I will discuss that with the Minister for Health in order to see what we can do. Developmental checks are very important in terms of early diagnosis. We can prevent a lot if developmental checks are done earlier.
TDs / Micheál Martin
Micheál Martin
Taoiseach
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I will go as fast as I can.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 to 31, inclusive, together.
On 5 December, I attended the 44th British-Irish Council summit hosted by the Welsh Government in Hensol in Wales. The theme of the summit was a creative future and unlocking the potential of the creative industries across these island, with a particular focus on the screen sector. I was joined at the plenary by a number of Ministers. The Minister, Depu…
On Deputy Coppinger's contribution, the one person who was convicted was Jeffrey Epstein, and rightly so in terms of the horrific crimes he was found guilty of. With others, such as Ghislaine Maxwell, it seems he ran a very depraved criminal network trafficking young women. The law must take its course on that.
Yes, and children.
It was young women as well, and children. The Deputy does not have a monopoly of horror on what happened. I will simply say that the law must take its course. There should be thorough and comprehensive investigations before we arrive at conclusions in terms of anyone else named in that. That is what is happening in the United Kingdom, although it is on a different issue in terms of material that emerged in respect of…
There is an application in for support. That is designed to capture exactly what the Deputy articulated regarding the story of Omeath, the Irish language and the migratory pathway to west Belfast. That would be very interesting. I presume the county council or somebody has submitted this and it can be covered. We will keep an eye out for that. That is exactly what was envisaged by the Shared Home Place initiative out…
I am talking to Deputy O'Hara. Deputy Mac Lochlainn did not ask the question.
The shared island initiative is the most substantive initiative in 50 or 60 years in terms of investment in Northern Ireland by a Government in the Republic. Those are facts. I get on with the pragmatic connecting of people in every aspect of life. It is not just about building roads, which we are doing, building bridges, which we are doing with the Narrow Water Bridge, or the Ulster Canal. It is about the investment…
-----in the Good Friday Agreement as how we proceed. Fianna Fáil has always believed in substance on the North. We had a critical role to play-----
-----in the Good Friday Agreement. Now, we are in a modern era. We are living out the Wolfe Tone ideal of connecting people and reconciliation. That is a very important thing to do.
Over the past five years, we have invested very significantly in the creative industries and in the arts. This Government will continue to do that. I believe passionately in the arts. The arts have a central and civilising role within society. They create opportunities for analysis, reflection, critical inquiry and diversity. It is wonderful to witness the flowering of talent and ability from generation to generation…
Ar dtús báire, ba mhaith liom a rá gur uafásach an scéal ar fad é an méid a tharla i gCiarraí thuaidh maidir le cúrsaí leigheas intinne. Is drochscéal é. Is féidir liom a rá go bhfuil sé uafásach. At the outset, the report is not published yet. The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, will bring a memorandum to the Government this afternoon and will publish the report in its entirety in the aftermath of the Cabinet mee…
Fundamentally, there has to be accountability from a clinical perspective. That has to happen. We do have a Medical Council and we do have a framework. I do not want to prejudge anything here but clearly there are issues in relation to that dimension of it.
We have to be very careful at the same time. The Deputy mentioned a case there. That is, fundamentally, a clinical decision-making situation. I think it is wrong…
It is not tenable and I do not think we can as a Dáil but that is what the Deputy was suggesting in that last exchange.
You just did and I think it is wrong-----
I am sorry but you referenced the case. I am happy to discuss that case with you offline-----
I am happy to answer questions.
First of all, we need to have some degree of objective assessment of what actually has happened in terms of investment in education. Investment in education has increased dramatically over the past number of years - of that, there is no question. Just go through the number of extra teachers in our education system over the past number of years, which is quite significant. We have had a sustained reduction in pupil-te…
Yes, I was just making the point. I presumed the Deputy did not and that is what I was saying. If the Deputy accepts that there are reviews, then reviews can work both ways because of changing need. A lot of schools get increases when those reviews are done. I think the mistake made here is that there has not been a comprehensive review for quite a number of years. The NCSE endeavouring to correct that in one year is…
You said we were cutting back.
Obviously, any school where a need has been identified for additional SNAs will get that additionality.
In terms of the SNA-----
In terms of the SNA redeployment scheme, the Deputy must know that the Department has been working with the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, and education stakeholders, including Fórsa, to develop an SNA redeployment scheme to retain experienced SNAs in our schools. A circular on this new redeployment scheme is being finalised and will be issued in the coming weeks.
There are no cuts, obviously - no sch…
I am glad, although I might have misinterpreted her, that the Deputy agrees with us on the macro picture. In other words, she agrees that there has been very significant expansion of SNAs.