Evanne Ní Chuilinn
Nominated by the Taoiseach · Fine Gael · Ireland
“When we talk about empowering girls and women in sport, putting them on a pedestal and making sure they are in the media and public eye, it is important to differentiate between celebrating Irish women in sport and giving out about what is wrong.”
“Today, we had the funding announcement for the women in sport programme. A total of €4 million is going into it. While this is something that happens every year, it is important to acknowledge it when it comes around because the moment we stop acknowledging and calling for it is the moment it falls off the agenda and no longer becomes a f…”
“Online platforms that say they are trying to promote women need to actually do so, rather than always giving out about what is wrong. I have seen social media companies complain and be outraged about something that happened to a woman in sport.”
“I was encouraged to see some of the detail in the Bill around the 125% increase in funding for offices located more than 15 km from the nearest post office. We have seen a couple of issues with post offices that have closed over the past couple of years. We had one close in Bluebell, in Dublin, a couple of years ago.”
“I welcome the Minister of State to the Seanad for this very important legislation. It is a very short Bill but a very impactful one. The Postal and Telecommunications Services (Amendment) Bill 2026 amends the 1983 Act to provide a legal basis for increased State funding to support the nationwide post office network.”
“I am encouraged as well to see transactions up by 10%, which does bode well for the viability of the network. It shows that there is a continued use of the services by the public. I fully support this Bill. As was said, it is very short legislation but very impactful.”
The complete record
Every one of 289 lines we hold for Evanne Ní Chuilinn, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 6 of 6.
“I thank the Minister for being here. As everybody has said, we are all on the same page, we want improvements and the plans sounds fantastic. If the Minister can provide childcare for €200 per child in the lifetime of the Government, we will all be backing it, that is for sure. I am going to cut out some of the stuff I was going to say because I am conscious we do not need repetition. I refer to staffing issues in some of these settings. As colleagues have said, there are problems with the core funding model but it is serving a certain need. However, some of the childcare providers are really struggling to hold on to staff. We cannot expect people to go through a four-year degree and then come into a job where they earn one of the lowest wages in the country while doing what I think everyone would agree is one of the most important jobs.”
“At the end of the day, they are experts in the Irish language and in teaching through Irish, so it would be useful for planning the school and establishing some sort of a board or planning policy for the new school.”
“If staff are not fluent in Irish in a teaching capacity, it is going to be very difficult to transition over and suddenly start teaching through Irish, so I would like more detail on what the professional learning opportunities are going to be. I would be very surprised if teachers not fluent in Irish would be in a position to become fluent. Teachers do need to be fluent to teach through Irish. The only other thing I would like to add and put on the record is a request for a meeting with the Gaelcholáiste group. It has made a couple of requests to the Department but has not received an answer. It would be beneficial to the Department to get feedback from the parents and the people involved in the group.”
“I thank the Minister of State for his response. I am grateful that he will go back with the five questions because they are key to moving this issue forward. There is not a whole lot of detail in the statement, as we can see. The Minister of State said the first phase of the transition will involve first year intake only, so I wonder when the details of the second phase will be announced. Those children will keep going in the school and not just stop going to school after first year. They need a plan for six years. The Minister of State also said that professional learning opportunities have been outlined for the staff there.”
“The families and children from Dublin 6W and 12 will form part of the new school community, which means there is a greater need for the school in the area. It is important to highlight that nobody in the Gaelcholáiste campaign would have signed up for a hybrid model of education on a campus where Irish is not the only spoken language. By way of reminder, the D2468 campaign was set up after a failed bid to acquire the old greyhound stadium in Harold's Cross. The families who were a part of the campaign for a Gaelcholáiste when it began may not sign up for the 2026 enrolment. Cuirim na ceisteanna seo inniu mar tá baol ann nach mbeidh na tuismitheoirí atá bainteach leis an bhfeachtas sásta leis an bplean dhátheangach mar atá sé, agus táim fíorbhuíoch go bhfuil an tAire Stáit anseo agus go bhfuil sé sásta na ceisteanna seo a fhreagairt.”
“The current board of Synge Street CBS was appointed to manage a school that operates through English. Will a new board or a development committee, at the very least, be established for the new school with people who have expertise in Irish-medium education and are fluent in Irish? I understand that an extension is to be built or is being worked on. Is that expected to allow for the total immersion of the students in the Gaelcholáiste? Will the current teachers be teaching across both codes? Are they fluent in Irish? The catchment area is a lot bigger than the postcodes of Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8. Many of the parents of children in Scoil Mológa in Dublin 6W have been involved in the campaign since the beginning.”
