Darren O'Rourke
Meath East · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“It is a statement of fact that in recent years we have seen a reduced number of classroom teachers. Budget 2026 led to the removal of 498 classroom teachers, a net reduction of 381 when one looks at the gains. The year 2025-26 saw a reduction of 290 and 2024-25 a reduction of 237. That has a real impact.”
“It has created duplication, inefficiency and a barrier to our natural prosperity. It has left the North underfunded by Westminster’s austerity and battered by the chaos of Brexit while the South has suffered from a fractured market and a divided island. We are both less than we could be. Irish unity is not a burden; it is an investment.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on statements on the fiscal implications of Irish unity. We hear people tell us Irish unity is a cost we cannot afford but the truth of the matter is partition is the cost we have already paid for for a century and more, and it is a price that is too high.”
“I thank the Minister. She said from November that 97% of posts were filled. In real terms at the same time, 996 teaching posts were unfilled, which is almost 1,000. Figures as recent as last week tell us that over 39,000 primary school students were in classes of 30 pupils or more in the past school year.”
“Again, we have those figures from a briefing we had with the Department as recently as yesterday. It is all welcome progress but the question I am asking today is what is the unmet need as things stand? How many children do not have an offer of a school place?”
“I wish the staff and the Minister all the best for the summer. I know it will be a busy summer but I hope that everyone gets a break. I ask the Minister to state the number of children with additional needs who require but have yet to receive an offer of an appropriate school place for September 2026, based on her most recent meeting with…”
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“I brought amendments to the survivors Bill, which will go through the Dáil tomorrow, specifically to provide a time-framed six month options paper that the State would look at every option available to it to seek financial redress, particularly from religious institutions and orders. Is there a detailed plan in place? What will the pursuit of financial options look like?”
“I welcome the establishment of the commission of investigation into historical sex abuse in schools and the appointment of the chair, announced today. I have questions about the methodology, particularly as it relates to sampling and other areas. However, I ask about redress and pursuit of financial accountability. The Minister says that further work is being to examine the matter of financial redress, and how any future scheme could be funded. This is important to many survivors. It is viewed as a measure of accountability for those responsible for sexual abuse in schools and it is important to get it right. I totally agree with that.”
“Then the question immediately becomes, and I hope this is one the Minister of State will take away, whether the funding will be there for this project, if it is a good project and if it is well designed, and how quickly we can make that happen. From our perspective, from the Meath end, we can contact the council and say it should get preparing its proposal for the feasibility and options report and get on to TII and we will pursue that. However, the question for the Department, TII and the Minister of State is whether there is scope to deliver this type of project, specifically whether there is scope to deliver it in Carlanstown.”
“I thank the Minister of State for that response. I did not go directly to TII myself. I await a response from it, but this response from the Minister of State is helpful because it sets out the position. Meath County Council has pointed to a pathway involving a TII-initiated process. That does not look like it is happening. In TII's inspection and its review Carlanstown has not come up. My question then was whether Meath County Council has the capacity or licence to initiate, through its own feasibility and options report, a proposal for Carlanstown. It is clear from the Minister of State's response that it can and that TII awaits that. I and the local public representatives need to take that back to Meath County Council and say it needs to initiate this.”
“If one goes further along that road to Clonmellon or Delvin, which are in County Westmeath, the exact traffic-calming measures the people of Carlanstown are looking for have been installed. We say firmly that they need to be implemented in Carlanstown as well.”
“In effect, the residents in the area and the local representatives have been pushed from Billy to Jack. For me that is incredibly frustrating because it is clear what needs to happen. What is needed is some layers of tar for ramps at various spots along the road, signage and some markings along the road. This is not a significant investment. I have had experience of this before. Public lighting is already in place and it is often an issue we have in rural areas, in that public lighting needs to be installed. It is already there. It is incredible that these small works have not been earmarked and working their way through the planning and implementation phases. Sometimes TII states something cannot be done because of the nature of the road, but this is the N52. It is a national road.”
