Mark Wall
Kildare South · Labour Party · Ireland
“I understand that the Electoral Commission is undertaking research on this, but we really need to see changes in our voting system to ensure that everyone can take part on voting day.”
“We are seeing lower turnouts in our elections and extending postal votes to a wider range of people would be one measure that could help us all address this issue. I appreciate that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage may be waiting on the research to be received from the Electoral Commission on postal voting.”
“The Minister is 100% correct that we all want to see recruitment to our Defence Forces continue. However the figures she has given far from the 11,500 sought by the Commission on the Defence Forces by 2028. The Minister mentioned 850 a year. Is that the height of the ambition? It is not going to take us near 11,500.”
“They cannot engage in the democratic process like every other ordinary citizen because they work 24-7, 365 days a year, with no break. This Bill is a small but necessary step to ensure that family carers feel that they can use their voice by voting.”
“There is no single issue here. This is about housing, pensions, pay and conditions. Has the Minister dealt though with the representative organisations on the single public service pension scheme? She might confirm that and let us know whether there is any update.”
“I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to entitle certain persons caring for others to be entered in the register of postal voters, for that purpose to amend the Electoral Act 1992, and to provide for related matters.”
The complete record
Every one of 679 lines we hold for Mark Wall, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 3 of 14.
“I welcome the opportunity today to speak on the Our Rural Future policy consultation. Over the last number of years I have been involved in and seen the positive impact that investment in rural places can have on towns, villages and rural communities throughout Kildare South. We are seeing investment in places like Athy, with Emily Square and the Shackleton Experience which the Minister was down to visit himself and which he officially opened. The Athy food hub obviously must be mentioned as well. There are more projects coming up, like the fabric and textiles design hub in Monasterevin. However, there is scope for much more investment to ensure rural communities are thriving and that they are places that people want to stay in and continue to have pride in.”
“Deputies Claire Kerrane and Ruairí Ó Murchú - To discuss issues raised about children in State care arising from a recent "Prime Time Investigates" programme. Deputies Grace Boland and Louise O'Reilly - To discuss the need to expand the D-Doc out-of-hours services to Balbriggan, and to discuss the need for out-of-hours GP services for Fingal West. The matters raised by Deputies Ó Laoghaire, Moynihan, O'Hara, O'Rourke, Burke, Daly, Ó Muirí, Hearne, Toole, and Boland and O'Reilly have been selected for discussion.”
“Deputy Martin Daly - To discuss consumer protection in the context of grocery price increases. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí - To discuss the remit and objectives of the Land Development Agency, LDA, in delivering affordable homes for purchase. Deputy Gillian Toole - To discuss the impact of the transfer of leases for solar development on the price of renewable energy to domestic consumers. Deputies Richard Boyd Barrett, Duncan Smith and Sinéad Gibney - To discuss the detention of an Irish citizen by German authorities. Deputy Louis O'Hara - To discuss the proposed extension to Gort Community School in County Galway. Deputy Darren O'Rourke - To discuss government efforts to increase the number of Traveller children who complete primary and secondary education.”
“I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Shane Moynihan - To discuss the provision of specialist supports for children with dyslexia, dyspraxia or apraxia of speech. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire - To discuss delivery of a permanent school building for Owenabue Educate Together National School, Carrigaline, County Cork. Deputy Louise O'Reilly - To discuss the need for out-of-hours GP services for Dublin Fingal West. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan - To discuss the ongoing crisis of capacity at University Hospital Limerick. Deputy Rory Hearne - To discuss the number of affordable purchase homes delivered in Dublin city. Deputy Colm Burke - To discuss Mayfield library and community centre.”
“Will an investigation be launched by the Government into last night's findings? Are there any financial penalties for SEA providers? Does the Government have a timeline to get rid of SEAs?”
“I too want to raise last night's horrific programme. Like the Tánaiste, I thank Barry O'Kelly and "RTÉ Investigates" for bringing this in front of us. As has been said in this House already, it is not the first time that I and others have brought up this concern. Three weeks ago, Independent Ireland raised concerns we have on Private Members' business about Tusla services, SEAs and problems concerning them. It is simply not good enough that the most vulnerable in society are put at risk by these arrangements. The State seems to be more concerned about bringing these vulnerable children to court rather than dealing adequately with their complex needs. The fact remains that Tusla has handed out €240 million to 93 unregulated providers of SEAs. This includes one company to which it paid over €41 million. Questions remains.”
