Pádraig O'Sullivan
Cork North-Central · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“Imagine being the father of two boys who have Friedreich's ataxia and one of them passing away. I know the Tánaiste is familiar with the case of Craig Coady. I normally do not personalise stories in here but he spoke about this quite openly on Red FM in Cork on Tuesday.”
“I am not asking anybody to comment on the process itself as I know we have to respect it, but is it possible that the review committee can be brought forward and convened as quickly as possible to see this through one way or another because of the mental trauma, anguish and emotion? Many people travelled up on Tuesday.”
“I do not expect the Minister to intervene or comment on that specific case, and we have to respect the process, but I am sure the Minister will agree that as part of a wider strategy, we need to inculcate that wider ecosystem where patients get access to this care upfront and early access to drugs, where needed.”
“Last week, I was at a conference with the Minister and the EU Commissioner. We discussed various topics, including healthcare and the development of a life science strategy in Ireland. I know it is something that he and the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, have worked intensively on.”
“It was remiss of me not to welcome members of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland. I am struggling to see through the glare of the glass. I can see a Limerick man, Kevin Quaid, up there. It is not too often that a Cork man would welcome a Limerick man but I welcome Kevin. I can also see Siobhán. I think Andy Heffernan was there as well.”
“I have asked many parliamentary questions on this over the past few years. Very little has changed. The only thing that gives me hope is that the company has since met the CPU and submitted a commercial offer that remains under consideration. I am not asking for special treatment for any drug.”
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“Finally, 25% of the 56 new cancer treatments licensed by the European Medicines Agency since 2020 are available in Ireland, so only one in four cancer drugs available widely across Europe are available in this country. I can nearly predict the answer from the Department of Health that the Minister of State will read. The problems are quite apparent for me. We have a system that is one size fits all, so when we assess drugs in this country, we assess them on a quality threshold, that is, the quality of years that is added to somebody's life. Unfortunately in this country, we also operate a quality threshold of €45,000, so if a drug costs more than €45,000 per patient, it is automatically rejected. However, it takes almost a year to find that out formally through the process, so a lot of time is wasted.”
“It published a report today which essentially gives a descriptor of what is going on in this country in regard to new cancer drugs, in particular, and a couple of facts stood out. First, 48% of all innovative medicines are unavailable in this country in comparison with our EU counterparts. Only 29% of those drugs are actually fully available in Ireland, the remainder being partially available or having some restrictions on them and varying from drug to drug. Second, the rate of availability for non-oncology - non-cancer - drugs is 22% compared with the EU average of 39%. Again, we are way behind the curve in comparison with our EU counterparts. Third, only 25% of non-oncology drugs are available in Ireland compared with our EU counterparts, where an average of 31% of those non-oncology drugs are available.”
“The Minister of State has sat in a lot of parliamentary party meetings with me and I know this is an issue she is very familiar with because I have raised it every second week. I appreciate the Minister of State being here this evening. I do not mean to sound dismissive but I can almost predict the answer she will give to me. I half know the answers to some of the questions I have posed which relate to why we approve so few new cancer drugs, why there are delays in the system and the third part of my question, which is centred around proposals for the future and how we improve the process. I will start by stating a couple of facts relating to today's publication from the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries Association.”
“As I said, boundaries between member states have not been an inhibitor to trade, travel and finance. I do not understand why they are an inhibitor to people's healthcare. I know of two families in Cork, one of which has moved permanently to Hamburg to go with their child and ensure they get access to the drug they need. A second family is now living in the North for similar reasons. That is unacceptable. In the programme for Government, there is an allowance to explore the idea of early access and shared risk agreements with industry, and that is where we need to be not just as a nation but as a European Union.”
“One would think that it would naturally follow on that each member state would subsequently approve those drugs but unfortunately, as I have raised here previously, in Ireland it takes on average two to three years to approve such drugs. The ultimate answer to this question is a pan-European solution where, once the EMA approves a drug, it would be available in all member states. Unfortunately, that is not the case today. Data were published today regarding cancer drugs. They were reported on RTÉ Radio 1 earlier. Only 25% of new cancer drugs available EU-wide have been available in Ireland since 2020. In the case of orphan drugs and rare diseases, only 14% of those drugs are available here in Ireland. That is a glaring area where we need to do better as a country.”
