Before I deal with the Topical Issue, I wish a merry Christmas to Deputy O'Reilly and her family, as well as to the Ceann Comhairle, her team and everybody who keeps this place running day in and day out. I hope they all enjoy the break. I thank Deputy O’Reilly for raising this issue and for offering me the opportunity to speak about it on the floor of the House. The Government recognises that there are unacceptable delays in accessing assessments of need, not just in the Deputy's constituency, but at a national le…

I will. The reforms announced last week are basically a six-pronged approach. First is the statutory element and we published the heads of the Bill, which will go to the disability matters committee for pre-legislative scrutiny and for further consultation. That is aimed at standardising and streamlining the assessment of need process to make sure that every child, no matter where they are in the State, gets the same approach. The second thing we have done is made the decision - this will be part of the statutory g…

I move: That Dáil Éireann, noting that the Government, on 4th November, 2025, agreed to nominate Sam Erik Blanckensee, Cathryn Costello, Adam Harris, Rosaleen McDonagh, Patricia Munatsi-Mangwiza and Rose Wall for appointment by the President as members of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, recommends, pursuant to section 13(1)(b) of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 (No. 25 of 2014), that Sam Erik Blanckensee, Cathryn Costello, Adam Harris, Rosaleen McDonagh, Patricia Munatsi-Mang…

I move: That, notwithstanding anything in the Order of the Dáil of 5th February, 2025, setting out the rota in which Questions to members of the Government are to be asked, Questions for oral answer, following those set down to the Minister for Defence on 16th December, 2025, shall be set down to Ministers in the following temporary sequence: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment whereupon the sequence established by the Order of 5th February, 2025, shall co…

I thank everybody for their contribution here this evening on this really important issue. It is something all of us are familiar with because we all work with families, individuals and children across the country who are affected by this. We all know vulnerable people, including children, who are clearly in need of State support and who unfortunately are left wanting. That is simply not acceptable. Families are stressed out, they are frustrated, they feel abandoned, and that is not fair. No one should be made feel…

On behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, I am pleased to have this opportunity to address the House on the Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2025. This is an annual, technical Bill with eight sections, focused on the specific area of health insurance. It also seeks to make a change to the term of appointment of the chairperson of the Health Insurance Authority. The Bill was published on 18 November and concluded its passage through the Dáil on 26 November. The Minister welcomes the su…

I thank the Senators for their contributions and their proposed amendment. Unfortunately, I must reject the proposed amendment and I will outline why. The Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2025 updates risk equalisation credits and stamp duty levies for health insurance policies in Ireland. Its main goal is to adjust risk equalisation scheme to reflect yearly changes in the market. The Bill is mostly technical and is focused on keeping the scheme running smoothly. As the Senator alluded to, it comes to us every yea…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time". I am pleased to introduce the Irish Film Board (Amendment) Bill 2025 to the House. It was initiated in the Seanad on 14 November and passed through the final Stages there on 26 November. I look forward to hearing Deputies' contributions and I hope they will support this Bill. Officials from the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport will be with me shortly and can provide any information anybody here might like. This is a short, technical Bill. The Irish F…

I thank the Dáil and acknowledge the interest and support of Members for this technical but important Bill. It was really heartening to have the engagement and to hear so many of the TV shows and films that I watch being mentioned here today. It shows the fantastic talent that we have in Ireland and why it is so important that we continue to support the industry. I am going to take a moment to respond to some of the queries and concerns raised here today. I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for his kind words about Screen Ir…

Yes, ten Topical Issues.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Hildegard Naughton. As he said, the brief for this major school building project is to provide an eight-classroom school with an additional four classroom special educational needs, SEN, base included. The project has been devolved to Louth County Council for delivery. The project is currently at stage 4, that is, construction, of the delivery process. It is envisaged that, pending no unforeseen d…

I thank the Deputy. I hear and appreciate his frustration. The number of car parking spaces currently provided for is in line with the approved planning requirements. In order to change the plans, there would need to be a new planning application. I appreciate he does not want to do that after the new school is built, given that it would involve additional disruption. The advice would be to engage now with Louth County Council to see it is if it is possible for the planning changes to happen.

I will pass on the Deputy's feedback to the Minister to see if planning was granted whether it would be possible for the Department to fund those works. Right now, there is no planning grounds for it. That seems to be the problem and that is where I will advise the Deputy to take this next.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth. This gives me the opportunity to outline to the Dáil the current position regarding the proposed amalgamation of Ringaskiddy Lower National School and Shanbally National School in County Cork. This project is planned to be delivered as part of phase 2 of the Department’s Adapt 4 programme. That programme uses a professional external programme manager to co-ordinate and drive the integrated project team to…

I thank Deputy McGrath for his response, for his advocacy on behalf of the schools and for taking the time to go and visit both schools and provide feedback on the floor of the Dáil on what he has seen. This is a little bit more complex than some proposals because we are talking about the amalgamation of two schools. We are also talking about a site that is privately owned and that must come into the ownership of the Cork Diocesan Trust first. The fact that a project manager is already in place and is looking at th…

I thank Deputy Whitmore for raising this really important issue. At the outset, I want to assure her that the Government is absolutely committed to the provision of additional special places for children with special educational needs. Budget 2026 secured funding for 3,000 new specialist places and the NCSE is currently examining where these places are best located for the coming academic year. Deputy Whitmore raised three specific issues which I will address in turn. I have a number of pieces of information in rel…

I appreciate that. There is inconsistency around this from a nationwide perspective and it is quite important that every child, no matter where he or she lives, gets the same treatment.

I, too, agree with the need for a new process. Every year for countless years, we have had parents at the last minute not knowing where their children are going to school. This is about reducing, as much as possible, that stress, strain and uncertainty. We now have the information as of 1 October. The NCSE is working hard to collate, process and map that out to figure out the schools that may have physical capacity to take on additional classrooms and where we might be able to put in additional special schools. It …

I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising this important issue. We have just had a discussion on the same issue with Deputy Whitmore. I reiterate that the Government is fully committed to the provision of additional special places for children with special educational needs. In this academic year, we have surplus special education provision. It was provided based on the numbers notified through the parents notify process, and a number of these places still exist nationwide. Over 2,700 new special education places have be…

I agree with the Deputy. I do not think that an assessment of need should be a barrier to receive extra support. It is not in terms of preschool, or from an access and inclusion model perspective, or from an SNA perspective. I certainly want to get to a point where it is not a requirement for a special class or a special school either. That makes sense and I agree with the Deputy on that. This is something I will undertake. I am undertaking to work with the Minister for Education to get to that point. With regard t…