Claire Kerrane
Roscommon-Galway · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“For carers and the loved ones they care for, respite is really important. It should not be beyond us to ensure that respite is guaranteed and consistent rather than having a situation where service providers go year to year looking at lists of people in terms of who they can and cannot give respite to due to funding implications.”
“Approximately 160 of the 13,000 to 15,000 childminders in the State have signed up. There is clearly an issue. No matter how hard the consultation was in terms of its significance, it clearly has not worked. There is a major issue and there is a huge job of work to be done.”
“The Minister's amendment also speaks about parent's leave and benefit, maternity leave and the leave available specifically to two-parent families. There is an ongoing anomaly, which I have raised many times, for one-parent families. It would cost a small amount of money.”
“It is as though we are reading two different motions. Contrary to what both Ministers have said, the motion is not just about affordability and accessibility. In fact, in that first €10 a day childcare plan in 2024, I ensured it was not just about affordability and accessibility, as I have done with this motion.”
“There has not been one year where the Minister has not had to go out of her way to get the JLC to the table to actually deliver on pay. Most times, they end up in the Labour Court. I cannot fathom how that can be in any way called an effective approach to pay. There are educators who would earn more in a supermarket in many cases.”
“I met some who said to me that they find it difficult to do a four-year degree and come out to earn an amount of money per hour that they could earn in the local supermarket. That is no level of respect for these professionals, without whom we would have no childcare sector and would not have to worry about places or cost.”
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“We have four extremely vulnerable children who have no bed, so we need to look at the pay scale again. We need to look at that external report again and at the recommendations within it.”
“It is really alarming to hear that four children in the State need a special care bed but there is not one there for them. I appreciate, understand and welcome the change to the payscale made in 2024 but we need to look at that again to see whether it is enough in the context of recruitment and retention of staff. I have raised with the Minister previously the report of the external review group on special care which raises the same issues around staffing and capacity. That report, published in April 2025, identified that since 2021 a total of 168 staff had been hired but 134 had left. There is capacity for 26 beds across the three special care units but I gather from what the Minister is saying that we only have staff for 15 of those 26 beds.”
“I ask the Minister to provide details on the number of special care beds currently open. Across the three special care units there is capacity for 26 beds. I do not know if all 26 beds have ever been open but would like to know how many are open today.”
“That could be done for foster carers because, again, we are looking at people who have some, if not nearly all, of the 520 contributions but there is a gap for a lot of them, as was the case for family carers, so I believe that through using that solution, this can be done a lot more quickly. It needs to be, so I ask that this specific solution be looked at.”
“I acknowledge what has been brought forward to improve things for foster carers but none of that will matter if someone is 62, 63 or 64, does not have enough contributions to access the State pension and is approaching 66, as quite a number of foster carers are. Again, it is not acceptable that a foster carer who has provided a loving home to some of our most vulnerable children would get to 66 and not have a State pension. It is wholly unacceptable and it needs to be dealt with quickly. I have repeatedly said the pension solution brought forward for family carers has really worked. It was worked on, achieved and delivered and I welcomed it at the time.”
“In fact, I would imagine the vast majority will have, so this will be about topping them up to make sure they can access the contributory State pension in full, as they should be and as they are more than deserving of. Time is of the essence and this needs to be delivered as quickly and as early in this term of Government as possible.”
“I welcome that engagement between officials in the Minister's Department and the Department of Social Protection will take place. It is important that we get the State pension put in place for foster carers as quickly as possible. It is wholly unacceptable for any foster carer in this State, many of whom have provided decades of support to provide a loving and caring home to some of the most vulnerable children in the State, to be left at 66 without a State pension or relying on the means-tested State pension. That is not acceptable. It is also important to make the point that this would be a huge amount of money. Money is always a factor because I know it will have to be within the budget or a coming budget, and I hope it will be. Many foster carers will have paid some PRSI contributions.”
“I raise again the need for a State pension for foster carers. I appreciate that this mainly comes under the Minister for Social Protection. However, in light of that, what engagement has the Minister had with that Minister with regard to the commitment in the programme for Government, which I acknowledge, to ensure a State pension for foster carers is delivered as quickly as possible?”
