I have engaged with the Minister on this issue previously. There are many positives. As Deputy Ó Cathasaigh said, it is a matter of ensuring that best practice is employed. Universal design makes campuses more comfortable. Whether we are talking about autistic people or those with other disabilities, it is by means of universal design for learning that we can enable individuals. It is almost a case of arriving at a bespoke solution for every individual in the best way we can. We need to ensure that this happens. Th…

I ask the Minister to detail the work that is currently being undertaken by his Department in respect of workforce planning and the future training of students in the area of disability services, particularly occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and child psychologists. I could probably have used the term "etc." at the end of that sentence. We have had discussions in this regard. We know there are programmes in regard to recruitment abroad but we want to make sure we are not still in the terrible…

That is all very welcome. As the Minister stated, it is about ensuring there is a pipeline, something we have not had in recent years. I welcome that the Minister is talking about multiple Departments. We all get that there is crossover, particularly in respect of disability services. It is fair to say we are not starting from the point at which we would like to start in the sense there probably has been insufficient conversation from the Department of Health and the HSE in previous years, and possibly the Departme…

That is all very welcome. We must also deal with issues relating to working conditions, among other factors that are outside the remit of the Minister, to increase retention and make it attractive to work in those spheres. We are dealing with the sphere of disability. My constituency colleague Deputy O'Dowd may not like what I am about to do, but I raise again the issue of personal assistants, PAs. We have had a significant amount of engagement on this issue. My understanding is the Minister is willing to meet PAs,…

I refer to the education and training board ETB industrial relations meeting that is to take place on 15 December. Fórsa is going to have a specific meeting as well. Will the Minister provide the dates in that regard and give a commitment to meet the PAs afterwards? I know a significant number of others have done work-----

I appreciate that.

I thank Deputy O'Dowd for tabling this question. I thank the Minister for his interaction on this particular issue. The Minister said there is sometimes a cliff edge in respect of adult disability services. That is the piece that needs to be fixed. We all know the working conditions and the payments these PAs are getting are insufficient. A number of them who have contacted Deputies have left that work. These are people who are committed to facilitating people with disabilities. It is vital we conduct the assessmen…

I add my voice to what Deputy O’Callaghan has said about communal heating systems. This is an issue I have raised many times. I want to deal with the risk posed by poverty. We know about the issues we are dealing with, the general cost of living and the absolute housing emergency. We must consider early family interventions and supports. While there are many good projects, we are very good in this State at coming up with pilots that work very well alongside families to bridge the gaps, but then, without adding reso…

I raise the issue of online disinformation and hate. On Sunday, a man filmed himself as he seemed to knock down a cyclist on the Castletown Road in Dundalk and then posted the video. The Garda is investigating. Concerning Carlingford, I have spoken to the Minister on the need for communication with the community but we have all been bombarded with online disinformation, conspiracy theories and hateful stuff. I have also seen videos where wrong addresses have been put up as being those of people who have committed c…

Many have spoken about the difficulties surrounding COP27 and about what the people have not signed up for. We want to make whatever moves we can away from fossil fuels. District heating can be one of those solutions. I once again bring up the issue of communal heating systems that are now being powered by gas. A feasibility study has already started around geothermal in respect of Carlinn Hall, Dundalk. None of this will work in this shift, however, unless we have a grant scheme in place to facilitate this in comm…

Obviously, we all are in complete support of looking after those fleeing war or torture, whether from Ukraine or other places, which can be hellholes, throughout the world. We all accept that we must put serious effort into streamlining the means by which accommodation is made available. We need to ensure that communication is improved if we are to avoid repeats of some of the incidents that have taken place, including in Carlingford. People from outside have jumped on this issue, which is utterly reprehensible. Th…

Are we any closer to a date for a citizens' assembly on drugs? We know the issue we all have, particularly in deprived communities that are absolutely ravaged by drug gangs and drug debt intimidation. Not only should we have a citizens' assembly; I would like to think that there are also conversations going on at European level about this matter. We all accept that Ireland, whether on a 26-county or 32-county basis, is very small. Some of the solutions we will consider are the Portuguese model and necessary interve…

We are talking about COP27. There are certain pieces we welcome in regard to loss and damage, which is the idea of compensation or reparation for those parts of the world that are already paying a huge price for the fact the world is on fire and for our failure as a global community to deal with issues relating to emissions. We all accept there has been an insufficient amount of movement, even in terms of the promises, never mind delivery, as regards moving away from fossil fuels. Some may not have been wedded to t…

It has been stated by some of my colleagues already that the problem is that we are starting from a bad place in that these PPPs have not delivered for the people, although they have delivered for the companies. Like everyone else here, I welcome the fact that we have a mitigation and that we have delayed the toll increases until June 2023. We were dealing with a huge amount of people who were making contact with us. As Deputy O'Rourke said, you are dealing with people who are paying multiple tolls each day as they…

It seems we have been on a rollercoaster since the 1990s with these revelations of abuse involving the church and educational institutions, particularly those educational institutions where the church had control. We all remember how shocking it was when we first heard about Fr. Brendan Smith and it has just continued since then. We have all spoken previously about the many failures of the State in how it looked after or failed to look after its young people and women, in particular, people who did not have power. …

There is an element in this Chamber every day, and seemingly more so of a Thursday, of returning to the scene of the crime. We get an opportunity to probably rerun one of the many single transferable speeches we have at this stage. This is not the first time any of us has dealt with forestry in the House. We all see the issue as what is described as low-hanging fruit, in the sense that it is one of the major gains. We could be on to a winner as regards doing what is necessary from the point of view of ensuring sust…

This motion is necessary to deal with specific amendments. A fair amount has been put into the public domain by my colleague, Deputy Ó Snodaigh, in particular, on the digital hub and the fear of losing good initiatives from a part of Dublin and that will need to be addressed. Across the board, we all welcome parts of this Bill in dealing with European directives and codes that need to be transposed into law. We all know with telecommunications, we are dealing with something that changes rapidly, almost on a day-by-…

I welcome the fact that we are discussing this. It is vital sometimes that we deal with specific issues relating to geographical areas such as Galway. We know there has been much in the public domain about getting the public transport system in Galway where it needs to be. I am sure people realise I am not from Galway. I am very glad this is being discussed and dealt with but it fits into the wider conversation on public transport. I am not sure where to start. We welcome the reduction in fares. Everybody accepts a…

The decision to transfer disability services from the Department of Health to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth was taken by the Government at the beginning of its term. During questions with the Taoiseach last week my colleague, Deputy Clarke, raised the ongoing delay in transferring these functions to the Department of the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman. Having expressed his concerns to the relevant Ministers, will the Taoiseach confirm when this transfer of functions will take pl…

-----and the Department of the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, has stated it has no responsibility for the plan.