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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“Prior to this, not only would the graduates have gone through the college course and placement but, on graduation, they would have received the role. In addition, the role would generally have been within 45 km of their home. I brought this issue up with the Taoiseach and he came back to Deputy Kerrane the next day and said these graduates would get a position but they would still have to go through the process. He said the graduates had been asked to select three preferred locations in a region from the available vacancies and that every effort would be made to accommodate their first preferences. The fear is that someone from Dundalk could end up in Cork. People have those sorts of worries. The good news that emerged last week is that contact had been made and we heard that the competition was being dropped.”
“My most recent SPC expired on the 13th of January. I received email communication from [the National Ambulance Service] NAS Human Resources on February 20th asking me to sign a 16-week contract extension. The email stated that the purpose of the extension was to enable me to continue my employment with NAS for long enough to apply for a permanent position through an internal recruitment competition. I was not given any details, whatsoever, about the recruitment competition or the permanent positions to which it relates. This change from established practices was wrong. It was disgraceful. There is no other way of saying it. When I spoke to many of the senior paramedics outside, they said that one of the issues is that there has been a difficulty in filling certain positions in certain stations.”
“I wish to discuss the HSE's failure to offer 76 newly qualified paramedics full-time jobs upon graduation. We do not come in here too many times with a solution to a particular issue. It is fair to say that the reason this issue has been somewhat resolved is the action taken by many of those graduates who obviously made contact with many people in this House and beyond. It was good to see the number of people protesting outside this House, which they should not have to do. I had been contacted by multiple people, including some of the graduate paramedics themselves and members of their families who are incredibly worried. One of the paramedics sent me this email. It states: For the past three years, I have been working under a series of one-year, specified purpose contracts (SPC) in order to progress through my training as a paramedic.”
“Let us be clear: Marco Rubio let it out of the bag when he stated that the Israelis were going to do it anyway, so America followed on. It is an absolute disgrace. The Government has to be stronger on this. The EU has failed miserably.”
“That did not blow up in any way, shape or form. We do not know where this ends. We do know what is happening to civilians across the Middle East at the moment and our thoughts are with them. We are aware that 185 civilians were killed in an attack on a school, many of them schoolgirls. We have all seen the pictures. Not only have we seen a ship attacked by the Israelis and the Americans, but what was almost worse was the fact the survivors were not saved. I do not know what we can call that but a war crime. I will give Benjamin Netanyahu one thing: he is consistent. He is not only a genocidal maniac who wants to ensure there is no Palestinian state, but he is absolutely committed to this attack on Iran, which is absolutely illegal and needs to be condemned by this Government.”
“It followed the chequered history of America in the Middle East. It was a coup to ensure the Shah would be in a position to ensure American interests were absolutely protected and that there would be no chance of the nationalisation of those resources, particularly oil, which America cared about. It is obviously an utterly repressive regime, and we are now dealing with the outworkings of it. If anyone remembers the Iran-Contra affair, the Americans illegally sold weapons so that the CIA could make money to provide it to the Contras in Nicaragua to fight against the Sandinistas. American foreign policy has not just gone rogue with Donald Trump; it did not start in a particularly great place. We also know that when America had an issue with Iran, it decided it would use its great friend Iraq and Saddam Hussein.”
“Regarding the CCPC, we will be very interested in what the Minister, Deputy Burke, says will be an investigation that should take in or around a month. We need to see action straight away. We have stated for some time that the regular people of Ireland are under severe pressure with the cost-of-living crisis, and it goes without saying that this only adds to it. While we will attempt to keep manners on those who gouge, we also need to provide support for those who are under severe pressure. Those with disabilities are high among them. I again call for an emergency cost-of-disability payment to be delivered. Iran is not a state that any of us is going to stand up and defend. We are all aware of its many sins over many years. However, how did this Islamic Republic come to power in 1979?”
“We need to ensure we do absolutely everything from the point of view of looking after Irish people who are stranded down to what has been not only a breach of international law but a crazy act by genocidal Israel, and America following on its coattails, and not for the first time in the Middle East carrying out acts that are not even beneficial to America from the point of view of its own foreign policy and strategy. That is, unfortunately, par for the course. It has been said by many here that oil prices have shot through the roof, whether at the forecourts or in the purchase of kerosene. Action has been taken straight away, with nothing about reserves or hedging or anything else. It is absolutely right that the Minister would call in the industry. We need to see action.”
