They are not being taught. Will the Minister for Education consider an alternative leaving certificate for these students? They have been affected by the school closures in previous years and they are being affected now by the lack of substitute teachers.

I recently submitted a parliamentary question regarding the need to halt the tendering process for the LES until a proper engagement with the relevant stakeholders could develop a more suitable model. In her response, the Minister stated that "extensive consultations" had taken place. However, representatives of SIPTU informed the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands that its engagement with the Minister’s Department took place on 17 September 2021, which was after t…

People with disabilities should be able to lead full and active lives within their communities but there remain many obstacles that work to prevent them from doing so. Access to personal transport is one of these. While improving access to public transport is an important issue in its own right, it is unreasonable to suggest it can address the transport needs of the many disabled people who may live in rural areas and who may struggle to get to bus stops or stations. Without access to personal transport, many disab…

We have obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD, to ensure that disabled people are treated equally in society. We ratified the UNCRPD in 2018 but from what I can see, no progress has been made on this issue since then in the area of transport. It is a vicious circle. The Minister of State mentioned the free travel scheme and access to public transport, which is all well and good and welcome, but if a disabled person does not live near a bus stop, how will …

I welcome the Bill from the Social Democrats and agree that there needs to be a standardised teaching of health, relationships and sex education across all schools in Ireland. The RSE programmes in our schools leave a lot to be desired. While some improvements have been made over the years, they are still not adequate. A programme needs to be much more than a focus on the biological aspect of sex. Much greater emphasis needs to be placed on sexual health and what constitutes healthy relationships. Currently, teachi…

People in my constituency are receiving eviction notices at a rate beyond anything that I have ever seen before. My office has been receiving calls from people in private rental accommodation, who have been told that their landlords are selling the property and are being given notice to quit. Some of these are people with families, with children in both primary and secondary school. Some are young couples with a baby on the way. Some have an illness or disability or they are carers or lone parents. What they all ha…

They are restricted to staying in the area where their children go to school. How can this be dealt with? It is a crisis.

Multiple. I spoke to the housing officer yesterday and she said she is dealing with those for November and December. She cannot even think about those for the new year.

The Government's climate action plan is lacking in leadership and it will place unfair burdens on ordinary people, while failing to deliver the real change that is needed. The Government's climate action plan is based on the principles of eco-austerity - much of the burden being placed on ordinary workers and families. This is equally the position for family farmers and rural communities, which are facing considerable challenges. There have been virtually no new supports brought forward by the Government to help fa…

The redress scheme needs to be reviewed as a matter of urgency and proper consultation with organisations representing survivors of institutions which oversaw the forced separation of mothers and babies needs to take place immediately. All of those affected need to be treated equally and fairly, regardless of age when separated, whether they were boarded out, what institution they were in or, indeed, how long they spent there. The State has failed women and it has failed the children who were forcibly removed from …

Milltown National School in Belturbet, County Cavan expressed an interest in having an ASD unit in the school but has not received a reply. What is the status of this request?

It was a parent who contacted me about this matter. She is anxious that all her children attend the same school. One of them is on the autism spectrum. From her conversations with the principal in Milltown, she knew the school was interested and had made an expression of interest in having an ASD unit but that it had not heard back. On foot of her query, I submitted a parliamentary question and the response was that there had been no application. That is why the principal was taken aback - there had been no interac…

As the Minister of State indicated, not all schools are volunteering to have ASD units put in place. The numbers of people being assessed as having autism are increasing. Not all will need to be in an ASD unit or special class. Many are in mainstream schools and classes and are thriving. Schools might need more information. The principal had asked if additional finances would be provided for the ASD unit. If the unit was sanctioned and came on stream, would temporary accommodation be provided, for example, if it ca…

I wish to raise the issue of the backlog of almost 4,000 children and young people waiting on assessment of needs. We were informed that the backlog increased from 500 in the summer to almost 4,000 now. Regarding children's disability network teams, I am told that children all over the country are not receiving therapies. Parents are being given courses and being told to assist their child at home. Parents are not qualified therapists, especially in speech and language and other disciplines. When will the children'…

I move: That Dáil Éireann shall take note of the Report of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters entitled ‘Aligning Disability Funding with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Budget 2022 Pre-Budget Submission’ on 7th July, 2021 and, in particular, note the recommendations in relation to urgent publication of key reports commissioned and concluded but not yet published. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Disability Matters prepared a report entitled Aligning Disability Fundi…

I want to acknowledge the many issues raised by Members. Many were raised at the committee and were reflected well here. One issue which was common to many of those who appeared at the committee is the cost of disability. I acknowledge there have been some increases in the budget for 2022 in some social welfare payments such as carer's allowance, carer's benefit etc. However, the committee does not think this is enough to address specifically and systematically the cost of disability in line with the objective of a…

It is refreshing to see two Ministers or Ministers of State stay for a debate. It does not often happen. I acknowledge also Deputy Michael Moynihan, in his absence. He plays an excellent role as Chairman of the committee. He is very inclusive and ensures equality among all our members, which we appreciate. We work really well together. I would say we are all proud of the committee to date. It has been a privilege to work with everyone on the committee to build a consensus, to deliver for disabled people, to meet al…

I am not speaking.

I fully recognise that the use of e-scooters is more prevalent in communities and I welcome the introduction of legislation to cover both shared schemes and private use. However, it is abundantly clear that amendments to the Bill are required to ensure the safety of disabled pedestrians, including those who are visually impaired, those who are deaf or hard of hearing and those with limited mobility. Under no circumstance should the usage of e-scooters be permitted on footpaths. That is an absolute must for disabled…

I was recently contacted by the family of an 18-month-old child who was very ill. The family contacted their GP who refused to see the child until he or she had a Covid test. By the time the parents had sourced a test and got the result, it was the weekend and the GP was closed. They contacted Doctor on Call, whose doctor refused to see the child and told the parents to bring the child to accident and emergency. Our hospitals are under enough pressure as it is, between Covid and flu. Many people are telling me that…