Emer Higgins
Dublin Mid-West · Fine Gael · Ireland
“With regard to the background, and as the Senator has touched on, this project was designed on the basis of a 30-year operational lease, with the primary objective of delivering value for money over the lifetime of that lease.”
“Regarding the specific situation in Castlebar that the Senator has raised, Tusla has indicated that following careful consideration, including extensive negotiations, which he referred to, and legal mediation with the developers, it was unable to reach an agreement.”
“They came forward, often at enormous personal cost, and continued to seek answers and accountability when the very systems that should have protected them had failed. For many survivors of child sexual abuse, the abuse does not end when it stops.”
“The strongest projects are those that invest in feasibility studies, site assessments, stakeholder engagement and detailed design from the outset, because decisions made at the earliest stage often have the greatest impact on cost, quality and operational performance.”
“As a result, it made a significant uplift on its original offer. The additional increase sought could not be justified, however, when benchmarked against comparable projects across both Tusla and the HSE. That comes back to the value-for-money argument.”
“Justice Michael White for their significant work and acknowledge how deeply distressing the findings are. They reveal repeated missed opportunities, ignored warning signs and systemic failures that allowed abuse to occur over many years. Children who should have been protected were instead left vulnerable.”
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“Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Teachta. I congratulate Deputy Neville and the school communities. I know that he attended one of the schools. I am sure this is a big day for both he Deputy and the school communities. I thank him for raising this issue and for his strong and consistent advocacy on behalf of families in Leixlip. I know he worked very closely with the school community on this issue. His engagement and that of the school community with the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Naughton, both on the ground locally and in the House, has been important. I compliment Deputy Neville on his hard work because he has been instrumental in bringing this matter to a positive outcome. Providing school places for every child, including those with additional needs, is a top priority for the Government.”
“With regard to the appeal, it might be helpful to outline some of what is taken into account in terms of the rationale. Special education needs organisers engage with schools, including school leaders, teachers and SNAs, and a national review panel reviews decisions to ensure consistency across the country. Among the factors taken into account are changes in student numbers, changes in individual care needs and students moving from primary to post-primary schools. Sometimes, those factors form part of the rationale. While I do not know the specific details in the case of St. Aidan’s Parish School, the information should have been made available to it in a timely fashion.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and giving us this opportunity to discuss it on the floor of the House. The NCSE allocation and review processes are essential to ensure that SNA support is provided where it is most needed. An appropriate appeal mechanism is an important part of the review process, and this has always been the case. I fully appreciate that schools need to be given whatever information needed in order to put forward a thorough appeal. If schools are not satisfied with the outcome of a SNA review, they can then submit the appeal. As I said, details on how to do that are available online. The NCSE is available to support schools and discuss the deployment of SNA resources allocated to support their students.”
“To be told that this is the correct way to be able to gain the information and then to be frustrated through the process and not get it, I can understand that this is not efficient for either the school or the NCSE. It does not set the school up for success in terms of being able to put forward a coherent and comprehensive appeal. I appreciate what the Deputy is saying in that this information should have been made available in a timely fashion to the school.”
“In relation to the appeals process itself, on completion of an SNA review the NCSE communicates the outcome to a school. If the school is not satisfied, it may submit an appeal of the outcome to the NCSE. The school has ten days to do so. Information, including guidance on the appeals process, is available on the NCSE website. The NCSE is currently processing a number of appeals and the outcomes of these will be communicated to schools shortly. The Department and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality, where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential. I will provide the Deputy's specific feedback on the rationale.”
“I will certainly add Deputy Lawlor to that list to ensure he gets that same information and that same contact. I am very glad to hear that the Deputy has been in contact directly with the head of the NCSE and that he is working proactively to help to resolve this from a rationale perspective to give the information the school wants and should have gotten much easier than this. I appreciate that the issue here is not just for St. Aidan's and that the issue is with the process. I will absolutely provide that feedback to the Minister for education. As the Deputy is aware, the National Council for Special Education has responsibility for co-ordinating and advising on the education provision and care support for children and young people with special educational needs in our schools, including the allocation of SNA support to schools.”