“A line in the statement issued by the Edmund Rice Schools Trust, ERST, on 19 March stated "these students [in the Gaelcholáiste] ... will be accommodated in another building on the school's campus for their first year". What does this mean? Are those students in their second year to be accommodated in the same building as the students learning through the medium of English? Will they be moved in second year? Will they stay in another independent building in second year and onwards until the main building is vacant? A deputy principal is to be appointed to develop the Gaelcholáiste. I assume that will not happen until June. In the meantime, who is overseeing policy for the students who will have to be recruited and enrolled before October of this year? Will an Irish-speaking board be established to develop the Gaelcholáiste?”
“The questions I have are largely based on the importance of total immersion when it comes to learning a language and to Gaelscolaíocht. Learning and teaching Irish are most successful by total immersion. Anecdotally, we hear of people who leave secondary school with more French or Spanish than Irish. Those who listen to Raidió na Gaeltachta or who spend time in a Gaeltacht every summer or, better yet, who attend their local Gaelscoil or Gaelcholáiste will, by and large, have a better grasp of the language and a greater love and appreciation for it. If we still have a cohort of people wishing to raise their families through Irish, be that by speaking Irish at home or sending their children to the local Gaelscoil or Gaelcholáiste, that minority should be protected and supported in the same way the language should be. I have questions.”
“As he knows, a need has been identified and accepted by the Department of Education for a Gaelcholáiste in the school district of Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8. A plan was announced by the former Minister, Deputy Foley, in September of last year. I raised this issue a few weeks ago and I thank the Minister of State for being here to address some outstanding questions about the plan the Department has to initially merge Synge Street CBS with a new Gaelcholáiste. As I understand it, the school patron, the Edmund Rice Schools Trust, and the board of the existing school have been briefed and it is expected the 2026 intake will be twofold, namely, a cohort of boys for the CBS and a cohort of boys and girls for the new Gaelcholáiste.”
“Gabhaim míle buíochas leis an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Moynihan, as a bheith anseo inniu. Bhí mé ag súil leis an Aire sinsearach ach tuigim go bhfuil sí gafa le cúrsaí eile ar maidin agus táim fíorbhuíoch de as a bheith anseo agus a chuid ama a thabhairt dúinn sa Seanad. Tá plean, mar is eol ag an Aire Stáit, ag an Roinn i leith Ghaelcholáiste don scoilcheantar Bhaile Átha Cliath 2, 4, 6 agus 8. Chuirfinn fáilte roimh Ghaelcholáiste sa cheantar. Tá mac agam atá ag tógáil dhá bhus ag taisteal trasna na cathrach gach lá. Cinnte, b'fhearr liom dá mbeadh Gaelscolaíocht ar fáil dó go háitiúil. Mura miste ag an Aire Stáit, níl agam inniu ach cúpla ceist mar gheall ar an bplean atá faoi lánseol ag an Roinn. I am going to switch to English now. I can see the relief on the Minister of State's face and that is okay.”
“There are issues with mental health and addiction in communities all over Ireland and we must look at how we can fund clinical nurse specialist positions. There are people who want to do these jobs, are qualified to do them and want to help people but they are sitting and waiting. I would like the Minister to be invited in for a discussion on that topic. Also on dual diagnosis, we lose many people to suicide, unfortunately. It happened in my family. I lost my brother. Today, tomorrow and on Sunday, which is Mother's Day, I think of the mothers who have lost their children to suicide.”
“When I first spoke in this House, I raised dual diagnosis and how I wanted to increase awareness of it and highlight it further in the coming weeks and months. Since then, I have had some conversations with healthcare workers on an ad hoc basis. A particular healthcare worker got in touch with me to say that, in her community, there was a plan and some funding in place to have a clinical nurse specialist dealing specifically in dual diagnosis. When she was ready to go for the job and had the qualifications for it, the funding was pulled. It is something I want to look into. We should have funding available for clinical nurse specialists, especially in dual diagnosis, in communities countrywide. There is a misconception sometimes that this is an urban problem, a city problem and a Dublin problem, but it is not.”
“These governing bodies are funded, so I would like to invite the Minister to come into the House to give us his understanding of where this process is and what progress has been made.”
“If people play Gaelic football, camogie or ladies football in the US or Australia, they are members of one association governing all the various Gaelic games in that country. It is, therefore, being done. An amalgamation process has also happened quite recently in Irish sport when the sport of golf amalgamated its governing bodies to form Golf Ireland. This means a blueprint exists. We also have leading sports governance experts here who can feed into the steering group. I would like to know whether they have been invited to do so. We have wonderful people governing all sports and this amalgamation is something that can be achieved by 2027, which is the target.”
