I welcome that we are having a debate on special education in the House. I congratulate the Minister of State on her appointment. As she may be aware, I have been raising the issue of the deficiencies within special education provision for children in my constituency and particularly in County Monaghan for some time. I have a list here of all special schools across the State. A stark statistic is that only two counties in this State do not have a special school and County Monaghan is one of them. When we consider t…

Last Friday evening parents of students living in Donaghmoyne, Lisdoonan and other parts of south Monaghan who attend three post-primary schools in Carrickmacross and Scoil Phádraig primary school in Corduff were notified by Bus Éireann that their school buses would be unavailable from yesterday morning, essentially the next school day. This is a familiar story of families having little or no notice of disruption to a school bus service. They are told the service will remain out of service until an alternative oper…

I wish to tell the Taoiseach about a 14-year-old boy from my constituency. This young man had braces fitted in the orthodontic clinic in Louth County Hospital last October. In December, however, his family were told this young man's dentist had resigned and there would be a lengthy waiting period for his next appointment. He had his braces tightened but was then informed he was no longer attached to an orthodontist and would therefore not be given any further appointments. In fact, his mother was told only last wee…

It is fitting that these Europe Day statements take place this year just four weeks out from the European elections on Friday, 7 June. Those elections will take place at a time when Ireland and Europe are facing many challenges and I believe these elections will be seen as an opportunity for people to have their say on the change they want in Ireland and in Europe. We have a Government that is out of touch, that does not understand the challenges we are facing, certainly does not have the ideas or the capacity to f…

How many drawdowns?

The reason that not only do we have an ongoing housing crisis but it is getting worse is quite simple. The Government has set targets for social and affordable housing that are far too low and year-on-year they have managed to miss these targets. To give some solace to the Minister of State, I can tell him one target that it did actually meet in 2023. It was the affordable housing target for County Monaghan where I am from. The target was precisely zero affordable houses and that is exactly what the Government prov…

Does the Minister accept that the Government has been underfunding local roads? Does he accept that the local road network is in its worst state in many decades as a result of this underfunding? I know that in County Monaghan, I see a local council trying desperately to maintain roads that are in a desperate state. It is carrying out patching works when full resurfacing is required. I am told that the situation is similar in Donegal. Will the Government allocate the necessary funding to allow these local roads to b…

That is lanes.

I think the Minister would dispute that, but I will take it as high praise indeed. The takeaway from the speeches of the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, is something I have spoken about on a number of occasions. This is what I consider to be the lack of vision for the future of Irish agriculture. The Minister updated us on some of the immediate supports that have been put in place - weather supports that are desperately needed by our farming families. I know any supports during the current climat…

The family farm is the cornerstone of rural communities and regional economies across this island. Family farming is almost uniquely Irish, particularly in a European context and, therefore, the Irish family farm must be protected. We, as a society and as political representatives, have increased the demands on our farmers. We expect them to produce the highest quality food in the world, which they do, and we expect them to do that within the strictest animal welfare, environmental, biodiversity and climate rules i…

We have had 13 years of Fine Gael in government. We have had 13 years of Deputies Harris, Varadkar and Donnelly as Ministers for Health who, in many instances, made our health services worse. The experience of health for many people under this Government means lengthy waiting times, hospital overcrowding and wasteful spending. Nowhere are the Government's failures so evident and so indefensible as in the cancer services. Expensive, lifesaving equipment lies idle because of staff shortages. That is indefensible. Can…

Hear, hear.

There is a Cork bias going on there, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

The Tánaiste should be answering the questions put to him.

Definitely not answers.

You are responsible for keeping them in government.

I am sure the Ceann Comhairle has noticed that the condition of many local rural roads is deplorable and that the situation has been getting worse in every year of this Government. The fact is that the Government is starving local authorities of the funding needed to maintain the current poor state of local roads, never mind to ensure the situation can improve. The result is that at a time when fuel prices have been increased by the Government, many people travelling in rural communities are bursting their tyres on…

It has not done any good.

Will the Government provide additional funding to address that?

As has beensaid, Ireland has seen a significant and welcome increase in corporate taxation receipts over recent years and, of course, it is right this House considers the most impactful way in which those receipts can be utilised to the benefit of the people. As Deputy Doherty said, given the potential windfall nature of the income received, we need to be considered and careful as to how it is put to use. Sinn Féin has been very clear that it would be ill-advised to use this for recurring day-to-day expenditure. Ho…