Eoghan Kenny

That is not true.

I thank Sinn Féin, including Deputy Martin Kenny, for this motion. The Labour Party will be supporting it. On behalf of the Labour Party, I welcome those from the IFA and other farming organisations in the Visitors Gallery. I am absolutely baffled by the senior Minister’s disappearance, considering that this is one of the biggest debates this Dáil has had since my election to this Chamber and aff…

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

Sit down, will you.

The Tánaiste appreciates the role community groups and community sports complexes play in communities across this country. I want to speak about the Mayfield Sports Complex and the urgent need for funding for it. When originally opened, the complex was designed to serve the local community and the school in Mayfield, as well as the wider public on the northside of Cork city. It was a joint project…

I am pleased to speak on Science Week 2025, marking its 30th anniversary. This year's theme, "Then. Today. Tomorrow.", asks us to take an honest look at how far we have come, where we now stand and what choices we must make to secure a fair and sustainable future for our young people and for research in Ireland. Science Week began three decades ago as a relatively modest outreach effort. Today, i…

I echo my Labour Party colleague, Councillor Peter Horgan, who has called for a renewed national focus on supporting remote and hybrid work opportunities. The recent utterances of Irish billionaires so far removed from the realities of real work are completely out of touch with the reality of modern working practice in Ireland. We can see the benefits, whether a reduction in commuter chaos in our …

This Private Members' motion is very personal for many people across the country. In each and every community, urban and rural, a significant number of people are now using drugs in their daily lives, in their nightlife activities or as their coping mechanism. This motion at the end of the day is about people. It is often a conversation that is taboo. People do not speak about it. I am very proud …

I thank Sinn Féin for putting this Bill forward. The Labour Party is very happy to support it. For many years, the Labour Party has championed the serious effect that back-to-school costs are placing on families across the country and the serious need to implement concrete support measures. Every family is affected by this, not just the chosen few. However, we stand and debate another topic that h…

2. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on the roll out and funding of DEIS plus, as of November 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59395/25]

I appreciate that. With that design advisory group, are we on track to hopefully roll out DEIS plus for the academic year 2026-2027? Is that the priority for Government? In relation to the €16 million grant funding, that will not be the full amount to roll out DEIS plus in totality but is it the job of the design advisory group to come up with the specific schools or areas we were going to target …

DEIS plus is a welcome initiative and has been championed by my party and the former Deputy Ó Ríordáin, now an MEP. There has to be cross-party support for the roll-out of DEIS plus. It is about the implementation being as quick as possible because schools need it. Deputy O'Rourke and I met with a number of principals recently in the audiovisual room in relation to their schools and one point the…

14. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Youth the amount of money that has been granted per school for ICT equipment for the school year 2025-26; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59397/25]

This question is about the amount of money that has been granted per school for ICT equipment for the school year 2025-26.

The predictability of when funding will be made available to schools is absolutely welcome, and I know this from my own experience in some schools. To clarify again, am I correct in saying the minor works and the ICT funding will be given in December or January?

That is extremely good. In regard to the €35 million given to schools in May, was that funding down on last year's provision or is it the case the €35 million that was given in May and the funding that will be given in January will be placed together as the whole funding for one academic year? Alternatively, has the ICT grant funding reduced since last year? If the Minister could clarify this I wo…

That clarifies the position of the predictability of when that funding will come through and the fact some of the €200 million fund previously in the strategy still remains and will be followed through on. Does the Department outline guidelines to each school when it gives the ICT funding on what possible initiatives the school could use the funding for or is it totally up to the boards of manage…

Men's health deserves serious attention in this House. Across Ireland, men are struggling with mental health, access to care and a culture that too often tells them to stay silent. I must commend the good work of Pieta House, the Samaritans, Men's Aid and the Irish Men's Shed Association and the fantastic work it does for men struggling with mental health, loneliness and exclusion. Words are easy,…

Supporting healthcare is not activism. It is governance. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler's commitment, first and foremost as a mother and as a Minister, to ensuring trans young people receive appropriate evidence-based care is exactly what we should expect from a Minister for mental health. While I agree with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, I must also highlight the shortcomings in hea…

As a first time TD, I meet many people across many different sectors. Meeting those people, particularly volunteers in various groups and organisations, and learning from them is possibly one of the best parts of this job. In August this year, fisheries, the importance of fish, wildlife and our rivers landed on my desk. To be totally honest with everyone in this House, I knew very little about fis…

2. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science when he expects specific capital funding to be allocated and announced to establish a new constituent campus in Wexford town for the Southeast Technological University; when the masterplan for the site will be published; when he expects SETU to have access to the new site and construction w…

I thank Sinn Féin for tabling this motion and the Minister, Deputy Calleary, for his presence in the Chamber. This is an important debate because it affects every TD. People call into our constituency offices about family members or themselves in relation to their disabilities. Often, you come across people in difficult circumstances who may be on disability allowance. My colleague, Deputy Wall, g…

Yesterday was my first budget in this House. Having spoken to a number of families last night and individuals who contacted me, they have looked at that budget yesterday and found absolutely nothing of substance that would help them. These are working families and working men and women. If the Minister takes the ordinary middle-income working family with two or three kids, there is no change in th…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, for being here and I also acknowledge the communication from the Minister, Deputy McEntee, on my Topical Issue. I wish to raise the roll-out of DEIS plus, which is a significant development in education across this country. It is something of keen focus for the Labour Party. I know the Government has announced, following the general election this y…