Ivana Bacik
Dublin Bay South · Labour Party · Ireland
“Just today I and other local representatives got an email from the owner of two restaurants in Dublin city centre about this issue. The Minister of State’s brief includes not only the circular economy but also small business.”
“The Bill Deputy Sherlock and the Labour Party are proposing is not one we suggest is a silver bullet or a panacea but it offers one small, constructive mechanism to address the dysfunction in waste services.”
“In Dublin Bay South we have superb Tidy Towns organisations that I am proud to work with from Ringsend and Sandymount across to Portobello in my area to Rathgar, Rathmines, Terenure, Donnybrook and Ballsbridge. We see really important work being done by Tidy Towns organisations.”
“The owner says he no longer has space to accommodate additional recycling bins, cannot leave recyclable waste out for collection and cannot leave flattened cardboard outside for collection. Private waste companies must send a vehicle to collect this directly from premises. This is costly, inefficient and unnecessary.”
“I do not mean just in Dublin, though Deputy Sherlock and I are focusing on Dublin and most of the TDs present are Dublin ones, as clearly this has ramifications across the country and the dissatisfaction and the concerns Deputy Sherlock’s constituents and mine are expressing are ones felt across the board.”
“We want to see a move, as Deputy Sherlock has it in the Bill, from competition in the market to competition for the market and this Bill would represent an important positive step on that journey to quality public services provided by the State and to remunicipalisation. Deputy Sherlock has set out the detailed provisions in the Bill.”
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“I always acknowledge the global shocks and global context in which the Government has to make responses. I acknowledged that it was a different context to the 1980s, but the similarity is that we are losing many of our young people, who have come through medical school here and see a better life and future for themselves in Australia, for example. Here at home, it is the Government's response that has caused and exacerbated the cost-of-living crisis. Notwithstanding the global shocks, there are choices that the Government made and could still make. That is why we put forward the mini-budget last week, namely, to put forward to the Government an alternative set of choices and a set of targeted supports, not VAT cuts that benefited large businesses, but targeted supports for working families and PAYE workers who felt left behind.”
“We are asking the Taoiseach if, tomorrow night when it comes to the vote on our mini-budget, he will support it. Will he support the targeted measures that will actually help households in this cost-of-living crisis?”
“Now, however, when communities need supports, it has deserted them while continuing to favour the burger barons and the big builders. When the Government's hare-brained VAT cut comes in on 1 July, working families will still be worse off. Who will not be worse off? McDonald's franchisees across the country stand to be €20 million better off. Supermac's, with revenues of nearly €300 million, will save €12 million due to the VAT cut. There is no evidence that this will be passed on to consumers. The message the Government is sending to ordinary people is that they are on their own and the Government has made its choice. However, there is another choice. Last week, Labour put forward a mini-budget that would offer a substantial package for PAYE workers and struggling families.”
“A former constituent who is now living in Perth told me that from his graduating medicine class of 350, 100 have joined him in Australia. That is an extraordinary figure. More extraordinarily, 60 of his classmates are working in the same hospital with him. He said the move has been made easier. although it is far away, because there are so many Irish people his own age there with him. He said that life is just so much easier there. The fighting talk from the Minister, Deputy Chambers, this week is an admission that the Government is not spending wisely. We know, and Labour has said, that before the election, money was no object. The Government was rolling out gimmicks to buy people’s votes with their own money.”
“Just like in the eighties, a generation of young people is again facing a choice between adulthood in their childhood bedrooms or a new life overseas. Unlike the eighties, there is no shortage of jobs here. Instead, runaway costs and a poverty of Government ambition on housing and public services are driving them away. Tá siad ag dul thar lear ag lorg oibre. Tá siad ag dul ar imirce. Níl rogha acu ach imeacht thar sáile. That is having devastating effects. Last week in Glasnevin, I met a woman in tears who told me, in her words, that she was about to lose her second child to emigration. Her children, like so many others, are leaving Ireland because they see no future for themselves here and have no prospect of owning or having a home of their own.”
