Eoghan Kenny
Cork North-Central · Labour Party · Ireland
“The barriers facing families today may be different but the principle has not changed. The Labour Party believes opportunity should be determined by talent, effort and ambition, not by the balance in a parent's bank account. Technology has transformed education for the better and it is now an essential part of modern schooling.”
“Parents across Ireland are sitting at kitchen tables trying to work out how they are going to pay for another school year. For far too many families, the excitement of a child returning to school has been replaced by financial anxiety. Increasingly, parents are being forced into debt simply to educate their children.”
“Having been a teacher in two schools, I recognise that these tablets and these laptops that are provided to schools break and that maintenance for them is coming out of capitation grants that cannot be fulfilled by the schools because they are using capitation grants elsewhere.”
“I raise the issue of the lack of a plan for a new public sector pay deal and the lack of engagement on this matter. SIPTU, Fórsa, Unite and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, are now to ballot their members for industrial action, up to and including strike action.”
“We need to stop pretending otherwise and introduce enforceable protections for families. As schools become more dependent on technology than ever before, the Government has cut the ICT grant by almost €15 million. That grant stands at just €35 million with no dedicated funding for repairs or maintenance.”
“It is a guidance letter once again, a guidance circular that was produced by the Minister at the time in 2017 that gave absolutely no consequences to the school for having branded school uniforms. In my opening speech I, as well as my colleagues, welcomed the free books scheme.”
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“We are now a year on and we have not seen one single thing done about it. Barriers are being put up concerning the amount of paperwork that needs to be submitted by the applicants. I ask the Minister of State and his Department to progress this project as quickly as possible. I ask the Minister of State to engage with me and my office in relation to getting a letter from the Department that I could produce to the members of athletics clubs and to members of the community that would show his commitment to the project for the Mallow athletics track in the short term.”
“There are now serious concerns in relation to the viability of the funding and whether it is still on the table as an option, and in relation to the gateways being put before the local authority and both the athletics clubs. I commend the local authority and both athletics clubs on what they have done to try to progress this project. It will be a significant one for the area and is a development so badly needed in what is a rundown centre. It was previously the GAA centre in Mallow. It is important that we progress this project as quickly as possible because there is extreme disappointment out there. Before the general election last year, a fantastic announcement was made by the Government of €2 million in grant funding. Ministers went on the radio and said this was going to be provided in the short term.”
“I will be extremely parochial with my contribution. We are a year on now since the general election. Large-scale sport infrastructure funding was granted to Cork County Council, North Cork Athletics Club and Mallow Athletic Club for an athletics track at Carhookeal in Mallow. Speaking last year, the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, said the project would be developed in the short term on a use it or lose it basis. One year later, nothing has progressed. This is not the short term. It is my understanding that all documentation requested by the Minister of State's Department has now been submitted by the applicants.”
“I ask the Minister and his Department to give us a timeline on what is going to happen in relation to the abolition of the means test for carer's allowance. Will it be this year, next year or the last year of this Thirty-Fourth Dáil? We are unaware. I have significant issues in relation to children with special educational needs. Parents across the country who are caring for children with additional needs provide a deep understanding of what children with such needs are facing. They should not be put up against the barrier of a means test for caring for their children 24-7.”
“People have to go into in-depth detail on the level of care they provide and it is extremely difficult to write down on a piece of paper. We often find that people get extremely emotional when they submit an application form. It is difficult for public representatives when people come into their constituency offices in extremely emotional states. I welcome the fact that the income thresholds are increasing. However, the Minister needs to fulfil his duty to abolish the means test for carer's allowance over the lifetime of this Government. We need a timeframe on that. Carers across this country, who are predominantly women, need the security of understanding that their household means will not stop them from having their own income for providing care for a loved one. It would be completely wrong in any sense or form if this were to happen.”
“I also thank the Social Democrats for bringing this motion forward. I do not doubt the Minister's bona fides on this matter. He is a good man. I am well aware that it is more than likely there are people coming into his constituency office and applying for carer's allowance. I do not doubt that. At the same time, people - women are predominantly the carers in this country - are feeling significant pressure. They are finding it extremely difficult to care for loved ones in their households when the application for the carer's allowance involves a means test. Every week my secretary and I find ourselves filling out application forms. As my colleague Deputy Sheehan has said, it is an extremely intrusive application form.”
