I thank the Minister. We definitely will. The stakeholders are the Department, the education and training boards, and Fórsa on behalf of the workers. This issue has been ongoing for considerable time. I took it to the Tánaiste when he was Minister for further education. An element was dealt with in that the pay rate per hour was improved. It was a considerable percentage because it was a very low base. The big thing for them was the 52-week contract. These are people who are facilitating those who have challenging …

We all realise the supports that are required, from reasonable accommodation to assistive technology. In some cases, students need added supports such as personal assistants. I do not see it as something that is changing. I accept that it creates a difficulty given that a proposal is in front of workers at the minute. I will deal with the Minister offline about that. There will be issues with pay and conditions, but the 52-week contract was a fundamental issue and is the reason there has not been huge retention in …

That is absolutely necessary. We will need to sort this out, particularly for personal assistants in DIFE, Ó Fiaich, Cavan and beyond.

I also commend Deputy Kenny on bringing this forward. It goes without saying that on some level, there should not actually be a need for a conversation in here. Everyone is always worried when they see we are kicking the can down the road. I hope there will be a proper attempt to address this issue. Forget the politics, which can occur from time to time in here. Obviously, I never partake in that and am always very constructive. In reality, this is about saving lives. It could be anybody's life. It is that idea. We…

The question is: where is the just transition? The people out there do not feel it and do not see it. I do not know how many times I have used the term in here. We talk about Ireland being a wind superpower but that is all we are talking about. We will talk about the difficulties that arose when switching from developer-led to planning-led systems but the fact is that we have not been able to fundamentally make use of that one serious resource we have in the form of wind. I have not seen any adequate speed-up or st…

It is an absolute disgrace that the EU is not suspending the EU-Israel association agreement. We just have to do the bit we can do, and that is the occupied territories Bill. There is genocide, ethnic cleansing and colonisation, whether we are talking about Gaza, the West Bank or now in Lebanon. The illegal war by the US in Iran has had a detrimental impact on us here. It is not life and death but it is having a huge impact on fuel costs. What conversations are happening in Europe in relation to the energy taxation…

These are extraordinary times.

I think everyone in here wants to see a reduction in the number of people actually smoking. I do not think anyone is against that. Do we know, individually, the point of view of people who have used vapes? I get that the jury is out but I refer to some element of harm reduction and the point of view of them getting themselves off it. That has to be facilitated. We should be absolutely united in ensuring we are banning products that are targeted specifically at children and adolescents. At times, we have seen an ove…

The issue of child poverty can be exacerbated by disability. I want to bring up the case of 14-year-old Harry. He is non-verbal and has been diagnosed with ASD, ADHD and general moderate learning disability. He has been in University Hospital Limerick, UHL, since 30 March. He is in a state of extreme distress and is engaging in daily self-injurious behaviour. He is confined to a single hospital room under 24-hour supervision by security guards. This is a medical setting. Timber blocks have been installed on windows…

No, it is in Limerick. Deputy McGettigan gave me the details and I can send them on to the Taoiseach afterwards.

I was contacted by somebody, like the Taoiseach, who might have an interest in the all-Ireland final on 19 July, before anyone mentions the county I am from, which is doing quite well at the moment. The fact is that the free travel option they would have on the basis of their disability was not available in the rail options that were open to them. They wanted this highlighted as a point. I agree with Deputy Conway-Walsh, and we have spoken before about the need for a cost-of-disability payment, but we need to incre…

It was about all-Ireland tickets for the person who could not get the free travel option for the all-Ireland final date. They have tried to book it but they are not able to get the free travel option.

Exactly. They are getting ahead of themselves, but you know-----

There may be.

No, it is-----

No, but these are not even the extra services that are put on. Usually this would be available but it is not available. The other thing was the guy with the spinal injury.

No. The guy with the spinal injury has been knocked out of the taxi industry because he has to buy a wheelchair-accessible vehicle and he is not able to operate it. I understand how this has happened. I will send it on. It is an unintended consequence.

This Government and this State do not cherish all the children of the nation equally when it comes to education. We are here discussing appropriate school places, inclusive education and ensuring that children have the correct supports they require. Unfortunately, we keep having this conversation because there is a continuity of failure to deliver. I will start with one example, but we could all probably list 50: Hi Ruairí, my name is Lisa, and I'm emailing regarding my son Matthew who attends an ASD class in a pri…

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