Ken O'Flynn
Cork North-Central · Independent Ireland · Ireland
“The Government has not addressed school uniform problems or the fact that most parents have to pay €300 for a PE kit. It has not addressed the problem that parents have to give this voluntary contribution, which is really not voluntary when schools are putting out news bulletins listing the names of families who have contributed and those…”
“Every one of us knows from our own constituencies that laptops, iPads and tablets are being used regularly by order of boards of management. I have to acknowledge the Government's good work and call it out, including the free books scheme and the school meals. However, the Government has made a hames of the school meals.”
“Like many of the stories the Minister of State has heard today in the House, it is not strange that we have constituents coming to us regularly saying the biggest fear they have is the postman's knock.”
“We should all be inside here hanging our heads in shame about how we are treating people. Just go outside the gate and the Minister of State will see Cara Darmody outside Leinster House again, highlighting a law that the Government has been breaking for over 20 years. What was the Taoiseach's answer to me yesterday?”
“I am sure the Taoiseach will join me in welcoming Christy Hussey and Conor Burke to the Public Gallery. Since this morning, a 15-year-old child has been sitting in protest outside the gates of Leinster House. Cara Darmody is highlighting the fact that the State breaking its own law.”
“It is reported that half of the women murdered in the Kingdom of Spain this year were killed by foreign nationals. Across the Continent, governments have opened their doors and lost control of their borders. When their own citizens stand up and take notice, these governments lecture them and call them far-right for calling them out.”
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“-----and he will have his opportunity to do so. Fine. The reality is that there are people in this country who have never been worse off. The Government goes out and says every day of the week that it is doing fantastic and asks people to give it a clap on the back because it has this deficit and that deficit. You cannot eat a deficit. There are people now choosing between turning on their heating and eating and the Government is not listening to them. More than 300,000 people in this country are in arrears with their ESB and gas bills. There is something wrong with that. There is something fundamentally wrong when people are in significant arrears in a First World country. The Government does not seem to be listening and does not seem to understand.”
“In my constituency, there are many families leaving their kids in bed late on the Saturday and on the Sunday to ensure that they do not have to turn on the heating in the house because that is how difficult it is for them. I know the Minister of State is scrolling through his phone. I am sure he is very busy there, but the other thing is that-----”
“I thank my colleagues in Sinn Féin for introducing this Bill. It is a very good Bill and works quite well. I was kind of shocked when I was reading it because I wondered should this not have been done a long time ago by previous Governments. I welcome it in that sense. The cliché every Member in this House is using is the phrase "heating or eating", but that is the truth. That is what is happening in Cork, Dublin, Donegal, Galway, Kilkenny - anywhere in the country. People are choosing between heating and eating. Recently, I visited a gentleman's house where they had one bar on the fire and were wrapped in blankets. He is afraid to turn on the heating in his house.”
“I do not believe that this State is truly interested in bringing back those people who we have educated and done everything right for because it is saying to forget about them. We are not making it viable to come back into this country with the tax brackets. We are not making it viable to come back and buy a property here and we are not making it viable for them to come back by giving them good work conditions. That has to be addressed. While we are all praising nurses in this House today, we must remember that we are letting an awful lot of nurses down across the world who come from and were educated in Ireland. That needs to be addressed.”
“They are coming home to a property market so difficult to get into that there are no properties there for them to buy. We are spending €100,000 plus every year advertising in Australia and probably €500,000 advertising across the world asking Irish people to come back home, but what have they got to come back home to? That is the worrying thing. I see many people leaving. One Member said earlier that they left by choice and for lifestyle. That may be the situation when people are younger and they want to explore the world and do those things, but most people want to come home. They want to settle down near their families, near their mothers and fathers, they want to be back working in the country they grew up in. They want to give something back to this country.”
“On behalf of Independent Ireland and our TDs, I start by saying thanks to every nurse working across Ireland in the hospitals, nursing homes, community care, mental health services and emergency care. I thank every one of them for the tremendous work and their vocation in this State. Without them, we would be in a terrible situation. The irony is not lost on me as we are thanking nurses on this day for what they do for the State that there are nurses in Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Canada who want to come home but cannot. There has been lots of talk on this side of the House about nurses coming home and that we must bring our nurses home, but what would they be coming home to? They are coming home to rents they cannot afford.”