“This is a great opportunity for the Government to look at areas such as Kildare and develop State-led services. I ask the Minister to look at this and maybe she can confirm whether the option to propose buildings is still open.”
“I appreciate the Minister clarifying this as it is an important distinction to make. Existing providers have access to other programmes to increase their level of service and this is important. Are those with a building excluded from putting forward that building? I want to mention the Kilcullen area of County Kildare. I am not sure whether one of the three is for this area. I have raised with the Minister previously the issue whereby upwards of 100 children are without a childcare service in that town. This is replicated throughout Kildare South where the population has increased. We have a very young population. Parents get up very early in the morning to travel 30 km or 40 km to avail of childcare services in other towns. Some of them travel into Dublin to avail of services. This cannot continue.”
“I thank the Minister and I appreciate her reply. The fact we have 82 potential sites throughout the State is encouraging at this stage. Is the process closed for expressions of interest? When the Minister suggests that some projects are from existing suppliers of childcare and others are for properties only, does she have a breakdown of those? With regard to State-led services, is the State proposing to take over existing childcare providers in a State-led childcare service or will it be through co-operation between those existing providers and the State? I stress the problems that I am made aware of on a daily basis in County Kildare. The Minister will be aware that I have raised them a number of times. I would like a breakdown between existing buildings and services and what is property only, and how the Department are treating these.”
“Has the Minister identified sites for the Government's pilot for public childcare facilities? Has she considered Kildare South given the urgent need and lack of childcare facilities in that part of the county?”
“What should be happening in every local authority area is that the Government should be investing and local authorities should be managing matters in order to that there are facilities and that clubs which are so desperate can grow by being provided with access modern facilities. This is something that previous Ministers for Sport said was a great idea. Unfortunately, it stopped at that. I plead with the Minister of State to investigate this idea, which we in the Labour Party have brought forward previously. Shared facilities are the way forward. The cost of land is preventing so many clubs from expanding. If we have shared facilities, that could make a difference to the football clubs of this country, particularly those in my wonderful county of Kildare.”
“In my hometown of Athy, we have two wonderful clubs, namely Athy Town AFC and Clonmullion AFC. Both of those clubs struggle for facilities. For the growing population of my town, there are very limited opportunities for new people to join those clubs because of limited facilities. I have raised with previous Ministers for Sport and I raise with the Minister of State tonight the need for local authorities and Government to invest in shared facilities. I will provide an example in this regard. In Athy, 13 acres are zoned for a shared facility, yet we are not able to progress that. We have 13 acres that would make a difference to both of the clubs I mentioned and to other sports clubs in the town.”
“I am an avid follower of football in this country and of the League of Ireland. It is absolutely brilliant to see the levels that clubs here have achieved, particularly in Europe. I do not think enough credit is given to our League of Ireland clubs for their achievements in Europe over the past couple of years and for what they have done in terms of putting Irish football on the map. As has been said, we need to invest in the stadiums. Some of those stadiums are sheds. They are simply not fit for purpose and will not encourage younger people to get involved in the game or thousands of people to come out and support their clubs. In the time remaining, I want to talk about grassroots football, because that is where it all begins. The Minister of State knows from his area the terrific growth there is in grassroots football.”
“I am glad the Minister of State is here. I want to start by paying tribute to my colleague Aodhán Ó Ríordáin MEP, who was something of a lone voice in the previous Dáil when it came to football in this country. As my colleague Deputy Smith said, this is only the second time we have discussed football in this Chamber, which is simply not good enough. I also pay tribute to the Irish women and their terrific win last night against Poland. They are role models for a growing sector of our communities, and young girls are looking up to them. However, there are issues around that which I will refer to. Unfortunately, Kildare County FC is no longer with us, having folded in 2009. I welcome the fact that Newbridge Town FC will form part of the new third division of the League of Ireland when it gets up and running.”
“Can the Taoiseach tell us whether the social housing income limits be reviewed? Will they be upgraded? Will the working family payment be excluded from that assessment into the future?”
“Every day, housing is the biggest issue in my office. Today, I want to talk to the Taoiseach about social housing income limits. It was in January 2023 that the then Minister for housing announced new limits for social housing. In my own area of Kildare, the limit went up by €5,000. That was the first time in ten years. It was also mentioned then that there was ongoing work to look at income limits. The reason I raise this today is over the past number of weeks, I have had a number of cases where people, upon review by Kildare County Council, have been struck off the housing list. One of the biggest issues is the working family payment, which is included in that review. As we all know, that is for the lower paid. In my opinion and the opinion of many, it should not be included in that review.”