“I was told that if there is an issue in court and something happens, legal representation will be reconsidered. That is not to the benefit of the child in any shape or form. That is the concern being raised, and it is being raised in a genuine way.”
“I welcome the fact that the Minister is to meet the GALs next week. My understanding from engaging with them is that legal representation always existed where they needed it. They could seek it and have it, and there was no issue in that regard. Now, however, they will have to seek it through an application to the service. If GALs were choosing to have or seeking legal representation without merit, it would make no sense because there would be nothing in it for them. My concern is that a GAL who may be new to the role and who may or may not be an expert witness must face at least one at two legal representatives on the other side when in court. I raised this with officials of the national service when we met them. They were good enough to come in and brief the committee.”
“I thank the Minister. I want to be very clear that the national service is needed. I have no issue whatsoever with it and do not believe the vast majority of GALs have either. However, with regard to what is being proposed under the national service, legal representation has been raised by GALs. I take their point because they have decades of experience in some cases. It is really important that we listen to them. I cannot understand why the provision exists. Is there an understanding that GALs are choosing to have legal representation that is not needed? Of course, it is not needed in every case, but I could not understand why a GAL would look for legal representation unless it was needed. This is all for the child; there is nothing in it for the GAL. It is all about the child and representation for the child in court.”
“I want to raise with the Minister once again the changes being made under the new guardian ad litem , GAL, national service, and specifically the issue of legal representation for GALs in court proceedings and the change that will see the Minister determine whether such legal representation is allowed in court. Could she provide to us the rationale for the change?”
“If that Act needs to be amended to specifically state childminders in particular, that needs to be done as quickly as possible. There still is not clarity. While I appreciate the Minister has been engaging, we need to hear that update on what is actually going to happen. As I said, we are at a critical juncture for childminders in the State. I and colleagues heard yesterday from a number of them, who are deciding after 17 or 18 years as childminders not to continue. Commercial rates were raised by each one of them as the endgame. This needs to be sorted out quickly. It would be beneficial for the Minister and helpful for everyone concerned, particularly when we look at the low number of childminders registering, to meet with Childminding Ireland and hear from it directly on this and other matters.”
“There are obviously other issues in terms of childminders deciding their future but, for a lot of them, this is very much the last straw. It needs to be sorted out and I acknowledge the Minister is trying to do that. Does she believe legislation is required in order to exempt the likes of childminders and early childhood care and education, ECCE, facilities?”
“I appreciate that the Minister has engaged with the Minister, Deputy Browne. Clearly, this is something that needs to be sorted out as quickly as possible because, as the Minister acknowledged, there is stress and worry. A lot of childminders were shocked to hear from Tailte Éireann and then to receive such rates that they never had before. It is important this issue is dealt with quickly. I fully appreciate it is not within the remit of the Minister's Department, but I acknowledge she has reached out to the housing Minister. This is something that needs to be sorted out very quickly. I hosted a number of childminders from various parts of the State yesterday, along with Childminding Ireland. This is an issue they raised and one they want sorted out.”
“In recent weeks especially, I have been contacted by a number of ECCE providers, as well as a number of childminders. So too have a number of my colleagues, and I am sure the Minister is well aware of this. They have been receiving commercial rates bills and have been contacted in relation to such moneys owed. I would like to know if the Minister is aware of this situation and what she intends to do about it in her role as Minister.”
“It did not matter if it was 200 people from Dublin or 200 people from anywhere else. An increase in population meant huge stress and pressure on local services. That was always obvious but that is how the town was left. That should not have happened. The saddest thing of all is that we have so many wonderful families in Ballaghaderreen who have been there for generations and who did their bit and played their part. To this day, they still do and the local national school has over 22 nationalities. There is a great sense of community in Ballaghaderreen altogether but the Government let it down. There need to be lessons learned about that.”
