Order of Business

I move: Tuesday's business shall be: - Motion re Ministerial Rota for Parliamentary Questions (1) (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Motion re Ministerial Rota for Parliamentary Questions (2) (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Motion re Fifteenth Report of the Standing Committee of Selection (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Social Welfare, Civil Registration and Charities (Amendment) Bill 2026 (Second Stage) (to conclude at the end of the first speaking round; not to exceed 3 hours and 34 minutes) Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Second Stage of the Home Heating Oil (Emergency Mineral Oil Tax Reduction) Bill 2026, selected by Sinn Féin. Wednesday's business shall be: - Disability (Amendment) Bill 2026 (Second Stage) (to conclude at the end of the first speaking round; not to exceed 3 hours and 34 minutes) - Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Defective Concrete Blocks Social Homes Scheme 2026 (to conclude within 60 minutes and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann for a Council Decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Korea on Passenger Name Record data* - Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann for a Council Decision on the signing of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Korea on Passenger Name Record data* *Two separate motions to be debated together and brought to a conclusion within 60 minutes, with questions to be put on each motion separately; and any divisions claimed to be taken immediately Wednesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Fuel, Energy and Carbon Tax Relief, selected by Independent Technical Group. Thursday's business shall be: - Statements on World Pharmacists Week (not to exceed 2 hours and 25 minutes) Thursday evening business shall be the Second Stage of the Electricity Regulation (Climate Action and Connection to Distribution and Transmission Systems) Bill 2025, sponsored by Deputy Ciarán Ahern. Proposed Arrangements for this week’s business: In relation to Tuesday’s business, it is proposed that: 1. notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders: (a) the only Parliamentary Questions to the Taoiseach pursuant to Standing Order 47(1) which may be answered shall be those under the aegis of the Government Chief Whip, with consequential effect on the commencement time for Government business; (b) the time allocated to Government business shall be extended in accordance with the arrangements for that business and the Dáil may sit later than 10.48 p.m.; and (c) private members’ business shall be taken following proceedings on the Second Stage of the Social Welfare, Civil Registration and Charities (Amendment) Bill 2026 with consequential effect on the commencement times for the items following in the ordinary routine of business; 2. the proceedings on the Motion re Ministerial Rota for Parliamentary Questions (1) shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately; 3. the proceedings on the Motion re Ministerial Rota for Parliamentary Questions (2) shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately; 4. the proceedings on the Motion re Fifteenth Report of the Standing Committee of Selection shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately; 5. the proceedings on the Second Stage of the Social Welfare, Civil Registration and Charities (Amendment) Bill 2026 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion at the end of the first speaking round and the following arrangements shall apply: (a) the first-round speeches shall be in accordance with the table below (to be read across); (b) on conclusion of the first speaking round or where speeches conclude before the 3 hours and 24 minutes have elapsed and no other member is offering, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a speech in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes; and (c) members may share time; and 6. notwithstanding anything in Standing Order 177(2), the proceedings on the Second Stage of the Home Heating Oil (Emergency Mineral Oil Tax Reduction) Bill 2026 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 2 hours. In relation to Wednesday's business, it is proposed that: 1. notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, the weekly division time may be taken earlier than 8.45 p.m. and shall, in any event, be taken on the conclusion of Government Business; 2. the proceedings on the Second Stage of the Disability (Amendment) Bill 2026 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion at the end of the first speaking round and the following arrangements shall apply: (a) the first-round speeches shall be in accordance with the table below (to be read across); (b) on conclusion of the first speaking round or where speeches conclude before the 3 hours and 24 minutes have elapsed and no other member is offering, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a speech in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes; and (c) members may share time; 3. the proceedings on the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Defective Concrete Blocks Social Homes Scheme 2026 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 60 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply thereto: (a) the order of speaking and allocation of time shall be as follows:- — opening speech by a Minister or Minister of State – 10 minutes; — speeches by representatives of Sinn Féin, Social Democrats, the Labour Party, Independent and Parties Technical Group, and Independent Technical Group – 7.5 minutes per party or group; — speeches by non-party/group members – 7.5 minutes in total; and — a speech in response by the Minister – 5 minutes; (b) members may share time; and (c) any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately; and 4. the proceedings on the Motions on Proposals for Council Decisions on the signing of, and the conclusion of, the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Korea on the transfer of Passenger Name Record data shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 60 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply thereto: (a) the two motions shall be debated together, with separate questions put on all proceedings thereon; (b) the order of speaking and allocation of time shall be as follows:- — opening speech by a Minister or Minister of State – 10 minutes; — speeches by representatives of Sinn Féin, Social Democrats, the Labour Party, Independent and Parties Technical Group, and Independent Technical Group – 7.5 minutes per party or group; — speeches by non-party/group members – 7.5 minutes in total; and — a speech in response by the Minister – 5 minutes; (c) members may share time; and (d) any divisions claimed thereon shall be taken immediately. In relation to Thursday's business, it is proposed that: 1. notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, topical issues may be taken earlier than 7.24 p.m. with consequential effect on the commencement time for Second Stage of the Electricity Regulation (Climate Action and Connection to Distribution and Transmission Systems) Bill 2025, and on the time for the adjournment of the Dáil; and 2. the Statements on World Pharmacists Week shall not exceed 2 hours and 25 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply: (a) the statements, not including the Ministerial response, shall be in accordance with the sequence contained in the table immediately below (to be read across); (b) following the statements, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a statement in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes; and (c) members may share time.

