2026-06-23

I move: I move: Tuesday's business shall be: - Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 51(3)) and (Section 60(6)) (Commission of Investigation into the Handling of Historical Child Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools) Regulations 2026 (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Dublin Airport (Passenger Capacity) Bill 2026 (Second Stage) (to conclude after the first round, not to exceed 3 hours and 34 minutes) - Motion re Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 - Motion re Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Dental and Orthodontic Services, selected by Sinn Féin. Wednesday's business shall be: - Statements on Pride (not to exceed 2 hours and 25 minutes) - Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026 (Second Stage) (to conclude after the first round, not to exceed 3 hours and 34 minutes) - Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) (Amendment) Bill 2026 (Report and Final Stages) (to commence no earlier than 8 p.m. and to conclude within 30 minutes) - National Treasury Management Agency (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 (Report and Final Stages) (to conclude within 1 hour) Wednesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re State Responsibility for Risk in Defective Concrete Homes, selected by Independent and Parties Technical Group. Thursday's business shall be: - Development (Strategic Gas Reserve) Bill 2026 (Second Stage) (to conclude after the first round, not to exceed 3 hours and 34 minutes and any division claimed to be taken immediately prior to Committee Stage on Tuesday, 30th June, 2026) Thursday evening business shall be the Second Stage of the Civil Liability (Child Sexual Abuse Proceedings Against Unincorporated Bodies of Persons) Bill 2025, sponsored by Deputy Ivana Bacik. 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 time allotted for Government Business shall be extended in accordance with the arrangements for that business, and the Dáil may sit later than 10.48 p.m.; (b) Parliamentary Questions to the Taoiseach pursuant to Standing Order 47(1) shall not be taken, and Government business shall commence at the time when Parliamentary Questions to the Taoiseach would normally be taken; and (c) private members' business may be taken later than 6.12 p.m. and shall in any event be taken on the conclusion of proceedings on Motion re Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 and Motion re Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009, with consequential effect on the commencement time for the items following in the ordinary routine of business; 2. the proceedings on the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 51(3)) and (Section 60(6)) (Commission of Investigation into the Handling of Historical Child Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools) Regulations 2026 shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately; 3. the proceedings on the Second Stage of the Dublin Airport (Passenger Capacity) 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 thereto: (a) the first-round speeches shall be in accordance with the table below (to be read across); (b) on the 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, whereupon proceedings shall be brought to a conclusion; and (c) members may share time; and 4. the proceedings on the Motion re Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act and Motion re Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 80 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply thereto: (a) the two motions shall be debated together, with separate questions put on proceedings thereon; (b) the order of speaking and allocation of time shall be as follows:- — opening speech by a Minister or Minister of State – 15 minutes; — speeches by representatives of Sinn Féin - 12 minutes — speeches by representatives of the Social Democrats, the Labour Party, Independent and Parties Technical Group, and Independent Technical Group – 9 minutes per party or group; — speeches by non-party/group members – 9 minutes in total; and (c) speech in response by the Minister – 8 minutes; and (d) members may share time. In relation to Wednesday's business, it is proposed that: 1. notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders: (a) the time allotted for Government Business shall be extended in accordance with the arrangements for that business and the Dáil may sit later than 9.30 p.m.; (b) the SOS pursuant to Standing Order 25(1) shall be taken immediately following Taoiseach’s Oral Parliamentary Questions pursuant to Standing Order 47(1), which shall be taken at the time when the SOS would normally be taken; and (c) in the event proceedings on the Second Stage of the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026 conclude before 8 p.m., the sitting shall stand suspended until 8 p.m. when the order of business shall resume with the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill 2026; 2. the Statements on Pride 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; 3. the proceedings on the Second Stage of the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence 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, not including the Ministerial response, 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, whereupon proceedings shall be brought to a conclusion; and (c) members may share time; 4. the proceedings on Report and Final Stages of the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) (Amendment) Bill 2026 shall commence no earlier than 8 p.m. and shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 30 minutes by one question, which shall be put from the Chair, and which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Health; and 5. the proceedings on Report and Final Stages of the National Treasury Management Agency (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 1 hour by one question, which shall be put from the Chair, and which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Finance. 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 Civil Liability (Child Sexual Abuse Proceedings Against Unincorporated Bodies of Persons) Bill 2025, and on the time for the adjournment of the Dáil; 2. the proceedings on the Second Stage of the Development (Strategic Gas Reserve) 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 thereto: (a) the first-round speeches shall be in accordance with the table below (to be read across); (b) on the 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, whereupon proceedings shall be brought to a conclusion; Provided that any division claimed on the Second Stage proceedings shall be taken immediately prior to Committee Stage on Tuesday, 30th June 2026; and (c) members may share time.

