Barry Ward

I welcome this Bill. It is necessary and it is very important that we, as the Legislature, address the environmental impacts of disposable vapes. They are everywhere. Everybody knows that. They see them, particularly in town centres. They are even seen next to bins. They somehow do not seem to find their way into the bins but are littered around them. Those horrible stickers are put onto the bins …

I want to raise qualification for carer's leave for teachers. Section 6(1) of the Carer's Leave Act 2001 makes provision for carer's leave for teachers and provides that they must be in continuous employment for 12 months before they are entitled to that leave. That makes perfect sense because it avoids a situation where a brand-new employee takes leave having just entered into a position, which w…

At the outset, I totally accept the Minister of State's bona fides on this issue. I know of her track record on leave for carers and carers' rights. I have a copy of the reply she read. I am really disappointed by it because in no part of it is there any expression of compassion or regret for the fact that our system has failed this teacher. This teacher is being unduly penalised for the fact that…

8. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the position regarding the national public procurement strategy review and if he will make a statement on the matter. [69083/25]

I thank the Minister of State. I acknowledge the commitment in the programme for Government, which is very welcome. In order for public procurement to be effective, it needs to have the confidence of the people. The transparency committed to in the programme for Government is really important in that regard. Unfortunately, we are all aware of a number of projects that appeared to have lacked that …

I acknowledge that as well. I know the Minister of State and his predecessor are committed to making it easier. Is there a way in which we can reduce the bureaucratic burden that comes with some of this because, as important as public procurement processes are, particularly when it comes to ensuring value for money for the taxpayer and cutting down on waste, from what I have been told by businesse…

95. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding the provision of SEN places in a school (details supplied); if she is conscious of the shortage of places in this area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68320/25]

My question is about special educational needs places and, specifically, the provision of them in St. Anne's National School on Stonebridge Road in Shankill.

I thank the Minister of State. I do not want to downgrade the level of investment in, and commitment to, this issue the Government has shown. I acknowledge his reference to the progress made in this area. However, all the announcements and good work will not benefit the children who do not have a place. I was contacted by the family of a young boy who does not have a place in St. Anne's National S…

I acknowledge what the Minister of State said. Am I to take it I may now say to the parents I mentioned that the fact they have been told their son will not have a place in September is not definitive? There is still work going on and I should tell them to continue to engage. There is a review continuing into special educational needs places in Shankill and there is still the possibility of a plac…

I acknowledge the work the Minister has done in this area. I welcome his comments about enforcing age verification measures online. I approach this issue from two perspectives - first as a criminal lawyer and second as a parent. Online safety issues are most pertinent and most dangerous when it comes to the protection of our children. Over the past year, I have been involved in a number of talks b…

I have been listening to the debate and what some of the speakers have said. I have concluded that the world through the eyes of Deputies Murphy and Boyd Barrett must be incredibly clear because there is no nuance whatever in what they have said. The claims they made about the intentions of this Government and about what this agreement has done are completely unsubstantiated and completely false i…

Let me explain to Deputy Murphy what the law is in case there is any doubt about it. Yes, the High Court interprets Irish law but CETA will essentially become the law for these disputes between companies and states or between states. We are signing up to that law. We know what that law says. It will be applied in exactly the same way that a High Court judge would interpret any law. By the way, Hig…

There is nothing in the CETA agreement that gives a legitimate expectation, which is the umbrella legal term that covers this, to a company-----

-----that it will continue to make profits to a particular level.

There is nothing to prevent any Government, be it an Irish Government, a French Government, a Latvian Government or a Cypriot Government, from implementing legitimate policies, which we do as a sovereign country and a sovereign Parliament. There is nothing to suggest we could not do that in light of the CETA agreement. Having listened to many of the speakers in this debate, I really do think that…

We benefit from this because we benefit from improved regulated international trade in the current global environment, where trade, particularly rules-based trade, is being consistently undermined by the big players like the United States. I join with the condemnation of how America is behaving in terms of international trade. This is actually the antidote to that in many respects. Agreements betw…

I want to raise the issue of capacity on the E1 and E2 bus routes, on the E-spine of BusConnects. The E1 and E2 routes go between Northwood and Bray, and between Harristown and Dún Laoghaire, respectively. The E2 is the much-lamented old 46A. We in Dún Laoghaire miss it terribly. We have to call it the E2 now. I take the E2 bus and I am grateful for it. It is also a 24-hour service which is not t…

I acknowledge the points made by the Minister of State about the investment in the bus service and the provision of the 90-minute fare. These are all positive things. I do not dispute that for a moment. I also welcome the acknowledgement by the NTA that there are capacity issues on the E1 route. I think that is correct. I do not agree that passenger demand is being met on the E2 route, although I …

I like numbers too but I like when they are used in an appropriate way. To take the average amount spent on electricity according to figures in the Irish Independent, which came from the Department, and then apply them to a pensioner who is not necessarily paying the average amount is a little bit disingenuous and it does not reflect the reality of the situation.

Households are not unitary things. They do not all look the same and they do not all pay the same for electricity. If we take the average, it will be above what the average pensioner is paying because the average pensioner is in a household that is smaller and, therefore, has fewer energy demands. It is comparing apples and oranges, which is not to say I am happy with the cost of electricity becau…

I understand in the context of the Ukraine war why this happened. I also understand why we put in place measures to protect people with the exceptional measures put in place in the previous two budgets. However, prices have remained high and there is no justification for it. Nobody can give me a reason I am satisfied with as to why they remain so stubbornly high. It is grossly unfair on the people…

78. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Transport his plans to ensure that public transport is fully accessible to all; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62394/25]

10. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the position regarding supports for any SME that will not benefit from the planned VAT reduction in July 2026; if targeted supports for small businesses that are facing increasing costs will be considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59971/25]

I welcome the VAT 9 proposal which will come into effect in July of next year. However, I am wondering, particularly in the case of small and medium enterprises that will not benefit from the scheme, if there could be targeted supports for them in respect of increased costs of doing business.