Paul Lawless
Mayo · Aontú · Ireland
“Confidence in our education system depends on quality resources but parents remain seriously concerned about inappropriate material that is being promoted in our schools, libraries, etc. Concerns have been raised in relation to the book What's the T?”
“They would make up a higher proportion of the membership of the Dáil than is the case at Westminster. Aontú's leader, Deputy Peadar Tóibín, during his time on the Oireachtas enterprise committee, completed the first Oireachtas report on the all-island economy.”
“Difference is an accident of birth and it should therefore never be the source of hatred or conflict. The answer to difference is to respect it. Therein lies a most fundamental principle of peace — respect for diversity. Aontú believes fundamentally in a united Ireland.”
“It is important that those who oppose a united Ireland - who are now a minority on this island, and increasingly so - are treated as equals and with the respect they deserve in the discussions relating to a united Ireland. I have good friends from the Protestant tradition to whom I speak on a near daily basis.”
“The Tánaiste once said that he wanted to make Ireland the best country in the world in which to raise a child. He is failing in that regard. We have a situation where we have record homelessness among children, spinal surgery waiting lists and children with special needs or disabilities who are waiting for supports.”
“Rather than celebrating and respecting our differences and our right to be different politically or religiously, they wish to make us all the same. They want to make us all apolitical atheists who never speak on or campaign in respect of the issues.”
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“What appears to be happening is that we have a bizarre situation where two people employed in a company called MKO, which was in charge of submitting planning applications on behalf of wind farm companies to Galway County Council and An Coimisiún Pleanála, have now left that company and have begun work in An Coimisiún Pleanála and Galway County Council’s planning department. It is most extraordinary and incredibly serious. I raise the matter to seek assurances. Two former employees of the firm MKO are now working as planners in Galway County Council and An Coimisiún Pleanála, respectively.”
“What appears to be happening in some parts of the country is that energy infrastructure is being developed in order to supply the shortage of energy in other parts of the country. Data centres along the east coast, for example, are putting enormous pressure on the grid. As a result, we are seeing a rapid and intense number of planning applications for gas-powered electricity generators, solar farms and wind turbines. Why should the west be sacrificed for this? Our infrastructure and beauty are being sacrificed without any proper planning regulation or oversight. I wish to highlight a serious issue in the Dáil. My colleague in Aontú, Luke Silke from Tuam, County Galway, has been working diligently on this issue. He has outlined serious concerns.”
“I welcome the Bill and the emphasis it places on safety and prevention. This legislation is incredibly important. As we know, there have been many very serious and tragic explosions here and, indeed, internationally. Some of these explosions have resulted in the loss of life, such as the Creeslough tragedy in County Donegal. My thoughts and prayers are with the families affected in relation to it. This would obviously provide a statutory duty to ensure gas infrastructure is designed, built and maintained in a way that reduces the risk leading to fires and explosions. We in Aontú will certainly be supporting this legislation. I also have concerns in relation to gas being used for the generation of electricity.”
“On the environmental aspect, according to our Climate Change Advisory Council Ireland faces up to €28 billion in fines by 2030. The same European institutions that want to saddle us with this debt are actually seeking the destruction of the rainforests. We are calling on the Government to get off the fence, to mobilise and to reject this deal.”
“It is very clear that the Minister of State has, at best, sat on his hands on this issue. The clock is ticking. I ask him to engage, to send a delegation, and to send the Head of Government, the Taoiseach, out to Brussels to meet with every political grouping in Brussels ahead of the vote in the Parliament. The other issue is that we are demanding a litmus test on this. This must be sent to the European Court of Justice. There are serious issues, for example in relation to the free trade and environmental aspects. This deal is the very definition of an anti-competitive practice. We are tying our own farmers up in knots with animal welfare and environmental standards and so on, and yet those same regulations do not apply to these products that will be sold right across the European Union.”
“It means absolutely nothing in the programme for Government, as the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, well knows, because Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and many other parties supported the Lisbon treaty, which handed over our veto in relation to trade. That is the truth of it. The most galling act of all took place when the Government knew the qualified majority vote was collapsing. At that point the Government came out and said it would reject the deal. It is utterly shameful. I am calling on the Minister of State to get off the fence. First, the Government must get a handle on its own MEPs. Are they with us or are they against us? If they vote for this deal what sanctions will be applied within Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael? I also ask the Minister of State to engage in a full diplomatic offensive in relation to this issue.”
