I thank the Minister for that. Regarding what he has just said on providing additional supports, in parliamentary questions I tabled to the Minister, it came to light that only 4.4% of those who were in receipt of carer's allowance were getting fuel allowance, which is a very low figure. Some 106,000 people in this country are getting carer's allowance and only short of 6,000 of those are in receipt of fuel allowance. We have been told time and again, and we were told this again yesterday, that bills for those look…

I welcome the opportunity today to speak on the Our Rural Future policy consultation. Over the last number of years I have been involved in and seen the positive impact that investment in rural places can have on towns, villages and rural communities throughout Kildare South. We are seeing investment in places like Athy, with Emily Square and the Shackleton Experience which the Minister was down to visit himself and which he officially opened. The Athy food hub obviously must be mentioned as well. There are more pr…

Has the Minister identified sites for the Government's pilot for public childcare facilities? Has she considered Kildare South given the urgent need and lack of childcare facilities in that part of the county?

I thank the Minister and I appreciate her reply. The fact we have 82 potential sites throughout the State is encouraging at this stage. Is the process closed for expressions of interest? When the Minister suggests that some projects are from existing suppliers of childcare and others are for properties only, does she have a breakdown of those? With regard to State-led services, is the State proposing to take over existing childcare providers in a State-led childcare service or will it be through co-operation betwee…

I appreciate the Minister clarifying this as it is an important distinction to make. Existing providers have access to other programmes to increase their level of service and this is important. Are those with a building excluded from putting forward that building? I want to mention the Kilcullen area of County Kildare. I am not sure whether one of the three is for this area. I have raised with the Minister previously the issue whereby upwards of 100 children are without a childcare service in that town. This is rep…

I too want to raise last night's horrific programme. Like the Tánaiste, I thank Barry O'Kelly and "RTÉ Investigates" for bringing this in front of us. As has been said in this House already, it is not the first time that I and others have brought up this concern. Three weeks ago, Independent Ireland raised concerns we have on Private Members' business about Tusla services, SEAs and problems concerning them. It is simply not good enough that the most vulnerable in society are put at risk by these arrangements. The S…

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Shane Moynihan - To discuss the provision of specialist supports for children with dyslexia, dyspraxia or apraxia of speech. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire - To discuss delivery of a permanent school building for Owenabue Educate Together National School, Carrigaline, County Cork. Deputy Louise O'Reilly - To discuss the need for out-of-hours GP services …

Every day, housing is the biggest issue in my office. Today, I want to talk to the Taoiseach about social housing income limits. It was in January 2023 that the then Minister for housing announced new limits for social housing. In my own area of Kildare, the limit went up by €5,000. That was the first time in ten years. It was also mentioned then that there was ongoing work to look at income limits. The reason I raise this today is over the past number of weeks, I have had a number of cases where people, upon revie…

It was in 2023.

I am glad the Minister of State is here. I want to start by paying tribute to my colleague Aodhán Ó Ríordáin MEP, who was something of a lone voice in the previous Dáil when it came to football in this country. As my colleague Deputy Smith said, this is only the second time we have discussed football in this Chamber, which is simply not good enough. I also pay tribute to the Irish women and their terrific win last night against Poland. They are role models for a growing sector of our communities, and young girls ar…

I welcome students from the National Learning Network in my home town of Athy who have joined us for this very important debate. I also thank Deputy Kelly for all of his work in this area. I join with the Minister in thanking all of our serving Garda members for the job they do on behalf of all of us day in and day out, 24-7. It is most welcome and the Labour Party, in particular, wants to welcome and thank them, as the Minister has done. Unfortunately, however, morale among gardaí is as low as I have ever seen it …

I will start by thanking Independent Ireland for bringing forward this important motion. It is very important that we talk in this Chamber about Tusla as often as we can. I have concerns around the motion as moved tonight, particularly around those services that, as contributors have said, are working well, those who are working well within the system and what would happened to them if we had to disband Tusla. Having said all that, there is no doubt that we need to see reform. We know that. That is why we are welco…

In accordance with Standing Order 85(2), the division is postponed until the next weekly division time.

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Shane Moynihan - To discuss adequate classroom provision for Gaelscoil Chluain Dolcáin. Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss severe cuts in SNA provision in County Kerry. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore - To discuss Local Link buses in Wicklow. Deputy Mark Wall - To discuss the provision of park and ride facilities along the M7-N7 and M9 motorways. Deputy Jen C…

I rise in the Chamber tonight to once again try to get to some solutions to the car park the N7-M7 has become. People are spending their lives in cars. They drive for three hours every morning to work and drive back home for three hours every evening. Some people leave their home at 6.30 a.m. Some leave their home at 5.30 a.m. to try to beat the traffic. They spend an hour or an hour and a half in their work car parks to avail of some time and to try to avoid what is happening on the roads. I am asking the Minister…

I really appreciate the Minister of State taking time to come to the House this evening. I acknowledge that this issue does not come under the remit of her Department. The work done at Kildare town train station is very welcome but the new car park is already full. Drivers cannot get into it every morning. People have told me they cannot use Kildare town train station because the car park was not designed to accommodate the traffic going into it. This is what the Government and the NTA have put forward as a fundame…

I thank the Minister of State.

As a man, I welcome the opportunity to discuss International Women’s Day. It is an important day for every man to reflect on. It should not be this day alone, however. Men need to reflect every day on how we treat women, both in this State and across the world. Following more than 20 years in political life, I am seriously worried about the dramatic increase in the number of women fleeing domestic violence who have into my office in recent weeks and since the start of the year. These women, some with children, are …

I raise the urgent need for special classes in Kildare South. Not a day goes by that my office is not inundated with calls from worried parents. One parent called yesterday about twins who need a special class. Thankfully, after 50 phones calls, one of the twins, my constituent's daughter, got a place 10 miles from where they live. However, the other twin, a boy, cannot get a class. I want to talk about Scoil Bhríde in Suncroft and its principal, Ms Sinéad Harte. She has a room available to go ahead with a special …

On world hearing day, I again want to raise the case of James Reardon and Ruth McSkane, who face a bill of €10,000 for hearing aids. I have previously raised with the Minister for Health the case of a lady in my area, Maggie Owens, who is involved with Irish Sign Language and creates great bond with the language in the town of Athy. At a time when some 50% of our population with a disability of working age is not in employment, expenses such as cost of hearing aids are prohibitive. In 2024 the Department of Health …