“Will the Taoiseach commit to introducing bespoke legislation for Cork to ensure that major infrastructure schemes are introduced and progress to allow the building of homes to commence and not have it further delayed?”
“The Taoiseach raised the possibility of using bespoke legislation to ensure a major sewerage scheme for Dublin does not face further delays. He said that we cannot tolerate any more delays. What about our own county of Cork? I am sure that, similar to my office, his office is inundated with housing needs. In July, five homes commenced building in Cork city. The city's monthly commencement average is ten times lower than last year's. While I appreciate that figures for Cork city are not as bad, Cork county is still well below last year's monthly commencement average. Significant issues are arising constantly in relation to infrastructure, sewerage, access to water and planning applications.”
“If we want to socialise and spend our time off in these businesses, we need to treat those who work in these industries with the basic dignity of a wage that can support a decent standard of living so they can support their own children. That will not be achieved through tax cuts for large companies.”
“The Government should not disingenuously claim both of these things as long-term budgetary measures because they are absolutely not. This is what we are seeing: children going to bed hungry. The Government is being disingenuous about a free books scheme that is not working because a majority of schools now use ICT equipment. The Government is spending its time drafting a budget to give tax reductions to the food and catering industry while mothers and fathers are struggling to put food on the table. The Government is focused on market supports while those who keep these industries working, the workers, are more often than not trying to get by on a minimum wage that has not nearly kept pace with inflation. It is simply a fact.”
“I considered sending her to the credit union but that should not be a measure we have to take. A loan was not the solution. We had to apply for an additional needs payment. That parent had never applied for a social welfare payment in her life. In Nenagh, we visited The Lunch Bag during our think-in. It is one of the biggest producers of hot school meals. It is a fantastic company that has brought huge employment to the area. However, at a well-informed meeting with The Lunch Bag, we heard how the regulations and red tape introduced in late August mean that a significant number of schools, and therefore children, cannot get a hot school meal in some instances which can leave some children without a hot meal all day.”
“In those nine years, they have seen homelessness figures soar along with the number of young people stuck living in their parents’ homes. They have removed an eviction ban, failed to meet construction targets and seen house prices rise and rise again. Every time we raise the issue, the Taoiseach and the Government refer to hot school meals and the free books scheme as long-term budgetary measures. He is trying to fool the people into believing that these long-term measures are working for every single family but I want to say they are absolutely not. In the middle of August, a very distressed and deeply upset mother came to me about the price of a laptop for the school where her child was going into first year. The cost of the laptop was €500. She could not pay it.”
“The NCT has gone up in cost. Road tax is more expensive if you have an older car. What are you supposed to do if that is the only car you can afford? When it comes to housing, rent in Ireland is incredibly expensive. Getting a social home has a years-long waiting list. If you can get a mortgage, you will pay huge repayments and it could take 35 years before you will finally own your own home in your 70s. The future that successive governments have presented us with is incredibly bleak. Since 2016 a paltry total of 99 homes have been purchased under the tenant in situ scheme by Cork County Council. That is under 100 homes purchased in a nine-year period. That figure is quite pathetic. The Government parties have presided over this housing crisis for nine years.”
“Over 225,000 children live below the poverty line in this country. How are families meant to get out of poverty in Ireland in 2025? Food is getting more and more expensive. Food is not an optional extra. It is an everyday basic need. People are working to the bone. Parents are skipping meals to ensure their children are fed. Coming into winter, once again energy costs are going up. Heating one’s home, cooking meals and refrigerating food are all basic necessities and people are being continually squeezed more and more. How is anyone meant to get out of that situation? If you are constantly working just to tread water, where is the hope for better coming from? Wages have not nearly kept up with inflation. Everyday basics get more and more expensive. Running a car is getting more and more expensive. Insurance costs are exorbitant.”
“To be fair, the Government's response has been quite good, but I have serious difficulty with the State agencies and their lack of accountability.”
