Ruairí Ó Murchú

True.

He is the Taoiseach. He has the power of the State.

Do something on unity.

I am saying the State.

I am delighted to have this opportunity to speak on the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026. It has been said by many previous speakers that AI is just a reality we are dealing with. Even though some people worry about it, we are a long way removed from Skynet coming live, if anyone remembers the glorious days of "Terminator". We all know the issues with the tech sector. When we talk …

I could go on for a lot longer but I will not.

The Minister of State has accepted that dental care, especially orthodontic care in this State, particularly that provided by the public system, is not fit-for-purpose in any way, shape or form. I do not know how many times we have all been in here talking about the DTSS. The fact is a person is incredibly lucky on a medical card if he or she can find a dentist and avail of it, but we have all see…

1. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide an update on the progress of the establishment of the new autism assessment service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47690/26]

I ask the Minister of State to provide an update on the progress of the establishment of a new autism assessment service. We all know about the issue that exists. We are talking about more than 20,000 on the assessment of need waiting lists, many of them over the six months in which that should be provided legally. There are a huge number of parents out there who can get neither an assessment nor …

I ask the Minister of State to give the exact timelines when she gets an opportunity again-----

-----because, obviously, it is vital that we see this. It is also a matter of knowing how these assessments will be made. Some have said they would be worried about how the assessment officer or whoever makes the clinical determination. It is about ensuring that there would be a sufficient amount of clinical backup. We all accept that if we were starting again, we would have to look at a different…

I understand that your right to an assessment of need remains, but the fact is that these are attempts to reduce the waiting list. We all know that what parents want to see is a better form or means of assessment and provision of therapies. We need to ensure we have a proper framework that works. I will ask again about an aspect of this matter that I have asked about in a further question which I …

Tá an chéad cheist eile in ainm an Teachta Eamon Scanlon ach tá sé tar éis an Teachta Aisling Dempsey a ainmniú chun í a thógáil.

24. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently waiting on assessment of needs over the statutory waiting time, in each RHA area, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47426/26]

Well, we actually did make it to this question. I requested information on the number of children currently waiting on assessments of need for longer than the statutory waiting time in each regional health area in tabular form. I want to get a notion of where we are. We spoke about the new autism protocol earlier but the fact is that this figure is far too big. We need to deal with this. Parents a…

It goes without saying that the figure of 21,782 should be shocking. Unfortunately, it is not. The figure in my own area, HSE Dublin and North East, is 6,608. As the Minister of State has said, behind each of these figures is a child and a family. None of this is good enough. We sometimes come in here and talk about CDNTs and the number of unfilled positions. I will work on the basis that the numb…

We have the figures. None of them are good enough. Unfortunately, despite all the initiatives that have been taken, we have not drastically dealt with that figure. That is the frightening part. It is the one right that parents have. It is sometimes the only right they can vindicate through the courts and there is therefore huge emphasis on it. However, as we all know, it does not provide you with …

Do we have any idea of the timeline for the legislation?

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Pat Buckley - To discuss the lack of school transport for children with intellectual disabilities at a school in Cork, Deputy Tom Brabazon - To discuss the loss of staff at a school in Priorswood in the context of its new DEIS plus …

I also commend Deputy Quinlivan, as committee Chair, the clerk to the committee and the committee secretariat who have done a huge amount of work. I would like to tackle one of the issues Deputy Toole brought up. It is absolutely spurious to believe that anyone would have gone over time at the Joint Committee on Disability Matters and I would just like that recorded. I cannot imagine who she mean…

-----and neither can the Minister of State.

When we are talking about inclusive education we need to make sure that this is part of wider inclusivity. Deputy Quinlivan, two other members of the committee and I were lucky enough to be at the 19th Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on the 20th year of the UNCRPD. We dealt with a huge range of issues. It was everything from autism servi…

It is well up.

I thank the Minister for taking this. When we talk about finding an appropriate place for children, particularly those with special needs and challenging needs, it is a constant battle for those parents. It is a constant battle even at times for elected representatives who are contacted in relation to this, whether it is contacting the special educational needs organiser, SENO, contacting schools …

We all welcome the attempts to streamline the system. The problem is that too many children are still falling between stools. I am not taking away from the particular issues but I spoke about Hollybelle. One of the schools she applied to was a special school that she did not qualify for. Her intellectual disability was seen as too severe. As much as we have an insufficient number of places for tho…