“We raised this with Meath County Council and the reason I raise it here is that I have been informed, as have the local community and the local public representatives from the Minister's party, my party and from across the political spectrum, that this is a TII issue and not a Meath County Council issue. When we raised it with the council it points toward the process. TII identifies high-collision hotspots. It has road safety inspections. Those inspections have not identified Carlanstown as an area for investment. From its end, Meath County Council has feasibility and options reports and if identifying Carlanstown as an area in need of investment, it applies to TII for funding to bring the project to design stage and then it goes back to TII for investment in the project itself.”
“Carlanstown is a growing community but it contends every day with speed on the roads, heavy vehicles on the roads and lots of movements in an area that has been wanting for investment in connectivity, traffic-calming measures and safety measures for vulnerable road users, particularly preschool children, schoolchildren, elderly people, people with buggies and people with limited mobility. There is very heavy traffic and people travelling at speed. If we were standing on the streets of Carlanstown village rather than here, the Minister would immediately recognise there is a need for physical intervention and engineering intervention to calm the traffic.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue for debate. It is an important one and sits within road safety. This was a tragic day on our roads in Donegal and east Meath. I extend my deepest condolences to all those affected. Internationally, in the world of sport, there was a very high-profile death on the roads. Road safety is incredibly important and this is a really important case in respect of Carlanstown. I raise it here because avenues have been pursued in Meath.”
“Funding for further education and training has been cut by approximately €40 million. In my own area under the Louth and Meath Education and Training Board, the funding cut is in the region of €14 million. That is very significant and will have an impact on apprenticeships and further education courses. They will be delayed, postponed or cancelled. We have also been contacted by adult education teachers who are already dreadfully treated. They are being told they will not have jobs in September. They will be protesting about this outside the Dáil next Wednesday at 1 p.m. Does this concern the Minister at a time when we need apprenticeships and tradespeople? What will he do to ensure this funding is restored and these courses and jobs are protected?”
“I see them as gatekeepers and this is reflected in parents and staff saying their engagement with them is overwhelmingly unhelpful or very unhelpful. Ultimately, we need to provide supports for children who so obviously need them.”
“What makes me wonder further about the review is the fact it states with a straight face that sections were not commenced for fear of creating unnecessary bureaucracy and taking away from the needs of the child but it says nothing about the bureaucracy the Government has created in the National Council for Special Education despite the compelling evidence that shows this bureaucracy is a significant problem. A total of 49% of parents and 38% of staff said their contact with the NCSE was unhelpful or very unhelpful. A total of 25% of parents said their contacts with the NCSE were very unhelpful. This is a significant finding. I do not see anything in the report that points towards a fundamental root-and-branch review of the NCSE and the SENO model.”
“The Minister wants us to believe these sections were not commenced because there were concerns that bureaucratic requirements would place the demands of the plan, rather than the needs of the child, at the centre of the process whereas this was about the needs of the child. The Minister must be joking. In my firm opinion, it was only ever about the Minister, the Department and the State itself protecting themselves, just as they are trying to row back on assessments of need. I note the recommendation to review the Disability Act 2005 and legal framework governing assessments of need and I have a serious problem with it. The Government should meet its legal obligations rather than reviewing them.”
“The review also states: In addition to the perceived practical difficulties, there were concerns that bureaucratic requirements would place the demands of the plan rather than the needs of the child at the centre of the process. Sections 3 to 12 of the EPSEN Act relating to IEPs were therefore never commenced. Let us not forget the rights and benefits these sections would bestow on the child and the obligations they would put on the State, such as the right to an educational assessment for all children with additional educational needs, the consequent development of a statutory individual educational plan, the delivery of detailed education services on foot of this plan, and an independent appeals process.”
“Page 21 of the review states: Sections 3 to 12 of the Act prescribed how such [individual education] plans were to be developed, the assessments they would entail, how their implementation was to be monitored, the role of the school principal, the parents and special educational needs organiser (SENO), and the appeals mechanisms that would apply to them. The intention in all of this was clearly to fulfil the Act's aims of providing an appropriate education for children with special educational needs but the apparatus as set out was widely regarded as impracticable. The Minister said the same. Is this the case? Did children with additional educational needs see it as impractical? Did their parents?”