“I thank Deputy Lawlor for raising this important issue on behalf of St. Aidan's school community in Enniscorthy, and not just on behalf of the student or the students attending school in special classes, but indeed the entire school community, including teachers, parents, special education teachers and SNAs. I hear the Deputy's frustration. His frustration was mirrored earlier by one of the Deputy's constituency colleagues who also raised this with the Tánaiste today on the floor of the House. In case the Deputy missed that debate, I will just say that the Tánaiste committed to raising this with the Minister for education directly, asking her to arrange that either the Minister herself or the NCSE would make contact with that Deputy.”
“The funding has been allocated to the council and the Deputy has given us an example today of the kind of family for whom we need to do that.”
“This is a 54% increase on its allocation last year. I will certainly bring the Deputy's feedback to the Minister for housing because, ultimately, what I am being told is that there is funding there and Fingal County Council has that funding, but only seven second-hand acquisitions are in its current pipeline. Perhaps that is because there was a pipeline from last year that it is still working its way through. I do not know the detail of that but the people who do are in the local authority, and they are who the Deputy needs to engage with on this. I know and respect that the Deputy has already done that but I think we need to do that further. There is funding there for this. With this funding we want to support families who are at risk of homelessness.”
“I thank Deputy O'Reilly for raising her constituents' experience with us here today. It is really important that everybody remembers that behind the statistics we read out in here are families. They are families exactly like that. It is for this exact reason the Government is allocating funding. According to the Department of housing, last year the Department funded a total of 68 second-hand acquisitions for Fingal County Council. Of those, 61 were for tenancy sustainment, allowing for these private tenancies to continue in preventing homelessness, and others were tenant in situ acquisitions. So far this year Fingal County Council has only seven second-hand acquisitions in the pipeline. That is the information I have from the Department of housing. It has been given €30.7 million to fund acquisition of housing.”
“I note the second family in question made contact with the council on 28 April, so I am not sure why it is giving them that response given it now has its initial allocation of €30.7 million of this funding. Ultimately, the delivery of new additional social homes is the only strategic solution when it comes to long-term homelessness, with allocations from new and existing local authority and AHB social homes the primary means through which social housing-qualified households should be accommodated. I appreciate what the Deputy is saying about how the tenant in situ programme is really important for many families and that is why Fingal County Council has been given a 54% uplift in this year's allocation. I hope it will use that to support families in the Deputy's constituency like the ones who contacted her.”
“Those priorities include: exits from homelessness, with €150 million allocated; AHB priority delivery to support older persons, persons with disabilities and care leavers, with €50 million allocated; and local authority priority acquisitions, which includes tenancy sustainment or tenant in situ acquisitions, with €157 million allocated. A contingency fund of €16 million will also be retained to be there to top up where local authorities have drawn down and fully exhausted their initial allocation, because we want to continue to enable them to be ambitious and to continue to drive these acquisitions. Fingal County Council has been given an initial allocation of €30.7 million of this funding. That is a 54% increase on its allocation for last year. This funding is now available to the council.”
“Along with the clear focus of Government on increasing the supply of new build social and affordable homes, a targeted social housing acquisition programme has been and will continue to be an important policy response to priority needs. At the end of February, so about two weeks after the first email Deputy O'Reilly quoted from 18 February, the Minister, Deputy Browne, secured funding to a total of €373 million to fund acquisitions under the Department of housing’s social housing second-hand acquisitions programme. That funding will be available for drawdown by local authorities and approved housing bodies under the 2026 programme priorities.”
“They are not the sole, or indeed the primary, option. The default first option should always be securing the sustainment of the tenancy with the landlord, securing alternative accommodation through the tenancy sustainment and place finder services, or allocating a local authority or approved housing body tenancy via a new build home or relet. Where acquisitions are deemed necessary in terms of a tenant in situ , local authorities have delegated sanction to pursue individual priority acquisitions without recourse to the Department of housing, where these acquisitions are in line with the broad parameters and criteria of the second-hand acquisitions programme.”
