Ruairí Ó Murchú
Louth · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“It was hardly a shock to me and many others that he decided that the simplicity that was asked for by Sinn Féin last week, such that we would consider preparations for Irish unity, was not acceptable. Most people would see this as a possibility, even those who do not necessarily like the idea.”
“I welcome that. I have spoken previously to the Minister about the necessity of providing Mr. Delaney's report on the incident to Natasha and the wider family.”
“We will all be very interested to see what the new circular is. The Minister of State said it will be announced in September. A needs-based system is what we need. I would like to think the young boy I talked about would be able to avail of this. I will use him as an example. The correct assessments were carried out.”
“We just need to make sure that the circular is fit for purpose and that the young primary school child to whom I refer will be given the supports he requires. I will just finish reading from the communication to which I referred earlier.”
“We need to ensure that the engagement with Lebanon is ongoing. Are we happy with the interaction with the UN? There had been some issues relating to the coroner's court. Everyone needs to do everything that can be done to ensure truth and justice for the family of Private Seán Rooney.”
“I thank the Ceann Comhairle for all the flexibility she allows in this Chamber, and hopefully that will continue as we speak. I welcome an awful lot of what Deputy Devlin said.”
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“It would also be impossible not to mention the North East Runners and the shocking events that happened in Drumgowna and Mark, Louise and Evan O'Connor. Mark was a far better runner than I am. I used to only see his name much above mine. Our thoughts are with their wider family. Whatever supports are needed should be provided. The whole point is the importance of sports. I have spoken to the Minister of State many times, particularly about the LSSIF and the necessity that Louth GAA be at the top of the table in the next round. We have already seen the stadium which is not very far from my house. It is flying on at the minute. It is not a major thing that is very close to my house but it is a major issue for Louth GAA, which has had huge success. Drogheda United was mentioned by my colleague.”
“I am just after running over from Hodges Figgis from the launch of The Irish Unity Dividend by Ben Collins. Everything that should be done from sport right through should be done on the basis that we are one single island, eventually delivering a 32-county unitary state that delivers for its people. Coming from Dundalk, it would be impossible not to mention how proud we are of Kate O'Connor in the heptathlon. Supports must be provided for those like her who can go on to do great things. We have seen great strides in Louth with the athletics track in Dundalk. Everyone is thankful when they finally get the benefits of the LSSIF and sports capital We know the great addition sport is to people's lives. We need to ensure it happens.”
“We must do it whether it is by getting a number of countries working together or by getting the EU to do it properly by qualified majority voting. We need to make sure we take the agreement apart because Israel was given a prize it should never have been given-----”
“I welcome some of the moves that have been made in Britain and Germany, but they continue to supply weapons. None of this is good enough. We need to enact the occupied territories Bill in its entirety. That means for services and not only goods. We also need to take apart the EU-Israel association agreement.”
“The only defence is that if they really wanted, they could kill more. One of Netanyahu's intentions, the absolutely criminal one, is to stay out of jail, so on that basis he continues the war. Smotrich and Ben-Gvir have been absolutely clear about what they want, which is a greater Israel and the removal of the Palestinian people from Gaza. They are using starvation, famine and executing children as they await food aid. What can you say about people who are willing to consider this? Our only hope is that Donald Trump gets a rush of blood to the head and falls out to some degree with Benjamin Netanyahu. This is a very said affair. The only thing that can be done from our point of view is to ensure that pressure is maintained on America and on those powers that have provided weapons to the Israeli war machine. It is absolutely disgraceful.”
“Trump has told Hamas it has three or four days to respond. The only person who has come out in absolute support of this 20-point peace plan is Benjamin Netanyahu, who said, "I support your plan to end the war in Gaza, which achieves our war aims." Only bad choices are in front of the Palestinian people at the moment. The final quote is from the Taoiseach, who said that Israel must "behave within international law" over Gaza flotilla. That is it. The expectation is that they will not. We send solidarity not only to the Palestinian people but also to Senator Chris Andrews and Deputy Barry Heneghan. We dread to think what the IDF has in store for these people, who are literally trying to introduce a humanitarian corridor. What have we seen in the last while? We have seen 66,000 Palestinians killed. We have seen famine used as a means of war.”