“We are increasingly seeing the consequences of this Government's failure to support working people. Today, National Ambulance Service workers are on picket lines across the country. Our ambulance drivers and paramedics, who do such heroic front-line work, have been driven to strike over pay and conditions. Like so many, they are struggling to make ends meet on their current pay rates. As a result, the ambulance service cannot recruit or retain the staff it needs. Crews are being asked to provide increasingly complex care, under relentless pressure. This is unfair and, above all, unsafe. Those involved have my solidarity and that of the Labour Party colleagues today. It is not just ambulance staff. Across communities, people are grappling to get by, instead of being able to get on because of the Government's policies.”
“It knows its package is doing nothing for families that are already stretched to breaking point. We ask the Government to adopt our motion and implement the clear measures that we have set out here - targeted measures that will support struggling families in a cost-of-living crisis. Stop wasting time and money that people simply do not have to spare.”
“It could do what we are proposing in this mini-budget and introduce a windfall tax on the energy profits of big companies, ensure that we have a real retrofitting revolution, ensure that households receive supports to fund the rollout of solar panels and ensure that we see wind power being generated at pace, instead of slowly and with delays. The Government’s crypto set of ad hoc measures should amount to a mini-budget but they do nothing for those who are struggling because the Government has no coherent vision for how to support them. It would have been more honest to call the drip-feed of measures what they are - a mini-budget released in segments - because that would have allowed people to judge it on its merits. The Government has not done that.”
“That is before we talk about its slashing of VAT for Supermac’s, with zero evidence that it would help households. Far too many are feeling the pressure every day at the till and in their bills. Despite working hard, they are being crushed by a cost-of-living crisis. This is no accident. It is down to the Government's policies. It is not an inevitability. We can look elsewhere, and I have called out the Taoiseach on this. The Government can look to Spain, where a socialist Government has ensured that Spanish households enjoy some of the lowest electricity prices in Europe. Why? It is because their Government invested heavily in renewables. By contrast, the Government's response to this crisis is to subsidise fossil fuels, further locking us into polluting, unreliable energy. The Government had other options. It had progressive options.”
“We are putting forward a costed and clear set of proposals, a mini-budget to help struggling households and families. Since the escalation of Trump's war in the Middle East and with Putin's continued assault on Ukraine, we have seen a cost-of-living crisis that is biting deeper for families and households across the country, with nearly half a million households now in arrears on energy bills as energy prices in Ireland skyrocket. There was confirmation this week of what we already knew: Irish electricity prices are the highest in Europe. Far too many households are feeling the pressure as we learn that rising costs are blowing a €2,000 hole in average household budgets this year. What has the Government done? It has withdrawn energy credits, it has not put any cushioning in place and it has failed to index tax bands.”
“I am delighted to second this motion. I commend my colleague Deputy Ged Nash on proposing a mini-budget on behalf of the Labour Party in order to stand up, as he says, unapologetically for hard-pressed PAYE workers and their families, who have been left behind by the Government's policies. Ged has been a voice of reason as our finance spokesperson. He has consistently called out the crazy VAT cuts that the Government introduced for burger barons and big builders. Unlike the Government and uniquely among other parties, the Labour Party has opposed those VAT cuts. Indeed, we are against narrowing the tax base. As socialists and as a socialist party, we stand for transfer of wealth, for redistribution and for equality. Unlike the Government, we are not kite flying on issues such as inheritance tax and nuclear power.”
“It is a national embarrassment that families and parents have been forced to travel to the European institutions in Brussels today to present a petition on behalf of their children. On behalf of Councillor Ali Field and the parents, what is the Government's response?”