“It is very positive that all three associations want this to happen. Unfortunately, though, until it does happen, the situation is especially negatively impacting women and girls who play our national games. Juvenile girls teams struggle to get training spots on pitches. They are totally at the mercy of whether their club is signed up to the one-club model. On the other hand, senior intercounty players sometimes drive the length and breadth of their county in one day to play two matches, perhaps two county finals, because of fixture clashes between the Camogie Association and the LGFA. It is a farcical situation and it will not be rectified until the amalgamation process is complete. Ironically, we can learn from our diaspora on this issue.”
“The GAA club awards took place in Croke Park last weekend. Camogie players, ladies footballers, footballers and hurlers were all celebrated at the same event. That might sound like it did not break new ground but it has actually never happened before. This is because, of course, we have three separate associations governing our national games. These are the Camogie Association, the Ladies Gaelic Football Association, LGFA, and the GAA. The amalgamation process for those associations is well under way. We have not seen a great number of reports on the progress of the steering group. It is being chaired by former President Mary McAleese. I would like to invite the Minister for sport to come into the House to give us whatever his understanding is of the most up-to-date information on what is happening with the steering group.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as ucht teacht isteach go dtí Seanad Éireann agus páirt a ghlacadh sa díospóireacht maidir le Seachtain na Gaeilge. Cathain a mholann Treoraí an Tí go dtiocfaidh Seanad Éireann le chéile arís?”
“Go raibh míle maith agat, a Sheanadóir. Is gealltanas iontach é sin an Ghaeilge a úsáid sa Seanad. Táim cinnte go n-aontóidh an-chuid Seanadóirí leat ar an bpointe sin. Sin deireadh leis na ráitis ar Sheachtain na Gaeilge. Ní gá dó labhairt ar feadh deich nóiméad ach tabharfar deich nóiméad ar a laghad don Aire Stáit anois chun freagra a thabhairt.”
“Go raibh míle maith agat, a Aire Stáit. Tá sé an-spreagúil do chuid Gaeilge a chloisint. Ní mór duit a bheith cineálta duit féin. Tá tú i bhfad níos fearr ag an nGaeilge ná mar a cheapann tú. Maith thú, a Aire Stáit. Lean ort á húsáid. Before we move on, I welcome Pat Maunsell and Eileen O'Callaghan to the Chamber. They are very welcome. Gabhaim buíochas leo as ucht bheith anseo.”
“However, a 2024 report from the Office of Health Economics estimated that rolling out all five vaccines would prevent 375,000 cases of diseases, 74,000 hospital admissions and 1,400 deaths.”
“We know that shingles attacks the body when the immune system is low. It can affect people straight after chemotherapy or during pregnancy. I got shingles as a pregnant woman. It is not fun and is very painful. It affects older people a lot as well. A vaccination programme would keep older people out of our overcrowded hospitals and GP waiting rooms. Carers have been mentioned a lot today. It would also affect them. Many people have to take time off work to look after their older relatives when they get sick. There would be an impact there as well. Unfortunately, we are the outliers in Europe, as 13 European countries fund a free shingles vaccination programme, including the UK, Greece and France. I do not want to put the emphasis on money because it is about health and minding our older people.”
“I am not going to repeat anything. I support everything that has been brought up this evening. I want to mention one thing. Currently, there are five vaccinations recommended by NIAC for older people. Three of them are provided for free under the immunisation programme nationally while two are not, namely, shingles and RSV. There is a commitment in the programme for Government to implement the recommendations on the potential expansion of the national immunisation programme. This would be a good time to revisit that. The Minister might be able to come back to us with an update on the timeline. Today, the former deputy chief medical officer, Ronan Glynn, launched a report on the programme, saying it would save the health service money in the long term. That is probably obvious. One of the vaccines is for shingles.”
“They need help, socially and in every other way. It is important to raise the issue. I want anybody suffering from hyperemesis in Ireland to know that we hear them and we feel for them. It is a really difficult thing, but they are so resilient and they will get through it.”
“Thankfully, Cariban was licensed in August 2024 and it is available on the DPS. It is important that GPs be made aware that they can prescribe Cariban. There is sometimes a little bit of doubt in that it used to be only available from consultants. It is important that GPs in communities all around the country realise that they can prescribe because there can sometimes be a delay in getting the drug for women when the GP they attend does not realise GPs can prescribe it. That is just one piece. The other piece is that our communities, families, friends and, crucially, our employers need to understand that this is a very serious condition. Women are not being lazy by not going to work. They are not being irresponsible if they are not able to mind their other children. They are not being bad friends when they are not able to meet up.”