“The IFI website refers those results indicating that some sort of chemical agent was the cause of the issue. I call on the IFI to give some sort of reassurance and a definite answer in plain English to ordinary members of the public. It is very difficult to understand the results that are being presented to people. That has to be recognised. The fact that it is going to take upwards of ten or 12 years for the river to be fully restocked in terms of trout and perhaps even longer for salmon is quite difficult to understand. Some reassurance has to be given to local anglers. In particular, I want to mention Mr. Conor Arnold from the Killavullen Angling Club who owns an angling company that operates on the river. What happened has had a detrimental impact on his business. I want to be in a position to reassure the public.”
“I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I appreciate it. I fully recognise the Government's response to this. To the fair to them, the Ministers of State, Deputies Dooley and O'Sullivan, have taken calls from me and have recognised the fact that a significant ecological disaster that has affected many species and wildlife has taken place on the River Blackwater. My issue lies solely with the State agencies involved, particularly IFI. Trying to get those agencies on the phone is next to impossible. Trying to get a response from them as to the reassurances I possibly bring back to local anglers, other regular users of the river and members of the community is nearly impossible. No definite cause for the fish kill has been identified in any of the test results.”
“However, we will not accept it in Mallow. In plain English, we want to know how, when and who polluted the River Blackwater, killing upwards of 40,000 fish and destroying an entire ecosystem.”
“Only for the fact that a member of the public saw the information on the IFI website that morning, people would not have been made aware of the meeting. If I was reading between the lines, I presume that was the intention, namely not to have a significant number of people attend. As the local TD, I should be allowed to act as a go-between between the State agencies and the constituents I represent. However, getting people to answer the phone or give concrete answers to my questions was extremely hard, which led to huge public anger. The fundamental issue is that our rivers across the country are not being protected. They are being constantly polluted by individuals, companies or State agencies. They are seen as some sort of a dumping ground for waste and, as horrific as it is to say, we have come to accept that.”
“The presentation given on the day by the IFI was nothing short of a disgrace. I, along with many members of the community, left the meeting with more concerns and questions than answers. The presentation consisted of four slides, two of which contained one word. If it was not such an important issue, it would have been extremely comical that a State agency in front of us was giving a presentation that, with all due respect, could have been given by a primary school child. That is not disrespectful. I fully believe the level of detail and communication afforded to the members of the community that morning was disgraceful. Along with that, people did not know about the meeting. As the local TD, I have lived in Mallow for 25 years and did not know the IFI was coming to present to the community, and neither did members of the community.”
“I know many people who have fished on the Blackwater for upwards of 50 years and it has been a deeply distressing and depressing situation to be in for the past month. Added to this is the lack of communication and answers. A level of anger remains in Mallow and its environs, and I am right there with the people on that. On the State agencies, I appreciate the fact that this was an extraordinary event that took place on the Blackwater. I was, and still am, dumbfounded by the lack of detail and communication from all State agencies involved in this ecological disaster. I attended a meeting in Mallow GAA sports complex, along with the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley - it is much appreciated that he came and met the people of Mallow - and State agencies in late August.”
“The bottom line is that we still do not know what killed upwards of 40,000 fish in the Blackwater, which includes 40 km of water. That is quite extraordinary. I do not present myself as any expert in the area and I am not a scientist in any way, shape or form, but there has to be some evidence of the particular chemical agent, which was referred to by IFI, that killed these fish and polluted our water. The distress this has caused among many communities along the river is quite extraordinary and the outpouring of grief in the community is huge. People, including me, have come to realise the importance of the river, and have realised the extent of pollution within our rivers across the country. This ecological disaster has taken quite an emotional toll on anglers, regular users of the river and members of our communities.”
“The Minister of State will be well aware that on 11 August this year members of the Mallow angling group reported dead fish in the River Blackwater which, in turn, led to an investigation by Inland Fisheries Ireland, IFI, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Cork County Council and the Marine Institute. Fish mortality in the River Blackwater is on a scale that we have never before seen in this country. It is heartbreaking for the wildlife and natural habitat of the area. I would like to note that the committee on the environment has scheduled a meeting for the agencies concerned to come before it on 30 September and I want to thank the Chair for his engagement on that. However, significant concerns still remain unanswered.”
“In his position as Minister of State with responsibility for special education and the school transport section, I ask him to try his best to overhaul the school transport system.”