“I thank Deputy O'Reilly very much. The Minister, Deputy Browne, passes on his apologies that he could not be here and asked me to take this on his behalf. Tenancy sustainment, which includes the purchase of private homes where a social housing tenant is in situ , is not a stand-alone programme or scheme. However, it is a priority category of the Department of housing’s social housing second-hand acquisitions programme, which helps prevent social housing-supported households in the private rental sector from becoming homeless, as the Deputy said. Tenancy sustainment, or tenant in situ, is an option for local authorities to support households who are in the most precarious housing situations. Such acquisitions are, and will continue to be, available to local authorities for use as a last resort when other options have been exhausted.”
“Despite the cost of zero emission vehicles posing an ongoing challenge for some, the number of electric HGVs in the fleet is increasing, with 162 electric HGVs registered at the end of last year. The number of compressed natural gas fuelled vehicles rose to 157 last year and that was a 5% increase on the year before. Energy consumption from renewable resources such as liquid biofuel and biogases which are often used to power heavy goods vehicles continued to grow as well. It has increased from 64 kilotonnes of oil to 78 kilotonnes.”
“Two tax incentive schemes allow operators to reduce their immediate tax bill against company profits when investing in zero emission vehicles and they are already in place. I recognise that not all businesses can afford to invest in zero emission vehicles even when they avail of grant funding. However, eco driving techniques can help drivers to reduce their fuel and emissions in their existing vehicles while enhancing road safety for all road users. A national standard for eco driving courses has been established and a range of subsidised or fully funded eco driving training courses are also available to HDV drivers. The promotion of both digital and operational efficiencies such as load sharing and logistics consolidation hubs are also being explored by the Department of Transport.”
“Several targeted supports have been provided in recent years to assist the sector on its journey to zero emissions. The zero emissions heavy duty vehicle purchase grant scheme supports the purchase of zero emission vehicles and associated charging infrastructure. HDV Electrification Pathway: Navigating the Path to Heavy Duty Electrification in Ireland is a report published on 3 March 2026. It identifies the key enablers to accelerate HDV electrification and that is really important. I agree, as was mentioned today, that we also need to support the transition to HVO and to support those who have already made that transition. The fleet assessment audit offers businesses an assessment by an independent energy adviser who will provide guidance on transition to zero emission vehicles.”
“The road haulage strategy provides a roadmap for how the sector can decarbonise to meet the targets set out in the climate action plan. I am going to digress from the script because I do not agree with the next sentence, so I am sure I will be killed by officials. It states here that the haulage sector is almost exclusively fuelled by diesel. That is not necessarily true. I know many operators in this sector who have utilised HVO, and Deputy Lahart mentioned that earlier. It is important that we recognise the contribution they are making to the environment by making the decision to move to HVO. I appreciate that more needs to be done in this area. However, Deputies will agree that decarbonisation will be a significant challenge for the sector over the medium term to 2030 and beyond.”
“Officials in the Department of Transport want to continue this spirit of collaboration to assist the sector to achieve the goals set out in the road haulage strategy and the actions identified by the sector in the logistics and supply chain skills group action plan. That is ongoing collaboration and is in addition to the commitment given by the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, to engage with the representative bodies over the coming months. I recognise the efforts being made to improve current processes and build a resilient and skilled workforce equipped to meet the future needs of the sector. Recent cost pressures born of the conflict in Iran have highlighted the need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels in the transport sector.”
“In addition, LogisTYcs is a flagship skills expo under the logistics and supply chain skills week and was held in the past couple of weeks in the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght. The Minister of State, Deputy Canney, mentioned to me earlier that he was there and met 1,500 students as well as educators, employers and industry bodies. It is an opportunity for them to learn more about career and education options within the sector. Both the road freight forum and the logistics and supply chain skills group provide an excellent platform for structured engagement between policymakers and key sectoral stakeholders.”
“The logistics and supply chain skills group was established in 2019 to support the promotion of careers, skill development and sustainable employment in the logistics and supply chain sectors in Ireland. This group has been making good progress to address systematic challenges with support from officials in the Department of Transport. In 2023 the group organised Ireland's first logistics and supply chain skills week to promote careers in the sector and to engage with supply chain executives on the new skills needed now and into the future. This has become an annual event, and this is year nine in terms of in-person events that have been held this year, as well as three international and five national webinars and a sustainability competition for third level students that took place this earlier month.”
