That is not-----

It is absolutely phenomenal that we have two separate unpublished reports into two separate scandals involving CHI at the moment yet, despite that, the Government is still backing the board of CHI. We know that in one case children were subjected to unnecessary surgeries, where they did not meet the threshold for surgery. Separately, we know that poorly sourced springs or coils made from corrosive material were implanted into the spines of children, which significantly damaged these children. It is an incredible si…

In fact, they do.

A series of documents and emails that were exchanged between the Minister and the CEO of Tusla have been released to me under freedom of information legislation. They paint a very bleak picture of what is happening with the welfare of children in State care. How many children in care have been reported to have been sexually abused in recent years?

There have been 221 reported cases of sexual abuse of children in State care in the past ten years. That is a very dark figure. The other information I have received shows that, at the moment, there are 37 children missing from Tusla care, which is disastrous. Since 2021, Tusla has made referrals to the Garda of 161 children who are suspected of being victims of child sexual exploitation, 115 of which children were in care and 46 of whom were known to Tusla. Since 2014, 235 children have died who were either in Sta…

It is a pity we have so little time because there actually are so many important things here for both of us to discuss. I will quickly refer to the story on RTÉ today on the Grace report. That particular story on RTÉ reported that legal officials responsible for the affairs of the woman known as Grace claim that extensive submissions made to the commission by lawyers representing the woman were not included or referred to in any way in the commission's final report. The Minister must be deeply frustrated, like ever…

In recent days I have received significant information that there is an independent review of the children's disability network team service model. It has been obvious to most people that this system is completely broken around the country. Will the Minister today confirm to the Dáil that the entire CDNT service model is being independently reviewed?

My information indicates that the independent review has been commenced by the National Disability Authority. The Minister of State might confirm in her answer if that is the case. The figures I have seen as to what is happening in the CDNTs are absolutely shocking. They are unbelievable. In 2023 there were 817 vacancies in CDNTs across the country. In CHO 1 there has been a drop-off of 22% in therapy hours in the space of a year. Some 44% of CDNT posts in the HSE are vacant at the moment. Some 43% of psychologist …

I indicated the massive figures of absences and vacancies in the sector but I want to drill down to what this means for an individual child. I have been contacted by a constituent who is a foster mother of a child. She has worked tirelessly to help her young boy. The boy presents with significant complex behavioural problems and has been expelled from two preschools and four times already from primary schools. He is currently on reduced school hours because of the situation and he is falling back in his education m…

It is pay, terms and conditions.

Information released to Aontú in response to a parliamentary question in recent days has shown that in the last three years, Children's Health Ireland, CHI, has cancelled more than 160 operations for children in Crumlin and Temple Street hospitals due to the lack of intensive care beds. These are cancellations for very serious operations for children who are very sick. Nine of these cancellations were for heart operations for children. Ten cancellations were for children needing serious orthopaedic surgery. There a…

I put it to the Minister that these are not "challenges", these are hundreds of children who have been damaged because of wrongdoing in these hospitals under the Government's remit. The word "appalling" does not equate to accountability. They are not the same thing. The Minister standing up here and saying how shocked she is does not change things at all. A mother was on "Prime Time" during the week discussing the fact that numerous reports have been written regarding similar situations, with dozens of recommendati…

The hospital is delayed.

It is four years.

It is business as usual.

It is business as usual.

Fourteen-year-old Noah Donohoe went missing for six days in 2020 and was found dead in a storm drain in Belfast, yet there is still no clarity about what happened to him. His mother, Fiona, continues to valiantly fight for justice. Three years ago, thousands of people took to the streets to protest against a public interest immunity certificate which redacted enormous amounts of information. The PSNI's investigation has been littered with failures. It has refused to obtain a water sample from the drain in which Noa…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: recognises that: — Ireland is the most exposed country in the European Union (EU) to a United States (US) tariffs war, and while a reprieve has been given to the pharma sector, the landing zone on tariffs is still not known; — a full-scale tariff war will affect Ireland disproportionately, and while Ireland exported €223.8 billion of goods and services last year, one third of these exports, €72 billion, went to the US, of which €58 billion of this is made up of pharmaceuticals and chemica…

The Minister of State is corrupting what I have said.

I said that FDI was good and I welcome it.