Naoise Ó Cearúil
Kildare North · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“It was an excellent evening in the French Embassy last night, particularly with Michel Barnier, the Taoiseach and the ambassador. Notwithstanding that, further to the Taoiseach's meeting with Prime Minister Sánchez, it is exciting that there will be an Ireland-Spain joint action plan. When does the Taoiseach plan on finalising this?”
“Europe's task is not simply to embrace AI blindly; it is to shape AI in a way that serves its citizens in their best interests. That means investing in skills, digital literacy, worker protection and innovation. It means ensuring that creative workers, journalists, young people and ordinary citizens are not left behind.”
“A trusted European AI capability could support SMEs, public administration, translation across European languages, healthcare, education, research and democratic resilience. It does not need to be the biggest model in the world to be useful.”
“I will focus on the competitiveness element of the European Council and Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union because this may become one of the most important parts of our Presidency. Europe is at a crossroads.”
“Europe needs to think more seriously and strategically about sovereign AI capability. That does not mean trying to build an EU version of every major American or Chinese model. That is simply not realistic or within our means. However, Europe should not be wholly dependent on models built, controlled and governed elsewhere.”
“Ireland has always understood that the European Union is more than a market; it is a community of values. However, if those values are to endure, Europe must be strong, innovative and competitive.”
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“I ask the Taoiseach to engage with the Department and the Minister about these two specific schools, St. Patrick's Primary School in Celbridge and Stepping Stones Special School in Maynooth.”
“I assume I will have my full time. Last Wednesday, the Minister for education visited St. Patrick's Primary School in Celbridge, Kildare North, which the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, also visited last May. The school in question has been in temporary accommodation for 19 years, since its foundation. The floor is collapsing and the ceiling is falling down. I have asked the Minister to ensure temporary accommodation is in put in place as soon as possible. The school cannot keep going on in this way. On the same theme of education, Stepping Stones Special School in Maynooth is experiencing severe issues with funding. The capitation afforded to the school is not significant enough. It is fundraising to pay for heating and devices for the school and for the children.”
“The natural fear that is there around AI has caused us to act slowly and to double check and double think what we are doing, particularly when it comes to regulation. Particularly when it comes to the national AI office, we need to act quickly and boldly and ensure that people can see the State is working to protect the interests of the public. Ireland has the talent, the credibility and the values to lead in AI, particularly with regard to regulation, but leadership requires urgency, expertise and the willingness to engage with AI as it exists today and not as we might wish to exist in future. We can shape it if we engage. Putting our heads in the sand and asking whether it will go away will not cut the mustard.”
“Departments and agencies need clear practical advice on what is acceptable, what is risky and how to deploy AI safely. Silence or delay create uncertainty and drive poor decision-making. The office must be able to intervene quickly. AI deployment cycles are measured in weeks and, in some cases, days rather than years. If our response mechanisms are slow, fragmented or overly cautious, and if we are dealing with AI purely in the political cycles, then we will fall behind. We have already fallen behind and let us be clear about this. AI is not waiting for us to get comfortable with what it is and what it is doing. It is moving fast and it will continue to do so regardless of how prepared we are. The real risk is not that we act too boldly but that we move too slowly and with too little understanding.”
“The office must be more than a future structure box ticking exercise. It needs to be operational now. AI systems have already been deployed across public and private sectors. Decisions are already being automated. Data is already being processed at scale. If the national AI office is still finding its feet in eight or ten months' time, we will already be regulating after the fact. What should the office be doing immediately? It must act as a centre of real technical expertise in the State, not only regarding a legal interpretation of things such as the EU AI Act but a genuine understanding of how models are trained, how data flows and how risks emerge in practice. Without this, oversight will always lag behind deployment. The office must actively guide public bodies that are already experimenting with AI.”
“These systems are already operating enterprise environments and will soon appear in public services. Our governance frameworks are not yet equipped for this level of autonomy. We must also confront the impact on children and young people. Algorithms are designed to maximise attention and emotional engagement. For children this can mean exposure to content loops that amplify anxiety, distort self-image and damage mental health. If we fail to recognise algorithmic exposure as a child protection issue, then we are falling behind the reality that families already deal with. This is why the establishment of the national AI office is not only important but urgent. I published legislation to create the office because I believe the State needs dedicated expert capability focused solely on AI.”
