking about care of our much loved older people, who deserve dignity and respect as they age. Following…

I want to raise an important issue with the Minister. Cork City Council has sent a business case to the Government regarding the establishment of an integrated services hub. Across our towns and cities we are seeing more and more needs arising for individuals, particularly adults who are homeless. Across Cork we have charitable organisations offering beds for people to sleep, groups providing food, and many other amenities as well but what do people do during the day in terms of services? They need to be provided w…

I am unsure who it has been sent to.

Most importantly, following the review, these recommendations must be implemented in a timely manner and continue to be reviewed by the Department. I compliment all stakeholders involved in the review, particularly those affected on the front line. I acknowledge the work done by schools, staff, parents and children. When it comes to additional educational needs, a large cohort of students throughout the country do not have the same access to education as their friends, family members or even siblings have. It is cl…

First, although I did not bring the group in, I welcome the group from Cork North-West, I presume, and some from my home town of Mallow. This is an extremely important debate. It is very important that we have our courts system and laws in place but ultimately the main focus of my speech is on the issue of Garda numbers and-or Garda stations, in particular across my own county of Cork. The issues are persistent with staffing numbers and while communities continue to expand, we cannot see Garda numbers expanding wit…

Answer the question, Taoiseach

Answer the question, Taoiseach

I would appreciate if the Minister would outline her engagement with stakeholders, including trade unions representing teachers, regarding the proposed reforms to the leaving certificate, as of June 2025, given that last Friday the largest post-primary teacher union in Ireland voted strongly in favour of industrial action over the reforms proposed for September.

I absolutely agree and the Labour Party agrees that reform of the leaving certificate curriculum is necessary. I say that also as a secondary school teacher whose subject, namely, business, will be rolled out in September. It has been just under a week since the vote. Has the Minister spoken to the general secretary of the ASTI since the vote last Friday? There has been an overwhelming majority from the ASTI. Some 68% do not agree with the support measures proposed by the Department and 67% of the 70% turnout of vo…

The Minister referred to the TUI. There is a complete divide between post-primary teachers throughout the country on whether or not they have the correct training and whether schools are fully resourced to roll out leaving certificate reform in a mere couple of months' time. I understand packages have been put forward to resource our schools, but we are talking about 100-year-old infrastructure. There are science laboratories that are not resourced and supported and an absence of lab technicians to support teachers…

The Minister is asking teachers to sign off on that.

There is no indemnity for teachers.

The integrity of the exams will be lost.