Are the proposed arrangements for the week's business agreed to?

Not agreed.

I call Deputy Carthy.

There is chaos reigning in our courts as thousands of cases are being adjourned due to the withdrawal of services by legal aid solicitors. The Government and the Minister are responsible for further backlogging the legal system and for creating havoc for many of the people involved in these cases, including victims. There should be a Dáil debate this week on the proposed changes to the criminal legal aid scheme. Most importantly, the Government and the Minister need to immediately engage with stakeholders and then bring forward viable, workable proposals that deliver the value for money and that reduce the court adjournments but also ensures there is access to justice for everyone who needs it.

Hear, hear.

I call Deputy Collins.

I wish to address the devastating case of 19 women who were sexually abused by the former school principal in Dunderrow National School and who are now being forced to take legal action against the State to seek redress. Given that Louise O'Keeffe successfully established before the European Court of Human Rights that the State failed in its duty to protect children, how can the Government justify a situation where other victims of the same abuser in the same school continue to be excluded from redress? We need statements in the Dáil this week in relation to that.

The proposed public inquiry into Children's Health Ireland is in a state of crisis. At the weekend, two of the advocacy groups representing 900 families pulled out of the scoping inquiry. They did this because they have not been provided with information they need to meaningfully engage with the terms of reference. We called on the Minister to provide this information in March; she has not done so. We need statements in the Dáil this week from the Minister on what steps she will take to get this important public inquiry back on track.

We are debating Committee Stage amendments to the occupied territories Bill this evening. There could also be another committee meeting on Thursday morning to continue discussion on the Bill. However, the deadline for Report Stage amendments is tomorrow, Wednesday. I ask that the deadline for Report Stage amendments be moved to late Thursday or Friday if Committee Stage goes to Thursday, so that everything is in order and we are not rushing this Bill any more than it is already being rushed.

I also ask for statements on the issue of historical abuse in schools. The Taoiseach said he will listen to the women from Cork who suffered the most terrible abuse. I raised the case of a man some time ago in the Chamber. He is in 70s and was abused terribly. His whole life has been impacted as a consequence. Coincidentally, he was in with me yesterday. He asked where the redress scheme is, if he is going to be included in it and if he will still be alive when it happens. It is just not acceptable that people who are victims of this abuse and whose lives were damaged permanently do not know the answers to those questions. We need an urgent discussion to answer questions for many people who were victims of this kind of abuse in our schools and about the State's responsibility.

In relation to Report Stage amendments, I will have a word with the Minister after this session and we will look at that to see about the timelines. In relation to everything else that was raised, we can discuss it at the Business Committee on Thursday. We had a very solid Business Committee meeting last week. We have a lot of legislation to get through this week so the Order of Business stands.

Are the proposed arrangements for this week's business agreed to?

They are not.

Before we take questions on policy or legislation, on behalf of the Government Whip, the Minister of State, Mary Butler, I welcome the Dolmen active retirement group from Waterford to the Public Gallery. I hope you all enjoy your day in Leinster House. You are very welcome.