“System such as Grok, which we have discussed this week, embedded directly in social media platforms demonstrate how quickly AI can shape public discourse when it is trained on live data, optimised for engagement and applied in real-time and, in Grok's case, enables legal non-consensual image manipulation. These systems are not neutral. They reflect incentives, values and commercial priorities. When these priorities conflict with the truth, well-being or democratic norms, the consequences are serious. Another major shift that is still not widely understood is the move from AI that responds to AI that acts. We now see the rise of autonomous AI agents that will carry out tasks across multiple systems, write and deploy code, interact with other AI tools and make decisions without continuous human interaction.”
“Artificial intelligence is no longer emerging; it is already embedded in how society functions. It shapes how information is ranked, what people see online, how decisions are made and, increasingly, how power is exercised. This reality requires us to move from abstract discussions and act with urgency, clarity and competence. One of the biggest misconceptions about AI is that it is something people choose to use. In fact, the most influential AI systems today are the ones people never consciously engage with. They sit inside platforms, search engines, social media feeds, recommender systems and automated decision-making tools that quietly influence behaviour at scale. This is where the real impact is.”
“I ask the Minister to ask the Department of education and the Minister how the data from the apply to school pilot is being used to ensure that the children still awaiting places in Kildare North receive timely offers and how it will inform capacity planning moving forward.”
“Families in Kildare North are still reporting that their children do not have confirmed secondary school places for September. This is despite the apply to school pilot programme the Minister for education introduced in Celbridge and other locations around the country to provide earlier clarity and reduce duplicate applications. The overlap between towns in Kildare North is delaying offers and leaving parents and, more importantly, sixth class children in complete uncertainty. If this pilot is genuinely producing more robust data, then that information needs to be used to identify where additional capacity is required. This is particularly pertinent to Maynooth Community College, Maynooth Post Primary School and Salesian College Celbridge.”
“I acknowledge the Taoiseach's criticism of the Iranian and the Russian regimes. Similar to Deputy Byrne, I have particular concerns about Greenland and Denmark. Has the Government engaged with Denmark or EU parties regarding recent EU statements on Greenland? What is Ireland's position on safeguarding EU territorial and sovereign lands such as Greenland, particularly as we move into the EU Presidency in July of this year?”
“I note that, following the Taoiseach's attendance at COP in Belém, the EU made a significant decision to permanently stop Russian gas imports and phase out Russian oil. Similar to Deputy Byrne, I wish to highlight the issue of reducing our reliance on fossil fuels in the context of significant investment in public transport, in terms of DART+ West, for example, going to Maynooth and then Kilcock. The prioritisation of DART+ South West was not announced. There is significant traffic and build-up on the N7, M7, N4 and M4, particularly the N7 coming from Naas, Sallins and Celbridge. Indeed, Deputy Shane Moynihan has raised it previously. We need to ensure that these key pieces of infrastructure are prioritised along the commuter line that is causing the greatest amount of traffic.”
“There needs to be more of an onus on these platforms to assess the risks not just to young people and vulnerable people but to the masses, particularly Irish citizens, because many Irish citizens are being brought down avenues which they would have thought incomprehensible two or three years ago. People are now becoming anti-immigrant, anti-this and anti-that, or anti-government when they might have been pro-government beforehand. That is the crux of the issue. As much as there is a lot being done and more will be done, we need to ensure there is a complete review of the algorithms and what algorithms we allow to be run in this State, particularly when we look at age verification for those under the age of 16 and 18.”
“We have seen a complete breakdown in society, be it far right or far left, and these echo chambers that have been created because of these algorithms. It has created a severe danger. Misogyny is an issue. We have seen young men becoming more violent and not respecting women and their peers as they should. That is the core of the argument about the algorithms that we need to tackle with the big tech companies. As I said, it is not just young people but ourselves. It is grown adults who are being impacted by what we believe, what we see, what is true and what is false. It is important that we acknowledge that. The second thing is to acknowledge that the Digital Services Act and online safety code will give Ireland real enforcement powers for the first time but platforms must assess the risks. We have not seen that to date.”
“Much of society has moved online. Applying for a passport, banking and whatever it may be is now online. It is not realistic or fair to expect young people not to be online and it is not fair on young people that they are not online. The age verification goes some way but as many speakers have brought up already, the algorithms behind social media are an issue. Much of the discussion here is about social media, and rightfully so, but there is much online content outside social media that is having an impact on people, not just on young people, though we are rightly focusing on them. The algorithms behind it are the issue and young people and vulnerable people are at most risk. These algorithms are impacting what we watch, what we believe, and even how we feel about ourselves and our body image.”
