I will also follow up. The Minister stated that "by the start of May this year, Tusla will have reduced the number of emergency placements that are not registered by almost 50%". When are we taking that from? Are we talking about the 70 there at the moment becoming 35? We are literally talking about the end of this week. I am going to put that question again. There are obviously complex cases. We get the idea of the huge issue in respect of separated children seeking international protection. The Minister spoke abo…

I would like to ask the Minister whether Tusla has completed any monitoring visits to hotels or other accommodation, particularly special emergency accommodation settings, used to provide for separated children seeking international protection accommodation in 2026. Given the "RTÉ Investigates" programme, this relates to that whole sphere. I would be grateful if the Minister can give some sort of assurance that this is being dealt with and Tusla will move away from using special emergency accommodation because it i…

What is the process as regards how the Minister deals with those separated children seeking international protection and a disputed age? It is necessary to deal with that as quickly as possible from a child protection point of view? I accept Tusla is dealing with far more significant issues in relation to the complexity of issues that are in front of it and the increase in the number of those separated children, but all of us were impacted by what we watched last night on "RTÉ Investigates", in particular, the case…

I accept that. We have spoken on many occasions previously of the need for earlier intervention and family supports, and even in other cases where children need to be taken out of places that are not safe for multiple different reasons. We have spoken as well about the fact that we need more foster carers, social care workers and social workers to deliver the framework. However, I again ask what the process is in relation to those children with the disputed age. Is the Minister considering moving away from special …

I want to ask the Minister about the reason the caseload management system at Tusla has been paused and the protocols in place to ensure Tusla's social workers are not overwhelmed by caseloads. We have just heard from Deputy Kerrane in relation to the issues that exist for special care facilities, and the fact there are issues that need to be addressed there that have been made far worse by the show we saw - "RTÉ Investigates". Those most vulnerable children not in appropriate accommodation. While we need more staf…

I ask that the Minister comes back to me in writing in relation to the caseload management system. My information is it has been paused. I accept the answer that the Minister got. In relation to the overall answer she gave, that sounds like a proper operating system. That is how things should operate. We have spoken before about the fact there are not enough social workers. The last figure I had was 1,728 or 1,754, including outsourced agency staff. Gerry Hone from Tusla told us we are 300 short in relation to that…

I appreciate the Minister's answer and that she will come back to me in writing in relation to the case management system. We definitely need to ensure we have a system that works. I also acknowledge the work being done in relation to training and recruitment. I ask for information on how many social workers have been recruited, how many we have and what the deficit is at this point. The information provided to the committee is that for social workers the deficit is approximately 300 and for social care workers it …

Could I have a breakdown?

What engagement has there been between the Department, Dundalk IT and Queen's University Belfast on a partnership? The heads of agreement have been signed from the point of view of creating Dundalk university college. What work is being carried out by the Department to resolve cross-Border further and higher education issues and the anomalies in the CAO and UCAS systems? The recognition of awards, etc., is an ongoing difficulty.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. I will pass on his best wishes to Deputy McGettigan. Our thoughts are with her and we are very glad that she is getting better. We are all support this partnership, which is an all-island project that can deliver for the people of Dundalk and beyond. It will vw beneficial to Queen's University Belfast. It follows on from the idea of the M1-border corridor. At the Good Friday Agreement committee recently we had the Newry-Dundalk Chamber of Commerce and many others in. The representativ…

We all agree this is vital stuff. Consultation on issues is a necessity so that we can cut the issues off at the pass. I thank Dr. Diarmuid O'Callaghan and his team in DKIT and those in Queen's University in making this happen. From what he says the Minister is in support of it and whatever is necessary from this end will be delivered. There will be learnings in respect of those cross-Border issues the Minister is aware of that are impacting on a huge number of students and those that are qualified. It deals with h…

I ask the Minister to outline the progress in resolving the employment issues of personal assistants, an issue we have dealt with previously. He has met with me and a number of these personal assistants who work in ETBs and further and higher education centres. What is the timeline for when the issue is expected to be resolved? Will the Minister make a statement on that matter now? I am aware that a WRC proposal is in play but I am not sure there is absolute joy in relation to it. If he could give me an update, I w…

I thank the Minister. We definitely will. The stakeholders are the Department, the education and training boards, and Fórsa on behalf of the workers. This issue has been ongoing for considerable time. I took it to the Tánaiste when he was Minister for further education. An element was dealt with in that the pay rate per hour was improved. It was a considerable percentage because it was a very low base. The big thing for them was the 52-week contract. These are people who are facilitating those who have challenging …

We all realise the supports that are required, from reasonable accommodation to assistive technology. In some cases, students need added supports such as personal assistants. I do not see it as something that is changing. I accept that it creates a difficulty given that a proposal is in front of workers at the minute. I will deal with the Minister offline about that. There will be issues with pay and conditions, but the 52-week contract was a fundamental issue and is the reason there has not been huge retention in …

That is absolutely necessary. We will need to sort this out, particularly for personal assistants in DIFE, Ó Fiaich, Cavan and beyond.

I also commend Deputy Kenny on bringing this forward. It goes without saying that on some level, there should not actually be a need for a conversation in here. Everyone is always worried when they see we are kicking the can down the road. I hope there will be a proper attempt to address this issue. Forget the politics, which can occur from time to time in here. Obviously, I never partake in that and am always very constructive. In reality, this is about saving lives. It could be anybody's life. It is that idea. We…

The question is: where is the just transition? The people out there do not feel it and do not see it. I do not know how many times I have used the term in here. We talk about Ireland being a wind superpower but that is all we are talking about. We will talk about the difficulties that arose when switching from developer-led to planning-led systems but the fact is that we have not been able to fundamentally make use of that one serious resource we have in the form of wind. I have not seen any adequate speed-up or st…

It is an absolute disgrace that the EU is not suspending the EU-Israel association agreement. We just have to do the bit we can do, and that is the occupied territories Bill. There is genocide, ethnic cleansing and colonisation, whether we are talking about Gaza, the West Bank or now in Lebanon. The illegal war by the US in Iran has had a detrimental impact on us here. It is not life and death but it is having a huge impact on fuel costs. What conversations are happening in Europe in relation to the energy taxation…

These are extraordinary times.

I think everyone in here wants to see a reduction in the number of people actually smoking. I do not think anyone is against that. Do we know, individually, the point of view of people who have used vapes? I get that the jury is out but I refer to some element of harm reduction and the point of view of them getting themselves off it. That has to be facilitated. We should be absolutely united in ensuring we are banning products that are targeted specifically at children and adolescents. At times, we have seen an ove…