Mary Lou McDonald

The Government knows this. Yet, that treatment and service are not available.

Why is the Government instead offering treatments that the experts have told it will fall short and will fail? I appeal to the Taoiseach to listen to the voice of this young woman and those of the other women whose lives have been devastated by the failure to provide them with the care they need here in Ireland.

So many of them are now travelling. That is the most damning evidence of the Government's failure.

I do not know who the Taoiseach is listening to.

Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh na mná ón Ríocht. There is a group of women in the Gallery from an Ríocht, the Kingdom of Kerry. Fáilte. In May 1997, Sean Brown, a father of six, was abducted and murdered by the Loyalist Volunteer Force gang while locking up the gates of Bellaghy Wolfe Tones GAA club in County Derry. Sean's courageous wife, Bridie, and his family have fought for almost 30 year…

As has been said, nobody wins in a trade war but we know who loses the most. Workers and families carry the can in the form of increased prices, threats to jobs and livelihoods and hits to their incomes. Trade wars are not good for the prosperity of ordinary people. That is the reality but this is the prospect we now face. It is unprecedented to use blanket tariffs to force broader trade and forei…

"Children were not protected from the risk of harm." That is the line that really sums up the HIQA report into governance failures at Children's Health Ireland, CHI, published this morning. The investigation was commissioned following revelations that non-approved springs were implanted in three children during surgery at Temple Street Hospital. My first thought today is with those children and th…

Dúirt an Taoiseach go bhfuil an méid atá sa tuarascáil dochreidte, ach níl sé seo fíor mar bhí a fhios ag an Rialtas agus bhí a fhios ag na tuismitheoirí an méid a bhí ar siúl i CHI. The Taoiseach said this is incredible. It is certainly shocking and deeply unacceptable but it is not incredible. This was known. Parents knew it. Advocacy groups knew it and raised, again and again, wide-ranging syst…

The Taoiseach has not read the report.

That is not in dispute.

Not agreed.

Under Standing Order 35(3) I wish to move an amendment such that, for Thursday's business, a proposal No. 4 be included, on the establishment of committees. We have waited far too long for this. The idea that we wait until the middle of May before we have committees up and running is unacceptable at this point, and I believe it can and should be remedied. We have a lot of very important issues ari…

-----some of which have been raised today.

And we need functioning committees very quickly.

It makes no sense.

I moved an amendment. The Ceann Comhairle needs to take a vote on my amendment.

The number of schools in financial distress has soared. In the 2022-23 school year, five schools were referred to the financial support services unit, but the number has jumped significantly to 34 schools this year. Nearly half those are DEIS schools and special schools. The sharp increase in operating costs sees many schools struggling to keep the doors open. Since early last year, Rutland Natio…

What action does the Taoiseach propose to take on this matter?

Later this evening, the US President is expected to announce widespread tariffs on imports into the United States. While the severity and scope of these tariffs are yet unknown, it is clear that what is about to happen will present a significant economic challenge to Ireland. The hard reality is that our economy is particularly exposed. The United States is Ireland's largest export market, and the…

The seriousness of the situation is not in question nor is the need for collective action. I ask for a response to my suggestion that the Taoiseach convene a meeting of all party leaders across this House. That needs to happen as a matter of urgency. It is helpful to recall that Ireland is and will remain a very attractive location for investment. The Taoiseach has acknowledged that the era of tax…

I was referring to Apple.

Today, parents of children with special needs from across the country will again begin an overnight sleep-out at the gates of Leinster House. These parents cannot find suitable school places for their children. It is a deep and long-standing crisis. Notwithstanding the Taoiseach's answer to Members earlier, the fact is that hundreds of children are locked out of the education to which they are ent…

Hundreds of parents are today living the nightmare of the prospect that their children were operated on unnecessarily. On foot of whistleblower allegations, an audit was carried out into paediatric hip dysplasia surgeries at three Children's Health Ireland hospitals. The audit, which has been published in full on The Ditch website, found that hundreds of children who were operated on between 2021 …

It is important to acknowledge the trauma to any child undergoing a surgery but the very idea a child would be put through that unnecessarily is doubly traumatic. Parents are now faced with the scenario of not knowing. The audit may only be in draft form but the letters have been issued. They are arriving to families. This stress and distress is very real in the here and now and the Taoiseach's ar…

When did the Minister know?