“I have experience of it but, thankfully, my experience in 2021 and 2022 was entirely different to what it was in 2011 and 2012 because of more education and awareness. The reason I bring it up now is because it will ensure that situation will only improve. One reason is due to the availability of the medication, Cariban. When I first suffered with hyperemesis in 2011, nobody knew what it was, including doctors and GPs. There was very little awareness or education. I was very lucky that a consultant in the Coombe had heard of the use of the drug, Cariban, in Canada previously, although it was not licensed in Ireland. Like me, thousands of women over the past decade paid €84 a fortnight each for the drug just to survive, be able to mind our other children or go to work, see family and function in the world.”
“Although only between 0.3% and 3.6% of pregnancies in Ireland are affected, it results in 3,000 hospitalisations. I have notes but I do not really need them because I suffered from this three times. It is absolutely awful. You can imagine what it is like if, on waking in the morning, opening an eyelid or moving a big toe is enough to set you off. You have to run into the bathroom and vomit. Three hours later you might still be on the bathroom floor because you cannot move. Three days later you are probably in hospital on a drip replenishing the nutrients that your body has lost over the three days of cyclical vomiting that it is impossible to stop. Most of the time, it means you will be admitted to hospital.”
“It was not in the Minister's opening remarks, which is okay, as those remarks were concise. It does not surprise me that some might not have heard of hyperemesis gravidarum because it is quite rare, which confirms the need to bring it up and to highlight it as well for women in this country. There is still a lot of shame, stigma and guilt attached to it. The condition is quite self-limiting for those who suffer from it. It is defined as a complication of pregnancy in which women experience extreme levels of nausea and vomiting. We know that many women experience nausea and vomiting in pregnancy – in fact, 70% to 80% of women do. It is awkward, uncomfortable and awful but it is very normal. However, it is not normal to experience that at extreme levels.”
“The Minister is very welcome. I thank her for her opening remarks. I echo her frustration - although that might be the wrong word, so "exasperation" - that we must have these weeks for women in sport, women in politics, and women for election. I hope we will get to a point where we do not have to have special weeks because, as the Minister says, we are half of the population. I want to raise awareness today for a condition called hyperemesis gravidarum.”
“We got a letter last year to say that, for the moment, it was suspended in the area and that, because there was an ageing population, the public health nurses had to focus on the older people. Obviously, these services should not be taken from older people to be given to young people, but we and the HSE need to look at the issue and try to reinstate, where possible, public health checks for under-threes and even as far as under-fives.”
“While I am not worried about anything myself, there is a whole community of people in the Crumlin, Kimmage and Walkinstown area who have never had developmental checks for their children. Developmental checks check everything from dental, speech and language, gross motor skills, fine motor skills and movement. I mentioned early intervention for many other things like autism and additional needs that crop up in children a little bit older to the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, yesterday. Much of that stuff can be checked and spotted by experts, and public health nurses are experts in that area. That is being missed in my area in Crumlin and in the wider south-central area in Dublin.”
“I raise something that is of importance and is quite worrying in my constituency of Dublin South-Central and, more specifically, in Crumlin where I live. There is a complete lack of developmental checks for babies and toddlers in my area. I had my third child three years ago. There was a difference between the developmental checks that child has not had at all compared with my older children, and even compared with my sister who had a baby at the same time in Kilkenny. For those who are not aware, babies are supposed to get developmental checks immediately when they are born, within two weeks, within six weeks, quite regularly in the first six months and then all the way up until the age of three. I have a three-year-old who has never been looked at or checked.”
“Is cúis imní é do phobal na Gaeilge sa cheantar agus do na daltaí, na tuismitheoirí agus do na múinteoirí sa scoil lánBhéarla atá ag feidhmiú ar an suíomh faoi láthair.”
“Ó thaobh teangeolaíochta de, ar an taobh eile, ba cheart go mbeadh roinnt shoiléir idir an dá scoil, más féidir, ach ní fios go fóill conas a dhéanfar é sin. Ba mhaith liom a léiriú freisin nach bhfuil Gaelcholáiste ag daltaí i mBaile Átha Cliath 12, an áit ina bhfuil mise i mo chónaí. Is dóigh liom go bhfuil an t-éileamh i bhfad níos mó ná mar atá fógartha go dtí seo. Tá Aire Oideachais nua againn anois agus táim den bharúil go bhfuil deis anois ag Helen McEntee teacht anseo ar dtús agus na mionsonraí a léiriú agus cur síos cuimsitheach a thabhairt ar an amchlár. B'fhéidir go mbeadh sí in ann cuairt a thabhairt ar an suíomh chun tuiscint níos fearr a fháil ar an dúshlán atá amach romhainn. Is iontach an rud é go bhfuil plean ann do Ghaelcholáiste sa cheantar, ach tá i bhfad níos mó oibre le déanamh chun é sin a chur i gcrích.”