“I thank the Tánaiste. I appreciate all that. The report contains measures we could take to achieve productivity gains. There are elements we could really tap into when it comes to digitalisation, in particular, and the likes of artificial intelligence, AI. There need to be guardrails for AI and that is why the national AI office is being established. There needs to be a proper and comprehensive examination of AI, which the Oireachtas joint committee and other bodies are doing, but we need to start considering ways to increase productivity significantly and take some of the drudgery out of administrative tasks. These could apply to the likes of waiting lists for surgeries and normal administrative tasks in various Departments. This is where we could start to see immediate and long-term economic benefits.”
“If we are to take the document as a strategic one on how we are going to manage the economy, we will have to make painful decisions in the short term that will benefit society in the long term.”
“Go raibh maith again, a Thánaiste. While I said in jest we will both be retired by 2060, you never know. The main thing to bear in mind is that a quarter of the population will be at retirement age. That is going to have a significant impact on pensions and healthcare. Measures have been taken already - auto-enrolment will begin in the new year, which needs to be acknowledged. It is a crucial step to ensuring the future fiscal security of a lot of people, going into old age. However, there will be revenue challenges, particularly when it comes to our reliance on corporate tax receipts. There could be a vulnerability in this regard so we need to consider broadening the tax base. This will be quite difficult, as we all acknowledge.”
“In September, the Tánaiste's predecessor published the Future Forty report. In what way will the findings of this report shape Ireland's fiscal policy in the coming years, particularly when it comes to demographic change and global trends? I am sure the Tánaiste is aware that a quarter of the population by 2060 will be over the age of 65, the Tánaiste and myself included, believe it or not. That will have a significant impact on State finances.”
“Ba bhreá liom cloisteáil conas a éiríonn leis an gcruinniú sin leis an bpríomhfheidhmeannach, más féidir an t-eolas sin a roinnt linn ina dhiaidh, agus faoin obair a dhéanfaidh an t-údarás agus an Roinn lena chéile as seo amach.”
“Nuair a bhreathnaímid ar ról an údaráis go dtí seo agus poist á gcruthú aige, is dócha go bhfuil sé deacair poist a chruthú nuair nach bhfuil éinne ann chun obair sna poist sin. Go dtí seo, bhí mise ag ceapadh an t-am ar fad go raibh na cumhachtaí sin ag na comhairlí áitiúla ó thaobh cead pleanála de agus ó thaobh pleanáil timpeall an chontae, go háirithe sna contaetha sin a bhfuil Gaeltacht iontu. Is léir, áfach, nach raibh na comhairlí contae go dtí seo ag déanamh idirdhealú idir an Ghaeltacht agus áiteanna eile nach bhfuil sa Ghaeltacht maidir le dul chun cinn na Gaeilge agus pobal na Gaeltachta agus cead pleanála a thabhairt dóibh sin i gcomparáid le daoine atá ag tógáil tithe samhraidh, mar shampla. Fáiltím go mór roimh an méid atá ráite ag an Aire inniu.”
“É sin ráite, fáiltím roimh an dea-nuacht ar maidin go mbuailfidh an tAire leis an bpríomhfheidhmeannach agus go mbreathnóidh sé ar na féidearthachtaí atá ann ó thaobh pleanála de.”
“Is dea-nuacht é sin. Mo bhuíochas leis an Aire go bhfuil sé ag buaileadh le príomhfheidhmeannach Údarás na Gaeltachta le breathnú air seo agus ar na féidearthachtaí atá ann. Mar is eol dó, tá grúpaí éagsúla ann ar nós BÁNÚ agus Tinteán atá ag déanamh iarracht an cás seo a chur os comhair an phobail. An cás ná nach bhfuil tithíocht nó cead pleanála á fháil ag muintir na Gaeltachta agus go bhfuil sé deacair dóibh fanacht sa Ghaeltacht agus go mbeadh daonra óg sa Ghaeltacht freisin. Tá sé sin fhíorthábhachtach go háirithe do thodhchaí na Gaeltachta agus go mbeadh sé tarraingteach do dhaoine óga agus do phobal labhartha na Gaeilge chomh maith b’fhéidir bogadh go dtí an Ghaeltacht.”
“Táim ag tógáil na ceiste seo ar son an Teachta John Connolly. Mar is eol don Aire, tá géarchéim thithíochta ann sa Ghaeltacht. Cén féidearthachtaí atá ann d'Údarás na Gaeltachta obair le hUisce Éireann agus le húdaráis áitiúla chun tithíocht a thógáil do phobal na Gaeilge agus na Gaeltachta, go háirithe leis an bplean Tithe a Sheachadadh, Pobail a Thógáil 2025-2030?”