“There is a lot in the report that I welcome but I want to make a number of points in the time available to me. I have a concern about enacting and moving on a number of the positive recommendations by following the recommendation that legislation for all schoolchildren come under one Act. This would be a complex move and I fear it would take a very long time. As to legislation underpinning student support plans, the same should happen with regard to reasonable accommodations. They should be legislated for. I want to take issue with the fact that some sections of the Act have not commenced.”
“I welcome the review and the review process. I welcome the publication of the report and the comments of the Minister and Minister of State. I have to say the proof of the pudding will be in the eating and I come to this with something of a jaundiced and critical eye. I accept there is evolution in thinking, in processes and in language but it has fundamentally always been obvious what is needed here. It is a matter of recognising that all children are equal and that the State has an obligation to support them to reach their potential, whatever that might look like. We have moved from review to review, to tweaking the system and tweaking the system again. The sum total of all this effort is to delay, deflect and deny children access to the supports they so obviously need. And the point is they so obviously need these supports.”
“We are desperately in need of GPs so when we have one, we need to hold on to them and I ask the Minister of State to look at that.”
“It is really important that when we have CSO information, we use it to plan for services in areas. I look at my own county of Meath, which has the lowest number of mental health beds, the lowest number of GPs and the lowest number of gardaí per population; has some of the largest class sizes in the State; and has the lowest number of playgrounds per population. The issue of GPs has been in the news in the past 24 hours. I have written to the Minister for Health and the HSE about a case in Ashbourne where, thankfully, we have a new GP. This GP's practice is at risk because they are not being allowed access to the GMS scheme because they are waiting for a lift to be installed in the practice. A reasonable accommodation has been made in the meantime but the GMS scheme is a firm "No". This needs to change.”
“As with the €1,000 third level fee increase, if last year's cost-of-living package is not repeated, schools will be down funding next year. Will the Minister assure parents that schools will be adequately funded and will not have to bear the financial burden of so-called free education? Will there be a cost-of-living package for schools?”
“It is scandalous that, every year, schools are forced to rely on so-called voluntary contributions from parents to plug funding gaps due to the Government's failure to provide proper investment. Parents already pay €54 million in contributions and now, as the funding crisis in schools escalates, it looks like they will be asked to pay even more. The Catholic Primary School Management Association, CPSMA, says it has never been contacted by as many schools in financial distress as it was last year. It says that voluntary contributions will have to be increased unless the Government steps up with realistic funding. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, has committed an extra €24 per child in capitation, but this goes nowhere near covering increased insurance, energy and electricity costs.”
“There will be no transparency, no honesty and no accountability. Will the Government ensure that Children's Health Ireland gets to the real facts for these children and tells them straight whether their surgery was necessary?”
“Last week, Children's Health Ireland confirmed just 105 appointments have been offered so far to the children potentially affected by the scandal of unnecessary hip surgeries. Only 60 people have been seen so far out of a total of 2,259 children who had hip surgery since 2010 at Children's Health Ireland or the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Cappagh. At this rate it will take more than 20 years for every child to be assessed. To make matters worse, CHI has also confirmed that it is only conducting a once-off review to assess complications only and determine current clinical state. That means it will not provide answers to the 2,259 families on the question of whether their child's surgery was necessary in the first place. It will not provide answers to the question of whether those children were harmed or wronged by malpractice.”
“I welcome the considered response from the Ministers of State and the general positivity around where we need to go with this, but I hope they will understand that we cannot live with the 12-month delay. That said, I know how the numbers work in this House but whatever the outcome of the vote on Wednesday, I encourage us to get cracking on this legislation. I welcome all of the contributions to the debate this afternoon.”
“This legislation will help us to use that limited resource well and, in doing so, increase the opportunities for new and groundbreaking drugs to be made accessible to children in need. I do not support the 12-month delay. This is a 2022 Bill. It has already been on the books for three years. We have our slow processes in here but I do not think anything the Ministers of State have given as a reason for delaying it for 12 months cannot be done without such a delay. We will have Committee Stage. In reintroducing this Bill and rolling it over from the previous Dáil, there was a suggestion that we would amend it, but that would have delayed it further. I recognise the need for changes to this Bill and would 100% welcome further scrutiny at committee and from other stakeholders.”
