Carol Nolan

I have written to the new Chair of the Oireachtas transport committee to demand the appearance of senior management from the Road Safety Authority before the committee members. The RSA is clearly an organisation not fit for purpose, with an increasingly bad track record that is generating chaos for learner drivers and industry sectors such as hauliers. Last year there was a call, and indeed an exp…

Tá áthas orm labhairt mar chuid de na ráitis ar an ardoideachas sa Teach inniu. Guím gach rath ar an Aire, an Teachta Lawless, agus ar an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Harkin, ina róil nua. I truly believe that education is the most powerful and liberating tool at our disposal when it comes to lifting people from economic poverty, but also the poverty of the imagination that afflicts so much of our world…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important matter. Obviously, it is upsetting for so many parents across the State and for even TDs here who have had personal experience in some form or other. We should always at least try and avoid the temptation to make any single institution the scapegoat for what are clearly systemic problems around governance and the care of children in the health …

Married couples in my constituency on decent but modest incomes are contacting my offices in frustration following confirmation from SUSI that their children are either not eligible for grants or fees or, if they are, are just entitled to the bare minimum. I am dealing with one case where one parent is a council employee and the other a civil servant. They have always instilled a profound work eth…

The tariff trauma has begun. Even if our industries, particularly our pharmaceutical and agri-export sectors, can escape the worst of the challenges that arise, there is no doubt that we are in for a sustained period of economic uncertainty that is going to send chills through tens of thousands of households in this State. However, I want to state clearly that we have, in effect, squandered the l…

I wish the Minister of State well in her new role and look forward to working with her on a number of issues. The Bill before us is in response to the Pensions Commission’s recommendations and implementation plan, published in 2022. Many aspects are welcome but there are also many concerns. The Government subsequently committed to introducing a range of reforms to ensure the pensions system is sus…

I wish to raise an issue that is of considerable importance not only to my constituency of Offaly, but to many areas nationally that have witnessed a dramatic increase in the level of demand. I refer to special education schools and the enormous pressure they are under every single day to keep the doors open, retain staff and deliver urgent therapeutic interventions to all pupils in their care. L…

I thank the Taoiseach for his response. The pilot scheme has failed. We are certainly all in agreement on that. However, I am concerned about the backlog of children waiting for in-school therapists. I acknowledge that a disability forum will be set up, which is progress in the right direction, but there is a need and a vacuum now. Offaly School of Special Education has done its level best in work…

Stop it, will you? Have respect. The Deputies are a disgrace. I spent too long with them. I will be voting in support of the Ceann Comhairle, Deputy Verona Murphy, from one female politician to another, and as one who has had more than her fair share of spite and political attacks to contend with, particularly from one party in here. I will not sit on the fence as others have done while attempts …

What an example to lead by. What would that be like in government? What would the country be like? A disgrace. It is shameful. I will make my vote here today with a settled and calm conscience that this is the right thing do.

I am glad to get the opportunity to speak on this motion. I am aware that many people are yet to receive a response to applications they submitted under the humanitarian assistance scheme. I am engaging with the Department to see how this process might be escalated given that it is now almost two months since the storm. Last month, I submitted a number of parliamentary questions to the Minister on…

I am delighted to get the opportunity to speak on this very important issue this evening. I am totally opposed to the scheme because it is clear that it is radically distorting the private rental market. It is essentially a form of preferential treatment that is not available to renters in other categories. The problem with the scheme is that it is divisive. From the launch of the scheme in July 2…

The new report by Home and Community Care Ireland, HCCI, on homecare waiting lists, which was covered in The Irish Times yesterday, reveals that 5,556 older people are waiting for homecare at the end of last year. The waiting list in CHO 8, which covers my constituency of Offaly and includes County Laois, rose steeply by 31% to 932 people waiting. This represents the second-highest waiting list in…

