I am very pleased to have the opportunity to outline the key priorities for me as Minister of State with responsibility for disability over the next number of years. This Government is absolutely committed to improving services for people with disabilities and ensuring that they can live full lives with the same rights and access to services, education, transport, culture, sport and careers, and have the means to live independently, as all other citizens do. I have made it a priority to visit services, meet people …

I thank all Senators for their constructive contributions. I have taken note of them and will take them on board. I look forward to coming back and working with Senators in the coming weeks and months, especially on the national disability strategy as we roll it out, to make sure we have a whole-of-government response. We are absolutely committed to ensuring people with disabilities live full lives with the same rights; access to services, education, transport, culture and careers; and means to live independently t…

I thank speakers for their contributions today to this very important debate, which both celebrates and highlights the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women not just in Ireland but across the globe and highlights the challenges to achieving gender equality. International Women's Day has been celebrated since 1911. The theme for this year is accelerate action. It speaks volumes that despite women playing a full role in every aspect of Irish life, gender inequality continues to be persist and…

Táim ag freagairt an cheist seo ar son an Aire, an Teachta McEntee. I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for raising this matter which provides me with the opportunity to clarify to the House, on behalf of the Minister, Deputy McEntee, the position regarding the Gaelcholáiste for Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8. The Department is fully supportive of and remains committed to the establishment of a Gaelcholáiste in the Dublin south city area. The Department of Education is currently working with the Edmund Rice Schools Trust to ensure con…

As outlined, the Department is and remains fully committed to the establishment of a Gaelcholáiste in the Dublin south city area and is working with the Edmund Rice Schools Trust on the successful transition of Synge Street CBS to a co-educational Gaelcholáiste on a phased basis from September 2026. I will ask the Minister to come back directly to the Deputy if he needs clarity on any specific questions. The Department is currently working with the Edmund Rice Schools Trust to ensure there is continued and clear en…

With whom?

I will raise that with the Minister. I cannot answer for her but I am sure everything is happening within the Department. I will relate that back.

I thank the Deputy for his question. I will be raising the matter with both Ministers. I have a response here on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Heydon. Neglect or causing unnecessary suffering to any animal is unacceptable in our society and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is fully committed to the ongoing promotion and enforcement of high animal welfare standards. The Department continues to enforce the law in this important area, as do An Garda Síochána, the Customs service, the Irish Society f…

I thank the Deputy. I will relay back to the Ministers what the Deputy has said here. In dealing with breaches of equine identification legislation the policy is to adopt a fair and proportionate approach. Authorised officers engage with keepers to ensure that they understand their responsibilities and, where potential breaches of the legislation are identified, they generally provide an opportunity for non-compliant keepers to rectify the position within a specified timeframe. Last year €6 million in funding went …

I thank Members for their contributions on what is a very important topic. The Government is absolutely committed to ensuring that people with disabilities can live full lives with the same rights and access to services, education, transport, sport, culture, careers and means to live independently as all other citizens enjoy. Since being appointed the Minister of State with special responsibility for disability last month, I have made it a priority to visit services, meet people with disabilities and sit down with …

The Government recognises that waiting lists for assessments of need are far too long and have a significant impact on the needs of children and their families. It should be noted that children who require services from a children's disability network team, CDNT, do not require a diagnosis or a statutory assessment of need, AON. However, it is a fact that demand for AONs has increased significantly in recent years, which is a reflection of both the increase in population and of families exploring all options for ac…

The Deputy is entirely correct about the stress, frustration, worry and anger of parents out there, and I absolutely acknowledge this point. They want access to therapies for their children. In many cases, they also want a diagnosis. There is a combination of reasons why people look for assessments of need. I absolutely accept that. The administrative hubs are in CHOs 1, 4, 5, 7 and 8. Established assessment hubs are also in CHOs 3, 6 and 9. The AON administration hubs will aim to provide a single point for receipt…

I will certainly follow up with the HSE on that issue. What we want to do here is ensure that children and others with disabilities, including adults, are getting the therapies and services they need and require. That is my focus, that of the Minister, Deputy Foley, and of the Government. I refer to ensuring that we have the services and therapies required, be they occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists or whatever therapies it might be, to ensure we are addressing the needs of ou…

I thank the Deputy for his question. The Government is committed to providing early intervention services to children with disabilities and their families as referenced in the programme for Government. A total of €3.2 billion has been allocated for disability services in budget 2025. This is an 11.6% increase on 2024 and represents an overall increase since 2020 of €1.2 billion. This increase will support the roll-out of the roadmap for service improvement for disabilities, including services for children and young…

In regard to early intervention, it is worth noting that in education, the access and inclusion model, AIM, is in place to support children with additional needs to access and meaningfully participate in early learning and childcare by providing universal supports to preschool settings generally and targeted supports based on the needs of the individual without requiring a diagnosis. The Deputy asked what we are doing regarding recruitment, both domestically and in the international field as well. We are trying to …

I thank Deputy Farrelly for his support in this regard. My door is open as well if there are any good ideas. We do not have the monopoly on solutions and my door is fully open in that regard. This is about ongoing recruitment. We have also been looking at what else we can do. There may be people working in other disciplines within the health sector who want to become therapists and could be upskilled. We must look at everything we can do. It is also about retention and pay. I get all of that. That is a key part of …

The HSE and lead agencies are experiencing ongoing challenges recruiting to maximum capacity in the disability sector. These challenges are reflective of issues affecting the wider health and social care sector and are impacting the ability of the HSE and disability service providers to deliver on their vital work. Ensuring that the disability sector is fully resourced is a key priority of the Government. This priority has been reflected in our programme for Government. It is important to acknowledge the progress t…

I thank the Deputy, who has raised valid issues. We are supporting practice education in CDNTs. There is a student sponsorship programme. There is also an initiative whereby four years of salary are paid to new graduates over five years to support a gap year in the fifth year. We also have the development of apprenticeship programmes. At national level in response to the challenges, we have rolling recruitment campaigns with employers. There is talent searching in the Irish and international markets for staff. We a…

I thank the Deputies for their questions. Have we moved on to Question No. 121 in the name of Deputy Ó Murchú?

A children’s disability network team workforce survey was conducted on 16 October 2024. This survey captured staffing levels across various disciplines and grades-----