“To see that when in very many of these cases, including that of my nephew, children are wheelchair-bound at 12 or 13 years of age shows that this is transformational stuff. One sibling in the family has had the benefit of this drug in a clinical trial and the other sibling is waiting, like all of the rest of the children in Ireland. This stuff is incredible. I have no issue with it being put through the system in terms of the assessments and all of that. I understand the need for objectivity but we should not deny these children access to this drug. I may have gone off on a slight tangent but I hope I am making the point clearly that we have a limited resource and we have to use it well.”
“This relates directly to this Bill in the sense that we have to use the available resources for spending on medicines and health technologies as efficiently and effectively as possible, particularly in the context of the opportunity to avail of a drug like givinostat, which can provide incredible benefits. I have a nephew with degenerative muscular dystrophy who lives in Belgium. He left Ireland, as did the child of one of my constituents who now lives in England because the supports there are far better. Deputy Ó Murchú mentioned another family. This drug is transformational. There is a child in the clinical trial who, at 18 years of age, is still walking. He is a huge Donegal GAA fan, goes to all of their training sessions and does the announcements. He is statistics mad.”
“The risk is, if we are being flaithiúlach, lazy and not diligent about how we are spending taxpayers' money at one end because we are familiar and have those relationships, we cannot support the children in need who have Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The budget will have run out because we have wasted it or not used it efficiently. That is where we need transparency and accountability about how we use these funds. That is where the connection is for those children. I fully support them in their need to access givinostat. If the potential is there for early access on an all-Ireland basis, or however we go about it, we certainly must pursue it. We have processes for assessing those products and we know they have been licensed at EMA level. We need to get them to children in Ireland and in this jurisdiction.”
“It is eye-watering and the demands are increasing because of innovation, much of which is publicly funded and much of which is privately funded. Incredible medicines are being produced. However, if we use branded products and patented products where generic or biosimilar medicines are available, we are not using that pool of resources efficiently. We are just doing that because that is what we do, it is what we have done in the past or because we have a special relationship with a sales representative or, worse, the company has treated us to X, Y and Z or certain gifts or benefits. From the point of view of the public purse, there is harm and damage.”
“We heard yesterday in the audiovisual room from two people I want to thank, Dr. Kieran Harkin, medical director of Merchants Quay Doctors and co-founder of Access to Medicines Ireland, and Ms Kath Sansom, founder of Sling the Mesh UK. The impact of those products on many people was very damaging and there is certainly a case to be answered. The patient safety issue has been well articulated and well evidenced. The connection between givinostat and Duchenne muscular dystrophy is not about patient safety at all. The issue is about a finite health budget. In every country in the world, as those on that side of the House will rightly say, the amount of money we are spending on medicines is increasing.”
“Not only that, there are examples, including extreme ones, such as the OxyContin epidemic in the United States, where powerful, wealthy pharmaceutical companies influenced clinical indications in respect of pain. There are many examples where new conditions have been identified on the basis of there being a product available to treat them, the medicalisation of many conditions that were not medicalised in the past. Why? It is because a product needs to be sold. With such significant amounts of money - and these companies have eye-watering amounts available to them - there is potential for conflicts of interest and perverse incentives. We have seen many examples of that over the years. I can point to the examples of OxyContin, opioids, Sacklers' Purdue Pharma and the "Dopesick" example which is at the extreme end of it.”
“I thank all the Deputies on both sides of the House for their contributions on this Second Stage debate. In particular, I thank Deputy Toole, my constituency colleague, with whom I previously discussed this legislation. She has a particular interest. This is an important intervention we are trying to make from a number of different perspectives. We have touched on a few of them. I point to the marketing budgets of pharmaceutical companies and compare them with their research and development budgets and ask why they are as they are. At the root of this is the suggestion - and there is plenty of evidence to support it - that marketing and advertising has a direct influence on the prescribing behaviours of clinicians.”
“It is in the interest of everybody to have transparency in the system so we can know and shine a light on conflicts of interest. I look forward to the debate on this and welcome the opportunity to hear from others.”