“We need to see visibility on our commuter routes into Dublin each morning. I also support the calls regarding domestic violence. In 20 years of public service, in my office, I have never before seen such worrying growth in domestic violence on a daily basis. We need to do more.”
“It is the key to Garda policing and community policing into the future but it needs to be sped up and include the counties that border Dublin. That needs to happen very quickly. I also want to mention roads policing. In December 2025 we had 647 gardaí in our roads policing division, compared with 1,046 in 2009. The reason I bring that up, and not for the first time, is the traffic and commuter chaos that happens every morning on the way into the capital and the lack of visibility of gardaí on those stretches of road is very worrying. I have spoken to gardaí in County Kildare on this matter over the past six months and they all tell me that once an accident happens, their personnel are tied up for hours on end. This is happening almost every day, so we need to see an increase in Garda numbers in our roads policing division.”
“Currently, there are 147 gardaí across the Kildare division in Athy, Castledermot, Kildare town, Monasterevin, Newbridge and Rathangan. Since 2020, the number of gardaí in Kildare town has decreased by one, Athy remains unchanged at 34 and Newbridge has only increased by one. The overall figure across all stations in County Kildare is still 147. This is in addition to 37 retirements across the Kildare-Carlow division from 2021 to 2025. More worryingly, in recent months community policing across the Kildare-Carlow division decreased from 31 in May 2025 to only 21 in December 2025. Kildare is a county that has had a population increase to 250,000 and the lack of Garda visibility in that county is creating serious problems in our large towns and our villages. I welcome the fact the Minister is concentrating on visibility.”
“I welcome students from the National Learning Network in my home town of Athy who have joined us for this very important debate. I also thank Deputy Kelly for all of his work in this area. I join with the Minister in thanking all of our serving Garda members for the job they do on behalf of all of us day in and day out, 24-7. It is most welcome and the Labour Party, in particular, wants to welcome and thank them, as the Minister has done. Unfortunately, however, morale among gardaí is as low as I have ever seen it and as low as many serving Garda members have seen it for a very long time. This is directly related to the recruitment of gardaí. In my own constituency of Kildare South, the number of gardaí has remained the same since 2020 despite repeated PR attempts to convey a different story.”
“If we are not getting park-and-ride facilities in the short term, which the Minister of State's reply tells us is the case, I ask that she encourage the Minister for Transport to promote the idea of remote working for the civil servants in his Department who are having to come into the office for extra days. The Government must take a leading approach on that. There are other solutions as well, as proposed previously by the Labour Party. Unfortunately, the Government voted down those proposals in a recent motion I brought to the House.”
“In a reply I received recently, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, stated the problems at the M7-M9 junction were related to congestion on the roads and that the number of accidents there was directly correlated to that congestion. TII is telling us the problem is congestion and the NTA is saying it has medium- to long-term solutions. Unfortunately for the people of Kildare South, they are left with no option but to hop into the car every morning and spend up to six hours trying to get to work in Dublin. We need a Government policy on remote working that would allow those people, including up to 5,000 civil servants working in Dublin, to work more often from home. Increasingly, however, they are being called back to the office.”
“I really appreciate the Minister of State taking time to come to the House this evening. I acknowledge that this issue does not come under the remit of her Department. The work done at Kildare town train station is very welcome but the new car park is already full. Drivers cannot get into it every morning. People have told me they cannot use Kildare town train station because the car park was not designed to accommodate the traffic going into it. This is what the Government and the NTA have put forward as a fundamental change in commuting. We all support public transport. There is absolutely no doubt about that. I have been calling for more public transport for Kildare South for a long time, including hourly commuter services to Athy and further on to Carlow.”
“There is no mention of the Ballitore or Castledermot interchanges. What we need to hear tonight from the Government is that there is progress. We need the Government to deal realistically with the problem. There may have been a meeting in the Department of Transport in recent days and I hope as a result of it that we will get some solutions for all those who are trapped in their cars on the M7 and the M9.”