“When we actually look back in terms of Ballaghaderreen, despite the deprivation rate and huge poverty in the town, there was nothing there to say how we were going to support the town given what the people there had done in hard times and in a welcoming way. There were no threats of violence or nastiness at all, and yet, for me, the people were very much let down. They should not have been because they were one of very few towns not in the position to do it but it did it anyway and gave a céad míle fáilte. The town did it and really had nothing to show for it afterwards. There has to be a lesson in that. As I said, I never understood why heads could have not been brought around the table locally to determine what is needed to support an increase in population.”
“Had the local services in the area been looked at, it could have been very different. We then had a situation where the Department of justice offered funding in recognition of the town of Ballaghaderreen and what had been done. A fund was announced that would see the development of a childcare facility in the town. At least that was something in terms of acknowledging what the people of Ballaghaderreen had done. That funding from the Department of justice was then pulled. Eventually, the funding was found by the community. Many of us came together and it was found through the community recognition fund at the very last minute. We are still awaiting the childcare facility but I am very glad to say it will open in the coming weeks. The funding was put in place by the Department of justice for a reason, and then it was pulled.”
“I have lost count of the amount of times since 2020 that I have made this point on the floor of the Dáil. I could never understand how the Department of education and the Department of Health in particular could not have come together, looked at Ballaghaderreen and said they could, for example, put an extra nurse in the local health centre twice a week, or they could do X, Y and Z to support a huge increase in population in a town that not only has the highest deprivation rate in County Roscommon but also the highest unemployment rate in County Roscommon, a town that lost so much, particularly in terms of jobs in 2008 and which, to this day, sadly, has not recovered in terms of those numbers. Ballaghaderreen could have been a huge success but it was the Government that let the side down.”
“I come to speak to this amendment in a slightly different way in terms of my own experience in my home town of Ballaghaderreen. When I was elected to the House in 2020, it was before the war in Ukraine but we had already experienced the arrival of Syrian refugees to begin with. Ballaghaderreen was actually one of the few towns that very much gave the céad míle fáilte and I was very proud that it did. The hotel in the town had been closed for some time. It is not owned locally but that was the accommodation provided and it remains to this day. The real kicker in all of that, and I say this from first-hand experience, is that the resources, the supports and the services that were needed did not follow. The tension that caused could have been totally avoided.”
“I again call on the National Ambulance Service to please restore 24-7 cover for Roscommon of the rapid response vehicle, which is needed due to our distance from the nearest emergency department.”
“A number of weeks ago, I was contacted by a mother in Loughglinn whose son had an asthma attack over the Christmas period. The rapid response vehicle arrived from Roscommon town within 17 minutes and saved his life. If that call had come in on a Monday night, the rapid response vehicle would not be available because it is parked up for 12 hours. The overtime the National Ambulance Service has been paying for a number of years has been pulled and the rapid response vehicle is no longer available for the people of County Roscommon on a 24-7 basis, as it more or less has been since the closure of the Roscommon hospital emergency department in 2011. I have been raising this issue for months.”
“If she meets them, sits down and listens to them and decides to proceed, then in some respects that is fair enough, if she has heard them out. I ask her to please meet and engage with them.”
“I ask her to pause the new national service, meet with AGALI and listen to its concerns. It has a wealth of experience. The Minister would not set up a new An Garda Síochána tomorrow without listening to, engaging with and meeting the gardaí. It makes no sense and I cannot fathom why it is being done. The other issue they have raised persistently relates to independence. Tusla and the new national service will come under the Minister's Department. GALs, who are supposed to be independent, will be in a court advocating for a child who is in the care of Tusla. This places limitations on them and the position it puts them in is not independent. Questions have been raised by AGALI and by GALs with decades of experience and have not been answered. I appeal to the Minister to sit down and meet them.”
“In the briefing note to our committee from the Department, the first line states the national service is being established to ensure children's voices are heard and their best interests are independently presented by an appointed GAL in childcare proceedings. It goes on to say the best interests of the child are paramount. If the GAL whose sole responsibility is to be the voice for the child is standing with no legal representation against up to two sets of legal representation in a courtroom, that is not in the best interests of that child. That is diminishing the child's voice. GALs are crying out in relation to this issue. AGALI has looked to meet the Minister and I asked her last November to meet it. I impress upon her that we are coming with genuine concerns.”
