2026-06-18

The television licence is in big trouble, and it has had its day. Sales, as the Tánaiste knows, have collapsed. New figures show that fewer than 300,000 licences have been sold so far this year. When we consider that nearly 1 million licences were sold in 2022, we can see the scale of the problem. One-in-three households liable to pay has simply stopped paying the television licence. It is a staggering drop in the past four years, and the public are sick to their teeth of the raft of financial scandals at RTÉ, the constant waste of public money and that culture of entitlement that does not seem to have gone away. People are voting with their feet. That is the reality. Sales are plummeting every year, and it presents a real problem for the funding of public media. It also presents the Government with a decision. It has to choose whether to chase hundreds of thousands of people through the courts for not paying their television licence or it can move to a modern, sustainable funding model though the Exchequer. It is time to face reality. The TV licence has to be scrapped. Will the Government scrap the television licence or is its intention to just pursue 300,000 or 400,000 through the courts?

It is not that crude at all. I thought that we were going through a Thursday where the Deputy was not going to call on me to abolish a tax or a charge or spend loads more money but I should have known that it is Thursday, and it happens every Thursday. The reality of the situation is that public service broadcasting matters. Public service broadcasting needs to be funded. I encourage the Deputy to support public service broadcasting. There have been a range of scandals and crises in RTÉ but there are also really good and decent people working in public service broadcasting. There are also really good people working in public service broadcasting beyond RTÉ. I think people in Ireland value public service broadcasting; I do. I have my television licence, and I am sure the Deputy has his.

What is the Tánaiste going to do about it? Will he answer the question?

The summer provision programme has been very difficult this year. It used to not be difficult to implement but this year it has been particularly difficult. I have spoken with parents and principals who feel very disrespected. They have had to assume an extra burden this year, and the stress has really been really unacceptable. The issues include the short timeframe that the portal was opened. It was then reopened thanks to pressure from Members, including the Tánaiste. They are also upset about the business case model they have to put forward, the reduction in staffing and that the parents who did not get a school place are now not getting to get a home-based provision. Inclusive education has been an omnishambles this academic year. Has the Government got a handle on this, and will it be able to make sure that things are sorted out for the next academic year? Will the Government apologise to any child who does not have a summer provision this year because they are going to be at home when other children are having the time of their lives in the summer?

I thank Deputy Cummins for raising the issue, and I respect and accept the sincerity in which she does so. The first thing I suggest is that in general we should be having earlier engagements and conversations in this House, in committees and, of course, with the school communities. I take that point. I suggest that perhaps at an earlier time post this summer, we have the conversation about next summer because there are always learnings. I take that point. I am going to balance that by saying that since 2019, the summer programme has gone from strength to strength. We have more than 1,800 schools and 71,000 children participating in the programme. That compares to 545 schools and 23,000 children in 2020, so there is an increase of 210% in child participation as well. The point I am making is that there is growing demand. I thank the people who will be involved in providing the programmes across the country this year. I am very happy, and I know the Minister will be, to have a detailed discussion about any learnings from this in terms of the future.

Some 14 step-down beds are to be removed from the Cottage Hospital in Drogheda. This will leave Ireland's largest town with no transitional care beds whatsoever. On Tuesday, up to 30 staff at the Cottage Hospital were told that their jobs were being unilaterally moved to the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. This move is being justified by the HSE on the basis that there will be a net gain of step-down beds in Louth and Meath by the end of 2026 but I know for a fact that there are no plans at this point to staff those additional beds in a new unit in Ardee. What is actually happening is that the service in the Cottage Hospital is being gutted. Staff are being moved to currently unstaffed beds in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital because management there are simply not allowed to recruit the staff that they can prove they need to staff those new beds. Does the Tánaiste agree with this robbing-Peter-to-pay-Paul strategy? It is unacceptable.

No, I do not. I thank Deputy Nash for raising this issue. I accept the importance of it. I will follow up on the matter with the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, and the HSE and will ask that they engage with Deputy Nash today on it in the context of seeing what more can be done. I take the point that it is an expansion of capacity that we need. Let me engage further on this with the Deputy today.

