Brian Stanley
Laois · Independent · Ireland
“We are going through an epidemic of domestic abuse and violence. In 2025, the Garda had over 67,000 calls in relation to domestic abuse. Seven women were murdered last year, and in many of those cases, it was by a family member, a partner or somebody known closely to the victim.”
“Those fundamentals cannot be ignored. Are supporters of partition really saying that we can continue on this small island with 14 different departments in each jurisdiction working back to back, often in competition with each other? Are they saying that having Twenty-six Counties in the EU and Six Counties out of it makes economic sense?”
“Those who still argue for partition ignore the fact that in a reunified 32-county state, the pension liabilities of those workers in the Six Counties who accrued pension entitlements by paying into the British national insurance system and the British exchequer or employment pensions would receive that portion of their pension liability.”
“Unfortunately, I do not get any sense of urgency from the Minister of State that we are going to have laws introduced in September or October, and that is the crucial issue. Yes, we have rules now, and she listed them out in relation to the signs. However, they are being ignored.”
“The cost is €2.6 billion for the diplomatic mission alone. There is also MI6 and the massive military machine and capacity, including the army, the navy and the Royal Air Force. I saw a figure of €60.2 billion for 2025 and 2026. That amount is due to rise sharply to meet its increased military capabilities.”
“The issue I am raising with the Minister of State is the increase in the number of injuries, including those involving young children, relating to e-scooters and e-bikes. Ten have been killed.”
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“The Taoiseach, the Government and I all know that, given the subject of debates in the House this week, we need to increase our supply of renewable energy and to become more energy self-sufficient. We cannot depend on Trump and the boys. Nearly a decade and a half has passed. There have been four governments. Who is blocking it? We need to sort it out. It cannot take 15 years to get guidelines in place. I think the Taoiseach would agree with that.”
“The Taoiseach will recall that last November I brought the Wind Turbine Regulation Bill 2025 before the Dáil, partly to get the Bill through and partly in an effort to move the Government on this issue. I have been receiving replies to parliamentary questions on this matter for a decade and a half now. The most recent one, from the start of this month, says: My Department is currently undertaking a focused review of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines ... The review is addressing a number of key aspects of the Guidelines ... [Blah, blah, blah.] That is the same reply I have been getting for a decade and a half. When I introduced that Bill, the Government said it would bring forward guidelines within three months.”
“Their income was very modest but they could not get medical card because of the low income thresholds. If somebody has particularly stage 3 or 4 cancer, give them a bloody medical card because they need one. We should waive car parking charges for cancer patients. We should ask each hospital to do that. A simple voucher would do it.”
“One of the things that we can do on a North-South basis is strengthen co-operation in cancer research and treatment. There is a lot of talk about screening. Maybe when we get older, we encounter this but the number of people I come across who have prostate cancer is significant. We need to provide free screening and free blood tests for prostate cancer for men aged over 60. We need to ban sunbeds. Using sunbeds is crazy. A ban on them is recommended by the Irish Cancer Society and I do not know of any sensible person who would not support such a ban. We need to give cancer patients automatic entitlement to medical cards. I have come across a case where a person died from cancer without being able to get a medical card. This person was not a millionaire.”
“I know somebody who was waiting and waiting. I had to intervene on their behalf at the time to get the necessary treatment that they needed. That is not good enough. There is also a lack of awareness around the symptoms and delayed diagnosis. We need to increase public awareness around that. In short, we need to expand the outdated diagnostic equipment that we have, invest in modern equipment and infrastructure in our hospitals and scale up because one in two of us is going to get cancer. That is the bad news. We need to expand the number of training places for cancer treatment staff because without staff, it cannot be done. Bowel cancer screening and BreastCheck are fantastic. Some work needs to be done to expand screening. We need a greater emphasis on prevention and awareness. We need to strengthen North-South co-operation.”
