Aidan Farrelly

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 Erin McGreehan - To discuss overly burdensome application forms for medical cards. Deputy Catherine Ardagh - To discuss the need for all special schools to accept children at different levels on the autism spectrum. Deputy George L…

The Deputy can come back in.

I ask the Deputy to conclude.

We will move to the Sinn Féin members, starting with Deputy Gould.

I thank Deputy O'Reilly.

The time is up now, Deputy.

The House might join me in welcoming our Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition winners in the Public Gallery: Ciara Murphy, Saoirse Murphy and Laoise Murphy and their parents. We wish them well in making their presentation to the health committee at 12.30 p.m.

I thank the Minister and the Ministers of State for the opportunity to speak on this issue this evening. In doing so, as a very proud dad and youth worker, I want to maintain my focus this evening on the young people of Ireland. Professional youth workers in Ireland are doing a phenomenal job in working with young LGBTQI+ people to ensure they have a safe space to learn, share experiences, have fu…

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 a ban on pair trawling. Deputy Catherine Ardagh - To discuss the construction of a new school building in Ballyfermot. Deputy William Aird - To discuss GP and primary care services in County Laois. Depu…

I thank the Minister of State. Respectfully, I remind Members not to discuss live court cases here and to stick to the topic.

I will build on my colleagues' comments by setting out some brief context. My office recently engaged with the Competition and Consumer Protection Authority on price setting and loyalty schemes operated by some of the larger supermarket companies. While I acknowledge the safeguards that the CCPC provides to customers, it has been calling for more substantial penalties for breaches of consumer prot…

I return to this State's commitment to evacuate seriously ill children from Gaza because we all want to know what is going on. It is nearly a year since the Government promised to evacuate 30 sick children from Gaza and since then, just 12 children have been evacuated. We now hear that petty bureaucratic concerns about visas are delaying the evacuation of other children. The Taoiseach has been cle…

When?

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 a ban on pair trawling. Deputy Catherine Ardagh - To discuss the need for all special schools to accept children at different levels on the autism spectrum. Deputy Malcolm Byrne - To discuss the level of…

The Deputy will have a chance to come back in.

I thank the Members of the Labour Party for bringing forward such an important motion. I thank the Minister of State for his opening statement, which is comprehensive, but it is unfortunate to see the Government amendment and what is contained in it. We have spent a considerable amount of time speaking about this since the TV programmes aired and the experiences highlighted. Profit can never be th…

I will open with the words of Professor Joseph Travers, who wrote about inclusive pedagogy in Ireland in 2023. He says: Given the exponential growth in special classes and the increase in special schools since Ireland’s ratification of the UNCRPD, a contradiction ... is apparent, which calls for a more radical appraisal of the purpose and role of these classes and schools. He continues: ... we …

I thank the Minister of State for taking the time to be here this evening. I am really grateful for the opportunity to raise the very important issue of suicide prevention. I am raising it from a place of concern and from a place of care - care for anyone who is grieving the loss of a partner, a family member or a friend and care for everyone who has dedicated their professional life to contributi…

I want to reiterate my thanks to the Minister of State for taking this tonight. I really do appreciate it and I ask that she pass on my thanks to the Minister of State for such a considered reply. I do not doubt for a second the sincerity with which the Ministers of State are approaching this at all. I hope she can hear that I am not here to critique Government policy on this issue whatever but ra…

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 Erin McGreehan - To discuss the use of Louth County Hospital in Dundalk as a surgical hub for the north east. Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss the long-awaited ban on pair trawling. Deputy Catherine Ardagh - To discuss the need f…

We do not have written responses for the first two Topical Issues. I am sure we will have them provided as soon as possible afterwards.

Absolutely.

The Government's redress scheme for survivors of mother and baby homes is discriminatory and unjust. That is not my assessment; it is the view of the special advocate for survivors, who has examined the scheme. In her report, Patricia Carey says the scheme has caused anger and distress, retraumatised some survivors and created a hierarchy of suffering. This is all down to a deliberate decision of…

Does this Government intend to act on the special advocate's report?

I thank Deputy O'Gorman for bringing forward this motion. It is certainly a motion that my party and I are very much looking forward to supporting. One of the starkest differences between Ireland and other European countries is our poor public transport system. Under successive Governments, one abandoned or delayed public transport plan has followed another. The Minister will agree that transport …