Helen McEntee
Meath East · Fine Gael · Ireland
“There are no new missions, so there is only so much we can partake in. In regard to UN requests over the past ten years, in September 2019, we had 14 Defence Forces personnel deployed to a UN mission in Mali as part of a joint operation with the German armed forces.”
“I thank the Deputy for his continued engagement on this matter. It is appreciated and I reaffirm our shared commitment to truth and justice, not least for Private Rooney, but in particular for his family.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. I know he is committed to this issue; I am too. I have in recent months spent some time travelling to different barracks and Army bases and meeting with personnel. What I see all over the country is their professionalism, dedication and commitment.”
“I disagree that people are being pushed into the courts. The situation is exactly the opposite. I have said in the Chamber many times since I started taking these questions that the State Claims Agency is there and wants to mediate and work directly with people in order that cases do not go directly to the courts.”
“We are all committed to strengthening recruitment to and supporting retention in the Permanent Defence Force. The military authorities have advised that the strength of the Permanent Defence Force stood at 7,823 personnel on 31 May, the most recent date for which we have a figure available.”
“It is the case that no mission is the same, so it is also a matter for the Defence Forces to assess and scope out the mission and then to decide whether it is a mission we can partake in. A question keeps being asked about what it is we would not be able to be a part of if we were to keep the triple lock.”
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“The knee-jerk reaction or response to anything that goes wrong - to call for people to be sacked or removed from a board - does not help anybody. It does not actually change the fact that we need to make progress, that we need people in place to be able to make sure the children's hospital can open, and that we need to make sure any recommendations coming from the reports we have discussed today can be implemented in order that there is accountability. Sacking everybody makes absolutely no impact and has no positive impact on any of the young people the Deputy mentioned and their families. The Deputy never recognises or acknowledges that significant investment has gone into our health services in recent years. Our health budget has increased by nearly 40% in recent years.”
“As referred to earlier in the week, with the hatred that has now been instilled in so many people, it is difficult to see a solution or a way forward, but we must keep that focus. We must keep that ambition and that priority. In Luxembourg on Monday when this is discussed at the meeting of the European Foreign Affairs Council, that is exactly what the Tánaiste will be doing. That is exactly why he travelled to the Middle East recently, not just to engage with our soldiers who are there on peacekeeping missions, but to make it clear that our objective is to work with every single person here to try to bring about a peaceful solution and to end the suffering of millions of people.”
“It is in the programme for Government and we have said very clearly that we will implement it. The Tánaiste will meet with Senator Black in the coming days. Senator Black is the Member of the Seanad who brought forward this Bill. She is very clear that we need to get this right and that this is not straightforward. The Deputy is right: it is because of the ruling of the ICJ that the situation, the dynamic, we are working in has changed and that we are now able to bring forward this legislation but we need to get it right. We need to make sure that there are not unintended consequences and that the objective of the Bill is to help to bring about a lasting peace and solution. That must continue to be our focus and our priority.”
“We have used our platforms, in European Councils, elsewhere on the international stage or in the visits that have happened in recent weeks and months to make our position absolutely clear: what is happening is wrong. The murder of innocent children and civilians is wrong. The resumption of air strikes is wrong. The preventing of humanitarian aid into Gaza is wrong. The fact that hostages have not been released is utterly wrong. I condemn Hamas and the fact that it is continuing to cause this, and continuing to inflict pain and harm. Our focus must be on making sure that the ceasefire deal, which brought about some bit of reprieve and a stay and a pause for the millions of people, is resumed and put back in place so that aid can be immediately resumed to the millions of people who are suffering and that the hostages can be released.”
“The Deputy will ask what we have done. In recent weeks and months alone, we have given €20 million more in funding to UNRWA. Even though it is not being allowed at the moment, this is the only organisation that we know can support Palestinians. That is on top of the €72 million in funding that has previously been provided to protect. The Deputy mentioned the ICJ case. The Attorney General made an interjection and as part of that, following the ruling, on 28 May last year we recognised the State of Palestine. We have been constantly pushing forward when other countries are pushing back. We have worked collectively with our colleagues in Europe, in particular Spain and Norway.”