“Today, parents from Ireland, including our Labour Councillor Ali Field, are travelling to Brussels to present a petition to the European Parliament and institutions asking them to investigate Ireland's failure to meet its legal obligations to children with additional needs. Under the Disability Act 2005, every child in Ireland is entitled to an assessment of need within six months. However, more than 21,700 children are now on waiting lists, overdue for assessments of need. The average wait time is two years and many parents, having battled for the assessments of need, are now battling for appropriate school places, therapies and supports. The Government's record is abysmal. Families are being dragged through the courts, trying to have their children's basic needs met and there is the breaking of our own laws on this.”
“Last year, Irish electricity cost 40.42 cent per kWh. That is 40% over the European average and well above the Spanish cost of 24 cent. The figures speak for themselves. The figures for the households in arrears speak for themselves and we know the answer. In opposition, we supported the MARA legislation, but there is still no urgency on rolling out renewables to help struggling households.”
“Things are serious. They are serious for the many thousands of families and households in arrears on their energy bills. They are far too serious to be toying around with distractions about nuclear power when we know the solution lies in the scalable projects of renewables. The Taoiseach speaks about a Government focus on renewables, but it is clearly evident, particularly since the Green Party left government, how there has been a slowdown in Government commitments on climate and on renewables. Last week almost 60 countries met in Colombia for intensive talks to forge a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels. Ireland's decision to send a senior civil servant rather than the climate Minister speaks volumes. The Government is not taking this seriously. I used Spain as the example. Let us look at the Eurostat figures.”
“There is so much more we could do. It is not just wind energy; there is also plug-in solar and enhanced battery capacity. Renewables can drastically reduce household bills. We need them to cut emissions and meet climate goals too. The Government is failing to insulate people from the cost of energy now and failing to ensure the future of our younger generations. Its go-to solution for energy shocks is subsidies for fossil fuels and energy companies are reaping windfall gains. Where is the windfall tax that could fund targeted energy credits, as Labour has sough,t and where is the climate action plan for 2026? It was due in January and still has not appeared. When will we see the Government take action on renewables to cut costs for struggling households?”
“Its government, a labour government, saw which way the proverbial wind was blowing four years ago when Russia mounted its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Spain rapidly ramped up renewable energy capacity, achieving 75% low-carbon electricity generation last year. Solar and wind power are significantly lowering energy bills in Spain. Why are we not doing the same? Our climate boasts plenty of wind but without turbines it is going to waste. As a result, people here are wasting hard-earned money filling the coffers of oil and gas giants. Households here pay €500 more per year for electricity than the EU average. Why does the Government not focus on rapid delivery of renewables? Instead of delivery, it seems that Fianna Fáil are the Don Quixote of Irish politics; it is frightened of windmills. What else can explain the delay?”
“The stakes for hard-pressed households and PAYE workers are just too high for this sort of public brainstorming exercise form Fianna Fáil TDs. We in the Labour Party welcome national conversations about energy security but not at the expense of actual delivery. Let us look at delivery. In Ireland, we are still at best four years away from delivering any offshore wind energy. That delay is due to lack of Government ambition and government focus. It is deeply regrettable because unlike nuclear, wind power offers feasible, scalable projects. Other countries have led the way on renewables. Let us take Spain, a European leader. More than half of Spanish electricity is generated from renewables.”
“Rising costs are blowing a €2,000 hole in average household budgets this year. That is in today's Irish Independent . The cost of food, health insurance and energy are all soaring. Ireland has the highest household electricity prices in the EU, as Eurostat has confirmed. The Government's words of sympathy for struggling families are meaningless because it is failing to take action to cut energy costs. It is hunting with the hounds and running with the hare and the hare has got its brains too, it seems. We saw a hare-brained notion from Deputy James O'Connor that nuclear power somehow represents a solution to the crushing cost of energy here but as the Deputy has not acknowledged, in countries with a planning system that actually works, nuclear still takes 15 years to come on stream at a minimum.”
“Can the Taoiseach say how his Government will address this new and really alarming finding from the European State of the Climate report? How can we deliver that renewables revolution?”
