I will pick up where Deputy John Connolly left off and talk about a number of schemes in Cork. It frustrates the life out of people that they are waiting ten, 12 or 15 years for these schemes, from concept through to design and being built. I accept that it is not straightforward. As Deputy Connolly noted, there are concerns about special areas of conservation and inland fisheries and a myriad of environmental concerns need to be addressed that are covered under EU directives, so we have to respect those. At the sa…

This has been an issue for many of us across the House over the past couple of months. It has been flagged repeatedly by Government TDs as well as Opposition TDs. I would like to specifically talk about Cork city and county. Some 33 families in Cork city and around the same number in Cork county are currently in limbo. They are unsure what is happening with their applications for the tenant in situ scheme. I have seen the various pieces of correspondence between Departments and the local authorities over the past e…

I thank the Minister of State. I might pick up on the last point. It is interesting to hear that only 20% of the fund has been drawn down. I know that in the case of both Cork City Council and Cork County Council they have drawn down the full allocation for 2025, or committed to it. If only 20% of the funding has been drawn down, could the reallocation of the funding from other local authorities not be considered if they have not drawn it down? Does the Minister of State have figures for 2024 which show whether the…

The news that reached us last night about the review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement was very welcome. Unfortunately, our attempts and those of Spain to bring our EU counterparts to this position in February of last year were frustrated. Now at least a significant number of our EU colleagues have been equally appalled at the devastation inflicted on the Palestinian people. It is not just the EU that has now finally changed tack. Both the UK and Canada in the past few days have expressed their condemnation at…

I might begin by stating how proud I am of us as a nation and of the people of Ireland for what we have done over the past three years or so in providing jobs, employment and, most importantly, safe accommodation for people from Ukraine who have fled this unjust war. I will ask the Taoiseach some specific questions. Will he speak to us on where fast-tracking EU membership for Ukraine is at or provide some kind of roadmap or timeline for how we are likely to expedite that? My second question is on the financial supp…

The situation is unacceptable. Like the Minister, I spent 15 years in a classroom and delivered hours as a special education teacher from time to time. In that 15 years, I have seen things improve in terms of resources and overall funding but in what is being experienced on the ground, particularly in the area of assessments of need, things are definitely regressing. We need to put that on the record from the outset. That is generally agreed by all parties here. I fully understand the frustration of parents. Not a …

In accordance with Standing Order 85(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time on Wednesday, 14 May 2025.

I will give the Deputy another chance to come back in.

I am here asking a number of questions and the Minister of State may or may not have some of the answers. It is important to raise the issue once again and to highlight the problems we are likely to encounter in advance of September and the intake of students into special schools. The Minister of State is obviously aware that there was a pilot scheme to reintroduce therapists, OT, physio, speech and language therapists, etc., into special schools, initially run in Cork and Dublin, with three special schools in Cork…

I am one of the best people to come into the House and criticise and give out about how we are implementing or not implementing things, but in fairness, in this response, it is the first time it has been clarified for me that the three special schools in Cork have been fully staffed. That is the first time I have heard that or seen it in writing. That is to be welcomed. The pilot scheme in Cork has worked if we have managed to fully staff it. Whatever about the outcomes for people availing of the service, the fact …

I am going to cut to the chase because I have a whole two and a half minutes to speak on this topic. I will focus on the availability of drugs, specifically new drugs, right across Europe. We all know the positive nature of what the European Union has contributed to Ireland but there is one glaring area I would like to highlight. Free and borderless travel is available to us and it is the same with regard to doing business but unfortunately when it comes to the availability of drugs for people's healthcare, we stil…

The Minister of State has sat in a lot of parliamentary party meetings with me and I know this is an issue she is very familiar with because I have raised it every second week. I appreciate the Minister of State being here this evening. I do not mean to sound dismissive but I can almost predict the answer she will give to me. I half know the answers to some of the questions I have posed which relate to why we approve so few new cancer drugs, why there are delays in the system and the third part of my question, whic…

I thank the Minister of State. I will point out a few things relative to the script she has there. The first thing is that we are spending €3 billion on drugs. That is a fact; I cannot dispute it. It is likely to be €4 billion before too long and it is going to continue to increase as the innovations in drugs and treatment continue to progress. That should be a good thing because it saves people going into hospitals or into long-term care, and it saves us by giving people the opportunity to be productive in society…

I raise an issue related to special education. Since the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, assumed their roles they have been doing their best to get to grips with the crisis we are facing in special education in particular. I taught in a classroom for 15 years. It was always a struggle to find people to teach special education. Historically it has always been that way. The problem has become more acute as the years have gone by. We recognise teachers who teach in the Gaeltacht and on the islands…

I will carry on from where Deputy O'Connor left off, about whether notices should be issued about the consumption of water. There are other Deputies from Cork North-Central in the Chamber. I know that some Deputies have brought in samples of water in the past. It clearly is not a reliable source of drinking water at the moment. While we cannot blame people for not taking the risk, Irish Water still has this policy where it will not issue the non-consumption notice. At this stage, people need to be offered the choic…

I add my voice to Deputy Moynihan's. Every year, I dread this time when the school portal opens because we live in a Bermuda Triangle-type area between places called Watergrasshill, Carrignavar, Glenville and Whitechurch. There are always issues with proximity to secondary schools. I understand there were 14 pilots last year. Will the Minister elaborate on the nature of some of those pilots, if we are likely to see an expansion of those 14 pilots and what kind of criteria will be prioritised specifically to give sc…

This question is to ask the Minister the steps taken in Cork county and city to ensure all children who require a place have the possibility of securing a place in a special class or a special school for the next academic year. We have this problem every year with mainstream school places across the suburban area of Cork, but we have a particular pinch point this year with special school places. This is not something we envisaged two and a half years ago when we had the previous crisis and Carrigaline special schoo…

That is ridiculous. I drove three hours up the road to listen and so I could come in on this.

I echo the comments from Deputies Bacik and Malcolm Byrne on election interference from state and non-state actors. I will comment briefly on alleged Russian interference in elections in Moldova and Romania as an example. We see every day on our Twitter feeds or on various social media platforms various types of misinformation and fake news. Obviously, that is most critically effective in and around election times in various countries, but what are we doing here and now to plan into the future for potential electio…

I now call on the Minister to conclude the debate.