“First and foremost, I commend the professionalism and dedication of our consular staff. Many of us have engaged with those working out of our embassies across the Middle East at this time and those working in Dublin. I have no doubt nearly everybody in here has been contacted by those who have found themselves stranded, in some cases in relatively precarious scenarios where they may have medical conditions and other circumstances. I have no doubt there will be a need for further charter flights and that far greater resources will need to be provided.”
“We need to make sure that happens. For far too long we have been in here dealing with the failures of the State. We need delivery for those who have been abused and have survived.”
“Dignity4Patients represents 400 abuse survivors - that is 398 men and two women. I have an abject fear that that does not represent all the people abused by Michael Shine, a consultant who was able to operate like God. There were failures by Our Lady of Lourdes, the Medical Missionaries of Mary, the Garda and successive Departments of Health, and there was failure by this State and its governments over many years. I welcome that Lorcan Staines is in position and we have a timeline for a scoping exercise, but it needs to deliver a full public inquiry that delivers for the likes of Larry, Cianan, Gerard and Peter, whom we heard from when Deputy Joanna Byrne had a presentation in the audiovisual room. "Horrified" does not even cut it in relation to what was done to these people and the failure to provide them with truth and justice.”
“I believe that Athletics Ireland has the capacity, through engagement with Athletics Northern Ireland, British Athletics, Sport Ireland and Sport Northern Ireland, to get all the stakeholders into the room at some stage from the point of view of making sure that a motion would go to the World Athletics Congress in 2027 in China. That engagement could find a solution to this. It is about ensuring Government support and support from the Minister of State. He could play a huge role in facilitating this. If he met us, we could work on a roadmap with these other stakeholders, which I believe are open to this idea.”
“I welcome the fact that the Minister of State is in support of a derogation in relation to this. It is only right and I commend the work of the Friends of Irish Athletics who have supported this over many years. I have no doubt the Minister of State has had a significant amount of correspondence from the group in relation to the matter. On behalf of Deputies O'Rourke, Joanna Byrne, a number of others and myself, I ask if the Minister of State would be open to a meeting with a cross-party group within the next, let us say, fortnight to discuss this issue and the Minister of State's facilitation of it. My understanding is the same as his, in that it is about World Athletics.”
“I believe that Joanna Byrne recently met representatives of Athletics Ireland. There is a route map, and possibly a motion to go to the World Athletics Congress in China. There is a necessity for governmental support in relation to ensuring this happens.”
“It is as simple as this: until we deal with the issues as regards Airbnb and delivering housing for those in the Gaeltacht, we will continue to see that people have no choice but to protest. I welcome the fact that the Government has not gone against this legislation, but I would like people to have the opportunity I have. I will make the promise I make every year; táim chun níos mó cleachtadh a dhéanamh sa bhliain atá romhainn.”
“Táimid ag caint ar ghnáthdaoine, daoine óga agus daoine óga atá ag iarraidh go mbeidh a dteaghlach ag cónaí sa Ghaeltacht is ag caint Gaeilge. Níl na hacmhainní nó aon phlean ann. Táimid breá sásta nach bhfuil an Rialtas ag dul in éadan an rúin, ach caithfí rud éigin a dhéanamh mar, faoin am seo, tá faic déanta. Sin í an fhadhb atá ann. Níl sé maith go leor. Bhíomar i gcónaí ag éisteacht le caic - ní féidir rud ar bith eile a rá - maidir le bheith ag fanacht ar rud éigin ón Roinn Forbartha Tuaithe agus Pobail, agus Gaeltachta ar thithíocht agus gan a bheith ábalta rud ar bith a dhéanamh, ach táimid go fóill ag fanacht ar an bpíosa eolais sin. Níl sé maith go leor ar chor ar bith.”
“Bhí cuid mhór ceangal ag Dún Dealgan, go háirithe ag mo chlann féin agus m’athair. Mar a dúirt mé cheana féin, ní chleachtaim í minic go leor. Sin an fhadhb atá agam. Bhí mé breá sásta nuair a bhí mé óg go raibh mé in ann dul chuig Coláiste Bhríde agus go raibh mé in ann fanacht i lóistín thart ar Rann na Feirste. Bhí cuid mhór tithe ann. Bhí Hughie Doherty, Nóra Frank Chonaill agus cuid mhór eile ann. Níl mé cinnte go mbeimis in ann sin a dhéanamh as seo amach más rud é nach bhfuilimid chun acmhainní, plean agus gníomh a dhéanamh mar gheall ar na fadhbanna atá ann. An fhadhb atá ann ná cá bhfuil na treoirlínte maidir le cúrsaí pleanála. Bhí Tinteán agus BÁNÚ ag agóid lasmuigh de Theach Laighean. Cén fáth a raibh siad ann? Níl siad in ann tithe a thógáil nó a fháil ar chíos sna Gaeltachtaí.”
