I raise the issue of provision for students with autism spectrum disorder, ASD. I will talk specifically about north County Louth. I have received correspondence from the relevant special educational needs organiser, SENO. I will not name every school in north County Louth but I will name a couple of them. Coláiste Chú Chulainn has two ASD classes. St. Vincent's Secondary School has one ASD class. Sanction has been granted to that school for an additional three classes and that expansion is due to happen before Sep…

I agree with much of what has been said. The mood music seems to be better when dealing with the British Government. The Taoiseach has said the Irish protocol is working, particularly in relation to business. We are hopeful there will be a deal between the European Commission and the British Government. That needs to happen as soon as possible. We also want to see the Executive up and running. We do not accept there is a legitimate reason for it not to be up and running but the DUP has set itself up in what I would…

Much of the shared island unit has been positive, including some of the programmes the Taoiseach mentioned, such as charging schemes and so on. A significant degree of modelling and comparative research has been carried out North and South, although some of that modelling should be expanded into modelling 32-county systems because that is necessary preparatory work that needs to be done. Obviously, that is something that all of us in my part of the world would like to see delivered on and there are considerable gai…

As Deputy O’Rourke said, we welcome this motion. It is fair to say that there has been a considerable number of conversations in respect of the post office and its network and this discussion has been around sustainability and viability. We all saw the great, and spectacular work in some cases, which has been done over many years but, particularly during the pandemic, by the post offices. If a message was needed in respect of the complete necessity of this network and the cornerstone it provides, that was it. We al…

It is worth pointing out that there has been unease in the local community in respect of the removal of the digital hub. We sometimes deal with communities that have not necessarily been dealt a fair hand by the State through many years. All present know the reality of what needs to be done in such communities. We all know the real way of dealing with problems such as poverty and associated issues is through education and employment. Where there are projects that are working, facilitating people and engaging with t…

I welcome the recognition by the Minister of State of the need for a significant number of this level of interventions. Technology and start-ups are vital but sometimes there is a fundamental piece that has to be done with regard to communities and some of those who have not necessarily had a perfect roadmap through the education system and have become somewhat distant from it. I accept what the Minister of State is saying regarding regeneration. Everybody accepts we are in a housing crisis and all the rest of it a…

I do not believe it will come as any shock to the Minister of State, given that we have had this conversation earlier, that we support this. It is caught in one term: "sustainability". We all know the benefits provided by the post office network and the network's absolute necessity, particularly in rural communities that have lost many of their hubs. We welcome the fact that we are talking about the €10 million but it is a matter of ensuring it makes it exactly to where it needs to go. It is a matter of a fair brea…

In fairness, I acknowledge that we will be dealing with some amendments that will look at this further, namely technological questions. We all get the idea of the changed geopolitical set-up in the world. We are all aware that the State, in the context of security, requires the necessary powers to ensure that communication networks are protected. However, we need some sort of clarity on how decisions and determinations will be made. There is much talk about information as being provided by intelligence services and…

I am not sure our backlogged court system will provide any solution, so I would hate it if anyone were to suggest that judicial review was the way to go. We know the issues with court services, which are insufficiently resourced. Will the Minister of State go into some detail about the consultations he mentioned? All of this comes with the caveat of national security, which presumably allows for the gazumping of a large amount of oversight of the relevant information. I am jumping the gun in that regard, though, fo…

It is about the technological logistics. Let us say a decision is made. It is about engaging with the alternative supplier and then with the companies, ensuring the supply chain is there and enough time is allowed so that we do not end up in a ridiculous situation where we take out components and we cannot make phone calls.

This issue is similar to others we have conversed about already. It is about a process. We can get into components and how critical or not they are. Stakeholders who work in the field would consider every component critical in the sense that without it, the system would not work. The Minister of State has made his arguments about why determinations would be made. We need a greater level of clarity in respect of how the process will work and how many people would get a chance or opportunity of eyes-on. I accept what…

I accept some of what the Minister of State said. Nobody wants to display our weak points and ask that no one kicks us there. I understand that point as it applies to infrastructure. However, Deputy McNamara made his point in a straight manner. The idea is that there are components that are not to be used. We are talking about a situation where a blanket ban could be applied in respect of components across the board. Definitions of what is critical and what is not could result in a very funny conversation at some p…

I will attempt not to repeat myself or labour the point but it is almost the same point that arises in relation to all of these matters. We are back to the need for a process. I accept that all states will make determinations on the basis of national security. There needs to be some element of oversight - we can call it accountability - and making sure there are eyes on, that due diligence is done and we do not necessarily accept without question the intelligence from certain quarters. It is fair to say all major s…

My apologies for interrupting, but the Minister of State has indicated his support for all of these amendments.

The Minister of State stated that he was accepting it but he had not bothered putting his own name to these references to "public order". "Public Order" is mentioned in multiple lines and Deputy McNamara has covered that base.

At the onset of the Covid pandemic in 2020, 23 people died tragically in Dealgan House nursing home in Dundalk. Unlike other nursing homes, it was taken over by the RCSI hospital group. Families have been persistent in trying to get to the truth and much is in the public domain because of this. They met the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and have been promised a mechanism to offer them the truth and closure they need. They want a public inquiry into what happened at Dea…

All Members would agree the Bill is needed and long overdue. We all get the history behind the Bill and the fact that certain families had to go through brutal circumstances. What happened in the context of organ retention and incineration can only be called a scandal. We know that, beyond what happened in CUMH, there were audits by the HSE and, at best, inappropriate means of dealing with organs, particularly those of children, even in the period from 2018 to 2021. We need to ensure the rules are specific, there i…

We all accept the absolute necessity of an all-island rail review and the fact that partition has had a huge impact. We have all seen the maps of Ireland where on the western coast there is nothing in terms of any level of rail connectivity. This obviously relates not only to partition but planning failures over many years. Alongside this, whether I was canvassing in Armagh where people discussed the lack of rail service there or my home town, Dundalk, we welcome the fact that the Enterprise service is to be scaled…

Could we have a timeline on the report? Can the obstacle produced by the DUP by not allowing an Executive to be in place and Ministers to be in their roles doing the necessary jobs for the people be avoided? Beyond that, I ask the Minister for an update on the rail plans for Dublin, Belfast and beyond to Cork, including electrification. We are still operating on the same timeline in respect of the rail ticketing system, which is obviously necessary from the point of view of producing a tax saver ticketing system. T…

I am asking for an update on flood risk management at Annagassan and Termonfeckin in County Louth. During the catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, process there was no economically viable project. The Office of Public Works, OPW, was looking at a review of risk then, a scheme viability review, SVR. I am just wondering where that is. If possible, I would also like to get an update on the overall CFRAM situation as regards County Louth.