Not agreed.

The testimony of the four Garda whistleblowers on the "RTÉ Investigates" programme has caused serious concern. Requests have been made for the Minister at that time, Helen McEntee, to come before the Dáil in order to take statements and engage in a question-and-answers session. Such is the seriousness of what is emerging, the Taoiseach also needs to come before the House. Can we get a commitment from the Government that this will happen as soon as those involved return from the United Nations Assembly?

Given the state of the revelations in last week's "RTÉ Investigates" programme, how long does this Government believe it is tenable not to allow either the current justice Minister and the previous one to come into the Chamber to answer questions regarding the architecture of the protected disclosures office? Garda confidence has been massively undermined, as testified to by the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors and the Garda Representative Association calling for an external inquiry. Before then, we need answers from the Government. We cannot continue with this ducking.

I find it incredible that we do not have a commitment for a debate with both the former and current Ministers for justice about the ramifications of the whistleblower documentary last week. The budget will not distract us from seeking this debate. We are objecting this week. We will object next week. We will object every week until the debate happens.

We need an urgent debate this week on the threat of an armed march going through the Garvaghy Road to Drumcree Church at the weekend. I met with the Garvaghy Road residents yesterday. That mostly Catholic area is gripped with fear and anxiety that after 28 years of not having to face these triumphalist sectarian marches that have incited loyalist killings and led to sectarian violence, what is due to happen at the weekend will drag their area and the North back into sectarian conflict. This matter needs to be debated as a matter of urgency.

Further to the revelations in today's newspapers to the effect that doctors are looking for an outright ban on scrambler bikes, despite the fact that we have new laws coming in, it has emerged that 1,100 children have attended hospital on foot of e-scooter injuries in the past five years. There have been 59 serious injuries, some involving organ displacement, have been reported. This House needs to have a debate on that matter.

I have heard from all the whips about the changes they would like on the Order of Business this week. We have important business on the schedule that we need to get through. As everybody watching knows, there is Government time and Opposition time. The Opposition can use its time for anything it wishes to discuss. The Order of Business stands.

With respect to the Government Chief Whip, she knows what we asked for, namely statements.

This needs statements and accountability from the Minister.

They are not agreed.