“This week in Spain, they have called for the creation of a European army. They argue that Europe must develop a permanent common military capacity. Many Irish people are increasingly concerned that the long-standing Irish policy of military neutrality is being eroded step by step through deeper EU defence integration without a direct democratic mandate from the Irish people. Will the Taoiseach give us a clear commitment in this House today and to the Irish people that we will not participate in, support or move towards any European army, common EU military structure or mutual defence agreement without first seeking explicit approval from the Irish people by way of referendum?”
“Why are these flats not fixed? Why are the people in the Gallery here? Why are we not fixing that and addressing those issues? They have been around since 1860 and 1959. It seems absolutely absurd. I meet constituents every day of the week. I have constituents with black mould in their properties. We all have photographs. It is okay if the Minister of State wants to go. We have so many people who have sent photos that are now on our phones. Every TD has photos of black mould on walls or water coming down in flats and council houses. We continuously come across such situations and it is not acceptable. Nobody should have to live like that.”
“No retrofit has been carried out despite continuous calls from the local authority requesting money to do that. We can go to the south side. I have an email from Councillor Albert Deasy, a very fine independent councillor in Cork city. He is a great man. He has been working in the Taoiseach's constituency. He is a member of the council in the Taoiseach's constituency. You would think that the Taoiseach might have a small bit of influence over what goes on in his constituency. The Togher flats now have a situation of chronic dampness, black mould and rodent infestation. I must also mention that there is a rodent infestation in Mary Aikenhead Place. There are serious structural defects there. A series of problems is continuously happening and yet we are being told that the Government is providing money for retrofitting.”
“That is no good unless the Government is handing down the money and making it available. We can walk down into Blackpool and into Madden's Buildings, which were built in 1868. We can go up the hill and into Roche's Buildings, which are 18th century buildings. We can visit Kelleher's Buildings in Dillon's Cross or Ryan's Buildings in Ballymacthomas. Those buildings have been there since the 18th century and there has not been a tack of retrofitting. The only retrofit that happened was that the outside toilets were brought in in 1991 and bathrooms were fitted, thanks to Noel O'Flynn. In Roche's Buildings at the moment, tenants have water streaming down through Velux windows. Tenants have water streaming down the walls because soffits have not been replaced and building work has not been done.”
“It was the first set of flats and has not been retrofitted. Other flats around them have been retrofitted but they have not. We can go to Blackpool and to Farrancleary Place. Those flats were built in the 1960s. They have no fire escape, despite the issue being brought up in this House on a regular basis. The set of steps there is bad anyway but if there is a fire in those flats, we are going to lose over 100 people because there is no fire escape. That has been flagged with Cork City Council on a regular basis and Cork City Council has applied for funding and has requested Government funding. It is all very well for junior Ministers to come in here and to say that the duty of care is a matter for the local authority. That is no good unless the Government is funding it.”
“This is a very serious debate and some very serious questions need to be answered on what we are discussing here. I commend my colleagues in Sinn Féin on bringing this to the House and I welcome those people to the Visitors Gallery. I say to tenants in Dublin that they are not alone in what is happening in their properties. We have exactly the same thing in Cork city and county. I received a copy of an email from Councillor Noel O'Flynn, a former Member of this House and member of Independent Ireland. He informed me that he received an email from one of the senior engineers in Cork telling him that a B2 energy rating by the time the flats will be completed in Mary Aikenhead Place will be 2050. Most of those people will have reached their eternal reward. Those flats were built in 1959.”
“I acknowledge the presence of the Minister of State for further and higher education on the Government side. The Minister of State is a very fine Minister of State but I find it rather upsetting that we do not have the senior Minister in the House.”
“Lift the ban, let them drill and let them decide. Let them see if there are 1.6 billion barrels of oil in that oil field. Let us take that because we realise we will be stuck with that type of energy for the next decade.”
“I thank the Taoiseach. What he has done in this Chamber is exactly what he did in Armenia, namely he said a great deal while committing to nothing. Within the past hour, the Taoiseach has twice referenced renewables and connecting to Spain. It is worth putting this on the record of the House because people hold up Spain as the great renewable energy country. Renewable energy in Spain is at 21% while its nuclear energy is at 20%. If we connect to Spain, which is the Taoiseach's plan, we will take nuclear energy from it. We have to admit there is a policy deficit here. We are looking at taking nuclear energy from a foreign body but there is a ban in the Government's legislation on such energy. We have spoken about Barryroe. We have been back and forth on it. Deputy Collins has been brilliant in speaking about Barryroe.”
“Will he reverse the 2021 gas and oil exploration ban to allow Barryroe to be excavated? Will Irish families continue to pay the highest prices in Europe? Will the Taoiseach save his real answers for foreign summits?”