“These crises resulted in significant personal costs for thousands of people and significant financial costs for health systems. Ireland is not immune from this and transparency legislation is a key step in preventing such crises. The shared commitment across parties to a strong health service and thriving life sciences sector must be underpinned by a transparency system that ensures a level playing field for ethical industry actors while safeguarding patients. Legislation in the US, France and other countries has proven that payment transparency strengthens public confidence and supports a more competitive and fair research and innovation landscape where the majority of ethical industry actors are not at a disadvantage by comparison with the few unethical industry actors.”
“Robert Watt, to the Committee of Public Accounts in 2021 noted: The Private Member’s Bill [this Bill] presents an opportunity for a review of the arrangements in place in the context of improving transparency in transfers of value between pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers. It is generally positive in that regard. Again, we cannot rely on the current fragmented transferofvalue.ie and transparentmedtech.eu transparency systems. Peer-reviewed research outlined extensive shortcomings in these systems. The significant consequences of poorly managed conflicts of interest in healthcare have been highlighted in many countries. Examples include the US opioid epidemic, which I mentioned, and the pelvic mesh scandal in Britain.”
“The Bill also provides for the HPRA to establish and maintain the register and ensure it is searchable and accessible to the public. The establishment of a centralised, State-run mandatory disclosure system in Ireland would enhance health service trust and integrity, create a fair and competitive innovation environment, support Ireland’s clinical trials landscape and provide significant cost savings for the HSE. Legislation similar to this has been proposed by TDs from other parties, including Fianna Fáil through former health spokesperson Billy Kelleher MEP. In the US, similar legislation was introduced with cross-party support. Correspondence from the Secretary General of the Department of Health, Mr.”
“While a voluntary register of these payments is currently in place and maintained by the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association, research conducted at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland found that the identity of many recipients is anonymous, while other payments may not be reported at all. The current voluntary system is inadequate. The Healthcare (Transparent Payments) Bill 2022 is needed to bring Ireland in line with international best practice and is a measure in the interest of industry, professionals, organisations and the general public. This legislation would require pharmaceutical companies and medical equipment suppliers to declare all payments to the HPRA on an annual basis. Failure to do so could result in a fine of €100,000.”
“We know payments to healthcare professionals and organisations can create conflicts of interest. Evidence shows that receipt of payments from the pharmaceutical industry is associated with higher prescribing rates, higher prescribing costs, increased use of specific drug classes, including opioids, and lower prescribing quality. This is significant and, of course, has the potential to have a profound impact on patient safety and the public purse. The popular show "Dopesick" highlighted this to great effect in the context of the opioid epidemic in the United States. In Ireland, tens of millions of euro are paid to healthcare professionals and organisations each year by the pharmaceutical industry.”
“I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I welcome the opportunity to discuss the Healthcare (Transparent Payments) Bill 2022, which I am co-sponsoring with my colleagues Deputies David Cullinane and Seán Crowe. I thank Dr. James Larkin, senior postdoctoral fellow at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, for his research in this area and for his help in preparing the legislation. The Bill seeks to make it mandatory for pharmaceutical companies and medical equipment suppliers to declare payments, gifts, donations and all other transfers of value made by them to healthcare professionals and organisations. In some cases, these payments create problematic conflicts of interest that can have significant consequences for patients and the public finances.”
“In the area of special education, hundreds of children do not have an offer of a school place. They number in excess of 250 and possibly in excess of 260. Many more children have an offer but their offered places will not be ready for 1 September. I have one such example in Corpus Christi National School in Drumcondra in Dublin. This is a major concern. We potentially have hundreds of children without an appropriate school place for 1 September. Considering we are fast-tracking planning for attic conversions, are we doing something about planning for school buildings with places for children with additional needs? What emergency actions is the Government taking to ensure that every child has an appropriate school place come September?”
“In the first instance, this is about protecting as many jobs as possible. I have raised with the Minister for enterprise the importance of making every effort to identify an investor and save as many good jobs as possible. This is also about ensuring that those who lose their jobs are supported in every way possible in terms of understanding their rights and entitlements and the supports that are there for them, including support to retrain and find alternative employment. The Minister mentioned that pay-related social welfare was now in place for those employees. Unfortunately, we had a similar situation with Tara Mines some time ago, and it was not in place then. Is it the case now that it is in place and is available for those workers?”