“It is chaired by the Department of Transport and its membership includes the National Transport Authority, the Road Safety Authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the Freight Transport Association, the Irish Road Haulage Association, the Irish International Freight Association and the Irish Exporters Association. That forum formalises engagement between key stakeholders and builds on the work done in response to the international crises we mentioned earlier. It supports collaboration, which is key to identifying practical and effective solutions to support the sector to maintain Ireland's essential trade and strategic supply chains. It also monitors the implementation of the road haulage strategy and that provides an opportunity for stakeholders to identify emerging challenges at the earliest opportunity.”
“It identified 39 actions as short-term priorities that are expected to be completed within a two- or three-year timeframe, and enablers for medium- to long-term progress that will ensure the delivery of policy objectives over the full term of the strategy. The implementation of the short-term actions has progressed well since publication and three annual progress reports have been published so far. A key action identified in the road haulage strategy was to establish a road freight forum with representatives from the relevant Government Departments and agencies and the haulage, freight, distribution and logistics sector. That road freight forum held its first meeting in February 2023.”
“As the Minister mentioned in his opening remarks, over 246,000 people are working across a variety of logistics and supply chain roles, including almost 60,000 people in the transport sector. While I am sure Deputies will agree that financial supports are necessary right now, I reiterate, as many Deputies did in their contributions, that this Government also recognises the need to support the haulage, logistics and supply chain sector in the longer term. It is important to address long-standing challenges such as driver shortages and to work with the sector on its transition to decarbonisation. In December 2022 the Government published Ireland's road haulage strategy, which runs from 2022 to 2031. It followed two phases of public consultation. That strategy highlights the importance of the haulage and road freight sector.”
“The support package has been carefully considered following ongoing engagement between the Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien, the Minister for State at the Department of Transport with responsibility for international road transport logistics, rail and ports, Deputy Canney, and officials in the Department of Transport with haulage and passenger representative bodies over many months. The scheme reflects the immediate need for financial support and the needs communicated by the sector over many engagements. It demonstrates that the Government is listening to the needs of the sector. I thank everybody involved in those discussions, particularly the Irish Road Haulage Association.”
“As mentioned earlier, these sectors have faced multiple challenges in recent years, including Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic, fuel cost increases that immediately followed the invasion of Ukraine and the multiple severe weather events that have resulted in increased disruption at our ports and across the wider transport network. I start by acknowledging the resilience of the sector and I thank the people working there for working with the Minister, Ministers of State and officials in the Department of Transport to find solutions to the challenges we know exist.”
“It is a clear indication that everyone in this House values our hauliers and our bus and coach operators and the role they play in wider society, as they should. After all, these are the people who keep our country moving, who keep our shelves stacked, who bring others to and from work or school and who create jobs in their small, medium and large companies. They are the people we depend on when it comes to certain sectors being successful, like the retail sector and the tourism sector. We are dependent on them for many of the services we provide, like our healthcare sector, disability services or local authority services. The bottom line is that these people are vital to the functioning of both society and the economy.”
“I thank the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, on whose behalf I am closing this debate, for outlining the detail of the road transporters support scheme to the House. This scheme is vital to support our overall economy and trade. It is vital to support the businesses that will receive support under the scheme. That is essential when it comes to ensuring continuity and stability throughout the supply chain. I also thank all of the Deputies who contributed to today's discussion. It was a good discussion, and I appreciate the different perspectives that were put on the record and the perspectives of many people working in the industry that were put on the record by Deputies.”
“We want examples of programmes that are really effective during these key transition points. We know that is where the pinch points often are for families and for the young people themselves. I commend the service and thank the Senator for raising it in the Seanad today.”
“To use the Senator's phrase, challenges do not end at the end of the school day or at the school gates, so the service is really important in bridging that gap for families. Of course, it also provides for onward referrals. There are some really good statistics in terms of the 36 young autistic people who are listed as active on the service's books. Seven young people's cases have been closed as their needs were met, which is really important. I found it particularly interesting that the majority of young people engaged in the service peaked at key stages of transition in their school lives, specifically from second year to third year, the transfer to leaving certificate, and the transfer on to further education and training after leaving school. That is what we want.”