The transport committee has been discussing the topic of road safety for the past six months. We have heard detailed and often very upsetting evidence from a range of organisations, from cycling groups all the way through to the Road Haulage Association, and the one point that unites them all is that they all do not have confidence in the Road Safety Authority, RSA. The Tánaiste will recall that in 2024 a radical reform of the RSA was proposed. This would have split it up and allowed the authority to focus on the central issue of saving lives. In December of last year, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, scrapped that reform plan. The Minister of State attended the transport committee yesterday. He doubled down on scrapping the reform plan and said that he would prefer reform from within. Eighteen months into the lifetime of this Government, we have still no idea of what those reforms actually are. A total of 190 people died on our roads last year and 79 have died to date this year. Does the Tánaiste have confidence in the RSA or does he agree with the organisations and families of victims that want to see real reform of this organisation?

I thank Deputy O'Gorman for raising this issue. I acknowledge the very good work that has been done by the Oireachtas committee, which is chaired by my colleague Deputy Michael Murphy, who continually keeps me apprised of this work. I very much look forward to the report of the committee. My message to everybody on the committee is that we should not rule anything out in relation to steps that may be needed. I approach this issue with humility. In the context of what we are doing in relation to road safety, I can only say that we need to do more. I am not satisfied that the current structures are delivering the outcome we need, but I also want to hear from the committee and to see if there can be a cross-party consensus as to what the next steps should be. I have heard different ideas from different victims' groups, including the idea of a road safety commissioner and the like. There is some logic in that. I also think of where the Road Safety Authority is today versus where it was in the past. We think of Gay Byrne and all of that era. I have an open mind on this. I will engage with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, but, from my perspective, the next important development is the report on road safety, which I think we expect relatively shortly from the Oireachtas committee.

Action 1.7 of the LGBTI+ Inclusion Strategy 2019-2021 contains a commitment to taking into account LGBTI+ needs in public libraries and compiling and updating a reading list under the Healthy Ireland at Your Library initiative. That includes reading materials recommended for children as young as 12. Will the Tánaiste indicate who exactly reviews the reading list and the age-appropriateness of the material on it before it goes to libraries, which are serving children as young as 12? What Minister, Department or agency signs off on the list? What mechanisms are available to allow parents who find explicit sexual content on the shelves marked for 12-year-olds to have that material reviewed or removed? As the Tánaiste is aware, Children's Books Ireland has already had to pull at least one title from its Pride reading guide after concerns were raised, yet the book remains on library shelves and is still linked to the HSE's parental materials. Does the Tánaiste agree that parents deserve an answer as to who is responsible and what mechanism is available to them?

I truthfully do not know the answer, so I will not pretend I do. However, I will endeavour to find information and ask the relevant Minister to respond to the Deputy. All information and books should always be age appropriate. I think that is something we all believe is important in both our libraries and education system. I will ask the Minister of State with responsibility for our libraries, Deputy Buttimer, and the Minister, Deputy Calleary, to come back to Deputy O'Flynn directly.

I ask that the Government offer some guidance to local authorities on providing access to our bathing waters for people with limited mobility or wheelchair users. The bathing season commenced on 1 June. That term is somewhat archaic. I think we need to look at it. Many people cannot access the waters, and there seems to be some divergence among local authorities as to how they address this situation. I understand that Mayo County Council is very proactive in the area. Unfortunately, however, despite having the apparatus to do so and despite there being two blue-flag beaches in Galway city, people with limited mobility or wheelchair users cannot access our bathing waters. There is a young family in my community. Their daughter, Ruby, a lovely child, is a wheelchair user and she has a strong desire to get to the bathing waters with her family when the weather is good, something I have the good fortune to be able to take for granted for my children. I ask that the Government offer some direction to local authorities as to how they can address this.

That is a really good idea. I think of my local beach in Greystones, where tracks were put in place relatively recently that allow people to walk, push buggies, use wheelchairs, etc. This has been transformational in terms of improving accessibility to the beach. The Deputy's point about accessing bathing water in and of itself is an important one. We are back to this issue again. We do not have to split the atom here. If some counties are doing it well and others are not, we need to share that information. On foot of the Deputy raising this today, I will certainly ask that this happens. I am sitting beside the Minister of State with responsibility for local government. I will ask that we look at how we would convey best practice from some local authorities to others. We will come back to the Deputy directly.

As the Tánaiste is aware, this is Men's Health Week. Government policy acknowledges or recognises that improving men's health has clear benefits for families, partners and children right across society. A key part of that is the experience of early parenthood. I refer to paternity leave in particular in this regard. A report this week titled Extra Time with Dad shows that Ireland is falling way behind. We provide just two weeks' paternity leave. That is the EU minimum and it ranks near the bottom in OECD terms of leave for partners. In practice, many dads face a 75% drop in income while on leave. Some seven in ten of them rely on top-ups from their employers, with a similar proportion experiencing financial strain. Does the Government acknowledge and see the need to address that deficit?