“A barrier should not be something as simple as a school bus. That should not be the barrier that is being placed before school children. In my final few seconds, I will focus on the detrimental impact this is having on working families in particular. All over Ireland, but particularly in rural areas, including rural parts of Cork North-Central, those who are going out to work in the morning are relying on grandparents, neighbours, aunts and uncles to drop their children to school. That should not be the case. I am blue in the face from asking the Department and Bus Éireann to alleviate the pressure that families are facing with school transport but with no result.”
“I genuinely do not know why that was. I could not get through to anyone in Bus Éireann to give me an answer on that. I could not go back to the constituents who raised that with me to clarify the answer with them. They had gone out of their way, established a company, bought the bus, sought the contract from Bus Éireann but it was not possible for them. Last week, Sinn Féin had a Private Members' motion on special education places. The people on the northside of Cork city in the likes of Mayfield and Knocknaheeny have expressed deep frustration. They have secured appropriate special educational needs places for their children and they are quite thankful for that, but they cannot get the necessary transport. Again, it places a barrier to education. We should not be placing barriers to education.”
“If a brother or sister went to that school, parents are asking why they cannot get the other child into that school. That is the reality on the ground and Bus Éireann does not understand it. It is causing frustration within families. This is something that in an ideal world we should consider appropriate and necessary for schoolchildren. The frustration among families with school transport was evident over the summer with the number of calls, emails and messages that we received. We often hear in the media that it is down to a lack of drivers or buses, but it is absolutely not, certainly in my experience. JD Express Coach Hire in Mallow bought a bus last year and sought a school transport contract from Bus Éireann, but was told because its bus had 29 seats it did not fit the criteria for school transport.”
“When I was out doing some canvassing during this summer, I met many parents who previously had access to school transport but now do not. We have the regulations on the number of kilometres away from the school but in rural areas in particular, the reality on the ground does not focus on what the actual feeder school should be or what it is. For example, if the Patrician Academy is my feeder school, but I want to go to a different school that is not necessarily a feeder school, I should be given that opportunity. A barrier of school transport should not be put before me to get to school. That barrier should not be there. We need to understand the reality on the ground when it comes to feeder schools. Bus Éireann does not take into account that reality, which is disappointing.”
“The Minister of State knows as well as I do the traffic congestion chaos on the main street of Mallow. I ask him to work with the Minister on the Mallow relief road if at all possible. Coming into our office consistently over this summer have been surging complaints about the school transport system. That is not a new phenomenon. I previously worked with former Deputy Sean Sherlock in his office. It was a consistent problem that we faced every summer in his office and now in my office. I know my colleagues are facing that and I am sure they will speak to that. When as local representatives we contact the Minister of State, we hope he will be able to help with school transport issues. There is very little I can do as the local TD to help them.”
“I have discussed this with my colleagues. It establishes the groundwork for students to use public transport if we can get them into a school bus at five years of age no matter where they are living in the country. There is an impact on the use of public transport if a student is unaware of ever using it through his or her primary and post-primary years. I never used a school transport bus because I lived in the town. I do now use public transport, but there are reservations out there among young adults in particular about the use of public transport, be it a bus, a train, a Luas or whatever. If we normalised public transport at a very young age, that would continue up to their older years. This would alleviate traffic congestion in towns and cities.”
“A lot of the focus is on rural schools and I am quite enough of a rural TD. However, I live in a town and in a housing estate of 500 houses with, give or take, about 1,000 cars. I am not saying there is a child in every house, but people face significant challenges in the morning when trying to access the town itself if they are trying to get out of the estate because we have a significant number of cars on the road. Last year, my colleague Councillor Peter Horgan, through the office of the former Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, asked for a pilot scheme to be introduced for Douglas and Blackrock to bring students from urban areas into school which he said would get 5,900 cars off the road in Douglas and Blackrock. This is similar to my town of Mallow where students who are living in urban areas would be given access to school transport.”