Families of children with additional needs are once again being let down by the Taoiseach's Government's disastrous mishandling of the summer programme, also known as July provision. Parents are still waiting for home tuition and hours to be sanctioned just days before the schools close. Schools are reporting reduced teacher and SNA allocations despite growing demand, while late decisions have made it really hard for people to recruit staff, putting programmes at risk. For children with autism and additional needs, this programme provides vital continuity and support over the summer months. Instead, families now face uncertainty and needless stress because of the Government's failures. This follows the utter chaos in relation to this year's application process. The Taoiseach really needs to explain to parents, teachers and SNAs across the State why this has happened and what the Government will do to ensure that the summer programme supports children with additional needs and that it will be delivered on time and with the staffing and resources children and families need. There is a programme in my own county and if they do not get the SNA it is not going ahead. These kids need this support. The programme is supposed to start on Monday. It is not acceptable.

The Deputy paints a picture of a scheme that is growing and growing year on year but he does not articulate that in his presentation. Funding has grown from about €12 million back in 2016 to about €62 million this year, with over 70,000 students participating across 2,000 schools. We have gone from 8,000 students participating to 70,000. That is an enormous, exponential increase in students participating in the summer scheme. The funding has increased by €42 million. I am told here that no eligible child is being precluded from taking part in the summer programme this year, that all sanction letters to schools that applied to run a programme have issued, and that officials in the Department of education are engaging with schools on an individual basis in relation to the running of their summer programme and staffing allocations. Particularly for complex special educational needs, again, there is provision for SNAs and for teachers. In 2025, there were about 11,500 special needs assistants participating in the programme and similar numbers are expected to participate in this year's programme. For any specifics, I can revert to the Minister. I would like to welcome the Dolmen group from Butlerstown and Portlaw. They are very welcome.

In the run-up to the by-election, I knocked on close to 40,000 doors and the same issue came up time and time again, affecting constituents in every corner of the constituency: the cost of living. A new report from Barnardos today outlines just how much pressure families are under. It is absolutely shocking. Up to 80% of parents believe their children have been negatively impacted by the cost-of-living crisis. They are parents in every corner of the country, in all our communities, who are struggling and whose children are struggling. Thirty per cent of people said they did not have enough food to feed their children at some point over the last year. It is absolutely shocking. It also shows that more than one third of families went into arrears in their energy bills at some point over the last 12 months. Ireland is one of the richest countries in Europe and we are seeing record levels of homelessness and child poverty, all under the Taoiseach's watch. It is absolutely shameful. This is an emergency and it requires an emergency response. We need a targeted energy credit for low- and middle-income households to give them some relief. Will the Taoiseach commit to that?

Actually, I would disagree with the Deputy's solution. What we did in the budget was child support payments for the lowest income, not the middle but the lowest income, We dramatically increased it and have done for the last two budgets. That is how you tackle poverty. It did reduce in the budget by any yardstick and objective. Over the last number of years, we brought in free primary school books and post-primary school books for children, which is a huge help to families. We have expanded and extended the free hot school meals. There is a universal childcare subsidy. There is a €280 new baby grant. Hospital inpatient charges were abolished. We have expanded free GP care and free contraception and we have done much more than that. In the forthcoming budget, we are going to focus very much on the child poverty question, as we did in the last budget. It is recognised that increasing child support payments and domiciliary care allowance is a very targeted way of helping those most in need, and that is what we intend to do.

I commend the makers of the RTÉ Documentary on One, "Pirate Predator", for their chilling investigation into the prolific and powerful Dublin sexual predator and paedophile, Eamon Cooke, the owner of the pirate radio station, Radio Dublin. Cooke has been compared with Jimmy Savile, whom he knew and met on many occasions. The true number of children abused by Cooke is now thought to run potentially to hundreds. I pay tribute to the extraordinary bravery of the women who did come forward, two of whose testimony at last secured Cooke's conviction in 2007 after years of failed attempts to bring him to justice. We owe them gratitude but there is a glaring question outstanding about Cooke: how did he get away with this for so long? In recent days I have had the privilege of speaking directly with a number of the women whom Cooke abused. They have asked me to ask the Taoiseach that question. They are seeking answers as to how Cooke continued to perpetrate abuse for decades, and how he was able to use his position as owner of Radio Dublin and his influence to escape justice. It took more than 20 years after a complaint was first made to the Garda about his abuse before he was finally convicted. Survivors believe his malign influence extended into the Garda and the Church, as well as other powerful networks. I commend Gerry Kelly in particular and other gardaí who did investigate and enabled him to be brought to justice. Does the Taoiseach support survivors' calls for an inquiry to investigate the State's role in why justice took so long?

