I welcome that.

I move: That leave be granted to introduce Bill entitled an Act to enable the Minister for Education and Youth, by regulations, to make provision for promoting participation by a greater number of school staff in approved courses of training in first aid for medical emergencies, for a greater number of schools to be listed as organisations whose staff are authorised to administer certain prescription-only medicinal products without a prescription, for the purpose of saving life or reducing severe distress in medica…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

Infrastructure is absolutely vital. We can talk about the building of homes, which is absolutely necessary, but as we build homes, we must build infrastructure. As the Minister knows, I was born and bred in Mallow. For over 30 years now, the people of Mallow have been talking about a relief road to relieve traffic congestion in the town. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, despite promise after promise, have failed to deliver for the people of Mallow. In every single announcement that the 34th Government has made in the Dái…

I do. Under Standing Order 35(3) I wish to amend Wednesday's business to include statements on the politicisation of the announcement of special classes, which is causing distress for families and school leaders. I raised this two weeks ago and it has happened again since that. I ask that time be allocated in this week's schedule to debate the issue.

I thank my colleague, Deputy Wall, for bringing this motion forward. The right to request flexible work is not even a half measure. It merely formalised the ability of a worker to request flexible work. Workers were not prohibited from making this request prior to that. This once again puts the entirety of the power balance in favour of the employer. The employer has no responsibility to accommodate flexible work for their employee. Does the Minister of State think that granting workers the right only to request fl…

Last November, Inland Fisheries Ireland appeared before the Committee of Public Accounts. On Friday, members of the committee received a 137-page document from Inland Fisheries Ireland answering queries raised at the meeting. At the meeting, I raised a very serious matter regarding August of 2021. A staff member of Inland Fisheries Ireland was involved in a car crash while driving an IFI car. He produced insurance documentation for the gardaí that he received from the IFI executive. This documentation was false, wh…

I believe both officials misled the constitutional committee and members of the public. I want to know whether this has been brought to Cabinet-----

-----and if the Minister believes the deputy CEO and head of finance should step down.

I welcome these statements. I have said it on the floor of the Dáil before that the water in my hometown of Mallow is destroying every single washing machine, kettle and shower head in every single house in Mallow because it is hard water. What I always get back from the Government is that it is not bad for you. That is fine but it is bad for the pocket and that is a fact. I am no expert on this, and I ask the Minister to go away and find out from Irish Water whether it is possible to put in a water softener at sou…

It emerged this morning at the meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts that there had been a significant overspend on an IT system for SUSI grants, which has now cost almost three times the originally budgeted figure of €2.2 million. The Comptroller and Auditor General drew attention to this at this morning's meeting. The project, titled "My SUSI", began in 2015 and by 2024 it had run to €6.4 million, although it is still only at the pre-project phase. What does the Government know about this? What oversight is…

I thank the Deputies for bringing forward this motion. It is an extremely important one. I will focus on the small towns and villages programme. On 6 November last, Uisce Éireann appeared before the Committee of Public Accounts and stated that, in revenue control 3, €98 million was allocated to that programme. This began 243 projects across the country, seven of them in Cork. Does the Minister of State know how many of these have been completed since 2022? Four have been completed. The fact it takes seven to ten ye…

We have to have a debate in the House on how special classes are allocated and how the announcements of these classes are conducted. I have received many queries from parents and even school principals asking if the schools in their areas have been allocated special classes. I could not answer those questions, but if I was a Government TD, I probably could. Yesterday, backbenchers and Ministers announced classes for their own areas while leaving other communities in limbo. It is shocking to think that this Governme…

The Labour Party will support the motion from Sinn Féin. I thank Deputy Martin Kenny for bringing it forward. I stood on the floor of the Dáil with my colleague, Deputy Lawlor, when Deputy Kenny brought a motion on the Mercosur trade deal forward on 18 November. It is a shame that we have to speak about it again in the Chamber. It is one of the most important trade agreements that will ever happen in this country. The Mercosur agreement, which has been pushed aggressively by Fine Gael's European People's Party, wou…

I wish to address the ongoing failure to implement the CIÉ pension proposals that were accepted by the CIÉ staff on 15 August 2025. Before addressing the delay itself, it is important to acknowledge how this agreement came about, because it did not happen by accident and it did not happen easily. This deal was secured through Trojan work by CIÉ employees and former workers, that is, pensioners who refused to be brushed aside, who organised, who engaged constructively and who stayed at the table when it mattered. Th…

I appreciate the reply from the Department. I want to give some context to the significant issue I raised. Yesterday, in my office, I met a former CIÉ worker, a pensioner. This is the fundamental issue he is facing right now, as it is for those he meets for the monthly cup of tea or coffee - the conversation they once had in their staffroom. On the new defined contribution scheme, the Minister acknowledged the positive outcome of the ballot held on 15 August 2025. Following on from this constructive and collaborati…

I want to speak first on the grave concerns in the fishing industry with the announcement of the new deal from the EU on fishing opportunities for 2026. The loss of 57,000 tonnes of quota will without doubt have a hugely detrimental impact on the over 2,300 jobs in the industry. The Seafood Ireland Alliance has said that it expects somewhere between a €100 million and €200 million loss in value for 2026. Those are staggering figures and will have caused great concern and distress for those working in the sector in …

I am taking this question on behalf of my colleague, Deputy Duncan Smith. This is something he and the Labour Party as a whole have championed for many years. Will the Government commit to the reinstatement of the supplementary pension facility for uniformed services to ensure that retention and recruitment can increase?

On the face of it, that is a complete and utter "No". Do Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, and the Government for many years now, not realise that the men and women in our Defence Forces, An Garda Síochána, fire services and Prison Service go above and beyond? What we have right now in all of our public service, but particularly in our uniformed services, is a retention and recruitment crisis. All of those groups I mentioned - gardaí, firefighters, Defence Forces personnel and Prison Service staff - have stated that, beca…

Mr. Karl Dalton, the Prison Officers Association general secretary, said, “If the last government believes that extending the retirement age alone addressed the concerns of Prison Officers, Gardai [sic], Firefighters and members of the Defence Forces, this survey [which was carried out] shows just how little they understand these services and the people who work in them.” I know the Minister does not want this to be his legacy within the Department of expenditure, but he and the rest of the Government have a decisi…