“The European State of the Climate report released today shows that Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth. From the Mediterranean to the Arctic Circle, the Earth is heating in ways that are no longer subtle or gradual, with forest fires, destructive storms, heatwaves in the Arctic and snow cover in Europe that was 31% below average in March. We know that islands, like Ireland, are particularly vulnerable. We need to start delivering real measures to support people to move away from fossil fuels. In doing so, we will reduce energy costs for households. At a time of a global energy shock, inflation looking to surge and fuel and energy prices rising astronomically, we know moving to renewables with the renewables revolution will significantly reduce household costs as well as reducing carbon emissions.”
“What has the Government got to offer him? What has it got to offer my students in the Gallery? It seems there is an acceptable level of homelessness. This figure has been normalised. It is climbing every month. Deputy Sheehan is out with other Opposition spokespersons commenting on the homeless figures every month. They continue to climb - 5,500 children. Those three children I met in Oranmore will join those figures. What will the Taoiseach do for them?”
“We can agree on one thing, which is that supply of homes is key, but the Government is not delivering increased supply. Unfortunately, the only momentum is with the tsunami of eviction notices that people are experiencing. The Government cannot blame the housing crisis on Trump - the Taoiseach knows I have acknowledged the impact of the global energy shock - because the Government's policies have not changed. They are failing to deliver for people. They are failing to deliver for people like the family I met in Oranmore last week who asked me to tell their story - a couple with three small children, one with additional needs, who received a notice to quit. They will be evicted in June. They are facing homelessness and a support worker has advised the father, who is working, to give up work to improve chances of getting a home.”
“The Government is failing the 5,500 children in homelessness, failing the 60% of renters unable to afford rent, and failing the 60,000 on the housing list. Yesterday, the Cabinet failed once again to agree measures to stop Airbnb and short-term letting companies from mopping up the supply of homes, and at the same time, the Government decided to throw thousands of Ukrainian refugees to the mercy of the rental market. It has passed laws unleashing a tsunami of eviction notices and its solutions are "shedsits" and tax breaks for developers. When will the Government take radical action to end the housing disaster, stop evictions of renters and refugees, and ramp up the Land Development Agency to build homes at scale?”
“Scarcity drives profits up for land hoarders and higher rents benefit price-gouging landlords, yet the Government is subsidising those who are speculating on this social disaster. When it pats itself on the back, as I know it will, for the mortgage drawdown figures today, it is missing the point. The Government needs to close the door to lobbyists and open its eyes to the solutions before it, because we know what works. The eviction ban slowed the pace of homelessness. In the 1960s, under a Fianna Fáil Government, the National Building Agency, a State construction company, built homes at scale, lifting thousands of families out of squalor, yet the Taoiseach ridicules Labour's proposal to transform the Land Development Agency into a new State construction company. The Government's policies are failing people.”
“As a local TD, it is getting harder and harder to support people through this deepening crisis, but each year, the Government is pursuing the same policies and things are getting worse. We are now hearing from constituents who are even grappling with suicidal thoughts as they and their families face the horror of eviction. Threshold supported more than 10,000 households in the first three months of this year alone. That was 3% of all households in the private rented sector that are struggling. People cannot cope. I know the Taoiseach would love for homeless figures to reduce but the Government is doing nothing about it. He must face up to the fact that its policies are making things worse and that there are people in Ireland who are profiting from this social disaster.”
“I welcome our Polish community and also a group of students who are with me from Trinity and schools in Dublin and Wexford. Far too many people in Ireland suffer the trauma of losing their home. That is a direct result of the Government's policy. It prioritises the market over people. It did it in March, incentivising landlords to evict with new rent laws, and it is doing it again now, this week telling 16,000 Ukrainian refugees to fend for themselves in an overheated rental market or return to a war zone. So much for solidarity with Ukraine. In Dublin, even if a person's budget is €1,500 per month, there are just two two-bed properties for rent on daft.ie today. The housing crisis has been normalised on the Taoiseach's watch.”