“I am going to cut to the chase because I have a whole two and a half minutes to speak on this topic. I will focus on the availability of drugs, specifically new drugs, right across Europe. We all know the positive nature of what the European Union has contributed to Ireland but there is one glaring area I would like to highlight. Free and borderless travel is available to us and it is the same with regard to doing business but unfortunately when it comes availability of drugs for people's healthcare, we still face many barriers. Every year, dozens of drugs are approved by the European Medicines Agency, EMA.”
“As it is the largest single piece of wastewater infrastructure in the county of Cork, this is quite concerning. There is a new playground down there, along with a walkway, and new houses are being built around it. Unfortunately, despite all the promises given 20 years ago that we would not even notice it was there, depending on the prevailing wind of the day you can notice it. Once your nose is not blocked and you do not have a cold, it is hard to miss it. It is unfortunate that this happens and continues to happen. Serious investment is required in the Carrigrenan wastewater treatment plant. It is subcontracted out to an English company at the moment and they basically run it. Let us just say that I do not believe they are giving it the same duty of care that Uisce Éireann or the council would have done previously.”
“Clearly, Irish Water does not have the capacity to deliver these wastewater treatment plants. While it might not be popular to say it, we need to consider the pilot scheme the local authority in Cork is proposing or developer-led infrastructure again. This is now impinging on our capability to deliver housing, as is well documented in here. If developers, particularity on larger schemes and sites, could sit around the table with the local authority and Irish Water and actually devise bespoke schemes that could deliver housing or at least free up the capacity to get on and deliver housing, that would be one way to go at the moment. I will conclude by mentioning the Carrigrenan wastewater treatment plant in Little Island, which is the largest wastewater treatment plant in Cork. We have periodic issues with it.”
“Development in the village has been basically hamstrung for the last decade. Given the pace at which Irish Water delivers its wastewater treatment plants, it is likely to be hamstrung and restricted in its development potential for at least the next seven to eight years, even if it got the green light tomorrow. I know Cork County Council is actively looking at putting a proposal for a pilot to submit to the Department, basically due to Irish Water's lack of capacity to deliver that wastewater treatment and others. At the moment in Cork county alone, 37 wastewater treatment plants are on a list. Funding was allocated to the first of those two years ago and there is still not a shovel in the ground or a digger on site. We need to be radical and have a proper look at what we are doing.”
“I will carry on from where Deputy O'Connor left off, about whether notices should be issued about the consumption of water. There are other Deputies from Cork North-Central in the Chamber. I know that some Deputies have brought in samples of water in the past. It clearly is not a reliable source of drinking water at the moment. While we cannot blame people for not taking the risk, Irish Water still has this policy where it will not issue the non-consumption notice. At this stage, people need to be offered the choice of trusting what is in the tap or drinking water from a bottle because it is clearly demonstrated that the resource that is there is not reliable. I will mention some villages affected by wastewater treatment plants. Carrignavar is probably the one that gets discussed most here.”
“I raise an issue related to special education. Since the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, assumed their roles they have been doing their best to get to grips with the crisis we are facing in special education in particular. I taught in a classroom for 15 years. It was always a struggle to find people to teach special education. Historically it has always been that way. The problem has become more acute as the years have gone by. We recognise teachers who teach in the Gaeltacht and on the islands and they get an allowance for that. It is high time for recognition to be given to special education teachers because many teachers, like me, could walk into a special school in the morning and teach, but are not trained to do it. Special recognition needs to be considered in the upcoming budget.”
“This question is to ask the Minister the steps taken in Cork county and city to ensure all children who require a place have the possibility of securing a place in a special class or a special school for the next academic year. We have this problem every year with mainstream school places across the suburban area of Cork, but we have a particular pinch point this year with special school places. This is not something we envisaged two and a half years ago when we had the previous crisis and Carrigaline special school was opened, but we seem to be back here again at square one.”
“I add my voice to Deputy Moynihan's. Every year, I dread this time when the school portal opens because we live in a Bermuda Triangle-type area between places called Watergrasshill, Carrignavar, Glenville and Whitechurch. There are always issues with proximity to secondary schools. I understand there were 14 pilots last year. Will the Minister elaborate on the nature of some of those pilots, if we are likely to see an expansion of those 14 pilots and what kind of criteria will be prioritised specifically to give schools like those I spoke of a chance to be included?”
