That remark should be withdrawn.

The Deputy is not speaking to the section.

I join my constituency colleague Deputy Shortal, in speaking about the USC obligation on general practitioners involved in the GP Care for All practice. I note as a broader point the changes to the USC and welcome them. I think they will be very welcome for workers. I will return to them in a moment but I want to speak to the point Deputy Shortall raised. Since she said it might be her last time speaking in the House, I also acknowledge her almost 32 years served in Dáil Éireann. I think I am correct in saying she …

Deputy Chris Andrews-----

I wish to be associated with the comments made earlier in regard to Deputy Denis Naughten in his last contribution to the House. In what I hope will not be my last contribution to the House, and I imagine many of us are in the same position, I raise the issue of Scoil Chiaráin on St. Canice's Road, in my area, which is a special school. Earlier in the summer, it received full approval for a fantastic new extension and an expansion of that site. I ask the Minister to relate to the Minister for Education everything h…

This was in 2014.

A Cheann Comhairle-----

We have doubled the numbers since three years ago. How can that be working?

I want to raise with the Tánaiste the policy of the National Transport Authority, NTA, which, for the past ten years, has been trying to remove the number 11 bus. It was successfully resisted in 2014 but was unfortunately put back on the table again in 2017. Despite multiple changes and the addition of Wadelai Park and Home Farm back on the route, but only on an hourly basis, and then back to a full service but without the cross-city or the local terminus; the reality is that the NTA needs to quit while it is ahead…

I join with my colleagues who put forward this proposal along with the principals because it makes eminent sense. Many people entered this House for many different reasons, to fight many causes, but all of us are united by the idea that there are children who are born who deserve equal opportunity, that they deserve to be supported and that education is a place where that can be done very powerfully. In Fianna Fáil, we are very proud of the DEIS programme. It was something we established in 2004, 20 years ago. You …

I appreciate the response of the Minister of State. Elections are democratic exercises where we get to press “refresh” on the policy approach taken by different Departments. There is an opportunity, as we head into the coming months, to get unanimity across parties on this point and bring people together so that, no matter who is sitting on the other side of the table negotiating a programme for government, DEIS+ is a common point of agreement across all of those parties. If that were to happen, I believe the Depar…

I start by talking about the progress of Ireland over the past 20 years. There has been a lot of discussion in the House about poverty. However, the SILC report published prior to the budget indicated that those at risk of poverty was 10.6% in 2023. That is a historic low and is down from 20% in 2005. We have halved the number of people at risk of poverty over 20 years. The number of people living in consistent poverty in 2023 was down compared with 2022. It is getting better and went from 4.9% to 3.6%, so it is do…

Yesterday, Dublin City Council brought forward Part 8 proposals for almost 500 homes in Balcurris and Balbutcher. These are in addition to the other Part 8 proposals passed earlier in the year in Wellmount and Cardiffsbridge - all public homes on public land, all built under Housing for All and we did not even have to turn one page of Deputy Ó Broin’s little green book. Unfortunately, many homes come through the non-Part 8 process and require the traditional one and they need reform of the planning Bill. Will the T…

On Friday, the Department of Education informed us that St. Kevin's school in Finglas West was approved for a new ASD class. This brings to 20 the total number of ASD classes opened in my area in the past four years. There is a real challenge here in that for the last nine months, parents will have applied to all 20 of those schools to try to secure a place. While that is a timeline that works for mainstream students, although there are those who argue it does not work for mainstream students, it does not work for …

Recently, I met the Disability Federation of Ireland and the Irish Wheelchair Association following the decision by the Minister for Social Protection to end the Green Paper process and to carry out further consultation. We are heading into a budget. The ESRI has stated on the last two occasions that we have kept ahead of inflation by combining core increases and once-off payments but we will get to a point by which we phase out once-off payments. The disability support grant, which was introduced in 2022, goes, in…

I also raise the issue of ASD classes. In our area, thanks to principals and a really good SENO, we have managed to open 19 ASD classes at primary school level over the last number of years. We need to do more to predict what will happen at second level as well. There is one school that has been waiting for nearly two years to open two ASD classes. It wants to do that. It is Sacred Heart Boys' National School on St. Canice's Road, roll No. 04992R. I have had very unsatisfactory responses to parliamentary questions …

The 100,000 homes delivered in the lifetime of the Government have been welcome. In areas where viability is an issue, it is important that we have public housing on public land, in particular in cities. It is welcome that there are almost 2,500 houses in design and construction on many sites in my constituency alone. I am worried about one site in particular, which is the old Ballymun shopping centre site. It is a site that will need both housing and retail. Dublin City Council has gone out twice for expressions o…

I acknowledge the Minister of State, Deputy Colm Burke, who was a colleague on the Committee of Public Accounts. He added greatly to the body and, in fact, we missed him this morning. I wish him well in his role, particularly with regard to public health and considering the recommendations of the citizens' assembly on drugs, which I will come back to. It is interesting that Deputy Smith spoke about the role of the trade union movement in terms of the smoking ban. What is often forgotten is that it is not a smoking …

One of the positive things we have seen under this Government has been investment in education. As the Minister of State outlined in response to the previous matter, we have seen new special schools. In my own area, there have been investments in new schools such as St. Aidan's secondary school and the Dominican secondary school. However, with education there is always a list of asks, and that is certainly the case in the Dublin 9 and Dublin 11 area. A number of schools have approached me about the current school b…

I would very much appreciate that. I know the planning and building unit is a bit of a black box. I think all TDs would love to have more access to the decisions that are made there. If the Minister of State could pass on those concerns, I hope we could get a positive response. It is really important the Minister of State acknowledges what has happened in our area in recent years, namely, the agreement of schools to open additional ASD classes. Thankfully, the Minister of State has not had to use the new special po…