I move amendment No. 38: In page 75, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following: "(iv) a PEPP (within the meaning of section 51 ) in relation to which the applicant is a contributor or the employer of contributors is a qualifying PEPP;".

I acknowledge the amendments tabled by Deputy Ó Laoghaire, but the auto-enrolment scheme will not be invested in through private pension providers. That will not happen. It will be invested in through investment providers in the same way the NTMA invests the State's money. This will involve the savings of members of the scheme. It is set up in such a way as to protect members. It is a big body of work. I am sorry that I cannot accept Deputy Sherlock's amendment. I will make it very clear, however, that I do not wan…

I expect to have the legal advice by the time the Bill goes to the Seanad. On a second point, it is not just the UK. There was a similar increase in the take-up of occupational pensions in New Zealand and Australia. I expect that will be the case here.

I thank the Deputies for their co-operation and support. This is transformational legislation. It will affect many of the workers of tomorrow and of today. I was speaking to a group of schoolchildren this morning. They were 16 and 17. It will impact on their lives down the road. It will also impact future generations. It took 25 years to get this far, so I compliment everyone on helping me to get it to this point. I particularly thank my officials because this was a massive piece of work. It is a very long Bill. Th…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I know it is one on which both he and I are committed to seeing progress. In representing our constituents, we all have had the experience of meeting parents who have been waiting for too long for the assessment of their children's needs - both of us have done that - and unfortunately, then for the therapies they also need. We must do all we can to relieve the pressure on these families and on front-line staff. The Deputy will be aware that the Taoiseach has established a …

I know the parent the Deputy is talking about. I have spoken to that lady as well. I know the difficulty she faces and that she has tried approximately four different schools and is having difficulties. I know that and we are doing all we can to support her. We need to explore greater use of the private sector when it comes to the assessment of need. We also need to grow the teams within the HSE which are providing much-needed therapies and increase training places within our third-level sector so that we improve s…

I thank the Deputy for raising this. The Tánaiste confirmed this morning that Ireland will recognise the state of Palestine by the end of this month. We are calling urgently for an immediate and sustainable humanitarian ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access. The protection of civilians must be paramount. It is an obligation under international humanitarian law. Accountability for civilian deaths is essential. Ireland calls for de-escalation by all act…

I condemn the incursions into Rafah. These people have nowhere to go. I know all of us in the House condemn it. It is wrong that people are left in that awful situation. I have been very clear on the issue of the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill. It is something we have taken legal advice on. Ireland's opposition to the illegal Israeli settlements is unambiguous and grounded in international law, as I said. The Deputy has asked whether we will look at the Bill again. These things are always …

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which I know is one about which he feels very strongly. He has advocated for Scoil Chormaic in Cashel previously. As I said earlier, we all have the experience, in representing our constituents, of meeting parents who are waiting too long for an assessment of their children's needs and for the therapies they need. We have to do all we can to relieve the pressure. The Taoiseach has established a new Cabinet committee on children, education and disability, which includes the…

In 2021, we did clear the list. There is a framework in place now and there is €16.5 million available to procure the services for special needs assessments in the private sector. The Deputy is absolutely right that we need to clear the list and we will do so. The necessary funding has been provided. In terms of special schools, seven new ones have been established in recent years in a number of areas, including Cork and Dublin. In the 2024-25 school year, the focus is on areas outside the larger cities. New specia…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. We commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings this Friday. The legacy of that atrocity lives on in the memory of many. In my own town of Monaghan, I know how it impacted on people. I acknowledge the people who lost their lives that day. The bomb in Monaghan went off outside Greacen's pub. I was just reading about two children whose father dropped them to a hall that day while he went into Greacen's pub. When the bomb went off, the children were ta…

Like the Deputy, I have engaged with the families of the victims of this terrible atrocity. I know some of them extremely well. It has been a long journey and a difficult time for them. As the Tánaiste said, we need to look at this issue once again and try to get access to the files. I take on board what the Deputy said.

The Tánaiste said this morning that Ireland will recognise the state of Palestine by the end of this month. That is a very important step. As the Deputy said, EU member states and the international community have made it clear that an Israeli military operation in Rafah will inevitably lead to disastrous humanitarian consequences and the deaths of large numbers of innocent civilians. We urge Israel to cease its operation in Rafah immediately and avoid further escalation. Israel must facilitate safe, unimpeded acces…

I acknowledge the presence of Finola Cassidy in the Gallery. The HSE has a senior manager who liaises with Irish thalidomide survivors. The HSE has carried out a consultation process with survivors to ascertain their health and social care needs now and into the future. The support for Irish survivors of thalidomide Bill was paused because of this consultation with the HSE. When that consultation is finished, it will then proceed.

I thank the Deputy. As he said, today is Nakba Day. Israel marks its Independence Day and Palestine marks its Nakba Day. Both events are commemorated today. These dates serve as a reminder of the deep historical complexity that surrounds the current conflict. As I said earlier, the Tánaiste said this morning that we are going to recognise the state of Palestine by the end of this month. We are working across Europe with our colleagues. We make every effort we can. We continually call for an immediate and sustainabl…

I thank Deputy McGrath for raising this issue. I believe an employment regulation order is in place for the sector and I understand it is back in negotiation again.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. We have improved the supports available to carers considerably in recent years. I know the Deputy welcomed the carer's pension that is now going to come into place. It is very important to recognise the huge sacrifices many have made in caring for their loved ones, particularly parents of children with disabilities. We have also expanded a number of other supports in terms of the means tests and have increased the limits and amount of money a person can have in savings. T…

Wherever you draw the line when it comes to means tests, people will be either on this side of it or that side of it. There will always be winners and losers. No matter how high the bar goes, there will be losers. From June onwards, a carer can earn €900 per week, for a married couple, and it will not impact on their payment. That has been increased and kicks in in June. Coming up to the budget, I look at all these things but in looking at the means test for carer's allowance we also have to look at the level of ca…

I was here yesterday when Deputy Farrell raised this matter with the Taoiseach. He said he would raise the matter with the Minister and he agreed with what Deputy Farrell was saying. We are investing in apprenticeships to meet skills needs. The apprenticeship narrative in this country has completely changed and that is a good thing. If people are waiting, we will do everything we can to address those backlogs.

I know the Tánaiste raises those matters with his counterpart, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on every occasion he meets him. The last meetings were on 18 and 29 April and they were raised at those meetings. He will continue to do so. I will raise the Deputy's concerns with him.