“I made the point to the Taoiseach in this Chamber two weeks ago - it is on the record of the House that he did not deny it - that Ireland bans nuclear energy at home while it imports nuclear-generated energy directly from France through the Celtic interconnector. That is not climate leadership but policy contradiction, which is sitting unanswered on the record of this House. Ireland imports 86% of its energy, one of the highest dependence rates in Europe. Norway and the United Kingdom face the same markets - and the same pressures, indeed - but they produce energy; we import it. They have options; we have none, because of Government policy that has closed every door and dressed it up as Government policy. Will the Taoiseach today in this House, on the record, commit to bringing forward Government legislation to lift the 1999 nuclear ban?”
“The contradiction continues. The Minister for Finance and Tánaiste, Deputy Harris, says that nuclear energy should be considered with an open mind. The Minister for public expenditure, Deputy Chambers, has said that there is an argument for nuclear energy, that the argument is decades old and that we are now living in a different world. Billy Kelleher MEP, the President that would be, says that he would back a motion to overturn the 1999 ban at the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis later this month. The Taoiseach's Ministers, MEPs and backbenchers are all moving in one direction, yet the 1999 ban remains law, the 2021 oil and gas exploration ban remains law and the Government has not introduced legislation to lift the nuclear prohibitions and does not have plans to reverse the exploration ban.”
“In yesterday's Irish Independent newspaper, a headline read Ireland should seriously look at the option of nuclear power, says the Taoiseach. He said in Yerevan, and I quote the Taoiseach directly, "we certainly should look at and examine options like nuclear power seriously." I asked the Taoiseach the exact same question in the Chamber two weeks ago. His answer was that "the direction of travel has to be in the renewables area". He dismissed the Barryroe oil field. He defended the 2021 ban on oil and gas exploration. He cited the enormous costs on nuclear energy - that is the record - as a reason for caution. That position is on the record of this House in response to my question. Which is it? Is it the answer that the Taoiseach gave this Chamber two weeks ago or the answer that he gave the cameras in Armenia?”
“In Cork city, tenants in Mary Aikenhead Place are living in flats that were built in the 1960s. They are cold, damp and affected by mould. Surrounding units in the residential area have already been retrofitted. The Government retrofit plan aims for a B2 standard by 2050, with only 25% to be completed by 2030. For many of these tenants, the timeline of waiting for 25 years to have their flats retrofitted is simply too long. Let me be precise. Will the Government commit to prioritising older flats such as Mary Aikenhead Place with an accelerated retrofit programme and will funding be in place to bring these homes up to standard by 2030?”
“In my constituency a family have already buried one child due to Friedreich's ataxia and their second child is now in a wheelchair due to the same disease, which is advancing. A treatment called SkyClarys is clinically approved and has been shown to slow the progress and the State refuses to reimburse it. Let me be clear: this is not about science or availability; this is about a decision not to fund. What does the Taoiseach say to parents watching their child's disease progress in real time while a treatment exists but is withheld? I want to ask him a direct question. Will he instruct the Minister for Health to fast-track a reimbursement decision for SkyClarys and define the timeframe? Yes or no.”
“At a time when the Minister for communications, Deputy O'Donovan, was calling for a review of RTÉ's coverage of the public protests, it is reported that he also approved a €20,000 pay increase for the CEO of RTÉ. This raises legitimate concerns around Government transparency and the potential of undue influence. In a separate matter, the former Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, approved an additional €10 million for the International Monetary Fund, IMF, prior to subsequently taking a role with the organisation.”
“I have invested enough of it. It is all very well to talk about renewable energy, and I do see the importance of renewable energy. I witnessed renewable energy when the grid in Spain took out Portugal, all of Spain and most of France just up to Paris, if the Taoiseach remembers that. That was an oversupply, and we never got to the end of that.”
“I thank the Taoiseach for his reply but he is in contradiction with exactly what he said on RTÉ over one week ago when he said he was open to all forms of energy supply. I asked him quite clearly whether he is willing to look at the policy where the Government said in 1999 that we are going to ban nuclear. The Taoiseach has come to the House and told me. I assume he has read the independent analysis and independent report in Barryroe as well because I did not realise, along with the other expertise he has, that he has expertise in oil refinery and finding oil.”
“We have to face the reality that oil and gas are here for decades to come. Even if we speed up reducing our dependence and increasing the development of wind energy, wave energy and the rest, we will still have to use oil and gas for at least this generation if not the next. I have a simple question for the Taoiseach. Will Ireland produce some of its own energy or will we continue to import energy that comes at a market price?”