“The Tánaiste will be relaying our very clear commitment to a peaceful solution, a two-state solution and the absolute need for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza but also the unconditional release of hostages. Like the Deputy, I am utterly appalled by the resumption of air strikes by Israel and I utterly condemn that. I utterly condemn the murder of aid workers and hospital workers in recent weeks, including people with bullet wounds who were found with their hands bound. These were not people who were shooting at anyone; these were aid workers who were there to protect people. Really, this is a war on children. In the first week after air strikes resumed, 1,000 children were maimed or murdered and thousands more are at risk now. Millions are at risk of starvation. Our priority and our focus have not changed and will not change.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. At the outset I acknowledge his role and leadership in the previous Government, ensuring Ireland was to the fore in supporting Palestine and supporting a two-state solution while calling for the unconditional release of hostages. However, I utterly reject his assertion that this Government has in any way changed in that position or that view. I assure him, other Deputies in the House and every other person listening that this remains an absolute priority and is central to our foreign policy in the Department of foreign affairs and in the work that we do as a Government. In fact, this issue will be raised at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg on Monday which the Tánaiste will attend and where they will engage with Palestinian authorities.”
“It is obviously closely engaged with the Online Safety Commissioner. I, myself, have spoken to her. I will certainly be making sure that our engagement through education is absolutely front and centre of the work I do. However, we need to make sure that we are dealing with every element, including how we support parents to deal with this at home, how our schools and teachers make sure that the programmes we are rolling out are helpful for children and how we make sure that at the end of the day the social media companies that are not engaging, not taking down content and not sticking to the codes of conduct are either fined or that there are even greater repercussions.”
“From the Government's perspective, our view, my view and the view of the Minister for communications is that the era of self-regulation is over and it has to be over. The Online Safety Commissioner needs to ensure - I know that she will - that our strategies and the commission's strategies focus on what is actually happening here and that includes algorithms. I fully agree with the Deputy that these need to be dealt with. The impact that the rabbit hole, or the doomscrolling as I have heard it referred to recently, is having is not just on young people's concentration and their ability to focus; where it is leading them and where it is taking them is absolutely detrimental. I fully agree with the Deputy. I know that the Minister for communications will meet with all the social media companies in the weeks ahead.”
“There is a role for all of us parents in making sure that when a child leaves school and comes home they are not on social media at night, that they are not in their bedroom able to access who knows what and that there are controls on any apps they are using. We also need to make sure that in our schools and through our education systems we are providing support and engaging with young people. In that regard, a lot of programmes are already being rolled out through Webwise and the Department of Education.”
“I watched "Adolescence" and while there were certain elements of every single episode that made all of us stop and think, one of the things that stood out to me the most was the second episode when the police officer was speaking to his son in the school and the son said that he did not get it, this is what they were saying to each other, this is what it means. We need to talk to young people. We need to understand how they are communicating with each other. We need to teach them how to deal with certain types of content and engagement. I agree, insofar as possible, that we need to protect young people from it as well. I fully support the smartphone ban in primary schools. It is absolutely necessary. I do not think any child before secondary school age should have access to social media.”
“I am pleased to say that is something young people are now aware of. We need to make sure the law actually changes behaviour, not that we are penalising young people. The Deputy touched on the issue of violent pornography. We see more and more of it and access to it is so readily available for young people. The knock-on implications when it comes to domestic and sexual violence are horrific and we see this at a much younger age. That is why we need to make sure that in everything we do, we are talking to young people and engaging with them.”
“We are the first country in Europe to establish an online safety commission and the sole focus of the commissioner is to make sure we remove harmful and illegal content. Where companies do not comply, there is a very hefty fine at the end of the day. The fine can be up to 10% of turnover or up to €20 million if content is not taken down or if the company does not comply with the codes of conduct and its own rules. It is important that the online safety commissioner establishes that this code is applied and companies know it will be used. As Minister for Justice, my priority was making sure our laws were tough. Coco's Law, the first law I introduced, made it illegal to share harmful content online. Unfortunately, where personal content is being shared, we are seeing that the harm this causes young people is insurmountable.”
