Will the Minister provide an update on recruitment numbers for the Defence Forces as of this month?

The Minister is 100% correct that we all want to see recruitment to our Defence Forces continue. However the figures she has given far from the 11,500 sought by the Commission on the Defence Forces by 2028. The Minister mentioned 850 a year. Is that the height of the ambition? It is not going to take us near 11,500. I will mention a couple of issues. The first is the single public service pension scheme. RACO and PDFORRA have been in contact with the Minister a number of times about this. Has she had any update on …

There is no single issue here. This is about housing, pensions, pay and conditions. Has the Minister dealt though with the representative organisations on the single public service pension scheme? She might confirm that and let us know whether there is any update. The Minister mentioned all the other barracks, and that is very welcome and everyone who supports the Defence Forces will welcome that. However, the Curragh has been neglected when it comes to housing. On the basis of the Minister's reply to my previous p…

I thank the Minister.

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for saying that. I extend our condolences on behalf of the Labour Party.

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to entitle certain persons caring for others to be entered in the register of postal voters, for that purpose to amend the Electoral Act 1992, and to provide for related matters. I am very happy to introduce the Electoral (Postal Voting) (Carers) Bill 2026 for family carers throughout this country. For too long, family carers have been made to feel invisible due to the lack of recognition of their extraordinary value in Irish society. The facts are v…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I thank my Labour Party colleague, Deputy Kenny, for tabling this important motion which highlights a massive issue for many families across the country. The cost of education report by Zurich shows the annual cost of sending a child to primary school is €1,794. Sending a child to secondary school is even more expensive at €2,928. This means parents could be paying anything up to €32,000 just to put their child through what is supposed to be free education. The Labour Party is clear that free education means free. …

Today is No Wait Card Ireland Awareness Day. It is supported by Crohn's and Colitis Ireland, Spinal Injuries Ireland, the Irish Cancer Society and the Continence Foundation of Ireland. I thank Kildare woman Maria Crowe once again for raising the importance of this card. The Minister will know that, with the support of the Labour Part, I have a Bill on Second Stage to make this card widely available and recognised. I take the opportunity to thank the Minister's colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Car…

I wish to start by thanking Deputy Quaide and the Social Democrats for bringing forward this motion. It is very important for so many people in this country. It is an issue that comes up very regularly in my own office. As has been said, over 2,000 adults with an intellectual disability in Ireland live with a family carer over the age of 70 and 450 of these adults are cared for by parents over the age of 80. We cannot imagine what that is like day to day for those parents, who ask who is going to look after their a…

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber for this very important debate. I thank Deputy Kerrane and Sinn Féin for bringing forward the motion on childcare. We are all agreed on the importance of this issue, albeit it is somewhat ironic that we are discussing it after midnight. While it is positive to have this debate, it is the view of my party that the Government must go further to ensure there truly is delivery of public childcare provision. The current system of early childcare education and care is simply not work…

The point we have reached today, with Members proudly speaking on LGBT Pride, does not just happen. It comes after decades of work, bravery, courage and consistent fighting by advocates. We can never forget this. We must always remember this fact and remember the many people who broke down the closed doors and made Ireland a much more welcoming place for our LGBT comrades. They did so because it was the right thing to do and, in many cases, they walked a long and lonely road to get Ireland where we are today. I am …

Hear, hear.

I wish Deputy Ennis the very best in his new role and look forward to working with him on childcare.

That is a very comprehensive reply. I have a couple of questions arising from it. The Minister sent my question to the Minister for Health. Has the Minister for Health come back to the Minister on this? Does the Minister, Deputy Foley, agree with us all that it beggars belief that, when we are spending so much money on the children's hospital, we are not spending any money within that hospital on childcare facilities, given what Deputies Ennis and Kerrane have said about the lack of childcare facilities right throu…

I will take up the Minister's second point, or maybe the other point that she made, about planning guidelines. Is she telling the House that she will now be consulted on all planning applications and that this is a first for the Department of Children, Disability and Equality? Has the Department never been consulted on projects such as this because if that is the case, it is worrying? It is an opportunity for us all to get involved in the planning process but, more importantly, her Department will now be involved i…

I will yield to the Minister in order to allow her to conclude.

I tabled this question in order to find out what is going on with all of our childcare facilities and to ensure that best practice obtains right across the country. I am very happy to hear that after 3,500 inspections and in the context of the figures the Minister provided, we have a very low level of non-compliance. I am sure the Minister will agree, however, that even one instance of non-compliance is a concern. I know she will come back to me with further information on this. When we get the figures and have tim…

That is why we need more childcare in Kildare.

Absolutely.