Paul Lawless

I welcome the very positive news that Ireland will become an associate member of CERN. Ireland has a rich history in research and scientific innovation. Indeed, the Nobel science laureate, Ernest Walton, who was the first person to split the atom, should be recognised here today. Membership will open doors for Irish researchers to take part in CERN scientific programmes and make Irish citizens eli…

25. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Taoiseach if he will provide details of the new projects that will be delivered under the shared island scheme in the next five years. [25742/25]

I move amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 1: To Insert the following after "rolling planned maintenance will support this": "commits to: — reducing the turnaround time for vacated local authority homes to new tenants from the current average of eight months, to a two month average turnaround time; and — ensuring that local authorities be permitted to apply to the Vacant Property Refurbishment Gr…

100. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he is satisfied with the current resilience of the ESB network in light of the damage caused by Storm Éowyn; the measures that have been taken in the five months since that storm to identify and develop dedicated corridors or pathways to protect electricity infrastructure; if he will provide an update on the mea…

I ask the Minister about Storm Éowyn and the preparations that I hope are under way to make the grid more resilient. I am sure the Minister is well aware of the difficulties, as is the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, in my constituency, which experienced huge fallout from the storm. Many houses have only recovered connectivity and landline communications in recent weeks. What steps are being tak…

This Government, in fairness, is great at documents and plans but very poor on delivery. The Minister spent most of his time acknowledging the work of the ESB, which has done tremendous work, but I want to know how many meters have been cleared. For example, there are thousands of kilometres of ESB lines where trees are growing up through those lines. There are guidelines that state the lines shou…

Clearance.

It is depending on the tree.

With respect, it is six months after the storm and we are still at survey stage.

In many cases what we need is action. I recently had contact from a family who experienced a power outage. They live at the end of a forest. They are living in fear of the next storm. They know that should a storm hit, they will certainly experience a power outage. This is the type of work we need to get down to business on. I appreciate the survey is being undertaken but we are now in the summer …

We have a teacher shortage that is worsening year on year. Principals are finding it increasingly difficult to fill teaching posts. We also have a lack of places for children with disabilities. Meanwhile, there are thousands of Irish teachers teaching in the UAE, Australia and other parts of the world. Many left during the crash in search of employment. Many of them want to come home, but there is…

195. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reason he will not implement the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018, in light of his comments that Israel is committing war crimes over the blockading of aid in Gaza. [24169/25]

The entire scandal with regard to CHI has been shambolic from the outset. We have more than 200 children waiting for spinal surgery. There are children waiting for scoliosis surgery who are in pain. Meanwhile, very young children had surgery needlessly. This is the legacy. We have children the State has failed to treat and failed in terms of their treatment. What happened is absolutely shocking. W…

6. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of applicants from Mayo who had their SUSI application refused in the 2024 academic year. [25803/25]

11. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of SUSI applicants from Mayo who had their SUSI revoked in the middle of the academic year. [25802/25]

33. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of applicants from Mayo who had their SUSI application approved in the 2024 academic year. [25804/25]

I thank the Minister and Minister of State for attending to discuss these important matters. The questions concern SUSI applications for County Mayo, in particular the number and the percentage of the refusal rate, the revoked applications and the successful applications, and how this compares with the national situation.

I would like to raise some concerns, in particular regarding the revoked applications. In some instances, the money is never actually seen by the applicant and is directly linked to the university. I am aware of one case where the university failed to notify SUSI that the student had left the course and, as a result, the student was penalised the following year – essentially, the student was aband…

I welcome the Minister's assistance on those cases. As the Minister quite rightly pointed out, people who make second-chance applications and move courses should be supported in a bigger way than is currently the case. The extension of the timeline should be looked at and the acceleration of more online courses, which will reduce the cost to the person, would be of assistance as well. I also want…

75. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the total amount paid out in CLÁR funding in each of the past five years, by county; the county that received the lowest amount, and which received the highest; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25736/25]

I thank the Minister very much for engaging on this important topic. I ask him to provide a breakdown over the past five years on CLÁR funding per county. How does our county, Mayo, compare?

I look forward to reviewing the breakdown. The Tánaiste stated this morning that the Government has failed and is failing children with disabilities. I propose that funding for playgrounds would require them to have an inclusive element. The State is failing children with disabilities. There is a significant lack of services for children - a lack of space in schools, a lack of CDNTs and significan…

I too commend Mayo County Council on the great work it is doing. I also commend Manulla FC for its leading work on supporting children and families with disabilities. I also wish to raise Ballyhaunis. The purpose of CLÁR is to support rural towns. In recent years, Ballyhaunis has lost three of its banks and the credit union is now reducing its hours. The lack of financial institutions in the town…

I want to raise a very important issue on HHC, a semisynthetic cannabinoid. It is being sold legally in the State. It is being purchased and consumed by teenagers. Recently in my constituency of Mayo I heard of a harrowing case of a young teenager who consumed the drug not realising how dangerous it was because it was so freely and readily available. It ruined his life. He had to withdraw from sch…

We also need to ensure that companies can no longer target children with vape shops and lovely beautiful colours-----