“Tá cuid mhór fadhbanna ann ag an am seo. Tá cuid mhór fadhbanna ann maidir le tithíocht go ginearálta. Tá a fhios againn nach bhfuil go leor tithe inacmhainne agus níl go leor tithe sóisialta á thógáil ag an Rialtas faoin am seo. Tá fadhb ag na Gaeltachtaí. Níl mo Ghaeilge chomh maith is a ba chóir di a bheith. Am amháin, bhí sí réasúnta, nuair a bhí mé thart air 18 mbliana d’aois agus ag freastal ar Choláiste Bhríde i Rann na Feirste. Thosaigh Coláiste Bhríde in 1912 in Ó Méith i gContae Lú. Tar éis sin, nuair a bhí an teanga ag fáil bháis, bogadh é go dtí Rann na Feirste i dTír Chonaill thart ar 1926 - 100 bliain ó shin. Ghlac sé an áit sin toisc nach raibh teach tábhairne ann agus ní raibh bóthar ag dul tríd a bhí ag dul áit ar bith eile. Sin an réasún a bhí ag an Athair Ó Muirí.”
“Banks are being far too protective - for example, where disability services were able to get a bank account with two names on it, that is no longer the case - and they are creating a lot of hassle. The review process will be vital for that. The first time that St. John of God representatives came to me, they were worried they would be removing protections for people, but they say they have taken account of the spirit of the law. They have introduced their own guardrails around it and it has worked for people. Mistakes have been made but people have learned. It is providing people with that freedom and I am not sure that is there at the moment.”
“John of God intellectual disability services. It is vital that they get to a point of reconciliation, for want of a better term. They had also spoken about certain protections and reassessments that could happen around capacity. That needs to happen. That is in relation to the process that is ongoing. I ask that the Minister of State take an interest in that and ensure that we get to the bottom of those issues because as much as we need to ensure the process is given the legislative cover to be elongated, because the capacity was not there in the first place, we need to ensure the process is correct. There are wider issues with assisted decision-making, particularly in relation to banking.”
“They said the idea was that a decision-making representative would only be used when a decision of importance was in the offing, such as a major health determination or a major financial decision. I met them at Hilltop services in Dundalk. The example they gave was that if someone wanted to go shopping in Newry, they would have to make contact with the DMR, so where there was an attempt to provide freedom back through the Act it was not happening. The reason we agreed not to put it to a vote, which we would have lost even if some Government Members were quite worried that would be the case, was that we did not want to create a situation for those who may have found themselves in limbo. One thing I am happy about is that the representatives of the Department and the Courts Service are engaging with St.”
“John of God representatives provided me with examples, without getting into the ins and outs of names, of those who had been within their service who had been wards of court. The particular issue was that they would have found that these are people with capacity. They may have had an inheritance, and they were legacy wards of court due to the money they had. That was seen at a point in time as safety and security but the representatives believe, and believe they have shown over many years, that these people have capacity. Therefore, the spirit of this legislation, as difficult as it is for them, is that we remove, in some cases, the guardrails at times and provide people with the freedom to make decisions within certain constraints. However, they said that in an awful lot of these cases, a decision-making representative was put in.”
“The big worry was that in relation to discharging, they found that: There are real concerns that the process of discharging individuals from wardship is not consistently reflecting the spirit and guiding principles of the assisted decision-making Act. While the intention of the legislation is to promote autonomy and supported decision-making, the practical implementation can appear more restrictive than the law intends. I would be somewhat worried in relation to the numbers. Some 390 wards have been fully discharged; 38 individuals required no decision making-support; 40 required co-decision-making agreements; and 313 were discharged with decision-making representatives. The St.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. We did agree with waiving pre-legislative scrutiny on the basis that the capacity is not within the system at this point in time to ensure that all those wards of court are exited. We had some unease in relation to doing this. In fairness, the Department and those representing the courts were able to give us a briefing. I will very quickly go through, let us say, some of my worries in relation to this. As I stated, we did not want to create a set of circumstances where people found themselves in legal limbo. However, representatives from St. John of God intellectual disability services approached me, and the committee also had other correspondence in relation to this.”