I want to raise again the urgent situation on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown. As the Minister will be aware, the Parades Commission is about to consider an Orange Order application to march down the Garvaghy Road this Sunday. For 28 years, this community has lived with relative peace. The dispute, which was long-running and carried a high human cost, was resolved. It is just incredible that anybody would seek to reopen that matter and bring the anxiety, stress and instability that all of that would mean. This is a very serious political and, potentially, community crisis and the Irish Government cannot be a passive observer. I wrote to the Taoiseach, as did the residents, I understand, looking for a meeting. We have sought for some level within government to engage directly with residents. Will this happen, when will it happen, and who will lead that effort?

I thank Deputy McDonald. I appreciate the Deputy raising this important matter. As the Taoiseach said last week, his officials have been engaged on this. I have not got a specific update with respect to the Deputy's request for a meeting. As the Taoiseach said, there is a process that is being kept under review. However, I will raise the matter with the Taoiseach and the Minister for foreign affairs and ask them to respond directly to the Deputy. I appreciate the concerns that the Deputy has raised here.

The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have recognised that what is happening in Gaza is a genocide but the Department of justice does not seem to think it has ever happened because it is asking people to access documents when most of the buildings in Gaza have been razed to the ground and more than 70,000 people are now dead. What the Department is asking of these students who are trying to study here is the impossible when they have already overcome impossible barriers. It was impossible to continue in education when you were being rained down on by bullets and bombs in a tent, impossible to raise the funds to access these courses, and impossible to place these courses themselves. Might I add that the institutions are opening their arms and their doors to welcome these students in. When will the Government read the room and reverse its decision to block these students from studying here in Ireland?

We all accept that the level of suffering inflicted on the civilian population who are not responsible for the actions of Hamas is wrong - it is an affront to human decency - and we have repeatedly opposed and strongly condemned Israel's actions in Gaza and the West Bank, the blatant disregard for international law and the ongoing expansion of settlements. Certainly, my colleagues at the UN will be reflecting that during the week.

Student visas.

On the issue of visas, and as the Deputy will be aware, there is a well-established process in the Department of justice that assesses every visa application.

But the Government changed the goalposts this year.

I understand that some may have been granted and that others are still being assessed, but there is a well-established process that is progressed and through which an assessment is made of each individual case.

The Government is moving the goalposts.

Today, the British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has announced that women employees will be provided with two weeks' leave to grieve and recover following a miscarriage before 24 weeks. It is now five years since I first introduced legislation in the Seanad to provide for workplace leave along the same lines here. I refer to leave when it matters most - compassionate leave. My Bill received unanimous support from Senators then, including Government Senators, but progress since then has been glacially slow, held up by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Tomorrow, my Labour colleague, Deputy Marie Sherlock, will bring the Bill to the enterprise committee on the next Stage. This is our latest attempt to move the dial to support women through pregnancy loss and couples through fertility treatment and to make our workplaces more compassionate. Will the Government listen to the thousands of people, mainly women, who have contacted all of our offices over the years, take the proposal on and, crucially, make it law this year that employees can receive recognition in the workplace where they endure an early miscarriage?

I thank Deputy Bacik for raising this important issue. As she will know, the Government approved the general scheme of the pregnancy loss leave Bill in July of this year, the aim of which is to introduce for the first time in Irish law statutory leave for pregnancy loss prior to 23 weeks' gestation. I acknowledge the work of Deputies Bacik and Sherlock on the matter. The Minister for enterprise is now working on drafting this legislation as a matter of priority and I hope all parties in the House will be able to progress the policy outcome on this through legislation as quickly as possible when it concludes. I appreciate the Deputy raising it today.

There was a report in the Irish Independent at the weekend that a young woman who suspected she had been raped in Dublin city while intoxicated is now facing criminal charges, potentially, for false reporting. Not only that but it has been decided that all the resources of the Irish State should go into dragging this woman back from France where she lives, via extradition. As we know, it is not unusual for intoxicated people to be attacked violently and not to recall all the details. The implications of this decision are huge. The number of sexual offences that are reported could not fall any lower and the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, routinely does not prosecute 67% of all sexual offences. For some incredible reason, the DPP and gardaí have decided to prosecute this woman. The message this would send to survivors who may have been drugged or intoxicated when they were attacked and might not remember all the details is incredible.

