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ongoing between the HSE and the Irish Medical Organisation, which represents GPs. I would love to be in a position to update the House on that in the next while. There are important diagnostic criteria for endometriosis that are determined by clinical specialists but I do not have … question around motions and how they are dealt with. I appreciate the members of Sinn Féin will disagree with me as is their right. In any event, we take the opportunity to set out the different things that have been done. I do not reject

pillars. The national disability strategy is intended as a whole-of-government framework for the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Ireland. It is intended to publish this strategy in the coming months. It will contain a number of actions … raise awareness and to foster positive attitudes towards the employment of people with disabilities, which the Minister, Deputy Burke, has mentioned in the House previously. After the strategy has been published, the Department will establish a new Minister-led forum that will provide a platform for a more

school management, particularly at mainstream level, find themselves acting as SNAs. Early intervention is essential, particularly regarding school places. All Members of this House are consistently asked for help in securing school places for children. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been in government for the best part … early intervention, allowing assessments of need to take place, providing the necessary supports and having school places ready for children sound like basic rights but we do not provide these services. The Labour Party has consistently brought solutions to the Government. They are genuine and very possible

email two weeks ago telling her and the landlord it was not going ahead and that she had to be out of the house at the end of May. There are 44 adults and 26 children who will be homeless in the next couple of weeks if that … allocate that extra funding, not only to Cork City Council but to Dublin, Limerick and Kildare. I have been contacted by local authorities right across the State. They need that money

billion to €3 billion. The decision to drop the triple lock is coming at the expense of people on lower incomes, education, disability, housing, refuges for domestic violence, etc. Earlier, the Taoiseach bemoaned that we are living in a world that is becoming increasingly brutal, militaristic, violent … last chance - if he still intends to visit and greet Donald Trump, the chief proponent of this direction of the world right now, on St. Patrick's Day, thereby giving him a photo opportunity. This is a public bully who humiliated Zelenskyy, as we saw, over the weekend

debate but left early. I am also disappointed that we had no speakers from Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael in the House. One would think that children's safety would be the most important thing on the mind of any elected representative. I thank colleagues from Sinn Féin … profile cases involving missing children and scandals in 2025 and 2026. I will not mention names because I do not think it is right to mention the children's names but over €3 million in reviews has been spent in 42,000 cases. That seems absolutely astonishing

flopping all over the place. Sometimes when the far left and the far right unite against legislation, I think we have hit the right spot. Sinn Féin does not know which way to turn or which way to jump at any given time on this issue because Deputy … asylum and migration. Of course, Sinn Féin turned tack again and changed its position when the International Protection Act came before the House. It was not rushed through the House. There was pre-legislative scrutiny, a long debate on Second Stage and it went through Committee Stage

best part of a decade. He believed an open, outward-looking Ireland would be a more prosperous Ireland, and he was right. Like Lemass, we live in turbulent times. Economic and social systems are being tested. The international order is shifting beneath our feet. Trade tensions, geopolitical uncertainty … means a public transport system worthy of a European capital and of every town in this country. It means honest investment in the housing and water and energy infrastructure that our economy and society need. It also means giving clear direction to the public service, because when clear

battlefield site around Moore Street. I was shocked to see the derelict state of the national monument and the terrace of houses along each side of it. The last meeting place of the Provisional Government was 14-17 Moore Street. It is a disgrace the way these buildings … commercial cemetery adjacent to it. It will not be called Bodenstown cemetery but Wolfe Tone cemetery. If I have the details right, the proposals include one that the closer a person is buried to the actual Bodenstown cemetery and the grave of Wolfe Tone, the dearer the burial

Palestinian Territory has concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. That is no longer just my view or the view of this House or this country; it is now the view of a UN commission of inquiry. This is a formal conclusion of what we have been … which the world can speak with one voice and say, "Stop. End this. Here is a way forward." While the world is rightly focused on the horrors playing out in Gaza, we cannot be distracted from the ever-worsening situation in the West Bank. The expansion of settlements

thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to address the House and provide an update on the provision of school transport. This is a hugely important issue, particularly for children and young people with additional needs and their families, many of whom require school transport provision to support … Deputy McEntee, and thank her for her great support and co-operation, not just on this issue but also on others that arise right throughout the Department of Education. Since taking up my position in January, I have met many families and visited many schools, which have shared

meeting against a backdrop of great fragility when it comes to the ceasefire, and I know that all sides of this House will agree on the importance of the ceasefire being maintained. It was long awaited and quite frankly took far too long, with far too many civilian … people throughout Ireland. Our engagement is guided by our long-standing and principled position, notably respect for international law, respect for the equal right to self-determination, peace security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians alike, and unwavering support for the two-state solution