I thank Deputy Roche for raising this important matter. Of course, we all want to make sure that new parents, mums and dads, are able to spend time with their babies. There are currently two weeks of paternity leave available in Ireland. It is also important to say there are also nine weeks of parent's leave and benefit available to both parents. Parent's benefit is currently paid at a rate of €299 per week. Let us be truthful here: the take-up of parent's leave is much lower among men than it is among women. Again, we should try to unpack this because I think some of the issues the Deputy talks about may well be correct: young families, mortgages to pay, financial commitments and people trying to balance a range of issues and bills that a household will face. There is a commitment in the programme for Government to introduce pay-related parent's benefit whereby your payment would be linked to your salary, similar to what we have done in relation to pay-related jobseeker's benefit. That is a good model. People who have worked hard and paid into the system then are able to get something back from that system at a time when they might need it as well. It is a commitment I am keen to see progressed, and I will ask that the Minister, Deputy Calleary, updates Deputy Roche on it.

There is a huge issue with scramblers in my constituency. Following the new laws that came in earlier this year in the aftermath of the tragic death of 16-year-old Grace Lynch, communities were hoping that this would see a reduction in the use of scramblers. However, I have had to phone the Garda numerous times in the intervening period. On Monday night last, I had to phone the Garda three times because of scramblers being driven in a dangerous manner in communities right across the northside, including on St. Mary's Road, Sprigg's Road and Kilmore Road. In Fairfield, there is a beautiful park that Cork City Council put in, a walk-around for people, but the scramblers are using it like a track. I met with people there two weeks ago. They said that they tried to talk to the lads on the scramblers to tell them that it is dangerous but that all they are getting is abuse. We have a serious issue now. Local gardaí tell me they do not have the resources. I am asking the Tánaiste for two things. First, will the Government give the Garda the resources to tackle this and to stop it and to tackle these scramblers? Second, will it give local authorities funding to put in tracks or trails? Some people do not want to play sport. They want to be in the arts or they want to drive cars or bikes. They have to be given an outlet, and right now there is nowhere for them to go. What must happen immediately is that the use of scramblers must be stopped, because I fear there could be another tragedy.

I thank Deputy Gould for raising this issue. I met with Grace Lynch's parents last week and was really struck not only their advocacy but also - I do not wish to speak for them - by the very clear views they have on what more that can and should be done in this space. I am very happy that we would engage with Deputy Gould on this as well. There is definitely an issue. I had a good conversation with the Minister for justice and the Minister for Transport on it this week. There is a legitimate issue around supporting the Garda, including potentially in relation to their driving training, resourcing and the likes. In fairness to the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, he is very much committed to that. I also think there is a real issue around ownership and how we track and trace it. Other countries, quite frankly, have done that better than we have so far. I have mixed views - "mixed views" might be the wrong phrase - on the facility piece because from some of what I hear back, I am not sure if some of these people are looking for somewhere to go and do this. I think, and the Deputy would see it in his own constituency, there is sometimes an element of intimidation and the likes. I will reflect more on that point. On foot of the Deputy raising this, I will ask that the Ministers, Deputies O'Brien and O'Callaghan, come back to him with an outline of the next steps we intend to take.

Thank you.

In light of the ongoing and deepening crisis in the fishing sector and the severe impact it continues to have on coastal and inland communities, can the Minister provide an update on the fishing task force established by the Government earlier in 2026 to examine the future sustainability and viability of the sector? Can he confirm the task force has met in accordance with its intended schedule, the number of meetings that have taken place, and the current status of its work? When can fisherman and affected communities expect concrete measures arising from the process? Given the urgency on the ground, will he also clarify what interim supports or actions are being advanced pending the task force's final report?