“Obviously, many of them do not have medical cards. They have to travel to hospitals generally in Dublin. They have to pay tolls, parking fees and extra fuel. One of things that needs to be done is to waive the parking charges for cancer patients. It is a very simple measure that can be taken. The delays in surgery are shocking. They are not being done within the timeframe. According to the Irish Cancer Society, 61% of prostate surgeries are not being done within the target timeframe. A total of 45% of breast surgeries and 39% of lung operations are not being done within the targeted timeframe. There are delays in radiotherapy, with 23% of cases not being done within the target timeframe, while in chemotherapy, the figure is 15%. That is shocking. Imagine the stress and worry for people who are delayed.”
“I welcome the proposal in this motion. Unfortunately, the incidence of cancer is increasing. Many cancer patients are being failed. There are roughly 42,000 people diagnosed with cancer per annum in the State. That is a huge number of people. The State has the third highest mortality rate for people with cancer in the European Union. Poorer former eastern bloc countries are doing better than we are. For example, in County Laois, approximately 270 people were diagnosed each year. That does not include non-melanoma skin cancer. Unfortunately, in the most recent figures that we have from 2024, 138 people died from cancer. I acknowledge the great work done by the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre in Portlaoise. Those centres need more Government support. A lot of the money is raised voluntarily. In Laois, people also face challenges with costs.”
“I will try to put this realistically in the context of what is happening. We need to move on energy independence. We may not be able to become totally independent - I understand that - but I would like us to be able to accelerate that and move towards a greater level. The red lights are flashing. We also need to do it for environmental reasons, given that the report yesterday said the globe is warming even faster than we had thought. For many good reasons, we need to accelerate and move towards energy independence with renewables. Lastly, we need to clearly oppose this crazy war. It is absolutely crazy. It is an imperial war, it is an oil war----”
“I welcome the VAT rebate being given to hauliers, but the same VAT rebate needs to be given to bus operators, who are mainly on fixed-price contracts. I would like the Tánaiste to note that a particular sector, including minibus and coach operators, have fixed-price contracts from the Department of education and from tour operators and they need the same VAT rebate as hauliers. While I welcome the €235 million spent on the measure, I would like to see it more targeted. There is a question over how quickly this is going to kick in and the Tánaiste has admitted this. We need to see some action on this. Prices went up very quickly but as soon as this kicks in, we need to see the prices reduce. I would have liked to see some specific measure for households in arrears on electricity and gas bills.”
“The assistance being given on the cost of fuel will bring some relief but I would like to see it more targeted. The question is how we can target it in the short term. There are middle-income areas who do not qualify for the fuel allowance. There is a particular cohort whose income is just over the limit and they will not benefit from the extra month of fuel allowance, although it is welcome. The cost of home heating oil is an issue that is not being addressed and we are stuck with it for now. Many rural households out there, particularly in counties such as Laois, are dependent on home heating oil, unfortunately, for now. They are not going to feel any benefit from this, particularly the ones who are outside of the fuel allowance limits.”
“The Minister said that the end of April is the completion date, and that is very welcome. Normally when we hear about reviews, they to go on forever and a day. As a result, I welcome the fact that there is a bit of urgency about this. Farmers' participation will be central to it. We have to learn from the fiasco that we have had over the last few months. We all need to look at what happened there and try to move forward in a more positive way.”
“That is better again. That is good news. It is obviously a concern because it is fair to say there is a confidence issue there. There has been a big breakdown in relations and that needs to be addressed. Bord Bia is central as a body to promote the quality of Irish food and quality is the key word here. In any outcome, we cannot have a food safety and promotion body that promotes the high standard of food produced here because of high regulations and standards and have someone at its head who is importing produce that is produced at a lower standard. Quality is key not only for farmers but for shoppers and consumers as well. Something that might be looked at is a more rigorous vetting regime for the heads of State boards.”
