Last month, representatives of the National Council for the Blind of Ireland, NCBI, were before the Oireachtas education committee. They outlined the extraordinary delays some students experience in receiving their necessary schoolbooks in Braille. It is almost beyond belief what these students go through to get these books. Can the Minister please inform the House of the last time a tender for educational books in Braille happened and what actions she intends to take to end these inordinate delays that are being e…

The Minister of State referred to a case-by-case basis but did not say when the service level agreement, SLA, was signed or the last time this tender went out, which is what the question relates to. Approximately 4,700 schoolchildren are visually impaired. That is a relatively low number, but it is unquestionably a high-needs disability and children need supplementary tools relating to the curriculum. When speaking at the education committee in respect of inclusive and accessible education, Ms Toni O’Dwyer stated: …

When is that review due to commence and end? Is the Minister of State satisfied that the current SLA, which was signed in 2015, is fit for purpose? If a child is receiving his junior cycle books in transition year, then it is not fit for purpose. He is not the only child in this situation. A child who is blind or visually impaired needs to be able to access books in Braille. There can also be significant difficulties in schools accessing assistive technologies like overhead projectors for children. If these childre…

Deputy Whitmore was in possession before the debate adjourned.

Does the Deputy want the Minister of State to respond?

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — primary and post primary education in this State is intended to be "free" under the Constitution and in legislation, but the reality is profoundly different; — the cost-of-living crisis continues to put parents and students under significant financial pressure; — according to the most recent Irish League of Credit Unions "back to school costs" survey, the funding of back to school continues to be a challenge for parents, with 66 per cent saying that covering the cost of back…

I echo what Deputy O'Reilly said about the need to actually support this motion. Education is the last great equaliser of society. While it is no load to bear, the opportunities it presents, particularly to those who were born into disadvantage, cannot be overestimated. I will briefly touch on some comments made by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science earlier. I am not sure what he thought he was doing. Perhaps he was playing to the audience of those he hopes will vote for…

Last Friday, just under 25,000 leaving certificate students sat down to do the higher level mathematics paper. It was a matter of hours before telephone lines to radio stations and social media platforms across the country lit up with the complaints and criticisms that students who had never sat a State examination before because of the pandemic were faced with such an inordinately difficult maths paper. A principal in my constituency stated that the State Examinations Commission, SEC, has lost touch with students …

-----and knock them for six so much that some have been left vomiting in bathrooms. That is what was reported.

Has the Taoiseach spoken to the Minister for Education. Has he spoken to the SEC? What commitment can he give to those students today about what this no cliff edge will look like for them?

Again, the only person in the room who seems to have a copy of the Minister's speech is the Minister. I ask that it could be made available as soon as possible. It is very unbecoming. It is a damning indictment of the continued failures of successive Governments-----

It is a damning indictment of the continued failures of successive Governments that this situation has been allowed to develop. The asks of our retained firefighters are in the ha'penny place compared with the service they provide our community. Their asks are for a safe environment, an appropriate staffing level, and decent pay and conditions. These are asks that if we were to hear of any other workers asking for in our communities, we would be shocked and horrified that they do not exist already. I heard the Mini…

I commend my colleague, Deputy Tully, on her tireless work on this issue and for those with disabilities. Family carers have been held up for a long time as a crucial pillar who save the State billions of euro annually, yet time and again they do not receive the supports they need and that they rightly deserve. For the 500,000 family carers throughout the country who give the State and those they love so much with unpaid hours of care, their asks pale into insignificance compared to the caring the input. The carers…

We are a couple of weeks out from this year's leaving certificate examinations and there is still no certainty about when those exam results will be released. It was anticipated that we would see a return to the traditional mid-August release, but the Minister for Education is unable to confirm whether this will be the case. Recent media comments by the Minister for Education appear to blame the State Examinations Commission, SEC, for not being able to confirm the date. The Minister also cited the second-chance exa…

We know wholesale electricity prices fell 42% in the year to April and, as Professor Edgar Morgenroth of DCU noted, it is likely that some, if not most, of the future contracts purchased last year are now largely finished, yet the cost of electricity in Ireland is the highest in Europe, with a unit cost that is nearly twice the European average. It is astonishing that consumers are being warned not to expect electricity and gas prices to return to 2021 levels, as if we should all sit back and accept price gouging a…

And the electricity prices.

If it does not, will the Government look at their statutory remit?

What is the Taoiseach's response to the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service study finding that the operational costs for commercially owned refugee centres are nearly twice as high as those provided by the State, and to the review's finding that congregated settings for refugees will continue for many years to come? The paper on international protection support services estimates a 10% to 15% increase in the number of arrivals over the next 18 months. The European directive for Ukrainian refugees may b…

The cost-of-living crisis is pushing households to the brink. Price hike after price hike has workers and families to the pin of their collars, with no sign of the spiralling costs coming down. It is plain to see that people cannot afford Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in government any longer. People are at their wits' end. Rents are soaring, mortgage interest rates are rocketing and grocery prices and energy bills keep shooting upwards. People cannot stretch any more. There is nothing else left to cut back on. Last mo…

No engaging in any amount of misinformation is going to put a headstone on the grave of that woman's husband. This is a simple fact. Equally, it will not put money in the bank account of people like that other lady in Dublin who has a colossal gas bill. The Minister mentioned child benefit and this aspect will be welcomed by all parents because they already have the bills these funds will have to go towards paying. It will not be for future bills that will arrive. Lord knows, it is not even to buy their children a …