“It was a shock for the whole community because we are talking about 217 jobs. Some workers in the area I grew up in and in the wider area have been in that factory for decades. It was known as a really good employer in the area and the impact on both direct and indirect employment is significant. It is an important employer in the area. In the first instance, this period of examinership is about securing a sustainable future and protecting as many jobs as possible. In the event that there are job losses, we must ensure that those workers are supported. I welcome the fact the Department has had engagement. Further engagement would be welcomed by the workers and their representatives. Is that something the Minister will consider?”
“To conclude on that point in the interests of time, I agree entirely with the Minister that is where the focus needs to be. We talk about school completion and absenteeism. The work done by home school liaison officers and educational welfare officers is incredibly important and life changing for individuals and families. It is about breaking the cycle. The Minister will have the absolute and full support of this side of the House if there is an opportunity to expand those services and supports for children because they make such a difference.”
“It is absolutely needed. This morning the CPSMA outlined results of its survey with an increase in insurance costs of one third, an increase in utility costs of 50%, an increase in cleaning costs of in excess of 80%. It is also clear the funding proposed for this year’s budget will not match the increasing costs that schools face. There is an ask for a comprehensive assessment. I welcome the piece on energy costs but the same is needed for the overall running costs of schools. There is an ask from the CPSMA, and others I am sure, for an assessment of the real life running costs of schools. They argue that the supports being provided by the Government do not match those costs. The real impacts are on the school communities which cannot go to the pockets of their parents.”
“There was very significant disappointment, which I raised in a Topical Issue with the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, on the day of the announcement that the overall funding for the ICT and minor works grants were down from €79 million last year to €65 million this year. All that related to the ICT funding. All this fits into the wider piece of funding for schools. There is a real issue around the increasing costs and the flatline of the overall capitation in particular. This morning the CPSMA said that in the last five years running costs have increased in the region of 70% but capitation funding is at 2008 levels. It has had unprecedented numbers of calls from schools in financial difficulty. This is a major concern. Yesterday, the INTO’s pre-budget submission had an ask of an additional €75 per child in capitation funding.”
“On behalf of Deputy McGuinness, I ask the Minister to explain, following her announcement that she will give €65 million in minor works and ICT funding for schools, the rationale for providing the same minor works grant to all schools when older buildings need increased funds to be maintained and whether older schools buildings will receive increased minor works funding.”
“However, to the point that it can be presented as students' own work and that they may give a false impression that they have skills or knowledge they do not have, it is about the integrity of the leaving certificate. I feel, as do others, that given the consideration of those facts, we all surely have the ambition to ensure the integrity and the quality of the leaving certificate is maintained.”
“Very real concerns have been articulated regarding the use of AI. I made that point from the research in Deakin University. This week, at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence, I asked the witnesses from Research Ireland how this impacts at third level. They said they have specifically changed their assessment process to ensure AI is not being presented as a student's own work. There are fundamental questions about authenticity, validity and equity that have to be considered. I do not think they have been adequately considered in respect of artificial intelligence. I appreciate the point the Minister is making in that it is here and we have to figure out ways to deal with it.”
“There is no scrutiny or oversight of that. Researchers from Deakin University stated, "Generative artificial intelligence ... increasingly allows students to complete assessment tasks without possessing the relevant knowledge or skills." That is a fundamental empirical piece. The issue here is the integrity and quality of the leaving certificate.”
“We need to separate some of the issues here. Nobody is arguing against senior cycle redevelopment. What is relevant is the approach. We need to be clear that the issue is the accelerated approach and the level of preparedness at school and departmental levels across the board to make these changes. The resourcing of schools is a very clear issue. The resources to adequately resource schools are not there and neither are the plans. It is the same with the training of staff. I wish to focus on the issue of artificial intelligence. I firmly believe the impact of artificial intelligence has not been adequately assessed. The Minister stated students will have the opportunity to look at AI and then replicate it in an exam scenario. That is not the issue. Rather, it is that the actual AI material is presented as the student's own work.”