“There are huge macroeconomic risks there because of that in terms of corporation tax and other risks. As I said, there are the environmental benefits, the economic benefits - jobs, food security and all those benefits. Laois, Kildare and Carlow lost the sugar beet. We should not have lost it and should not give up on it altogether. I welcome what the Minister is doing. I ask him strongly to consider a location in Laois for flour production. We have 70 acres there for it.”
“We have a strong tradition of milling flour in Laois. Odlums in Portarlington is one of the few places in the country now doing it. That is there. There is potential for it to be developed in the county. An economic report was published this morning by Alan Ahearne, former adviser to the US Federal Reserve and a former adviser to Micheál Martin, as I understand it. He stated that foreign firms are producing six times more than Irish firms in this State. They produce three quarters of all exports. He stated that there are huge risks to the Irish economy. It is great to have foreign firms. This is not an argument against that and I do not want it to be taken as that. What I am saying is that it is very lopsided. Our economic development has been lopsided for years.”
“There are environmental benefits and economic benefits for farmers, jobs and food security. Laois is very good wheat-growing territory. I know south Kildare is as well - the wheat plains of Kildare - but Laois has wheat plains as well. I strongly ask the Minister to consider Laois as a location. There are over 70 acres there of land for industry that is unused by IDA Ireland. I am asking the Minister to make this a priority, right on the edge of Portlaoise on the crossroads of Ireland, the M7 and the N80. You cannot get a better location. It is on the railway line. It has a strong case.”
“I thank the Minister for the reply. I welcome the news of the plan to develop four flour mills. There is huge financial potential here and gain for producers and jobs and employment. A total of 80% of our flour is coming from Britain, as the Minister knows. During the crisis with the beast from the east, the freak freeze, we almost ran out of flour and bread. The total cereal production in the State, while it was up last year by 10%, that was mainly due to good weather at the start and end of the season, as opposed to the year before. There are huge risks there. We understand that. In terms of costs and that, the costs of fertiliser and fuel have increased. We are very vulnerable in terms of our food security. We are only three days away from a crisis at any time. This is a real opportunity for farmers and for jobs.”
“I am glad the Minister and two Ministers of State are here to take the question. Will the Minister provide details of the initiative to increase the amount of milling flour produced in the State and the necessary increase in acreage of wheat to be grown for that? I say this in a positive way. I hope with the Minister and two Ministers of State that we can have some good news on this now.”
“It can halt any additional increase in VAT, because it is a percentage, and reverse the gains so far. It should not go ahead with the increase in the carbon tax. I accept it is collecting carbon tax, and that is fine. It should use it and use it well.”
“Today the Irish Road Haulage Association said that without a tax reduction many haulage operators will simply not be able to continue absorbing the rising costs, which would result in empty supermarket shelves. Middle- and low-income households are under pressure with financial hardship. It is a severe situation. One in six is in arrears with electric bills and cannot pay them, and one in four of those who have gas is in arrears with gas bills. Households in the midlands and in County Laois are exposed because of the high number that depend on home heating oil in rural areas and in areas where there is no natural gas. A number of homes also have a low energy rating. People in County Laois have long commutes as well. The Government can do a number of things.”
“Prior to the imperial oil war in the Middle East being waged by the USA and Israel, we already had a cost-of-living crisis. We are now really in a difficult situation. In County Laois the lowest price for road diesel is €2.10 per litre and it continues to increase. In this State, the increase in home heating oil is eight times the average increase across Europe. It was €480 for 500 litres. It is now €585 from suppliers in the midlands. It has almost doubled in price. Of course, once fuel goes up, everything goes up, including all other goods. There are higher costs for agriculture, haulage, couriers and carriage. Hauliers are exposed. Truckers and hauliers are under severe pressure and need assistance to get through the current crisis.”
