Maeve O'Connell
Dublin Rathdown · Fine Gael · Ireland
“I take this opportunity to raise awareness about lipoedema. As Deputy Sherlock said, one in 11 women or girls has it. That is one member of your camogie or football team or two in your leaving certificate class, at least. That is how significant this is. I know the Minister is a huge advocate for women's healthcare.”
“As the Minister of State may be aware, and no doubt he is, the cost and availability of childcare are two of the biggest issues in our society. It is certainly an issue in Deputy Currie's constituency and it is very much an issue in my constituency of Dublin Rathdown as well.”
“I am glad to hear about the nature of the viability of facilities because, unfortunately, one of the issues that is occurring is that as developments are put in place they provide facilities for childcare but it is often an empty shell. It is not necessarily fit for purpose for that particular community.”
“I would like an update on the review of the 2001 planning guidelines for local authorities on early learning and childcare settings. It is 25 years since they were set out and a lot has changed in our society, in our childcare needs and in best practice for childcare.”
“We certainly need to look at it in the short term and, in the long term, we need to build some type of flexibility into the system, an adaptation over time, if perhaps we do not need as many spaces in future. For now, we do need to be moving to a more realistic ratio of childcare places to homes as we increasingly urbanise.”
“The only comparator I have to the impact AI is having on higher education is Covid, which resulted in everybody having to work from home and teaching going online. However, there is one key difference. With Covid, there was always the expectation that eventually we would return to campuses and more familiar operations.”
The complete record
Every one of 174 lines we hold for Maeve O'Connell, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 3 of 4.
“It has been doing that and doing it well for more than 25 years. There are also opportunities regarding the human capital initiative which, for the past five years, has been funded through the National Training as a pilot programme. This initiative was a target towards increasing the capacity for a skill-focused programme in higher education, designed to fulfil Ireland's priority skill needs. The pilot period has concluded. We need to know details of any follow-up programme, what the Department findings were following the conclusion of the pilot across the three phases and whether any extensions to the programme will be funded through the NFT. The enterprise centres and other initiatives funded through the human capital initiative have provided a great service in areas where we need more skilled people.”
“A major part of this is the National Training Fund (Amendment) Bill before the House. This is to enable the fund surplus to be unlocked for research and innovation in the likely future skills requirements of this economy. This is an excellent initiative but I would urge the Minister that it should go to support the further research undertaken by Skillnet Ireland to identify the skill shortages in the economy. It has the knowledge, networks and contacts. It already knows where the skills gaps are. It has already done the research to identify the future skills gaps. Let it fill those gaps. Government investment is vital to further developing the skills sector but neither my constituents nor I want to see the Government pay for the same thing twice. That is why any skills research needs to be facilitated through Skillnet Ireland.”
“In a side note, I commend the Minister on securing the largest ever single investment in apprenticeships - €79 million in budget 2026. I know this Government has committed to investing in developing skills. This is further evidenced by the commitment of €54.2 million in funding for Skillnet Ireland. Skillnet Ireland does incredible work and has added great value to the skills industry. Since its foundation in 1999, it has developed an extensive number of industry partners and networks. It has supported over 24,000 businesses and more than 90,000 workers in industries from agriculture to aviation. The National Training Fund Act provides for the allocation of funding for research to provide information existing in likely future skill requirements of the economy.”
“We need to ensure the National Training Fund is not that in name only and continues to maintain the intent of the original legislation, which is to raise the skills of those in employment, to provide training for those who wish to acquire the skills for the purpose of taking up employment, and to provide information regarding existing or likely future requirements of the skills economy. It must continue to do what it says on the tin: that is, it must be a fund for training. Having worked in the higher education sector for decades, I have seen first hand how effective targeted investment in the sector can be. I have seen the further education and apprenticeship sector transformed from being an afterthought to a central pillar of our sector.”
“That is why, as Vice Chair of the Oireachtas committee on further and higher education, I am looking forward to inviting in each of the relevant businesses or worker and learner representative groups to the committee to have their say and make sure we have buy-in from all sides on the changes in this legislation. Any changes to the National Training Fund to expand its scope must first include the introduction of guardrails around skills development, which is the purpose of the National Training Fund.”
