Fianna Fáil supports this Bill, which it is of utmost importance. It provides for the amendment of two Acts, namely, the Health Act 2007 and the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009. The Bill gives new enforcement powers to the Chief Inspector of Social Services, including the power to issue compliance notices to enhance compliance with regulation in residential care homes and further protect residents. That is very important. The Bill is about further protecting residents. The new amendments to the Health Act 200…

Will the Minister of State outline the roll of the National Cyber Security Centre in tackling cyber scams?

When we hear of cyber scams, we initially think of the attack on the HSE in 2021, or the large-scale attacks on our institutes of higher education. These are the headline stories but the reality is that there is no one in Ireland today who has not been touched in some way by cyber scams. Whether it is a credit card scam, a hacking of a social media account or the stealing of a password, cybercrime is now unfortunately a common occurrence. These crimes can have devastating personal, professional and financial conseq…

What the Minister of State is saying is correct. This was brought to my attention. Just last week, it was discovered that 76,000 websites had been set up by a network of criminals based in China. The websites were marked as official sites of well-known brands, many of which have a well-established customer base in Ireland. Experts are now calling it one of the biggest online scams ever. Up to 800,000 people, mostly in Europe, were tricked into providing personal and financial information to these bogus sites run by…

I want to raise the issue of children receiving substandard services in children's disability network teams, CDNTs, in Carlow. I was disappointed to read in a response to a parliamentary question I submitted that the HSE has delayed a new children's service facility in Carlow which was to be the new home for the CDNT. Part of that was to include the Holy Angels centre. A funding allocation of approximately €7.1 million was identified for the project, and a design team was engaged and proceeded with the design proce…

I thank the Minister of State. I was made aware the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, would not be able to take this Topical Issue tonight but, in fairness to her, I have worked very closely with her and can say she is totally committed to trying to recruit for disability services. One of the biggest issues I have been talking to her about recently is the inclusion of assessments and intervention from private service providers, which I welcomed. That made a difference but we still have a long road to go. As I alw…

I will ask about community employment, CE, schemes. A lady who is a cancer survivor took a place on a CE scheme because she could not find part-time work. She was on disability allowance before taking up the scheme and her spouse was also on disability allowance. She has now been asked to do a means test. She was very upset the other day and said to me that she would not have taken the position if she had known. If her welfare payment is reduced, she will have to leave the scheme. She is doing well and she loves th…

The portfolio of special education is so important. It is a role that directly impacts on the lives of countless individuals with diverse needs and, as such, it demands full-time dedication to ensure effective policy development, implementation and support for those who rely on the special education services. There are enormous issues with special education and the Minister of State will need all of us working together to make these changes. Families come into my clinic in Carlow and tell me their children are not …

I raise the issue of school places, especially for ASD units, and parents paying to get their children assessed. Several people have come into my clinic who cannot get their children assessed. These people are borrowing from credit unions and their own parents. The cost of getting assessments has gone so high that they are really under pressure. The CSO indicators show that 15.2% of children live at risk of poverty, and with 190,000 children, a child in one in every seven households experiences poverty. We now have…

As the Taoiseach knows, there are no crèche places available in the country and our childminders provide a great service. I thank the Taoiseach so much.

You are very good. Thank you very much. It was good the Minister of State spoke of voluntary homes and care homes, such as those in Carlow and Kilkenny, and I thank her for the funding. Deputy Crowe spoke of care homes needing funding. We all respect the HIQA reports and whatever but I spoke to the Minister of State recently about looking at local authority grants for when a HIQA inspection came on and they wanted an extra bedroom, bathroom or something like that. Maybe different Departments could help the Minister…

There is currently no orthodontic treatment service available in Carlow. When does the Minister expect this service to be provided and when will it be implemented?

I thank the Minister for that positive news. It is important. Carlow town is bigger than Kilkenny city. Central Statistics Office figures for the most recent census show that the population of Carlow town has grown by nearly 9% to nearly 28,000, while Kilkenny city has a population of 27,500. The Minister has given me good news, which I welcome, but we need to have our own services. I spoke to the HSE about having an injury clinic, and I have also spoken to the Minister about that several times. We have a huge faci…

I welcome the reduction in the numbers on the treatment lists and I am aware of the Minister's commitment. He was in Carlow last week and we were delighted to have him down. Carlow needs to have the services it does not have at the moment. While she was not giving out to me, a constituent spoke to me about having to go to Kilkenny for orthodontic treatment. As the Minister said, some people travel to Waterford. Some parents have to take a day off work. They do not mind that but the main issue is that the population…

This week, I met some Carlow fire and rescue members. Two of them are nearly 60 so they are going to have to retire. We have good news that there is legislation coming in to allow our firefighters to stay on until the age of 62, which is really welcome. If the legislation is enacted prior to 16 May 2024, Carlow County Council will abide by it but, if not, the firefighters will have to retire on 16 May. What can we do? Can there be a pause put in to allow our firefighters to stay on? They want to stay on. They are e…

They are due to retire on 16 May.

Absolutely.

I am aware, as is the Taoiseach, that the ESRI is undertaking a demographic analysis of the census, which showed that County Carlow has grown by 9% and is one of the fastest growing in the country. We now have a population of 62,000. I am asking about the facilities for housing. Specifically I am looking for an update on the upgrade and development of the Bagenalstown wastewater treatment plant. This is holding up a number of housing developments. While we are delighted our population is growing, we need facilities…

There are no precise, up-to-date data on the number of survivors of abuse in residential institutions who are still alive today but I can tell you they are not getting any younger. Therefore, we all need to work together to have this Bill enacted quickly. This is of the utmost importance. As of 31 December 2015, the Residential Institutions Redress Board had made awards of compensation to 15,579 survivors. These survivors, along with those who obtained a similar court award or settlement, would be eligible to acces…

Has the Department measured the progress and success of the school meals programme in the context of diet, attendance and educational means?