number of recommendations of the final report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Autism, which was representative of all political groups within this House and engaged with relevant stakeholders. Some of the important actions of the strategy include establishing an autism innovation fund to fund projects to empower … Fiacre Ryan, a young autistic boy from Castlebar who gave evidence to the joint committee: It only seems appropriate to give the same rights given to those without autism to individuals with it. Needing some type of assistance does not make someone less of a person

there is a single person who saw the footage yesterday who could not but be appalled by what they saw. The Deputy is right that this is just another act by the Israeli Government among a string of acts we have seen over recent weeks, months and, indeed … prohibit the importation of goods into the State from the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory. I have been clear with this House that since it was published, a number of questions needed to be asked of the Attorney General and that information has come back

which time their children miss vital windows for intervention, development and care. This is not just a delay. It is a denial of rights, of equal opportunity and of childhood in many cases. Parents are exhausted. They are forced to become full-time advocates, legal experts and indeed … young girl from Ardfinnan, just beside me, in Tipperary, who has spoken with so many and has started a sleepover outside Leinster House. She was given commitments, as were countless other families, but promises mean nothing without delivery. It is time for the Government to act decisively

media power and promote transparency is reasonable. The requirement for greater transparency in State advertising is also welcome. The public has a right to know how and where public money is being spent, particularly in the media space. Equally, the move to establish a clear picture of media … broader implications of what is being proposed. This Bill represents a significant transfer of power from an elected Minister accountable to this House and to the people, to one unelected regulatory body in the form of Coimisiún na Meán. Independence in regulation has its place, but independence must

truly all-of-government approach to disability, as set out in the new national disability strategy. The Government's new National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030 was published in September 2025. That is the framework for the whole-of-government approach to addressing disability … wider roll-out to special schools commencing in the 2026-27 school year. Additional information not given on the floor of the House It is planned that this service will be extended to special classes and mainstream classes following the roll-out to special schools. Initially the service

done the work to shift trees out of the way. The devastation was huge - no water, no electricity and people cold in their houses. I compliment the ESB on the amount of work it has done. The sickening fact is that I talked to a contractor … problem? Throughout this country, one can see the corridors that have been left in forests. Forests have caused huge problems right around this country. The corridors are not 35 m on each side and the trees have taken down the main three-phase lines. Throughout the countryside, trees

appreciate the point the Deputy is making but I am not going to make any commitments or policy on the floor of the House. I am also operating without information on the specific patients, the duration or the interest costs. I do not have any of that information … privately, I will be happy to look at it. However, I will not make promises I cannot deliver as it would not be right for me to do so. I appreciate the Deputy's point and his reasoning

public representatives of all parties that we need to imbue in our nation a sense of strategic direction. Historically, we got it right in terms of utilities. That underpinned inward investment into this country and economic development without question. We are at a tipping point now in respect … underpin, for future generations, basic utilities for economic development and for the very basic supply of water itself. We acknowledge there is a housing crisis. Water will enable us to build more houses. If we do not get this done, there will be thousands and thousands of houses

impact. I welcome the package of measures the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have announced, to include financial assistance, prioritised access to social housing, trauma-informed healthcare and education supports. These measures are welcome but survivors tell me they are keen to get a timeline for when the services … know when the commitments will be upheld and when the services will be made available. Clearly, the first important part of continuing to right historical wrongs is the apology today. However, we must all collectively ensure that proper justice, full justice and redress are delivered to provide dignity

There are a number of toll gates we will go through. I expect to be in a position to bring legislation before the House at that stage. There are some technical details that we need to work through. It is important to restate that DkIT will remain within … technological and higher education system. There are some alignments that need to be made there but the proposal is certainly moving in the right direction and going well

failure, to deliver she is back again, compelled to do a second sleep-out for 50 hours outside the gates of Leinster House. It is incredible that a child is doing that in the weather we have at the moment. We should all, particularly those on the Government … undertake such a protest for a second time. It is shameful that the State continues to fail children when it comes to their rights under the Disability Act. It is shameful that not only has Cara had to embark on such a protest again but that the number

ESRI shows that one in five children, or more than 225,000, lives in a family below the poverty line when housing costs are accounted for. The cost-of-living crisis is deepening, with annualised food price inflation in August up by 5%, and for the first time … surpassed 5,000. These are all the result of Government policies and decisions. Does the Government listen to the ESRI, the Children's Rights Alliance or any of the other bodies and agencies that are ringing the alarm bells on child poverty? The number of children in consistent

talking about. She knows more than those of us who are in government. The pressure came from the Taoiseach to the Tánaiste right down to every Minister who had a role in this. As I said, delivering the scheme is important. I do not know if the Deputy … pumps, it was great to see the local farming community and particularly the people who had suffered most - the families whose houses were affected - and see the excitement on their faces knowing that Government had listened and delivered on what they wanted. However, the final piece