“While great progress has been made on many issues, there is still a lot of fundamental change that is required. In the area of domestic abuse, which is mainly against women, Laois still does not have a domestic abuse refuge. Laois domestic violence services in Portlaoise provide an excellent service for people but there is a need for that to be addressed. In regard to online abuse, we had the case two weeks ago of the awful abuse of a young woman in University College Dublin, UCD, who was allegedly raped, drugged and photographed. The photographs and vile abuse about her circulated throughout the school. The area of childcare needs to be addressed. Working-class women in particular face financial hardship and issues around access to help so there is still work to be done.”
“Most of those institutions were run by Catholic religious orders, which is an issue for the Catholic church, and I say that as a Catholic. However, what is often conveniently ignored by sections of the media, in particular The Irish Times , is that some were Protestant-run - the Bethany Home, for example. The children in those homes suffered a cruel fate and abuse, which has been deliberately ignored and suppressed by the media. All attempts to highlight it by those campaigners, who have tried to campaign for the victims of the Protestant-run schools, have been ignored and censored over the years. You would have to ask why. Everything needs to be brought out into the daylight. We need to deal with all the matters of the past and move on from them.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this today. In doing so, I recognise the role women have played in bringing about revolutionary change in this country. Indeed, they have been to the forefront of it on many occasions, including the fight for independence, the right to vote, social changes, workers' rights, trade union rights, economic changes and in every area of politics. In recent decades women have fought in the campaigns for divorce, contraception and gender equality. We need to acknowledge the cruel manner in which girls and young women were treated in Ireland, particularly in industrial schools in decades gone by, and in the Magdalen laundries. What happened to them was nothing short of inhuman and we must never allow ourselves to go back to a situation like that again.”
“We cannot have strike action in the ambulance service. There is a complete breakdown between the unions and the management here. It has been an iron-fist approach, and someone needs to have a chat with the management in the HSE and the National Ambulance Service.”
“Management now wants to change that to have three regions in the country, which could mean going over 200 km and more. What will people with mortgages do? Imagine what it would mean in terms of people having to travel at the end of a 13- or 14-hour shift. We badly need additional staff in the ambulance services, as the National Ambulance Service has only about 60% of the numbers we need. We have spent €16 million on training 400 of these staff currently, and then we are going to make it as hard as possible for them to come into the service. The iron-fist approach of management has to be halted. I am asking the Tánaiste and the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, to intervene, restore some level of common sense and ensure that these young, highly skilled workers are brought into the service and strike action is averted.”
“The staff of the ambulance services are currently balloting for industrial action. The ballot will take place over the next four weeks. Should this develop into strike action, the impact will be catastrophic. The reason for this ballot is that changes have been implemented unilaterally by the HSE and the management of the National Ambulance Service. One of the changes will mean that trainee paramedics who have completed their degrees and have been working with ambulance crews over the last three years will no longer enter into full-time positions in the National Ambulance Service. Additionally, the situation currently is that staff are deployed to another base only if it is no more than 45 km from the one where they are currently stationed.”
“There is a particular problem here for people in County Laois and in the midlands. I know they cannot be targeted specifically but there is a real issue. There is an immediate problem. I am not asking the Government to thrown money all over the place. I am asking it to do a targeted one-off payment to help those people and householders who are really struggling and cannot make ends meet at the moment. I am asking the Government to introduce that one-off payment to help them, people with disabilities and low- and middle-income workers.”
“I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. He said the Government will make an informed evidence-based response. That is fine but the evidence is there. There are in excess of 320,000 households in serious arrears and we are only talking about electricity there. It is one in four is in arrears with gas. There is a real problem. I have constituents contacting me - people who are on middle incomes - who just cannot make it all go around. I am sure the rest of the Members are hearing this as well. I wish to highlight one extra factor. Progress is being made with retrofitting but it is slow enough. Some 75% of homes in the midlands and in counties like Laois are basically on solid fuel or oil. That tells you they need an energy upgrade. They are caught because they have high energy costs.”
