I spoke to a representative from SIPTU today on this issue and they painted a picture of the seriousness of the situation which is beyond bleak - the word "dangerous" would be more apt. Firefighters are heroes and national treasures. That is especially apparent in rural communities such as in my constituency of Clare. They are often the first responders and play a vital role in keeping our people safe. In recent years the job has not been attractive enough. We know that 60% are planning to leave and I would say tha…

In response to a recent parliamentary question, I received a letter from UL Hospitals Group informing me that the reason the essential services at Ennis injury unit were forced to close their doors for a full day in August and at other times in Nenagh and St. John's this summer was down to a staffing crisis. The crisis in our health service goes far beyond staffing, as the Taoiseach well knows. The programme for Government contains a commitment to target an increase in opening times for unscheduled care, radiology …

I wish to raise a matter raised with me by Deborah, a constituent of mine. My question relates to the welcome recent measures for students that were introduced in budget 2023. Why will mature students who are juggling work and engaged in blended learning courses be ineligible to receive the €1,000 reduction in fees? Does the Department plan to remedy that in any way?

I thank the Minister for his response. It is important to note that, under the SAF, tuition fees, registration fees, and student loan repayments are not covered. Some colleges have a closing date for those applications. Nelson Mandela once said that education is the most powerful weapon that one can use to change the world, and according to the Central Statistics Office, CSO, it reported last year that more than three in ten people said that they would like to return to education. Of these, 74% said they would be m…

I thank the Minister again for his response. I appreciate all of the information he has outlined. In the past week the Union of Students in Ireland led 20,000 students on campuses across Ireland to walk out of lectures in protest. Findings this week from the Irish student survey of engagement found that more than one third of students are contemplating dropping out. We can fairly easily assume that, in addition to mental health and the cost of living, the student accommodation crisis is playing a major part in this…

Before serving the people of Clare in this House, I was a member of the Reserve Defence Forces. As a former member, I have taken a special interest in the issue I will raise today. This week marks a year since Katie Hannon's documentary, "Women of Honour", was broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1. For the first time since the research done by my colleague, Senator Clonan, the voices of those who suffered horrors and injustices at the hands of their superiors in the Defence Forces were heard. After that documentary, the Governm…

My question concerns NEPS, which I have asked the Minister about on several occasions over the past few weeks. How many vacancies are there currently in NEPS at graduate level?

That would be great. The specific question I had relates to an issue that has been brought to my attention in my office, namely, that budget 2023 resulted in educational psychologist trainees being the only cohort of trainee psychologists who are not funded. They pay more than €30,000 in fees, leaving them financially burdened and feeling almost disregarded by the Minister's Department, albeit she is aware of the significance and value of the work of educational psychologists in the school context. Will she give co…

I would agree. I do not want to follow up with any further questions. I just want to read some of the words from one of the many representations that I have received. It states: "Why fund us? Because we deserve equality. We are not funded and therefore financially burdened, carrying up to €30,000 in debt before we even start our careers. We work unpaid for children and families facing significant difficulties in relation to mental health, disabilities and education from birth to adulthood. There is precedent now, a…

I am here to speak on behalf of the good people of County Clare in respect of the proposed levy of 10% on concrete blocks and products to be introduced next April. This levy has drawn huge attention, and rightly so. In the midst of a homeless crisis that has embarrassingly and shamefully reached record numbers, what sense is there in having those who are trying to build or buy their own homes, or who have to rebuild their own homes, pay a further levy? It does not make sense. Last week, in my constituency of Clare,…

Last week, a revolutionary report commissioned by the Clare Public Participation Network towards an anti-poverty strategy for Clare was commended by this House and by the Minister, standing where the Tánaiste is now. Among many other findings was one that as of July 2022, there were 52 GPs in Clare who were part of the General Medical Services scheme. As this works out at roughly four GPs per 10,000 of population, Clare is 25 GPs below the national average. The programme for Government committed to strengthening ge…

I want to ask specifically how the Department of Health intends to use the cost of disability report finally published last week. This report was published by the Department of Social Protection. Based on the very modest and incremental increases of just €5 across most welfare payments for 2022, it is understandable that I and others are not holding out hope for a fully resourced cost of disability payment to appear, as if by magic, next year. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and the Department of Health are…

I thank the Minister of State. I especially welcome that last bit of information she provided. The additional cost of €10,000 is, as we all know, an underestimate. This morning I sent a copy of the transcript from last week's Committee on Disability Matters and I implore the Minister of State to read it. There is a family in west County Cork who spend at least double what this report outlines trying to offer supports and therapies for their daughter, who has a rare condition. It is shameful they must do this, as I …

I wish to raise the issue of pyrite in County Clare again. I have a letter here from the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, dated 7 July, stating that Clare would be included in the scheme once the same rigorous analysis that was done in Mayo and Donegal to quantify the extent of the problem in those counties had been done in Clare. That testing has been done. A Dáil motion was passed unanimously on 15 June calling for a 100% redress scheme and no less, with no hidden details, fine print, sliding …

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on this issue. I am very proud to be part of Sinn Féin, which introduced a Private Members' motion on the issue earlier this week. That was in an attempt to improve the terms and conditions of the scheme. How did we get here? I will never be able to fathom the conclusion that trauma lasting less than six months is undeserving of any financial redress under the scheme when all the empirical research, the academic expertise and the personal stories and testimonies state o…

I thank my colleague Deputy Tully for sharing her time. We talk about disability services all the time. The budget is about all about services with day services and respite services. I wish we could talk more about rights and the human rights of human people. I could raise a number of issues tonight but I will focus on the transfer of the disability portfolio. It seemed very exciting and progressive for disability to be named as part of a Department’s functions when this Dáil was formed in 2020. It should have been…

We know that on 14 March 2017, the crew of R116, comprising Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, Captain Mark Duffy, winch operator Paul Ormsby and winchman Ciarán Smith lost their lives while participating in a rescue off the Mayo coast. This report shows that the loss of their lives was as needless as it was preventable. I choose to say each of their names in the Chamber for two reasons: to honour their service and to remind us that they were four people. They were not just numbers, statistics or collateral damage. They wer…

I will quickly raise the issue of Doolin Coast Guard unit, which was stood down on Monday. This is a dire turn of events and cannot continue to be the case. We know that only yesterday there was an emergency for which the Kilkee Coast Guard had to step in. This will have negative consequences for the north Clare area in future and cannot continue. Has the Government any intention of engaging with members directly involved and impacted? What are the Government's plans in this regard and what actions will be taken on…

Unfortunately, I do not have 30 minutes or anything like it in which to make my contribution. I have 3.5 minutes, so I will get straight to it. IHREC's report draws our attention to areas in which Ireland's housing system is inadequate. Many good points were raised by my colleague. We always raise points here in the Chamber, as has been mentioned previously, including in respect of affordability, access, and medium- to long-term tenure. I will focus on two cohorts in my community, which the report has highlighted a…

Long before Covid 19, crucial targets in the national cancer strategy were missed relating to timely access to diagnostics, surgery, radiotherapy and screening. We are in the middle of the State's third national cancer strategy and services are still under-resourced, including breast cancer services. This month, as it is breast cancer awareness month, it would have been prudent, moral and entirely possible to announce a budget allocation for the restoration of many cancer services, including expenditure ring-fenced…