“I echo the comments from Deputies Bacik and Malcolm Byrne on election interference from state and non-state actors. I will comment briefly on alleged Russian interference in elections in Moldova and Romania as an example. We see every day on our Twitter feeds or on various social media platforms various types of misinformation and fake news. Obviously, that is most critically effective in and around election times in various countries, but what are we doing here and now to plan into the future for potential election interference from those state actors, in particular those referenced by Deputy Byrne?”
“The Government needs to get on with the business of progressing the occupied territories Bill. In that context, we need to be cognisant of the advice we have been given by the Attorney General and of any other European legislation. We need to get on with advancing the Bill because the pictures and the images we are seeing every day in the Middle East are unacceptable. I acknowledge that the Government has done a great deal to progress the Palestinian cause. The fundamental solution to that conflict will be a two-state solution. We owe more to humanity. As a people, we need to do more than just engaging in moral grandstanding. We need to get on with enacting the legislation as soon as possible.”
“The Lazarus group, which is affiliated to North Korea, is undermining world financial markets and is hacking people's technology. We have Russian interference in neighbouring countries' elections. It is not just neighbouring countries, however. I suspect that Russia has been involved in quite a lot of election interference over the past number of years. Again, all of this is linked to cybersecurity. It is something that the Taoiseach takes very seriously. The beefing up of our Defence Forces and the prioritisation of resources in that regard needs to be fundamentally advanced. I will end by saying a brief word about the occupied territories Bill. I know the Bill is contentious, but it is not contentious for me. We received the Attorney General's advice.”
“These real diplomatic threats and the distorting of the international order, as it was or is, need to be challenged. What is happening in respect of the International Criminal Court is just another example of the challenge to the international order. Again, who here would have thought that sanctions would have been instigated against members of the International Criminal Court by the leader of the free world? This stuff is seriously concerning. I represent a constituency in Cork where thousands of jobs have been created by Apple, Pfizer and so on, and where there is a great deal of American investment. I know that what I am saying sounds repetitive, but the turbulence needs to be challenged. The rise of state and non-state actors is something that is of great concern to me. This is linked to the whole area of cybersecurity.”
“The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste should be represented at that national security council but so too should the Garda, the Army and the Defence Forces in general. That will be a fundamental arm of the State going forward. I wish to comment on the unpredictability relating to and the running of international politics by Twitter. It is that unpredictability from which much of the turbulence we are experiencing is stemming. Can anybody in this Chamber honestly say that a couple of years ago we would have envisaged the United States trying to claim Canada as the 51st state or attempting to buy Greenland? This stuff is seriously concerning. It fuels the risk that is out there. It fuels the risk to markets, frightens investors and costs jobs. Tweets and words cost jobs and investment. The world as we knew it has changed.”
“I will start by speaking about Ukraine. It is universally agreed in the House that a strong and secure Ukraine is vital to the interests of Ireland and the EU. We have seen how open our economy is and how susceptible it is to issues relating to energy in particular. We saw that most notably during Covid and following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. To be fair to our Taoiseach and Tánaiste, they have advanced and have always spoken about fast-tracking Ukrainian membership of the European Union. That is something we have to continue to push for at EU level and at high-profile meetings. I welcome the establishment of the new ministerial council on national security. I understand it is to meet at least three or four times each year to co-ordinate our response to future threats and deal with matters relating to our national security.”
“I will begin by agreeing with much of what Deputy Smith said, but I will elaborate on some points. We all agree that this is a challenging time for international security and international trade. The adjective "turbulence" or the phrase "turbulent times" have been used quite a lot in the media over the last week. I would say it is far more worrying than just turbulence. The world is on fire. We have heard that analogy used in terms of the climate challenge we already have, but I would use it in terms of international relations as well. Every morning when I wake up, I check my Twitter page to see what the news of the week is going to be because the world is literally being run on Twitter at the moment. We have an indication of where the new cycle is going because that is how turbulent and erratic the new world order is.”
“I do not want to have to submit freedom of information requests to the Departments of Health or Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform in this regard. I was hoping the Tánaiste might be able to intervene and get answers with regard to this €5 million.”
