Jack Chambers

As the Deputy can appreciate, I am not familiar with the specific school he referenced or what has occurred relating to SNAs, apart from stating that the overall number of SNAs will continue to increase nationally, along with the support we are providing for special education through the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, around school buildings, teachers, SNAs and other supports in sch…

As the Deputy knows, the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, is committed to significantly improving the processing times for international protection applications and bringing the appeals component back to the Department of justice in order to streamline the process. Next year, progress on the EU migration pact will make a difference in terms of the timeframes around processing. I cannot comment on the…

There has been ongoing work across government relating to the lessons from Storm Éowyn and the recovery efforts. The Minister, Deputy Calleary, who is here, has been prioritising the outcome of this in terms of his submission to the national development plan and how we build more resilience into our public infrastructure, whether that is in communications, community infrastructure or energy infras…

I thank Deputy Callaghan and I appreciate the question she has raised. As she has heard from the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, this will be considered in the context of budget 2026. All of us as a collective Government - Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Independent Deputies - will work on strengthening the affordability of public services as a core priority. We want to make permanent changes to some o…

This work is ongoing. The Minister, Deputy Lawless, will publish the report on the cost of education and this will inform the budgetary discussion that will take place.

I thank Deputy Mac Lochlainn. I know the Minister met various stakeholders in Donegal in May, including representatives from the action group and many representatives on the council. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Browne, to set out the specific timeline relating to legislation and give Deputy Mac Lochlainn a specific answer to his question.

I thank Deputy Carthy and I appreciate and agree on how essential an SNA is to any individual with additional needs in the classroom. I am not sure whether the school Deputy Carthy has referenced has appealed the particular allocation this year to the NCSE.

I will ask the Minister, Deputy McEntee, as I did with regard to Deputy Paul Murphy earlier, to respond on the specific case Deputy Carthy has referenced. Budget 2025 provided for 1,600 SNAs, the largest number ever allocated, which will bring to 23,000 the number of SNAs in our schools.

I appreciate that. We are committed to continued investment in special education in terms of staffing and, in many instances, the need for new buildings for special classrooms. I will ask the Minister, Deputy McEntee, to respond to Deputy Carthy on the specific case.

I am acutely aware of the financial and emotional trauma associated with a TB breakdown and the associated hardship, as the Deputy said, for many farm families. TB disease levels in recent years have continued to increase. Over a 12-month period, a herd incidence of 6.43% has been recorded, with more than 43,000 reactors. That is a serious deterioration in the situation which we cannot allow to co…

I appreciate the urgency of this for residents in Midleton and throughout east Cork. I was there with Deputies O'Sullivan and O'Connor after the storm nearly two years ago. A priority for the Government with regard to broader infrastructure more generally and for flood relief schemes in particular is how we can shorten the project life cycle. In many instances, flood schemes are taking far too lon…

I regret that crime has had a serious impact on the local community in the last 12 months. I engage with the OPW regularly and I will ask for an update on Castletroy Garda station. I will revert to the Deputy on it.

First, what happened was a shocking incident for everyone present in Carlow. I am limited in what I can say relating to these matters, some of which continue to go through the legal process. I can ask the Minister for justice to respond to the specific question the Deputy raised following the "This Week" programme. He will be in a better position to give the Deputy any detail or informed informati…

I appreciate the urgency of forward planning when it comes to school transport. Extensive work has been undertaken between the Department of education, Bus Éireann and other delivery partners to support that in communities across Ireland. I do not know the specifics behind what is happening in the Deputy's own constituency-----

-----but I will ask the Minister and Bus Éireann to respond to the Deputy's specific needs. There is an ongoing engagement through the summer to ensure they provide the appropriate school transport services, which are of huge importance to counties across Ireland.

As the Deputy is aware, the Department of education fully appreciates that costs and funding can pose an issue for schools. It is constantly working to address this with enhanced financial supports which were advanced in budget 2025 for this year. Schools in any financial difficulty are asked to engage with the financial support services unit. I know that a priority for the Minister, Deputy McEnte…

I know we cannot have an over and back on this. I am not sure who it has been sent to. Is it the Department of housing? I assume it is. To what Government Department has it been sent?

We will try to find out who within government has received the particular business case, or which Government Department, and indeed under what funding scheme it is proposed to support that particular project of an integrated services hub. We always welcome any initiative of local authorities, or indeed local communities, to provide rounded supports and services for vulnerable people in our communi…

I will set out the backdrop to this in the context of the measures that the Government has taken over recent years to make permanent and sustained reductions and interventions that are affordable for many students. If you look at the measures that have been taken, more students than ever are benefiting from financial support through the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grant support scheme…

The economic position our country is in cannot just be dismissed. We must approach budget 2026 with caution. We know if we strip away the windfall nature of many of our tax receipts, there is a potential risk around a deficit position in our economy, which we cannot ignore and the Deputy should not ignore as a finance spokesperson for the main Opposition party. It is in this context that we are w…

This will form the basis of our discussion with all Ministers on what changes we can make for budget 2026.

That is a normal part of the budgetary process that this Government is committed to advancing.

As the Deputy knows, in last year's budget, we set out a number of measures of a one-off and temporary nature. The reduction that was made on a one-year basis was reflected in that cost-of-living package. We said, as an incoming Government, that the decisions we would take in the context of budget 2026 would be taken on a permanent and sustained basis. It is on that basis that every Minister will …

What I have been very clear about is that this issue will be part of the broader discussion on budget 2026. That is how annualised budgeting works in this economy and many other economies around the world. That is what we are seeking to do. We will set out an envelope in the coming weeks and each Minister will have to prioritise within that his or her overall expenditure demands. Of course, I am …

It is important we are clear on the budgetary context for budget 2026. Many of my Government colleagues have many priorities in their respective Departments and policy areas which they will commence negotiation on at the end of July and through August. The Minister, Deputy Lawless, has been clear that affordability for students is an important priority for him as part of his negotiation for budget…