Last night, I attended a public meeting in Ballintemple Community Centre, Bruskey, County Cavan. It was a meeting organised by and very well attended by local people, as well as three county councillors from the locality along with me. The reason for the meeting was concern about the deterioration of the local road structure. I acknowledge this meeting could have taken place in many other places in Cavan and in many other counties throughout the country, as we are hearing, but there is a genuine concern about the l…

Is the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, taking this as well?

I was not informed that there would not be a Minister from the Department of Education and Youth.

It is a little disappointing. I was not aware of a rule that applies to special schools only, which is that students must complete their education in the year that they turn 18, until I was contacted by the parents of a young lad who is 17 at the moment. He is in a special school. He attended a mainstream primary school until he was 12 or 13. He had been diagnosed with moderate to severe autism and it was felt that his education needs would be better served in a special school. He started special school in Septembe…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. It still does not deal with the point that students are treated differently in special school settings from how they are treated in mainstream school settings. The notice this family were given was poor. They were not aware of this rule. All parents should be made aware of the rule much earlier than going into the final year of school. They have been left in a state of limbo in which they are not sure whether their son will stay in school for another year or will have…

Yesterday, many Senators stood up and welcomed the publication by the Minister, Deputy Naughton, of the national development sectoral investment plan for the 2026 to 2030 period. However, looking in detail at the document, the figures outlined have a striking lack of ambition for youth services. Of the €7.5 billion allocated to the Department of Education and Youth, only €20 million, which is 0.265%, is designated for youth affairs. This means youth services will receive well under 1% of the overall national develo…

I wish to raise capacity issues concerning the 109 bus service from Cavan to Dublin. I have raised it here before and in the Dáil. I have also raised it with the National Transport Authority, NTA, and Bus Éireann, as have passengers who use the service and bus drivers who drive for the service. I refer to issues around capacity, especially at rush hour in the evening when these buses leave Dublin. There are a number of other issues but capacity is the main one. Following communications, nothing has changed. We cont…

I wish the Minister a good afternoon. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the discussion on the nitrates derogation. First and foremost, it is important to acknowledge and welcome the granting of the derogation. For farmers operating within it, the decision provides a degree of certainty at a time when there is already enormous pressure on farms and farm families. That certainly matters. It allows farmers time to plan, to invest and to make decisions with some confidence about the future of their farms and t…

I too want to be associated with the condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Brian Crowley. While I did not know him personally, I certainly knew of him and I was a great admirer of him. I actually thought about him in recent weeks for some reason. I had not heard anything about him and I was very sorry to hear of his passing. I want to raise family resource centres and the work they do. I think we would all agree that they are vital to our communities throughout the country. I refer in particular to T…

RTÉ reported this morning that nearly 1,000 early year childcare services have closed since 2019. I know that 579 have opened, but there is still a deficit of 400. There are 40,000 children on waiting lists for childcare places. There is an absolute need for investment in this sector. Providers are saying that their costs are increasing. We know inflation is increasing and that the cost of everything is going up. Yet, Government funding is not going up by anything near what is needed. Staff are receiving improved p…

I welcome today's motion regarding our Defence Forces, which has been proposed by Senators Wilson and Gallagher, my two constituency colleagues, and I recognise the urgent need for investment and reform to improve the quality of life of personnel and the overall strength and readiness of our Defence Forces. A crisis has been allowed to develop within the Defence Forces due to long-standing neglect by a series of Governments. The State has completely failed to plan for the future and to ensure that Ireland has a def…

I move amendment No. 5: After “calls for:”, to insert the following paragraph: “- the creation of a health outcomes assessment for Air Corps Medical Personnel similar to the Study of Health Outcomes in Aircraft Maintenance Personnel process in Australia, in order to identify potential adverse health outcomes for said personnel, and to ensure that Air Corps Maintenance personnel are supported with healthcare costs for such potential outcomes using an appropriate mechanism;”

I wish to raise an anomaly to do with the age at which pupils in special education schools complete their education. Special schools are classified as primary schools. It is intended to provide an education to children and young people with special educational needs from the age of four years until the end of the school year in which they reach their 18th year. I was contacted by the parents of a young man who is 17. He was in a mainstream primary school but was then diagnosed with moderate to severe autism and it …

Every week, I am contacted by people either coming to see me or through emails and phone calls who are worried about their child because they have identified an additional need but no services are available for that child in the foreseeable future. I will give an example of one set of parents who contacted me last week about their son James, who is five years old and has just started school. He was referred for occupational therapy, OT, at a four-year check-up by his public health nurse because both the public heal…

I thank the Minister of State. The two examples I have raised relate to primary care, but there are waiting lists for both primary care and CDNT. There is actually a lot of frustration and confusion even when children are referred from one team to the other. I know these matters fall to two different Departments, but they are all matters for the HSE, or the HSE with Enable Ireland. Regarding the CDNT, the staffing levels have improved but there is considerable frustration from parents still around the lack of asses…

I want to raise the issue of domestic violence. Last week saw the end of the 16 days of activism around the issue. While that is important in order to raise awareness, we need to be aware of it 365 days of the year. It is an issue that occurs more frequently around Christmastime when a lot more drink is consumed. While prevention needs to be concentrated on, we also need refuges for women who have to escape for their safety. County Cavan is one of nine counties that still do not have a refuge. In fact, several of t…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 2 of National Training Fund Act 2000 1. Section 2 of the National Training Fund Act 2000 is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (14): “(14) (a) Accounts of the Fund shall be prepared on an annual basis, in such form and (subject to paragraph (b)) in such manner as the Minister for Finance may direct, and the Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine, evaluate and certify e…

I move amendment No. 2: In page 3, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following: “(2) Section 7 of the National Training Fund Act 2000 is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (5): “(5) (a) With respect to the performance generally by the Minister of his or her functions under this section, the Minister shall, on an annual basis, consult with such representatives of employees and such representatives of employers as he or she considers appropriate. (b) Where the Minister propose…

I commend Senator Cosgrove on introducing this Bill, and her colleagues. It is worthwhile. Sinn Féin supports the Bill because it does a basic thing, provides for equal pay for equal work. Anything other than that is discriminatory, exploitative and amounts to cheap labour. It is open to abuse by some employers. Young people, whether they are 17 or 21 years old, pay the same rate of tax, PRSI and USC. They are entitled to be paid the same rate for the same work. The whole concept of a reduced rate minimum wage is o…

It is important that the NTF, which was established in 2000 for the purpose of supporting the training and upskilling of those in or seeking employment, be maintained. I recognise that the fund has accumulated significantly. It needs to be unlocked. However, we must not lose sight of the intention behind it. It is not like there are no gaps in skills and training. There are gaps. It was pointed out to me that in 2014, 82% of the fund was used on training programmes. Last year, the proportion was only 55%, represent…