“I just went onto the RTÉ website and saw a headline: "Israel issues 'last' warning for Gaza City residents" to flee. Israel Katz followed that up with: "Those who remain ... will be considered terrorists and terrorist supporters." The article states: The intensification of military operations in Gaza City has forced the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to temporarily suspend operations at its Gaza City office and relocate staff to ICRC offices in southern Gaza to ensure staff safety and operational continuity, That is what the Palestinian people are going through. The next extract is very well put: "Accepting the plan is a disaster, rejecting it is another, there are only bitter choices here, but the plan is a Netanyahu plan articulated by Trump,". That was said by a Palestinian official familiar with Hamas's deliberations.”
“There will be a need, at times, to deal with the issues relating to social media. I would ask that people desist from any speculation and leave the investigations to the Garda. We need to make sure the supports are provided. I am aware there is a candlelit vigil tonight at Stonetown community walking track at 9 p.m. and I have no doubt the community will come together on this.”
“I take this opportunity to pass on my condolences on the death of Mark, Louise and Evan O'Connor, a family who suffered absolute devastation. I do not have words for the shock that that family and the wider community have suffered. Superintendent Andrew Waters said that he would maintain engagement with the family and would also ensure that those supports that are needed would be provided, which is absolutely necessary. Mark and Louise were instrumental in setting up Drogheda ABACAS special school. I know Mark was involved with Inclusion Ireland and Autism Support Louth & Meath. They provided great advocacy. Both of them were involved in volunteerism across the board.”
“Tiernan has blind registration and aside from the fact that he is going to have great difficulty navigating such a big classroom, if he trips and falls, he has the added danger that he could have a serious bone break. There had been NCSE correspondence before but it was the usual stuff about the SNA resources; in other words, not an individualised resource but a school allocation to be deployed to children who have significant primary care needs. That is not a good enough answer. As I said, we need to ensure this process happens speedily and that Tiernan is provided with the supports he should have.”
“Then we could provide the child with the necessary school framework in which he can learn. I want to put on record a letter that was written before the child was there. It was written by a visiting teacher for young people who are blind or vision impaired who was very concerned about the fact the school had told Tiernan's mother they were not in a position to provide SNA support for him. The visiting teacher stated: Tiernan has a significant visual impairment and he also has a medical condition whereby his bones break very easily. He is coming from a nine child preschool room with full level 7 Aims support into a Junior Infant classroom of over 30 children with no additional support.”
“The NCSE guidelines need to be updated to ensure there are no further worries about what people believed were the changes introduced. We do need to look at some element of flexibility in dealing with specific children like Tiernan. He is registered blind and has a propensity to break bones. We can all imagine the difficulties that exist and we talking about a four-year-old child. The circumstances could improve in the future and he may need fewer resources. At this point in time he is lucky that the ASD class has not yet opened. I welcome the fact that the Minister of State will engage with the review process. It probably should not have come to this House, but if we could have that happen as quickly as possible and deliver a positive result his mam, the principal and everyone else would be especially happy with that.”
“Whether talking to his teachers, principal or his visiting teacher - I have given Minister of State correspondence - who deals with children who are visually impaired, they are absolutely afraid that he will not have the supports that are required. I understand the rules. They need to be examined in general, but, beyond that, we need to have an element of flexibility because we are talking about a health and safety issue that is causing huge stress for a family. We are also talking about a child who at this point in time does not have the supports he should have. It is a circumstance that is going to get worse over the next couple of weeks. I ask that the Minister of State does everything in his power to resolve this issue.”