“I also ask that the Taoiseach looks at the issue in relation to the high cost of hearing aids and that we would see that working group review. Beyond that, there could be up to 400 trainees for the National Ambulance Service, who could be looking at having to reapply and who are not sure of their jobs. That is a particular issue that needs to be dealt with.”
“The Taoiseach has already mentioned the fact that those with a disability are unfortunately in a different set of circumstances. Many of us were at the Affordable Ireland campaign march at the weekend and we heard directly from those with disability about the severe pressure they are under. Unfortunately, as I said earlier, it comes down to heat or eat. These are decisions that have to be made that fortunately nobody in this room has to make. We need to look at the cost of disability in the round and I welcome the review process. That is fine but it is about the people who cannot afford to make payments now. Whatever about not making one-off payments across the board but for those with disability, it could be looked at.”
“We saw a lady who had no action in regard to rehabilitation until a case manager was in place but that does not exist everywhere. We need that roadmap for everybody.”
“Deputies Quinlivan and Quaide and I visited the Side-By-Side clubhouse in Dún Laoghaire run by Acquired Brain Injury Ireland. Deputy John Brady and I met the group previously. It has two specific asks. Some 450 children in the State suffer moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Unfortunately, outside of a small number of specialist rehabilitation centres there are no dedicated rehabilitation services for children with an acquired brain injury. Its proposal is for two community-based specialist interdisciplinary teams for children living with acquired brain injuries which would provide much-needed rehabilitation services to children in their communities, including in their own homes. The other issue relates to €2 million for a brain injury case manager.”
“One such email said: - 9th February - received UCC final results - 12th February - Email from HR saying there was a delay issuing our contracts as they were waiting on college results - 24th February - HR Email 16 week extension contract and advise us of this new internal recruitment campaign and that we have to apply for our jobs - 26th February - Teams call with the head of service for the east informing us of the situation They thought they had jobs. They thought they were working for the HSE and they want to do so. The National Ambulance Service believes it is a problem with numbers. The HSE is playing around with this. We do need to find a solution.”
“Deputy Sorca Clarke brought up the issue James Reardon and Ruth McSkane had with costs of almost €10,000 for audiology supports and hearing aids. I brought that issue up previously with the Taoiseach and sent it to his office. It needs to be addressed. I will briefly deal with the issue of the National Ambulance Service. Debbie McCole and many other members were outside Leinster House protesting today. I have been contacted by fathers, by uncles and by those themselves who had been qualified.”
“We are talking about 5,100 children within that figure I mentioned earlier. The only people who are happy at the minute are those in IRES REIT. It is looking at a 20% to 25% increase in its profits for rents. I do not see any solutions here. It is like this problem has become so big, that Government is happy enough to just let it lie on the basis that there is an element of apathy and of people who are afraid there is not a solution. We all know there are solutions, and it is about Government investing properly. It is about ensuring there is a steady supply of affordable and social housing. I do not know how the Government can defend this in any way, shape or form.”
“He is going to talk about tenure and about how there is a greater level of protections but we do not see it. We are talking about 25% of all private rental tenancies that are registered with the RTB being new tenancies. We are looking at possibly having up to 60,000 from 1 March. We could be looking at literally 60,000 tenancies every year with a market reset. It is not a normal market; it is an absolutely broken market. I will be honest and say that I was talking to a very small landlord who put up a notice for a small two-bedroom in Dundalk but had to take it down within an hour. There were well over 100 emails, with people offering whatever they could to get a house. There were about 50 phone calls, of which not all could be answered for obvious reasons. There was a huge number of people who are facing notices to quit.”
“It is hard to know what to say at this stage because it will not be anything new from me or anyone else. I used to joke about single, transferable speeches but, unfortunately, there is an element here of, "Where are we going?" As Deputy Ellis said, that 16,734 is the officially accepted or classified number for homelessness. Obviously, this does not deal with rough sleepers, children in domestic violence refuge and a huge number of things. It does not deal with those people who are getting by on the basis that they are staying in their friend's front room and moving from one to the other. I have to assume the Minister of State has people coming to him at this moment in time, no more than we do, under severe pressure with notices to quit.”
“I agree with Deputy Carthy that there need to be some sort of utterances from the Minister for justice on accepting this proposal and some means of dealing with the matter. There is not much point in putting an already-under-pressure organisation under more pressure or setting it up for failure. The latter is not acceptable either. There has to be an element of fairness and recognition. Again, we are dealing with a timeline that has been thrust on the Minister because of the agreement in respect of the EU migration and asylum pact. I do not believe any of this is conducive to coming up with a real solution to dealing with the issues regarding international protection.”