“The Tánaiste mentioned in a previous response the eye-watering budget the HSE has at its disposal. Some €5 million was promised in 2023 as part of budget 2024 and was approved by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform in December 2024. This budget of €5 million related to transport initiatives, accessibility, provision of minibuses and so forth for people in the disability sector. Organisations like the Galway Centre for Independent Living, Cumas in Wexford, the Irish Wheelchair Association, Variety and the WayFinding Centre in Dublin were waiting on this funding. I am not sure whether it is the case that the €5 million has evaporated or, in the way the HSE tends to do sometimes, has been repurposed. I cannot find an answer as to what has happened to that €5 million.”
“There needs to be some fast-tracking or shortening of the existing process. We have all sat through development plans at local authority level. If we are hamstrung by waiting two years for a development plan to be updated or reviewed on foot of whatever the NPF publishes we will really hamstring ourselves.”
“They are looking to right size but without the direction of the Department, this initiative, with the way it is running at the moment almost on a discretionary basis from local authority to local authority, will not be efficient. I know the draft of the NPF is already out. I reiterate something that we have said at our parliamentary party meetings in recent weeks. The NPF will encourage us to zone more land. That is a given and is what many of us have been crying out for for years. However, if local authorities have to go through the same old rigmarole in their development plans and go out to public consultation for two years, that does not display the urgency this needs. Something seismic needs to come from the Department centrally in relation to the NPF when it is published.”
“They purchased land on their own backs, but then were told at the end of it that they could not actually get funding to develop the scheme. They were advised by the Department at the time that they had to become an AHB. I will not say they do not have the capacity; this group probably does have the capacity to do that. That scheme had local authority support at least on the face of it but fell down because of a lack of funding or inability to get funding. It is not good enough to delegate the responsibility to the local authority and let it drift. In the very same parish there are large one-off houses, large family homes with four, five or six bedrooms. The Minister of State is probably familiar with the area; it is a fairly affluent area. These people have massive houses and their families have flown the nest.”
“Many of these house builders and developers are borrowing at great expense. Every month they are waiting on a letter to come from the Department means they need to increase their borrowing in some cases which ultimately just increases the cost of delivery of a housing scheme. We need to do something to streamline that. I do not know how many times I have spoken in here about positive ageing and right-sizing of properties. We delegate that and say that local authorities should be looking after that. Again we need to be looking at targets and setting down markers for the local authorities. I refer to one specific scheme in Glounthaune in my parish where members of the community took it upon themselves to develop a right-sizing initiative in the village.”
“Cork has performed fairly well compared with other local authorities. I support the cost-rental model which is a very welcome initiative and we should probably do much more of it. We have a target of 18,000 cost-rental homes by 2030. Over the past six to 12 months, I have been dealing with house builders particularly in the north side of Cork city working on various projects in conjunction with Cork City Council. Months have been wasted on red tape, waiting for CREL letters or CAF letters from departmental officials, pieces of paper sitting on desks for what seems like an endless time, delaying the process. I welcome that we are looking to end the four-stage process and making it a single-stage process for local authority-led housing into the future. This waiting for literally paper is pointless.”
“It needs to be emphasised over and over again that targets are a minimum not a maximum. Local authorities need to do more on affordable housing. One criticism I would make of this Government and the previous Government would be in the area of child homelessness. It is a stain that we are going to live with as a government; there is no excusing it. I know we have signed up to the Lisbon accords for 2030, where we hope to eradicate homelessness by 2030. However, try living in the shoes of a family with children in the next five years while we aspire to attain that goal. For me five years is a long time. The ill effects that children in those circumstances experience might be seen for years to come. We need greater urgency. The target is 2030 but we need to try to bridge that gap far sooner. I wish to speak about cost rental and AHBs.”
“My parents purchased their home in the 1970s so there is no snobbery in what I am about to say about delivery for the cohort of people who are trying to get on the property ladder and purchase an affordable home. Cork City Council and Cork County Council are two of the better performers nationally in the delivery of social and affordable homes. The number of couples, young couples in particular, I meet and who cannot get access to the affordable property is concerning. It comes back to the ratios and targets set in the Department. We should be putting greater emphasis on local authorities to deliver affordable homes in greater numbers. The Minister of State is probably aware that many local authorities view targets as targets and once they have met them many of them believe that the job is done.”
