What action is the Minister for Justice taking to increase the number of gardaí in the Cavan-Monaghan division, which currently is 380? This is 26 fewer gardaí than in 2016. Will the Minister of State make a statement on the matter?

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the increased budget allocated to the Garda force. Last year the national recruitment target was 800 and I believe that only 460 - just over half - were actually recruited into the force. As I said, there are fewer gardaí in the Cavan-Monaghan division since 2016. Also, the population has increased in both counties since then. In Cavan, the population has increased by more than 5,000 and in Monaghan by more than 3,500. There are an extra 8,500 people in the two counties and …

I thank the Minister of State for that response. As he is probably aware, Cavan and Monaghan are both extremely rural counties, so for gardaí to respond to the report of a crime or to investigate a crime, they will need vehicles. The response to a parliamentary question I submitted recently indicates the number of vehicles allocated to the Cavan-Monaghan division in 2022 was six but the number of vehicles removed from the division in the same year was nine, so the division is down three vehicles across the two coun…

Will the Minister of State provide an update on the parts of the country where there is an inadequate number of spaces in special classes and special schools? Is the Department or the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, aware of how many children do not have a place for next September in these locations? What actions do the Department and the NCSE intend to take on foot of this? Does the Minister of State plan to use her powers under section 37A or any other legislation?

Many children with special educational needs are still without school places. Planning and forecasting needs to be done to ensure no child is left behind. The Minister of State mentioned my constituency. I was contacted by a parent who attempted to enrol her five-year-old child in her local school, where there are three autism classes, but she was told there is a waiting list and that no places are available. The child's siblings are already in the school, one of whom is availing of one of these classes. The princi…

We need special classes in special schools to be open in each area. Part of my question was whether the Minister of State was aware of the locations in different parts of the country where there is an inadequate number of places. One piece of correspondence that was brought to the attention of the Joint Committee on Autism stated that Naas has a population of 22,000 and has only three autism classes in the whole town. One parent from Naas travels 100 km every day to bring her child to a special class in a school in…

I raise the issue of the backlog of assessments of need. I have asked about the use of the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, to purchase assessments and interventions before on a number of occasions but was informed that it was not possible and it would require legislation. Even a reply to a parliamentary question this week stated that the NTPF can only be used to purchase treatment in a hospital setting. The use of the fund for assessment in the North was offered as an option to a parent of an autistic child…

The issues surrounding Western Care Association were brought to my attention by Deputy Conway-Walsh in my capacity as Sinn Féin spokesperson for disability. I have also had occasion to meet current and former members of staff to discuss their concerns in more detail. Western Care Association offers the opportunity for people with intellectual disabilities to live independent lives in their communities with appropriate support. That is the correct way to go. It is what should be happening. However, if the support is…

I have engaged with a number of organisations in a similar position, where concerns have been expressed about the management of a centre or the conduct of some staff. Protected disclosures have also been made in these instances. I find that the HSE tends not to run or provide disability services in many cases. It tends to prefer to have section 39 organisations or charities do so. That is fine if there is proper oversight. However, when a budget has been allocated, there is often very little accountability about ho…

I very much support the sentiment expressed in the Independent Group's motion and I thank its members for bringing it forward. I welcome the opportunity afforded by this motion to address the House on the need for a review and reform of the carer's allowance scheme. Family carers have long been held up as the crucial pillar of parent support in Ireland. Various departmental strategies and documents refer to the important role that family carers play in our society, viewing them as the backbone of care provision in …

Many of us watched the RTÉ programme that was screened on Monday night on the fact that psychology services in Ireland are not regulated. No State regulations exist, so anyone can set themselves up with fake documentation and claim to be a psychologist. The programme showed that this could be done very easily. We know of at least one person who did this. This is very concerning because we have 12,000 children on a waiting list for assessment of need, and we have 4,300 children waiting to see a psychologist. The HSE…

The Minister of State outlined that a public consultation had been held in 2020 and that it had been difficult to find consensus on a common education pathway and standards for entry into the profession. What I and many others want to know is why it has taken so long to hold that consultation. CORU, as he noted, was set up in 2005 and it has been almost six years since the Psychologists Registration Board was established. Why is the consultation taking place only now? The Psychological Society of Ireland, PSI, also…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." According to census 2016, the level of education completed by disabled people was substantially lower than that of non-disabled people. It reports that 13.7% of disabled persons aged 15 to 50 have completed no higher than primary-level education compared with 4.2% of the general population. As we can see from this statistic, many barriers to inclusivity remain within the education system for persons with disabilities. Children with additional educational needs must…

I acknowledge my co-proposer, Deputy Guirke, and Deputies Andrews, Collins and Ó Ríordáin for speaking in support of this Bill. I am disappointed the Minister of State has proposed an amendment to delay the Bill for 12 months. Children with additional needs have waited long enough. They have waited for almost 20 years for these supports which were promised under the EPSEN Act. I do not really see an issue with allowing this Bill to proceed in order to allow children who are currently in school to receive the suppor…

I wish all women a happy International Women's Day. I take this opportunity to recognise the many achievements of women in all walks of life, from their role in politics, to their roles in sport, community activism and business. We regularly discuss how to encourage more women into electoral politics and it is essential the efforts to do so continue. Women are frequently the mainstay of community and voluntary organisations. That, in essence, is politics because they are making important decisions for their communi…

I want to raise the issue of the crisis in the PDS programme. On Tuesday, I received the staff census and workforce review for 2022 of the 91 children's disability network teams, and it makes for dismal reading. There is a vacancy rate nationally of 34% across the CHOs. It ranges from 19% to a high of 43%, but some teams have vacancy rates in the 50s and 60s, with one team on 68%. In my home county, Cavan, it is 41% and in Monaghan it is 47%. The progressing disability services for children and young people program…

I am being contacted regularly by people who worked in front-line jobs throughout the Covid pandemic but who have not been allocated, or told whether they will be allocated, the pandemic special recognition payment. Some are unsure whether their employer has applied for the payment. One person, who worked in a nursing home but no longer works there, suspects her former employer has received the payment but has not passed it on to anyone who is no longer employed there. Another is a cleaner in an ambulance station w…

The homeless figures released in December put the figure at 11,632, including 3,442 children. As my colleagues have said, the actual numbers are much higher because those figures did not take account of rough sleepers, those sofa surfing or those in the box rooms of their parents' homes. The temporary eviction ban was introduced to avoid people being evicted over the winter period. The Minister said it was intended "to afford time for housing supply to increase and to reduce the burden on homelessness services and …

Will the Minister detail the usage of the mobile unit to visit the homes of those who cannot attend the Intreo office? I was looking for the information by county from 2016 to date. I do not necessarily need the Minister to read it out. I can get it in writing. I am more interested in the action the Minister is taking to make people aware of the mobile unit and the home visit service.

I raise this because, prior to Christmas, I was contacted by a man whose wife was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2016. She is unable to leave the house and is barely able to speak. She had her disability payment being paid directly into her Ulster Bank account, but as Ulster Bank is closing, she was transferring it to the post office so that her husband could pick it up for her. However, to do that, she needed a public services card. She was told to call in to the Intreo office but she was unable to do so.…