“I fully agree and I totally understand that it is difficult for the service to plan going forward. However, those are the constraints under which we operate. I can totally understand that it is difficult for the service to plan but those are the constraints we operate under. I pay tribute to everybody doing such incredible work. The Sligo-Leitrim autism support service consists of a universal referral system. It consists of weekly one-to-one support which is tailored to each young person and his or her individual needs and aspirations. It enhances personal and social development, and encourages integration into education and training. It assists young people with navigating challenges and bridges the gaps in services.”
“This will happen in the coming weeks. Consideration for further recurring funding for 2027 would be subject to the Estimates process and a new application funding form would therefore need to be submitted by the home youth liaison service”
“It has been agreed with the national HSE access and integration team that once-off funding of €78,125 will be used to support the service to the end of this year and that funding can be provided from within an identified allocation in the 2026 national service plan. This also includes the recruitment of a second autism support officer for the second half of this year. Arrangements are currently under way to have the required contractual arrangement between the HSE and the HYLS put in place in order to have the once-off 2026 funding drawn down by the home youth liaison service. Further to a meeting of all parties on 13 April arrangements to progress the funding allocation will be progressed between the HSE West and North West disability services with the Sligo and Leitrim CYPSC co-ordinator and the HYLS manager.”
“The HSE West and North West disability service met with the Sligo and Leitrim children and young people's services committee and the home youth liaison service in March of this year. The HSE service sought feedback on the home youth liaison service's autism support service from the CDNTs, primary care services and child and adolescent mental health services in the Sligo-Leitrim area, with feedback being overwhelmingly positive. The annual recurring funding requirement being sought by the home youth liaison service to sustain the autism support service and to expand same to all secondary schools in the Sligo area via the recruitment of a second autism support officer is €125,000.”
“An evaluation of the project was completed and formally launched in December just gone. It was launched to review the impact of the approach and the model of working. As the Senator said, it is a clear affirmation of the work being done on the ground. That evaluation report has recommended the project's expansion as a model of good practice and sets out the funding needs to expand the service. This would require mainstream funding to be identified because the existing funding resources available through the local partners will not be able to sustain the overall project in the long term. Recurring funding therefore, is required to secure, sustain and expand the service across the Sligo-Leitrim area.”
“In 2023, through its own consultation process, Sligo and Leitrim CYPSC identified that for young autistic people, there are poor transition support processes in place in terms of education, training and employment, as the Senator said herself. In response to this, on foot of significant collective planning and resource gathering by Sligo Leitrim CYPSC and the HYLS, an autism support officer was employed in May 2024 with the specific purpose of supporting autistic young people on a pilot basis. Through its local funding programmes, which supported the local partners, Sligo Leitrim CYPSC put in place and evaluated this project. The project itself was developed to test and to evaluate the model with a view to then making a business case for funding and to mainstream the service.”
“I thank Senator Cosgrove for raising this important issue and giving us all the opportunity to commend the fantastic work happening on the ground. The service is absolutely amazing. We need many more such services across the country. I thank the Senator for the role she played in working with the service before becoming a Member of this House. I, as Minister of State with responsibility for disability, alongside my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Norma Foley, remain fully committed to providing the necessary supports for children and young people with disabilities and their families throughout the country, including in Sligo and Leitrim.”
“I agree with the Deputy that we need timelines and we do have some timelines in place. This year's budget will fund the planned places that will happen this year. In terms of capacity building, we have targets and deadlines outlined in our disability capital plan, in which there was also an uplift this year. This year, we are hiring for six new additional roles within the HSE. Those postholders will liaise with, for example, local authorities, approved housing bodies and developers and work with them to ensure we are providing capacity at all levels, whether through private or public means. I was in County Donegal last week where I met the access officer in Letterkenny, who informed me that, as part of the Donegal development plan, 30% of all new homes being built by local authorities or AHBs in the county will have to be accessible.”
“This year, for the first time, we are moving towards a strategy of planned placements. The numbers are small but we expect to be able to fill them. We will be in a good position to then ask for the Department of public expenditure and reform to fill more.”
