I appreciate that a definite timeline cannot be given. There is a review under way and I hope it moves quickly. As the Minister of State mentioned, two special classes were included in the build. Twenty years ago, Carrabane National School was the first national school outside the city boundary in County Galway to introduce a special class. The school was proactive. Extended members of my own family have benefited enormously from the education they got in special classes in Carrabane National School. It is a shinin…

The Gort area small schools pilot project in south Galway has been such a success that the cluster administration officer in that role has been name-checked and highlighted as a shining light of what can be rolled out across the country for small schools. The role allows one day of administrative relief per school per week. It is a genius idea. It has been such a success for the schools that have been involved in the pilot in south Galway that it should be rolled out more nationally. We need to see that more aggres…

It is important to acknowledge that what happened on 7 October 2023 was a complete atrocity. What has been done since then by the IDF has quite rightly been designated as a genocide. I have a real issue with the fact that many prescribed terrorist groups around the world quite easily achieve the status of being designated a terrorist group when we see what the IDF is doing. That needs to be acknowledger in this Chamber. The images coming out of Gaza and what is happening there trouble me. It is extremely emotive. I…

Sula bogaimid ar aghaidh go dtí an Seanadóir Cosgrove, ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh na ndaltaí sa Gallery ó Ballyhaunis Comunity School, County Mayo. They are very welcome here. It is great to see students and their teachers coming in to the Chamber and witnessing politics in action. Go raibh míle maith agaibh as teacht isteach inniu.

Before I thank the Minister of State and Senators for their contributions, I welcome to the Gallery Deputy Cleere and his three special guests, Erin Hoare, Oisín Hennebry and Caroline Morrisey. I reassure the guests that at times I see steam coming out of the ears of Deputy Cleere in the corridors of Leinster House. He has been working extremely hard since he was elected. I will pick up on one small point from Senator Ruane. It is the play therapy concept, which could be explored. As a former secondary school teach…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as an obair ar fad a rinne sí maidir leis an mBille seo. Tuigim go raibh an-chuid oibre déanta roimh an téarma seo nuair nach raibh mé i mo Sheanadóir. Táim an-bhuíoch as an obair atá déanta ag an Aire Stáit. I commend the work the Minister of State has done, both in this term and in the previous term, on this Bill. I was not a Senator in the previous term, and I did not get to take part in these debates, but I really welcome the fact we are bringing a mental health Bill forward.…

Ar dtús, guím gach rath ar Martin agus Bridget agus iad ag éirí as a bpoist. Best of luck to Martin Hughes in his new role. Yesterday, I visited Carrabane National School outside Loughrea in County Galway. The school has been waiting 20 years for a new school building and it cannot wait any longer. It is a dangerous situation. The floors are collapsing in many of the eight prefabs. The roof in one of the classrooms has fallen in. Thankfully, this happened during the summer holidays when the kids were not there. God…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht a bheith sa Teach seo inniu. This afternoon's discussion centres around possibly the most sinister acts of evil that were ever carried out on this island; preying physically and sexually on vulnerable children who had their innocence stolen from them and, in many cases, the rest of their lives destroyed. I am conscious of the words of Senator Boyhan in our previous discussion on the industrial and reformatory schools that we remember not every teacher and member of the clergy i…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as ucht a bheith anseo anocht don ábhar thar a bheith tábhachtach seo, go háirithe in áiteanna iargúlta timpeall na tíre. I thank the Irish Postmasters' Union, whose representatives gave us a detailed and passionate presentation earlier. I want to pay tribute to Sinead and Peter, in particular, who are from my own county in Galway. Their front-line perspective after years of rising pressure and change is crucial as we chart the future of our post office network. The post office i…

I want to acknowledge the ladies in the Public Gallery: Mary Dunlevy Greene, Mary Donovan, Mary Smith, Sheila O’Byrne and, I believe, Miriam Moriarty Owens. As a teacher, I should be better with names. In relation to amendment No. 6, does the second amendment we agreed today - the Minister's own amendment - not cover a lot of the stuff that is being requested in amendment No. 6? Could we have a quick clarification on that? That was amendment No. 2.

The review-----

Apologies.

I thank Senator Crowe for raising this. I was a secondary school teacher before I came was elected to the House and the one thing I never really understood in the Irish education system in general was the obsession we have with time limits in exams. That is the kind of concept Senator Crowe is focusing on today - the time we allow students with dyslexia. We were all fed clichés as students that the leaving certificate is an opportunity to show off what we know, not a test of what we do not know, etc., and that is n…

I am not trying to be facetious, but the fourth last paragraph was a beautiful exposé of how obsessed we actually are with time limits in State exams. I welcome the fact that a broader review is taking place and that this will be taken into account. I stress to the Minister of State that zero additional time is allocated right now to students with dyslexia, who, in many cases, have a reader with them in the exam. The reader cannot explain anything or interpret the text for the student and is simply there to read th…

What I am about to raise is somewhat relevant to the Minister's brief but it also relates to the Minister, Deputy Chambers, in the Department of public expenditure and reform. It relates to Senator Stephenson's amendment No. 9 on the contributory pension. I spoke to a group earlier, whom I acknowledge. I thank them for meeting with me in Buswells. We had a good conversation. I hope we have many such meetings in the coming months and years. The amendment has been ruled out of order in the current circumstances. As S…

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Aire as bheith anseo inniu don díospóireacht thar a bheith tábhachtach seo. Before I move on, I wish to note a couple of things I picked up from the previous contributors. First, with great respect, there was a suggestion made by Senator Ryan that we engage in a betrayal of our national identity with a lack of investment in the Irish language. I am a living, breathing example of the exact opposite. My parents do not have a word of Irish but I am fluent because of the inves…

Imagine being a five-year-old in the town of Hostomel at the start of the war in Ukraine. One morning, the war reaches your door. Members of the Russian army burst in, occupy your house for weeks and you and your parents are forced to live in the basement, feeding off scraps until finally you are moved to Ireland, where you are welcomed into the town of Kinvara and the Merriman Hotel. You go to the local school and you make great friends. You engage with a speech and language therapist because you are so traumatise…

Hear, hear.

It is fine; Senator Tully may go ahead.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. Táim ag iarraidh cúig nóiméad a roinnt leis an Seanadóir Fiona O’Loughlin.