“Last year when I was a councillor on Cork County Council, significant problems arose with safety measures on the road up to Rahan National School. Thankfully, the local area engineer along with Cork County Council implemented some traffic-calming measures and safety measures. However, we could alleviate all of those safety measures if a school bus were put in place for the school. The school principal along with many parents of pupils in the school have written to the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and the Minister, Deputy McEntee, as well as to Bus Éireann. While I know he will, I am asking the Minister of State again to speak to the principal in Rahan National School about facilitating a school bus for that school. The principal is now calling for it as a matter of safety as opposed to a matter of getting people onto a bus.”
“The Minister of State is going to be well aware of some of the schools and areas I am going to raise, as we are both from in and around the same area. As spokesperson on education for the party, I have heard from a significant number of people including teachers, parents, lobby groups within community areas and volunteers who have spoken to me about school transport or the lack of school transport. The difficulty that families are facing when it comes to trying to access a school transport is quite extraordinary. The first school that I am going to mention is Rahan National School, which is just outside of my area of Mallow. I am very familiar with it. It is a rural small school that is continually expanding. A total of 46 students applied for a school bus for Rahan National School but that school is yet to be sanctioned for a school bus.”
“I will say there is no quick fix to this and that is absolutely accepted. I want to focus on assessments of need. There are more than 15,000 children in the country, with an estimation of there being 25,000 children by the end of the year, waiting on an assessment of need in the country. This is before any therapies are involved. In a country so affluent, we are a fantastic country for waiting lists. They will remain with us unless appropriate plans are established and put in place. No child in this country should be without the necessary therapies, supports and resources they so badly need because of a waiting list issue that has sprung up over many decades. I am more than willing to work with the Minister of State and the Department on policy initiatives that would help this situation.”
“During the summer I called for an overhaul of the school transport system. It is very easy for me on this side of the House to say we need an overhaul of the school transport system but we know, the Minister of State's colleagues in Government know, and every person who comes to us during the summer looking for school transport knows that there is very little I or any other TD can do. I am sick of ringing Bus Éireann and speaking to it about specific cases. It is a system that is failing children, and in particular children with special educational needs. It is deeply frustrating and upsetting to come across families who have found a special educational needs setting for their child but cannot access it because of transport. This should not be the case and the Minister of State and I both know this.”
“I understand the need for an appropriate school setting for a child with special educational needs, that is, for that child's own needs. Children who have special educational needs are not all the same. Therefore, not every setting is appropriate for every child. No longer in this country can we have a special educational needs setting that does not give a child the good education they deserve and need. The number of SNAs can never be capped. There should never be a freeze on SNA provision in this country. If the NCSE or a special educational needs officer in an area tells the Department that SNA provision must be given to a particular school, then it must be done. I also want to focus on school transport, which is under the remit of the Minister of State and I appreciate this.”
“I will share this very personal circumstance. I have a cousin at home who is five years old and deaf. He travels to Cork city every day to go to school. His sister, who is four, is now attending school in Mallow. That is the difficulty that child faces. It is upsetting to hear it and it is upsetting to accept it, for my uncle and my aunt who have to accept that and explain the conversation to that young child. That is the difficult part of it. The paradox we are faced with is that we have never had more teachers or SNAs in our system. We have 407 new special classrooms and five new special schools. However, significant challenges remain, and that is the fundamental issue. I also want to speak to the significant issue of appropriate school places. I am educated on this. I taught in schools where appropriate settings had to be put in place.”
“Parents are in limbo throughout any process they may follow to get a school place for their child, so much so that they will travel long distances in the morning and the afternoon after school to get to and from a school that provides for their additional need and that is of course if they can actually access that school place. That is not actually a solution. It is an exception they make to ensure their child's education. It should not be a solution to it. It should be the case that if children want to go to a school, they are able to access the school in their own locality. We all know that the best thing we can do for children with additional needs is integrate them into their communities. I have children in my own family who have additional needs, and the best thing we can do for them is to integrate them into their communities.”
“When it comes to additional educational needs, the State is completely failing children and their families and has done so for a long time. As the motion outlines, there is no centralised system within the Department or the NCSE to deal with applications for a special school place. This fact immediately presents parents with difficulties. I could not believe when I learned it that the NCSE has no centralised application system. Any private company across the country that would deal with significant numbers at this scale would have a centralised system to deal with these numbers. There is a significant lack of accountability when it comes to these numbers, and we cannot track the number of children who require an appropriate special educational needs setting.”