“I understand the way the allocations are done this weather. They are not done on the basis of a single allocation for a child. However, we are talking about a child who at best can see 6 m where we can see 30 m. We are talking about a four-year-old. He has albinism and photosensitivity. Someone has to make sure he puts sun cream on before he goes out for fear of his propensity for cancer. We need to ensure that he has a one-on-one SNA allocation. At this stage I cannot see anything other than this working at this stage. While his condition may get worse, he will get older and learn a skillset. In the future he might not need the supports that are needed now. His mother has said this.”
“There are issues relating to the conditions for SNA allocations. On this basis, I raise the issue of Tiernan Clarke. It is an issue I brought up with the Minister of State previously. I have also spoken to the Taoiseach and the NCSE around it. It is something we really need to see movement on. Tiernan Clarke is from Riverstown on the Cooley Peninsula. He is now aged four. He is in Rampark National School. He is registered blind and he has a condition that renders his bones prone to breaking if he falls. I have been told that he has had a number of what I am going to call minor falls. We are dealing with a health and safety issue. There is an ASD class to be opened in October, but at this point in time there are three SNAs in his class setting. These circumstances are going to get a lot worse at some point this month.”
“It is very hard to discuss anything relating to SNAs without dealing with the onslaught of fears that have been expressed to politicians due to the guidelines from the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, which provide that there will be a very limited school-led review and that the window will be shut. There has been row back on that. There has also been row back on the fear that SNA allocations would be unified across mainstream and special classes. I welcome that we have heard that from the Department, Government and the NCSE. I know this will be delivered in written form to schools. I ask that the guidelines be updated. The guidelines should state exactly how things are. That request is fair enough. We have all met with SNAs, teachers and principals on that and that is all they are looking for.”
“When they asked what the discount was for, the broker said that when the clients rang to query the premium, the insurance company had just authorised the broker to lower it to €1,500. It is what we would expect going on: two-tier price-gouging. Last year's renewal was €1,369, which included the €300 added when the mortgage providers were changed. On 26 May 2025, a taxi was hijacked in Dundalk. It was a 131 Škoda, worth around €11,000. It was written off by the insurance company for €4,750, but it took out €984 for recovery storage and €1,000 for excess. The man got €2,766. I do not even have time to deal with travel insurance.”
“In the short time I have, I will just deal with an issue in relation to an unexplained increase in the cost of a house insurance premium due for renewal next month. It relates to a home in Dundalk with a €636,000 rebuild sum and contents cover of €51,500. There were no claims on the policy, which was a standard one. The renewal documents an approximate 28% increase on last year. The family paid over €1,000 the year before, but when they changed mortgage provider, the company increased the premium by around €300. When they contacted the brokers, they were offered €1,815.41, and then 10% extra if they paid in instalments. That is a huge increase. When the family said the quote was nearly 30% higher, they were straightaway offered €1,500 to renew, citing a discount.”
“I remember as a councillor - Gerry Adams was still the TD for Louth - we met with Michael D'Arcy in relation to public liability insurance and a particular issue we had. I will give him one thing: at the time he said that this was not taken seriously enough at Cabinet level and, even beyond that, even when determinations were made, that you could not trust the insurance companies. The duty of care in legislation has all been carried through. We know some of it will take a period to bed in, but the fact is that until the Government operates the sort of legislation we are talking about here, until their feet are held to the fire, insurance companies are not going to care and they are going to absolutely screw people over. There is no other term you can use.”
“If we are serious about this, it will be a case of trying and testing, and doing what we do not always necessarily do, which is to review the policy and then make the changes that are necessary.”
“In some cases, we need to make sure we have not only resources in the sense of the seed money that is necessary, but also what additional supports are necessary to bring these enterprises to a level where they can be successful. Some of my colleagues noted that this can be a particularly innovative process. Where people have been at a remove from training and employment, these are the type of people that we need go get into this area. We have seen the huge strides that have been taken in regard to education. Lifelong learning has been facilitated to a degree, although there are still some people locked out who we need to facilitate. Whether it is the PLC route or other avenues that offer opportunity, these did not necessarily exist before.”