I thank Deputy Collins for raising this important issue. The Food Vision seafood sector group was launched on 16 February by me and my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley. The group was established in a response to the significantly reduced fishing opportunities for 2026 and will operate under the auspices of the Food Vision 2030 group, through which we have had a series of Food Vision subgroups to look at and tackle key areas. It is considering the challenges facing all three components of the Irish seafood sector, from the catch fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing. The group's membership is comprised of representatives from across the seafood industry. Mr. Michael Berkery, the former general secretary of the IFA, has been appointed as the independent chairperson for this group. In answer to the Deputy's direct question, he was tasked with drafting a chairman's report by June of this year. There has been a series of meetings since 16 February, the meeting of the task force group that I attended in Howth. The deadline for receipt of seafood industry submissions was 2 March. On 10 and 11 March, there were five sector-specific meetings held in the Department's Backweston campus. Representatives from across the seafood industry have attended and have had a series of meetings. That work has been ongoing. I commend everyone on their very strong commitment to this and look forward to receiving the chairman's report in the near future.

When Coolmine Community School opened in 1974, it was one of Ireland's first community schools and a trail-blazer for education. It had an enviable mix of academic achievements, extracurricular activities and social activity. For many in Dublin West, it represented a modern community with a strong sense of identity and pride. Many of the parents of students attending today are former students who remember that pride. More than 50 years later, however, the building remains largely unchanged. While Blanchardstown has grown into one of Ireland's largest and most dynamic communities, the spaces where our students learn have been left behind. The young people of today deserve facilities that are as ambitious as they are, and that match the quality of education they are getting at Coolmine. Very recently the school's patron and the board of management submitted an application for a new school building under the major capital works programme. I have looked at the figures. Between 2015 and 2023, over seven years, €750,000 was put into emergency works. More has gone in since I was elected. Can the Tánaiste encourage the Minister, Deputy Naughton, to visit the school, which I am doing, and give its development the priority it really deserves?

I thank Deputy Currie for raising this project. She has worked with Coolmine Community School and the board of management to get an application for a new building into the Department, which was submitted a couple of weeks ago. I can confirm that the Department received the application from Coolmine Community School on 5 May for that large-scale capital funding to provide a new school building. The Department recently already agreed a brief for the provision of two special education classrooms as well, which will be delivered as quickly as possible through modern methods of construction. The application that is submitted now will go through its detailed appraisal and there will be good engagement with the school. On foot of the Deputy raising this today, I will ask the Minister, Deputy Naughton, to visit the school with her in the near future.

The results of a survey of parents in Kildare have been published, the majority of whom do not have access to childcare in September. What those results mean is that a number of parents are not able to go back to work. They are having to reduce their hours or give up their jobs because they simply cannot access a fairly basic service in a very fast-growing county. We are seeing significant issues in Kildare regarding capacity and conditions for the workforce. While we still seem to be no closer to that €200 per month commitment, I really welcome the State-led pilot. It has the potential to do something really positive but I think we would all agree that is in the medium to long term. What can I say to these parents in Naas, Kilcock, Maynooth and Celbridge who really have no option but to give up their job because they cannot access this childcare service?

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. On foot of his raising it, I will specifically ask the Minister, Deputy Foley, to engage with him on the particular and immediate issue he is highlighting in Kildare. I take that point. When I talk about what we are going to do more broadly, he is highlighting an issue that is a factor in the here and now for people. We are significantly increasing our investment to childcare, core funding and the employment agreements for people working in childcare. We are fully committed to that €200 per child, per month in the lifetime of the Government. That is a commitment in the lifetime of the programme for Government. Myself, the Minister, Deputy Chambers, and the Taoiseach have all said we want to see progress made on that over the course of the next four budgets. Specifically in the here and now, I will ask the Minister, Deputy Foley, to come back to the Deputy.

The FAI released a statement on 12 June justifying playing Israel behind closed doors and outside Ireland. It spoke of consultation with stakeholders, in particular the Palestinian Football Association which the statement strongly implied backed the FAI's position. Today, the Palestinian Football Association has had to release a statement saying it did not endorse or support the decision to proceed with the games: "[O]ur position regarding Israeli football remains unchanged and unequivocal." It stated that: "[T]he PFA categorically rejects any attempt to promote or impose matches with an occupying power that systematically targets Palestinian athletes and sports infrastructure." Did the FAI not deceive the people of Ireland and the global media with this claim? Did it not shamefully twist the words of the most hard-pressed and vulnerable sports association? Will the Tánaiste call on the FAI to come in front of an Oireachtas committee to explain this and the entire venture? I refer also to the sports Ministers who are backing these immoral games and shameful decision.