“It is time for the Government to get off the ditch on this issue. The duplicitous attitude the Government has in relation to this is, frankly, disgusting and disrespectful. The Government is going to the ploughing championships and so on and telling farmers, "We are with you and we support you". A number of weeks ago when Sinn Féin brought a motion the Minister was unable to state what way the Government would vote on this issue. In the most important week of the year the Taoiseach was in China contemplating signing the deal. All the while the Government is saying "Well, it is in our programme for Government".”
“I move amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "qualified majority the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement; and" and substitute the following: "calls on the Government to: — undertake a diplomatic campaign to lobby and campaign a majority of Members of the European Parliament in Europe to oppose the Mercosur Trade Agreement; — take a case to the Court of Justice of the European Union to test whether or not the Mercosur Trade Agreement conflicts with existing EU Treaties; and — ensure that the Taoiseach and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade seek in-person meetings with the leaders of all political groupings within the European Parliament in advance of any vote taking place on the matter in the EU Parliament, and to ask them to reject the Mercosur Trade Agreement; and calls on: — the EU Commission not to implement the Mercosur Trade Agreement before the European Parliament has a chance to vote on the matter; and — to oppose any importation of beef or poultry products produced at lower regulatory standards than exist in Ireland.".”
“On behalf of Aontú, I would like to table an amendment to the Order of Business under Standing Order 35(3). Aontú proposes an amendment to the Order of Business to add to Thursday's business and set a time in the House to discuss and debate the health implications of known carcinogens being produced under the Mercosur deal and beef produced in Brazil being permitted to enter Europe under that deal. Aontú believes a debate is necessary because the Government, through its inaction, has allowed this dangerous beef into Europe.”
“What makes this so egregious is that there was a long-standing agreement and safeguard, which was discarded last Friday night. It is the same safeguard the Government will talk about when it comes to the Mercosur trade deal: "we have a safeguard lads, there is no need to worry." We saw how the safeguard was disregarded last Friday. The fear I have with the Mercosur trade deal is that the safeguard and backstop is no safeguard whatsoever. In fact, beef prices could fall by almost 50% over a five-year period and no handbrake would be pulled in relation to this. We must reject the deal. We cannot accept it. I ask the Minister of State to go back to the European Court of Justice and make sure that we get a fair deal for Irish fishermen in Irish waters.”
“A compensation scheme may be necessary but I urge him as a first step to work across Europe to gain support and to issue legal proceedings in this regard. We cannot and must not accept this. Irish fishermen would be better off to register as Belgians, Dutch, Germans or French and to fly their flags over their vessels than our own, in our own waters. I spoke to a fisherman yesterday who said his vessel will be docked in the harbour while he watches the Germans and the French come in with their vessels, take our fish and load their articulated trucks and go back to Europe. That is what is happening. That is what happened last Friday night. It is unacceptable. I urge the Minister of State to fight for our coastal communities. There is a 70% reduction in mackerel, a 41% reduction in blue whiting and a 22% reduction in boarfish.”
“This has been one of the worst deals in living memory when it comes to the Common Fisheries Policy. Irish fish are effectively being stolen by the European Union, which is what is happening. We are on the periphery of Europe. We have ceded so much ground to our counterparts across Europe. Some 57,000 tonnes of quota will be lost to Irish fishermen next year, which will affect more than 2,000 jobs. I was very concerned when I heard the Minister of State's statement about going to the national Exchequer for a compensation scheme. Our first priority must be to go back to Europe and, if necessary, to initiate legal proceedings in the European Court of Justice to ensure the Hague preferences are guaranteed. We must protect fishers, our indigenous sector and the coastline.”
“We must protect our young people and bring in legislation to prevent the sale and passing it out like sweets. More research also needs to go into the chemicals and the substances in vapes. It is a new technology. There is not enough research on the long-term health implications. I ask the Minister of State to look into this and work with the HSE to ensure that we have the full information in relation to the chemicals in vape products.”
“I also raised in this House a number of months ago the issue of HHC, a semi-synthetic cannabinoid, being sold in vape shops in vapes. I am glad the Government moved and prohibited this. It just shows the devastating impact that is happening to our young people. I know many young people across Mayo who bought HHC in a vape shop and suffered significantly as a result of this. We are behind the curve on this. We are behind other countries. It is time that we move to protect our young people. I would like to see a ban on the beautiful colours, the bubblegum and the smells. That marketing strategy must be counteracted. I am sure there are many people who smoke and are using vapes as a step down away from that. That is potentially a good thing and it can be positive.”