“Will the Government act to regulate the English language school sector here in order to ensure that prospective students will be protected rather than being left to foot bills that they should not be liable to pay?”
“Since the beginning of this year, more than 30 prospective international students have come forward to detail how they were effectively scammed. After having their visa applications refused, they were denied refunds by the English language schools here that they had paid for places they cannot now take up. They have no protection, even though they paid upfront in good faith and followed the process. Some have lost out on thousands of euro in fees and have been left to chase refunds from providers based in different countries. The Irish Council for International Students and my Labour colleague Senator Laura Harmon, who has been working on this, have pointed out that the protective framework, TrustEd Ireland, is toothless.”
“The roll-out of renewables and our capacity to generate energy through onshore and offshore wind is far too slow. We in opposition have supported efforts by the Government to speed up the pace, but we are seeing so little being done on what should be a huge thing for us, that is, the roll-out of offshore and onshore wind generating capacity. The second thing to say is that there are consequences-----”
“I absolutely acknowledge that the energy shock and the particular energy crisis we are now in are, of course, caused by international events, in particular Trump and Netanyahu's illegal war on Iran. We are all conscious of that. The question is how we respond. There are two things. First, the Taoiseach acknowledges that systemic change is needed; I think he did in his response to me. Absolutely, I agree. We need to change the way we work. We need to change the way we do business. We need to change our reliance on fossil fuels. Therefore, we need that renewables revolution. The Taoiseach did not respond on that. Yes, it is welcome to see measures on retrofitting, but the upfront costs of fitting solar panels, for example, or installing heat pumps are massive for households, and there is far too little available.”
“Why will the Taoiseach not just introduce a mini-budget and a coherent package that gives supports to struggling households?”
“People see through this. They see a Government that can find €750 million for sectoral supports while telling households to tighten their belts. They hear the Government's talk of tax breaks on wealth while they struggle to find the money to cover food and heating costs at the end of the month. That is why the Government's approach is so frustrating. If it is doing a mini-budget in all but name, why not bring forward a coherent package? Why not take the options that we have proposed, such as a windfall tax on excess energy profits of big companies; a renewables revolution to end reliance on fossil fuels; targeted energy credits for working households; and indexation of tax bands? This would be systemic change, not just token measures.”
“Call it what it is and let people then judge it on its merits. Families are already stretched to breaking point. The Taoiseach knows that more than 320,000 households are in electricity arrears and 180,000 are behind on gas bills. These are the highest levels on record. Homeless figures are the highest on record. Grocery prices are rising week on week. Insurance, housing and education costs are all up. What has the Government done? It has withdrawn energy credits without putting any cushion in place for households, it has failed to index tax bands, as Labour had sought, and it has left PAYE workers footing the bill for sectoral pay-offs. With regard to VAT cuts, there is no evidence that they will achieve anything other than costing the Exchequer. Now, as inflation threatens to surge again, the Minister for Finance is kite flying.”
“Today, we are told that officials are scrambling to design one-off supports, such as retrofit grants and energy tweaks, with all signs pointing to a sort-of mini-budget. As the saying goes, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it might just be a duck. In this case, it is a very lame duck because what we are seeing is not a coherent plan. The Taoiseach talks about a strategic response but where is the strategy in the series of ad ho c measures he is formulating? They appear to be cobbled together in response to political pressure. To borrow another animal metaphor, the Government is playing whack-a-mole. It has no clear vision for how to support working families through this deepening cost-of-living and energy crisis. Would it not be more honest to call the response what it is, which is a mini-budget but released in segments?”
