I welcome the Minister and Minister of State and thank them for bringing forward this new legislation. As they will be well aware, many of their colleagues in Government have called for this intervention for some time so it is very welcome. I will begin by speaking to the Bill and what it does. It is going to empower the National Council for Special Education to take action. As other Deputies have mentioned, the spirit of the existing legislation relies on a collaborative approach with schools. That worked in many …

I will share some of my own thoughts and come to the Bill at the end. I was struck by something Deputy Ó Ríordáin said, which was that we all have a shared responsibility here. We do have a collective responsibility - public representatives, the HSE or whatever State agency you want to name. We all sit in very similar committee meetings and get similar briefings from constituents and agencies and there is one consistent thread, which is that the State has fundamentally failed people with disabilities, including peo…

Many Members of the House have asked for action to be taken on the issue of special educational needs places and therapies over the past year or so. As the Taoiseach is aware, many members of the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party have been calling for legislation in this area for a long time. I welcome progress on emergency legislation and I understand that a presentation was made at this morning's Cabinet meeting. Will the Taoiseach outline how exactly we have arrived at this situation and explain how it is proposed…

I wish to raise the issue of paediatric patients in Cork University Hospital, CUH. An issue in respect of type 1 diabetes and the lack of provision of insulin pumps in particular is causing concern for parents. Many parents to whom I have spoken have been calling for additional staffing and resources for several years. This has been an issue for quite some time. Many of the issues relate to employment and the inability to appoint a consultant and nurses in that space. That has proven difficult in recent years. Many…

I thank the Minister of State and appreciate her response, although it is similar to some of the responses I have received in recent weeks. I am in a fortunate position because I have three children and I am unaware of any medical needs they might have. They are very young and I hope they will be fine when it comes to issues like type 1 diabetes, which as the Minister of State said is a severe illness that will affect people for the rest of their lives. When engaging with the HSE and health services in the country,…

I am not sure if I will use all of my 13 minutes but I will give it my best shot. I commend the Ministers of State, Deputies Fleming and Troy, for the work they have done. From listening to other Members I understand that the pace of change might be a bit arduous and slow at times but neither Minister of State can be accused of inaction on this. They are to be commended for the action plan on insurance that they undertook. Over 80% of the recommendations contained in that report are implemented at this stage, which…

I have raised the Mazars report, which was tasked with reviewing the drugs payment scheme for the reimbursement of prescription medications in this country. I have previously asked the Minister for Health and the Tánaiste, and today I ask the Taoiseach, for a commitment from the Government that this report will be published. The report was instigated in late 2017 or early 2018. It has been sitting on the Minister's desk since January 2020. It has cost the State approximately €86,000 to publish and, more than anythi…

I ask for an update on the selection of a contract for the Glashaboy flood relief scheme, the length of time the process will take and an assurance it will be done as quickly as possible.

The Minister of State is fully aware of the long history of flooding in Glanmire, as is the Minister who met with residents a few years ago. There were flooding events in 2009, 2012 and 2015. In 2012, approximately 51 residences and 42 commercial premises were affected by flooding that cost tens of millions in damage. We were delighted when, in 2021, the Minister of State and the Minister confirmed the scheme would progress. I believe it was one of the first schemes approved by their Department but, unfortunately, …

I know the Minister shares my disappointment, and that of Deputy Burke, as he mentioned, about the way the scheme has progressed until now in respect of the possible withdrawal of the contractor. The Minister of State cannot specifically comment on that while the process is live but, generally speaking, in the event that an appointed contractor withdraws from the process, which I believe is the case, is the normal process to revisit the existing tender list that went out? Will the Minister of State clarify that? As…

We are all glad we are having these statements again. I sit on the Joint Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science with Deputies Ó Ríordáin and Ó Laoghaire. I listening to the Deputies' contributions and that of the Minister of State. We all acknowledge that we have a record number of SEN teachers, SNAs and ASD classes. All these big figures are great but the Minister of State made the point that numbers and statistics do not matter and that what matters are individuals …

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy English, for attending to deal with this issue. I know he gets this. We made representations to him and the Department previously regarding meat factory workers, and that issue was resolved. While I do not want to compare the issue I am raising tonight with the plight of those in the meat industry, it still surrounds the issue of visas and non-EU workers. I would appreciate the feedback of the Minister of State. Initially, I want to flag a couple of the positive things that hav…

I thank the Minister of State. Deputy Marc MacSharry has a Topical Issue matter along similar lines. I welcome the fact the review is coming up in the next couple of months. I hope and pray this suggestion will be taken into consideration. It has been made by a number of Deputies over the past few months. If there was ever a no-brainer, and I do not like to use that kind of language, this is a no-brainer. The Minister of State said the sector must demonstrate that the requirement is there for the additional intake …

We move to Sinn Féin. I call Deputy Martin Browne, who is sharing time with colleagues.

Before Deputy Naughten speaks, I welcome the students of Gaelscoil an Bhradáin Feasa from Drogheda. Cuirim fáilte rompu go léir.

I raise the ongoing issue of price inflation and the energy crisis we are in the middle of at this time. I noted comments the Taoiseach made in an interview in Brussels yesterday on the need to accelerate offshore wind energy provision. What did he mean by that and how does he plan to do it? The wind energy guidelines have been in place since 2005 and still have not been updated by the Minister. I ask the Taoiseach for an update on what is planned to be done in terms of that legislation.

I will start on a positive note. For the first time, I will be able to walk my three and a half-year-old son to preschool this September because we are availing of a €12 billion investment from central government into connecting Glanmire to the city and Glanmire to east Cork. We are seeing the benefits of active travel and the extension of greenways and cycleways in my area, which is very welcome. I echo concerns that were mentioned by Deputy Ó Cuív earlier about the frequency of services. As I said, I am lucky to …

I will again raise the issue of special education centres, as so many other Deputies have done. As the Tánaiste knows, I was a teacher for 15 years, 12 of which were spent teaching in a Delivering Equality of Opportunity in School, DEIS, school that had an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, hub. I saw first-hand the benefits of the inclusive model of education we have and of children being able to interact with mainstream and go to the ASD class, when appropriate. I am concerned about last night's announcement by the M…

I echo Deputy Ó Ríordáin's sentiments regarding the establishment of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. It has given a focus, particularly on apprenticeships, that was not there heretofore. We are heading into a phase in which the Government will be rolling out the largest retrofitting scheme in the history of the State, which will involve construction, retrofitting of houses, installation of insulation and so on. It is important to acknowledge the crucial role apprent…

Less might be more on this occasion, so I will be brief enough. To put the issues in context, I have been looking at average passport processing times for our European counterparts. In the UK, for example, there are significant delays, with people looking at anywhere between ten and 12 weeks to receive their passport. The same is true for many other countries in western Europe. I was amused to read that people in Germany are complaining that the average waiting time has gone from 10.4 days to 18.1. Given how renown…