“A total of 76% of young vapers have never smoked a cigarette. It is not a step-down option for people in many instances. Indeed, it is a gateway into smoking and harder drugs. In 2019, of those among 15-year-olds and 16-year-olds, just 9% of that cohort used vapes. Last year, that was 23%. It is a significant rise. It is time that this House brought in legislation to target this. The market is worth over €200 million a year. I urge the Minister of State to ensure that we have legislation, that we bring in legislation that would limit vape flavours and that we would introduce a ban on point of sale advertising, similar to what was done with alcohol, in order that we try to protect young people in this regard.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this. I have huge concerns about vaping and have had for quite some time, particularly about the issue of vaping companies targeting young people as part of their marketing strategy. This is very compelling marketing strategy and it has been a successful strategy. Vape companies are using beautiful scents and smells and so on and presenting vapes as fun, almost like a toy. If children went into a vape shop, I am sure they would think that they were some beautiful sweets or toys. They are presented like bubblegum, candy, fruit or cocktails. The colours are always so bright, colourful and so appealing to young people. It is not accidental; it is a deliberate strategy. It is therefore not surprising that the numbers of people who are vaping today have never actually smoked a cigarette.”
“Fox overpopulation devastates rural Ireland. Lambs and chickens are torn apart in a horrific fashion leaving farmers traumatised and livelihoods at risk. While the Bill frames hunting as cruel, unchecked fox population often inserts far greater cruelty to the livestock population. Hunting is often the only humane way to flush foxes from an area. If we ban this particular issue, it may push farmers into more difficult ways in terms of poisoning, snarls and so on. We need to protect farmers in rural Ireland, and I believe we should not support the Bill that will force farmers into other ways. There is a significant issue of overpopulation of foxes.”
“The blister pack is fundamentally important for the most vulnerable. I have spoken to pharmacists across Mayo who say they will have to cap the number of patients who get blister packs. It is crucially important that the Minister, the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, and the Government prioritise the most vulnerable in society.”
“It should be recognised that pharmacists are doing their best for patients while operating at a loss. This is the respect the Government has for them in relation to this service. I question the Minister's statement that this has always been a private service and therefore that should always be the case. HRT was only available privately up to a few months ago and the State saw fit to pay for that and to bring it into the public scheme.”
“They cannot continue this loss-making exercise, particularly with regard to the changes that are set to be introduced. I want that to go back to the Minister. Many patients with dementia will be put in significant jeopardy if these changes go ahead. The Minister stated that patients should report their pharmacists to the regulator. What planet are we on? What planet is she on? Pharmacists in Mayo and across the country are trying to do their best for patients. They are trying to use the available schemes to get their patients a blister pack. They are doing that for the safety of their patients. Pharmacists are still operating at a loss in this regard. The Minister is asking patients to report their pharmacists to the regulator. Goodwill should be recognised here.”
“It costs in the region of €70 per hour. This is a loss-making exercise for pharmacists. That is what is happening. They are doing it for the benefit of their patients because they have an obligation to them. The Minister is disregarding dementia patients. She has money for the Ukrainian situation and for the 32,000 NGOs in the country, but the most vulnerable people in the State, the people who have built this society - the roads and infrastructure in this country - are being disregarded. I take issue with some of the comments made by the Minister. She stated that if patients are getting their blister pack free at the moment, this will probably continue. That is not the reality. I have been speaking to pharmacists across Mayo who are telling me this cannot continue.”
“Blister packs are fundamentally important. They are not a luxury; they are vital. I spoke to a pharmacist yesterday who explained what happens to dementia patients and patients with a cognitive impairment who are not on a blister pack. Many often end up going back into hospital because they cannot manage their medication. Their home help cannot assist them with it. They present back to the pharmacy, the GP and go into hospital when the medication is not provided to them in a blister pack. Blister packs reduce errors and prevent readmission to hospital. The cost to the pharmacy is enormous. On average, it takes about one hour to prepare a blister pack. They have to be clinically checked first, over and back with the GP, and an assembly process then takes place, usually by a technician, and finally then it is verified by a pharmacist.”