I have not seen the programme. I appreciate that the work that went into the making of that programme. Again, it is another story of horrific abuse as we discussed earlier in terms of the wide-scale prevalence of child sexual abuse in our society and by institutions as well. We have had a number of inquiries and a number of them are being contemplated again in respect of these issues. To a certain extent, the system is being fairly widely stretched in terms of the number of inquiries. I will ask the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to examine this in greater detail and I will revert to the Deputy.

Last week, we had a presentation on stroke awareness and recovery. The session was led by Martin Quinn, a constituent of mine from Bansha in County Tipperary. He is a stroke survivor himself, a national stroke advocate and a lifelong community and voluntary activist at local and national levels. He is a former national president of Muintir na Tire, chair of the Citizens Information Service Network of Companies and an organiser of the Tipperary Peace Convention. At that stroke presentation, he acknowledged the improvement in treatment and rehabilitation in recent years but went on to say that more needs to be done, particularly in the area of additional specialist stroke units, rehabilitation services and support services. He is also the co-ordinator of the South Tipperary Stroke Communication Group, which supports stroke survivors and families and organises national conferences. There is a pressing need for support groups like this throughout the country and for financial support for these groups and I am asking the Government to include in the 2027 budget funding for groups like the South Tipperary Stroke Communication Group and other such stroke groups.

I am so glad the Deputy referenced the improvement in stroke care rising from the stroke strategy. We need to continue to drive on with that. It is also important to note the number of step-down beds that are necessary to help stroke patients step out of acute hospitals. I was recently in Blarney with Deputy Colm Burke and others where there is a step-down facility for neurorehabilitation and stroke in particular out of Mercy Hospital. There needs to be more of those community supports for people with stroke to enable their longer-term rehabilitation. The Deputy is correct. The stroke strategy has had very good impacts and I am grateful to the clinicians for that.

I want to raise the deeply distressing case of the 19 women abused by a former school principal at Dunderrow National School in west Cork. These women suffered unimaginable abuse as children. One survivor described how you were not safe anywhere in that school - not in the classroom, not in the bathroom, not even the school grounds - yet decades later, many of these women remain excluded from redress despite the fact that Louise O'Keeffe successfully proved before the European Court of Human Rights that the Irish State failed in its duty to protect children from abuse. Today, these women are being forced to consider legal action simply to obtain recognition and justice. This cannot be right. They are now being told to wait for further reviews and an interdepartmental process when many of these women with whom I have spoken to have already spent decades seeking acknowledgement and justice. Does the Taoiseach accept that forcing survivors into lengthy legal proceedings risks further traumatising them? Will he commit to engaging directly with the women involved to seek resolution without the need for court action and if he engages, how soon these innocent women can be included in redress?

As I said earlier to a series of questions on this issue, we will be responding in a positive way to correspondence from representatives of the survivors of Dunderrow National School in regard to mediation. The abuse was horrific - of that there can be no question - and the trauma experienced was equally life-enduring but there were earlier ex gratia payment schemes so mediation will be entered into in respect of the correspondence we received.

The Government prioritised critical infrastructure in the last budget and we are seeing the benefits of that in Kildare with water infrastructure. However, the management of the projects by Uisce Éireann is extremely poor from traffic to water outages. There have been particular issues in Celbridge, Maynooth, Leixlip and north east Kildare. The difficulty I and communities face involves holding Uisce Éireann accountable around timelines and particularly around traffic and water outages. What can we do in relation to Uisce Éireann because its responses take weeks and if we are fortunate, days. There needs to be more accountability from Irish Water, particularly on these specific projects.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. There is a unit now within Uisce Éireann that is meant to be responding to public representatives in respect of issues. I do not have the specifics but I clearly can detect from the nature of the Deputy's contribution that he is irate at what has transpired in respect of a project in his area. I will talk to the Minister about it.