“It is a similar situation at the Castledermot interchange on the M9 where 20 cars could also be parked. Kildare County Council promised over a long period while I was on it that we would see park-and-ride facilities at these locations but there is no mention in the replies of any facilities at those locations. We have people spending three hours in their cars each morning. One cannot contemplate the mental torture that is putting on people coming in every day. They are not getting home in time to see their families and they are stuck in traffic every day. The Government seems to be very slow coming up with solutions. The solutions I have been told about in relation to Sallins are now only beginning to progress to a design stage, which means that we are probably years away from having park-and-ride facilities.”
“The reply states the NTA is now working on the Sallins option for 1,000 car parking spaces in and around Sallins train station. In the reply I received, the NTA also stated that it needs to put in enhanced railway infrastructure closer to Dublin city centre to maximise the potential of such a facility but it will go ahead with some design at the Sallins location. These replies are totally and utterly disheartening because not alone do we need park-and-ride facilities at Sallins and Kill but we also need them at other locations along the M9 in particular. As I came to Dáil Éireann this morning I passed 11 cars parked at the Ballitore interchange, which is a daily occurrence. Normally, we would get up to 20 cars at that location. These are people who are car pooling and going to Dublin who park on the side of the road.”
“We were told the NTA park and ride development had established an office, arising from a recommendation relating to the climate action plan, with a view to advancing strategic park-and-ride facilities to take people out of their private cars and give them a public transport option such as a bus service into the capital. In a recent reply I received, I was told by the NTA that two specific sites have been identified on the M7-M9 corridor – one at Kill, which was to provide 500 parking spaces and one in Naas-Sallins, which was to provide 1,000 parking spaces. The reply goes on to say that the work at Kill was well advanced and was progressing very well until some problems arose with the land developer. That work now seems to have stalled.”
“I rise in the Chamber tonight to once again try to get to some solutions to the car park the N7-M7 has become. People are spending their lives in cars. They drive for three hours every morning to work and drive back home for three hours every evening. Some people leave their home at 6.30 a.m. Some leave their home at 5.30 a.m. to try to beat the traffic. They spend an hour or an hour and a half in their work car parks to avail of some time and to try to avoid what is happening on the roads. I am asking the Minister of State tonight to look at park and ride.”
“The matters raised by Deputies Shane Moynihan, Rory Hearne, Roderic O'Gorman and Mark Wall have been selected for discussion”
“Deputy Albert Dolan - To discuss battery energy storage systems and solar planning guidelines in rural Ireland. Deputy Tom Brabazon - To discuss the NCAM works in north Dublin. Deputy Louise O'Reilly - To discuss the need for a full-time Garda station in Rush. Deputy Darren O'Rourke - To discuss delivery of a new school building at Dunboyne junior and senior national schools. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman - To discuss the demolition and rebuild project for three primary schools on the Navan Road, Dublin 7. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan - To discuss wandering and malnourished horses in urban areas of Limerick. Deputy James O'Connor - To discuss increasing ambulance provision for east Cork. Deputy Malcolm Byrne - To discuss the need for a new building for a school in Gorey, County Wexford, particularly given increased demand for places.”
“I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Shane Moynihan - To discuss adequate classroom provision for Gaelscoil Chluain Dolcáin. Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss severe cuts in SNA provision in County Kerry. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore - To discuss Local Link buses in Wicklow. Deputy Mark Wall - To discuss the provision of park and ride facilities along the M7-N7 and M9 motorways. Deputy Jen Cummins - To discuss public health nursing in Dublin 8 and Dublin 12. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú - To discuss plans to mitigate the cost of fuel crisis through taxation reduction measures. Deputy Rory Hearne - To discuss delivery of special school classes for Finglas Parochial National School.”
“We must address them urgently if we are to ensure the long-term future of young people and workers in this country. It is important that we are having this debate tonight and that we get urgent answers to the questions that many of us have raised in the Chamber. It is very important that Independent Ireland introduced this motion, and I look forward to the replies of the Minister of State to the many queries and concerns that Members have raised.”
“A hub is to be offered, staffed and ready in the future, but the question remains as to what happens to the foster children in the meantime, particularly those using the current service in the south east? I ask the Minister of State to talk to Tusla about these proposed changes. I also raise the idea of foster carers in general, supporting the calls here tonight of a State pension for all our foster carers, who go above and beyond day in, day out in helping this State on the great work they do. They are, without a doubt, in need of such a State pension and must be supported in their calls. I ask that the Minister of State take that on board. These are just some of the serious failures of the Government regarding child protection and supports in this country.”