“It would be a missed opportunity if we did not at least explore that. The second issue I wish to raise is social housing. Since July 2020, 42,000 social homes have been added to the social housing stock nationally while 2023 saw 12,000 new builds, acquisitions and leased properties, which is the highest year we have had, so nobody is disputing the good work that has been undertaken over the past number of years but, again, it comes back to the pace and scale of it. The one thing I would always have raised while I was a member of the council and since I was elected here was the disparity between the social and affordable housing ratio in terms of delivery. I grew up in a council house.”
“The old school site is now available and, hopefully, will be developed in the coming years but it is all contingent on the delivery of this wastewater treatment plant. When we speak to Irish Water locally, it tells us that the best case scenario is seven years. That is one example. I could go through Whitechurch, Knockraha or a litany of villages in the northern hinterland of Cork city that are in similar circumstances. I know from talking to other Deputies - we spoke about it over lunch today - that the same is true for so many counties across the country. I do believe that working in conjunction or under the supervision of Irish Water, local authorities or developers in certain cases should be able to develop some of this infrastructure for Irish Water to take charge of afterwards.”
“There is a way where the local authority in this case or a developer could work in conjunction with Irish Water to fast-track some of the infrastructure that is identified as being necessary. I point to the case of Carrignavar, which is a village I have mentioned here on numerous occasions over the past five years. Carrignavar is a unique village. It is ten minutes to the city centre and is about to get a new approved bus service under BusConnects. It will be linked to the city very efficiently. Carrignavar has not seen a new housing development in over ten years because its wastewater treatment plant is at capacity. It is a perfect example. It got a new school. When it got the new school, it was a condition that it could not go over a certain number of students. That is how hamstrung the village is in terms of its wastewater capacity.”
“Many of them were in west Cork, which is not in my constituency of Cork North-Central. I use them to illustrate how quickly or slowly things move. Of the six projects that were identified, not one has commenced despite funding being allocated. I have been around long enough to understand that it might have to go through environmental impact assessments, tendering, planning and all those processes but it is the pace of delivery that really concerns me. Whatever about Irish Water's inability or lack of capacity to deliver those 37 schemes in Cork county, at the pace at which it is delivering them, I would guess that No. 20 or 25 on that list is not likely to see a wastewater treatment plant for the best part of a decade. I use my time here this evening to plead with the powers that be. I have spoken to Cork County Council about this.”
“This is a topic that many of us have tried to get speaking time on over the past few weeks so I appreciate the attendance of the Minister of State, Deputy Kieran O'Donnell. My first point concerns Irish Water. It is probably a major bone of contention for the vast majority of Members across the Oireachtas. I always think it is good to localise and individualise things to give a picture of how things are progressing across the country. Cork County Council and Irish Water came together three years ago to devise the capital plan for the town and villages scheme. Thirty-seven towns and villages across Cork county were placed in chronological order in terms of importance and how quickly they could deliver them. They devised a scheme of one to 37. Funding was announced for the first of those six projects two years ago.”
“On the face of it this actually looks like this is happening less but I can tell the House that from my own constituency's perspective more and more of it is happening. The figures lead me to believe that the authorities are just doing less and they are relying more on charities to pick up the slack. Perhaps the Minister of State will take back to the Ministers my suggestion about the appointment of officers into the local authorities.”
“If we are to be sincere about this and serious about tackling the issue then the only way to do it is to give responsibility to an individual within the local authority, preferably somebody we can actually ring on a Monday morning or Friday evening to say there is a stray horse below in the field or there is a stray horse out on the road and we are seriously concerned about this animal's welfare, and that we can actually talk to a person. At the moment people are being pushed around from pillar to post and animals are suffering. I wish to read into the record that the total number of seizures of animals in 2020 was 819. On the face of it this looks quite good as it has decreased every year up to 2024, when we only seized 288.”
“We should be putting the local authorities to the pin of their collars: they must prosecute people and they must seize horses that are in distress or in an emaciated condition. They have to do this. It is incumbent on us to ensure that. It is currently a merry-go-round - is it the Garda, the local authority, the landowner or the Department of agriculture? That is what is happening and it is just a merry-go-round at the moment.”
