We need to be frank. Public confidence in the board at Children's Health Ireland is shattered and is in pieces. It is beyond repair. These unnecessary hip surgeries are a national scandal, a scandal of which we still do not know the depth. Thousands of hip surgeries have taken place over the past decade. There are possibly hundreds of cases of children who underwent highly traumatic surgeries that were unnecessary. Thousands of children and parents are left in the dark wondering whether their surgery was necessary.…

I strongly welcome the allocation of time today to discuss Uisce Éireann. This week, the community of Castlecomer in north Kilkenny received yet another notification of overnight water restrictions. This is a recurring issue that they have endured for years. This time the cause is critically low water levels. It is now April. We have not even reached the summer months and Castlecomer's water supply is already struggling to cope. What do we expect the community to do if we have warm or dry June and July? This is a s…

This is welcome legislation from the Government. An increasing cohort of workers opt to work past their planned retirement age, some into their late 60s or even into their 70s. While this is fundamentally a personal choice for many, it would be naïve to ignore the external factors which put workers into a situation where they feel they have no choice but to keep working. These factors are direct results of failures by this Government and its Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael predecessors - failures that include the cost-of…

I am getting to it. It is the cost to them. Now, Ireland’s energy costs are the most expensive in the EU. The consequences are stark. Research carried out by ALONE shows one in three people over 65 are at risk of poverty. This is a national disgrace. After a lifetime of contribution to society, a third of our elders face possible poverty. Is it any wonder so many feel compelled to work past retirement age? I recently met a 69-year-old man who was forced to retire at 65, as per his contract. His reasons were simple …

We are in the midst of a housing crisis that is worsening month by month. It is the actions of this Government, its refusal to listen to experts and its insistence that the market will provide that has accelerated this crisis so rapidly. All we see from this Government is its head in the sand as it refuses to admit the market has failed. These actions have failed rural Ireland so severely on housing. I look across my home county of Kilkenny where the Government’s failure to invest in modern, fit-for-purpose water a…

The Government should not be putting-----

I raise the case of a young William Jonathan Moore, a four-year-old boy from Kilkenny who has been diagnosed with a life-threatening condition, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, DMD. This condition is so rare that no treatment is available in Ireland. William has been accepted at the Boston Children's Hospital for treatment. However, as I am sure the Taoiseach is aware, the treatment abroad scheme does not currently cover the United States. The State has a duty to provide care to children such as William to be treated i…

It is only available in the United States.

I strongly welcome this motion. Earlier today in the audiovisual room, a group of young family carers gave a powerful description of the work they do and the impact the lack of supports - and the utter lack of State support - is having. Carers are the backbone of our society. They are the quiet, everyday heroes who give everything to care for loved ones. The respect and high regard that carers are held in by the public was crystal clear to see in the run-up to the general election. While every party and group pledg…

The ordinary people of counties Carlow and Kilkenny are paying the price of the failures of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Month after month, the housing crisis deepens. Average rents in Carlow and Kilkenny are almost €1,600 a month, which is a staggering burden for workers and families. Scores of people want to build or buy their own home across Kilkenny. They have worked hard and saved up but because of the failures of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, they have been denied that opportunity. These workers and families are b…

On Saturday, we mark International Women's Day. We celebrate the resilience, strength and the invaluable contributions women make every day in Irish society but we must also confront the inequalities that persist in our society. I raise in particular the immense role women across Ireland contribute as carers for those in need. We all recognise that carers are the backbone and support for so many in need in communities across Ireland. We must recognise and acknowledge, however, it is women who form the majority of c…

We need to see meaningful action that will bring positive change. This International Women's Day, let us raise our voices as a society to say we value carers as an essential part of our society and we demand they are given the support and respect of which they are so deserving. I commend my own mother, who looked after my father, and was a carer for a number of years. Their role is vital and we could not do this without them. They need to be recognised.

We are debating an issue that touches every family and community across Ireland, which is the future of healthcare for our ageing population. This is far more than just a policy discussion. It is about ensuring dignity, safety and quality of life for our parents, grandparents and, one day, ourselves. The facts are clear. By 2030, more than 1 million people in Ireland will be aged 65 or older. By 2057, this number could nearly double. This demographic shift is not a surprise. It is a foreseeable challenge, yet for o…

For generations, agriculture has been the heartbeat of Ireland's economy, culture and rural identity. Today, over 170,000 people are employed across the sector. That number shows the agrifood sector is the backbone of communities across the State. Many of my family members, neighbours and friends are part of that 170,000-strong workforce that contributes to the strength of Irish agriculture. We must face the reality that Irish farming stands at a crossroads. There are external threats breathing down the necks of fa…

The position of communities right across the State is clear when it comes to the Mercosur trade deal. It will be bad for Irish farming, it will be bad for the environment and it will be bad for people's health. Last week in the European Parliament we had a clear opportunity to show Irish MEPs are united in our opposition to the deal. Brazil and Argentina are the world's top GMO and pesticide users. This includes GMOs and pesticides that have been banned in the EU for health reasons. The motion highlighted concerns …

Every child has a fundamental right to education. It is a right that all children should enjoy equally. We must, however, face the reality that in Ireland in 2025, it is not the case. Some of the most vulnerable children in Irish society are being left behind. Parents are left waiting years for an assessment and are left battling to find a school that can provide the correct resources for their children. That simply should not be acceptable but has become the norm across the State. The Government needs to face the …

In 2024 alone, 174 lives were lost on Irish roads. Behind every number is a name, a family shattered and a community left grieving. There are few families across the country that have not been left devastated by the grief of losing someone to a road traffic collision. The location of the Rhu Glenn Hotel on the N25 near my home in Kilkenny is one such blackspot. Time and again it has been the site of horrific collisions. Just after Christmas, a local woman's life was tragically cut short there. Her family, friends a…

As a person who lives on a family farm, I am more than familiar with the struggles that farmers across Ireland are facing. Farming is at the centre of every community across Carlow and Kilkenny. As the recent storms and heavy snowfall showed us, farmers and communities in rural Ireland always step to the fore in supporting one another in times of need and difficulty. The programme for Government was an opportunity to give Irish farmers the support they deserved. Once again, however, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael failed…

As this is also my first time speaking in the Chamber, I would like to thank the people of Carlow and Kilkenny for putting their faith in me. I will leave no stone unturned. To my family, especially my parents and husband, and to my friends and activists, I am extremely grateful. Thank you. Across Carlow and Kilkenny, parents are struggling to find adequate childcare places. The sudden announcement of the closure of a school servicing Castlecomer has left parents without vital childcare. In Kilkenny city, another p…

Too many to name.