“I appreciate that the lack of an umbrella body has made it more difficult. I acknowledge the work that the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht and the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, are putting in, working with representatives from women's sheds throughout the country and ensuring good governance structures are put in place to ensure that there is longevity in what we do and that it is not just for one year or for two years. We need these groups to last and we need funding streams that can be guaranteed in the future. I acknowledge the work that is being done and if there is anything I can do at any stage, I would be more than happy to put my shoulder to the wheel.”
“It would be wonderful to see men's sheds, not only in Kildare but throughout the country, looking to establish women's sheds as part of their men's sheds and share that space with women.”
“As the Minister of State said, the work of men's sheds nationally has been rightly recognised. It is now time to recognise the work of women's sheds. It is a different space. While traditionally there would have been the ICA, women's sheds offer a different type of social space and give women different options for engaging in their community. This came about initially because representatives of Naas Women's Shed were in touch with me about funding in September. They said the same grant opportunities were not available to them as there were for the men's sheds. I hope the completion of this work plan and the establishment of a national governing body will afford more funding opportunities and more grant opportunities for women's sheds, such as the women's sheds in Naas and Celbridge.”
“We have seen the excellent work being done by men's sheds throughout the country and now at women's sheds. I commend the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, and Department of Health on establishing a workforce to establish a national governing body for women's sheds. When will the facilitator's work plan with women's sheds will be completed? How does the Department plan on working with that governing body, particularly on funding for individual women's sheds?”
“We see different criteria for admissions policies in schools, which can really complicate admissions to most secondary schools and, indeed, primary education as well. There is also the issue of transparent oversubscription management. Anonymised data on applications, offers and waiting lists for each school should be published in order that we can know more. Finally, we need a feedback loop on the likes of this pilot and others to report on their success and, indeed, opportunities and challenges from that.”
“One frustration of school principals as well is that when the Department comes out looking for more spaces, it looks at communal spaces or an office and tries to say they could be classrooms. We have to protect those communal spaces for students as well. Whenever I speak in this Chamber, I always try to come with solutions rather than just raising issues all the time. I have some solutions that I would like the Tánaiste to take back to the Minister. As I mentioned, one is the capacity planning linked to demographics, particularly in the commuter area. A lot of us living in the commuter area experience it. The second is to introduce preference ranking, particularly on that admissions system, with a first, second and third preference. Third is to harmonise admissions criteria.”
“It has created extreme frustration, particularly when the ethos of the schools are different. Salesians' is an all-boys school, St. Wolstan's is an all-girls school and Celbridge Community School is a mixed school. We need to look at capacity planning linked to demographics, not just based on the census but particularly on cases where we know there are planning applications going through for 500 or 600 houses in locations, to ensure that we have the places at primary and secondary school.”
“By increasing enrolment, we are essentially increasing class sizes when we have committed to reducing them. As well as that, we are looking at a capacity issue. These are two new schools, Maynooth Community College and Maynooth Post Primary. It was the largest investment by the State of €30 million at the time, with a capacity of 1,000 pupils per school, and it is far exceeding that. One method the former Minister for Education, Deputy McEntee, introduced, was a pilot scheme for admissions. I welcomed it at the time. I think it is a great idea in principle, a type of CAO process. Unfortunately, that has not worked in Celbridge. We have Celbridge Community School, Salesian College Celbridge and St. Wolstan's Community School. In those schools, the pilot scheme has not been working as intended.”
“No child in sixth class should be worrying about where they are going to school in September next year. It is clear to me that there is a lack of future planning and forecasting when it comes to school places in areas of high growth like north Kildare and indeed the Tánaiste's own constituency, where Greystones Community School has had a particular issue in terms of its expansion. I am thinking particularly of the principals who are trying to tackle this issue and find capacity. I have spoken with Siobhán McCauley, principal of Maynooth Community College, and Johnny Nevin, principal of Maynooth Post Primary, about trying to facilitate the amount of admissions they are getting. Naturally, it happens every single year. Time and again, the Department comes back with "increase enrolment".”
“It will be a year to the day this Saturday since the general election. One of the crucial areas that came up time and time again on the doors in Kildare North was the lack of social infrastructure keeping pace with the new houses being built. I am sure the Tánaiste has experienced this as well in his own constituency, the neighbouring constituency of Wicklow. What I would like to raise today is school admissions, particularly for secondary schools. In Maynooth, Celbridge, Leixlip, Clane, Kilcock, Naas, Prosperous and every town in the constituency, we have children in sixth class who have not been guaranteed a place in secondary school. They have applied to and are on waiting lists for numerous secondary schools. This is causing natural worry and fear, particularly running up to Christmas.”