“I would too. I have met members of the Before We Die campaign twice, as has the Minister, Deputy Foley, and, I believe, many other members of the Government. I first met them at their request and the second time was at my request because I wanted to have a follow-up meeting with senior officials from the HSE to sit down together and work out a plan of action. I also acknowledge parents whose adult children attend the day services at Remember Us in Balbriggan, who I met on this issue as well. I met a young advocate yesterday on this and I will meet with two parents who are in a similar situation this afternoon. I am very glad we have moved to a situation where we are funding planned placements, rather than constantly responding to emerging crises. It is important we can provide that certainty for both the adults and the parents.”
“The national day services teams are also liaising with the Department of education with a view to co-ordinating the information and supports provided to them. The Department of education has undertaken a transitions pilot with 41 special schools where information and support are provided to students to make informed decisions on post-school options and pathways. More generally, the HSE is supporting a day services deferrals process where individuals can avail of a deferral if they wish.”
“Referrals for transition planning may be made from the age of 16 and families are invited to information sessions to meet local service providers, including those offering rehabilitative training. That gives people the opportunity to engage with those day services up to two years before the person takes up a place. It is really about supporting people through that transition. The HSE national day services team is reviewing the transition process and information that young people and their families require when transitioning from services to school. This includes working with the multidisciplinary young adult teams in place for rehabilitative training and school leavers to standardise referral pathways.”
“I thank Deputy Heneghan. This question relates to the continuity of care and day services. The HSE advises that disability services integrated service area, Dublin North County, and integrated service area, Dublin North City and West, in the Dublin north-east region provides a range of supports for adults with disabilities, their families and carers, including home support, personal assistance services, respite services, day services and registered residential services, subject to assessed need and service availability. The Deputy asked about people with disabilities transitioning from child to adult services. I point to the HSE day opportunities team which works closely with CDNTs to support transfer to HSE-funded adult services, where appropriate.”
“We will discuss future planning when it comes to the buildings we need to increase capacity to deliver more residential and respite care across Ireland.”
“On the Deputy's last point, the WRC pay agreement reached in 2025 between Government Departments and unions includes funding for a phased 9.25% pay increase that will benefit workers in section 39 voluntary organisations. The agreement also includes an automatic linkage to future public sector pay agreements for those workers to match all future pay increases. In delivering on the 9.25% pay increase, the Government is improving the ability of service providers to actively recruit and retain staff and supporting the overall sustainability of the sector. The Taoiseach has convened a meeting of the Cabinet committee on disability for Monday. That meeting will be attended by me and the Minister, Deputy Foley, and our officials, as well as the Minister for housing and officials from his Department.”
“We have six positions within the HSE, four of which are now filled, dedicated solely to that collaboration to bring more buildings on stream to provide for those children and young adults with disabilities.”
“This budget, for the first time every, provides for planned residential placements so that we are not always operating on a crisis management basis but are funding beds for the future. That is the situation we want to get to. That is why this year we are investing in that and expect that to be a success. We expect to be able to bring those places on board and to fill those positions and we want to grow on that next year. We are capacity building through our service providers and through the capital plan that I mentioned earlier. We are also investing in better collaboration between the HSE and the Department of housing because local authorities have a role to play here also in terms of providing and building houses and homes that can become respite and residential day care services.”
“I respond by meeting them and listening to them. I have met with the Before We Die campaign twice now and the Minister, Deputy Foley, has too. The first time was at their request and I was absolutely happy to do that. The second time was at my request because I wanted to meet them, together with the HSE, to ensure that we had the right people around the table to be able to make progress. I would also like to take this opportunity to mention a group who are not part of that campaign but who are facing similar situations, Remember Us. I met with a group of parents and adults with intellectual disabilities last month and I met with a young advocate and his parents yesterday. I have another meeting with two parents later today.”
“The additional funding sought for this year includes a significant uplift to the existing level of service provision of €478 million to address sectoral funding pressures such as the increased cost of service provision, pay cost pressures, capacity limitations and service provider sustainability. In addition to that €478 million for the uplift to the existing level of provision, a sum of €150 million has been provided to fund service expansion in residential and respite services, day service provision, home support, personal assistance and children’s services. The Department is also providing €43 million in disability capital funding for this year, a significant increase of €16 million on last year's provision.”