Jen Cummins

I am here today with a very heavy heart, and I have an unwavering sense of duty, not only to this House but to the generations who will read about what is happening right now in the future. Someday, maybe in 20 years or 30 years, school children across Ireland will open their history books and they will come upon a chapter entitled "Palestine". They will read about the tens of thousands of people …

That is not right.

Several times other people went over their speaking time.

Several times.

Thank you. As I was saying, hospitals, homes and humanity itself have been reduced to dust and they will read about a world that watched. They will ask every one of us, "What did you do? What did Ireland do?" I ask every Deputy here what they will say in response. As a mother of four, I really struggle to watch the television. I struggle to see those dead children and babies wrapped in cloths. I s…

My question is about flood risk and insurance. A number of people have contacted me because they are not able to get insurance in the first place, or when they want to switch to a different insurance provider they cannot because of the risk of flooding. With the rising possibility of floods in the future, what can the Government do to ensure homeowners and potential buyers are able to secure insur…

Today's motion is a very important milestone in Ireland's journey as a modern knowledge society where research, innovation and international co-operation are placed at the centre of national development. The decision to seek associate membership of CERN is not just a symbolic act; it is a declaration of intent and a clear statement that Ireland sees itself as a serious player in global scientific …

I ask colleagues to imagine it is a mid-July night, it is bucketing rain and there are warnings of high river waters and potential flooding of 1 m. A few hours later, the warning changes to 3 m of flooding and then to 5 m. Eventually, when it is dark and cold, there is an 8 m river flowing through the valley, destroying everything in its path and killing 135 of your neighbours. Thinking you are go…

2. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his plans to address the deficit some domestic universities are experiencing. [26519/25]

Some of Ireland's third level institutions are facing a critical shortfall in core funding, something repeatedly highlighted by the OECD, the European Commission and our universities. Despite rising student numbers and growing demands in staff and infrastructure, core funding remains well below the required level to ensure quality, accessibility and efficiency. Can the Minister outline what steps …

I acknowledge there is additional funding of €50 million in the budget for 2025 under Funding the Future. It is great to hear there is an additional €150 million. The Irish Universities Association has welcomed the multiannual approach the Minister's Department has outlined. Investment in education only stands at 2.8% of GDP. It is among the lowest in the OECD, which has an average of 5.7%. I am …

I agree it is really positive when we have those returns, as the Minister outlined. I know that is one element of looking at education. I want to be clear about what I am saying with regard to attracting people from abroad to come here. I am not saying this is not a good idea. However, when the headlines are focusing on how much money is going to be spent on each of those people, it can read as be…

The Tánaiste said he will bring a memo on the occupied territories Bill to Cabinet next week. This is a long overdue but welcome step in aligning Ireland's trade policies with our values on human rights and international law. Not a grain of rice, drop of water or vial of medicine has entered Gaza for months. A trickle of aid has now been allowed in, but the Israeli Government is preventing it from…

We do have a world-class education system, broadly speaking, in Ireland but our system is failing many of our young children and young people, and particularly those facing disadvantage and trauma. I have so much to say but I want to be very specific in my speech today. It is about those young people, the ones we do not capture all the time. When I am talking about education disadvantage and young…

I thank the Minister of State for the opportunity to bring forward this matter. It is of deep concern to the people of Inchicore, a number of groups in fact. One of the groups I have been working with is a called Connecting Communities, which has been working on this issue and is looking to have the Minister of State's support. As a resident of that constituency and a community advocate, there is …

There is a 57, 68 and a Go-Ahead bus there.

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome his comments and knowledge of the area. We are all very proud in Dublin 8 of Inchicore and the historic part of the city that it is. We absolutely welcome the fare reduction, particularly for young people and students. It is excellent, especially if someone was to take three buses within the two-hour period. It is fantastic and we do welcome that. BusConnec…

I also welcome today's motion on carers. In fact, in the late nineties, I was a carer in London and I was a carer in Dublin when I returned after living abroad for a while. At that time, I noticed there was a significant difference in the level of training and support that carers were given by the agencies I was working for. I was happy to do that work. I was very young at the time, and it was a g…

I do not know if the Minister of State is a birdwatcher but I am delighted to say that on 10 May, the swifts arrived to Dublin South-Central. We were absolutely delighted. A group of us were out mapping trees to see how many trees were there, and then the swifts arrived. Maybe they have arrived down the Minister of State's neck of the woods as well. Dublin South-Central is a constituency that has…

It is nothing short of a national scandal that over 15,000 children are still waiting for an assessment of need. I know these numbers have been read out several times today but I want to keep saying it because it is an absolute scandal that we are saying there are 15,000 children waiting for an assessment of need and that over 90% of those assessments are not being completed within the legally man…

I am proud to stand here today as a member of the Social Democrats but also as a trade union member and activist for decades at this stage. I thank People Before Profit for introducing this Bill. At its heart, it is about fairness, dignity in the workplace and the fundamental right of workers to a collective voice. This is not a radical idea, but a democratic one. When workers organise, they are n…

I wish the Minister the very best of luck. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to today’s debate on the power of higher education, research and skills as economic enablers in a changing world. I echo what previous speakers have said about dropping further education. It is such a valuable part of that Department and I have seen at first hand how further education has changed lives in the commun…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — more than 90 per cent of Irish primary schools are under religious patronage, while only 5 per cent are multi-denominational; — a survey by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation found that just 4 per cent of teachers think preparing students for sacraments should be the responsibility of primary schools, while more than two fifths believe that faith…

I thank everybody who participated in today's debate. More importantly, I thank all those parents, educators and campaigners across the country who continue to fight not for privilege but for parity and not for special treatment but for choice. This has been going on for 50 years. I have been a campaigner for multidenominational schools since 2007. As a family of a minority religion as well as str…

I am delighted to support Sinn Féin’s motion this evening. My constituency is Dublin South Central. Like many here, I have received many emails from parents which outline the prohibitive cost of childcare. I have had emails from people in Ballyfermot, Drimnagh and around Dublin 8 from people who are paying more than €1,000 a month per child. For anyone with more than one child - at one stage I had…