Claire Kerrane

I agree with my colleague that the Minister for Health should be here tonight to stand over a decision she has made. She should be here to answer our questions. The Minister for Health should be here to tell us why pregnant women in our region are going to be forced to travel to access maternity care and have their babies. She should be here tonight to tell us why she and the HSE have made a decis…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. Of course, the bottom line here is that if you seek an external independent report, get the recommendations, fail to implement those recommendations, and then see the same issues arise again, it is not exactly rocket science to know how that has happened. We, as elected representatives, have been misled. On a really important report in relation to the b…

Child poverty is rising. It is incredible to think that, in 2025, in one of the richest countries in the world, we have a situation whereby this generation is so much more worse off than the previous. I think of my own parents who were born in the 1960s. When they grew up, they had very little but they were never hungry. That was 60 years ago. There are serious questions, and the Government needs …

1. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on her engagement with Tusla following the report of a missing child in Donabate, Dublin, to date in 2025; the steps Tusla is now taking, and the timeline for same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49873/25]

Things have moved on since I submitted this question and we now know that child was Daniel Aruebose. I take this opportunity to offer my sympathies to everybody who loved him, especially the foster carers who looked after him.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. I appreciate, and we all respect, that the Garda investigation is under way and the force has to be allowed do its work. It is important to acknowledge those gardaí as well. It was a very difficult search, especially finding the remains. I have a couple of questions. I welcome that the closed cases will be examined, starting with those closed during Covid. For any s…

I take it from that reply that perhaps this will be done in future by Tusla, and of course there is a role for other organisations. On one other point, there appears to be a gap for preschool-age children. When a child is born, there may be a number of visits by the public health nurse to the home. After that, depending on whether the child goes into formal childcare, there really is no check tha…

3. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on key commitments made in the programme for Government on early years and, specifically, the commitment to undertake a broad consultation and publish a detailed action plan to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care system with State-led facilities adding capaci…

I ask the Minister about a number of key commitments in relation to childcare in early years in the programme for Government, specifically the broad consultation, the detailed action plan to ensure accessible, affordable, high-quality childcare and also the review of core funding. I ask her to provide us with any timeframe in relation to any of those three key commitments. Within the broad action …

I want to come back to the State-led facilities, which is a significant move. The Minister talked about looking at areas of unmet need. I understand some scoping was carried out within the Minister’s Department in terms of where that unmet need is. To provide one example, which I have given here before, an analysis was carried out with the family resource centre in Boyle, County Roscommon. That a…

I appreciate the decision has not been made yet, but does the Minister envisage using the building blocks scheme to build capacity and allow a new group that has come together, particularly groups of parents, to purchase an existing building? It is a win-win then. New premises are not necessarily needed in Boyle. There is an ideal premises in the town that is well located and perfect for its use, …

9. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware of issues childminders are experiencing with the new regulations; if she is concerned that childminders are leaving the role; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49910/25]

I want to ask the Minister about the regulations that came into effect for childminders across the State in September 2024. They have now been in place for a year and there are issues being raised, primarily by Childminding Ireland. Given the severe capacity issues we have within our early years sector and the very high turnover of early years educators, particularly out of private childcare setti…

I welcome and acknowledge the fact childminders can now provide supports of the national childcare scheme and that will perhaps encourage or allow parents the choice rather than choosing a formal childcare setting. This is particularly so in rural areas where childminders would be used a lot, especially where they can provide flexibility that perhaps the formal childcare setting cannot. I have met…

There will be a review between now and September 2027, which is the transition period. That is really welcome. I encourage the Minister, if she has an opportunity between now and September 2027, which I would like to think the Minister will, that she might meet with representatives from Childminding Ireland. I was very impressed with them. The organisation obviously represents a huge number of ch…

I am really glad to have the opportunity to speak on these statements this evening and that the Minister is in the House to listen. My home town is Ballaghaderreen, west Roscommon. This is an issue I have raised repeatedly since my being elected in 2020 because our town was one of very few in the entire State to take in Syrian refugees back in 2017. It welcomed and gave céad míle fáilte to the ref…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this strategy and I hope we will see quick and thorough implementation. I was struck by the word "choice" on page 12. It is one of the values that underpins this strategy, but the Government must create the spaces where people have a choice. It is up to the Minister and the Government to ensure there are choices. For example, today people with disabilities do …

Why is it a secret as to how many children with additional needs are without an appropriate class place? Whether it is one, ten or 100, it is one child too many, as we are talking about a child who is unable to go to school in Ireland in 2025. There are two calls in particular in this motion tonight that I want to highlight. They are reasonable and sensible. They are to establish the school build…

5. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to provide an update on a permanent solution for flooding in Lough Funshinagh in County Roscommon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38435/25]

This question relates to the permanent solution to the flooding that has affected Lough Funshinagh in County Roscommon for years. As the Minister of State is aware - he was there to make sure it happened - there is a temporary solution in place.

I acknowledge the Minister of State's role and that of his predecessor in getting us to the point where the pumps started in March and the very positive impact that has had. As the Minister of State will know, residents living in and around Lough Funshinagh suffered incredibly as a result of the flooding in 2015, 2016 and more recently. They have been surrounded by water for years now. Some famili…

I, too, acknowledge the work. It is good to hear that we are on target for planning towards the end of the year. This will be absolutely essential. I am conscious of that as we come into the autumn and winter months. We all know about the winters the families and community around Lough Funshinagh have faced, particularly last winter. It was devastating. There will be a lot of work to be done after…

I am glad to have the opportunity to contribute to these statements on Pride. I am proud to be an ally of the LGBTQI+ community. I am glad that in voting for marriage equality ten years ago, we did not just stop at that point and say "Job done". It is important that we continue the conversation and face head on the challenges that remain for those in the LGBTQI+ community. The inequalities that co…

I want to be associated with the case made on amendment No. 1 and I wish to speak in support of amendment No. 2, which is grouped with amendment No. 1. Amendment No. 2 proposes a report that includes the examination of estimated savings by excluding those who lost a partner before that date in January 2024. For a number of years in the House I have raised the need to extend the widows pension to u…

I just want to clarify what I said. If my constituent's partner had died in December 2024, she would have got that payment from then on. Because he died in December 2021, she will of course be able to apply for the payment and I welcome that but she will not get it because it was in 2021 and, therefore, it is not backdated. My point is that the date should not matter, but it is going to matter. I …