“This time last year, households were already labouring under the pressure of grocery price inflation, the housing crisis and Trump's threatened tariffs. Since the outset of Trump's illegal war on Iran and in the Middle East, and with no end in sight to Russia's bombardment of Ukraine, things have got worse. The Taoiseach has rightly just described the situation we are in as a massive global energy shock, but in this shock, struggling households are left wondering when they will get some real reprieve from the Government. PAYE workers are not seeing the benefit of a multimillion euro sectoral support package. In response to a question from my Labour colleague, Deputy Ged Nash, last week, the Tánaiste ruled out a mini-budget for our communities.”
“Tax these windfall profits further but let us also accelerate away from our dependence on fossil fuels. Today is Earth Day. There is no better day to look for an urgent ramping up of our capacity to generate electricity through renewables. This Government has been very slow and indeed has been regressive compared to the previous Government. We need to see more and we will be pushing the Government on this. We have seen the benefits in Spain and elsewhere regarding energy costs, energy security and climate emissions.”
“The S and D group in the European Parliament has called for two key measures to be adopted by the European Commission to deal with the enormous disadvantage being faced by citizens across Europe and in Ireland. First, it is calling for a temporary energy emergency regulatory tool to fast-track the development and roll-out of renewables. We have seen it done in Spain where energy costs are now four times cheaper than in Ireland. The group is also seeking strong measures to protect vulnerable households, including an EU-wide social leasing scheme to give people access to clean energy solutions without upfront costs. We see that the package coming from the European Commission also gives a facility to states to have a windfall levy on the taxes of fossil fuel companies. Let us do that in Ireland.”
“We all very much hope that the ceasefire will hold, but there are clearly huge accountability issues and sanctions that need to be undertaken against Israel. With the defeat of Orbán in Hungary, Netanyahu has lost what has been described as his "EU firewall" against sanctions. It is hoped that Ireland, along with Spain and other allies, will now be able to press harder on more sanctions against Israel and, in particular, the suspension and ending of the trade agreement, as well as the passing of the occupied territories Bill here at home. The implications of the illegal war being waged by Trump and Netanyahu against Iran and Lebanon and the energy shock that has generated have clearly shown just how exposed the EU is and how exposed Ireland, in particular, is given our over-reliance on imported fossil fuels.”
“We are concerned that there are still Russian interests in Ireland, and we need to be clearer about sanctions for those. We very much welcome the change of government in Hungary and the fact that the €90 billion loan for Ukraine will now, it seems, be facilitated. That is hugely important and I welcome it. We will work the Government to ensure that during this Presidency, EU accession for Ukraine can be accelerated. A great deal more could be done on the US-Israel war, however. It is deeply disappointing that the EU is not taking further steps to ensure the suspension of the Israel trade agreement. We see that Israel is now leading in the bombing of southern Lebanon and is seeking to do to southern Lebanon what it has already done in Gaza.”
“As the Irish party within the Party of European Socialists and the S and D group, the Labour Party is proudly European and we assert the principles of a social Europe with an emphasis on climate action and an active state that can engage on housing, workers' rights and equality. The Spanish left Government has shown leadership on climate, renewables and so much more. I raise three points that the Minister of State might also bring back to the Taoiseach. I very much welcome the Taoiseach's comments and ambition that the Irish Presidency this year will see an acceleration on the steps towards EU accession for Ukraine. The Labour Party is proud to stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine against the brutal regime of Putin and his colonial and imperialistic aggression against them.”
“Last weekend, we had another engagement hosted by Prime Minister Sánchez in Barcelona in the shape of the Global Progressive Mobilisation summit, at which we heard addresses by global leaders of the left, including President Lula of Brazil, Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Mia Mottley from Barbados and Elly Schlein from Italy. It was an inspiring gathering where we discussed challenges and opportunities facing the left across Europe and the world. What struck me was not just the scale of the crises we all face but also the clarity of the responses offered by those on the left and in the socialist movement internationally.”