“Similar to the previous question, the priority for all of us here, and this Government, is to make sure children are safe, be it online or offline or in their homes, bedrooms, communities and schools. It is an absolute priority to make sure children are protected. The world we live in is changing and for young people the world of online, social media and technology is part and parcel of their world in a way it was not for so many of us when we were young. We know the benefits that brings to their lives, our lives, our work and the way we communicate but we can all clearly see, as the Deputy just outlined, the pitfalls, challenges and dangers young people are facing online. There is much we need to do. The Deputy mentioned Coimisiún na Meán.”
“It is the same for the surgeries we learned about this week. Again, the idea that materials that are corrosive when they touch moisture would be put into children's bodies is absolutely appalling. None of us think this is okay. None of us think what has happened should have happened. Every single one of us on this side and that side of the House will work together to make sure the children that need to be identified are identified and that measures that need to be taken to improve the procedures in hospitals are taken. People need to be protected at all costs.”
“The Government is not a spectator here. This issue was brought to attention in September 2023. The Department of Health was notified the year after and a subsequent review is taking place and is at an advanced stage. The number of people who have been contacted is increasing. There is further work under way, through an action plan that is currently being drafted, to try to identify any further groups that have not been included and should be included in this review. I agree with the Deputy - we all agree - that if any child has had surgery when it was not necessary and should not have happened, we have to know about it. We have to identify the children and be able to engage with their families. We need to make sure they are supported and that this never happens to another child again.”
“The Minister for Health has met with the new CEO of CHI. She is working closely with the new CEO and the HSE. She has been very clear that if any further measures need to be taken, including the expansion of any audit or review, or if any changes need to be made in hospitals to make sure that children are safe and protected and that this does not happen to a single other child, that is exactly what she will do. She will be fully supported by the Government in that regard.”
“Contact is being made with parents and families of children who have had operations in recent years. I agree that if there are potentially more cases stretching back further and families of children need to be written to, that is exactly what must happen. If proper procedures were not followed, we must understand why that happened. If changes need to take place, we must also understand why that is the case, but we cannot throw out the baby with the bathwater. We need to ensure that the board is still in place and that we can still progress the plans for the national children's hospital. We must also ensure that any of the recommendations that have come out of the HIQA report this week can be swiftly implemented. In addition, we must make sure that any recommendations that come from the audit on hip operations can be swiftly implemented.”
“We must now ensure that the hospital can operate and that there are changes in the areas where there were failures and proper procedures were not followed. It is unimaginable that children would be put through surgery for developmental dysplasia of the hip where it is not needed. None of us disagree with that. All of us, especially those of us who have small children, are appalled by even the thought that a child who is already in pain and struggling would have to go through unnecessary surgery. An audit is taking place. It is being carried out at the direction of the HSE and the Minister for Health. At the moment, there is no information to suggest that any patient safety incident has occurred. At the same time, I will not try to predict the outcome of the audit, nor can anyone else do so.”
“The Government and the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, are acting and will do everything possible to support those families to understand what has happened, make sure that it does not happen again, and that if any other children are impacted, they will be identified and the children and family will be supported. Most importantly, the recommendations that were set out in the HIQA report that was published this week are already being acted on. Nine recommendations are for implementation specifically by CHI. Another nine recommendations are specifically for the HSE. There are also further recommendations, and many of them are being acted on. In addition, the chair of CHI has stepped back, which we welcome. The surgeon responsible, who decided to put these non-surgical instruments into children's bodies, is suspended.”
“I thank Deputy Doherty for raising this question. We have all been utterly appalled by the information we received and that we have been made aware of this week. As the Deputy mentioned, the information in the HIQA report sets out very clearly that a number of springs that were not medically approved were implanted into the bodies of three small children. The springs were corrosive and can be corroded. This is what happened. The devastation, pain and hurt inflicted on these three young children and their families are unimaginable.”
“I know many parents in my area of my constituency who for many years have been looking to get a new bus route. It has not fitted into the criteria that have existed to date. I know, therefore, there are many children looking to see how progress can be made and how quickly we can make it. We are working on this endeavour.”