“How can it be in a court of law that a GAL without guaranteed legal representation and acting on behalf of a child would be in such a vulnerable position when Tusla and the parent may have two sets of legal representation? The GAL is the voice of the child but has no legal representation unless the Minister of the day decides otherwise. How does that give the child a voice? How is that acting in the best interests of the child? It is the exact opposite and leaves them in a very vulnerable situation. I am really concerned about that amendment. Section 21 adds an extra consideration for the Minister in terms of making a decision to allow legal representation in a case where a child has his or her own legal representation, which is extremely rare.”
“Typically, Tusla is also there with legal representation and perhaps the parents are there with legal representation. I am really concerned for the development of the new service. GALs with 20, 25 or 30 years' experience and particularly the Independent Guardian Ad Litem Agency, TIGALA, the organisation that represents the vast majority of practising GALs in the State have raised issue after issue about this service, not for the fun of it. GALs have huge experience and care about what they do. They always have the child's interests at heart and they are not being listened to in relation to the issues they are raising. I believe all those issues to be genuine. Legal representation is just one issue they have raised.”
“We saw the recent report in relation to Kyran Durnin. I really would like to see timeframes in place for recommendations particularly when the recommendations are for Tusla, An Garda Síochána and the Data Protection Commissioner. The recommendations that come from the National Review Panel are on really serious cases and I would like to see timeframes. In the short time I have to speak on the Bill this evening, I want to focus on section 21, the provision of legal advice and legal representation to a guardian ad litem who is appointed to a child in childcare proceedings. This is an issue I have raised with the Minister previously. As we all know, at the moment GALs have the right to legal representation and typically they are in the courtroom on behalf of the child with legal representation.”
“I am very glad to have the opportunity to speak to this Bill this evening and I welcome many aspects of it. I hope the many amendments to the Act as outlined will be positive and that they will provide greater supports for children who need them when they need those supports. I hope there will also be greater oversight of child protection, particularly in relation to the interagency committee. All of us have a responsibility when it comes to child protection and all of us have to play our part. The recent report into special care was clear that all agencies and not just Tusla need to be involved. There is a job of work within this legislation to build public trust again in Tusla because I think public trust has broken down. I look forward to seeing the Minister's amendments in relation to the National Review Panel.”
“I am just asking for the same action card and the same protection for what is an entire county, unlike Nenagh and Ennis. We have a very rural constituency. I am not shouting and roaring about this issue but I am genuinely concerned that we are without this. It has been in place since 2011 and has no doubt saved lives. I really believe we deserve that cover.”
“That is a line the director has given to me as well. However, Roscommon, Nenagh and Ennis all lost their accident and emergency departments and were all given a commitment to a 24-7 rapid response. Nenagh and Ennis had an action card that was put out there by the National Ambulance Service to protect the rapid response vehicle. Nenagh and Ennis got it but Roscommon did not. I am confident that if that same protection for the rapid response vehicle was put in place in Roscommon, that role would be filled. What is happening at the minute and what I am hearing back is that advanced paramedics were sent, in one recent case, to check an alarm that was going off. The RRV is protected in Nenagh and Ennis and they do not have these issues and the AP is never replaced on their roster with a paramedic.”
“The service has no problem using a paramedic on the AP roster, which is entirely wrong but that is what it has been doing. I am certain it is about overtime being pulled. It is not for want of filling the post, given there are four people on the roster. It is the overtime being pulled that I am trying to get to the bottom of.”
“I thank the Minister. The advanced paramedic roster, which includes four advanced paramedics, has been in difficultly for some time. I have been raising this issue for about a year and a half and I met the director of the National Ambulance Service last year on the matter. For the last year and a half or so, paramedics have been put on the advanced paramedic roster. The overtime was in place for that Monday night and it is no longer there, yet there are four people on the advanced paramedic roster. One of them is a paramedic, while the third is an advanced paramedic, which I welcome, but the issue is not that we cannot fill the AP roster such that we cannot have the RRV on the road 24-7. That has been an issue for about a year and a half and the RRV has been on the road.”