Will the Taoiseach outline when funding will be provided for the construction of the new paediatric unit at Cork University Hospital, CUH, given that planning permission was granted in 2022 and also taking into account that eight senior medical consultants have signed a letter expressing concern in respect of the current situation in the paediatric unit and stating there is a risk to patients? Can clarification be given as regards the emergency work that is required to be put in place immediately to deal with their concerns?

My understanding is that under the current programme, the development is on track to go to tender for the main building works this year and to appoint a main contractor in quarter 1 of 2027, subject to the necessary approvals. As the Deputy knows, there was a phase 1 back in 2017. Phase 2 is the paediatric inpatient accommodation, which will deliver 82 much-needed inpatient beds, both new and replacement. It has taken time but, in parallel with all this, a substantial package of enabling works has been under way since 2024 to support both the paediatric unit and the wider redevelopment of the CUH campus. The paediatric unit forms part of the first phase of major CUH campus developments, which are significant in scale, cost and complexity. We will keep a weather eye on the project.

Today's announcement regarding the empty GPO and the row-back from the wholesale commercialisation of the site is welcome. Maybe now the Taoiseach can row back on his endorsement of the Hammerson plan to destroy the nearby battlefield site on Moore Street, not just because that plan would lay waste to one of Dublin's most important historical heritage sites but also because of Hammerson's continued partnership with Allianz, which has been cited in a UN report as an enabler of Israel's genocide in Palestine with its €1 billion purchase of Israeli war bonds and more. Will the Taoiseach end his association with and support for Hammerson and Allianz and their plans for Moore Street?

First, there was no reversal in respect of the GPO. You guys in Sinn Féin created a false controversy and made false assertions that we were turning the GPO into a retail outlet.

They were your words.

Then your party ran a great campaign. It is the normal kind of behaviour you go on with.

Your words.

Allow the Taoiseach to answer, Deputy.

It is terribly cynical politics of the worst kind but it is a great old technique to create an issue and send a hare up the field when actually there is no issue in the first place. Of course the GPO will be an iconic building by the time we are finished with it but, as the Deputy knows, there is a huge complex behind it. We are looking at the major iconic cultural aspect. There will be a post office there and there will be other elements there as well to create footfall. We hope to have either a State agency or a public service there also. It will take a lot of work. Likewise, there is some very good work being done on Moore Street by the State but that has been attacked as well by your good selves.

There is no work happening on Moore Street.

It seems to me you want to keep the campaign going on forever.

You are telling lies again.

Deputy McDonald told the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, she was against it.

When is it opening?

Deputy Ó Snodaigh, please. I have called Deputy Cummins.

The Taoiseach should not mislead the Dáil.

In my constituency, there are a number of children at risk of deportation. They are too young to have known anywhere else and they are going to be ripped from the communities in which they have friends, classmates and all the people who care for and love them. This time last year, a number of children from my constituency were deported before the end of the school year, which was very traumatic for everybody. This year, I do not know whether the deportations will happen during the school year. I asked last year that they not happen during the school year. What work has been done since last year by Tusla and the Department of justice to make sure children who are being deported are treated with the utmost respect and dignity and that both their human rights and their rights as children are protected?

Everything will be done to uphold the rights of children and human rights. There also has to be a fair and firm migration system. The key to it is to have timely processing of applications so that children or families are not here an inordinate length of time, during which they put down roots and so on, before then, as a result of the application process, being found not to have proper status. Huge progress has been made in accelerating the timelines for the first phase of applications. Work is also under way on the next phase in terms of the appeals process. I think ensuring children are not deported during school time is a reasonable position.

