Pádraig O'Sullivan

The news that reached us last night about the review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement was very welcome. Unfortunately, our attempts and those of Spain to bring our EU counterparts to this position in February of last year were frustrated. Now at least a significant number of our EU colleagues have been equally appalled at the devastation inflicted on the Palestinian people. It is not just th…

19. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach to report on his recent discussions with President Zelenskyy. [22661/25]

I might begin by stating how proud I am of us as a nation and of the people of Ireland for what we have done over the past three years or so in providing jobs, employment and, most importantly, safe accommodation for people from Ukraine who have fled this unjust war. I will ask the Taoiseach some specific questions. Will he speak to us on where fast-tracking EU membership for Ukraine is at or prov…

The situation is unacceptable. Like the Minister, I spent 15 years in a classroom and delivered hours as a special education teacher from time to time. In that 15 years, I have seen things improve in terms of resources and overall funding but in what is being experienced on the ground, particularly in the area of assessments of need, things are definitely regressing. We need to put that on the rec…

In accordance with Standing Order 85(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time on Wednesday, 14 May 2025.

I will give the Deputy another chance to come back in.

I am here asking a number of questions and the Minister of State may or may not have some of the answers. It is important to raise the issue once again and to highlight the problems we are likely to encounter in advance of September and the intake of students into special schools. The Minister of State is obviously aware that there was a pilot scheme to reintroduce therapists, OT, physio, speech …

I am one of the best people to come into the House and criticise and give out about how we are implementing or not implementing things, but in fairness, in this response, it is the first time it has been clarified for me that the three special schools in Cork have been fully staffed. That is the first time I have heard that or seen it in writing. That is to be welcomed. The pilot scheme in Cork h…

I am going to cut to the chase because I have a whole two and a half minutes to speak on this topic. I will focus on the availability of drugs, specifically new drugs, right across Europe. We all know the positive nature of what the European Union has contributed to Ireland but there is one glaring area I would like to highlight. Free and borderless travel is available to us and it is the same wi…

The Minister of State has sat in a lot of parliamentary party meetings with me and I know this is an issue she is very familiar with because I have raised it every second week. I appreciate the Minister of State being here this evening. I do not mean to sound dismissive but I can almost predict the answer she will give to me. I half know the answers to some of the questions I have posed which rela…

I thank the Minister of State. I will point out a few things relative to the script she has there. The first thing is that we are spending €3 billion on drugs. That is a fact; I cannot dispute it. It is likely to be €4 billion before too long and it is going to continue to increase as the innovations in drugs and treatment continue to progress. That should be a good thing because it saves people g…

I raise an issue related to special education. Since the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, assumed their roles they have been doing their best to get to grips with the crisis we are facing in special education in particular. I taught in a classroom for 15 years. It was always a struggle to find people to teach special education. Historically it has always been that way. The prob…

I will carry on from where Deputy O'Connor left off, about whether notices should be issued about the consumption of water. There are other Deputies from Cork North-Central in the Chamber. I know that some Deputies have brought in samples of water in the past. It clearly is not a reliable source of drinking water at the moment. While we cannot blame people for not taking the risk, Irish Water stil…

11. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach to report on the work of the child poverty programme in his Department. [13753/25]

I add my voice to Deputy Moynihan's. Every year, I dread this time when the school portal opens because we live in a Bermuda Triangle-type area between places called Watergrasshill, Carrignavar, Glenville and Whitechurch. There are always issues with proximity to secondary schools. I understand there were 14 pilots last year. Will the Minister elaborate on the nature of some of those pilots, if we…

113. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education the steps taken in Cork county and city to ensure all children who require a place have the possibility of securing a place in a special class or special school for the next academic year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17159/25]

This question is to ask the Minister the steps taken in Cork county and city to ensure all children who require a place have the possibility of securing a place in a special class or a special school for the next academic year. We have this problem every year with mainstream school places across the suburban area of Cork, but we have a particular pinch point this year with special school places. T…

That is ridiculous. I drove three hours up the road to listen and so I could come in on this.

23. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach how he intends to increase the co-ordination role of his Department in national security; and when the new national security committee will be established. [13752/25]

I echo the comments from Deputies Bacik and Malcolm Byrne on election interference from state and non-state actors. I will comment briefly on alleged Russian interference in elections in Moldova and Romania as an example. We see every day on our Twitter feeds or on various social media platforms various types of misinformation and fake news. Obviously, that is most critically effective in and arou…

145. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the contribution the Government has made in discussions with EU partners in response to proposed US tariffs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15190/25]

I now call on the Minister to conclude the debate.

No, it is at the discretion of the Chair. Deputy Murphy was not here on time so I am moving on to the Minister. The debate is time-limited.

The Tánaiste mentioned in a previous response the eye-watering budget the HSE has at its disposal. Some €5 million was promised in 2023 as part of budget 2024 and was approved by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform in December 2024. This budget of €5 million related to transport initiatives, accessibility, provision of minibuses and so forth for peop…

I will begin by agreeing with much of what Deputy Smith said, but I will elaborate on some points. We all agree that this is a challenging time for international security and international trade. The adjective "turbulence" or the phrase "turbulent times" have been used quite a lot in the media over the last week. I would say it is far more worrying than just turbulence. The world is on fire. We ha…