“The State's position in this regard is not credible. Ireland bans nuclear-generated energy at home and, yet, through the Celtic interconnector, we import the nuclear energy directly from France. I put it to the Taoiseach that the latter is not climate leadership; it is a policy contradiction. Does the Taoiseach accept that Ireland's exposure to this crisis is not just global in origin but domestic in design? Norway operates in the same markets and the United Kingdom faces the same pressures, but they produce energy. We import it. They have options. We have none. This is about not abandoning renewable energies. I see the importance of the latter, but this is about realism. We know that renewable energy meets is a very small share of the total energy demand in this country.”
“As he knows, this country is sitting on a potential offshore resource, including the Barryroe field off Cork, close to the Taoiseach's constituency and mine, which independent assessment suggests could contain up to 1.6 billion barrels of oil. This is probably €157 billion worth of oil. Can I put it to the Taoiseach that he is saying that all energy options are open while some are actively prohibited by law? In that context, will the Government reverse the 2021 ban on oil and gas exploration and allow Ireland to at least give access in order that it might develop its own resources? Will he commit to reviewing and repealing the legislation that prohibits nuclear energy, which was first introduced in this House in 1999 and the provisions of which were continued in the development Act of 2024?”
“Last week, the Taoiseach told Radio Teilifís Éireann that he was open to all forms of energy supply. He also acknowledged the fragility of Irish dependence on imported fuels. That admission is important - and it is important to the House - because Ireland imports approximately 86% of its energy, which is one of the highest dependence rates in Europe. At the same time, the Government made a deliberate decision in 2021 to ban oil and gas exploration. This was not a forced decision or an inevitable decision; it was a policy choice on the part of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party. Does the Taoiseach accept that the banning of domestic exploration, while remaining overwhelmingly dependent on energy imports, has left Ireland dangerously exposed?”
“If any of those TDs from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael who turned up at the protests down in Whitegate or anywhere else in the country and said they were with the protestors and were going to get rid of Micheál Martin in a couple of weeks had any bit of backbone, they should join with Deputy Healy-Rae, vote against this Government and let us call the election.”
“Then we have the man who turned away from the woman in Kanturk not so long ago during the last election and who did not want to hear, and all of a sudden he is gaslighting the country saying he is concerned about the 900,000 people on waiting lists. He is concerned about the 60,000 people on housing lists and about the 116,000 people who are waiting for housing assistance payment, HAP. That is what this Government is concerned about. It is concerned about nothing only serving itself. I applaud Deputy Healy-Rae. I say "Well done" to him for having a bit of backbone.”
“This Government has let down those in plant hire, those farmers, taxi drivers, the hauliers, contractors and fishers, and the ordinary people who this Government says it represents and lives among. The reality is it has blamed Trump for absolutely everything. We have heard Government Members getting up and speaking about Trump. Donald Trump is not in charge of the National Oil Reserves Agency, NORA. He is not in charge of the carbon tax in this country. He is not in charge of VAT in this country and he is not in charge of excise. What did Seán Canney do? He told people to go out and walk or cycle. What did big Jim - James Bond himself - go out and do? He said we would turn the Army on our own citizens, which was reminiscent of something you would hear in South America. It is reminiscent of a Peronist.”
“In those circumstances, does he consider that Cork ETB is fit for purpose as patron of that particular school and does he stand over the actions of the school? Will he commit to an urgent independent intervention, including full-time orthopaedic supports, and outline the immediate steps that are being taken to restore proper provisions to ensure that no child is denied their appropriate education?”
“I was contacted directly by families affected by this issue who felt that they had no other avenue to go to have their concerns heard. Will the Taoiseach address the situation in Carrigaline Community Special School, which closed its doors for six days following an incident involving one child and reopened, excluding a different child and a parent who were not involved in the event that caused the closure without lawful basis or a breach of procedures? Does he accept that families are being pushed towards reduced school hours and that Cork Education and Training Board, ETB, has stated that it cannot meet its needs when it comes to some of the children enrolled in its care, despite its statutory obligations?”
“Harris left us with a weakened policing infrastructure, fewer gardaí per 100,000 of population despite a 70% increase in the budget of policing in the course of his service of this country, mid-career resignations at the highest level never seen before in this country, a Garda Reserve that is practically non-existent and a sop called community safety wardens, which was given on a whim by the Minister's predecessor, Deputy Helen McEntee, and not integrated into the policing model. Was the former Minister "Svengalied" by Drew Harris? Was she manipulated or did she act as a willing accomplice?”