The recent severe storms have dramatically accelerated erosion around our coastline. The coastal erosion at Rosslare Strand has reached a critical level that is endangering the entire community in the area, no more so than at the well-known and well-established tourist destination of Kelly's Resort Hotel, which is a family business that was built up over decades. This is a thriving community that services the entire country. It is a natural beauty spot with easy access to beautiful white beaches. The Coast Protection Act 1963 includes a specific reference to a requirement that Rosslare Strand be maintained "in proper repair and effective condition". Under the Act, once coastal erosion is identified, as is the case right now, the State has a duty to act to protect the coastline. Will the Taoiseach ask the relevant Departments to consider prioritising the delivery of the coastal protection scheme for Rosslare Strand? Cosmetic repairs will not save this coastal community and its most valuable national tourist attraction.

The Deputy has raised the specific case of Rosslare. More generally, we will have to put more resources to one side for the costs of adaptation to climate change. That change is here now. I understand the temperature in London, for example, will be 40 °C by the end of the week. That is an extraordinarily high temperature across the water. There has been too much complacency about climate change being something in the distant future. The impacts of climate change are here and now. We need stronger budget lines for the costs of those impacts.

Tá go leor cainte faoi chúrsaí infreastruchtúir faoi láthair. D’ardaigh mé cheana leis an Taoiseach na fadhbanna sa bhuninfreastruchtúr i gConamara. Ciallaíonn sé sin an cineál infreastruchtúr simplí atá ag teastáil ionas go mbeadh daoine in ann a bheith ina gcónaí in áit agus go mbeadh siad in ann obair ann freisin. Ceann de na rudaí bunúsacha sin ná cúrsaí leathanbhanda. Tá áiteanna ar fud fad Conamara nach bhfuil leathanbhanda iontu, ach tá ceantair freisin atá sách gar don chathair áit nach bhfuil leathanbhanda ach in áiteanna áirithe sna bailte sin. Cén uair a cheapann an Taoiseach go mbeidh an buninfreastruchtúr sin ann do mhuintir Chonamara, go háirithe nuair atáimid ag caint ar chúrsaí leathanbhanda dóibh siúd a bhfuil gnólachtaí acu, mar shampla?

Aontaím leis an Teachta gur cheart go mbeadh muid in ann an buninfreastruchtúr sin a chur i bhfeidhm. Tá deacracht ann go háirithe in áiteanna iargúlta. Bhí sé soiléir le linn Stoirm Éowyn, mar shampla, nach raibh an córas chomh láidir is a cheap gach éinne go raibh sé. Cailleadh an córas go han-tapa ar fad. Beidh mé ag caint leis an Aire, an Teachta Calleary, le féachaint an féidir linn níos mó a dhéanamh ó thaobh áiteanna iargúlta agus b’fhéidir níos mó tacaíochta a thabhairt don pobal nó do na comhlachtaí chun plean a chur i bhfeidhm ionas go mbeidh broadband ann don phobal.

The 132 bus service is the only bus to Dublin for most of west Wicklow. A year ago, I was told by the National Transport Authority, NTA, that the frequency of the service would be doubling. Nothing has happened since then. How do different Departments and Government bodies talk to one other? The NTA made that announcement without even having a timetable from Bus Éireann. How will communication be improved between Departments and different bodies? Second, the much-needed 199 bus service promised for last September from Glendalough to Bray was all ready to go before being canned at the last minute. How can we ensure Departments and State bodies talk and work better together? There seems to be a complete breakdown in communication. They are telling us different stories.

There will be songs written about the 132 bus yet. It has been raised here on numerous occasions and I will talk to the Minister in respect of it. There could be a few PhD theses written about Government agencies and Government Departments talking to each other. There is a human tendency to try to live in silos. We work extremely hard to break all of that down. The integrated approach of people working together is key. I will follow up with the Minister for Transport in respect of bus transport. There has been a significant expansion of bus services over the last number of years. There was some degree of consolidation this year, to be frank, and in terms of other expenditure items.