“What I can say is we are working on things now. While I cannot set out now whether there will be changes or what possible changes might take place this year, I can say the pilots are under way and we are evaluating them. We are also looking at other potential measures that might be applied for this coming year. This must depend on the resources available. There is a very clear commitment in the programme for Government and a very clear report setting out that we need 100,000 new additional spaces. We are absolutely committed to providing them, but it will have to be done on a phased basis. This is what we are working on now. The Minister of State and I hope to be in a position to be able to outline and set out that undertaking as soon as possible. I really do understand and appreciate the difficulties.”
“The daily trips cover 100 million km. A huge level of investment, therefore, is already going into our school transport. We are now trying to see how we can progress this even further and include even more children and ensure we add additional routes, as well as exploring where we can sync up with other existing routes. This is part of what the pilot process is doing now. The Deputies are right. The applications are open now. The closing date for new applications is Friday, 25 April, so I encourage parents, families and students to ensure they get their applications in before the deadline. The Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, the Department and I will be working with families and students to ensure that, insofar as possible, we start the expansion to be able to reach the 100,000 extra students over the coming years.”
“I thank both Deputies. I acknowledge this is very stressful for many parents, families and children. It is an issue we are all dealing with. I am dealing with it in my constituency as well. I refer to where there is no particular bus route in place or where parents are looking to see how the criteria might change and how soon we can implement it. While I cannot give the Deputies all those details now, I can say all the pilots have progressed. We hope to get a review of how they have worked and are working as soon as possible, which will then feed into any possible changes that may take place this year. Again, that must be subject to resource availability. All this must be taken in the round. It is important to say and stress that 172,500 children are already getting transport to school every day in 7,900 vehicles across 10,300 routes.”
“If a bus route is already available and has space to accommodate young schoolchildren, then that is what we need to look at. We must also look at expanding the criteria and what other types of routes we might be able to provide. This is what the Department is looking at now. Obviously, we must have the resources to roll this out in the year ahead.”
“These pilots are being evaluated and, once we get the information, they will provide valuable insights into the impact of increased demand on the scheme, the potential for integrating public transport with school transport services, and opportunities to promote more sustainable modes of transport. The findings from the evaluation will guide the planning and implementation needed for a national roll-out of a revised school transport scheme. Planning is under way already for the 2025-2026 school year and further information will be available shortly. The pilots are still under way and we still need to get the feedback from them, but it is extremely important we look at as many ways as possible in which we can provide school transport.”
“A phased implementation of the review’s recommendations, which is how we have to progress it, began at the start of the current school year. As indicated at the time of the launch of the review, a number of pilots were to be trialled in 2024-2025, as the Deputy mentioned, in conjunction with the Department of Transport and Bus Éireann. As also indicated at that time, it was intended that, following closure of the application process for the 2024-2025 school year, consideration would be given to further potential pilots. A total of 14 pilot projects are under way this school year.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. The school transport 2030 report, which was published in early 2024, marks the largest review of the school transport scheme since it was established in 1967. We are committed to working to achieve the report’s recommendations of expanding access to the scheme in order that an additional 100,000 pupils can be carried by 2030 and to continue to improve the scheme in order that it provides a valuable service for those families who rely on it while providing value for money to the Exchequer. The recommended changes to the future operation of the scheme include expansion of the current eligibility criteria, addressing current operational challenges and moving towards better integration with public transport.”
“That is about making sure the structure works, that we get it up and running as quickly as possible and that it complements a lot of the positive work that is happening. We all acknowledge we can do more and that we can do better, and that is what we are trying to achieve here. There is an absolute commitment by the Government to making sure we provide these therapies in our schools and that those who need them most get them.”
“This is about building capacity and the thing that has come to me most in recent weeks, when engaging with parents and children about what they want, is that they want the place that is most appropriate for them, although that can be different for every young person and student. It might be a special school, a special classroom in a mainstream school or a mainstream place with additional supports. In rolling out the therapies, while we have given a commitment to starting with special schools because that is where the need is most acute, my priority and that of the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, is to make sure that it is not just in special schools but is extended to children who are in special education classrooms. If we can make progress and build capacity, we will have supports available to every child who needs them.”
“I have spoken to David and Tina. The Deputy is correct that the number one priority is making sure that Senan has a school place immediately and then making sure he has access to the right school place, supports and therapies he needs. I will do absolutely everything possible to make sure that is the case.”