“What is needed now is a targeted single energy payment. I say targeted because I do not want money thrown all over the place. I got an energy credit a year and a half or 15 months ago from the Government. We should not be getting an energy credit. We need to target it at those who need it, such as those who are on the median income or on low incomes. They need to get it. Will the Government now move to assist these people and introduce a one-off payment for that? Will it also move in terms of the price-gouging? I heard the Tánaiste say the Minister is meeting the companies but he also needs to strengthen the powers of the CCPC.”
“A Government report from 2020 found that the additional cost for people with disabilities was between €8,700 and €12,300 annually. They tend to need and use more energy because they are at home more. In the budget prior to the general election, they got cost-of-living measures, additional fuel allowance, living alone allowance and energy credits. When there is no election, they get zero. They got nothing this year. The budget came and went and they did not receive anything. Their representative group estimates their income is down by €1,000 per year on what they were getting in 2025 but the response so far from Government is that they should go to the community welfare officer for an exceptional needs payment. The vast majority of people on low and middle incomes would not qualify for that.”
“As an example of how much fuel has gone up in the past couple of days, one company in Laois was charging 99 cent on Monday morning and by yesterday morning it had gone to €1.57. For a litre of kerosene, some companies are charging up to €1.71. The number of households with arrears for electricity has hit a record high at 319,459, a jump of 20%. One of in four households is in arrears with gas. Workers and households on low and middle incomes are particularly hard hit. The fuel allowance has been extended but there is a cohort not being caught with that. The hikes in energy costs come on the back of higher rents, higher mortgages, higher insurance costs, higher college fees, higher grocery costs and it goes on and on. One group that is really struggling is people with disabilities. They have additional costs due to their additional needs.”
“I agree around the cost of living and particularly the cost of energy to households at the moment. That has obviously escalated further this week. We have one of the highest gas and electricity prices in the European Union. Added to this is the fact that householders are paying almost double the cost of electricity that data centres are paying. The average cost per household is 36 cent per unit while for data centres, it is 19 cent per unit. They are clearly using their financial clout to get their way but householders and small businesses are effectively subsidising them. Added to all of this now are the latest price hikes on oil and gas due to the illegal war by Israel and the United States in the Middle East.”
“The level of sexism out there is shocking. We need strong legislation. When people do that and then add extortion or blackmail, they need to be treated with the full rigour of the law. People who do that to try to extort money, on top of trying to expose images that they may or may not have, need to be treated as serious criminals. I support the Bill on algorithms. I thank People Before Profit. I am disappointed that the Government is not supporting it. We have to sort this out. The Minister referred to doing this when we have the EU Presidency. That is fine, but we need to do it. We have a responsibility to do it, as the Government and the Houses of the Oireachtas.”
“Along with what is proposed in this Bill, we should look to put an age limit on social media, although perhaps 14 instead of 16. It is an issue that needs to be explored. The exploitation of Internet users, particularly children and vulnerable people, needs to stop. The Oireachtas and the Government need to have legislation in place. We cannot leave it to the tech giants. They are making big money out of it, so they are not going to do it. It is clear what their intentions are. We have to protect people, in particular children. With regard to online safety, we can do things. Let us consider what we did with Coco’s law. We have that in place to deal with people who share intimate images of others or threaten to share images that they may or may not have. It is not always men who do it, and women can do it as well, but it is mainly men.”
“Children and young teenagers are exposed to all sorts of harmful content on the Internet. Algorithms can be used to increase exposure and steer people into rabbit holes that bring them into situations like the one we saw last night. They are geared towards hooking people and keeping them clicking. There is the potential for massive exploitation. Users need to have the right to turn them off. Tech companies should be held liable if their AI tools are used without the safeguards. The Government needs to regulate, and it has failed so far to do that. Some countries, including Australia, have moved to get young people off social media, and have put restrictions in place through effective age verification. That is essential.”