“I also raise the decision to end the service-level agreement, SLA, for a specialist play therapy service in the Waterford-Wexford region. It was brought to my attention by a number of colleagues and foster carers in that area. The information was contained in a recent communication for Tusla's regional chief officer for the south east. Those involved tell me that, despite appearances, Tusla has not turned around its initial decision to end the SLA with St. Brigid's, thereby severely disrupting play therapies that are badly needed in the Waterford-Wexford region. However, it has changed the decision in Carlow-Kilkenny, delaying the ending of the SLAs, an issue I have raised previously with the Minister. The changes sound good.”
“We need to have a clearer workforce plan with targets to tackle to the lack of recruitment of social workers and social care workers in the public sector. This coincides with the expansion of public mainstream residential facilities for children. This recruitment challenge facing the sector is compounded by the ongoing failure of the Government to get to grips with the housing emergency in this country as well as the rising cost of living. Young people are now being left with little choice but to emigrate elsewhere for a better standard of living and to save for a mortgage. We now have a serious brain drain in this country across key and essential areas like social work and therapies such as occupational therapy and speech and language therapy.”
“Special emergency arrangements are a symptom of the chronic problems facing a number of our public services, including Tusla, namely, the privatisation and outsourcing of care, the lack of workforce planning and the ongoing housing and cost-of-living crisis, all of which we should be talking about as part of this debate. The SEAs highlight the increasing and ongoing privatisation of the caring sector. Tusla and the HSE are spending millions of euro on more expensive agency workers when it would be cheaper to recruit public workers. The money handed out to SEA providers could have been used to set up nearly 150 new residential centres, accommodating nearly 600 young people. That is where this money should be spent.”
“The Minister of State will be well aware of reporting in thejournal.ie that young people are now facing criminal charges due to the damage in these facilities. The criminalisation of these young people is only going to further traumatise them. Fixing windows or doors should not be the primary concern of any provider of care. It must always be the immediate care of the young person concerned. We are told that these are only temporary arrangements, yet further reporting has shown that one young person spent close to three and a half years in these settings. Young people in care need stability. They need a safe place. Having a child spend three and a half years in a hotel, bed and breakfast or other temporary arrangement is a wasted childhood.”
“Will the Minister of State outline to the House why the Department and Tusla deem it acceptable to pay these clearly unqualified companies, like hotels, taxi companies and even the likes of Harvey Norman and the Irish School of Motoring, to provide care to vulnerable young people? What is the tendering process for special emergency arrangements? Is there any governance of these facilities? Are there ongoing inspections? How are they staffed? Are they staffed by trained social care workers? Have any safeguarding or child protection concerns been raised with Tusla? The Minister of State must use her time tonight to address the serious concerns that have been raised in this debate. The ombudsman has also raised concerns about these providers, stating that they do not meet the needs of children.”
“They have practical knowledge and experience of child protection that cannot be replaced. Second, having someone seconded from Tusla removes the independence needed by social workers on the ground who have to raise their concerns. Having a colleague in this role seems to undermine that independence. The Minister of State will hopefully clarify that issue for the social workers in her reply. Over the last number of months, I have been raising the issue of special emergency arrangements and the serious safeguarding risks these pose to vulnerable children, as colleagues have mentioned. Tusla has handed out close to €240 million to 93 unregulated providers of SEAs. This includes one company that has been paid over €41 million.”
“In terms of reform, Tusla has initiated the integrated reform programme. This has not been done entirely with staff, and it has been the case that staff have been dragged along with this reform. This has led to a number of issues within the organisation. I believe a number of safeguarding concerns will be found to have resulted from this reform. I ask the Minister to engage with the Irish Association of Social Workers on these concerns. It has been highlighted to me that the Department of Children, Disability and Equality has recently changed the chief social worker within the Department to a principal officer. This was, as I understand it, already a position seconded from Tusla. I find both of these decisions concerning. First, the chief social worker is a key position in terms of policy advice for the Minister.”
“I will start by thanking Independent Ireland for bringing forward this important motion. It is very important that we talk in this Chamber about Tusla as often as we can. I have concerns around the motion as moved tonight, particularly around those services that, as contributors have said, are working well, those who are working well within the system and what would happened to them if we had to disband Tusla. Having said all that, there is no doubt that we need to see reform. We know that. That is why we are welcoming this discussion and the fact that Independent Ireland has brought forward this motion tonight. Much deeper reforms are needed within that organisation. Equally, we want to see the Minister for children become much more hands-on with the issue of child protection, as has been mentioned by other contributors tonight.”
