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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Every one of 397 lines we hold for Claire Kerrane, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 5 of 8.
“They certainly will not come for the children on waiting lists today or for the parents who are trying to get childcare places but who are not going to get them through an extension to a school any time soon. That is a good idea in future, and it should be planned for, and if we decide that we are going to colocate, then fine, but that is not going to do anything for the 40,000 children who have no childcare places today. Regarding these three issues, the only thing really of any merit in the budget book is the additional 35,000 children who will go into the national childcare scheme. I heard the Minister, Deputy Burke, on the radio this morning. He announced it as 35,000 additional childcare places. We need to be very careful in what tell people this actually means. It does not mean 35,000 childcare places. I only wish it did.”
“Most of the boards of management in the State would not allow private childcare providers on their grounds in the first place. As to community centres, the easiest approach - I genuinely thought that the Minister, Deputy Foley, was going to do this - is to use the building blocks extension scheme, which allows providers to buy or build new. Expanding the scheme so that people could buy existing buildings could easily have been done. That would build immediate capacity in the sector. It would be done quickly, and it would mean there was not an empty building in the centre of a town either. I cannot understand how that has been overlooked for 2,300 places that in reality will never come.”
“The prime example of that is the announcement made in the speech by the Minister, Deputy Chambers, that the building blocks infrastructure programme will fund extensions of existing community centres and schools to deliver approximately 2,300 additional childcare places. When we have a need of approximately 40,000 children on waiting lists for childcare in the State, we are talking about extensions to schools and community centres. There is planning permission and build. How long would that take? I would bet that nothing has been done and there has been no conversation with the Department of education about extensions to their schools. We have schools, and I have them in my constituency, waiting 20 years for new builds. We have special classes that were promised modular that never came, and we are talking about extensions to schools.”
“To the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and the Minister of State, I have to say I was in disbelief at what was announced on childcare in the budget yesterday. In the last two weeks it has been reported that between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil there has been a wrestle between reducing costs for parents or building childcare capacity. This budget does neither. We are all well aware that there are three big issues. They are the cost for parents, the severe lack of childcare places and pay and terms and conditions for our early years educators. If there was anything in this budget that would significantly make a difference on any of those three, I would probably be the first on this side of the House to welcome them, and I would. However, we have serious issues with all three and nothing in the budget announced yesterday is going to make a difference.”
“County Roscommon is one of a number of counties with no domestic violence refuge. I met with Roscommon Safe Link over the summer. I must commend them on the great work that they do. For a number of years, they have been struggling to find a location for a refuge, which they are anxious to establish for the county. They are struggling to find one that meets the standards that are being applied by the Housing Agency. They are finding them too restrictive. What they have asked is that there would be a more realistic and flexible approach to site assessment, without which we are not going to have a refuge in County Roscommon. Will the Minister please look at the standards that are being applied and see can there be some level of flexibility in cases where a site has not been found despite the best efforts of those involved?”
“They have waited but they are not getting what they deserve. There has been a lot of talk on this issue. The budget is an opportunity to do something for family carers and give them what they deserve, which is to abolish the means test.”
“I remember when I was my party's spokesperson on social protection and in 2022, the then Minister, former Deputy Humphreys, announced after 14 years an increase to the income disregard. It was announced at the time, "Minister Humphreys introduces first changes to the means test for carers in 14 years", as if it was something to be proud of. What it actually meant was that from 2008 to 2022, there was no increase in the income disregard and that was not something to be celebrated. That is how far behind this Government is now with regard to abolishing the means test. All of those years were lost to family carers. It also reminded me of the national carers' strategy, published in 2012. It was to be cost-neutral. Family carers stood back as they were told there were limited resources.”
“Family carers deserve an income support that recognises their care. The current system does not do that because if you are living with someone or are married to somebody, no matter how much care you provide and whether it is 24-7 or whatever it may be, it does not matter. The care does not matter because your partner, your husband and the person you are living with has an income. I always recall a constituent who came to my office many years ago. She was in receipt of the blind pension. Her partner got a promotion at work, which was something to celebrate. She lost her blind pension. She was still blind but it did not matter because her partner got a promotion at work and their household income increased. It is so inherently flawed in a system where your need means nothing at all. It depends on the income and the household income.”
“I wrote to her over two weeks ago seeking a meeting for all of us, as Oireachtas Members across parties, to sit down and meet with her to ensure we can put across to her the worry and the stress at what should be the happiest time for women in their lives. I cannot put across to the Minister of State the stress this has put on women and their families. The Minister should have been here tonight to answer those questions and answer those women.”