“We are all happy that we are having a conversation about national social enterprise policy. However, it is the case that seeing is believing. Like my colleagues, I know there have been many successful but also some unsuccessful social enterprise operations within our constituencies. Some of that is due to the fact that supports and the framework have not necessarily been in place as we would like to see them. In fairness, the Minister of State plans to visit my constituency. Muirhevnamor community centre is one of the places he will be visiting. When we have that sort of community infrastructure, it is a matter of making sure we utilise it. Whether we are talking about training initiatives or social enterprises, as I said, some have been successful and some have not.”
“We need to have a real conversation. We need rules, regulations and the supports for people to get beyond their addiction as well and to deal with the reality of what we have, rather than just dealing with very simplistic statements.”
“Going back to the issue with HHC in vapes, no more than dealing with nitrous oxide and all the rest of it, we have really harmful gateway drugs. We have a huge issue with addiction. Even in the last few days we had an event in the audiovisual room where the North Eastern Regional Drug and Alcohol Task Force alongside the Coalition for Better Alcohol Policy said they needed money first of all, as well as a national alcohol strategy and for us to tie it all together. I will be honest that with addiction, drugs and alcohol and some of the accoutrements we are talking about there, we are not having a holistic conversation about how we deal with this. There is an overlap with crime. I am not just talking about organised crime but also about disorganised crime, which people sometimes term antisocial behaviour.”
“I do not know how many times we have been in here talking about vapes and how it is pretty obvious tobacco companies have looked for alternatives to what they used to be able to sell, like cigarettes and other products, which have obviously caused abject harm to a huge number of people and families throughout this State and the world. We have seen the huge money these companies have put into fighting legislation, including some of the legislation that has been introduced in this jurisdiction. I have no issue with stating we have seen some decent action taken on cigarettes, but we are where we are in relation to dealing with what we are dealing with at the minute and we know there are particular products that are aimed at younger and younger children. That needs to be dealt with. We need legislation on that.”
“This is another of these circumstances where we are going to have agreement there are absolute dangers with vapes. You do not ever have to go very far to find them. At times I probably do not even have to leave my own house, and that is the thing. We have seen the prevalence of vape use among young people, as well as other nicotine-related products such as nicotine pouches. We have also seen something that is far more nefarious, which is HHC vapes. It is like synthetic THC. We have seen the huge damage that happens. We are talking sometimes about very young children who have engaged in this sort of behaviour and that is a gateway to a really bad place. These synthetic-type drugs can also have real detrimental impacts. We need to move beyond having statements. Statements are fine but we need to see legislative action on this.”
“People have to live with unaffordable houses and unaffordable rents every day of the week. We will be taking money from some of these people without giving them the option fast enough to mitigate some of that pain, at the same time as the Government is set to hammer them in a budget when some of them are still expecting that there will be some element of reprieve. The Minister has to look at this and find a system that will work while also looking after those who are under severe pressure.”
“That is combined with the added pressures they are under at this time in relation to the cost-of-living crisis. This is a time when the Government has moved itself back from at least some of the mitigations that have been offered in previous budgets, such as the energy credits. We know the issue for those who have to pay third level fees, some of whom are looking at €1,000 more than for last year. If they have multiple children that could be a number of thousand more. This is not a particularly good time for that. When we talk about putting frameworks in place and making sure we have a proper system that works, it is absolutely logical to have the State dealing with this money so it can invest in those capital projects that actually pay off in a really big way. We are talking about housing and the absolute mess that is the housing crisis.”