“While I cannot give the Deputy a timeline for the doubling of places, I know it is being worked on directly by the Ministers, Deputies Lawless and Carroll MacNeill. The more quickly it can happen, the more quickly we can fill our places overall. The change on qualifications is work that has just started, so the focus and priority have been on outlining what the therapy service will look like and how we can progress it as soon as possible. The Deputy is correct that we can provide school places for young people, but we need to make sure that when they get into school, they get access to the right supports and education. That should include therapies and they should get direct support in the schools as well as in their communities. This is about complementing the work being done outside the school as well. Deputy Ó Murchú raised Senan.”
“We have held a number of Cabinet committees where the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, and I have met and engaged with the Departments of children, disability and health as well as the Department of further and higher education to make sure we are able to provide the therapists while at the same time complementing the work of the child and disability network teams, CDNTs, and the other therapists in the system providing support to everyone else. We need to increase the places. The Minister, Deputy Lawless, is working closely with the Minister for Health to make sure we can double the number of therapist places in our universities. That is a clear commitment we gave in the programme for Government. The work is under way to make sure we have that steady flow and capacity within the therapy professions overall.”
“The ambition now is to make sure we can roll out a programme across the board, starting with special schools but the ambition is very much to move to special education classrooms as well. This will be done through the NCSE. It will be the employer and, most important, children will receive direct therapies and supports in schools, including from occupational therapists and speech and language therapists, and a whole community response will be taken. It will not just be direct supports for young children. Teachers will be provided with the training, resources and supports they need, parents will be included in this and there will be a whole-of-school approach. Work has started on this.”
“I thank the Deputy. While the provision of clinical therapy supports to children is the responsibility of the HSE, it is the Government’s ambition to make sure therapies are provided in schools. This was committed to in the programme for Government and it is to build on the work being done through the Department of Education, with a number of teams already in place within our schools through the education therapy support service, ETSS, working in conjunction with the National Council for Special Education, NCSE. At the moment, 39 therapists are working in schools to build the capacity of teachers and other school staff, as well as working with students and children.”
“They feel it will benefit them because the focus will not just be on one or two exams at the end of the year. This will assess other skills they have and make sure that is done throughout the year so that there is not just a focus on the end of the year. I am absolutely committed to working with the unions, teachers and students to make sure this can be rolled out and that everyone can benefit from it.”
“I am absolutely committed to working with teachers and their unions to ensure we get this right. Today, following weeks of engagement with all the unions, I invited the ASTI and the TUI to engage intensively to see what more I can do to support them. Everything I outlined here, from the training and funding that is being provided, the papers that have been outlined, the further training that will be provided, the guidance that will be given around AI and what I am doing now in engaging with them further, I hope extensively, to see what else I can do, is to make sure this can be rolled out and that students will benefit from it. Thousands of students, as I mentioned, have taken up their subjects and thousands of teachers are preparing for this. I know from talking to students that they want this.”
“There has been provision to schools with instructions around the use of AI in course work since 2023, but in addition and separately, my Department is working with the State Examinations Commission to develop high-level guidance on the use of AI in teaching and learning. It is anticipated that this will be published shortly. Everybody acknowledges AI is here to stay. It is not about preventing students from using it but to make sure that insofar as possible-----”
“This is not accelerated. This is something that was committed to ten years ago and it has taken until now to get to the point where it is going to start in September. Given the momentum I have mentioned, it is important we make sure it starts but that we support teachers, unions and students in making sure it happens in the best way possible and that students benefit from it. A number of things have been done such as training, money for science labs, the State Examinations Commission publishing the sample papers tomorrow, the additional assessment components briefs that will be provided at the beginning of the school year, and guidelines to support completion of the additional assessment components. Tranche 1 was published last December, having been developed with the SEC. The process involved teacher focus groups.”
“A total of €12 million in funding has been provided to schools to support the introduction of new science subjects. I hope to be able to support them even further. Tomorrow, the State Examinations Commission will publish sample examination papers for each of the new tranche 1 subjects. There are 72 in total, two for each subject at higher and ordinary level. Following the publication, a series of webinars will take place for teachers, focused on these papers. Sample additional assessment component briefs will be provided by the State Examinations Commission at the start of the next school year.”