“I will be very quick in relation to this. We have had Tusla in front of the children's committee numerous times. It will talk about its new operating model. I do not take away from the complex cases but we are talking about putting a greater onus on the organisation. It has stated quite explicitly – I have brought this up with the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Deputy Norma Foley, in particular – that on the basis of its figures, it is 300 social workers short. It is at least 100 social care workers short. We all know there is an insufficient number of foster carers; it is probably upwards of 500 short. We are therefore putting pressure on an entity that is already under severe pressure.”
“We then need to ensure that it is not the case of many a fly-by-night operator who thought they could buy a hotel without even really needing to know how to run a hotel. In the case of the D Hotel, they would only need to half-run it, and they could make an absolute fortune. People literally set up tiny businesses that became huge businesses that were all about delivering IPAS accommodation. That is a failure of the State, and the cost has been astronomical. I ask for sense and for the House to support Deputy Carthy's amendment.”
“There was an awful lot of talk with the Government, over and back, about how we would be able to use it for dual purposes, but that never came to anything. It was just another load of waffle, conversation and time wasted. Then we discovered that the fire certification was only for 240 beds, while the State had entered into a contract for 500. That just sums up the farce that IPAS was. We are all in agreement that what we need is public provision. It will take a considerable amount of time to get there, particularly because we started on the journey too late, but beyond that, there needs to be transparency. I ask that due diligence is done. It is proposals like this amendment that we need to see in operation.”
“What we are talking about here is transparency in order that we would see who is making the money and how much money they are making. It would have made a lot more sense for the State to go in the direction suggested by Catherine Day, namely, State provision. Again, as Deputy Carthy said, it is also about ensuring that when that happens, no more than when any of this happens, there should be proper, real engagement with the community. There has been an abject failure in that regard. When talking about contracts, we could talk about the D Hotel and the fact that nobody did any element of due diligence on that. Drogheda lost the D Hotel, where many weddings and functions took place. It was a necessity from the point of view of the tourism business, but it was taken away.”
“It has been said multiple times before, but I must refer to the anger out there about those who have coined it in the IPAS disaster that this State has stood over. I agree with Deputy Carthy. We would all have preferred to see what would have been a lot cheaper from the point of view of the State’s coffers, that is, the public provision of necessary accommodation. I accept there were issues of State failure with regard to processing times, which we have constantly brought up in the House. However, the fact is that people saw a chance to make money, and they went out and did it. I will admit that some of them may have run better outfits than others. Some were absolute chancers, however, providing sub-par property at high-bar prices, and the State paid.”
“There are legislative powers in Britain relating to those who would ever consider doing some of the actions that happened in Oriel Park. Regarding families, I agree. I was contacted by one man who I know very well. He said that his daughter said, "I don't want to go to a game ever again." The daughter of another friend of mine, who is even younger, was doing ball girl. He said, "Imagine, she was over there." That is a rethink. That is not good enough. I hope those people will rethink. I hope the Minister, never mind worrying about myself and Deputy Byrne, would worry about the issue and a back track that should happen by him. Money needs to be supplied to the League of Ireland. The Minister of State agreed previously that there has been underinvestment over many years. I welcome this investment. We need to see more.”
“The next thing she queried was: what do you think is going to happen when I ask about League of Ireland funding, of which there has been a shortage over a number of years? I see this being thrown back as an excuse on why that money would not be spent. It sounds like the Minister of State is not in complete agreement with the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan. The Minister went over the top in saying, "plague on all your houses". I hope what he is doing is a shot across the bow. There is a responsibility on the FAI, League of Ireland and clubs to find a solution to this. All information has to be provided to the Garda but legislative changes that need to considered. The two Ministers would need to do work on that.”
“Deputy Byrne has put out a statement. I have spoken to her many times on this. She calls out what was abject criminal activity. Everyone will be aware that Deputy Byrne is the co-chair of Drogheda United. People will also know that she called on the FAI to ensure that Ireland would not play genocidal Israel. On that basis, action has been taken by Drogheda United. That is being dealt with at the minute. It probably limits what Deputy Byrne can speak about, but she has 100% said that this has been an ongoing problem with the League of Ireland. I will tell the Minister of State what she told me on the day. We were both there in Oriel Park. The first thing she was worried about was getting to that child, which was the right thing to do, because she had been contacted by the parents.”