“The National Training Fund is an inspiring example of effective social partnership, funded by employers and businesses for the mutual benefit of workers and facilitated by Government. It is vital, however, that there is buy-in from all sides. I know that over the past two decades, employers and employees have developed a very positive view of the National Training Fund, seeing it as an effective mechanism for improving Ireland's workforce. We cannot allow this impression to falter and for businesses to feel like the National Training Fund is yet another tax imposed on them with very little benefit to them. As the adage goes, "no taxation without representation".”
“I welcome the opportunity to debate Second Stage of the National Training Fund (Amendment) Bill. In progressing this Bill through the Oireachtas, it is vitally important that we ensure the National Training Fund's original principles are maintained. Established in 2000, the National Training Fund has spent more than two decades, as we know, funding training for those in employment and those seeking employment. Identifying and addressing the skills shortage in Ireland's workforce is vital to ensuring we continue to be a competitive nation and able to keep up with our European neighbours. Last week's announcement of an additional 1,100 healthcare places in budget 2026 showcases that addressing skills gaps is a never-ending process and we must be flexible to respond to the changing market positions.”
“I am delighted to stand here today and say I have great confidence in the Tánaiste, Simon Harris. Before I was elected, which was only last year, I was a lecturer in TU Dublin and I saw at first hand the work he did to transform that sector when he was the first Minister for higher education. I saw him raise the status of apprenticeships. I saw the pride of those students increase when they could walk around campus and feel more equal to all the other students. In particular, I saw the work he did to enable students with intellectual disabilities access college and third level places. Again, I saw those students transformed, contribute more to class, and to their classmates and making a greater contribution to society overall, and most importantly, as fully valued members of society. For those reasons I fully support the Tánaiste.”
“I welcome all those supports. In my constituency, we have some of these issues in the context of neighbourhood centres, which are neither shops nor accommodation. That is frustrating. I would like to follow up on the derelict sites levy, which is to become a tax. When do we anticipate that it will be activated to try to encourage more of these properties to be brought back into use?”
“It cannot be the case that we expect a funeral group, who expect calm and peace in their local church, to find themselves contending with the noise and buzzing of drones taking off and coming down right next door. I ask that, when the Minister publishes these guidelines, he takes into account our religious and community spaces and tries to provide some level of protection for them. The Minister of State, Deputy Higgins also raised this.”
“I wish to take the opportunity to ask the Taoiseach to talk to the Minister for Transport and ask him to urgently introduce the policy framework for unmanned aircraft systems. This regards the guidelines for the commercial operation of drones. In my constituency of Dublin Rathdown, there is a plan to open a drone delivery hub right in the heart of Dundrum village, next to Holy Cross Church. The decision has to be made on that by the closing date of 5 August, hence the urgent need for these guidelines. I hope that these guidelines will help reassure the general public about the noise, safety, privacy and environmental aspects of the operation of a drone delivery hub.”
“I thank the Minister of State. I will come back to the bursary again. Are there specific sectors where the uptake was more than others? Is there thus an opportunity to target other sectors with low representation, particularly of women? I agree and assumed hairdressing was the one area where there might be a balance to be struck. Are there learnings from sectors which may have been more successful in taking advantage of that bursary that can be applied to other sectors to try to encourage more women's participation? I agree, we are starting from a very low base. The numbers are moving in the right direction but the target of a 124% increase in two years is very ambitious and I would like to see that we have the measures in place to help us to achieve that.”
“I thank the Minister of State. There have been some notable successes. For example, with aircraft mechanics, women's participation has gone from 11% to 18%. That is possibly an area from where we could take some learnings on it. One of the other things I wanted to follow up on is the fact the targets for female participation are quite ambitious. From 2023 to 2025, we are looking for an increase of 124%. That is why I ask about the measures we have in place. How will we get there and how effective are those measures? The €2,666 contribution per apprentice is an interesting contribution and I wonder has there been any uptake by male apprentices of that or has that gone mostly to people employing female apprentices?”
