I thank the Minister of State for the update. I welcome that the project has reached this stage of the process and that the Department is reviewing the report. However, I must express the real sense of frustration on the ground in Bailieborough. We have been talking about this expansion since 2020 and the need has only become more pressing, with enrolments climbing steadily every year. I cannot see why the pre-evaluation process cannot go ahead. I accept that due diligence is necessary in line with the public infra…

Many of us listened to parents speaking on RTÉ radio this morning on their worry about what will happen to their children with additional needs or a disability after they die. It was difficult to hear and I cannot imagine what it is like to hope that your child will pass away before you in order that they will not have to be moved into emergency State care. These circumstances are, unfortunately, quite common. In our office, one of my colleagues, Saoirse, has a younger sister with additional needs. Her family, part…

I thank the Minister of State for coming in to discuss this important motion. I thank the Fine Gael Group for putting it forward. The motion reads lovely and sounds nice. It notes the importance of agriculture to the Irish economy while totally ignoring the fact that this Government and those that preceded it have put Irish farmers to the pin of their collars through over-regulation and policy demands. I am a member of the fisheries committee. Every week I listen to the stories of heartbroken fishermen who have a r…

The Real Face of Men's Health report is a major report that was commissioned by the Movember Institute of Men's Health. We are all aware, especially after Covid, how disconnected and lonely many people can feel. Too often, men struggle in silence. They are less inclined to open up about their problems. The term "toxic masculinity" has been used as a catch-all explanation for young men's frustration and isolation. This label is too simplistic. Beneath the surface, many men are wrestling with a profound absence of be…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Seanad this morning and attending the Commencement debate. I want to raise the lack of regulation of battery energy storage system sites, otherwise known as BESS. In July, the Joint Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy discussed BESS. Much of the discussion related to speeding up the roll-out. There was no meaningful focus on fire safety, environmental risk or proper regulation. That omission is worrying because communities across Ireland will be living beside…

I welcome the acknowledgement by the Minister of State of the importance of battery storage to our energy system. I am aware of its potential as an alternative source of energy, but what is missing from his reply is any real assurance that safety, regulation and accountability are being prioritised alongside the roll-out. I am aware of Ireland's electricity storage policy framework and the procurement of 1 GW of new capacity. Where is the framework for fire safety? Where is the requirement for decommissioning bonds…

I am concerned regarding the recent published special needs assistant, SNA, review process guidelines by the National Council for Special Education, NCSE. Reading through the document, it feels like the focus is all wrong. Like many parents and teachers, I was disappointed to see an emphasis on limiting supports instead of increasing them. I have been contacted by a lot of people who are so frustrated seeing the needs of our children constantly put on the back burner. There is no point in talking about prioritising…

First, I commend the incredible work done by Maria Steen, her team and the various TDs and Senators who committed to signing her nomination papers. A huge range of Oireachtas Members had pledged their support to another candidate but recognised the importance of protecting and amplifying democracy by lending their signatures to her nomination papers. I thank them for that. There was demand from the public and across the political spectrum to see Maria Steen's name on the presidential ballot. It was impressive to se…

I thank the Minister of State for attending. I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. While there are some positive changes, glaring gaps are not addressed. One of the most significant omissions is a statutory right to advocacy. It is a very scary prospect to be faced with a multidisciplinary team when you are at your most vulnerable. People who face involuntary admission or treatment are left without an independent voice to stand beside them and look after their best interests. Families and advocates know …

I too welcome Martin Hughes and wish him well in his role. I also wish Bridget Doody a long and happy retirement. Over the last month, I have been inundated with emails from parents, teachers and principals of schools in Cavan-Monaghan. They are all saying the same thing, which is that our education system is under severe strain. Ireland now has the largest class sizes in the EU. The average primary class here has 22.5 pupils, which can be compared with the EU average of 19. I have spoken to parents whose children …

I sometimes think I am living in a parallel universe, sitting here listening to people make statements about immigration that some of us would have been lambasted for making a year ago. It is interesting to see Government representatives and others catch up with what the rest of us have been talking about for the last few years. We have the worst housing shortage in living memory yet we are seeing net migration of 60,000. That is equivalent to the population of Monaghan. Last year, the Government promised up to 40,…

I raise the issue of the roads in counties Cavan and Monaghan. They are in such poor condition that drivers are getting seasick, particularly those who drive tractors and there are many of those. Earlier this year, I welcomed the announcement from the Department of Transport that there was an 11% increase in funding for rural roads in Cavan and Monaghan. This increase, however, does not allow for the shortfall in the funding between 2008 and 2023. Over this 15-year period, we saw a €105 million shortfall in the fun…

I want to raise the issue of the increase in scams. Research conducted by FraudSMART shows that 78% of Irish adults are being targeted by scam text messages, emails, calls or online content at least monthly. I know of a woman who used an online portal for a job application only to realise it was a fraudulent website when it asked for her debit card details. We often joke about the early days of scam emails, when an individual posing as a prince or a millionaire would offer millions of euro if someone inputted their…

It is a fact.

I thank the Minister for coming in today to discuss this important issue. I welcome that we are going to have a commission of investigation into sexual abuse in schools over several decades. I read the draft terms of reference for the commission of investigation last night and I am concerned about some of the wording and provisions in it. In recent weeks we have had legislation from Senator Eileen Flynn about the importance of language when talking about child abuse. People from across the political spectrum suppor…

I thank the Minister of State for coming. This subject is close to my heart. When I became a councillor in 2016, I realised that the two biggest issues in our county were a lack of roads funding and a lack of public transport. Since then I have not stopped banging on doors looking for what the people of Cavan deserve in infrastructure. I live in Bailieborough. It is the second largest town in the county and we had one bus service, a Link bus service, that left the town to go to Kells at 9.30 a.m. That departure tim…

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Calleary. I welcome this legislation but it has flaws. I recognise the O'Meara family and thank FLAC, the Free Legal Advice Centres, for the briefing it provided to members of the social protection committee on this Bill. The Bill is welcome in that it makes the widow's pension inclusive of cohabiting couples who are not married or are in a civil partnership. However, the Government proposes to exclude people who are divorced or separated from entitlement to a widow's pension if their…

The Minister of State is very welcome. This is a very important subject. In the past ten years, 257 post offices have closed. In Cavan, seven post offices in total have closed permanently in the past ten years, including in Corrraneary, Killeshandra, Kilnaleck, Mount Nugent, Swanlinbar and Tullyvin. The north west is getting one of the biggest hits of all, including the Minister of State's county of Donegal. The post office network is the social fabric of our communities. Friday is a huge social day out for people …

A few days ago, the Department of justice confirmed a plan to move over 2,000 people out of their accommodation. These people have been granted asylum but are still stuck in IPAS accommodation. They will be sent to emergency homeless accommodation instead. This new Government plan is causing chaos around the country, with county councils refusing to co-operate because they do not have beds available. On Friday evening, in the space of a few hours, I received phone calls from two separate local families presenting a…

I thank the Minister of State for coming here and wish her the best of luck because it is not for the faint-hearted. Between 2011 and 2023, 1,410 babies were born addicted to drugs in this country. This is a sad statistic. It shows how early addiction can start for some. Other statistics released to Aontú after parliamentary questions show that in the past ten years, there have been over 11,000 arrests for drugs offences across the counties of Cavan, Monaghan and Louth. The figures show that drug arrests peaked in …