“Worse than that, the State is still liable for a future that is yet to be told. It is a reality that compliance and oversight in the industry are not sufficient. We cannot allow this to continue. Inspections are not happening at quarries despite the fact that this is a scheme that has cost the State billions. I urge the Minister to support the amendments. The oversight that is so fundamentally important should be enshrined in the Bill.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this and the fact that the Minister is in the Chamber. There are some improvements, and that should be recognised. I very much welcome the grant increase. Retrospective payments are good for many families, although they do not go back far enough. The extended timelines from 65 weeks to 130 weeks is supportive. However, there are significant shortfalls in the Bill. It does not achieve the 100% redress that is necessary. The Minister knows that building costs have significantly increased. The cap he has applied is unfair because individuals across Mayo, Donegal and many other parts of the country purchased their homes and took out mortgages in good faith. It was the State that failed them. It is the State that continues to fail these families.”
“There is a significant level of grooming in this space. The victims and their families are affected not just by words; it is much greater than that. Erin Gallagher, at just 13 years of age, lost her life to suicide following bullying on ask.fm . Ciara Pugsley also lost her life following online harassment at just 15 years of age. I ask the Minister to take the ball and prioritise this. This evening, in homes across the country, children are suffering and being harassed online and their parents and teachers may never know about it. Australia has taken the lead. We do not need to reinvent the wheel. Instead, we need to be proactive and protect our children. I urge the Minister to prioritise this very serious issue.”
“I urge the Government to protect children online. What children are exposed to online is absolutely incredible, in particular the level of bullying that they experience. Many years ago, if a child was bullied it was confined to school or a football club. In the online world, it happens 365 days a year and could happen every hour of the day. This technology is not new, yet the Government has done so little. That is the truth. It has allowed tech companies to lead the way and we are in the ha'penny place. Some 40% of Irish schoolchildren report cyber-bullying. Almost half of the children in this country are a victim of cyber-bullying. Some 36% never tell anyone. It is a silent crime and children suffer in silence. Hotline.ie processed almost 30,000 child sexual abuse reports in one year.”
“Ireland faces an emergency crisis in terms of infrastructure, housing, energy and water. According to the ESRI, an additional 40,000 construction workers will be needed for the housing plan and an additional 40,000 will be needed for infrastructure. That is 80,000 construction workers who are required to meet the Government’s plan. Indeed, the Dublin metro will require 8,000 construction workers. What is the Taoiseach’s plan in order to achieve this? I speak to construction workers in Australia all the time. They want to come home but they are simply totally disenfranchised and disengaged. The Government has no interest in bringing them home.”
“The national security strategy consultation launched in 2019 was intended to guide our strategy on security for the past five years, from 2020-25. Despite this, no strategy was published during this timeframe. During that timeframe we had a huge ransomware attack on the HSE which put a significant number of people's lives and health in jeopardy and cost the State several million euro. What is happening on this? When will the strategy be published? It is costing the State a significant amount of money.”
“I am particularly keen to ensure we have a system whereby the microchipping of all of these dogs and enforcement happens. In Mayo, there are only three dog wardens. It is an enormous county. There are very many occasions at weekends and evenings when no dog warden is on duty. Then gardaí are called but are simply not equipped to deal with it. Gardaí do not even have scanners to scan these dogs. This is how poorly equipped we are in the country to deal with this. The Bill will assist with this but there are significant steps we need to take on sheep worrying, microchipping and ensuring gardaí have the ability to protect farmers.”
“This Bill would relieve some of the challenges and pressures these dog shelters face. I urge the Minister of State to prioritise this and to work with those on this side of the House to make sure that minimum standards in the industry are addressed. I want to raise the issue of sheep worrying around the country, in particular on the sheep plains in south Mayo. Some of the best sheep farmers are in south Mayo and in parts of north Mayo also. They are being terrorised by groups of individuals coming onto their lands and sheep worrying. I attended a meeting recently where I spoke to a young farmer who lost half his pedigree stock overnight. Several were savaged by dogs and others were caught in ditches, drains and rivers on the farm. The Bill would assist with this.”
“The lack of regulation and enforcement in this area is causing major difficulty for shelters right across the country. There are over 7,000 dogs in shelters in Ireland. Many of them are pedigree dogs and many have come from the breeding sector. This is quite incredible. The number of dogs euthanised in the country is increasing, and it has increased by 10% over the past year. I thank the shelters throughout the country. In my constituency, Mayo SPCA in Ballyhaunis is run by Ms Marian Biesty, a wonderful woman, and a team of volunteers. They do tremendous work. I have visited it many times. Ms Biesty won Mayo person of the year recently and it was very well deserved. North West SPCA in Ballina is also doing great work, as is the Mayo dog pound in Castlebar.”