“I welcome the opportunity to engage on behalf of the Labour Party following the European Council meeting of 19 March. The meeting had an extensive agenda: Ukraine and the Middle East; competitiveness; defence; multilateralism; and democratic resilience. These are all complex challenges which have clearly become more challenging since that date, as the Taoiseach acknowledged. We have, unfortunately, seen further developments in the Middle East, with Trump and Netanyahu's illegal war only deepening there. In Brussels, on the morning of 19 March, I participated in the Party of European Socialists, PES, pre-Council leaders' meeting along with other PES leaders, including Spain's Pedro Sánchez and Commissioner Teresa Ribera.”
“What I am asking now is, to ensure justice for survivors, would the Taoiseach consider taking a proactive step by appointing a senior counsel or a Government official to carry out a scoping exercise into the US Department of Justice files to see what information there relates to Epstein's activities in Ireland?”
“Last Thursday, I was in Westminster with Lisa Phillips, the courageous campaigner and survivor of abuse by Jeffrey Epstein. We met with British MPs who are supporting Lisa in seeking access to information about the extent of Epstein's criminal activities. Survivors are campaigning for full disclosure of all information held by the US Department of Justice on Epstein's global trafficking network. We know there are hundreds of references to Ireland in the Epstein files held by the US Department of Justice. We know he visited Ireland several times and that he had business interests here. Deputy Duncan Smith and I have asked the Taoiseach about references here to Epstein's activities. I think he said the Government here has no files related to Epstein.”
“We are seeing money spent on special care centres that are unregulated, unregistered and under the radar. These are private facilities that lack supervision and inspection. The amount of money being spent is extraordinary. RTÉ has stated it costs €750,000 per child per year for a special placement.”
“We acknowledge that the Government is spending money. That is not in doubt but our issue, and that of parents, teachers, SNAs and school communities all around the country, is the question of how it is spending it and the lack of a planned approach. The Taoiseach mentioned the €650 million bailout for the Department of education as if it were something to be proud of but the fact that it was necessary is exactly the problem. It shows the lack of planning. Parents are crying out for school places and supports for children with additional needs. We are seeing a lack of planning. The bailout is all over the place. How did the Taoiseach not know the money would be required? He knows the number of children who require additional school places. The same applies to the care system.”
“Inclusion is officially the national policy of the State but without adequate resourcing, it is meaningless. Every week, we all hear from principals, teachers and exhausted parents who are fighting for the appropriate supports for their children. These problems are not going away. During the general election, Labour launched its children's charter, a roadmap for strengthening the rights of children in Ireland. Those in government have been failing children. Despite budget surpluses, we see the Government failing children in care, children in poverty or homelessness, and children with additional needs. Will the Taoiseach adopt a planned response to guarantee the rights of every child in Ireland, including the rights to a home and to a local school place?”
“Again, the Government has known of the exponential growth in the number of children requiring a special education place for this coming academic year. We in the Labour Party welcomed the news that 430 places have been made available and acknowledged that but the shortfall was 600. That is without accounting for all those parents who have had to accept a place in a mainstream or a special school knowing it is inappropriate for their child's particular needs. In February, we saw the public outcry following the debacle over threatened cuts to special needs assistant, SNA, allocation. Our SNAs and teachers do extraordinary work under sustained pressure but they are being asked to deliver inclusion in practice without the key resources they need in schools. That is not fair or sustainable.”
“I used to act as guardian ad litem on behalf of vulnerable children in care proceedings, in some of the most distressing situations imaginable. Demand for care places has increased, yes, but a lack of capacity has always been an issue in the system. We have been approaching a breaking point for years. Tusla now routinely asks the courts to approve placing a child in care while at the same time asks the judge not to grant a mandatory order requiring compliance with its legal obligations. This is extraordinary. Having decided that a child's situation is so dire as to require the State to act as the parent, Tusla, it seems, cannot recruit or retain enough staff to provide that State care. A starker failure could scarcely be conceived of. Another vulnerable group is children with additional needs.”