“A number of weeks ago, I raised questions in this House regarding the case of Mr. John Barrett. I am sure that this will refute the myth of Mr. Drew Harris and the question of being a disciplinarian. It will lead to serious questions that will land at the doors of Cabinet and the Minister's desk. In the case of the bicycle gate and how the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, NBCI, seized bicycles from pensioners, will also discredit and destroy the current myth of Drew Harris, the disciplinarian. Let me address the prudent management myth of Drew Harris. Mr.”
“The quality of the service delivered by An Garda Síochána over the course of the leadership of former Commissioner, Drew Harris declined dramatically. His tenure as Commissioner was built on myth, smoke and mirrors and cloak and dagger. Let me address the myth of Drew Harris, the great disciplinarian. There is a world of difference between being a good disciplinary, which requires impartiality, objectivity, proportionality and respect for human rights and what we truly got, which was an autocrat, oppressor and petty peevish management style. The public inquiry that is occurring in respect to the Limerick situation with Superintendent Eamon O'Neill and colleagues, which the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have agreed to, will demonstrate a radical difference between Drew Harris, the myth and Drew Harris, the lived reality.”
“I invite the House to think about An Garda Síochána and the unique monopoly services it provides to the Irish people. Its ability to deliver those services affects us all on a daily basis. I commend our local An Garda Síochána. Since 2008 when I entered public life, I have had relationships with community gardaí and local sergeants and superintendents who do tremendous work on the ground, go beyond the call of duty, attend the community meetings and go out there and give up their own free time continuously to our community. The tremendous work that goes on voluntarily, as well as part of our their duty of An Garda Síochána, needs to be put on the record. An Garda Síochána is a key national institution. It is there to protect and serve. Such an organisation deserves the best leadership culture.”
“The reality is that people going to work tomorrow and the next day have no other choice. They cannot work from home, they are trying to do their best and these taxes ahead of us, and this reducing of 20 cent here and 20 cent there, will go nowhere. The Government has completely forgotten about the taxi drivers of this country. It has 100% forgotten about them.”
“While I welcome some of the changes the Government is going to make, particularly the extension of the fuel allowance, we are giving with one hand and taking away with the other. At the start of this crisis, the price of diesel was €1.80 a litre. Today in Circle K, it is €2.28. The Government has already accumulated €120 million. This project is delivering a roughly €200 million package, so it is really costing the Government €80 million. I was very disappointed with the comments of the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, earlier today outside this House when he stated that carbon tax is not even a tax. In fact, it is a tax, as the name suggests. He must be intoxicated by the leather of the ministerial car whose fuel he does not have to pay for because that is how far removed from reality the Government is.”
“I do not know how a ten-year-old with special needs absconds and ends up being allegedly sexually abused. That is the reality of this country We will all hang our heads in shame and say it is awful and terrible, we should learn from this mistake and it must never happen again but what do we do? We go out and we repeat the mistake over and over again one after another and then what do we do? We throw more money at it. It is a case of, "Don't look at it, it's fine, we'll have another committee and we'll put in another layer here and another layer there and we'll have a committee after this and we'll put more money into it" and we will not solve the real problems because the real problems might be just a bit more difficult to talk about.”
“When people are saying here that everything is fine and everything is dandy and rosy in the garden, we know it is not. I accept that this motion may have flaws but at least we are having the conversations and are telling people we are not satisfied with what is going on in this country. I have said repeatedly in this House that children are the most valuable thing we have. They are our future, are vulnerable and need to be protected. The Minister of State is coming along with flowery language saying everything is fine and that we are allocating this amount of money and that amount of money yet there are figures here that tell a very different story. The most recent story, which we all know, involved a ten-year-old child and the word "absconded" was used.”
“In one Tusla office in Cork, five years prior to a scandal breaking and a Garda investigation, the Comptroller and Auditor General flagged with Tusla the fact that thousands of euro were not being accounted for. It took Tusla three years to put in a procedure. At that time, €50,000 was the average of what was given out in pocket money where no book was there, nothing was assigned, there was not one document and there was not even an initial on it. It took Tusla three years to work it out and say, "Lads, we have to be realistic here. We should have a ledger saying how much cash is coming out to the safe." It was amazing that when that happened, it was reduced to €6,000 that was signed for the following year and the year after. That is how much pocket money there was - not the €50,000 for the past three years.”
