Naoise Ó Cearúil

I appreciate the opportunity to raise this issue, but I do so with anger and frustration on behalf of Evan Gardiner and his family, who are constituents of mine in Kildare North who have been utterly failed by Children's Health Ireland and by the system. In September 2022, Evan was assessed by Mr. Pat O'Toole who recommended urgent surgeries on his knees, his ankles and, potentially, his hip. The…

Go raibh maith agat, a Aire Stáit. This surgery was scheduled previously, and it was cancelled. Surgery is a traumatic and worrying period for any person no matter what age. For any of us with children, it is even more worrying and scary. Then for the child, it is extremely traumatic, and how a parent deals with that is extremely difficult. For surgery to be scheduled, cancelled, rescheduled and c…

As we sit and stand here today, the genocide continues in Gaza. Some 65,000 people have been murdered, with 20,000 of those being children. I am conscious of not just what is happening in Gaza but also of what is happening in the West Bank and the displacement of people there as well. It is welcome and encouraging that there has been progress on a peace proposal and that significant countries in t…

Is léir go bhfuil a lán feicthe againn cheana féin agus go bhfuil rudaí maithe ag tarlú timpeall na tíre, go háirithe i gCill Dara. We have seen a lot of positive progress around the country, particularly in Kildare. Some examples of successful sports capital programme projects in Kildare are: Clough GAA, which secured a €150,000 grant to install LED floodlights and improve security; Celbridge GAA…

13. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on climate action, environment and energy will next meet. [46855/25]

In 2004 the Taoiseach introduced the smoking ban, which has saved thousands of lives. This week the EPA reported that approximately 1,700 premature deaths occur in Ireland every year due to poor air quality. A lot of this is due to the continuous burning of solid fossil fuels and traffic emissions. Will the Cabinet committee on climate action, environment and energy consider this report and look a…

Permanent anaphylaxis is not currently listed as a qualifying condition under the long-term illness scheme, even though it is a long-term condition and requires lifelong management and access to emergency medication. The long-term illness scheme has not been updated since the 1970s. I ask the Minister of State if permanent anaphylaxis would be considered but also if the Government plans on reviewi…

I welcome the auto-enrolment scheme. My Future Fund is a key aspect of the programme for Government. I commend the Minister on the work he has done to date on bringing it forward. If we look to our counterparts across Europe, the UK, for example, introduced auto-enrolment in 2012, Italy did so 2007 and Estonia in 2002. It is about time that we moved towards auto-enrolment. The thing about it is th…

When I was in college in Maynooth, a while ago now, I started smoking. I was 19 and playing hurling for Kildare and the university but fell into a bad habit and it took me a long time to quit smoking - about 12 years. I was on and off but managed to quit cold turkey and then eventually found a vape on a night out and become dependent on vapes in social settings and then in normal day-to-day settin…

I commend the Minister of State on the amount of work he carried out over the summer, particularly in relation to school transport and special education. There was a marked improvement this year in comparison with previous years. It is important to acknowledge that. However, there continue to be serious issues with school transport. The programme for Government commits to ensuring better managemen…

11. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the measures being implemented to ensure that the shortage of after-school childcare places does not act as a barrier to parents returning to the workforce; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50173/25]

We have seen the enormous demand for childcare throughout the country, particularly in my own constituency of Kildare North. However, a lot of the focus has been on preschool and not on after-school childcare. It is extremely difficult for parents to find after-school care and also to go back to work. What measures are being implemented to ensure this shortage of after-school childcare places does…

I recognise the progress that has been made and the advancements, particularly around the additional funding with the national childcare scheme, NCS, and with core funding. The reality of the situation still stands that the shortage of affordable childcare drives what is called the motherhood penalty, which is the economic setback that parents, mostly women, face after having children. This leads …

I was going to reference next the work the Minister did as Minister for Education in ensuring that more schools opened their facilities after hours for childcare, particularly for after-school care. The Minister will be aware, however, that there have been difficulties with some school boards in getting those schools open. There needs to be a co-ordinated effort between the Minister's Department a…

97. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his Department has assessed the potential role of nuclear energy in Ireland's future energy mix; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49081/25]

We have seen an increase in electricity demand and rightly we are focusing on renewable energy. However, we have major challenges in meeting our 2030 and 2050 climate targets. Indeed, the climate action plan commits to 80% renewable energy by 2030 and net zero by 2050. Has the Minister of State's Department assessed the potential of nuclear energy in Ireland's future energy mix?

I appreciate that the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 prohibits nuclear power generation in this country and that the programme for Government focuses on renewable energy. I completely understand that, but the question relates to any type of consideration given to nuclear. We look at the likes of small modular reactors that create between 50 MW and 300 MW of energy. What I am saying here is that i…

I recognise the expertise this State has garnered in offshore and onshore wind energy and indeed solar. I was at the launch of the Timahoe North Solar Farm in Kildare only three weeks ago, an excellent facility that will provide energy to a significant number of people in Kildare and across the country. However, my argument here is that if we look to Belgium, for example, they recently extended th…

I would like to first welcome the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People. I particularly commend the fact that it was developed in partnership with disabled people, and the five key pillars in terms of inclusive learning and education, employment, independent living and active participation in society, well-being and health and transport and mobility. Two Thursday's ago, I met with re…

Every year, 14,000 expectant women lose their babies. This equates to roughly 25% of pregnancies ending in a loss, which is clearly a traumatic and difficult time for any woman. Currently, those women need to rely on sick leave to deal with the loss they are going through. Are there any plans to introduce paid miscarriage leave as a stand-alone support for women affected by miscarriage and their f…

As we celebrate Pride Month and the ten-year anniversary of the marriage equality referendum, it is important to call out the bravery and activism of the LGBTQI+ community, their families, allies and campaigners. We can all recall the referendum ten years ago and the sense of sheer joy and jubilation when the result came through. The memory of seeing how much it meant to friends of mine will never…

3. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on EU and international affairs will next meet. [34040/25]

We recently heard of the possibility of an increase in US tariffs from 10% to 30%. EU Trade Commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, has said that the 30% tariffs would effectively cut off EU-US trade, which is quite a sobering thought. Is the Government liaising with the Commissioner on any possible impacts of the increase from 10% to 30% tariffs?

17. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Taoiseach if he has had any engagement to date with the new Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney. [39237/25]

Since the signing of CETA in 2017, Ireland's exports to Canada have surged from €1.7 billion to €5.2 billion in 2024. However, there was a reduction of over 50% in quarter 1 of 2025. It is believed that much of that is due to pharma being diverted to the US ahead of impending tariffs. We are now looking at the new EU-Canada strategic partnership of the future and negotiations will start soon betwe…