I hasten to add that nobody has been falsely accused or charged, so I do not see why this is happening. There will be a protest at the DPP's office at 1 p.m. on Friday against this.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I have not read the newspaper article she referred to or about the case she referenced so I do not want to make any inappropriate comment. As a Government, we seek to support any victim of sexual assault properly through policies and through the resourcing of our agencies and An Garda Síochána. I have not seen or read the detail the Deputy referenced, so I will not comment on it.

There is a growing call for a public inquiry into the handling of protected disclosures in An Garda Síochána and I support that. However, I believe it must go much further. The concerns around protected disclosures seem to extend to the public service, An Garda Síochána, the Prison Service, the HSE, financial services and beyond. I raised this matter previously in the Dáil, and my party raised it in a Private Members' Bill, to strengthen protected disclosure protections for whistleblowers, which was rejected by the Government. The Minister will be aware, as it was mentioned on the floor of the House previously, Mr. Ciarán Kenneally, a former Tusla employee submitted a second protected disclosure in November 2025, following on from confirmation by the Data Protection Commission that Tusla had unlawfully processed his personal data. While the disclosure was acknowledged, he is still waiting for the investigation to be commenced more than a year after making that protected disclosure. Will the Government now commit to the holding of a comprehensive public inquiry into the operation of protected disclosures?

I thank the Deputy. As my colleagues said last week and at the weekend, it is not appropriate to comment on any specific cases that are ongoing and I will not be doing so today. The Government will be commencing a review of the Protected Disclosures Act this year, which will begin with a public consultation and an opportunity for all stakeholders to participate in that review to ensure the legislative framework we have is fit for purpose and meets all the respective inputs of stakeholders and everyone involved, including those who have made protected disclosures. However, I cannot comment on the specific case the Deputy referenced.

The CCTV monitoring system for Limerick city and county, currently located in Moyross, oversees 360 community cameras spread throughout Limerick city and county. Unfortunately, within the next ten days it is due to close with the loss of 11 jobs and dire consequences for crime prevention and detection in Limerick city and surrounding areas. This is due to the loss of funding from the social inclusion fund, which, as the Minister knows, is being gradually wound down. It has left a deficit of approximately €660,000, which is needed to enable this service to continue for the next 12 months. I cannot overstate the amount of anxiety in the community, particularly among members of An Garda Síochána, about the loss of these cameras and the effect it will have on crime detection in the Limerick area. People are pleading with me to ask the Government to intervene to save the service and put it on a sustainable basis. Is it proposed to do so?

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. It is clear that the service should be sustained, particularly if investment has happened and the service is of such importance to An Garda Síochána and to the local community in Limerick. I will speak to the Minister for justice to ensure that it is examined and that the service can continue. I appreciate the Deputy's advocacy on this matter.

I again raise the matter of public transport in the south east, particularly rail and bus links for our commuters. Gorey is one of the fastest -growing towns in Ireland. Arklow is on the verge of huge expansion. Rathdrum is ideally placed for easy access to Dublin. Rosslare port continues to grow. However, these towns and their rural hinterlands are woefully underserved by a rail service that is inconvenient, infrequent and low-capacity. There are no imminent plans for improvement. Commuters also struggle with the reliability of the current bus links. Local Link has been transformative for our rural communities but there is demand for significant increases in services and frequency. Quite simply, the current rail and bus services cannot cope with the demand as the populations of Wexford and Wicklow continue to grow. We need a coherent plan for transport infrastructure in the south east.