“Anybody who has been to a shopping centre in the last while or anybody who has had to shop for groceries knows exactly what you used to be able to get butter for and what it costs now. A lot of people know it on the basis of the absolutely extortionate levels of rent they pay due to the housing crisis. We have not been able to deal with and put a decent framework in place in relation to energy provision in this State. We have some of the dearest energy costs across Europe, and we know privatisation and many other factors have played a part. I accept not all of this is on the Minister, but it is due to multiple failures to deal with this over multiple years. At this point in time, we are where we are. It is really difficult if we are going to take money from some of those who most need it.”
“Deputies O'Reilly and Bennett have laid out our particular issues with auto-enrolment. We would all like to be here in support of an idea my party has always been in support of, but the system the Government is talking about is not that. I do not know how many debates there have been since the resumption about the fact people out there are absolutely suffering in a cost-of-living crisis, especially those who are at the middle, and even more so those at the lowest end, when it comes to earnings. We are talking about taking money from them. For somebody earning €20,000, we could be taking €20 to €30 a month from them. To some people that does not sound like a lot of money but for those who do not have it, it is an absolutely huge amount. We know the inflationary pressures.”
“Deputies Louis O'Hara and Claire Kerrane - To discuss maternity services at Portiuncula University Hospital. Deputy Emer Currie - To discuss the national remote work strategy as a driver for employment and labour force participation. Deputy Cathy Bennett - To discuss the rising cost of third level education. Deputy Matt Carthy - To discuss the impact of delays in SENO allocations on pupils and families in Cavan-Monaghan. Deputy Pa Daly - To discuss the reopening of Rattoo round tower. The matters raised by Deputies Emer Currie, David Cullinane and Conor D. McGuinness, Michael Cahill, Alan Kelly and Paul Murphy have been selected for discussion.”
“Deputy Sinéad Gibney - To discuss funding challenges for LauraLynn and the lack of children's palliative care nationally. Deputy Darren O'Rourke - To discuss the new guidelines for SNA reviews for 2025 to 2026. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan - To discuss the ongoing crisis in capacity at University Hospital Limerick. Deputy Gary Gannon - To discuss the urgent need for outdoor sports facilities in Dublin 1. Deputy Paul Murphy - To discuss funding of research into Okur-Chung syndrome and other rare diseases. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú - To discuss the failure to provide an SNA for a primary school child. Deputy Alan Kelly - To discuss the full opening of the new Nenagh community nursing home. Deputies David Cullinane and Conor D. McGuinness - To discuss the status of the funding application for Waterford Airport.”
“I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Robert O'Donoghue - To discuss waiting lists for speech and language therapy in CHO 9. Deputy Barry Ward - To discuss the expansion of access to Irish language medium primary and secondary schools. Deputy Pat Buckley - To discuss the closure of the local training initiative in Youghal, County Cork. Deputy Paul Donnelly - To discuss the national policy framework for unmanned aircraft systems. Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss waiting lists for psychology services in Cork and Kerry. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae - To discuss restoration of the 9% VAT rate and supports for rural pubs. Deputy Mark Wall - To discuss the lack of available childcare places in Kilcullen, County Kildare.”
“We agree that, obviously, the figures I have are not acceptable. If I am wrong or those figures have been updated, I would appreciate if I could have them, whether that is now or later in writing, because we need to know the depth of the issue. My fear is if those 445.3 positions were filled, the CDNTs would still not be able to deliver on the basis of the need. Cara Darmody has been a strong advocate for the position that, whatever legislative changes the Government proposes, the right to an assessment of need within six months cannot be rowed back from. I understand at this point in time there is an absolute breach of the law by Government on this but we cannot move away from that right, as exists. I ask for an update on the legislative changes the Government proposes around this.”
“No one is going to have a difficulty with the pillars or the strategy, but we have had many well written strategies before. This will come down to the roadmap and the actual action plan. We will be waiting until approximately November or December for that. Can the Minister provide me with that timeline? It will come down to the specific points in that. If we deal with the CDNTs and replies to my parliamentary questions, in April, there were 445.3 positions unfilled in the CDNTs. At the end of June, we were talking about 16,593 assessments of need, AONs, basically awaiting or overdue completion. We are talking about an end-of-year figure of 23,903. The figure at the end of July for those waiting on first contact with a CDNT was 10,714. Obviously, none of these figures work.”