“Nearly half of the parents said they are considering giving up their job due to a lack of available childcare, 20% have already given up their career due to these challenges and 47% said they have had to reduce their working hours. Those statistics are simply not good enough. These are the women we depend on in so many careers. Will the Minister of State look at Kildare and ensure the childcare is provided and also that the cost is reduced?”
“Many of the women I am dealing with are thinking about and are, unfortunately, being forced to give up their careers due to the lack of and the cost of childcare, not only in Kildare but right throughout the State. The lack of childcare in places like Kildare town, Newbridge and Kilcullen is having a profound impact on women and their families. In a recent survey I carried out, 81% of parents in Kilcullen said that the lack of available places is the biggest challenge when looking for childcare, while 77% said they are having to travel outside the county of Kildare to avail of childcare. This issue is greatly impacting on lives and women's participation in employment is seriously affected by these statistics.”
“I am seriously concerned for the welfare of the many women I am currently dealing with. Organisations like Teach Tearmainn are stretched to their limit. Teach Tearmainn also recently applied for a development worker to work on prevention measures, which, we all agree, are so important, and on early intervention with domestic violence sufferers. It was refused. The staff cannot understand why that happened, particularly in light of the case they put forward. Again, I ask the Minister of State to look into this case. Like my colleague, I take this opportunity to thank all the women who have shaped my life through a sense of community, justice, belonging and welfare. However, it is because of this that I raise the issue of childcare.”
“At a recent meeting with the CEO of Teach Tearmainn, Lorraine Rowan, I was shocked to hear that Kildare is listed as a secondary priority area following the recent report. Kildare’s population is now heading above 250,000. From recent meetings with Teach Tearmainn and family resource centres in the county, domestic violence has become a serious and increasing worry for both these organisations and every public representative in the county. I am informed that Offaly and Kerry have been changed to priority 1 status since the report. I plead with the Minister of State to work with Teach Tearmainn and to add Kildare, with its growing population and the many cases coming through my office on an almost weekly basis now, to priority 1 status. The need is there now.”
“Due to the housing emergency in County Kildare, many of the women with whom I am dealing continue to live with threatening partners, which – I am sure the Minister of State will agree - is totally and utterly unsafe. We have a housing system that does not recognise the immediate welfare needs of many homeless women and their families who have fled these violent situations. That needs to simply change. In my constituency of Kildare South, Teach Tearmainn is the domestic refuge. It has supported 896 women and 93 children in 2025. Its emergency accommodation supported 32 women and 31 children and it received requests to accommodate nearly 407 women and close to 440 children. Unfortunately, 269 of these requests had to be turned down because the centre is not big enough.”
“As a man, I welcome the opportunity to discuss International Women’s Day. It is an important day for every man to reflect on. It should not be this day alone, however. Men need to reflect every day on how we treat women, both in this State and across the world. Following more than 20 years in political life, I am seriously worried about the dramatic increase in the number of women fleeing domestic violence who have into my office in recent weeks and since the start of the year. These women, some with children, are leaving extremely volatile and dangerous situations with nothing but the clothes on their backs. In many cases, I have had to contact local gardaí to assist with the sickening cases I am coming across.”
“I ask the Taoiseach to work with Scoil Bhríde in Suncroft to create a second class, which it was previously promised but which did not go ahead. It is badly needed in Kildare South.”
“I raise the urgent need for special classes in Kildare South. Not a day goes by that my office is not inundated with calls from worried parents. One parent called yesterday about twins who need a special class. Thankfully, after 50 phones calls, one of the twins, my constituent's daughter, got a place 10 miles from where they live. However, the other twin, a boy, cannot get a class. I want to talk about Scoil Bhríde in Suncroft and its principal, Ms Sinéad Harte. She has a room available to go ahead with a special class. In dealing with the Minister and the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, I have been told it is a rural location. It is ideally located 5 miles from both Kildare town and Newbridge.”
“I ask that the Minister addresses this as a matter of priority and answer if she thinks it is appropriate to carry out such a review, given the failures associated with implementing the Act and the lack of resources she has provided in implementing it. I fully welcome the central aim of the Act in removing the outdated wardship system. However, this Bill only further reinforces a failing system and does not address any of the central problems that exist with wardship and fails to acknowledge the rights of people with disabilities. If the Government truly wants to support people with disabilities, it must address the issues we all have outlined this evening.”