I ask the Minister of State for an update on the setting up of autism classes in the Dublin 12 area, namely, in Drimnagh Castle Secondary School, St. Paul's Secondary School, Assumption Secondary School, and Loreto College. In the next year a cohort of Dublin 12 children will need autism classes in secondary school. Children who may not have needed a class in primary school usually need one in secondary school as navigating secondary school is a lot harder. The question asked by the Dublin 12 Campaign 4 Autism Incl…

I am involved in and support the Dublin 12 Campaign 4 Autism Inclusion. The Minister of State has met them and they are parents who are concerned about their children. They are campaigning hard to ensure those children who are moving from primary education, especially over the next year or two years, have clear direction to go into post-primary or secondary school. They made the point to me that it is harder for children who have autism to navigate secondary school and that is one of the reasons they are seeking to…

Those are all things we will need to do, not just in Dublin 12 but nationally, from the point of view of moving children from primary to secondary level. Has the Department looked at the cohort of children who, over 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030, will be seeking to move into secondary schools? If schools do not provide the classes, will they be compelled to provide classes? Will the Minister of State give me and other Deputies information on how many children will need secondary school places in…

Yesterday and today the Minister confirmed that there is a lack of trust around the issue of the church. This is not just confined to the past: it is here and now. There was a reference to "red mist" in an earlier contribution. This is a red mist that many thousands of women in the State have experienced. To my mind there are very serious issues relating to trust in the context of the establishment of St. Vincent's Holdings. I want to refer to the so-called "fact sheet" issued last week by the St. Vincent's Healthc…

When the national minimum wage was introduced more than 20 years ago at a rate of €5.58 per hour, it was seen as a step forward in tackling the issue of low pay in the Irish economy. The intention was to set a floor, with workers being able to secure wages above the low basic rate. However, the minimum wage, rather than acting as a floor, has become the norm in certain sectors of the economy, particularly in hospitality and retail. Rather than reducing low pay, it has in fact consolidated low pay which now affects …

Would the Tánaiste agree that the most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, has not got the attention it deserves due to the desperate situation in Ukraine and concerns about the cost of energy and security of supply? This report makes for alarming reading. It is another serious wake-up call. The world is nowhere near on track to limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2050. There is not a hope that will be met. In fact, the evidence points to a 3°C rise by the end of this century. We ar…

People cannot live their lives at the moment. People in the Third World cannot live their lives at the moment. People in this country are finding it very difficult to live their lives at the moment with the cost of living and the systems in place for climate change. To my mind, the vote last night did not reflect the debate that happened on carbon budgets. I am fundamentally putting to the Tánaiste that we need that transformational change. It is not me saying it but the UN Secretary General. That means tackling th…

The Government has had years-----

I thank Deputy Funchion for bringing this motion on childcare fees to the Dáil tonight. I support the call for a further increase in public investment in order to enable providers to reduce fees for parents by two thirds, commencing with a one-third reduction in fees this year. I also support the commitment to increase wages and improve working conditions for staff. These are stepping stones. The Minister had a slip of the tongue earlier when he said "muddle" rather than model but childcare in this State is a muddl…

The publication of the women's health plan and the objectives outlined in it are very welcome. There are specific issues that relate to women's health and the recognition of that is an important step forward. I welcome especially the proposal for free contraception for 17- to 25-year-olds and the commitment to roll that out to those over 25 in the next period. It would be interesting to find out if there is a plan to roll that out and when. The proposals on period poverty are also very progressive. The increase in …

I concur completely with the points Deputy Connolly made. I am nearly shaking with anger at the discussion we have had here today. I was hoping that at least we would get some information or update on where the Minister is at with talks and negotiations and all we got was the same as before. I had a Topical Issue matter taken two weeks ago. I was told in reply, because the Minister was not here and it was responded to by a Minister of State, that the Minister would not say anything on the matter until he brought hi…

I thank People Before Profit-Solidarity for bringing this Private Members' Bill to the Dáil this morning to seek a referendum to enshrine neutrality in our Constitution. Nobody in this Chamber or in the Seanad will openly argue that we should abandon our traditional neutrality and join NATO because they do not have to. Structures for an EU military alliance have been carefully and steadily put in place. An EU army separate from and able to act independently of NATO but closely linked to it is the objective, and our…

On 28 February, public health measures fell, including the mandatory wearing of masks even though the public health advice was that we should maintain them on transport and in healthcare settings. We now have one of the most virulent Covid variants running rampant in our society with 1,600 patients in hospital, an increase of more than 40% in the past seven days. Last week, 5,200 staff were out sick with Covid. This week, according to Dr. Colm Henry, it is over 6,000. More hospitals are cancelling elective surgery …

Pardon.

That is why I am asking for a mask-wearing campaign to alert people.

That is what I meant.

It is up 40% on last week.

I want to raise again the issue of the need to set up a cost-of-living hardship emergency fund to be distributed by community welfare officers in order that families can access the resources they need for things like fuel and food, and for those community welfare officers to be in the community, like they used to be. I welcome the fact community welfare officers are at the airports, welcoming and resourcing Ukrainian refugees. Given the urgent needs people are going to have in the future, particularly with another …

They cannot access this through the community welfare officer.

It is the long term that we have to look at.