Jen Cummins

I am pleading with whoever is making the decision. I have been told several times that the Department is not their employer. Notwithstanding that, as a member of the board of management of one CTC, I have to say we can only pay the staff on the scales that are provided and those scales are provided by the Department. A bit of guidance and some moving of the scales and terms and conditions for staf…

I commend Deputy Kenny on this Bill. It is practical and timely. A plethora of things go on in schools. They are really busy environments where many things happen. Medical emergencies happen at times when people are not expecting it. They happen when the trained individual is not there. They happen when it is busy, there is going to be a trip, or whatever it is in the yard. It is really important …

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global temperatures have already risen by 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels and it is increasingly likely that they will exceed 1.5 °C within the next decade without rapid emission cuts. The United Nations environmental programme estimates that around 1 million species are at risk of extinction, largely due to human activity. In 2019, Dái…

We welcome the Bill. I am speaking as someone who has children, although they are not all children any more, and has worked with young people over the past 20 or 30 years. Anything we can do to ensure we continue to address addiction to nicotine is most welcome. First there were cigarettes and there was a big debate about how we could reduce their use. Harm reduction came along and we had vapes. …

Inclusive education in this country has been limping from one disaster to the next. In September, there were not enough school places. In November, the portal closed, meaning that parents could not notify the NCSE of their children's needs. In February, we had the situation with the SNAs. Now, in April, we have a new inclusive special education system. Does the Government actually have a plan for …

The recently announced results of the primary school survey indicated some very interesting results. Sixty percent of parents in the denominational schools would like to retain their ethos and 73% of parents in single-sex schools wanted to move to a co-educational model. Eighty seven percent of parents with children in English-medium schools wanted those schools to retain that medium and not move …

A total of 87% want their schools to stay English-medium schools. Only a small number want to move to Gaeilge-medium schools.

I believed the Ministers when they told me several times in this Chamber that they would work with me. I believed them when they said several times that they had the solutions. I believed the NCSE. I believed lots of people but that might be my political naivety. I am really disappointed. I have come to the Ministers several times both here and outside the Chamber, the committee has been on to the…

When preparing for today, I read a document that is for secondary school teachers to use with students to educate them. Just as my colleague, Deputy Whitmore, said, it is about education. The students who will use this programme will learn all about how air pollution happens and what needs to be done to mitigate it. It was a fascinating read but I will come to that in a second. I am a TD for Dubl…

I canvass regularly in my constituency, Dublin South-Central, and I hold clinics on a weekly basis. I can tell the Minister that people are far from all right in Dublin South-Central. When we set aside the issues with housing and also that of appropriate school places – I am the education spokesperson – we see that the next biggest issue in my constituency is affordability. When it comes to the en…

Chair.

I welcome to the Public Gallery people who were incarcerated in Bessborough and other institutions. I particularly welcome Councillor Noelle Brown who was born in Bessborough and who has been an activist in this area for decades. Noelle has tirelessly highlighted the wrong done in this country. We are at a tipping point in how we acknowledge and make amends for our history and the large-scale hum…

I thank Labour for bringing forward the motion. Over the past number of weeks, community safety fora meetings have been happening in Dublin South-Central. It has been very interesting to see, over the number of years I have been attending, the waning of Garda numbers. At the moment, however, we are on a high where people are saying there is higher visibility in Dublin South-Central for gardaí, par…

The cost of living in this country is skyrocketing. Before the war in Iran, 320,000 households were in electricity arrears. People are choosing between heating and eating. The cost of living is impacting more than just energy, though, because there is now the price for education. Exam fees, which had not been in place since before the pandemic, are being reintroduced without warning to parents. Th…

The first International Women's Day was observed in 1911 following calls for women's rights, including the right to vote and to hold public office. It was officially adopted by the United Nations in 1975. The day focuses on celebrating progress while urging pay equality, educational opportunities and increased representation and leadership. This year I was invited to a few events, and I was asked …

Families across this country are already at breaking point. I want the Tánaiste to imagine he is in a family that already counts every single euro going grocery shopping, maybe filling the car if you have one, only turning on your heating for a small amount of time in the day and then all of a sudden the President of the United States goes to war with Iran and you can no longer afford to do many o…

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 Jen Cummins - To discuss the market that is to be restored to Newmarket in Dublin 8. Deputy Martin Daly - To discuss the effect of herpes zoster vaccination on dementia. Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss the severe cuts to SNA all…

I raise an important issue in my constituency, most particularly in Dublin 8, where I live. For many centuries, there has been a market in Newmarket. There is also the Iveagh Markets. There were markets all over this city but, sadly, we have seen the closure of many of them throughout this city. The Iveagh Markets have been closed for some time and Newmarket has become a place that would not insp…

I thank the Minister of State for that answer but that is not what I was talking about. However, I am glad he has given me that answer because I can go back and let the people know what they already know about the Iveagh Markets. I was asking about the market on Newmarket. Newmarket is an historic part in the Liberties that is not the Iveagh Markets. I am delighted with this answer because I can g…

Tá áthas orm labhairt maidir le Seachtain na Gaeilge. Mar a dúirt mé anuraidh, táim fós gnóthach ag foghlaim agus ag súil le feabhas a chur ar mo chuid Gaeilge féin. Ó ráitis na bliana seo caite, tá go leor plé déanta faoin nGaeilge, go háirithe le feachtas uachtaránachta Catherine Connolly. Léirigh an tUachtarán Connolly go bhfuil grá ag a lán daoine sa tír seo don teanga. Cosúil le go leor daoin…

Special education in this country is decades behind special education other modern countries. In recent weeks and months, we have witnessed the absolute shambles of the SNA cuts and the lack of appropriate school places for children with additional needs. Thankfully, the Government, in a late-night announcement on Monday, conceded to public pressure, and a promise of €19 million, and no cuts, was …

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 Michael Cahill - To discuss improvement and refurbishment works for older school buildings across County Kerry. Deputy Grace Boland - The national fare structure for train fares and its impact on passengers travelling from Balbrigga…

I thank my colleague, Deputy Rice, for bringing this motion forward and the huge amount of work he has done in outlining what we should have in this country, that is, free GP care. As already stated, Ireland is an outlier when it comes to free GP care. In Europe, access to adequate GP care, especially in disadvantaged areas like parts of my constituency of Dublin South-Central, is vital in order t…

I speak plainly about the role of SNAs and what they mean to children, families and schools and why the current situation has caused such anguish and confusion. What special needs assistants bring is “S” for security and safety, “N” for nurture and needs and “A”, they are advocates and assistants in our schools for our children who have additional needs. They are not add-ons to schools as somebody…

Mary, Miriam, Mary and Maurice should never have had to fight this hard to hear the words they did today. We should never have met outside Leinster House when they were outside on hunger strike, in the cold and dark alone, as they were so many times as children. That should never have happened. They should never have had to endure that. I thank them all for entrusting me with their stories. It br…