“We have seen that the N4 and N7 are like car parks at the moment. I believe part of that is due to service unreliability of some of the routes, particularly the C4 and W6 routes, after huge investment in BusConnects. On the C4 route, we see persistent cancellations, ghost buses and severe overcrowding. With the W6, we see the removal of the post-4 p.m. service, which is impacting students and commuters. There are then repeated delays and cancellations. I have two proposed solutions. One is timetable staggering. At present, the W6 and C4 run in convoy. These should be staggered. The second is increasing the frequency of the C4 by moving from 30 minutes to 20 minutes, particularly in areas where we have huge population growth and huge populations.”
“We cannot let long waits define or limit it. If we stay focused, support the health service and its staff and work with families, we can build a spinal service that is timely, transparent and fully centred on the child. We owe that to the children waiting today. One image that will stay with me was tweeted by Harvey Morrison Sherratt's mother, Gillian, this morning. It was of his bedroom door. As I have a nine-month-old child at home, it really shook me and I cannot imagine the pain she is going through. It is important that we all think not only of Harvey but of the other children who have been affected. As I said previously, I thank the Minister for her work. A lot more can be done.”
“Communication gaps leave parents unsure and anxious and too many children continue to wait far too long for surgery that could prevent long-term deterioration. When a surgery is cancelled at short notice, it affects children and their families and their sense of trust in the system. If we want to fix this properly, we need four things: accountability for delays; full transparency about waiting times and cancellations; clear communication so families know exactly where they stand; and follow-through on our commitments to reduce long waits. Promises must become practice. This is not about blaming staff. Ireland has outstanding clinicians who want to give all children the care they deserve. They need a system that supports timely planning, consistent scheduling and clear, reliable pathways. Children only get one childhood.”
“They are nights when a child cannot sleep comfortably, school days missed, opportunities lost and parents watching their child struggle while feeling they cannot do anything to fix it. Families are trying to stay hopeful but long silences, sudden cancellations and mixed messages take a huge emotional toll. I recognise that progress has been made. CHI has increased throughput. The spinal surgery management unit has been established to strengthen co-ordination. Additional surgeons, nurses and specialist staff have come on board and new theatre spaces and a new MRI have helped speed up care. Children have been sent abroad when needed and that has offered timely treatment for many families. These steps matter and I welcome them but progress is still uneven. Capacity has improved yet cancellations continue to disrupt families.”
“I acknowledge the Minister's ongoing efforts relating to this emotive issue, particularly in relation to CHI. I thank her for her help with some constituents in Kildare North and her work with the families. It is important that is acknowledged. However, it is incumbent to speak of the hundreds of children still waiting for spinal operations that are time-sensitive. In October, CHI reported 223 children on a spinal surgery list. Around 140 of them are actively waiting. That means they are ready for surgery but still have no date. Some children have been waiting more than 18 months. A very small number have waited more than three years. For a child, three years can change everything. No one should spend their childhood waiting for essential surgery. These delays are not just numbers; they are children in severe pain.”
“However, as I have said time and time again in this House, we do not just have a deficit in housing. We also need the social infrastructure to go with that, such as crèches, schools, playgrounds and so on. Any housing demand needs to be looked at in the round, taking in the infrastructure deficit as well as the housing deficit. I thank the Minister of State for his work throughout the European Union. I look forward to working with him in advance of the EU Presidency coming to Ireland next year.”
“It is an important topic for rural communities in Kildare and throughout the entire country. While there have been a lot of positive outcomes from the meeting, what is important is that we see follow-through and progress, a point that we often hear in the House in relation to our own Government. One issue to take from what I have said today is housing. This serves as a reminder that we are not isolated when it comes to the housing issue. We sometimes think we are the only country in the world that has issues with housing. There is a genuine attempt to solve the housing crisis in this country, and the Minister, Deputy Browne, delivered his housing plan last week. I will do all I can to ensure that we deliver as much housing as possible throughout the country, particularly in Kildare North.”