“I have one thing to add. I represent Dublin Rathdown, and UCD is obviously a significant institution within Dublin Rathdown. The key recommendation of the students' union there, in last year's report on student accommodation, was that reducing the student contribution fee is the most effective way to support students and their families. I think that highlights where the students are coming from and what their expectations are.”
“Somebody with the potential to become a full accountant may start their journey the wrong way and thus a more suitable path ends up closed off for them.”
“I welcome that the Minister is trying to understand the behaviours. One of the potential problems of the CAO system is that it is easy. Students fill in their top choices and then they are done. They may not be considering the other options because they are much more difficult to navigate. I will give a specific example. Only about 12% or 14% of students study accounting at leaving cert but there may be many more who have an interest in it. They can do an accounting technician apprenticeship, they can go to college and study, or they can do the 12-week pathways course. However, if they have an interest in accounting this will not be presented to them in one place. Therefore, it is quite likely they may pick the wrong one which actually does not suit them.”
“This again indicates an information gap and there is certainly a complexity issue around that. I recently talked to a parent who highlighted that they looked at some of these application forms and they basically stepped back and said they needed a bit more time to think about it. There is a real opportunity for us to simplify things and enable more people to continue their education journey.”
“As the Minister is aware in the programme for Government outlines plans to create a single application portal for further and third level education. I would have thought that a first step in that is to create an information hub. The Minister correctly identified four different websites that people have to try to go through. It is quite challenging for young people to navigate all of this, particularly if they do not really know what they want to do. Asking them to navigate through these, even with the support of a career guidance person, can be quite challenging. It would be quite useful to have information on grants, application forms and other supports that are out there. The Minister mentioned earlier that people are not fully availing of the grants.”
“Stopping the clock on permissions held up by judicial reviews will be an important lifeline for keeping developments alive which our country would otherwise have lost, an important measure to ensure we do indeed have housing for all.”
“We cannot focus on one section and expect everything else to fall into place. This is why master plans are vital. Taking this Leopardstown area as an example, for those not familiar with the area, it skirts right along the edge of the M50, with the Leopardstown Road being a main distributor road off junction 14 and linking to the N11, so 800 new houses could bring 800 new cars. With the readily available local public transport infrastructure already in place, this project will keep Dublin moving, not clog it up. Public transport infrastructure alone is not enough. We face a problem where planning applications are held up for too long by objections and judicial reviews which the Government is taking strong action to address.”
“This site located right by the currently unused Leopardstown Luas station, meaning this development will activate existing infrastructure and residents will have access to efficient public transportation from the get-go. Such a large development will of course have a huge impact on the local community. That is why it is important the LDA and local councils work with local communities to ensure the best outcomes for everybody so that we can deliver the greatest number of houses possible, of benefit to everybody in the community, with the least amount of disruption. That is why I am also glad to see confirmation that Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council will create a new master plan for Leopardstown. We all understand housing delivery must have an all-of-government approach. Many Deputies highlighted the issues in that regard.”
“I welcome the opportunity to make a statement on housing, which every representative in the House knows is the most important issue facing families in our country today. I was delighted with the news last week in my constituency, Dublin Rathdown, that an agreement had been reached with the Land Development Agency for the transfer of 17 acres, giving the Government the ability to develop 800 new homes on the site. This land was identified under the Government's Housing for All plan and shows that real progress is being made. I also commend the foresight used in selecting the location. Every new housing development must take into account the need to deliver additional services to ensure residents are well supported.”
“I welcome the approach of a collaborative strategy. It is worthwhile. All the actors and relevant stakeholders in our third level and further education sector are critical to make this work and create consistencies across the sector. I especially appreciate and welcome the focus on lifelong learning. I also welcome the focus on workforce transformation because we are operating in a transformative world. We have had debates concerning AI and the resources focused on it. This aspect will impact all sectors of our society, even the apprenticeship sector, where something will have to be included in this regard.”