“I wish to ask the Minister the means by which, under the national human rights strategy for disabled people, the delivery of therapies and assessments will be achieved. When I first put in this question, I actually asked a bit more that obviously related to other Departments, such as the cost of disability that relates to the Department of Social Protection, or issues that relate to transport or housing. We all know the issues that exist with regard to therapies and assessments. While I have received some figures back, I am seeking the latest update on the state of play so that we can actually offer a framework that provides the supports required by children.”
“We know there is an issue in respect of transport for children with special educational needs, but I will speak about kids who are using the system as it exists. I spoke about a Down's syndrome child who used the services for two years on a concessionary basis. I am saying he should not be concessionary; he should just get the service as a right. He and his brothers travelled and they are the only people who did not get it. I know the Minister of State is working on this. I will leave it at that.”
“However, we do not need to be dealing with parents who send emails stating that they paid for and received two tickets for a route that does not have a bus. Some parents received an email yesterday from Bus Éireann to state that no service was available. One correspondent of mine is a lady with a husband, both of whom work. They have a number of other children who attend a local primary school so they cannot take their two girls to a secondary school in Dundalk. We cannot have circumstances such as those. It is not good enough. We know we need to address the issue of the thresholds relating to distances. That would deal with a significant amount. I will finish on an issue I have previously brought up with the Minister of State.”
“We must plan properly to ensure we have the resources. I do not know for how long we are going to be talking about drivers who are over the age of 70 and who can drive in other circumstances. They can drive the same kids whether to a school tour or wherever else in any other circumstances. We have been talking about this for years and the situation has not moved on. I ask that somebody grip the issue and get it to the place it needs to be. That may alleviate some of the issue. We must ensure we have the resources to deliver. I am told there will be a computerisation, for want of a better term, that will allow us to know how many are using the system and whatever else. That is all fine.”
“My colleague, Deputy O'Rourke, put it well when he said we had this every year. The debate about school transport is a matter of rinse and repeat. I think the Deputy used the term "a new low". That was the idea. We have all spoken about families who had bus routes confirmed and tickets issued only to get a refusal at the last minute. In my constituency, there were issues in Blackrock and Haggardstown, heading to Dundalk, and the Tullyallen to Drogheda route. I dealt with a number of our councillors, including Councillor Eric Donovan, in that regard, as has my colleague, Deputy Joanna Byrne. Some of the issues took a number of weeks to rectify. That is not taking away from the considerable amount of work that has been done. As was said earlier, we need to consider the need that is out there.”
“Many of us became worried about some of stories in the public domain, including that Mohammad Ayyad was not even in Lebanon, so there is a necessity for pressure to be put on the Lebanese regime. Is the Tánaiste reasonably happy that the UN is providing that information? I assume that the Government will maintain pressure to ensure this happens, particularly with regard to information for the family. Regarding the Army pensions case involving John McNeela, whose son Michael made the ultimate sacrifice in Lebanon while peacekeeping, we all know that the allowance paid to John's wife when she died was not transferred to him. The Tánaiste promised to update the legislation. Is there a possibility of finding an administrative solution? Could we have a timeline on that?”
“It is absolutely necessary that the Tánaiste maintain communication with the family and the pressure be maintained, not only on the Lebanese authorities but also on the UN. Is the Tánaiste reasonably happy that there is a free flow of information at this point from the UN? There were promises that information would be provided to the family, but I am not sure that all has been done. We need to ensure that happens. Is there any further news regarding Mohammad Ayyad, who was not there in court? This obviously leads to major worries. We should maintain whatever pressure we can because Private Rooney made the ultimate sacrifice. We know the issues there are in relation to that UNIFIL mission. It is absolutely right that we stand by him and his memory, but also that the UN does justice.”
