Deputy Murphy-----

An Tánaiste, Simon Harris, has spent his entire career standing up and leading in the face of challenge - showing courage and compassion as he led this country through Covid. Within a month of taking office as Taoiseach, he led Ireland in formally recognising the State of Palestine and apologised to the families and victims of the Stardust tragedy. He has ensured continued humanitarian aid for Gaza, shielded our economy from global shocks, and increased overseas aid when others have cut back. That is courage. That …

Endometriosis is one of the most common women's health issues. Far too many women, including women among my family and friends, often endure chronic pain, fatigue, fertility issues and emotional distress. They often miss time at work and in education. They miss out on life generally. The average diagnostic delay is nine years. I know this is an area on which the Minister is focused. I would like to hear what she is doing to address the diagnostic delay and to ensure that our healthcare workers are fully trained and…

I thank the Minister for that comprehensive update. I mentioned the nine-year average diagnostic delay. Women have felt ghosted by their GPs. They feel like they have not been offered supports and have not been listened to. It seems that women are expected to put up with this intolerable, intense and chronic pain, and are essentially made to feel as if it is all in their heads. It is important that the Minister has taken the step to listen. The patient voice forum was an excellent idea. Women now feel heard by the …

I thank the Minister. I really appreciate her focus on this and as I said, women are so impressed that they now feel heard having literally been told that it is all in their heads for so long. In terms of public awareness, sometimes women, particularly younger girls and women, do not necessarily know what to be looking out for when they are talking about endometriosis. This is particularly true for teenage girls and it is really important that we see a public awareness campaign as soon as possible. We know from rep…

Next generation ticketing is something we absolutely need not just in Dublin but all of Ireland. This project was first mooted in 2012, yet here we are in 2025 and we still are waiting. Can the Minister please give us an update as to where we are with this project, the oversight mechanisms and how we can ensure this project is delivered to the new timelines? Can he give us confidence as to when we will see it?

I thank the Minister and I appreciate the update. When we look at other cities across Europe, we see they have introduced contactless payments much quicker. Milan did it in 24 months across multimode transport. One of the things I am concerned about is we have a contractor, Indra, who is to work with the NTA to deliver a very complex IT deployment across Bus Éireann, Dublin Bus, Irish Rail, and Luas. It is a very complex IT project. We see Indra already is €40 million over budget on the national train control centr…

On the operating model for the NTA, am I right that after the deployment of next generation ticketing, the NTA will be moving from simply doing oversight to directly managing fare collection, system operations and having regulatory oversight? Does this give rise to a conflict of interest between the various roles, particularly when it comes to disputes? Is there a clear operating model for the NTA? Will there be transparent governance structures to make sure there are no conflicts of interest between the various ro…

The Deputy is eating into his colleagues' time.

Thank you, Deputy.

In light of the recent and heartbreaking death of Daniel Aruebose, I raise the urgent need for a statutory child death review mechanism. The Ombudsman for Children in the April 2025 child death review again raised his concerns as to the current system and provided clear recommendations for the Government. Such a mechanism is also provided for in the programme for Government, which is very good to see. Can the Minister provide us with an update as to where we are on implementing that commitment?

While the State cannot control every tragedy, we do have a duty to respond to tragic deaths such as this with clarity and compassion, and that means heeding the ombudsman's recommendations. One of the ombudsman's recommendations relates to the Minister's Department where he is looking for immediate engagement with his office to find a resolution to the many limitations with the NRP in accessing information, engaging with other agencies and fundamental governance pending the establishment of a new statutory child de…

The Minister will know from the review and also from engagement with the ombudsman that one of the things he is really calling for is that the reports of the NRP should be shared with families and every effort be made to remove barriers to information. The frustration with timelines and communication with families can be seen throughout the report. Like everything in life, communication and clarity are key and that people are not left ghosted and left hanging. People are really suffering when they lose someone and …

I am here in solidarity and in celebration, but also in concern. Pride is not just a parade, a flag or a month on the calendar. It is the living legacy of generations who fought for dignity, freedom and equality. The rights they fought for were so hard won, but as we have seen across Europe and beyond, those rights are frighteningly easy to lose. This year marks ten years since Ireland made history by voting yes to marriage equality on 22 May 2015 and becoming the first country in the world to legalise same-sex mar…

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 Robert O'Donoghue - To discuss the design of the entrance to the Rush side of the Rush and Lusk train station. Deputy Paula Butterly - Tourism in Louth. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil - To discuss ongoing road safety issues on the Celbridge Road, Maynooth. Deputy Albert Dolan - To discuss a change to the enrolment criteria for specific speech and language dis…

Is this relevant, Deputy?

Please make sure you keep it relevant to the legislation.

Child poverty in Ireland is reaching crisis levels. The Children's Rights Alliance annual report revealed a staggering rise in the number of children living in consistent poverty. We must ensure families have the financial support they need to ensure every child has the opportunity to thrive. I very much welcome the Taoiseach's comments yesterday in which he stated that nothing is off the table when it comes to social welfare payments for reducing child poverty. Last week, the Taoiseach would have seen the ESRI rep…

Ireland's best asset is our hard-working men and women. It is crucial that we fund childcare as an essential infrastructure. I know this is something we have talked about many times before. The Minister might give us an update on what she has done to reduce the cost of childcare to €200 per month and what she plans to do to make sure we achieve it over the lifetime of the Government.

I very much welcome the work that has been done to date. As I stated, I hope we deliver the reduction in childcare of the lifetime of this Government, as it is essential. I also highlighted with the Minister that it is not just the cost that is an issue for many parents who are trying to access childcare; it is also the access to childcare. As she is aware, I live in the youngest area in the country. Many parents like myself in Balbriggan, Skerries, Rush and Lusk simply do not have access to the childcare they need…