-----Down's syndrome and others who require these services. We need to get a hell of a lot better at all of this.

I have already brought up the issue of the chaotic circumstances we find in respect of the context this question refers to, the specific issues we have to deal with and the supports that are not there if we are talking about the council, Tusla or the Garda in dealing with these matters. I heard the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, talk about a plan to run over the next several years, but we need more detail on targeted family supports so we can get in early and deal with these issues rather than needing the nuclear optio…

You can imagine what the principal said. It is the loss of hours. What began several years ago at 47.5 hours has now reduced to 40 hours. This is impacting on the school's ability to deal with the kids who need this support the most.

The meeting with the First Minister and deputy First Minister sounded positive. It dealt with the issue of budgets. I imagine the issue of British Government underfunding was top of that agenda. The Taoiseach said he spoke about migration. It is welcome that conversation happens across the island. This is not a devolved power, however, and obviously relates to the British Government. We know about the particular spat that is happening at the minute. The Taoiseach also stated that, as much as this needs to be rectif…

We are here with statements on Europe Day a day early. I do not think many people in here are proposing that we leave the EU. There are many of us who can talk about the absolute benefits we have seen from the EU. People have described it as the most successful peace process in the world. We know the help it gave our own peace process. We saw the significant solidarity we were shown throughout Brexit and serious infrastructural funding, particularly when this State required it. We know the serious moves it made reg…

What are the Minister's plans to expand public dentistry services? I have spoken to the Minister previously about orthodontic care. I refer in particular to the hundreds of under-18s who are on the waiting lists for orthodontic treatment. In my area, I refer to the centre based in Louth County Hospital. Category four cases are being dealt with privately and huge amounts are being spent on those. We are glad to see people receiving treatment but category five cases, which are more critical, are not being treated and…

We all welcome the moves relating to preventative care. As part of a perfect solution, we would eventually have a sufficient level of public dentistry to provide what is required. I am glad that some people are getting necessary dental care through the private sector. The numbers have obviously jumped. In 2021, in the Louth-Meath area, 77 patients were accepted at a cost of €200,995. By 2023, that figure had risen to 256 patients at a cost of €889,530. These are category four patients whereas the parents of categor…

I would appreciate that. The parents are very worried and probably a bit perturbed when they are contacted by the HSE, not with a date but to ask whether they have already taken action by going to the North. As much as we want public provision, we need to find a solution for these patients similar to category four patients. I ask for that note as soon as possible. It would really make a difference. I was contacted by a parent who is particularly worried. The child will be 17 this Christmas and has been waiting a nu…

I ask the Minister to provide an update on the review under way into the funding and provision of post-mastectomy products, when the review will be completed and if stakeholders, including cancer survivors and post-mastectomy product fitters, will be consulted. We all know the issue that blew up inside this Chamber and on the Joe Duffy show on radio. I was contacted by Alison McCabe from Breastcare by Alison. I met her at her home and can see the great work she does with women in a really difficult set of circumsta…

Hopefully, that will be done as soon as possible. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle allowed a breach of protocol and I thought it was very useful when the Minister got up and explained that this was not going to happen. There is a need to deal with protocols regarding how stuff like this happens. More important, we need to ensure this review involves engagement with consultants, breast care nurses and mastectomy fitting professionals, a number of whom have contacted Members of the Oireachtas about this matter. We know ther…

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I concur with my party colleagues. We support much of what is in the legislation and we all want the Defence Forces to be fit for purpose, but issues have been laid out by Deputies Cronin and Ward, the latter of whom spoke about his family’s connection to the Defence Forces and the fact pay and conditions have always been an issue. It is dreadful that we have not yet dealt with that, and it is a considerable factor in why we are still dealing with a recruitment and retention problem. There are 7,504 members and the…

This morning, I heard that 33,000 passport applications were received last week. At this point, there is a backlog. Staff are obviously working. I think everyone would say that we get a great service with the Oireachtas line. I have questions about overtime. Whenever there are issues, all resources are brought to bear because we do not want people missing holidays, etc. People are finding that their documents are being uploaded but there seems to be an issue with getting them checked. I do not know if there are eno…

It is vital that in any engagement with the American Administration, serious emphasis is placed on where the Irish people stand on the brutal slaughter of the Palestinian people. I am afraid to even talk about the number of deaths now. It is possibly 34,000, and probably a lot more, with 70% of them women and children. We have all heard that Netanyahu has made a promise, no matter what happens on any deal, that he will go into Rafah. We all dread what that will look like. We know the Palestinian people are facing s…

I need to bring up an issue that relates to Dunleer fire station and John Molloy, who is the retained fire station officer and who is about to turn 60 on 24 May. The problem is that the legislation has not yet been amended to increase the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 62. I initially dealt with the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. It has now gone to the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform. I dealt with the former Minister, Deputy Donohoe, who said legislation is the only way of dealing …

It is to happen before the summer. It is just that 24 May is the deadline?

There will be much agreement about the State's dreadful history of institutional abuse. As my colleagues and many others have said, an enormous number of people were put into institutions against their will. Those institutions include mother and baby homes, institutional schools and all those places where this State has a dark history and where people were very badly treated. We all know the history of how badly this State has treated women. We welcome all the moves that are being made to rectify the situation as m…

The Taoiseach will accept that across Europe and the European Union, there is movement in the direction of security and defence co-operation. We have seen that Ursula von der Leyen is very concerned about making sure there is an EU-wide military-industrial complex. That is the only way I can put it. We have seen how destabilised the world is, right across Africa and the Middle East. While that involves the Russians and Chinese, it also involves the Americans, the European powers and, strangely enough, the Brits. I …

What plans are there to deal with violence? I am talking about both organised violence, that is, drug dealing, drug-debt intimidation and the wholesale violence that communities have to deal with and disorganised violence. That can be the crime of chaotic families, vulnerable people who are sometimes, for want of a better term, useful idiots who are used by drug gangs. Such chaotic behaviour can really impact communities across the board. I probably spend longer talking to An Garda Síochána than any other State age…

Could I get a bit more detail? I think we all welcome any moves as regards AIM, and I really like the idea of targeted supports, but the problem is that we are all aware of desperate sets of circumstances. We all know that we need to see full wraparound family supports and full interventions. In an awful lot of cases we deal with issues where kids have been left in the most chaotic of circumstances and you can be dealing with huge issues where addiction meets intergenerational poverty meets any other issue you want…