“I thank the Minister of State. In my introductory remarks I did acknowledge that the Government has done its bit in providing money for the charities. I note that the Department's response the Minister of State read out refers to this legislation is constantly being kept under review. Obviously I welcome this but I genuinely believe that we have more than enough legislation. It is there already. There are reams upon reams of legislation. Be it the Control of Horses Act or the Animal Health and Welfare Act, the powers are already there. All I am asking for is enforcement. The Department's response states that these "powers can be used" with regard to stray horses, or that "Local authorities may also prosecute offenders".”
“Maybe the Minister of State could bring this back to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne, and the Minister for agriculture, Deputy Martin Heydon. I ask that a designated official be appointed in each local authority so we do not have a situation where one must go to the Garda, the local authorities or a Department of agriculture official. If somebody is tasked with the job of inspecting licences and ensuring the animals are microchipped then I believe we can get around the kind of mess we have at the moment. I thank the Minister of State.”
“In the most recent case we had in Glanmire all the parties I have just mentioned were notified that an animal had been abandoned on a private site but over the few days of finger-pointing about whose responsibility it was the animal, unfortunately, died. It was up to the private landowner in that case to dispose of the carcase. The landowner was uncontactable for a while and did not realise the horse was even on his site but it still fell upon him to dispose of the carcase and bear the expense. In all this I wonder where the owner of the horse was. It is difficult for the authorities to identify who the owners are because horses are not chipped. There is a requirement that horses would be microchipped but it is just being blatantly ignored. I lodged a Private Member's Bill yesterday and I ask that the Dáil give it consideration.”
“I must give a shout out to My Lovely Horse Rescue Cork, which does Trojan work. It is expensive to do the job it does. We are often talking thousands of euro to save a horse and nurse it back, care for it or whatever the case may be, and in a worst case scenario often disposing of the carcase or, unfortunately, having to euthanise a horse. Those things are very expensive and taxing on charities. The difficulty I have is that we actually have loads of legislation in this space. An Garda Síochána has powers, the local authorities have powers and the Department of agriculture has powers but all I see in every case that we come across is a failure of all those authorities to actually co-ordinate and to give a co-ordinated response.”
“Between 2020 and now, only two people have been fined for animal mistreatment, with fines of €5,000 or less. There is a second fine open to the authorities, of up to €250,000, but nobody has been fined to that amount in the last five years. A number of people have been imprisoned for up to three years over various years but we are talking single digits. The same is true for the number of people disqualified from owning animals but there was a spike last year and 27 people are now disqualified from owning animals, not just horses, nationwide. That would indicate to me that the trend definitely is moving in the direction whereby more of these incidents are happening and that mistreatment of animals is becoming more common. The difficulty is that we rely heavily on animal charities in particular.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to discuss this issue. On the northside of the Cork city in my constituency we have had a spate of animal welfare issues in recent weeks, many of which have made national headlines. I also raised this issue here last year as a Topical Issue. Last year, we gave over €6 million in funding to charities to police this for us. Despite that investment, on the ground in Cork city we are seeing more and more of these incidents of animals being mistreated and in certain cases ending up dead or abandoned in sites or on the side of the road. It is really worrying because we are investing more money than we have ever given to these charities but the figures speak for themselves. I will take the Minister of State through a few responses I received to parliamentary questions in last few weeks.”
“Táim ag smaoineamh ar Choláiste an Phiarsaigh i mo cheantar féin. Tá an coláiste anois ag feitheamh le trí bliana le dul tríd an gcóras pleanála. Tá sí ag feitheamh ar an 40 seomra atá le teacht. Caithfidh an Rialtas agus an tAire Oideachais a bheith dáiríre faoi na tionscnaimh sin a chur os comhair na ndaoine chomh luath agus is féidir. Fáiltím roimh an infheistíocht a tugadh do TG4 agus Raidió na Gaeltachta le blianta anuas. Roimh gach buiséad, bhíomar go léir - an Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, an Teachta Connolly, san áireamh - ag lorg níos mó airgid ach, chun freastal ar an aos óg, caithfimid infheistíocht chinnte a thabhairt do na meáin chumarsáide sin.”