“I thank People Before Profit for taking the initiative and bringing this important Bill forward. Is it necessary? Of course, it is necessary. I saw the repeat of “Prime Time” last night, which dealt with the experience of a young woman, Caitlyn, in UCD. She is roughly the same age as my granddaughter, who is also attending UCD. It stopped me in my tracks to see that people could have such attitudes. Where does that come from, and how did it develop? What is the role of online in this regard? We hope that Caitlyn can make a recovery. Her testimony was shocking. It shows the urgency with which we need to deal with this. Social media companies are using these algorithms to make money, and they are exploiting users of the Internet. It is about profit. Criminals are doing likewise.”
“We need the same in Rathdowney and Mountrath. A new primary care centre needs to be built in Portlaoise. If we improve primary care, it will bring not just a healthier population but it will lessen the burden on the acute services because, as has been said by others, people wind up there. I know that from staff working in the accident and emergency department in Portlaoise. We have to stop the problem. It is like we are mopping the floor and the pipe is still leaking. We can deal with this at community level. This would reduce the demand on nursing home places. We would have a more efficient health system.”
“We all know from our own work that if we do not set a target, we will not get there. We should set a target to do that. I know it will be challenging. We cannot wait and we have to start sometime. In the short term, we should expand free GP care to all workers on or below the median wage. This is really a problem, in that people who are working hard tell me that when their children get sick, they go to the doctor but that when they or their wives get sick, they cannot afford to go. That is not acceptable. Younger children, because of free GP care, can go. The fact that we do not do that means people are winding up in hospital with chronic illnesses. We need proper premises. I am going to say this to the Minister of State as a Graiguecullen person. We need a new or vastly expanded health centre in Graiguecullen.”
“We need a determined effort by the Government and the HSE - I think everybody in this House would support it - to increase the number of training places for GPs, to expand those numbers and the facilities. In addition to private practices, which we accept and which are doing good work, we need directly employed GPs. Some Ministers have talked about this in the past but then it dies away and is buried. Salaried GPs need to be employed and a scheme needs to be established. I appeal to the Minister of State to try to take a lead on this as a Minister of State in the Department of Health, to work alongside others and to have GPs in primary care centres and in the local HSE health centres, similar to the rest of the European Union. We need to set a target date for the full implementation of free universal primary care.”
“Most young newly qualified GPs do not want to set up a GP practice because they need a premises, staff, insurance, administration, utilities, etc., and then they face working an 80-hour working week for life. That is the situation that we have. They want to work in a nine-to-five job like everybody else. The Sláintecare plan was agreed by all parties nine years ago. Central to this was the provision within five years of free universal primary care at the point of delivery. Everyone was agreed on that, but we are moving towards it at a glacial pace. A range of services should be provided at primary care level. That should be expanded to include occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, mental health services, diagnostics and so on. What is needed now? It is nine years since we agreed Sláintecare.”
“Cost can be a barrier for some as a large number of working class and low-income households do not have a medical card and may not be able to afford it. Some practices cannot accept new clients. When the booklet on entitlements came out after the budget it showed that the income threshold for a medical card is €186. If a single person is on more than €186, he or she cannot have a medical card. This is 2026. We have had the same figure for more than two decades. I cannot understand why it has not changed. We have a reliance on GPs who operate private businesses. That is fine. Most of them are doing very good work. In fact, they are overworked. We are the odd one out in the European Union because we do not have salaried GPs working in primary care community centres owned by the Health Service Executive like they have in other countries.”
“I welcome these timely proposals from the Social Democrats. We must accept that the bedrock of any health system is having good primary care in place, and to have good primary care we need GPs. The ratio of GPs in this country is completely out of kilter with what it should be. The World Health Organization says there should be one GP per 1,000 of population. In County Laois, we have one GP per 1,700 population. More than 60 GPs are practising at any one time. In south Laois, the ratio is 1 per 2,300. The population in the county continues to rise. The impact of that is obvious. While existing GPs do good work, access is problematic, people are not getting a timely diagnosis and in some cases people do not get the treatment they need. When patients develop more complex medical problems they then have to go to hospital.”