Of course, the Ministers are not doing that at all. Let us be clear. This is a decision the FAI has to take. If we start making decisions on the floor of the Dáil in relation to running Irish soccer, God knows where we will end up. The reality is there are very clear rules that UEFA and FIFA have. Those rules specifically exclude and preclude parliaments from making decisions in relation to the governing authorities. The FAI has gone through a process, I think it has gone through a robust process. It has made a decision. The last thing any one of us would want to do is take a decision that ends up benefiting the Israeli football team and disadvantaging the Irish soccer team. I hear about what the players have had to say about not wanting pressure in relation to them. I have not seen that statement from the Palestinian Football Association. I take in good faith what the Deputy said. My own note tells me that the Palestinian Football Association stated: "The Palestinian Football Association expresses its appreciation for the principled positions taken by the Football Association of Ireland in support of the rights of the Palestinian people and Palestinian athletes."

Today's statement was contradicting the way the FAI used that.

In fairness, that statement says that the Palestinian Football Association expresses its appreciation. There should always be engagement between governing bodies that the taxpayer funds.

Parents in Cork could be spending €800 to €900 a month for childcare. That is if there is only one child they need childcare for. It could be well over €1,000, or €1,500 if they have two children. It is absolutely breaking families, and that is if they can find childcare facilities at all. In large parts of my constituency, in places like Douglas and Carrigaline, it is effectively impossible to find a place. The Tánaiste went to the people in the last election and talked about €200 a month. The new maximum fee cap of €183.70 a week is a reduction but is still closer to €200 a week. We are a very considerable distance from €200 a month. This is absolutely breaking families. The Tánaiste and his party like to talk about the squeezed middle. Any parent who needs childcare is definitely in the squeezed middle. There is no doubt about that. We have not seen any progress in the last budget. We need to see progress in this budget for families who are absolutely broken by childcare costs.

We definitely needed to see more progress and the Minister, Deputy Foley, is ambitious about making that progress. Under the new maximum fee caps, we have seen the highest possible upfront cost for a typical full-day place of 45 hours per week drop. The Deputy is correct that that is still too high. However, the cost has dropped from €198 per week to €183.70 per week. The commitment is very clear. It is not just my commitment; it is a commitment every political party in the House gave. The parties in government and Opposition parties agreed that the direction of travel is to get to €200 per child per month in the lifetime of this Oireachtas. That commitment is in the programme for Government. It is a commitment every member of the Government has signed up to. I agree with the Deputy that we need to make more progress in the budget. I, along with the Minister, Deputy Chambers, the Taoiseach and the Minister, Deputy Foley, have all said that is our intention.

When will the long overdue emergency funding for rural roads in Wicklow and Wexford be delivered? The Tánaiste may have driven on some in the south-west of Wicklow. It is absolutely disgraceful that we are now in June, in the middle of a dry period, when it is perfect to do works. We have waited since November, when Storm Claudia struck. Wicklow County Council sought between €15 million and €20 million and Wexford sought a similar amount. These counties have historically had the worst rural roads in Ireland. I have been driving on them all of my life. In Wexford, €194 million is needed to bring the roads up to what is classed as an acceptable standard. It is a perfect time to do the work. I have repeatedly requested funding since November, and for the past 12 years. It is absolutely shocking that those of us who live in rural Ireland and drive on small country roads have to have our cars wrecked and are unable to drive on safe roads. When will the funding be delivered?

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. As he knows, I know the roads in Wicklow and Wexford well. He is correct that like many counties in the country they saw a significant impact from that storm. Work has been underway. I spoke to Wicklow County Council about submitting documentation to the Government, which I am sure also applies to Wexford. That has happened, in fairness. I would like to see the process come to a conclusion very quickly. The Deputy is correct that there is a window when the weather is relatively better than it often is. It is a concern for Deputies across the House. I will follow up with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and come back to the Deputy with a timeline.

I wish to raise the significant issue of back-to-school costs. It is my understanding that children who are entitled to school-based July provision will have to pay upwards of €120 for extracurricular activities during that period. I also wish to raise a significant issue in regard to schools requiring children to get laptops, tablets or ICT equipment for the coming academic year. It is my understanding that the Minister, Deputy Naughton, has written to all of the relevant schools in regard to this, but schools are still requiring them. A parent has contacted me. She is a carer for her husband and does not receive carer's allowance due to the means coming into the house and is not entitled to any exceptional needs payment. Anybody who applies for an exceptional needs payment to pay for ICT equipment finds the payment does not cover that. Will the Government extend the exceptional needs payment to cover ICT equipment for schools? Will it also look into the payment of upwards of €120 for those availing of school-based July provision for extra curricular activities?