“Obviously, we remember the sacrifice of Seán Rooney. We also remember the case where Joshua Phelan, Nathan Bryan and Shane Kearney were injured. We are all absolutely shocked by Mohammad Ayyad not being there in court and by the pitiful sentences. These are being re-examined and there is a promise, to some degree, of more action. What have the Tánaiste's engagements been with the Lebanese authorities? Is there any news about where Mohammad Ayyad is? Is there any follow-up on where those cases are?”
“I accept that. The fact is we do this every year. We do the exact same thing. We need a solution because it is not right to have these parent having to go through the trauma of this and then to show up here and to be advocates. They just want to be parents and they want this Government to deliver for their children. Sin é.”
“The child has tripped and there are issues relating to bones. I also brought up the issue of school transport and I will be following that up.”
“We also accept that all that information should be available, particularly for kids going into secondary school. It is not that they dropped from Mars. These kids are known about. This information is there and none of this makes any sense whatsoever. What we need to see is that we have the correct information and then ensure that these kids are dealt with properly. I brought up the issue of Rampark National School earlier. It relates to a child who does not have an SNA and who is severely impaired visually. Teachers and others are speaking about the health and safety issue that has arisen. They came from a childcare setting where they have a greater level of supervision and protection. They are now in the class. The school is actually saying at this stage there are health and safety issues.”
“Unfortunately, this is like rinse and repeat. Earlier, the Minister of State spoke about the fact that the number of children who do not have appropriate places is in single digits. In fairness Equality in Education has the number at 168. That is the number that the Minister of State could not provide. He has promised to come back with those numbers. If we could have a real conversation in relation to what the numbers are, or what the actual need is, and how we can actually address this particular issue, it would be helpful. It is all well and good talking about a single point of application but we know that this is only going to be piloted in a number of schools next year. We all welcome the fact that in October people will be able to make an application to the NCSE.”
“We were lucky that at this think-in we also had Cara Darmody and her father, Mark. There are huge questions about the assessment of need, AON, legislation. It does not relate specifically to the Minister's brief but it does have an impact on huge issues. What will happen? There are proposed changes. At the end of June, 16,593 children had not been dealt with in relation to an AON. Looking towards the end of the year, the figure now is 23,903. This will not work at all. The children's disability network teams, CDNTs, are missing staff from positions. Some 445.3 positions are unfilled and even if they are filled, that will not deal with the requirements of those waiting. On in-school therapies, the Minister said we are only talking about 45 schools being served this year but no one has been appointed to a position yet.”
“While the Taoiseach has spoken about complex and clinical issues, I think we will all accept that there have been failures in dealing with children as regards spina bifida and scoliosis and probably across the board in Children's Health Ireland, CHI. We need to have some sort of plans about delivering what is required. I was very taken by what Stephen said. He said children, in particular his son and others, were being failed from birth and even before it. That should not be possible. I recognise there was huge engagement with those with disabilities, but I have received complaints from Physical Impairment Ireland and Voice of Vision Impairment about the lack of engagement with them. We need to make sure it happens because it is about those who have to live the reality. They need the plans and strategies to be based on their requirements.”
“It is fair to say we need to deal with the child protection issues, whether that is in the cases of Kyran Durnin or Daniel Aruebose. I think we are all glad his body was found, but we need to make sure the review mechanisms and the proper guidelines and protocols are in place and that they are adhered to. It is not only about investigating these cases; it is about making sure no more cases happen. I also raise the issue of specialist public health nurses, which were planned for previously. The idea is that they would engage with families and screening would take place and if it is the case that families need additional supports, they should get them. Everyone was taken by Gillian Sherratt and Stephen Morrison, the parents of Harvey Morrison. We were lucky to have them at our think-in recently.”