“I welcome the Bill from the Social Democrats. I support and welcome the Dog Welfare (Amendment) Bill and I support its core objectives, which I believe are to regulate the industry, improve standards in the industry and enhance public safety. There are good breeders in the country doing good work. Equally, there are some horrendous practices happening in the country. Therefore, it is only right that we seek to introduce a minimum standard. The Bill is important in terms of introducing vital protections, limits to breeding frequency, which is very important, and minimum standards for the care of dogs. Preventing overbreeding, age limits for female dogs, a minimum age of pups for separation and staff ratios are all really important.”
“I speak to builders all the time and they fear five, ten or 15 years down the line. I ask the Tánaiste to start prioritising apprenticeships and reinsert the support that was at 33% last year.”
“Every housing target and every infrastructure project in the country depends on a skilled workforce. Instead of opening the doors and making the apprenticeship system much more attractive we are actually going in the opposite direction. I believe apprentices are treated like second-class citizens in that third level space. There is a significant lack of capacity and this is causing significant delays. The contribution fee has actually increased this year. Phase 4 apprenticeships starting in January will be hit with an almost €1,000 fee. These are students who are working below minimum wage and with significant costs for tools and vans for getting to work. They do not avail of SUSI grants either. I ask the Tánaiste to start prioritising the apprenticeship system. It is crucially important. There is a skills shortage in the country.”
“There is a housing development on the Killala Road in Ballina that was not allowed to proceed as a result of the housing, or population, ceiling that was built into the local development plan. This development plan and the ceiling were dictated by the OPR. If we were allowed more subsidiarity in relation to this, I think we would not have had that problem in Mayo. I ask the Minister to consider allowing councillors and local authorities more power in relation to development plans.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this matter. I welcome this amendment in relation to variations of the local development plan. It is a practical step and it shows a level of flexibility regarding planning, which has become increasingly inflexible. While we are discussing this, I ask the Minister to consider allowing local councillors and local authorities more autonomy and more responsibility in relation to development plans and the direction of the areas. Councillors stand for election and are elected by local communities to represent them and provide a vision for their area. Increasingly, the entire local development plan is laden down with rules and bureaucracy and is actually overseen by the Office of the Planning Regulator, OPR. I believe this is wrong and is actually stifling development in some areas.”
“It is incredible that we have a situation, time and again, whereby Ministers stand up and say in the Dáil that something is not their responsibility when it clearly is. It is important that the spin ends, that we reward the courageous work that is happening and that we provide fairness by recognising those who work 24-hour shifts.”
“After all of the promises that lessons would be learned and so on, and the recognition of the great work that went on, it is hard to believe, so many years later, that lessons have not been learned. We have not addressed the issues. The word salad of assurances is utter nonsense. I listened to the contribution from the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon. He outlined that the Minister for Transport has no responsibility for this issue or for these contracts. He stated that the matter is outside the remit of the Minister and is instead the responsibility of a particular agency, namely the Irish Aviation Authority. To whom does the Irish Aviation Authority report? Who has responsibility for the agency? It is a semi-State agency that has a regulatory aspect for which the Minister is responsible.”
“Let us be extremely straight with people. If you are on a 24-hour search and rescue shift, it is a 24-hour shift. You are at your base, alert and deployable. That is the reality. These people are so courageous in going out in the worst of conditions. They are at their base, alert, ready to go and deployable within seconds. That is the expectation and it is important for the Minister of State to recognise that. Unfortunately, that it is not recognised and we are understanding those 24 hours as 16.5 hours. That is not a technicality. It is disrespectful and dangerous. It is hard to believe that a contract worth €800 million, which has been decades in planning, has produced such a failure. It is a failure in the most basic arithmetic and planning. In Mayo, we sadly remember Rescue 116.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak. I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward the motion. This is a really important topic. The Coast Guard has been shouting into the wind for far too long. It is only right that we have the opportunity today to put this issue front and centre. I am sincerely grateful to all the coastal communities across Mayo. I thank all the voluntary groups, including the Coast Guard, the CHC crews, the RNLI, the Civil Defence, Mountain Rescue, the many community first responders and so many other voluntary groups right across Mayo. They answer the call on the darkest of nights when everyone else is told to stay at home and batten down the hatches. The Coast Guard and many other voluntary groups set about their journeys and start into search and rescue missions. It is only right that we give them the respect they deserve.”
“It is a compensation scheme for the State's failing. It is really important the Government changes its attitude to this. This is not a grant. I welcome the scheme but will continue to fight for the families to ensure we achieve 100% redress and address the many other issues in relation to this.”