“I welcome the clarity that the Minister of State provided regarding the 800 individual meetings and 70 submissions to the public consultation. I look forward to hearing more details about that over the coming weeks as that is progressed. One reason I am raising this issue is the importance of the apprenticeship sector, which this public consultation is dealing with. We have done quite well in raising the numbers from 7,000 registrations to 30,000 registrations. I want to see this momentum continued and hence I am looking forward to the feedback in this consultation.”
“This morning I wish to ask the Minister about the work of the officials in his Department on the new further education and training strategy in collaboration with SOLAS, particularly following the completions of its public consultation earlier this year.”
“Lecturers on an hourly rate are paid on a per semester and per module basis, with no guarantee of future work. I know a number of lecturers who are forced to work across several third level institutions. They are all dedicated to their work but they are not doing this for the love of the job. They are doing it because it is the only way to get by. Will the Minister ensure that under this great new initiative, our homegrown talent are respected and retained and not neglected?”
“We do not want to find ourselves in a situation whereby in our eagerness to welcome these brilliant academics from abroad, we end up alienating and taking for granted the hundreds of researchers, academics and lecturers we already have across our island. We will not attract skilled researchers from abroad without competitive packages but, at the same time, we could well risk losing our homegrown researchers due to oversight and the mounting difficulties they face. Currently, the starting salary for an assistant lecturer is €46,000 a year. That might sound fine at face value but it comes after years of unpaid work as a PhD student and possibly doing post-doctoral work as well. It also does not take into account the precarity most new lecturers face.”
“They rely on our third level education sector to define their future. We must keep doing everything we can to ensure we do not neglect to invest in that future. I note today's announcement that the Minister is to bring a memorandum to the Cabinet on the creation of a global talent initiative to attract researchers and academics from the US. I applaud him for seizing this opportunity. I particularly welcome the focus on the fields in which we actively need to build up Ireland's research base. However, it is incredibly important that in facilitating this initiative, the Government also reviews the conditions of junior academic staff across the third level sector, who face pay issues, insecure employment, temporary contracts and hours of unpaid work outside of teaching hours.”
“Second level education should supplement and assist entry to third level, whether colleges or apprenticeships, and not stand as a placeholder. We must expand and simplify pathways to apprenticeships as the skills required for apprenticeships are equally important to other skills in supporting a dynamic economy. Many young people are keen to play their part to address climate change. We can give them a path to that by developing apprenticeship courses in the green skills that are essential to support the growth of our renewable sector, especially offshore wind and solar. This will enable Ireland's transition to a green economy. Leaving certificate reform can enable access to third level. It is important that the Minister remembers that the Government's main obligation is to our students and young people.”
“After a few weeks, however, some discovered they had no affinity with the course content, with a few dropping out after several months. This happens because the leaving certificate is not an accurate representation of students' aptitudes. Those working in the third level sector recognise this but they lack the tools to help incoming students to make better choices. Will the Minister support third level institutions in devising methods that encourage students to demonstrate their interest in and affinity with the course content? This will not only reduce stress in the long term for students but also for their parents. In its current format, the leaving certificate does little to encourage or engage students who have an aptitude for or wish to seek apprenticeships. This should not be the case.”
“The third level sector cannot continue to look at the leaving certificate as a problem for the second level sector. I want to see third level institutions, with the Minister's encouragement, looking at how they can assist in making the transition from second to third level more navigable. There are some courses in universities that allow for supplementary work, with students being able to submit essays or portfolios to demonstrate their ability in their chosen field. Such approaches must be further extended. As a lecturer, I saw new students enrol in my classes having achieved the required number of points in the leaving certificate. They were excited and enthusiastic in starting a new chapter in their lives.”
“It has been said many times in this Chamber that we need reform of the leaving certificate examination. The advisory report on the review of senior cycle states that "some of the negative impact of the current assessment reporting arrangements could be mitigated by... reviewing the existing CAO points system". The Department of Education and Youth has embarked on a senior cycle redevelopment programme, which I welcome. I also welcome the work the Minister, Deputy McEntee, has been doing in this field in recent months. The advisory report also notes that redeveloping senior cycle will require the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA, to "collaborate with relevant organisations and structures to ensure coherence across stages of education and to support lifelong learning". That hits the nail on the head.”