“I welcome the motion from Sinn Féin and the opportunity to raise these issues and concerns relating to school places for children with additional education needs. The Labour Party will absolutely support the motion. This is the third motion on this subject in 2025, including one of our own. The reality for a significant number of children with additional education needs and their parents has not changed. The number of parents contacting my office and the offices of colleagues across this House is actually increasing. However, I will acknowledge the role that the Minister of State has played. There has been slight progress. He has worked well and I appreciate that, but the scale of the progress that we need is significant.”
“I have a slight difficulty with wages being negotiated between the students themselves and the employer. The State must have a role to play in the negotiations between apprentices and employers in terms of how wages are set. While it is the case that employers are not taking on a fully qualified person but someone who is moving into the trade, it is important that apprentices get a fair wage. I do not believe that €7.41 is a fair wage to start off on, especially in the context of running a car, renting a room in a house, buying groceries and so on. I welcome the improvements to which the Minister referred and the Labour Party will work with him on this.”
“How would they be able to afford to live on €7.41 per hour? It is really important to address that in the new action plan.”
“I thank the Minister. He made a very important point towards the end of his reply in terms of employers and apprentices meeting each other halfway. I have an aunt who has a hair salon in Mallow and I know from her of the difficulty of taking on an apprenticeship student and trying to make that work with one's own work schedule. Are incentives for employers to take on more apprenticeship students being considered? That would be welcome because it would incentivise employers to bring on more apprentices. The main focus of my question is on the fact that €7.41 is currently the craft rate for year 1 of an apprenticeship. That is an extremely difficult rate for students who are coming out of school to be able to afford a car or even the use of a car. They might be travelling to and from a certain location during the apprenticeship.”
“I welcome the fact that there have been increases to the thresholds of the SUSI grant scheme. I do not doubt for a minute that that is encouraging but it is this increase in the student fees that is very worrying for many families throughout the country.”
“The debate the Minister referred to in his first contribution is essential. It is important and we all need to contribute towards that. The only question I have in relation to the student support facility that is in place is that the emails I am receiving tell me that they cannot afford this new measure and this new cost. I then go back to people and ask them whether they have applied for SUSI. They have applied for SUSI. They cannot access the full grant but still cannot afford the new increased cost. Unfortunately, that is the reality for families. It is unfortunate that we are living in a society like that where money is becoming a barrier to a child's education, particularly in the cases of families who have two, three or four children attending third level education. That has to be recognised.”
“If we can ensure that education is accessible and affordable to everybody in this society, it benefits Ireland as a whole in whatever aspect that may be with the understanding and realisation that, by increasing a student tuition fee, it creates an economic barrier for a lot of students. Although they may be able to access some bit of the grant, it still creates an economic barrier to that education that they so badly need.”
“I do not doubt the Minister's bona fides on this. It spans - the Minister referred to it there quite lightly - a number of Departments. We have significant challenges in housing. We have significant challenges in a different cost-of-living crises in terms of paying for groceries, for example, running a car, and the different type of relationship one has with parents at home on whether they are able to afford to contribute to one's living. The Minister will agree that ensuring education is within reach for everyone will ultimately benefit our society and our economy. That is extremely important.”
“I realise that we have just had a debate on this. I seek an update on the programme for Government to continue to reduce the student contribution fee over the lifetime of the Government, as of July 2025.”
“I am not that kind of person but I would go to a protest about issues of serious concern to the people sitting in the Gallery. It is disappointing that an amendment is being tabled. We need to know what students and their families will be paying. I am sure the Minister and his colleagues in government are getting emails about it. Will they be paying €3,000 or €2,000? I respect the budgetary process but I, like the students in the Gallery, do not know what they will be paying in September.”
“During the general election, the Tánaiste said third level education fees would need to be phased out in the coming years to allow for their total abolition; mere months later we hear reports of plans to increase these fees. This not only betrays the trust of students and their families but also undermines the principle of accessible education for all. He created an Instagram story, saying he would let us in on the little secret that he would abolish third level education fees over the course of the next Government. It was in the programme for Government so he obviously got it through negotiations. I am standing here after being outside and listening to the stories of students who came up to me and party members. I would not go to a protest for the sake of going to a protest.”