“A commitment was made in 2011 when the accident and emergency department in Roscommon town was closed that because of the much greater distance to the nearest such department, we would have 24-7 advanced paramedic cover from the rapid response vehicle. In the last number of months, the overtime that was being used, initially on a Thursday night and now on a Monday night, has been pulled so the rapid response vehicle is parked up for 12 hours. Why is that happening?”
“It must be a horrible feeling for someone who is vulnerable. It is so important we get this Bill through as quickly as possible. I hope the Minister of State might be able to provide some kind of timeframe for that.”
“This legislation typically deals with the regulations and the need for regulations but there are many other issues that are constant in terms of home care, particularly the waiting list. The latest figures I have for Galway state that 357 people are waiting for home care. It is significant that 248 people receiving the service have been found to be entitled to additional hours but are waiting to receive those additional hours. That puts so much stress and worry on the person and on their loved ones. The question of rushed visits has been raised many times, particularly for the workers themselves. We have to acknowledge not only that workers are being rushed in terms of these visits with the travel and all of that, but also the impact that has on the person they are caring for, who is made to feel merely like a ticked box.”
“For many in the sector who have waited so long for this, such as those represented by Home and Community Care Ireland, HCCI, we need to give assurances that these regulations will be fit for purpose. We also need to give clarity on the timeframe for this. As we know, some private providers are very much partnered with the HSE and essentially do the work of the HSE. They provide the home care that the HSE cannot provide. I have referenced Roscommon Homecare Services in the Dáil before in terms of the excellent care they provide. This not-for-profit organisation provides so much home care support and services in our communities and in the wider area. It is important when debating this Bill to acknowledge that this is just one issue.”
“The Minister of State said in his statement, "There are inherent risks for service users in the provision of health and social care services by an unregulated sector." It does not really bear thinking about what those risks have been in all the years gone by, and how they have played out in some circumstances. It never made sense to me that when we raised questions in terms of home care, the HSE was not in a position to provide a list of private providers who go into homes of older people, people with disabilities and our most vulnerable citizens. This legislation is long overdue and it is extremely welcome, but it is really urgent that it is moved on as quickly as possible.”
“I am really glad to have the opportunity to speak on this very important legislation. In reading through the Bill, I was reminded of the very damning HIQA report that was published at the time, which called for a complete overhaul of home care services. That report raised concerns around the fact that there are no minimum standards of care when it comes to home care services. I recall raising this very report during Leaders' Questions. At that time, I was assured the regulations were being worked on by the Minister. That report and that Leaders' Questions were from December 2021, over four years ago. I have always found it disturbing that we have home care workers going into homes, particularly where older people live on their own where they are extremely vulnerable, and there are no regulations in place.”
“There is no reason the people of County Roscommon should not have the same protection as other places that are without an accident and emergency department. Of course, we are further from an accident and emergency department. That is why the rapid response vehicle is so important. I reiterate that lives are being put at risk in cases of cardiac arrest, heart attack, asthma attack and sepsis. This is happening in Roscommon, as I know from the coalface. I cannot and will not stand over a situation where people in my home county of Roscommon have their lives put at risk. I want this issue dealt with once and for all. I want the action card issued, the rapid response vehicle protected and the advanced paramedic and RRV provided on a 24-7 basis, as Fine Gael, the Government and the HSE promised the people of Roscommon in 2011.”
“In relation to the efforts being made to fill the four places on the advanced paramedic roster, which is the nub of the issue here, if an action card was issued - action cards are in place for Nenagh and Ennis hospitals - it would give a guarantee to anyone who is willing to go on the roster as an advanced paramedic. The reason people are not willing to carry out that role is that they afraid they are going to be pulled onto the air ambulance or moved elsewhere, as has happened. I do not know why County Roscommon does not have the action card to protect the rapid response vehicle. If we had an action card, it would give some comfort to an advanced paramedic to then decide to make the leap and take this role. I reinforce that point in relation to the action card.”
“I want to be clear on the issue of the rapid response vehicle being parked up. This was done on Thursdays but I now understand it is done on Monday nights for 12 hours. The RRV is not being parked up because efforts to get an advanced paramedic have not been successful, whatever those efforts may be. That is not the reason because a paramedic is provided on the RRV every other day and night of the week. I believe it is being parked up as a cost-saving measure. If not, I do not know what the reason is. It is not because an advanced paramedic is not available because every other day of the week the service provides a paramedic quite happily. This should not be happening.”