“There was also discussion about European defence and security, which other member states have to grapple with. While we remain a militarily neutral country, it is important that we have our own defence capabilities, particularly with regard to subsea cables, 70% of which land in Ireland from the US on their way to Europe. We need to ensure that we can protect those core pieces of infrastructure. I completely appreciate and believe that we should always remain a neutral country. While there is no mandate for neutrality, the will of the people is that we remain a militarily neutral country. However, that does not mean we should not invest in our defence and defensive capabilities. It is important for rural communities that we discuss the nitrates derogation. We need to ensure that we maintain the derogation.”
“While many of us are hopeful that this peace deal will progress to a stage that will allow a two-state solution, it is imperative that the funding that has been kept from the Palestinian Authority be released to it and that we start to see resolutions in that peace deal, and more aid flowing into Gaza in particular. While we are speaking about Gaza, Sudan is starting to come into public discourse more. It is important that we speak about what is happening in Sudan. I would love to see statements here in the House on Sudan, because while what has happened in Palestine and the genocide there is truly horrific, what is happening in Sudan is also horrific. We need statements here about how the Government can support an end to violence in Sudan.”
“There has been significant investment by the European Union in assisting Ukraine, with €177.5 billion provided to date to help it with its defence. We have seen more sanctions on Russia and a condemnation that is rightly done for the support that Russia has been getting from Iran, Belarus and indeed North Korea. We need to reaffirm our support for Ukraine. We had statements on Ukraine yesterday. It is vital that Ukraine stays at the top of the agenda, that we reiterate our support, and that our colleagues and friends in Ukraine know that they have our full support. Another area that was dealt with was the Middle East, the need for a two-state solution in the Middle East and the US-proposed peace deal at the Sharm El Sheikh summit.”
“Our colleagues in Spain, France, Germany, Denmark, Belgium and most other European countries are experiencing the same problems. We are seeing a huge increase in populations and we are seeing the impact of migration and the need for more housing. The core issues that are affecting us here include affordable housing for families, young people and vulnerable people and tackling rent and the cost of rent throughout the country, particularly in more urban settings, such as Dublin, Galway and Cork. In my constituency of Kildare North, we have nearly 17,000 students and nearly the same indigenous population, as we like to call ourselves, in Maynooth. Moving on to Ukraine, we have seen a ramping up of violence of Russia against Ukraine.”
“Following the European Council meeting, there were significant issues discussed, between Ukraine, defence, the Middle East, competitiveness, climate and digital transitions, but particularly housing. Often, when we speak about housing, not only in this House but across the country, we think that it is an isolated problem in Ireland. What we are seeing is that this is a problem facing all of Europe. It is the first time that housing has featured in European Council conclusions. The Commission has been tasked with a comprehensive and ambitious housing plan. There will also be a European housing summit in 2026. We need to reflect on that as a Government but also as a Parliament, between the Dáil, Seanad and society, that the challenges we face in housing are not solely located here in Ireland.”
“I would like to raise today the difficulty in securing timely appointments with the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS. From a response to a parliamentary question I raised last month, I can confirm that nationally, over 4,000 children are waiting for their first CAMHS appointment and 605 of those have been waiting more than a year. I will give one example from my constituency. A young person who was first referred in 2021 and later discharged, was then referred again in 2025. This was declined and a private assessment came back stating that this person needed urgent CAMHS intervention. The frustrating thing here, particularly around mental health, is that if the child had broken their arm, we would not be expecting a year for surgery or care. It should not be taking that long for mental health care.”
“There are new mums who cannot get a GP for themselves or for their children. There are serious issues in towns and villages in rural areas around Kildare but the call-out times for gardaí, through no fault of the Garda division in Kildare, are not good enough. I look at schools that are crumbling and housed in temporary accommodation. This is not good enough for the existing population, notwithstanding all these additional homes we are going to build in Kildare. We need those new homes. That is fine but if we want social cohesion and for people to live a good and normal life, we need to ensure they have the basic services they need and deserve.”
“I appreciate the response. One of the key things the Minister of State said was that this is to boost the delivery of new homes. The investments in Kildare North are primarily to accommodate new homes being built. My point is that investment is not being made in the social infrastructure that is required for the existing population, notwithstanding the future population. DART+ and improvements to water infrastructure are welcome but let us be real here. This is about allowing more homes to be built in Kildare. As I have said, I welcome new homes in Kildare. We need as many new homes as possible. However, what I am speaking about here is primary care centres, Garda stations and community centres. These are core elements if a society is to run properly. I have been contacted by families who cannot get a GP.”
“My job as a newly elected TD is to ensure the best not only for the people of Kildare but also for the people of the country as a whole, as we all do. However, I suggest that because we are seen as a wealthy county we are not seeing the investment we should.”