“I thank the Minister of State for his reply. Of course, the bottom line here is that if you seek an external independent report, get the recommendations, fail to implement those recommendations, and then see the same issues arise again, it is not exactly rocket science to know how that has happened. We, as elected representatives, have been misled. On a really important report in relation to the birth of children at a hospital, a report that is that important, we were misled in terms of the recommendations not being implemented. We need to hear urgently on the floor of the Dáil from the Minister for Health. I stand to be corrected but, as far as I am concerned, she has not said a word on this matter in this House.”
“I have come here tonight to ask why, in the case of Portiuncula, a decision was made not to bother to do everything necessary to ensure women across a number of counties in our region get the care they deserve at Portiuncula Hospital.”
“Seven years later, we have some of the very same issues identified again. The response of the HSE was to not let it fix this or let it do whatever it had to do to make this safe and support women in this region. Instead, the response of the HSE was that it has implemented the Walker report. It was to pretend it had implemented it in full and to tell us repeatedly it had implemented it in full. Just last week, I received a letter from the hospital manager who stated all 154 recommendations had been implemented and independently verified as implemented by both HIQA and an independent national HSE team. On the very same day, Bernard Gloster told the health committee that to be clear, it would be not reconcilable for him or someone to say the Walker report was implemented in full. He said that on the same day.”
“I agree with my colleague that the Minister for Health should be here tonight to stand over a decision she has made. She should be here to answer our questions. The Minister for Health should be here to tell us why pregnant women in our region are going to be forced to travel to access maternity care and have their babies. She should be here tonight to tell us why she and the HSE have made a decision that essentially means we have issues here, we are going to do reviews, we are going to implement the recommendations and then we are not going to restore at any point in the future, full maternity services at Portiuncula. In 2018, the Walker report followed an independent external review of maternity services at Portiuncula, which was then published. A total of 154 recommendations followed and those recommendations were not implemented.”
“The last place he will go is back to the CWO after the horrendous experience. This is a pity because the vast majority of CWOs are brilliant but this is where we are at.”
“I rang the national line, which could not put me through. It was an absolute rigmarole. In the end, he got €75, he got in and he got his surgery. That was good but it was a horrible experience for him. The CWOs should be in the community where they know Johnny and Mary and can assess the situation there and then. The system is horrendous and it is really failing people. This man is one of several cases I now have where disability allowance has been removed from a person on a decision by a medical assessor who has never met that person and has never seen him or her but decides that person is able to work when that is clearly not the case. I do not know whether it is to reduce the money paid out on disability allowance. That man was in my office again this week. He was crying because he would not be able to feed his children after tomorrow.”
“With regard to community welfare officers, the Minister will remember we tabled a motion and tried everything to stop the Government's plan to centralise community welfare officers. Last week, a gentleman came to my office whose disability allowance had been taken off him. We have been over and back and the decision is being appealed. It is an absolute nightmare. The medical assessor says he can work but his GP, who knows him best, categorically states he cannot work. I know this gentleman. He has worked since he was about 15. If he could work, he would work. He would love to work. He waited seven years for thyroid surgery in UHG, which was scheduled for last Sunday. He was going to cancel it because he did not have the money to get to the hospital. I could not get the CWO. I had no number or name.”
“We know when it comes to the SILC data, the at risk of poverty data, the deprivation rate and the consistent poverty rate, the increases are a lot of the time with regard to one-parent families and our disabled citizens. The cost of disability payment has been promised and we have report after report. It is like the Government does reports that tell it we need a cost of disability payment but then nothing happens. Similarly on one-parent family payments, at least three times we have published proposals on establishing a child maintenance service similar to what is in place in the North of Ireland. Research has proved that, where child maintenance is paid, it can play a role in lifting children out of poverty. It needs to be looked at.”
“This needs to be looked at again because from my read of it, it is not achieving what it should. I listened to the Minister speak about child poverty targets. Targets are not new and missing targets is not new either. I was reminded of working on social protection policy for my party from 2016 to 2020. At the time, Regina Doherty was the Minister. By 2017, the Government realised and acknowledged it would not meet its 2020 target, which was to lift one third of children out of poverty. Targets are set and targets are missed. As the Minister for Social Protection is here, I want to use the time I have to raise several issues.”