“Will the Minister, Deputy Lawless, ensure that he and his Department continue to prioritise the apprenticeship sector and do not allow to return the narrow approach to third level education that Deputies Harris and O'Donovan worked so hard to break down? Many of those who speak for the third level sector have long proven the benefits that further and higher education can bring. However, although progress has been made and a variety of supports are in place to help students, there are still barriers. Having been appointed Fine Gael spokesperson for further and higher education, I visited schools and spoke to principals in my constituency of Dublin Rathdown last week. I wanted to find out what challenges students face in their transition to third level. The number one barrier they raised was the leaving certificate points race.”
“I welcome the opportunity to discuss the transformative effect further and higher education can have. Having worked as a lecturer for many years in what is now Technological University Dublin, which the Minister visited last week, I have seen at first hand how education, particularly third level education, can open up opportunities for everyone. However, I must express my dissatisfaction with the fact that in scheduling this debate, its title does not refer to further education. Fine Gael's two previous Ministers in this Department, Simon Harris and Patrick O'Donovan, recognised the importance of that sector and the need to ensure it is not again neglected.”
“I am delighted to hear that an update to the regulations on dog breeding, dog control and the breeds of animals included in that list will be looked at. I ask for the list of dogs currently on the dog control list to be reviewed as well. With some breeds, there have been concerns over the years as to the appropriateness of their inclusion on the list. I look forward to that legislation coming forward.”
“That is not a positive reflection on a country with such a great history in the context of how we manage our agricultural industry, which is where this matter falls within.”
“I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive reply on this matter. I am raising this subject because we have serious concerns with regard to the management and monitoring of dog breeding in Ireland. We are all well aware of the terrible instances of dog attacks that occurred last year and the specific breeds that then had to be dealt with quite summarily. We need a greater understanding of that industry. My request is to try to shine a light of transparency on this industry in order that we are more aware of the number of dog breeders out there and the level of turnover. At the moment, there are only guesstimate numbers as to the size of this industry. In an Irish context, we are seen among our European partners as one of the less regulated countries in this area.”
“This question is to ask the Taoiseach to report on any ongoing or planned negotiations for the introduction of a new NACE code, designed for classifying businesses and used for statistical purposes, a subset of NACE 0149 on breeding of other animals, to uniquely identify dog breeding in Ireland.”
“As somebody who has researched and written about whistleblowers, I am passionate about this particular point. The general dissatisfaction with the commission will, unfortunately, do nothing to encourage people to come forward again. These are the types of thing that discourage people from stepping forward. We need to create the conditions that will make those with information willing to step forward and speak out about the injustice they see. I want to take this opportunity to second the Taoiseach's statement earlier this week that we need new institutions and a new way of doing investigations efficiently, effectively and in good time so that we can properly address issues in the future.”
“This clearly requires review, in particular the appropriateness of a single-member commission that can issue written directions to the Minister to pay legal fees. These commissions of investigations were introduced as a less expensive and quicker alternative to tribunals of inquiry, a description that many of us will find difficult to justify for this particular commission. Now is the time for greater oversight in the establishment, terms of reference and financial implications of these investigations. It is important that we protect those who have suffered injustices. We also need to establish the right conditions to encourage those who want to do right and come forward to feel safe in doing so and believe they will be heard and it will be worthwhile.”
“As investigating the incidents surrounding one child incurred costs of more than €13 million, with unresolved questions, investigating incidents surrounding a further 36 in the same format could only incur exponential costs with, unfortunately, no guaranteed results. This does not mean that justice should end here. It is clear to me and every other Deputy in the House that more must be done. We need to find alternative ways of doing things, a way of investigating in a timely way that delivers results and recommended actions efficiently. The Commissions of Investigation Act, in particular sections 22 and 24, states the process and requirements for incurring and recovering legal expenses.”