Tá áthas orm an deis a fháil labhairt ar ráitis maidir le slándáil idirnáisiúnta agus trádáil idirnáisiúnta anseo inniu. We all want to see a settled and peaceful international order, not least because of the cost that usually occurs in terms of human life when there is no such order. I am also concerned about the blatant militarisation of the EU, the growing willingness to cloak aggression under…

Last year, the Parliamentary Budget Office published data on the number of households eligible for but not yet in receipt of social housing in my constituency of Offaly. The Parliamentary Budget Office analysis was based on what it would have cost to house the number of households on the social housing waiting lists, plus the households in receipt of the housing assistance payment. The cost for Co…

Under the programme for Government, there is a commitment to balanced regional development, rightly so. However, in my county of Offaly, we are particularly disadvantaged given that we have endured the brunt of the just transition, with 53% of the job losses. This is coupled with the fact that Cardinal Health in Tullamore, the main town in the county, will see 315 job losses at the end of this mon…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on what has become an issue of major public and community concern. There can be no doubt that we are witnessing a significant escalation in knife-related incidents and antisocial behaviour and, in many cases, a rapid deterioration of respect for the rule of law. If you talk to communities or retailers away from the glare of the public spotlight, they will tell yo…

Fuair mé freagra ar cheist parlaiminte cúpla seachtain ó shin ar cheist a bhain le Gaeilge mar ábhar scoile. Sa fhreagra sin, bhí ionadh orm nuair a chonaic mé na huimhreacha maidir le díolúintí atá faighte ag daltaí ar fud na tíre seo. I mo chontae féin, Contae Uíbh Fhailí, fuair 400 dalta díolúine ón nGaeilge. Baineann formhór na ndíolúintí seo le hoideachas dara leibhéal. Fuair 320 dalta díolúi…

I want to raise issues regarding the Mercosur deal in its proposed format. There are huge concerns among farmers. I have met all of the farming organisations about this issue. They have raised concerns directly with me. More than 170,000 people are employed in our agrifood sector. Farming livelihoods that must be protected at all costs. Farmers need straight answers on the Government's position on…

Tá áthas orm labhairt ar na ráitis sláinte anocht. The demographics are all pointing one way and that is towards a predominantly older population and decreasing birth rates. It is a phenomenon that we are witnessing across the western world and in dramatic forms in Asia, including China, where population replacement levels are collapsing. Clearly this will present enormous challenges for our heal…

I with the Minister well in her role and look forward to collaborating with her on many issues. In County Offaly, 525 children are waiting on assessments of need. Two CDNTs, networks 10 and 11 cover the county. I am very concerned about this. I am also concerned about the fact that there are no preschool places in Edenderry for children with autism. I actually met a parent this morning who told me…

I wish the Minister, Deputy Heydon, the Minister of State, Deputy Grealish, and the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, well in their roles and I look forward to collaborating with them as we go forward. I welcome the opportunity to speak briefly on this core pillar of our indigenous and export market sector. It is very important and the sector has kept the lights on in this country in th…

I have been informed that schoolchildren within my constituency of Offaly, who should be seen by the HSE dental service three times before the age of 12, are actually only seeing a dentist for the first time when they are well into secondary school. These concerns were raised with me by the Irish Dental Association at an emergency meeting in Portlaoise three years ago. I was shocked to hear, howev…

Tá áthas orm an deis seo a fháil labhairt ar an gclár Rialtais inniu. Whether we agree or disagree with the contents of the programme for Government, the fact remains that we need a programme for Government that truly addresses the chronic level of need that exists across so many areas and indeed so many sectors. For example, while I welcome the Government's commitments to increase supply of housi…

I wish to raise with the Taoiseach the issue of rural GPs and the shortage of GPs in many rural areas. In my constituency of Offaly, in 2024 there were 81 applications from people looking for access to a GP. I have been contacted by many residents in Daingean, County Offaly. This is just an example of one town. It is a common problem across this State, but in my own county it is particularly acute…