Mark Wall

I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach. I will move our amendment, if that is in order.

I will not move it then. As Labour Party spokesman on social protection and disability, I welcome the opportunity to speak on this very important motion. I sincerely thank colleagues in the Social Democrats for bringing forward this motion. It is very timely given the cold and unpredictable weather we have been experiencing over the past number of weeks. The Labour Party has an amendment to this…

I welcome the chance to speak on the Government infrastructure plan. I want to outline a number of issues that have arisen in my home county, Kildare. Last Monday, councillors in Kildare County Council discussed a variation of the current Kildare county development plan to cater for an additional 50,000 people in the county over the coming years. As everybody in this House knows, Kildare is a ver…

I welcome the Minister to this House and the opportunity to discuss the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2025. I am very conscious that the main aim of this wide-ranging piece of legislation is to promote the welfare of children who may not receive adequate care and protection. No one in this House could ever disagree with that aim. As the Minister said herself in her opening remarks, this Act has been…

I am glad the Minister of State is here today because he will know this is not the first time I have raised issues around the car parks that are the M7 and N7. I have been speaking about this for a number of years and An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach will know that. We have had a number of conversations on this and what we can do to solve the problem. This morning, I left my home at 6.30 a.m. and I walk…

Up Kildare.

I welcome the chance to speak to the Minister on this issue. I want to raise a number of local issues in my area of south Kildare. In recent years there has been very welcome development in the Allenwood and Kilmeague area, after long representations by many public representatives. We are having continuous problems during this work with outages and a lot of businesses and homes are suffering. Will…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to entitle customers with certain medical conditions to make use of staff toilet facilities in retail establishments in certain circumstances, to provide for redress where the entitlement is not met, and to provide for connected matters. I am delighted to introduce the Equal Status (Access to Toilet Facilities) Bill 2026 to the Ho…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I wish to raise again the carparks that many of our motorways have become as they approach Dublin. Specifically today, I raise the urgent need to provide park and ride and secure park-and-share facilities at strategic points along these motorways. On my way in to Dublin this morning I counted 15 cars parked at the hard shoulder at the Ballitore M9 junction. These motorists are car-pooling and redu…

2. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department will provide additional and multiannual funding for therapeutic and counselling supports, such as play therapy, currently provided in family resource centres; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [73394/25]

Will the Minister and her Department provide additional and multi-annual funding for therapeutic and counselling supports, such as play therapy? Will the Minister make a statement on it?

I thank the Minister for her reply. We can all agree, as we have done previously, that great work is being done by all the family resource centres. The Minister has, in fairness, expanded and created a number of new centres. The problem I am hearing is that the references and referrals coming from many organisations, such as Tusla, the HSE, CAMHS and local authorities, are overloading family resou…

I appreciate that. I am highlighting this today because I have been speaking to a number of family resource centres. The number of referrals they are getting is causing complications for the services they are offering. I am highlighting this today to make the Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, aware of the need for additional resources in our family resource centres…

I wish to raise with the Taoiseach conditions at Curragh Community College, which is based on Department of Defence lands on the Curragh, County Kildare. The school is crumbling around staff and students, presenting immediate and serious safety concerns. Classroom conditions are dire. Radiators are not working and children are learning in extremely cold environments where there are even broken win…

I want to talk the Minister of State about Scoil Bhríde, Lackagh, south Kildare. This is a beautiful rural school that currently has 101 students enrolled. The school, I am told, has 30 new children applying to the school in September 2026. Parents in Scoil Bhríde are currently fighting for an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, unit. There are a number of children who are struggling in mainstream clas…

I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive reply. We can both agree about the importance of allowing children to attend their local national school where possible. This is why I raised the needs of Scoil Bhríde in Lackagh tonight. This is a rural school that, unfortunately, has seen something of a decline in numbers but has a need for a special unit. All of us in this Chamber have spoken …

Before I call on Deputy Connolly, I welcome to the Public Gallery the pupils from Kilberry National School in Athy. They are from our great county of Kildare. They are very welcome and I hope they enjoy their day.

I raise with the Taoiseach DART+ South West, which is now facing a four-year delay until 2030. I have been raising in this House the car parks that the M7, N7 and M50 have become. My concern is that the shelving of this project will have a knock-on effect on providing additional public transport, which we all support, on the Waterford-Heuston line, and to other towns in south Kildare, like Athy an…

This is a very important moment for this House. It is not every day we see all Opposition parties co-sign a motion and I thank Sinn Féin for using its time tonight to bring this forward. It is such an important conversation we will have here tonight. I am pleased to speak to this motion on behalf of the Labour Party. It is a motion which calls out Government failure to get to grips with the assess…

2. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if budget 2026 allocated any additional funding to the senior alerts scheme; if so, if this includes an expanded list of equipment such as assistive technology; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68382/25]

Given the importance of the seniors alert scheme to so many people, will the Minister of State confirm whether budget 2026 has allocated any additional funding to it, and if so, whether that includes an expanded list of equipment, such as assistive technology?

I thank the Minister of State very much for his reply. We are all aware of the importance of the seniors alert scheme. It has been a life-saving scheme for many people, not just in rural communities but also in urban areas. I am glad to hear that so many people have taken it up since it was launched in 2015, and that the Department is launching a new scheme in 2026. In launching the new scheme i…

I totally agree. This has been a great scheme. I thank the Government for the allocations to date. When I was a councillor in Kildare, we looked at other schemes. One of those was a public light or a light outside the door for people in rural areas, and we gave some funding from the LPT towards that. It was very beneficial. That is the type of scheme I would like to see included under the seniors …

The Deputy should keep his comments relevant to what we are talking about today.