“Child poverty is rising. It is incredible to think that, in 2025, in one of the richest countries in the world, we have a situation whereby this generation is so much more worse off than the previous. I think of my own parents who were born in the 1960s. When they grew up, they had very little but they were never hungry. That was 60 years ago. There are serious questions, and the Government needs to have a serious look at itself, when right now today the basics and guarantees in life in Ireland do not exist any more, right down to children being hungry. It is the greatest shame of all. We hear a lot about the child poverty and well-being office in the Department of the Taoiseach when we speak about child poverty. It has been in place since 2023 but poverty is rising.”
“She did not want to be doing administration; she wanted to be down with the kids on the floor. That is very much the essence of childminders. They do it for the love of the children and the care they provide is second to none. For parents, particularly in rural areas, it is so important we get this right. I welcome this review taking place and ask the Minister, if she has the opportunity, to meet Childminding Ireland.”
“There will be a review between now and September 2027, which is the transition period. That is really welcome. I encourage the Minister, if she has an opportunity between now and September 2027, which I would like to think the Minister will, that she might meet with representatives from Childminding Ireland. I was very impressed with them. The organisation obviously represents a huge number of childminders right across the State. The Minister has said we need to get this right. That is why that review is so important. We want to retain childminders. We want to bring more in. It needs to be regulated and nobody disagrees with that. I met a childminder in my own constituency recently. She said she wanted to be down sitting on the floor with the kids and not up at the table doing paperwork.”
“Childminding Ireland's most recent survey found that more than 30% of childminders intend to pull out of childminding rather than sign up to these regulations and to Tusla. The issues of paperwork and inspections, etc., have been raised. Would the Minister consider that review mechanism 18 months in?”
“I welcome and acknowledge the fact childminders can now provide supports of the national childcare scheme and that will perhaps encourage or allow parents the choice rather than choosing a formal childcare setting. This is particularly so in rural areas where childminders would be used a lot, especially where they can provide flexibility that perhaps the formal childcare setting cannot. I have met representatives of Childminding Ireland and there are significant concerns and issues in regard to the regulations. Childminding Ireland's ask has been that, 18 months into the regulations, which is coming up shortly, there would be a review of those regulations. I think that is a reasonable request to make sure the regulations are working and see if there need to be tweaks to ensure childminders are getting on board with them.”
“I want to ask the Minister about the regulations that came into effect for childminders across the State in September 2024. They have now been in place for a year and there are issues being raised, primarily by Childminding Ireland. Given the severe capacity issues we have within our early years sector and the very high turnover of early years educators, particularly out of private childcare settings, we need now more than ever to retain our childminders and ensure they can work within these new regulations. Is the Minister aware of issues that have been raised?”
“It has saved a lot of them from closing their doors, but there appear to be issues for some providers. It is reasonable to ask that the review of core funding take place sooner rather than later, given it is a lot of taxpayers’ money.”
“I appreciate the decision has not been made yet, but does the Minister envisage using the building blocks scheme to build capacity and allow a new group that has come together, particularly groups of parents, to purchase an existing building? It is a win-win then. New premises are not necessarily needed in Boyle. There is an ideal premises in the town that is well located and perfect for its use, but they are not in a position to buy it. I am sure in all of our counties and towns we can point to buildings that would be great to see in use again where there is so much need. There are only 20 childcare places per 1,043 children in Boyle. The service is just not there for parents and they are under an awful lot of pressure. Lastly, with regard to the review of core funding, core funding has been a game-changer for a lot of providers.”
“The limitations of the building blocks scheme - we have discussed this before - in that it applies to existing providers and to purchasing or building new premises only, are locking out a lot when it comes to building capacity. There are fine buildings in towns like Boyle that could be used for a service rather than lying derelict. Will the Minister look at the building blocks scheme and its limitations?”
“I want to come back to the State-led facilities, which is a significant move. The Minister talked about looking at areas of unmet need. I understand some scoping was carried out within the Minister’s Department in terms of where that unmet need is. To provide one example, which I have given here before, an analysis was carried out with the family resource centre in Boyle, County Roscommon. That analysis found that there are 20 childcare places per 1,043 children for Boyle and its catchment area. A total of 77% of children aged between zero and four years of age have no access to a childcare place. They would have liked, through the building blocks scheme, to purchase an existing building in the town.”
“I ask the Minister about a number of key commitments in relation to childcare in early years in the programme for Government, specifically the broad consultation, the detailed action plan to ensure accessible, affordable, high-quality childcare and also the review of core funding. I ask her to provide us with any timeframe in relation to any of those three key commitments. Within the broad action plan is also the use of State-led facilities for the first time, which is really welcome.”