“This should not be just a stay of execution. The Government should get rid of it. There needs to be proper engagement with teachers, unions and SNAs. The Government needs to work towards putting improvements into the SNA system and ensure that children have the proper support they need in the place they need it.”
“The real problem with what the NCSE and the Government planned is that there is an obvious attempt to narrow the role of the SNA. The lack of any serious engagement prior to that with SNAs, unions, parents and school representatives is regrettable. The circular sent out - and this is where the difficulty arises - was clear. It states: "The behaviour should be supported holistically with whole school and whole class approaches and individual needs supported by the class teacher". The class teacher is then taken away from teaching the other 20 or 25 children each time there is some disruption with the additional needs of a child who needs this. I ask the Minister and the Minister of State to picture that situation and to explain to me how that would work. It cannot work. The Government needs to shred this NCSE plan.”
“Quite simply, a teacher would have to do the work of the SNA and would have to fill the gap. SNAs are vital to enable children who have a level of disability or some additional needs to stay in the mainstream classroom setting. The alternative is children falling away from school or going to an ASD class when that is not maybe where they should be, or going to a special school. SNAs provide vital assistance, not just with physical needs of pupils but also with the psychological, learning and emotional needs and they are a crucial support. Some of these schools now have classes where up to 40% or 50% of the children are from households in which English is not the first language, particularly in the Portlaoise area, and that needs to be factored in. This is a huge problem for families and for teachers trying to cover this.”
“The proposed cuts and review, as it was called, which were really cutbacks, were a total disaster and have generated a massive amount of concern. There has been a huge backlash to it from parents, SNAs, teachers, unions and families. In County Laois, two schools were going to have their SNAs, vital supports, cut. It has created all those concerns and uncertainties and fear in those schools and in the families who need them. The plan must be scrapped, not just paused. In Laois, Timahoe National School and Rath National School were facing cuts in their SNA allocations. I had numerous letters, contacts and discussions with parents in those schools. If these cuts were implemented, it would have had disastrous consequences not just for the children with the additional needs but also for their classmates.”
“However, this was changed in more recent years to a devolved project and was given to the school to lead. It is long past time for this project to be moved on. The principal and staff are very concerned about it. The project - and I checked this again the other day - is only at stage 1A. Will the Taoiseach implore the Minister for Education and Youth to move on St. Fintan's school in Mountrath?”
“The programme for Government commits to the timely delivery of school projects. St. Fintan's National School in Mountrath, which is my former national school, has been waiting for a badly needed ASD classroom, sensory room and general purpose hall. The school and the staff are doing everything possible to utilise the existing space, for example, sub-dividing rooms, etc. The 123 pupils and the two ASD classes do not have enough and are going to be under further pressure in September. The extension works that were to be delivered by the Department of Education and Youth - this was first committed to more than seven years ago - were then to be delivered by way of a modular one under the framework agreement the Taoiseach and I are familiar with.”
“The Minister is right in that this is a groundbreaking initiative, which I certainly welcome and will fully support. However, it costs €1,430 per month to mind a child. The wages in our area do not come up high enough for people to pay that sort of money. That woman has no childcare facilities now to allow her to return to work. The couple are in rented accommodation as well and we know the pressures that brings. Rents are sky high in the area. It is a huge issue, and I ask that the Minister's officials look around County Laois and contact the local county council and estate agents to see if a property can be secured for it.”
“According to the childcare committee in the county, Portlaoise needs four full-day facilities. Portarlington needs one, as do Mountmellick, Mountrath, Graiguecullen, Rathdowney, Abbeyleix, Durrow and the Cullahill area. The pilot of eight to nine is obviously welcome. It is a small start. We could put all eight or nine in Laois, but I urge the Minister to put at least one or two there. The current model is not able to match the growth in population in the county. We are behind other European states that have private provision. As the Minister said, a lot of those providers are going good work - I would not take from that - but other European states also have strong state-led childcare systems. We do not have that in this country.”