As we sit and stand here today, the genocide continues in Gaza. Some 65,000 people have been murdered, with 20,000 of those being children. I am conscious of not just what is happening in Gaza but also of what is happening in the West Bank and the displacement of people there as well. It is welcome and encouraging that there has been progress on a peace proposal and that significant countries in the region have committed to work with the US to finalise the agreement and ensure its implementation. What it lacks, tho…

Is léir go bhfuil a lán feicthe againn cheana féin agus go bhfuil rudaí maithe ag tarlú timpeall na tíre, go háirithe i gCill Dara. We have seen a lot of positive progress around the country, particularly in Kildare. Some examples of successful sports capital programme projects in Kildare are: Clough GAA, which secured a €150,000 grant to install LED floodlights and improve security; Celbridge GAA club, which secured just over €95,000 for its sustainability and inclusivity plan in 2024; and Clane Rugby Football Clu…

In 2004 the Taoiseach introduced the smoking ban, which has saved thousands of lives. This week the EPA reported that approximately 1,700 premature deaths occur in Ireland every year due to poor air quality. A lot of this is due to the continuous burning of solid fossil fuels and traffic emissions. Will the Cabinet committee on climate action, environment and energy consider this report and look at actions to try to resolve it?

Permanent anaphylaxis is not currently listed as a qualifying condition under the long-term illness scheme, even though it is a long-term condition and requires lifelong management and access to emergency medication. The long-term illness scheme has not been updated since the 1970s. I ask the Minister of State if permanent anaphylaxis would be considered but also if the Government plans on reviewing the scheme, considering it has not been reviewed in such a long period.

I welcome the auto-enrolment scheme. My Future Fund is a key aspect of the programme for Government. I commend the Minister on the work he has done to date on bringing it forward. If we look to our counterparts across Europe, the UK, for example, introduced auto-enrolment in 2012, Italy did so in 2007 and Estonia in 2002. It is about time that we moved towards auto-enrolment. The thing about it is that it will ensure people's security in old age. For far too long, we have seen pensioners, particularly those on the …

When I was in college in Maynooth, a while ago now, I started smoking. I was 19 and playing hurling for Kildare and the university but fell into a bad habit and it took me a long time to quit smoking - about 12 years. I was on and off but managed to quit cold turkey and then eventually found a vape on a night out and become dependent on vapes in social settings and then in normal day-to-day settings. To this day, I am on and off a vape - not a disposable vape but a vape you fill up. Much has been said about disposa…

I commend the Minister of State on the amount of work he carried out over the summer, particularly in relation to school transport and special education. There was a marked improvement this year in comparison with previous years. It is important to acknowledge that. However, there continue to be serious issues with school transport. The programme for Government commits to ensuring better management of the application system and timely communication to parents and families. While that has been the case for the major…

We have seen the enormous demand for childcare throughout the country, particularly in my own constituency of Kildare North. However, a lot of the focus has been on preschool and not on after-school childcare. It is extremely difficult for parents to find after-school care and also to go back to work. What measures are being implemented to ensure this shortage of after-school childcare places does not act as a barrier to parents returning to the workforce?

I recognise the progress that has been made and the advancements, particularly around the additional funding with the national childcare scheme, NCS, and with core funding. The reality of the situation still stands that the shortage of affordable childcare drives what is called the motherhood penalty, which is the economic setback that parents, mostly women, face after having children. This leads to many women having to reduce hours, turn down promotions or leave the workforce due to childcare constraints. It deepe…

I was going to reference next the work the Minister did as Minister for Education in ensuring that more schools opened their facilities after hours for childcare, particularly for after-school care. The Minister will be aware, however, that there have been difficulties with some school boards in getting those schools open. There needs to be a co-ordinated effort between the Minister's Department and her former Department of education to ensure that schools are directed to open those facilities for after-school care…

We have seen an increase in electricity demand and rightly we are focusing on renewable energy. However, we have major challenges in meeting our 2030 and 2050 climate targets. Indeed, the climate action plan commits to 80% renewable energy by 2030 and net zero by 2050. Has the Minister of State's Department assessed the potential of nuclear energy in Ireland's future energy mix?

I appreciate that the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 prohibits nuclear power generation in this country and that the programme for Government focuses on renewable energy. I completely understand that, but the question relates to any type of consideration given to nuclear. We look at the likes of small modular reactors that create between 50 MW and 300 MW of energy. What I am saying here is that it is not a completely clean source of energy but it is a cleaner source of energy than fossil fuels. If we really want t…

I recognise the expertise this State has garnered in offshore and onshore wind energy and indeed solar. I was at the launch of the Timahoe North Solar Farm in Kildare only three weeks ago, an excellent facility that will provide energy to a significant number of people in Kildare and across the country. However, my argument here is that if we look to Belgium, for example, it recently extended the operation of two nuclear reactors. These will supply 15% of national electricity demand and help reduce reliance on gas …

I would like to first welcome the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People. I particularly commend the fact that it was developed in partnership with disabled people, and the five key pillars in terms of inclusive learning and education, employment, independent living and active participation in society, well-being and health and transport and mobility. Two Thursday's ago, I met with representatives from Dara Community Living, which is based in Celbridge in my constituency of Kildare North. They are doing…

Every year, 14,000 expectant women lose their babies. This equates to roughly 25% of pregnancies ending in a loss, which is clearly a traumatic and difficult time for any woman. Currently, those women need to rely on sick leave to deal with the loss they are going through. Are there any plans to introduce paid miscarriage leave as a stand-alone support for women affected by miscarriage and their families?

As we celebrate Pride Month and the ten-year anniversary of the marriage equality referendum, it is important to call out the bravery and activism of the LGBTQI+ community, their families, allies and campaigners. We can all recall the referendum ten years ago and the sense of sheer joy and jubilation when the result came through. The memory of seeing how much it meant to friends of mine will never leave me. I am sure the memories will never leave anybody who was part of that campaign. There has been significant pro…

We recently heard of the possibility of an increase in US tariffs from 10% to 30%. EU Trade Commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, has said that the 30% tariffs would effectively cut off EU-US trade, which is quite a sobering thought. Is the Government liaising with the Commissioner on any possible impacts of the increase from 10% to 30% tariffs?

Since the signing of CETA in 2017, Ireland's exports to Canada have surged from €1.7 billion to €5.2 billion in 2024. However, there was a reduction of over 50% in quarter 1 of 2025. It is believed that much of that is due to pharma being diverted to the US ahead of impending tariffs. We are now looking at the new EU-Canada strategic partnership of the future and negotiations will start soon between Canada and the EU. I ask that strong consideration be given by the Government in those negotiations, and when speakin…

Ireland has a proud history when it comes to development aid. We are still falling short of the UN target of spending 0.7% of gross national income on overseas aid. The most recent figures show we are at just 0.57%. When domestic supports such as Ukrainian refugee assistance are excluded, the figure drops to 0.41%. How does the Government plan to progress towards the 0.7% target?

I acknowledge there is a commitment in the programme for Government and the Tánaiste's commitment to international development aid. The difficulty, as he has outlined, is the global aid landscape has completely changed. The US has made massive cuts to USAID. Over $60 billion has been slashed. UK development aid is down by £6 billion. That has a huge knock-on impact on the likes of the Irish NGOs. Goal, Concern and Trócaire, which is based in my home town of Maynooth, have lost vital funding and have had to freeze r…