“I know the NAS issued an action card for the rapid response vehicle in Ennis and in Nenagh hospitals to ensure the vehicle is protected. That is not in place in Roscommon. I do not know why that is the case given that Roscommon hospital, like Ennis and Nenagh, lost its accident and emergency department. I want that same protection put in place for County Roscommon. The other point to make is that we are training community paramedics who are finding themselves doing the role of advanced paramedics when they are not available. This is a waste of time. We need the rapid response vehicle on a 24-7 basis in County Roscommon to ensure we can keep people alive.”
“Paramedics are filling the role of an advanced paramedic because the National Ambulance Service has failed to have a full roster of advanced paramedics. I do not believe the NAS has made enough effort to fill that line. For example, we have had cases of cardiac arrest and heart attack where a paramedic rather than an advanced paramedic is on the rapid response vehicle instead and cannot do what is needed to save the person's life. We recently had two cases involving a heart attack and cardiac arrest. Frankly, I am getting sick and tired of raising this issue. I am not someone who comes into the Chamber and shouts and roars, but this issue is of the utmost importance. People's lives are being put at risk. I am really concerned that this continues. We need the rapid response vehicle on a 24-7 basis.”
“In such cases, the advanced paramedic can administer the drug that is needed quickly, insert the advanced airway incubation and administer IV fluids. A paramedic cannot do any of that. We have two issues in Roscommon. One is that the NAS is trying to save money by parking up the rapid response vehicle every Monday night. The family of the young man in question have told me that if he had had an asthma attack on a Monday night, he would not be alive today. That is not acceptable for my community and county in any way, shape or form. The other issue we have, one I have raised with the Taoiseach and repeatedly with the director of the National Ambulance Service, is that a paramedic is being used on the rapid response vehicle far too often.”
“I presume this is saving the National Ambulance Service, NAS, a few euro every week. However, it is also putting the lives of people of County Roscommon in grave danger. I do not say that lightly. There is a significant difference between what a paramedic can do in an emergency and what an advanced paramedic can do in an emergency. I will take an asthma attack as an example. The advanced paramedic can administer intravenous, IV, steroids, magnesium sulfate, paracetamol and antibiotics. A paramedic cannot administer any of those intravenously. In a sepsis case, which are sadly increasing, the advanced paramedic can give the IV antibiotics and the IV fluids, whereas a paramedic cannot. Another example, which again, sadly, is common, is cardiac arrest.”
“I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach and the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this important issue. During the Christmas period, a young person in my constituency had an asthma attack. The rapid response vehicle, RRV, arrived and the advanced paramedic on the RRV saved his life, and of that there is no doubt. I say that because we have had a continuing issue in County Roscommon. I think this is my seventh time to raise it in the House. The rapid response vehicle promised to the people of Roscommon on the closure of the accident and emergency department back in 2011 and had been in place perfectly since then is being quietly downgraded. The RRV is now no longer available 24-7 as was promised. That is the first issue. It is being parked up on Mondays from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.”
“It is backbreaking for Irish farmers to follow the rules, regulations, inspections and everything they have to follow to make sure they produce a quality standard, which they do. They are not the standards that are available in any of the countries in Mercosur. It is a joke to think we would allow sub-standard beef on our shelves and put our people at risk of serious breaches in food safety by allowing these items to be on our shelves. The Government needs to do the right thing by telling us what it has done and will do to block this deal.”
“What we saw in Athlone on Saturday shows and tells us that the public want answers to the calls that have been made in this motion, particularly in relation to the publication of a full and detailed account of all of the actions this Government has taken at EU level - the conversations, the debates, what has been said by Ireland at a European level and what work had been done at an EU level in relation to this deal. We are asking in this motion for the Government to actively and publicly support the legal action. We need an answer tonight. Is the Government doing that or is it not? We also need to know that all Irish MEPs will be mandated to vote against Mercosur, and that the parties in government will do the same. Standards matter.”