I want to quote from a press release from Epilepsy Ireland last week, following the announcement that a young man had to leave his examination after an emergency. It stated, "A seizure is a seizure, whether it happens an hour before the exam or during the exam, it has the same impact on you." My question is specifically about people who have to leave examinations during the examination. I wrote to the Minister about an issue last week where a young man had to leave his history examination after experiencing acute a…

The second sitting of examinations is welcome. There are some issues with its deployment but we can talk about that on a different day. The question I am asking today is about what happens when a person experiences a medical emergency during the examination. The SEC previously stated that people would not be able to resit the examination. There was a welcome change last week during an individual case. Epilepsy Ireland has highlighted this issue for many years. We are asking for a policy change to reflect that and t…

I am conscious that we are joined by the Minister of Health. Both he and the Tánaiste will be aware that hyperemesis is an excruciating and debilitating condition experienced by 1% of women and people experiencing pregnancy. In a response to a parliamentary question I submitted, it was revealed this week that 3,304 hospitalisations occurred last year through women experiencing this condition. Cariban is one step in the treatment plan for this condition that alleviates some of the excruciating suffering. It is not a…

The Minister and the Minister of State have each stated multiple times, including in the opening part of the address today, that 25% of the Department budget, some €2 billion, is dedicated to meeting the needs of children with additional educational needs. That is an impressive figure but it is little or no comfort to young people and families without appropriate education. It is little help for parents receiving upwards of 20 rejection letters from schools or forced to accept a place for their child that is not ap…

In this Chamber we hear much about the cost of living but the Society of St. Vincent de Paul report from several months ago captured the issue more succinctly. For too many families in this country, it is the cost of survival. There was a report yesterday from the ESRI that demonstrated clearly that those most vulnerable are, once again, lone parents and adults of a working age living with a disability. We need targeted interventions immediately. We in the Social Democrats are asking for advanced targeted measures …

My question pertains to the fact that the Government, through the ESB, is back purchasing coal from the Cerrejón mine in Colombia. My question is on whether we intend to carry out a human rights assessment on the indigenous and local communities surrounding that mine to see the impact the mine and the fossil fuel extraction around that location is having on their lives.

I do not accept that the Minister does not have a function when we take fossil fuel extractions and the impact it has on the community. I do not accept that from Deputy Eamon Ryan, as a Minister in government and in his position as the leader of the Green Party. Whatever these extractions happen, if they impact locally or globally, we all have a function in that regard, which is why I am raising it with the Minister today. We are no longer taking coal from Russia for obvious reasons, which we all supported, but now…

Several months ago I visited the Cerrejón mine with members of the Irish Embassy in Colombia and we saw for ourselves the impact that the mine and the potential expansion of that mine has on local communities. I was there and we saw the communities appeal to us as visitors and observers to take an interest in the fact that their lives and their children's lives have been grotesquely affected by our consuming of coal extracted from this mine. They also accept the mine will not close tomorrow. They have asked, howeve…

I hope the Minister does not mind me saying that the Bettercoal initiative is industry-led. Those companies are benefiting from the industry and should not be allowed to dictate the conditions by which we combat its impact.

I commend the Minister on the announcement he made today. There was much merit in what he announced and, time allowing, I will come back to some aspects of it at the end of my contribution. I listened to the Minister's speech earlier and the part that stuck out for me was the disadvantaged action plan. He mentioned the concept of bringing more students from disadvantaged areas into universities, supporting them all the way through, and seeing what happens to them afterwards. That is very important and may be the fi…

I want to add my voice to the call for statements on special education this week. It is a real shame that on the last day of May, SNA allocations still have not been announced. This is a sad indictment of how the Department treats those at the front line who are providing essential services to children in our schools. It is vital that we have statements on these issues towards the end of this week.

Returning to the issue of special education centres, I agree that language is important. Can the Tánaiste imagine the shudder of fear that went through families with children with special or additional needs last night when they heard the phrase "special education centres"? The Government asks us for our trust. The Tánaiste says the policy is integration, yet the practice now seems to be segregation. I will ask the Tánaiste straight out: can he promise me, the Chamber and families at home who are looking on with fe…

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak today on this important subject. I recognise the work that has been undertaken by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science on the issue of apprenticeships. My contribution is not intended for the Minister of State but more to have a discussion about apprenticeships on the whole. Who they are for? Who may they not be for and who benefits from them? I am somewhat cautious when the Construction Industry Federation points to a skills gap…

I thank the Minister of State for joining us today. I am very conscious that in a debate lasting over two hours, parliamentarians across the Chamber will be standing up and effectively saying the same thing. While that is frustrating for us, I imagine it is more frustrating for the thousands of people who have been left frustrated by this issue. We all accept the Passport Office's consistent lack of communication and accessibility to the public affects thousands of people throughout the country and has been a conti…

We are here to discuss Northern Ireland and the rapidly evolving situation in relation to the Northern Ireland protocol, legacy issues and the shared responsibility that we hold with the UK regarding the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. They are all very live and important issues that are deserving of our time in this House. It is important that as we talk about the issues facing Northern Ireland, we ensure that we place the people living there front and centre. The North of Ireland has experienced so m…

George Orwell is said to have written, "In an age of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." Shireen Abu Akleh was murdered by the forces of the Israeli state precisely because she committed her life to sharing the horrific truths of Israel's cruel treatment of the Palestinian people. She was wearing a bright blue vest marked "Press" and was standing with other journalists when she was killed. Journalists present on the scene have since reported that as Shireen Abu Akleh and her colleagues were…

I ask the Minister how he intends to support graduate entry medicine students following the withdrawal of the products by the bank that previously provided loans to support students taking the course.

I thank the Minister for his response. In the Minister's previous engagement with Deputy Conway-Walsh, he mentioned the fact that he did not want to talk about barriers to education, because he wants everyone to believe that they can go to college. That is very relevant and important and I endorse that. However, there are certain courses that are simply not accessible to students, regardless of how hard they might try to access them. For example, 4% of the graduate entry medicine student cohort come from what would…

I fully agree on the Minister's point about diversity of access and routes to entry. That is important. There are different models that I hope the Minister will consider. Perhaps SUSI can be expanded up to graduate level not just for medicine, but also for other courses that have previously been the preserve of those who can afford them. There are examples from other jurisdictions, such as the St. Andrews model in Scotland, whereby students got access to study medicine through a bursary for accommodation and living…

I thank my colleague Deputy Cian O'Callaghan for bringing forward the motion. It is an opportunity to debate and scrutinise the frankly bizarre proposal of the Government to give €450 million of State resources to developers so that they may continue to profit from a crisis they created. The Minister keeps interrupting. I will give him an opportunity to do so in a second.