I thank the Minister.

There is a huge problem with medical card holders accessing dental services. Dentists are not taking on medical card holders and people cannot afford to pay for dental treatment privately. If people cannot have their teeth taken care of, there are long-term consequences for their general health and appearance. A review of the scheme was promised two years ago by the Minister for Health. Additional funding is not the only problem here. The scheme needs to be updated to include preventative care which would prove cos…

This is a welcome debate as it involves a subject on which we are all united, namely, the need to combat abuse and protect the most vulnerable in our society. The measures within the directive seem worthy and positive according to the briefing note we have received and I wish to comment on some of the proposals in order. First, the move away from using the term "child pornography" to "child sexual abuse material", as well as an amendment in that definition to cover the generation of synthetically created material, …

When the Act of 2021 was first introduced and areas were pedestrianised, there was a lack of consultation with disabled people and disabled persons' organisations. Some areas were pedestrianised and disabled parking spaces were moved without prior consultation, often to areas that were not very suitable. Outdoor areas for dining and the consumption of alcohol were put in place and while that was welcome and necessary at the time, people with mobility issues or visual impairments were not considered and their rights…

It will be ten years in December since a Sinn Féin motion was passed mandating the Government to officially recognise the State of Palestine. It is truly an historic development that Ireland is finally recognising Palestinian statehood. It is gravely unfortunate, however, that it has taken so long and that it has taken such savagery, especially in the past seven months, for the Government to finally act. The cruelty and barbarity over the past seven months in Gaza have resulted, so far, in more than 35,000 Palestin…

Social housing repair and maintenance is probably the second most common issue I hear about in my constituency office next to those seeking assistance and advice in obtaining a local authority house in the first place. Many of the people who come in bring in photographs or send me videos or invite me out to their houses to see the conditions they are living in, which are absolutely dreadful. The houses are damp, there is mould on the walls and on the ceilings, there are holes in the walls and in the ceilings, there…

I am extremely concerned about the future for children with additional needs in this country. In the past week, I have been informed of children who have been referred to primary care for speech and language therapy or for occupational therapy, OT. They have been told the waiting time to be seen is anything from 12 months to four years. One parent whose six-year-old son was referred by his teacher for speech and language therapy has been told the waiting list is 18 to 24 months. Another parent whose daughter, who i…

The Tánaiste to reply.

The time is up. I want to welcome 96 students from Tullow, County Carlow, many of whom are in the Gallery. I hope they enjoy their tour and are inspired by the proceedings.

I wish to raise the issue of the atrocious state of the rural road network in County Cavan. I know County Cavan is not alone in experiencing this situation. Roads nationwide are in need of investment. Counties like Cavan and Monaghan, however, do not have a rail network and are dependent on the roads. One of the engineers in the county informed me that he had only received sufficient funding to repair 13 km of a network of 1,000 km of local roads. To maintain the roads, 80 km to 100 km of road should be repaired ea…

The Government is way behind many of the targets set to deliver Sláíntecare. It is failing in the delivery of universal healthcare and not making any significant advancement on affordability. Medical card eligibility, which my colleague has mentioned, has not been reviewed in two decades. For the majority of people, the thresholds have not increased in line with inflation and rising wages. In fact, the thresholds are so low that many people depending on social protection do not qualify. I know they will be given th…

While we will support the Bill, it is very limited and does not go far enough to protect people at risk of neglect or coercion and abuse. Currently, disability services are inadequately regulated. In 2019, a HIQA report on the first five years of the regulation of designated residential centres for adults and children with disabilities in Ireland found that significant challenges remain regarding the management and oversight of services addressing infrastructural deficits and safeguarding vulnerable people. HIQA pu…

I join my colleagues in acknowledging the presence of the families of some of the victims as well as members of Justice for the Forgotten who are present in the Gallery. I extend my solidarity and sympathies to them. The 50th anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings will be marked on 17 May. Fifty years on, the families are still looking for truth and justice. It is important this Dáil renews the mandates that were established by previous motions on the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. It is welcome that it has…

Question No. 8 is in the name of Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan but it is grouped with one of Deputy Ó Laoghaire's questions if he wants to proceed with Question No. 18.

I wish to raise very serious concerns about mental health services in my locality. A young man aged 19 is currently in a psychiatric ward in a public hospital because he wants help and his family wants help for him as they no longer feel they can keep him safe. He has attempted suicide twice and has threatened it again. The young man's personality completely changed two years ago. His family want tests done to establish exactly what the issue is. The hospital wants to discharge him. A consultant psychiatrist said t…

Sinn Féin is committed to making sure our education system is inclusive and accessible for all children and types of learners. We are committed to ensuring that every student has the opportunity to thrive and reach their full potential in a supportive, inclusive and equitable learning environment. Currently, many barriers exist to inclusivity within our education system, for example, measures such as short school days, reduced timetables and permanent exclusion from school. According to the census of 2022, the leve…

The most recent HSE staff census and the work course review highlighted a staff vacancy rate of 34%, or 707 vacancies, in 2022. This is up substantially from a 28% vacancy rate, or 524 vacancies, in 2021. The 2023 figures are not in yet but from engagement with and listening to parents, it is highly likely this will show that the situation has not improved and has become even worse. In budget 2024, the Government announced that approximately €11 million would be allocated to address waiting lists for clinical asses…

There are 5,631 single parents in this country currently relying on the working family payment and the one parent family payment. These single parents are entitled to claim both payments if they meet both sets of qualifying criteria. As the Taoiseach is aware, single parents are already at a much higher risk of poverty. These payments are vital to allow families clothe and feed their children and pay for all the day-to-day expenses that come with children. However, when the youngest child in these families reaches …

As of last week the British Government's so-called legacy Bill became law. The British intention is that inquests and investigations will remain unconcluded and that families will go without the answers or the justice they rightly deserve. This cynical and callous Bill is an affront to the victim-centred approach agreed as part of the Stormont House Agreement. The singular purpose it serves is to close the door on families ever getting truth and justice. It stands as a flagrant violation of international human righ…

Fine Gael has been in government for 13 years. In that time, homeownership has collapsed and 40% of people in their 30s are still living in their family homes. We know that, as of March, nearly 14,000 people were accessing emergency accommodation. More than 4,000 of these people were children. Due to the actions and inaction of the current Government, workers and families cannot afford to buy and they cannot afford to rent. It is a vicious cycle. In my constituency, house prices have risen by 6% in Cavan and 10% in…