“The leaving cert has served students well but this is about making sure we support students and reduce the amount of pressure they are under. Currently, the focus is on one exam at the end that can often go wrong for students. We need to take away that significant pressure and make sure there is an additional focus on critical and creative thinking and other types of skills. Leaving cert reform is central to how we do this. In terms of what we have done and what I am doing, I am working with schools, teachers and students. The specifications or curriculum for the nine new and revised subjects in tranche 1 were published in September 2024. Their introduction to schools is being supported by a comprehensive package of support. Training has already been taken up by 26,000 teachers.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this question. Reform of the leaving certificate senior cycle is the right thing to do. This is something that will benefit students. Nobody I have spoken to, including those who have concerns or who requested that this be delayed, has said we should not progress this, because everybody acknowledges it is the right thing to do. That is why I am committed to ensuring this is delivered and that we start this process next September. There is considerable momentum in the programme of work that is under way, which is primarily focused on preparing for the upcoming school year. When we look at what is happening, thousands of the 73,000 students who will be entering fifth year in September have already made their subject decisions. They have already based them on the fact there will be a new curriculum.”
“Work has been done in that regard. There are officers and project managers who directly support principals and schools. Again, maybe it is a matter of looking at how that is working and how we can somehow improve it.”
“Insofar as possible, where there are new builds or where schools have to be moved, the Department always attempts to keep some of the play space and to make sure it is not completely taken. The Department also ensures play areas are part and parcel of the development of new builds, be it PE halls inside the school or covered areas for children to be able to use in bad weather or if they do not have outdoor space. It is always a priority to make sure a play space is provided when new schools are developed or when schools are being moved or that such space can be accommodated or provided in another setting. It is not always possible or straightforward but it is something the Department prioritises. This also comes back to Deputy Boland's question on what in particular is being done to try to support schools and principals.”
“We acknowledge ,that over decades, there is a normal amount of wear and tear and we must make sure children are being educated in the best possible setting. I will come back directly to Deputy Timmins on the schools he mentions, as I do not have an update here with me. I acknowledge that Deputy O'Connell has been hugely supportive of the schools in her area. I look forward to working with her on making sure these projects can progress as quickly as possible. In terms of the Department-----”
“There are often different reasons projects are delayed. It is not always the fault of the Department but there are often design, planning or funding issues. It is important to make sure that funding is managed throughout the year. There are only so many projects that can be progressed at a certain time. The focus and priority is always where additional accommodation is needed. More than 100,000 places have brought onstream over the past number of years alone where extensions or refurbishment were needed, in particular where school buildings had fallen into disrepair. That is the priority and must be the focus but, in addition, there are always other projects being developed, such as schools moving out from an existing school building into a new build.”
“There are a number of projects that from everybody's perspective, we want to see progressing as quickly as possible, particularly where additional accommodation is being provided to meet a specific need around special education. My Department is committed to this project and once that information is provided, we will be able to progress it further.”
“Once received, this report will be reviewed, from both a technical and cost perspective in accordance with the Government's infrastructure guidelines. All projects, including this one, undergo the necessary due diligence outlined in the guidelines. The design team was initially appointed for this project in 2020. There has been a lot of back and forth on this. It has now changed again. Thankfully, additional classrooms are being provided for children with special educational needs. If we can move on to the next stage and the stage 1 report is presented to the Department, we will then be able to move on more quickly to the next stage. I cannot give a specific timeline beyond that, but once we receive the report, the Department will be able to move forward.”
“I look forward to working with the Deputy on this project and many others. As she knows, the Department approved the additional school accommodation project for St. Brigids School Cabinteely. The project is devolved for delivery to the school authority and a design team has been appointed to progress the project through the necessary architectural stages of design, statutory approvals, procurement and construction. The project was initially approved to provide ten mainstream classrooms and three special education tuition rooms along with ancillary accommodation. In October 2024, my Department increased the brief of the project to include the provision for a three-classroom special education needs base. The Department is awaiting the submission of a revised stage 1 report to include the SEN provision.”