I want to bring to the attention of the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, my concern about the proposal by Inland Fisheries Ireland, IFI, to close the Cong salmon hatchery at Cong on Lough Corrib. I cannot get clarity as to whether a decision has been made, or is due or pending. This concern has been brought to me by angling groups, in particular, but also by groups that advocate for the conservation of salmon on the Corrib and by tourism stakeholders. Many of the anglers who have visited my constituency office rec…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. There is an independence to the board of Inland Fisheries Ireland. I recognise that the Minister of State is being prudent in not interfering in its decision-making processes. I do not have the scientific background required to challenge some of the content of the response. Nevertheless, there are a number of things I note. This hatchery has been in place since before 2016, and possibly before that. I am not sure of the foundation date. It is not recently that the Cor…

That is a terrible comment.

One of the things that has worked so well to make our schools more accessible and more inclusive is the deployment of additional SNAs to our schools over the past two decades. I raise this issue in light of the recent publication of the guidelines for the review of SNA allocations in schools provided by the NCSE and the concern raised around it. I have to say I feel some of the concern is very justified. Specifically, it is disappointing in light of the investment the Government made prior to the summer in non-main…

Classes for children include those for language, reading classes, etc. I think further clarification should be provided.

A number of Deputies have noted the recent sporting achievements of many Irish athletes. I take the opportunity to congratulate Fiona Murtagh, a Galway native, who was successful in the World Rowing Championships in the single sculls grade. She is an Olympian. I think this may be her second world title, but it is certainly a notable achievement and deserves congratulations. I echo the sentiments of many speakers about how advantageous and beneficial this programme is to communities in terms of the availability and …

One issue that pertains to this was brought to my attention last week. It pertains to a number of schools in the Connemara region. Unfortunately, due to the upgrading of guidelines over the summer preventing food from being heated or cooked on site, a number of operators are no longer providing a service to these schools, which has resulted in the loss of the service for the children and families there. The schools are trying to source a new provider but they are having difficulty in doing so. The alteration of the…

What is the number of participants in the fish assist scheme? How many are there per county? Could we get that information? In light of budget 2026, will the Minister look at the scheme to see if it could be made more attractive for more participants?

I thank the Minister. It is quite a low number of participants considering we are an island nation. Fishing has been a traditional means of earning a living and sustaining some vibrancy in coastal communities in this country for centuries. The number the Minister has given us as regards people availing of this scheme is an indicator of the number of people involved in the industry in general. That is a matter for another debate on another occasion. One of the things we could look at in trying to ensure people conti…

I again ask the Minister to look at that low threshold for seaweed harvesters. The income threshold for seaweed harvesters who might wish to also participate in the fish assist scheme is very low. It has not changed since the mid-nineties. It is €1,270. Taking inflation over the years into account, we could look at increasing that figure. The equivalent figure today might be €6,000 or €7,000. That would not be a regressive step at all but quite a positive one. Failing that, perhaps we could look at some other type …

I wish to ask the Minister about the commitment in the programme for Government to examine the anomalies in the means test for disability payments. Have we progressed that work?

I understand the Department is currently reviewing means testing across all of our schemes. Has that job of work progressed? When might we expect its completion? I refer in particular to the means test for the disability allowance. One issue is that a slight increase in household income can lead to a substantial decrease in the allowance paid to disabled members of society. That is one of the major anomalies the review of the means test should examine.

The programme for Government also makes a commitment to introduce a permanent annual cost-of-disability support payment, with a view to incrementally increasing it over the lifetime of the Government's term. Is this part of the current considerations in terms of the review of the disability payment?

I very much welcome the Minister's response. I have a similar question, Question No. 32, on the commitment in the programme for Government to review the infrastructural guidelines. One of the most frustrating aspects of being a public representative is the time it takes between the concept of a project to its delivery. I was a member of a local authority from 2004 to 2009, and my recollection is that public projects moved a lot quicker during that period than they do now. I welcome the Minister's response on the ne…

Deputy McAuliffe has asked a pertinent question that is relevant to his constituency but in which I think we all have an interest. It is to ask the number of sanctioned special classes for children with additional needs, as announced earlier this year. The pertinent part is Deputy McAuliffe's request for the number of such classes it is hoped will be operational in autumn 2025. I have raised with the Minister and the Taoiseach the challenge in filling teaching positions. A Department payroll review highlighted 1,20…

I am always conscious when we are discussing this topic of the review that was undertaken of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act recently. The research that went into that highlighted clearly that the term "additional needs" is preferable to "special education". I am conscious of that and that my language should be more appropriate. I very much welcome the recent announcement by the Minister of State that training in teacher training colleges will now include a period where the teacher will…

I concur with the Minister of State on the quality of the teaching personnel who are being produced by our teaching colleges. I just think we need more of them. We genuinely need to review that. There are gaps and vacancies that will not be filled in September. I am concerned about that and I think we need to expand the number of teacher training places. I will bring two other points to the floor for discussion with the Minister of State, one being the categories of classes for children with additional needs. The M…

Last week, the Irish Cancer Society launched its pre-budget submission, which highlighted that patients in the west and north west face the longest wait time between cancer diagnosis and commencement of appropriate treatment. Dr. Michael McCarthy, president of the Irish Society of Medical Oncology and a consultant oncologist at University Hospital Galway, said: Working in the West of Ireland, I see the human cost of the postcode lottery in Irish cancer care every day. Once chemotherapy is prescribed, the National C…

I appreciate the Tánaiste's response greatly. The one line that really gives me hope is his comment that the master plan for the development of the regional hospital in Galway will be a game-changer. It certainly will. Some of the preliminary works to enable it have started. Some of the outpatient services have moved to Merlin Park University Hospital and there are plans to move more services there to ensure we have a top-class facility for acute requirements and that we also have outpatient and elective services i…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as a bheith linn ar maidin chun an cheist seo a fhreagairt. The Galway transport strategy was launched with great expectation in 2016. It was heralded to develop an integrated transport system where infrastructural development and improved services would be integrated, giving commuters a greater option rather than simply relying on the car all the time. Regrettably, very few of the projects mentioned in this strategy have been completed. There have been some, such as a new pedest…