“Cosúil le roinnt daoine eile, nuair a thagann siad abhaile gach lá, tá sé deas le feiceáil go bhfuil siad ag foghlaim focal nach raibh ar eolas agam nuair a bhí mé an aois chéanna thart ar 40 bliain ó shin. Chuirfeadh sé náire ort cé chomh simplí is atá sé don aos óg an teanga a fhoghlaim chomh tapa sin. Ar an bpointe sin, caithfimid níos mó deontas a thabhairt do réamhscoileanna agus do na naíonraí. Má táimid dáiríre faoin teanga, chun a bheith macánta, caithfimid gach réamhscoil a iompú ina naíonra chun tacú leis an teanga. Ar a laghad, ba chóir seans a thabhairt do na tuismitheoirí an rogha sin a bheith acu. Tá pointe amháin eile agam mar gheall ar Ghaelscoileanna agus Gaelcholáistí. Ba cheart béim a chur ar thionscnaimh atá á dtógáil againn - extensions agus araile - chun scoileanna a fhorbairt inár gceantair féin.”
“Creidim go huile is go hiomlán sa dátheangachas agus tá sé le feiceáil timpeall an domhain gurb é sin an tslí is fearr chun an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn i mo thuairim féin. D'fhreastail mé ar Ghaelscoil, fadó ag an bpointe seo. Nuair a bhíomar sa rang gach lá ag déanamh comhrá le chéile, ag déanamh cumarsáide, ag imirt spóirt le chéile, ag dul chuig an gceaintín le chéile agus ag déanamh na gnáthrudaí sin, ba é sin an t-am a raibh an teanga á cur chun cinn. Creidim go huile agus go hiomlán sa dátheangachas. Mar Rialtas, caithfimid a bheith dáiríre faoi sin ó thaobh na bpolasaithe go léir atá ag teacht chugainn. Tá triúr leanbh agam. Caithfidh mé smaoineamh ar a n-aoiseanna. Is trí, ceithre agus sé bliana d'aois atá siad. Tá siad go léir ag freastal ar bhunscoil lán-Ghaelach nó réamhscoil lán-Ghaelach.”
“Táim saghas cosúil leis an Teachta Connolly ag an am seo den bhliain. Táim idir dhá chomhairle faoin am seo den bhliain. Tagaimid go léir isteach agus labhraímid mar gheall ar cé chomh tábhachtach is atá an teanga agus, go pointe, go gcreidimid sa teanga agus sa todhchaí atá le teacht don teanga. Ní theastaíonn uaim an frása "tokenism" nó "cur i gcéill" a úsáid ach braitheann sé cosúil leis sin ó am go chéile. Aontaím leis an Teachta Connolly go gcaithfimid níos mó ama a thabhairt chun an teanga a labhairt sa Seomra seo gach seachtain, agus má déanann muid é sin trí priority questions - ní theastaíonn uaim an díospóireacht sin a oscailt anois - nó cibé slí, caithfear níos mó ama a bheith curtha ar leataobh don teanga a úsáid sa Chamber.”
“I ask that this matter be treated with urgency and that the Department of Education told to get its act together to source the building or the site and get on with delivering the special school.”
“I wish to raise the issue of the need for a special school in Cork. Like many other public representatives in Cork, I welcomed the announcement in October, before the election, by the then Minister, Deputy Foley, that we would get a special school in Cork, albeit in an undisclosed location that was subject to negotiation. Fast forward five months and I know from talking to people on the ground that no progress has been made in acquiring a site for this building to open in September. No time is being allowed between now and then to refurbish the existing building. It cannot be delivered by next September. We gave people a commitment that a special school would open in September 2025 and I just cannot see at this point in time how it will be done.”
“I thank the Ceann Comhairle for letting me in again. I raise the issue of child and adolescent mental health services in Cork. In response to a parliamentary question I asked two weeks ago, which might give an indication of how bad things are, I was told that in 2020, 435 people aged 18 years or under were on the waiting list; in 2021, there were 645; in 2022, there were 901; in 2023, there were 1,362; and, unfortunately, in 2024, there were 1,905. Clearly, things have spiralled in the wrong direction over a number of years. At what point does this become a crisis in local psychiatric services in Cork?”