I thank the Leader for facilitating this Private Members' motion and thank the Minister for making herself available to come to the House to discuss this important topic. I can appreciate how busy she is as she engages with all the different matters that come before her desk. The motion recognises that the system that has been put in place by the Department has been pretty successful until relatively recently, in my experience. I know the Minister is aware of enrolment pressures, particularly in high-growth areas a…

No pressure.

I appreciate we had both Ministers in the House to debate the motion. We all agree that while a lot of work is being done in the area in terms of providing capital funds for building new schools etc., the process of actually building schools needs to be streamlined because we have heard references to this right around the country. Senator Wall and I have spoken about the situation in County Kildare where it takes a long time to procure a site and planning permission and years later we can still be at an early stage…

Next Tuesday at 1 p.m.

First, I want to add my voice in welcoming Senator Malachai O'Hara. I look forward to working with him in a collaborative and positive way. It is lovely for him to have members of his family here. When all of us here were elected, it was during Covid so we had our first sitting in the Convention Centre and could not invite any family members or supporters. His family being here today is something to be cherished. I support the Order of Business as outlined by the Leader. I want to raise a number of issues today, th…

I will take this opportunity to wish the President a very speedy recovery. As we know, he will be in hospital until Thursday. It is fair to say that he has solidified his role at the heart of Irish public life. Many of us are looking forward to seeing him back in Áras an Uachtaráin, continuing to deliver for us as Head of State. Having a parent unwell in hospital is not an easy thing. Many of us have had that experience. It is particularly difficult when someone is high profile. We are thinking of our colleague, Se…

I support the Order of Business, as outlined, and welcome our guests. I want to talk first about two very positive events I attended. It is really down to the power of parents doing good things for their children. Yesterday morning, I had the opportunity to attend a coffee morning organised by Kathleen Murphy and the Kildare branch of Down's Syndrome Ireland, which was held in McDonald's in Newbridge. I saw the level of support and joy. There was dancing with Johnny Peters and his band and the Cahill family also pr…

Last week, I raised concerns related to HSE-funded post-mastectomy products in the House. I am really glad that the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, showed real leadership and intervened as he recognised that the threshold of support provided under those new procedures may lead to some women receiving less support than before. He asked the HSE to amend the procedures to ensure that no woman who is currently availing of the scheme or who might access it in the future would be at a financial loss as a result of the changes…

I thank the Minister of State. In her reply, she stated it was important to note "that the new proposed procedure in respect of hair loss was for cancer provision only and had no impact on non-cancer related alopecia patients". I take from that that those suffering from alopecia will still be entitled to the same allowance as before. That is bringing clarity and I thank the Minister of State for that. On the standardised allowance, we both agree that absolutely is where we want to be. I appreciate the Minister has …

I appreciate the efforts of the Minister of State.

I congratulate the Houses of the Oireachtas on winning the advancing disability equality award for organisations in the workplace with the OWL programme. The award was made at the Irish Centre for Diversity national awards. It is wonderful to see the Houses of the Oireachtas being recognised for this. We are the first and only parliament to organise an internship for young people from KARE and WALK in Walkinstown. I congratulate everybody involved but I particularly thank the Members and staff of the Houses for the…

I welcome our esteemed guests from the Canadian delegation. On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party, I extend our sympathies on the sudden passing of our friend as well as our colleague, Michael O'Regan. Michael was always incredibly fair and just. In particular, he always saw the person behind the politician and always went out of his way to try to make sure that people were comfortable and treated well. We will all miss him in a huge way and, in particular, as the Leader said, his tweets. The first issue I want to rai…

Travelling into Dublin this morning, I listened to Chief Imam Dr. Umar Al-Qadri, chairperson of the Muslim council, speak about the horrific attack he underwent last Thursday evening. On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party, I condemn the attack which shows a clear need for the hate legislation to come back before the House to be dealt with. I also mention the death of the Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, a vocal critic of President Putin. Mr. Navalny died last Friday in a Siberian penal colony. He was a brave…

I thank the Cathaoirleach. When I was 13, my parents bought me The Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank. It is something I have always treasured. It was the first time I really learned about man's inhumanity to man. Coincidentally, I was the same age as Anne Frank was when she started writing her diary. I felt I could identify with a lot of what she was talking about. Obviously, I could not comprehend what she was going through. I asked all of the adults in my life, "How could this happen?" They all said that nobody…

I propose: That notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders or in the Order of the House today, statements will conclude at 6.20 p.m. and No. 4 will be taken immediately thereafter.

I will support the Order of Business as outlined by the Acting Leader. I commend the actions taken by the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste in working with Spain to write to the European Commissioner looking for an urgent review of the trade agreement with Israel on the basis of human rights abuses. Obviously, the EU-Israel association agreement is an important trade agreement, so it is important the Commission take note. The international community absolutely has to do more to support innocent Palestinians and what happe…

I support the Order of Business as outlined by the Leader. I wish to raise a number of points. The first relates to Sir Ernest Shackleton, about whom I have spoken about in these esteemed Houses previously. There are celebrations planned in London and Dublin this weekend for the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Antarctic explorer, Ernest Shackleton, who was born just outside Kilkea in Athy. He was part of three very famous expeditions to the icy regions of Antarctica, leading two of them. The most famous was o…

I commend my county colleague, Senator Martin, on drafting this Bill and bringing it together. With his legal expertise and political experience, we have no doubt about the robustness of the Bill. It is important to have this debate and speak about domestic violence, which is a scourge not just in this country but across Europe and the world. As we know from statistics, during and after Covid, the numbers went completely sky-high. We must do everything we can do to increase the protection of victims and help them o…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, for being here. I appreciate that he is a very sincere and compassionate person, as well as a public representative. He has a deep understanding at heart of the issues we have here. However, I have to say that I am disappointed that the Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion, Deputy Madigan, is not here. I informed the Cathaoirleach's office that I would be willing to defer this really important matter until the Minister of State, De…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, for his response. I am still somewhat confused. I also have to point out that the allocations to the schools were issued at 11 p.m. on the Friday of a bank holiday weekend, which is simply not good enough. In terms of the number of SET posts in line with each school's profile of need, if two children with complex needs apply for a place in a school next September, how is that borne in mind in the context of this model? I appreciate that reviews need to happen and that…