I wish to ask the Minister about the assessment he has made on the impact of suspended or short custodial sentences on victims of child abuse and the circulation of such material online, whether he has evidence that current sentencing levels act as a meaningful deterrent regarding child sexual abuse materials and what legislation policy tools he is prepared to deploy if judicial guidelines prove ineffective.

I thank the Minister for the reply but I am asking whether the Department has carried out a full assessment of this. We can all call a spade a spade. Not a month has gone by where we have not read an article in a newspaper regarding suspended sentences for first-time offenders or those who have been caught for the first time when it comes to child sexual abuse images and online images. Certainly, it upsets a number of people in my constituency and Members in this House as well when we see people with large volumes …

I have to say I am disappointed to hear the Minister is not prepared to bring new legislation to this House. At this stage, should we not be setting a minimum rather than just a maximum sentence given the type of crime it is? These are the most heinous images of child abuse and surely we should be providing for a minimum sentence at this stage rather than setting the maximum. I would ask the Minister to reassess that. I notice the Minister did not answer my last question about what assessments are being done. I do …

I raise the situation of a child in Cork who has been on a priority one waiting list since January 2025 for an augmentative and alternative communication, AAC, assessment and device trial through the HSE. According to the response given to my office, the appointment has been postponed for more than three years, with no clear timeline offered and no interim supports put in place. Without these essential supports, this child is being denied the ability to communicate, learn or participate and may even have to leave m…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — child protection and welfare represent one of the most fundamental constitutional obligations of the State; — Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, operates as a statutory agency at arm's length from direct departmental control, funded by the Exchequer, but structurally separate from the Department of Children, Disability and Equality; — this governance model has resulted in: — blurred lines of accountability between the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, and Tusl…

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. I am rather disappointed that the senior Minister did not stay in the room for the rest of the debate but left early. I am also disappointed that we had no speakers from Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael in the House. One would think that children's safety would be the most important thing on the mind of any elected representative. I thank colleagues from Sinn Féin for their support. I am also grateful for the support that came from the Labour Party and the Social Democrats, alth…

Mr. John Barrett, an established civil servant at assistant secretary general grade and an executive director of An Garda Síochána, was purportedly abruptly dismissed on 18 September 2024. The Government has been formally notified of the legal contention that the dismissal as unlawful on five separate occasions, namely, on 5 July 2024, 18 November 2024, 20 January 2025, 28 July 2025 and, again, earlier this week. The central legal issue is rather straightforward. Section 5(1) of the Civil Service Regulation Act 195…

-----with the complaint upon reply. Protected disclosures were made-----

------of alleged wrongdoing. I will get to that. If the Leas-Cheann Comhairle will bear with me, he will understand where I am coming from. The parallel process was initiated without transparency and there has been a prolonged non-compliance with High Court discovery obligations. I am not asking the Tánaiste to determine the truth on the floor of this House, which rectifies the matter for the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, but there are other people there. I am asking the Tánaiste if he will accept that as a former Taoisea…

-----that the dismissal of an established civil servant is compliant with statutory constitutional fair procedure.

This is about the Constitution. This is what it is about-----

-----and it is about the statutory procedure. That is what it is about. Will the Tánaiste's Government confirm that-----

The Tánaiste has now had this before him for 19 months. Has the Government authorised the dismissal and will he confirm it? If not, who in the Government, or who else, has purported to exercise the power that is reserved for the Cabinet? This is not merely an unemployment dispute. It goes to the heart of collective responsibility and Cabinet responsibility under Article 28 of the Constitution and the statutory framework of the Government Civil Service. I put it to the Tánaiste again-----

Did the Government authorise the dismissal of Mr. John Barrett?

The Tánaiste has had this information for 19 months.

He was notified on 5 July 2024, on 18-----

I am talking now. On 28 January 2025-----

On 18 November-----

What is out of order is the Tánaiste not answering a question-----

-----on a constitutional and statutory obligation of the Cabinet and who made the decision.