“If the report's findings were so restrained, what was the reasoning for its publication being delayed nine times? How, after nearly a decade of investigation and more than 300,000 documents, is the reason for overturning Grace's removal from the foster home in 1996 still unknown, an issue raised by many other Deputies today? Even further, the revelation this week of the High Court General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court's public statement generates more frustration at a report that is now clearly inadequate. I welcome that the Government has acted quickly and the Minister will meet the General Solicitor to discuss the problems she has raised. I welcome the Government's decision, which is the right one, not to begin the planned phase 2 of the investigation at this time.”
“I appreciate the clarity on that. I thank the Minister for giving us time to have this debate today on this very important issue. I also offer my sympathies to her. On the publication of the Grace report, I began to read the nearly 2,000-page document. Like many others, I found it difficult and upsetting to read the details of Grace's life. As the discourse on the report began, I was interested to find that others were also upset, not just by the investigation's findings, which were distressing in themselves, but by the report, namely, its structure, format and how challenging it was to follow. Many people in my constituency of Dublin Rathdown approached me in advance of the publication of the report and afterwards raising these very issues. As many Deputies have said, the report raises more questions than it answers.”
“I thank the Minister for acknowledging the issue about the transparency and the communication pieces between the Department and the schools. School principals are very busy and it is beyond the job description to also be a building project manager. I draw another issue to the Minister's attention. As we are engaging on building projects, one of the issues that is coming up is the lack of play space in that some of it is being taken over while a new extension or new area is being built. Will the Minister look at building projects to ensure an alternative play space is provided if the existing play space is being taken away?”
“One of the issues that comes up as a theme in my discussions with all schools - because I am trying to visit as many schools in my constituency as I can - is that of waiting for updates from the Department on these complex projects. I ask the Minister to consider working with her officials to come up with some mechanism to increase the level of transparency around project development. Sometimes schools can be waiting months or even years. It would be very helpful for the schools if there were some sort of ongoing communication format.”
“I thank the Minister for her comprehensive reply. I can tell from it that it is quite a complex project. It started and then it had to be amended, and we are now at the redesign stage. The school authorities informed me that they have the design sketched out and they will be able to follow up with that. I appreciate that the Department is dealing with a significant number of projects. Some 1,300 school building projects have been completed, as the Minister said, since 2020. One of those included Gaelscoil Laighean. I recall that we were looking for a location in June 2022 and the school opened in September 2023, so a lot of projects are being expedited very quickly. This is another school I have been talking to recently about issues.”
“I ask the Minister for an update on the progress on the capital build project for St. Brigids Girls School, Cabinteely. I recently met the school principal. After a conversation with her about their building project, I followed up with the Department. Following this, the school received a very positive update from the Department. I would like to get the latest update. This is a significant project for the school, which has been working on it for a number of years. It is very important to the school and the school community's future.”
“If we want to secure the future of our younger generations, it is not something we can afford to neglect. I ask everybody here, every TD, Senator, parent, brother and sister, to try to encourage someone they care about to stay active in sport. I wish everyone a happy International Women's Day.”
“We need to act now, based off last year's report, to remove these barriers and to provide the necessary supports for women. I appreciate that in this Dáil we have talked and will continue to talk about a lot of the big issues facing our younger generations: housing, health, education, climate and, unfortunately, the spectre of war on the horizon and at our borders. We may not think sports participation is as important, but it is a critical issue because the link between physical activity and positive childhood development is very well established. Sport Ireland's 2022 report found that only 23% of primary and only 12% of post-primary students reach the criteria for national activity. This will impact their mental, physical and professional futures, so it is something we need to focus on.”
“In particular, I wish to highlight one of them, which was about supporting smaller, volunteer-led national governing sports bodies, of which we have very many, and we have very many dedicated people. I have spoken to many women involved in these organisations who are giving of their time to keep their sport alive. One I will highlight in particular is Softball Ireland, which, again, is all volunteer run and led. Its very structure and its very playing rules make it among the most all-inclusive sports out there for all ages, abilities and genders. Supporting those types of organisations can make a difference. I do not want to find ourselves here in another ten years' time, in 2035, talking about what the Government should be doing to help support women in sport.”