I welcome science week as an important moment for children at primary level, further and higher level students and our educators. This is a celebration of the achievements of science and the advances in rapid technological change. Science week promotes STEM and hands-on learning. It also inspires future scientists and creates curiosity in young minds, making science more accessible, and provides a platform to showcase how science can become a subject for young people to take up in their studies. I saw this first-ha…

We all see it every year: the proud photos of our little ones in their school uniforms standing tall and smiling on the first day back. Those bright faces fill our social media feeds but what the photos do not show are the stress, the struggle and the sacrifice of the parents or guardians behind the camera, the sleepless nights worrying about how to afford it all. For far too many families, 54% of them, going to school is not a joyful occasion; it is a financial burden. Some are forced to cut back on essentials, ev…

We have a great opportunity to reunite our county and our people, and to have engagement through a citizens' assembly with all sectors of our island. It is long past time for the Irish Government to prepare for the reunification of our country. It is particularly important that a citizens' assembly is established to allow anyone, North or South, to have their say and provide their input to the process. Many families in my hometown of Shannon, including my own, are originally from the North. Many did not have a choi…

The local training initiatives, LTIs, operating guidelines states that any income received towards the running costs of a LTI, whether from earned income or secondary grant aid, must be offset as income in the LTI monthly claim form. This clearly demonstrates that LTIs are not financially independent and cannot generate or retain income to improve wages or conditions as all funding is fully controlled and accounted for through the education training boards, ETBs, and SOLAS system. This appears to contradict the vie…

I welcome that. I agree with the Minister that they are well needed and well placed. They help people get their foot on the ladder. They are in communities. There is a real issue with the lack of transparency, which the Minister has pointed out as well. The pay and conditions for staff in both LTIs and community training centres, CTCs, are determined through a central process involving negotiations with unions and the Government rather than being set by each individual initiative. Surely there should be a mechanism…

I appreciate those words. I am glad to hear that this will all be worked out. As the Minister said, it needs to be simplified and streamlined. The last letter that went out from the Minister of State, Deputy Harkin's office in 2025 states that LTIs are independent. This needs to be clarified for those LTIs out there that are trying to work through this. The fact the Department instructed SOLAS in 2023 to award 5% pay increases shows that they are not independent. That needs to be clarified.

I looked through the budget documentation but found no mention of student accommodation, which was quite shocking to me. I still have not received information on why the shortfall in student accommodation has happened. The strategy missed it targets but there has been no explanation for this. It is no secret that there is a crisis for students and families who are currently in distress trying to find accommodation. I ask the Minister to outline the current targets and whether new funding will be allocated for this.

What the Minister, Deputy Chambers, talked about was accommodation that was already delivered. He spoke about Maynooth, which is already delivered, and UCD, which is already in the process of being delivered. He did not mention anything new. How much later in the year is the Minister talking about for the publication of the strategy? We are now in October and people are anxious to see it. I have students coming in to me every week who are in despair and distress. They are facing the unrelenting task of trying to fi…

I will have to look into that. The Minister said he recently approved funding of €67 million but that funding was announced in April 2024. It is not new funding. There is no mention of DCU, which has gone to tender and already has plans in place. All it is waiting for is permission to go ahead. This fund of €100 million was announced back in 2024; it is not new funding. Is there going to be new funding for student accommodation? I accept that giving extra money for accommodation and travel is a good thing but these…

I welcome this Bill and thank the Minister for bringing it forward. I also welcome his commitments on this. The NTF was established by the National Training Fund Act 2000 as a dedicated fund to support the training of those in employment and those seeking employment. Its aim is to support the development of a highly skilled and adaptable workforce, ensuring that Ireland remains competitive in a global economy. The Act also provides for the funding of the provision of information on existing and likely future skills…

I welcome this motion and commend Deputy Ward on bringing it forward. There are families trapped in homes that are unsafe and that are literally crumbling around them. They put their faith in the defective block scheme. They filled out every form and jumped through every hoop and now some are being punished for being too early, for daring to hope that the Government would stand by them in their hour of need. When this scheme first opened, it was sold as a lifeline, but what has it become? It is a bureaucratic night…

It is part of the budget.

From talking to students and students’ unions in the aftermath of this budget, I have discovered that they feel they are being treated very poorly. Has the Minister spoken with them or heard what they have to say? One students’ union wishes to know whether he is a magician in view of the fact that he is turning a €500 increase into a reduction. There are second and third level students who have never had to pay student fees of €3,000; they have only paid €2,000. Now, however, they will have to pay €2,500. Maybe tha…

We in Sinn Féin agree with the concept of an auto-enrolment pension scheme. There is no doubt that, with an ageing population, provision will have to be made for such a scheme in order to supplement the State pension. However, this is the wrong scheme at the wrong time. It is vital that any enrolment scheme is properly designed and managed for the benefit of the people when they retire. There may be a very good reason why people are not already signed up to the pension scheme. They simply may not be able to afford …

The Government has been caught napping when it comes to vapes. We all knew this was coming down the line and yet the Government failed to take adequate action to prevent the problems we are now witnessing. I am even after hearing the Minister of State’s Government colleagues calling this out. The rate of vape use among 15 to 16-year-olds is at 18%, with 39% of them having tried it at some stage. This should be a serious concern for all of us. Many vape shop owners share those concerns, some of whom have contacted m…

I want to talk about a worrying issue that affects parents and pupils in Shannon, Sixmilebridge and Newmarket on Fergus in Clare when they are using school transport and the problems that come with the integration of our school transport system into the public service. Last year, the NTA made a significant investment in public transport in Shannon and the surrounding areas. This was very welcome and a step forward in resolving a lot of issues with the previous service. However, the integration of the long-establish…

No.

I support the triple lock and want it retained. The vast majority of us do not want Irish troops to serve anywhere unless it is as peacekeepers under the auspices of the UN. Opinion polls have consistently shown that. It was enacted to reassure the voters of the State that we would not become involved in an EU army, NATO or any other military alliances. The Government is now clearly determined to abandon the reassurances given to the people. Our military neutrality is already being undermined by the use of Shannon …

Sinn Féin supports investing in our military, air force and naval services to overcome the chronic neglect they have suffered under this and previous Governments. We are not a major military power and should not strive to become one. Our standing in the world should rest firmly on our neutrality and independence. We should seek to assert influence from that basis. Any military spending in excess of what is absolutely necessary will produce profits for arms manufacturers at the expense of the people of Ireland. We a…

It is clear to anyone paying attention that we have a serious capacity issue when it comes to providing school places for children with special needs. Every child is entitled to the best quality education the State can provide, and this means schooling that meets their needs and is based in their own community. Yet parents in my constituency of Clare are having to place their children on buses or face commutes to bring their children to a school - one the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, visited himself - that m…