I thank Deputy Brennan. To be clear, the significant increase in transport infrastructure investment over the next four years will be seen in the south east. This investment is twofold. First, we want to see significant capacity improvements. That will obviously involve upgrades to existing infrastructure. In addition, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is doing work on the public service obligation to ensure that the demands of an increased population are met by an improved service experience in some of the towns and villages in the south east the Deputy has mentioned. The work the Minister is doing as part of budget 2027 is to significantly enhance the capacity of public transport more widely in 2027 and in the years to come. This is to match the significant uplift in infrastructure investment whose positive benefits will be seen by citizens across the country.

I hope the Minister will consider the Sinn Féin legislation being debated here this evening to reduce the cost of home heating oil. The households of the vast majority of the people I represent, the people of Roscommon and Galway, use home heating oil. As we approach the budget, there will be a lot of focus on the fuel allowance. The fuel allowance is well and good for those who receive it. It is a help to them. However, the vast majority of working people do not receive the fuel allowance. The evenings are getting darker and there will be pressure in terms of electricity and heating. I ask for a major focus, to include advertising, to be put on the additional needs payment as quickly as possible so that working people will know there is some support for them. No families should be in the dark or cold in their homes as we approach the winter. I ask for the ramping-up of as wide a campaign as possible with regard to the additional needs payments so that workers will know that it is there and that it is not just available to people who are in receipt of social welfare payments.

I thank Deputy Kerrane for raising this issue. I will reflect her requests to the Minister, Deputy Calleary. To echo what I said earlier on, we want to ensure that, through the decisions we make, we prioritise concerns about the cost of living in the budget. I refer particularly to issues relating to home heating oil. Using the social protection system will be critical in mitigating the issues facing those most in need, the 400,000 households who currently benefit from it. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Calleary, to consider what the Deputy has said so that people understand the possibilities of making an application through that process.

I will address the rise in antisocial behaviour in Dublin Fingal West. I do not do so lightly. It is a fantastic part of the country with a great sense of community spirit, which we are all rightly proud of. However, we cannot ignore what is happening. A lack of visible Garda resources is allowing some people to take advantage. We all saw the serious incident at Skerries Harbour during the summer. There is open drug dealing in our towns and some teenagers are recording vicious attacks and putting the videos on social media. Our gardaí are doing their very best but they need resources and a local presence to do their jobs effectively. The local Garda stations in Rush, Lusk and Skerries, which are now towns of over 10,000 people, are open for two hours a week, which is not enough. I ask the Minister to tackle this head-on and to start putting gardaí back where they belong: in our communities, on our streets and back in the police stations of north County Dublin.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I appreciate the concern he has referenced in the growing communities of Dublin Fingal West, which have seen increased antisocial behaviour over recent months. As a Government, we have sought to significantly expand the numbers in An Garda Síochána. By the end of this year or early next year, we should exceed 15,000 gardaí. Combined with the civilianisation we have seen in recent years, that allows for significant enhancement and redeployment of gardaí onto the front line. I will try to come back to the Deputy with information from the Minister for justice on the specific allocation. I know a lot of the newer probationary gardaí have gone to some of the suburban parts of Dublin in the past 12 months, reflecting some of the demographic changes we are seeing but also the need for increased policing and visibility. I will reflect the concerns raised by the Deputy to the Minister , who can relay that to the Garda.

Overcrowding on the Midleton-Cork rail line is reaching farcical levels. For a prolonged period, peak-time services have been left operating with just two carriages. This morning, a constituent told me the train was again dangerously overcrowded, with the driver on one journey having to get out to stop commuters boarding at Glounthaune and Little Island. My colleague, Councillor Eamonn Horgan, has been raising this issue over the past year. Irish Rail accepts that peak-time services are overcrowded but says there are no spare carriages available. The Minister's own figures show Ireland collected €32.9 billion in corporation tax last year. Why is his Department so tight-fisted with the basics while revenues of that scale are coming in? How can we have so little to show for such extraordinary resources that these Cork commuters are still being packed into two-carriage trains just to get to work and college? People in Youghal are in a much worse predicament, with no rail and a shambles of a bus services that would drive you to despair.