I thank Deputy Kenny for raising this issue, which is quite a serious one. The summer programme is fully funded by the Department of Education and Youth and schools are supposed to run the programme within the budget provided by the Department. I am not unfairly having a go. Of course small costs above and beyond might arise and a decision may be made to do something outside the programme. I get that somewhat. The level of cost the Deputy is highlighting is completely at odds with the purpose of the programme, which is taxpayer funded as part of the education system and open to all who qualify for it. I ask that the Deputy pass on the information to the Minister for Education and Youth who will examine it. The Deputy's second point is also correct. There is cross-party consensus on the idea of free school books. What we do not want to see is that free school books are now free school books being replaced with everything going onto a tablet, laptop or the likes. The Minister has written schools about this. I ask that she further engage with the Deputy on this on foot of him raising the issue. I will speak to the Minister, Deputy Calleary, about the exceptional needs payment and he will come back to the Deputy directly.

I wish to raise the ongoing and very serious issue of excessive waiting times in the accident and emergency department in Cavan General Hospital. As the Tánaiste is aware, residents of County Monaghan do not have access to an accident and emergency department in their county. Instead, they have to travel to Cavan hospital to receive emergency care. This places significant and unstable pressure on services. I continue to receive deeply concerning reports from constituents who are waiting for up to 24 hours before being seen by a nurse or doctor. The situation is simply not acceptable. Today, I urge the Tánaiste to consider the case for restoring a full accident and emergency service at Monaghan hospital. Doing so would significantly alleviate the pressure on Cavan hospital and ensure that the people of Monaghan, a county with a growing population of over 65,000, have timely and safe access to emergency care.

I thank Deputy Bennett. While we do not have plans to open new emergency departments, we do have plans to continue to drive investment into hospitals at levels 2 and 3, including Monaghan hospital. I remember visiting it a number of years ago. It is a very good hospital and it is ambitious about doing more. On foot of the Deputy raising this issue, I will ask the Minister for Health to come back to her on Cavan emergency department wait times and any further plans in regard to Monaghan.

We all know the great work done in our maternity wards across the country. I would like to thank all of the doctors, nurses, midwives and consultants who provide care for women across the country. My wife gave birth to our three children in the maternity ward in CUH and received the best of care. It has come to my attention that for some reason one of the State's four tertiary maternity hospitals serving the south of Ireland, CUH, does not have a dedicated consultant in maternal medicine to manage complex medical conditions in pregnancy. Is there a plan for funding and recruitment to establish such a service or post? Can the Tánaiste bring this matter to the attention of the Minister for Health and HSE?

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I will bring it to the attention of the Minister for Health and ask that she engage with the Deputy directly on the women and infants health programme and the HSE on the need for that consultant post for complex conditions during pregnancy.

I also want to raise summer provision, something I raised a number of weeks ago. I welcome that the application process reopened and thank the Tánaiste for that. I want to raise concerns brought to my attention by schools in respect of delays with approvals and information from the Department regarding staffing requirements, in particular for schools which are seeking additional staffing requirements to deal with children with higher needs. There is a total lack of certainty. These schools are under intense pressure as they try to prepare for the summer programme in the coming weeks. I ask the Minister to take the matter up with the Department as a matter of urgency. There are further delays in terms of approvals for home-based provision. Many parents across the country are in the dark as to what approvals they will get. As the Tánaiste knows, teachers and SNAs need to be sourced for home-based provision. Parents are in a very difficult position. I ask the Tánaiste to please take this matter back to the Department and ask him to inject some urgency into this and get information back to parents and schools.

I thank Deputy McGrath for raising this issue. It is not the first time he has raised it. He raised the application process window on a previous occasion and I was pleased that we were in a position to reopen it. I will now speak with Ministers Naughton and Moynihan on clarity and staff requirements for schools, in particular the issue the Deputy highlighted around home-based provision and the need for clarity for parents. I am conscious it is a very tight window. As I said earlier, and I say sincerely, once we get through the summer we should have broader engagement on how we can learn lessons. The Minister and the Government are very committed to the programme. We have seen a huge increase in the number of people using it and the number of schools availing of it, which is all great, but there are timeline issues and clarity could perhaps ease the stress and anxiety for people in future years.