“Cinnte, ba rud dearfach í an gealltanas a thug Norma Foley cúig mhí ó shin, ach is cosúil anois go bhfuil sé i gceist ag an Roinn cónascadh a dhéanamh idir an scoil lán-Bhéarla atá ar an suíomh faoi láthair agus an Gaelcholáiste nua a bheidh ann do bhuachaillí agus cailíní; ar a laghad i dtosach in 2026. An fhadhb is mó atá i gceist anseo ná cúrsaí cumarsáide. Tá an-chuid éiginnteacht ann do na tuismitheoirí, na mhúinteoirí agus na dhaltaí sa scoil atá ann faoi láthair. Is scoil DEIS faoi phátrúnacht ERST atá i gceist agus níl pobal na scoile sin sásta feidhmiú trí mheán na Gaeilge. Anuas air sin, níl an foirgneamh mór go leor faoi láthair. Níl leithreas ann do chailíní, mar shampla, agus tá easpa saotharlann ann d'ábhair éagsúla.”
“Ba mhaith liom aire a tharraingt ar chúis imní do phobal na Gaeilge i mo cheantar. I mí Mheán Fómhair seo caite, 2024, gealladh Gaelcholáiste do dhaltaí Gaelscoile sa cheantar scoile Bhaile Átha Cliath 2, 4, 6 agus 8. Tháinig an gealltanas seo ón iarAire Oideachais, Norma Foley, agus ón Roinn tar éis feachtas trí bliana i gcúig Gaelscoileanna sa cheantar atá luaite agam: Bunscoil Synge, Gaelscoil Eoin, Gaelscoil Inse Chór, Gaelscoil Lios na nÓg agus Scoil Bhríde. Aimsíodh suíomh ag an am agus dúradh go gcuirfear fáilte roimh dhaltaí sa Ghaelcholáiste nua i mí Mheán Fómhair, 2026. Ní raibh aon chumarsáid eile ón Roinn go dtí an tseachtain seo caite. Tuigimid go raibh gach duine gnóthach leis an olltoghchán.”
“This is just another example of that. Hundreds and thousands of people with dual diagnosis do find peace, but not in life. I want to work with Members of this House, not just to raise the issue of dual diagnosis but to address it and to navigate a way to help the people who feel they have been deemed beyond help. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister to this House for a debate on this matter. Míle buíochas, a chairde.”
“We have not found a way to treat these people in a holistic way. People cannot enter a rehabilitation centre if they take any kind of medication, even if that medication is for a mental illness. However, people cannot get their mental illness treated until their addiction substances have been addressed. It is a systemic failing, and we are failing people when they are at their most vulnerable. Eleven and a half years ago, I lost my brother to suicide, not long after he was turned away from a psychological facility due to his decade-long struggle with addiction. Cormac was my younger brother and he is one of the reasons that I sit in this House. I was very proud of him, and he would be very proud of me today. Senator Stephenson spoke so eloquently yesterday about living in peace and helping people find peace.”
“I hugely appreciate their generosity of spirit this week – I really mean that. I have huge respect for all Members of this House. I mean it when I say that I want to work with them on issues that are important to the people we represent, but also important to the people who perhaps feel that they do not have representation in the Oireachtas. I feel that we have a responsibility to use our voices in that way. In the coming weeks and months, I wish to highlight the issue of dual diagnosis relating to addiction and mental health. We are failing a cohort of people in this country who have found themselves on that knife edge, and I would welcome a debate on that issue. A person with a dual diagnosis is someone who presents with a concurrent mental health disorder and a substance abuse disorder.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. Déanaim comhghairdeas leis, leis an Seanadóir Kyne agus le mo chomhghleacaithe ar fad atá tar éis a suíocháin a thógáil sa Teach seo. Is mór an onóir domsa suíochán a ghlacadh i Seanad Éireann agus táim fíorbhuíoch den Tánaiste. Táim ag súil go mór leis an obair sa Teach seo agus an comhoibriú eadrainn ar fad. I did not speak yesterday, frankly because I wanted to take it all in. It is a huge honour to be nominated to Seanad Éireann, and I am very grateful to the Tánaiste, Deputy Simon Harris, and to the Fine Gael Party for their faith in me. It is a humbling experience to be here among you leaders and change-makers. I thank members of my own party, Fine Gael, but also the Senators and TDs from all parties across both Houses who have reached out to welcome me. They must all remember being new.”