As I said to Deputy Brennan, the capital investment in transport is due to significantly increase in the next number of years. If one takes the Cork area commuter rail programme, which the Deputy did not mention, for example, there will be significant progress in the wider Cork area over the next number of months and, indeed, the next number of years, where people will see improvements in public transport, in particular. The work we are doing with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is to ensure the bus service complements the significant enhancement of the commuter rail programme. We are absolutely clear that, through our fiscal plan, we want to prioritise infrastructure investment in public transport and our wider transport system to ensure we reduce congestion and improve the commuter experience for many people who use public transport. With the progress being made by Irish Rail, such as the double tracking between Glounthaune and Midleton and other progress across the Cork area commuter rail plan, people will see the improvements over the period ahead.

Annual antisocial behaviour on Aghards green in Celbridge in County Kildare has now become criminal activity leading up to Halloween. It is becoming a longer process. We previously had bonfires. Now, we have cars driving over greens and scramblers. This is right beside the national school, Scoil Mochua, and also beside the playground. Residents' houses are being smashed. Front windows are being smashed and there are Garda investigations under way there. The Garda is doing its very best in increasing patrols and trying to help the residents of this area but what we need in Celbridge and Kildare, because we have the lowest ratio of gardaí per capita in the country, is increased numbers of gardaí and Garda resources. I ask the Minister, Deputy Chambers, and the Minister for justice, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, for the Leixlip district and Celbridge Garda station to be afforded additional resources to tackle this issue.

I thank the Deputy. I regret that the local residents are experiencing such challenges with antisocial behaviour. As the Deputy said, that is worsening and exacerbated by the darker evenings. I will ask the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, to respond. Similar issues were raised by others earlier in the engagement. I will ask the Minister to reflect on the particular need for growing commuter areas to see the benefits of increased police numbers. That should exceed 15,000 in the next number of months. That will provide additional opportunities to the Commissioner to deploy extra gardaí in those areas that are most in need. The Deputy is right; we need to see improved visibility in that context. I will reflect that to the Minister for justice and I appreciate the Deputy raising it today.

Kilkenny City Vocational School and Coláiste Pobail Osraí are both excellent schools that do hugely important work for young people and the wider Kilkenny community. However, their new school campus project has been stuck at stage 2B for quite some time. The school community and I are eager to see it progressed to the next stage as a matter of urgency. I spoke with both schools and school leaderships last week. Certainty around capital funding is needed. This project would provide modern, fit for purpose facilities and would be a vital investment in both schools and the wider school community and be a positive boost for the whole of Kilkenny city. I ask that capital funding be made available as soon as possible so that the project can move to tender stage. After all of the work and commitment in getting the project to this stage, the school communities deserve certainty and a clear pathway to delivery. God knows they have waited long enough.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I know he has raised it a number of times with the Taoiseach and others. In terms of education funding more generally, there was a €5 billion allocation in the previous five-year cycle in the national development plan. We prioritised educational resourcing of a 50% increase in the 2025-2030 plan to €7.5 billion. The Minister for education has published the sectoral investment plan for education. I appreciate the wider uncertainty, the lack of clarity that is reflected in the school community and the importance of progress in terms of it being stuck at 2B. I will ask the Minister for education to engage with the school on this matter. The level of funding should provide for the significant enhancement of existing school buildings but also for new schools right across the country. We sought to prioritise it in the national development plan and I will ask for the school to be provided with more certainty on the matter.

