I move amendment No. 57: In page 27, line 18, to delete “a mental disorder” and substitute “mental health difficulties”.

I move amendment No. 58: In page 27, line 25, to delete “a mental disorder” and substitute “mental health difficulties”.

I move amendment No. 59: In page 27, line 32, to delete “a mental disorder” and substitute “mental health difficulties”.

I move amendment No. 60: In page 29, line 6, to delete “a mental disorder” and substitute “mental health difficulties”.

I share the concerns expressed by others. The Mental Health Commission has recommended that a dedicated authorised officer unit be set up in the HSE. I would be interested in the Minister of State's thoughts on that. I share the concern regarding full-time officers. What resources will be put in place to ensure that happens? It is all well and good saying we should have people available 24-7, but we need to resource that and have funding available. What resources does the Minister of State intend to put in place to…

I support the sentiments of previous speakers on enshrining wider assessment. If the Minister of State agrees this needs to be done but does not agree with the actual amendment, I encourage her to consider inserting a Report Stage amendment that will achieve something similar. I ask her to consider doing that on Report Stage, if she agrees this is worth doing and is worthwhile.

I move amendment No. 78: In page 33, lines 34 and 35, to delete “a mental disorder” and substitute “mental health difficulties”.

I move amendment No. 80: In page 33, lines 39 and 40, to delete “a mental disorder” and substitute “mental health difficulties”.

I move amendment No. 88: In page 35, lines 1 and 2, to delete “a mental disorder” and substitute “mental health difficulties”.

I move amendment No. 89: In page 35, line 4, to delete “a mental disorder” and substitute “mental health difficulties”.

I move amendment No. 117: In page 52, lines 7 and 8, to delete “a mental disorder” and substitute “mental health difficulties”.

The Minister of State mentioned ECTs in her remarks. The Social Democrats will oppose section 83 which allows for ECT for children. According to the Psychological Society of Ireland, it has not been used in the State on children in more than two decades. It is still contained in the Bill. I accept that ECT is subject to the approval of the High Court. We believe that it should never be used. In 2023, the WHO and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights advised against the use of ECT on ch…

I echo everything said by Deputy Hearne. Nothing causes more frustration for people in housing need than seeing council houses boarded up. It causes huge frustration for people when they look out and see a house across the way that has been boarded up for weeks and months while they are living in an overcrowded house. Intergenerational families are stuck living together while there are houses across my constituency in Cork that are boarded up. Across County Cork, 495 houses are boarded up. In Cork city, there are 3…

I wish the best of luck to all those sitting State examinations - the junior and leaving certificate examinations - across the country. Sitting State examinations can be a challenging and gruelling experience but it can be extra challenging for those with additional needs and dyslexia. Unlike other countries and third level, the State does not provide additional time to students with dyslexia during State examinations. The State is doing a cruel disservice to these students by not providing them with additional tim…

While I welcome the review, as I set out, we now have reports going back as far as 2008 that have called for this change to be made. Many people will view the Minister of State's answer as a delay. What we want is an answer on whether the Government will provide the additional time for students' exams that has been called for. It is ten minutes extra per hour in their exams. It is also worth saying that the international evidence is already there. I have set out what other countries do. We also know what third leve…

It is really hard to know where to start when it comes to CHI. The report that was published is shocking, disturbing and deeply upsetting for families across the country. It confirms what we have known and what we have said in the House for some time, that unnecessary surgeries took place on children. We know what happened and now we need to know why that happened. I have a list of questions as long as my arm that need to be answered. As a new TD, I do not believe this format of long statements and posing questions…

What is happening in Gaza right now is horrific and unjust. Israel's actions are disturbing, disgusting and criminal. We are witnessing an evil that is difficult to comprehend. While Israel is blocking the provision of aid and while food is being withheld, Gaza is on the brink of famine. We cannot continue business as normal when Israel is allowing children to starve. As a TD, my job is to be a messenger of the people. The message from the people could not be clearer. The people want the Government to do more, to s…

Next week marks the tenth anniversary of the momentous marriage equality referendum, which was a landmark moment in our social and political history. Today, ILGA-Europe published its report ranking European countries on LGBT human rights and policy protections. Ireland was ranked 14th on that list, which is mid-ranking. There are significant gaps in access to trans healthcare, gaps around hate speech laws, gaps in our equality legislation, a lack of non-binary recognition, gaps in intersex rights and no ban on conv…

The waiting time for the driving test needs to be treated like the emergency it is. The situation is getting worse, not better. As of April, the average wait time for the Wilton driving test centre in Cork was 35 weeks. In March, the relevant figure was 31 weeks. For the test centre in Mallow, the average wait time is 36 weeks, which is nine months. These are not just numbers. They represent thousands of real people across Cork who are stuck in limbo. These are young people seeking independence, people who need to …

I first raised the issue of children enduring unnecessary hip surgeries with the Taoiseach in March. It is nearly two months later and we are still none the wiser about what went on. A draft audit of the surgeries in three hospitals between 2021 and 2023 has been in the public domain for months. That audit found a large portion of surgeries in two of those hospitals were potentially unnecessary. There have been repeated questions about the scandal in this Chamber, but no further answers. The Taoiseach cannot even t…