Seamus Healy

The Government must stop failing children with additional needs. At the end of 2025, 20,209 children were on the waiting list for assessments of need. The majority have been waiting over two years and almost 95% have been waiting longer than the legal six-month limit under the Disability Act 2005. The Government is breaking the law every hour of every day. The Government threatened the Army on pea…

The Tánaiste and Taoiseach have left the Chamber. It is an insult to the Dáil and proof positive that not only will they not listen to the Irish people but they will not listen to TDs in this House. We have a cost-of-living crisis on top of a cost-of-living crisis, and that crisis has been deliberately worsened by Government policy, which favours the rich and powerful in our society and doubles do…

Did the Government call in the Army to deal with the far-right violent thugs on O'Connell Street in Dublin in 2023?

I have no confidence in the Government.

This is an arrogant Government. It has not listened and is not listening. It has not listened to representative organisations, the public, TDs or Opposition parties. Several motions for a cost-of-living package have been debated in the House. My Private Members' motion in December calling for price controls on electricity, gas, fuel and food was arrogantly voted down. The recent packages are too l…

-----and he has even attacked the Pope. It is time to stand up to him-----

-----pass the occupied territories Bill and stop-----

-----military planes going through Shannon.

I want to raise the unacceptable levels of understaffing of An Garda Síochána across south Tipperary. It is now an absolute rarity to see gardaí on foot patrol on the beat. Staffing levels are so low that increasing numbers of gardaí are going on duty alone. I was contacted by a constituent at the weekend who told me that she had failed to make contact with a Garda station by phone at night. More …

There has been a cost-of-living crisis in this country for a number of years. That crisis was, to some extent, addressed by way of energy credits and once-off social welfare payments in the 2025 budget. Of course, that was in the run-up to the November 2024 general election. It was a blatant device, obviously, to buy that election. Once the election was over, these measures were callously scrapped…

I welcome and support the Bill and I thank the People Before Profit Deputies for bringing it forward. It is vital legislation to protect children and to give adults the choice of opting in or opting out. All responsible bodies are calling for legislation like this, including the Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence, Irish Council for Civil Liberties, the National Women's Council of Ireland a…

Paramedics employed by the National Ambulance Service work above and beyond the call of duty on a daily basis. Going out to work, they never know what difficulty or tragedy they may face. They undergo intensive training to qualify. This involves college, on-the-job training and a degree-level academic qualification. Successful qualification came with a commitment by the HSE of a permanent contract…

Molaim an rún seo maidir le tithíocht sa Ghaeltacht. Is fadhb an-tábhachtach í do mhuintir na Gaeltachta i gConamara, Dún na nGall agus Cúige Mumhan agus don teanga agus don chultúr. I welcome and support the motion. It is of vital importance to the Gaeltacht and the Irish language and culture. Difficulties with housing in Gaeltacht areas is of course part of the housing emergency that exists in …

Local government is the beating heart of democracy. That heart was torn out of democracy in 2014 with the abolition of town and borough councils. The latter were replaced by committees with no powers, no functions and no funding. This has done serious damage to towns across the country in the context of their economic and social development. It is now widely acknowledged, even by a former leader o…

Early access to primary medical care GP services is a fundamental basis for a good quality, safe and effective health service. GPs play a very important role in looking after patient care, ensuring early intervention and providing care in the community. I compliment the excellent service provided by GPs, practice nurses, therapy staff and administrative staff in GP practices right across the count…

Parents of children with special needs have to fight for everything. It is a rollercoaster of anxiety and stress. Early warning signs usually show around six months, but support of relatives and friends suggest it is a little bit slow and it will come right. However, at 12 months, things like a vacant stare or little or no baby babble spark real concerns. The anxiety, stress and sleepless nights f…

-----or emotional distress or sensory difficulties. The parents-----

-----and the special needs assistants need a guarantee that criteria will be changed and widened.

That is not the question.

You are deflecting the question.

The Taoiseach has had four opportunities to answer the core question in relation to this issue this afternoon but he has refused to do so. He has taken the opportunity to deflect at all stages in the four contributions. As anybody involved in education, and particularly in special education, knows, the core question in this whole debate is the criteria that are to be met if a child with special ne…

Will the criteria be changed?

Will you answer the question? You are deflecting.

You are refusing to answer the question.

Will you respect the TDs in this House by answering the question?