I raise the issue of school transport. I have been inundated with contacts from parents whose children do not have a school bus ticket this year. Many of them had tickets for several years but, this year, they have none. These include children going into sixth class in primary school and sixth year in post-primary school. There is confusion regarding the difference between eligible and concessionary tickets. There is a lack of clarity about how distances are measured. Some children have no seat just because the bus is too small. We cannot expect children to move school because transport has changed. As one parent put it simply to me, the children get their books and their school meals but what good is any of that if they cannot get to school? I ask the Minister to ensure the shortcomings in the school transport scheme are urgently addressed so that children are not left behind before the school day even begins.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I regret that some students in Laois have had that direct experience. As a Government, we have all supported a significant expansion in this over the last number of years. There were around 120,000 children using the service in 2019. That figure is now 181,000 in 2026. Matched with that has been an unprecedented level of funding to support the service. There was €219 million allocated in 2019 and that is due to exceed €600 million this year. As a Government, we have prioritised supporting rural school transport right across the country. This is managed on behalf of the State and Government by Bus Éireann, which co-ordinates the wider day-to-day operation of the service. I will ask my colleagues in the Department of education to engage with the Deputy to try to resolve some of the issues that are there for some students. In the wider complexity and organisation of this, I accept there are particular issues in certain areas which raise their head every year. I will ask the Department to engage with the Deputy on it and I regret that students have had that experience.

We are here again. There are so many children in my constituency in south Kildare who do not have an appropriate school place - or any school place - yet this year. I raise the case of two particular families. They are families who have done everything right. They engaged with the NCSE and applied to schools across their area and well beyond and yet their children remain at home while their peers and siblings are in classrooms. It is having a devastating impact on their development. One child, Kayden from Monasterevin, is autistic and has already spent a year being home schooled. His parents have applied to 20 schools over the past two years and homeschooling just is not meeting his needs. Another child, Jack from the Curragh, finished primary school in June. Jack is autistic and has a moderate intellectual disability. He has been refused by all of his local special schools. These families are heartbroken. More importantly, two vulnerable children are being denied their right to education. What immediate action will the Government take to secure appropriate school places for these children don scoilbhliain seo?

I thank the Deputy. I acknowledge the particular instances of the children she has raised. We have sought to prioritise special education funding in the past successive series of years. In 2026, there is a €3 billion allocation for special education - the highest annual provision in the history of the State and a 58% increase since 2020. That has allowed for a significant expansion of special classes, supporting increased numbers of SNAs and teachers in special education right across the country, as well as 16 new special schools. I do not have a specific localised brief on the case the Deputy raised but I will ask that the Department of education and particularly NCSE, which is tasked with this matter, engage with the parents to provide some certainty on when an appropriate school place will be provided. That is what we are seeking to do in how we prioritise funding in this area.

Last week, I met the Offaly IFA branch at the Ploughing Championships in Tullamore. It was emphasised to me and many other politicians, including our MEPs, that it is vital that a CAP budget of at least €500 billion is secured in the upcoming negotiations. If that is not secured and, for instance, if there is a 42% change to the CAP budget, in my county of Offaly, it would lead to a loss of €9.1 million every year from 2028 to 2034 and a loss of 100 jobs every year for that period also. It is extremely concerning. It is important to note that CAP is not a bonus for our Irish farmers. It is the foundation that supports family farming, food production, rural communities and, of course, our economy. Any weakening of the CAP budget would be a direct threat to our economy, to rural Ireland and to the family farm. We need urgent intervention.

I thank Deputy Nolan for raising this important issue. Like her, I met with the IFA last week at the Ploughing Championship and I acknowledged its concerns based on the current draft proposals for the multi-annual financial framework in Europe on which negotiation is continuing. The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste as Minister of Finance, and the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, are all co-ordinating Ireland's position on that but also reflecting our position in the context of the European Presidency at the moment. CAP represents a long-standing strategic investment not only in Ireland's position in terms of agrifood production but also supporting farmers in the context of the importance of the European Union's food security. There is a long way to go in this negotiation. Clearly, we want to see protection of farmers but also continued enhancement of agrifood production in this country. We need to support farm incomes and also support generational renewal which is another priority that the IFA and others have referenced. We will continue to work on that over the months ahead.