“I take it from that reply that perhaps this will be done in future by Tusla, and of course there is a role for other organisations. On one other point, there appears to be a gap for preschool-age children. When a child is born, there may be a number of visits by the public health nurse to the home. After that, depending on whether the child goes into formal childcare, there really is no check that exists, and that is of concern. The Minister has cited ECCE data and maybe looking at that. That is something that should be considered. Unless a child is in a formal setting, who is there to check or to know? That gap is of concern. I welcome, of course, the review of closed cases. A lot of them are advice, like parenting advice, and they will be straightforward, but that job of work is important.”
“I appreciate it is a lot of work and the agency is getting a lot of referrals but a look-back mechanism should be built in so a child would be checked on maybe six months to a year after a case is closed. Is that something the Minister would be willing to look at?”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. I appreciate, and we all respect, that the Garda investigation is under way and the force has to be allowed do its work. It is important to acknowledge those gardaí as well. It was a very difficult search, especially finding the remains. I have a couple of questions. I welcome that the closed cases will be examined, starting with those closed during Covid. For any social worker, like any of us in any job we do, cases may be closed and later on things may happen and unless they are brought to the attention of Tusla, nobody may know, so that is important. On that measure, I ask that, after these well-being checks are done, the mechanism of a look-back period of six months to a year after a case is closed would be built more permanently into Tusla and the work it does.”
“Things have moved on since I submitted this question and we now know that child was Daniel Aruebose. I take this opportunity to offer my sympathies to everybody who loved him, especially the foster carers who looked after him.”
“That was not the case in Ballaghaderreen. The reception centre is now seeking an extension, and the planning application is with the council. Again, mistakes have been made by letting down good towns, towns with good communities that struggle as it is. They were really let down by the Government.”
“It could have been a blueprint, for the rest of the State, for what could and should have been done but was not done. Not doing it and not putting in place the required resources and services is what causes the tension and anger. These are totally avoidable, regardless of where the town is and what its situation is. Unfortunately, the resources were never put in. Luckily, funding for childcare was got elsewhere, and the project will proceed. It is desperately needed. The circumstances of the primary school in Ballaghaderreen are similar. There are almost 30 different nationalities in it. It waited and waited and eventually got planning permission in July for 12 new classrooms. The works need to be progressed very quickly. I hope the lesson will be learned that towns that welcome and do right by people should be supported.”
“In Ballaghaderreen in 2017, funding came from the Department of justice for a new childcare facility. That was later pulled. A primary care centre was first promised way back in 2012, but because of the severe capacity issues affecting both GP practices in the town, both of which have had a waiting list for a long time, we are now back to square one. It has not been delivered and is once again going to tender. What happened was of great frustration to me in that it was not rocket science for each Department to say, if putting X number of people into a rural town, the town in County Roscommon with the highest level of deprivation and unemployment, that it would support that town, the new community and the existing residents.”
“I am really glad to have the opportunity to speak on these statements this evening and that the Minister is in the House to listen. My home town is Ballaghaderreen, west Roscommon. This is an issue I have raised repeatedly since my being elected in 2020 because our town was one of very few in the entire State to take in Syrian refugees back in 2017. It welcomed and gave céad míle fáilte to the refugees, who arrived in their hundreds. Indeed, hundreds have gone through the town’s reception centre, which remains open to this day. I could never understand why we were allowing and actually ensuring tension and anger in the community by not simply putting in, Department by Department, the resources needed for both the existing community and the new one. By not doing that, both suffer. That is the reality.”
“There is adequate time to plan, but it is not being done. I cannot understand why that is the case. I had a prime example in my own constituency in Ballinasloe. Scoil an Chroí Naofa in Ballinasloe town has been waiting 29 years for a promised new school. The school has three special classes and it would love to open more. Children in the area have recently gone to an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, class in Loughrea. They were promised a school bus but there was no school bus on day one of the school term. The school had to arrange taxis. The issue has since been sorted, but if the school in Ballinasloe got the new school it was promised 29 years ago, with the class places that are required, we would not be splitting up brothers and sisters, some of whom must trek to Loughrea. This can be solved, but we need to plan.”
“Why is it a secret as to how many children with additional needs are without an appropriate class place? Whether it is one, ten or 100, it is one child too many, as we are talking about a child who is unable to go to school in Ireland in 2025. There are two calls in particular in this motion tonight that I want to highlight. They are reasonable and sensible. They are to establish the school building delivery task force, to ensure the delivery on time and to meet the demand for special classes and special schools, and to publish and implement a costed medium to long-term strategic plan to guarantee that every child with additional needs has access to an appropriate class place. We need to plan. I do not know how many times that has to be said. It is not rocket science. A child who is born today does not need a school place tomorrow.”
