I was glad to see the Minister of State launched the roadmap to improve children's disability services for 2023 to 2026 in October. I believe that the six assessment hubs to streamline the assessment of needs is urgent. Is the Minister of State going to expand on these hubs? Where does she intend to provide more hubs? That is important. There are six new assessment hubs. Will the Minister of State tell me what exactly the hub will mean today for the parents of children I speak to in Carlow-Kilkenny? That is so impo…

I welcome that. I urge the Minister of State to consider further expansion of the system. I know how committed she is to the issue. I work with parents and I am aware of their concerns. The number of applications for assessment of needs under the Disability Act 2005 has risen steadily since the implementation of the system in June 2007. Some 7,612 applications for assessments of need were received in the most recent four quarters. The third quarter of 2022 and the second quarter of 2023 show the highest number of a…

I have received several questions and queries about when the mother and baby scheme will be open for applications. As the Minister knows, the long-awaited redress scheme for survivors of mother and baby homes was signed into law in July. I can honestly say, like the Minister, that the survivors who have contacted me are not getting any younger. They deserve and need the scheme up and running as soon as possible. I am aware that since July, the Department has been working on the structures to deliver the scheme. Whi…

I ask the Minister how the funding increase for his Department announced in budget 2024 will provide for an expansion of targeted access and inclusion model supports to children in County Carlow beyond time spent in the ECCE programme, both in term and out of term, and if he will make a statement on the matter.

I welcome the increase of €14 million announced in budget 2024 for the access and inclusion model. I also welcome that the Minister has said €7 million will be allocated to support children with a disability requiring these supports to access and meaningfully participate in the ECCE programme. I want to ask the Minister about therapies and supports. Can the Minister outline what these supports and therapies for children with disability will be? What other supports will be put in these schemes for them? I would also…

I welcome that. It is important that funding is addressed in these areas. I welcome the commitment of the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, to this. I note my colleague is trying to get in on this question. I thank the Minister for his answers this morning.

It is important that we have this debate today. I thank the citizens' assembly for its work. The language of Article 41 of the Constitution serves to limit the concept of the family to the marital family and does not reflect the reality of modern society. The proposed amendment aims to update our Constitution in this regard so that it reflects and recognises families in Ireland in a more inclusive way. In doing so, it responds to the recommendations of the citizens' assembly and the joint committee. The proposed in…

When will the applications for the mother and baby homes scheme open? The redress scheme for survivors of mother and baby homes was signed off last July. Many of the survivors have contacted me. As the Minister knows, these survivors are not getting any younger. It is now important that this scheme is up and running as soon as possible. That needs to be done. Can we have a timescale for it? That will be so important. We are going into another new year in January.

Like previous speakers, I am concerned about a number of matters in the context of Christmas coming. I want to wish everyone a happy Christmas. There are many families who find this time of year very hard. In my own area of Carlow the staff in the social welfare office do a great job but I firmly believe the office needs more staff. The issue that is raised with me every day is that when people ring the office the staff will send out a form but there is no communication. As I said, the staff are doing a great job b…

Does the Minister of State intend to launch a review of the legal aid system, including a review of how legal aid is paid and to whom and will he make a statement on the matter?

I am glad to hear about the review group but I am looking for a timescale. Every day I have people who come into my office who are over the financial threshold and they are not getting the assistance they need. The Chief Justice's working group this summer referenced that the budget for legal aid was around €50 million but there was a huge unmet legal need in family law and employment law and there are areas like disability that are not really being dealt with enough by the Legal Aid Board or independent law centre…

I thank the Minister of State for that response but my issue is that the scheme is means tested. The allowance given to families does not cover all the needs that are there. The law is that the aid is not given to anyone with means of over €18,000 a year. I have had several cases of women whose earnings are barely over it and not by much. If one breaks down €18,000 per year, it works out about €350 per week, which is incredibly low enough. These women are not getting this aid. They might be just barely over €350 a …

I thank the Minister of State.

The incremental purchase scheme for newly-built houses allows people who qualify for social housing to buy designated newly-built houses from a local authority or AHB at a discount price. The issue is there does not seem to be one or two that one can buy singly. My understanding from the local authority is it has to be a group scheme. This is a really good scheme. I am wondering can we look at this that they can be purchased one-off, two together or three together because there is such a good discount on it. We nee…

No, I do not agree. There are six minutes left.

In Carlow, an excellent and very successful private sports programme was delivered for older persons through SETU. Sport Ireland has recently withdrawn the funding which has heavily subsidised this class. The majority of the participants on this scheme were on disability pensions or old-age pensions. The users of the service see their physical health, energy and overall well-being vastly improved as a result of participating in the programme. The money used to subsidise the programme was part of a research project,…

I ask the Minister the plans to address the challenges facing the tourism sector and hospitality businesses dependent on tourism.

It is very important that we get this published. It is great to see Fáilte Ireland and everyone else working together, but one example, and the reason I bring this up, is Carlow. The Minister has been to Carlow on several occasions. She is always welcome. We have what will be called the culture quarter. That quarter will be a huge tourism attraction, and within that we have a beautiful new library, Carlow College, St. Patrick's and Visual. The reason I bring this up is that we have loads of restaurants around the a…

What plans does the Minister have to ensure children are protected from exposure to harmful content on social media?

I thank the Minister and I welcome her commitment, with the establishment of Coimisiún na Meán in 2023, the appointment of Ireland's first online safety commissioner in March 2023 and, as the Minister said, enforcement of the EU's Digital Services Act. Internet safety legislation to require social media companies to keep children safe online passed into law in the UK last month. In theory this would make the UK the safest place to be online in the world. Here, however, while we have done a lot children are still ex…