“The fact that no Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael person was here might be because they are not getting calls any more from their constituents. Maybe they just do not know what is going on in the country any more. Maybe they are so lost in the bubble that is Leinster House that they do not realise that people are picking up the phones to Opposition TDs, be they Sinn Féin, Independent Ireland, Labour or the Social Democrats, and telling them the truth about what is going on. About ten minutes before I came into this Chamber, a social worker was crying on the phone to me. I will give an example of something that is going on at the moment. We talk about how good this organisation is and the Comptroller and Auditor General.”
“It has outsourced the problems because Ministers want to hang on to their seats, do not want to be criticised and want to be able to come into this House when a national scandal breaks and something in this country goes wrong and be able to say, "Nothing to do with the Government; that's an agency outside the Government's remit." When they want to hang their heads in shame, say lessons must be learned and wring their hands in here, they will do that no problem. A number of weeks ago, adults who were children of industrial schools were in this House and what do we do? We had to issue an apology. The Government is very good at issuing apologies but instead of trying to look good, why do we not do something good? Why not be honest with ourselves and with the public? I have listened to people in this House.”
“They are using Tusla as a scapegoat because they do not want to take on the responsibility themselves. They do not want to put up their hands and say, "Yes, we're taking on the responsibility. There's a Minister in charge." The Minister says she is in charge but any time you write to a Minister about a problem with Tusla, he or she will redirect you right to the chairperson. Any time you speak to the Department of Justice, Migration and Home Affairs about An Garda Síochána, you are told, "Write to the Commissioner, nothing to do with us, nothing to see here." What is the Government actually in charge of anymore?”
“The Department of Children, Disablity and Equality accused Tusla of insufficient responses leading to a crisis. There have been high-profile cases involving missing children and scandals in 2025 and 2026. I will not mention names because I do not think it is right to mention the children's names but over €3 million in reviews has been spent in 42,000 cases. That seems absolutely astonishing to me. We have children dying who have been under the care of or highlighted to Tusla. A total of 235 children known to Tusla have died. Let us think about that - 235 children known to Tusla have died and the Government is still saying that Tusla is fit for purpose, there is nothing wrong, look the other way, it is grand, it is fine, there is no problem here lads. As I said, the Minister and this Government have to be living in Plato's cave.”
“The Minister of State spoke about statistics and gave some lovely figures. I know she admitted that she was not here for the whole debate but as the senior Minister seems to have wandered back to Plato's cave, I want to add these statistics to the debate. Over 4,000 children are waiting for social workers, with ongoing criticism from the courts. In 2025, one judge describing it as appalling and shocking that 250 children were not allocated social workers Tusla having been ordered to do so by the courts. Other issues include unvetted care workers in services in 2024. Whistleblowers have claimed that unvetted staff are working in private firms. We have the failure to provide care places from 2023 to 2025. Repeated criticism from the High Court and the Supreme Court has been levelled at Tusla.”
“I thank the Minister of State for her reply. I am rather disappointed that the senior Minister did not stay in the room for the rest of the debate but left early. I am also disappointed that we had no speakers from Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael in the House. One would think that children's safety would be the most important thing on the mind of any elected representative. I thank colleagues from Sinn Féin for their support. I am also grateful for the support that came from the Labour Party and the Social Democrats, although we may have different thoughts on some aspects. I would suggest that if people did have problems with our motion or disagreed with it, they had the opportunity to put down amendments. I do not see any amendments coming from the Social Democrats at this particular time.”
“It is about recognising a simple truth. Structures matter and institutions matter. When the structure responsible for protecting vulnerable children shows signs of strain, the duty of the State is to examine it honestly and reform where necessary. Children who rely on State protection deserve a system that is clear and accountable, capable of acting decisively where their safety is at risk. Front-line professionals deserve leadership and support rather than leaving them carry on under the heavy burden of weaknesses. For that reason, I commend the motion to the House.”
“It proposes the publication of a White Paper outlining the options for reform. It proposes structural reform to be implemented through a phased transitional period of 24 months to ensure continuity of services. That is not reckless; it is simple leadership. Repeated inspections and court findings have given rise to public controversy and have raised concerns about the functionality of the system. The State cannot simply defend the status quo . The proposed Government amendment shows the State defending the status quo despite all the scandals, and the hand-wringing and crocodile tears in this House. We must have the courage to ask if the system that we have built is a system that children deserve. This motion is not about blaming any individuals or criticising the dedicated professionals working within the system.”