“In some cases they are not in school because the building has not been finished on time. That should not be the case. This strategy needs to be implemented and it needs to be done quickly.”
“We should have far more little villages and community areas with housing, where people can live together, but independently and have their own space. We should be developing much more of that housing, but we are not. Employment is one of the five key pillars. We are one of the worst, if not the worst, in Europe for employment for disabled people. We need to look at the supports provided, especially by the Department of Social Protection. We need to look at what needs to be fixed and changed to ensure more people can gain employment where they so wish. Another key pillar is inclusive learning and education. Hundreds of children today are without an appropriate special class place. What a shame it is in our country in 2025 that children are sitting at home today who should be in school but are not.”
“The disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme has not been fit for purpose for a very long time. A new scheme is now being developed by the Department of Transport. Everything is far too slow. We still have a situation, particularly in rural areas, where people cannot get access to the blue badge or the primary medical certificate. They are totally isolated and in rural areas they are being robbed of their independence. This has a huge impact on them and their families and on their mental health and well-being. Similarly, there is no choice in housing, because much of the time, people cannot access accessible housing. It is not being built. We should have far more ambition in housing, be it for older people or our disabled citizens, so that they have access to living independently.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this strategy and I hope we will see quick and thorough implementation. I was struck by the word "choice" on page 12. It is one of the values that underpins this strategy, but the Government must create the spaces where people have a choice. It is up to the Minister and the Government to ensure there are choices. For example, today people with disabilities do not have choices in education. Their parents typically ring around several schools to try to get their children a school place, which they deserve, and they take what they get. That should not be the case. Again, there is no choice of transport for many people. The mobility allowance and the motorised transport grant have been gone since 2013. The primary medical certificate has been reviewed.”
“Therefore, we need to ensure that the supports for the families who live in the area are there, whether it is in respect of damage, farmers, land or whatever. We need to see those financial supports for people who have lost a great deal. I am thinking in particular of those who lost their homes as a result of flooding.”
“I, too, acknowledge the work. It is good to hear that we are on target for planning towards the end of the year. This will be absolutely essential. I am conscious of that as we come into the autumn and winter months. We all know about the winters the families and community around Lough Funshinagh have faced, particularly last winter. It was devastating. There will be a lot of work to be done after the permanent solution is put in place and sorted in terms of people's homes and the damage that has been done. Farmers with lands around the lake have suffered incredibly as well. This has been a real loss and has had a real impact on people, their livelihoods and their families. People have passed away in the meantime. I am thinking of one gentleman who never got the chance to live to see the current solution being put in place.”
“I appreciate that the Minister of State did not have the chance to provide it already, but I would like an update on the permanent solution for the residents and the community at Lough Funshinagh.”
“I acknowledge the Minister of State's role and that of his predecessor in getting us to the point where the pumps started in March and the very positive impact that has had. As the Minister of State will know, residents living in and around Lough Funshinagh suffered incredibly as a result of the flooding in 2015, 2016 and more recently. They have been surrounded by water for years now. Some families have had to abandon their homes. Those who have remained in the area around Lough Funshinagh deserve incredible credit for what they have done. As a community, they are extremely resilient. They have battled to get to this point where the interim solution has been in put place. However, they want and need to see progress with regard to the permanent solution. That needs to be the priority now. We need to see both running in parallel.”
“This question relates to the permanent solution to the flooding that has affected Lough Funshinagh in County Roscommon for years. As the Minister of State is aware - he was there to make sure it happened - there is a temporary solution in place.”
“This was done on foot of a request from the school's student LGBTQI+ and allies group. They wanted it to be a visible symbol of inclusivity in their town. That goes to show the part young people and people of all ages can play in their communities and in schools in particular, which is important.”
“As my party's spokesperson on children, I am particularly mindful of young people and the challenges they face as part of the LGBTQI+ community as they grow up. Every child deserves to grow up feeling valued and safe. That is not always the case. Our world can be especially cruel online. I acknowledge BelonG To, particularly its youth groups, and the work it does to raise awareness of the challenges young people face in their communities. Its Block the Bad campaign raised awareness of online bullying and the nasty rhetoric most of us are used to seeing in the online world. I wish to use the following as an example of the part we can all play. Roscommon Community College in my constituency, in partnership with Roscommon County Council, unveiled the first Pride rainbow crossing in Roscommon town in 2022.”