Earlier this year I received confirmation that an additional 12 therapists would be appointed to the midlands integrated healthcare area. This would benefit my own constituency with occupational therapy, physiotherapy and children's disability services. I fully understand the challenges around recruitment right now but this week another barrier was brought to my attention via a response to a parliamentary question. This is the whole area of Garda vetting, with the HSE referring to significant delays in the process in relation to recruitment. I have no issue with strict Garda vetting. It is necessary but when it becomes an additional barrier to recruitment we have to address it. There are too many families waiting on these services, on the likes of physiotherapy and disability services. Any delays that we can rule out, we should be addressing them. I ask the Government to engage with the Garda National Vetting Bureau and the HSE to ensure that we reduce these barriers as soon as possible.

That is a reasonable point. I will talk to the Minister for justice on this to see if there are ways we can streamline vetting, particularly when someone has already been through a vetting procedure and process. If they apply for another job in parallel or some time afterwards, in a different area, apparently they have to go through the process again. Recruitment has been a considerable issue for us in the health service, particularly in the area of therapy. Anything we can do to speed that up is something we should do.

The July provision summer programme exists for the most vulnerable children in this country. This year the government has made a complete shambles of it. First, the Government opened and closed the application window before many schools and families even knew it was open. Second, the Government significantly cut some of the teachers and SNAs allocated to schools. Third, effectively the late allocations arriving at the eleventh hour means that many schools do not know whether or not they can open on Monday morning. For example, Claremorris National School last year ran the programme with 15 staff members. This year, this allocation has been cut to just five. The fact that this allocation only arrived last week, days before the summer programme is due to commence, has left this programme under significant jeopardy. This is not just an isolated issue. It is happening right across the country. Children with disabilities are the most vulnerable. This July provision, in terms of the reduced allocation to schools, and the fact that the late allocations have arrived, means that many principals do not know whether or not they can open the door on Monday morning. Will the Taoiseach instruct the Department to review? Will he give schools the authority and the confidence to open on Monday morning with an appropriate staffing ratio?

I am mindful of language but in ten years we have gone from about 8,700 students availing of the summer scheme to 70,000 students availing of it. How does the Deputy call that a shambles? That is nonsense.

The application window opened and closed.

That is across 2,000 schools and funding has increased by €42 million. The scheme has grown out of all proportion. In fact, it was a scheme that originally was meant to target children with additional needs or children in certain circumstances of disadvantage. Any review would need to keep a focus. It has grown exponentially. There has been a lot of interaction between the Department and the schools. We have a lot of SNAs appointed. About 11,500 SNAs participated last year, with a similar number expected this year. That is now a very significant resource, so let us have some balance and perspective.

What about the late applications?

I want to raise the issue of Leprino Foods Company in Portlaoise. This was a joint venture between Glanbia and the Leprino family which is known worldwide for its mozzarella cheese. The company came to Portlaoise in a joint venture to manufacture stringy mozzarella cheese. The Leprino family bought Glanbia out of the project, so we now have a situation where Leprino Foods is exiting this country and moving to the North of Ireland and Wales. This factory is three minutes from junction 17. It is in our enterprise park, which I am delighted to say is completely full now. This factory cost €130 million to build. Roughly €7 million of taxpayers' money went into it and it is now for sale, as I speak here today, for €12 million. I ask the Taoiseach to use his good offices at this critical time and sit down with relevant Ministers to ensure that we get somebody in there because it is such a new factory. It is there available with all new equipment and is open, from my point of view, to many industries in the food sector. We have to compliment the likes of Tirlán and Kerry Group that have invested huge money in this. I am asking the Taoiseach to please take a personal interest in it for the people of Portlaoise and County Laois.

I am conscious of the fact that Laois needs investment in the industrial context. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, to engage with Enterprise Ireland and the IDA to see what their views on this are. It may sell private sector to private sector and another enterprise could come in there. From what the Deputy is saying it seems to be a modern factory, so it is a facility that potentially another company could utilise. I would have concerns that Leprino Foods is moving to Northern Ireland or to Wales. We need to understand the reasons behind that because that would be a concern. Maybe those areas are offering more supports but we need to have a full understanding as to why the move happened. I will talk the Minister to see if something can be done with the agencies in respect of that facility.