“A family in my constituency has been forced into making a retention planning application for an attic-space conversion. It will cost the family more money. I ask the Ministers of State to look at those issues which might seem small from their lovely seats in Leinster House but those issues force families to spend more money on a house that is crumbling. A workaround or solution could be found involving an engineer or a declaration from a solicitor. The family is not looking for meterage in relation to the conversion; it is just looking to get on the scheme but this is a barrier. All these issues create additional costs for families. The entire attitude of the Government needs to change. It needs to look at this not as a Government grant or subsidy that individuals are lucky or privileged to access.”
“I welcome the fact that, following consultation with the stakeholder oversight committee, the time to complete works will increase from 65 to 130 weeks but there are long delays. I was working with a family in Mayo which has been waiting over two years in relation to this committee. On the exclusions for early builders, I would like to ask what is the difference between a family who paid for a house in February 2024 and one who paid in April 2024. There are families in that scenario who will no doubt be ringing my office tomorrow. What shall we tell them? This is the Ministers' Bill and I would like a response to that. I welcome the amendment but there is a long way to go in addressing the issues so many families across Mayo face.”
“It is important to remember this was a mistake not of the family's own making; it was the Government's lack of regulation that caused this. It was well able to charge VAT on these building projects but it was unable to provide the oversight necessary, and now these families are suffering as a result. While €462,000 might appear a lot and several years ago would have gone a significant way, have the Ministers of State priced building at the moment? It will not offer 100% redress for these families. It is only right and proper that the Government should go back to the drawing board, look into this and actually implement a scheme which has 100% redress. I do not believe it should be capped.”
“Those families were eagerly anticipating this Bill. I wanted to reach out to those families regarding this Bill but the Government failed to provide that chance. That is deeply cynical. It is wrong that the Minister has rushed such an important piece of legislation. He has not allowed any pre-legislative scrutiny in relation to this, one of the most important issues facing so many families across Mayo, Donegal, Clare, Wexford and in other pockets of this country. The increase of 10% is welcome and I certainly support that. We have campaigned for an increase and, indeed, the retrospective payment. However, does the Government not realise the level of construction inflation over several years? This scheme is still a capped scheme. It is still capped and will be now at €462,000. That is not 100% redress.”
“First, I acknowledge the great work of Mayo County Council over many years working with a very difficult scheme. I particularly acknowledge the work of Clodagh Gleeson, who has helped many families through what is the most horrendous time. She has worked tirelessly, day and night, to assist many families in the most stressful time of their lives. This is such an important issue. It affects thousands of people and their homes. This issue has been going on for so many years and yet this Bill was only published by the Government today. This was an insult, not just to TDs in this House but to the families who have campaigned and who have been working so hard on this. This should have been an opportunity to engage with families like the ones who came up to Dublin last week from the Mayo pyrite action group.”
“Of course, it means children are moving from one waiting list to another like paperwork. When will the Taoiseach intervene and sort out this crisis not just in Mayo but right across the country?”
“I rise today to speak for children with disabilities and their families. Children's disability network teams, CDNTs, are meant to be the backbone of early intervention in this country, but that backbone is well and truly broken. The teams are chronically understaffed and the consequences are devastating. In Mayo, no CDNT is fully staffed. Mayo north has four full-time vacancies, Mayo south has three and a half vacancies and Mayo west has almost four vacancies. Unbelievably, the HSE tried to remove one of these vacant post as opposed to filling it. Across the broader region of the north and north west, there are 50 vacancies and not a single CDNT that is fully staffed. This means families waiting years for therapies for children with disabilities. It means missed milestones and parents begging for updates.”
“This is a failure of a State agency to uphold the very principles it claims to protect: fairness, due process and safety for those who speak up in the public interest. This cannot happen. We must stand up and protect individuals who stand up in the interest of the State.”
“Internal records, released only after the WRC settlement, showed that Tusla staff had contacted his private therapist without consent, conducted unauthorised background checks on him and even falsely suggested he posed a danger to vulnerable children. This is what happens to whistleblowers in this country. It was a smear campaign. An internal investigation dismissed his original concerns. Yet, a former staff member has since confirmed that financial oversight issues did exist in Tusla at that time and also found derogatory language was used against him. A separate internal investigation took place. Two weeks ago he filed a second protected disclosure detailing concealed data, retaliatory actions and corroborated evidence. After seven years, the damage to him professionally, personally and emotionally is profound.”