“The Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, and the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, need to work alongside the FAI and other stakeholders - in this case, Dundalk FC and Drogheda United - to find a real solution to something that is a problem across the League of Ireland, which does not have the money for security that English Premier League teams have.”
“A small number of them destroy everything for everyone else. It has to become utterly unacceptable. Their own peer group must not accept any element of this in any way. I have to say that the senior Minister, in saying "a plague on all your houses" and stalling or pausing funding for AstroTurf pitches, has not helped. We know that there has been underfunding of the FAI over many years. I do not think it was not helpful in any way. I hope the Minister of State is here to state that that will be rowed back on. I assume there is not a huge number of projects that fall into that bracket.”
“Unfortunately, some people will use minors and some minors will attempt to take flares into games. We have all seen flares used. As much as the FAI might have a zero-tolerance approach, people have seen them. They are used for dramatic effect with lots of colour, etc. What was different in this scenario is that it was very organised and flares were used to burn a pitch. This has to be called out. It has brought the issue to a head. It is vital that the Minister is meeting the FAI tomorrow. A solution has to be addressed. There have to be serious consequences. We could be talking about tens of thousands of euro worth of damage. As much as I welcome Drogheda United working with Dundalk FC, there is a necessity for Drogheda United to pay this money. We have to look at means of imposing a penalty. It is hard to call these guys "fans".”
“Obviously what happened on Friday night was an absolute disgrace. It needs to be called out. We all welcome that Dundalk FC and Drogheda United are working together. A 12-year-old boy was burnt badly. In saying that, it could have been worse. We know there is nerve damage and facial burns, and his clothes were burnt. He could have literally been up in flames. My thoughts go out to him. I commend the work of the Order of Malta. There was also violence in Clarke Station. The Garda has to be given whatever information there is. From a security point of view, the Garda has to review what needs to be reviewed and what can be improved. Security needs to be looked at. Everybody will tell you - I am sure the Minister of State has heard this before - that the problem is that minors cannot be patted down.”
“I welcome that the Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, is here to answer this question. It is a very important issue. I think everyone has seen it or heard about it on the airwaves. A number of us were at the match in Oriel Park on Friday night. I like to make Dundalk FC's home games as much as I possibly can. The Louth derby is something you look forward to. We were there and it was good to have the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, there for the opening of a fabulous pitch with the new lights. It was provided by sports capital funding. It is fair to say that the deposit was paid by the Dundalk FC Supporters Trust, a group of Dundalk fans who have come together to be there in case anything is needed. Dundalk FC has had its issues, as people have seen, over the past number of years. Now we think we are in a fairly positive place.”
“Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú - To discuss solutions to antisocial behaviour and the use of flares at League of Ireland games. The matters raised by Deputies Paul Murphy, Seán Crowe, Ciarán Ahern and John Lahart, John Paul O'Shea, Albert Dolan, Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire and Ruairí Ó Murchú have been selected for discussion.”
“Deputies Paul Murphy, Seán Crowe, Ciarán Ahern and John Lahart - To discuss the lack of sufficient SNA provision for a special school in Tallaght. Deputies Aidan Farrelly, Naoise Ó Cearúil and Réada Cronin - To discuss emergency and capital works in respect of a school in Celbridge, County Kildare. Deputies David Cullinane and Conor D. McGuinness - To discuss the need for neurodiversity early intervention classes in primary schools in Waterford. Deputy James O'Connor - To discuss the return of the Midleton-Youghal rail corridor. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire - To discuss access to Tramore Valley Park across the South Link Road. Deputy Barry Ward - To discuss the need to review Circular 0030/2014 with regard to the role of special needs assistants. Deputy Matt Carthy - To discuss delivery of a permanent special school in County Monaghan.”
“Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss the reduction in SNAs across schools in County Kerry. Deputy Albert Dolan - To discuss the impact of the deemed disposal tax rule on savings and investment. Deputy Jen Cummins - To discuss redress for survivors of abuse in industrial and reformatory schools. Deputy Alan Kelly - To discuss the need for increased resources for An Garda Síochána in the mid-west. Deputy Louis O'Hara - To discuss regulatory and safety requirements for BESS installations and large-scale solar developments. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh - To discuss holding of a State commemoration to mark 150 years since the escape onboard the Catalpa of six IRB prisoners of war from a British penal colony in Western Australia on 17 April 1876. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan - To discuss the capacity of child care provision in Cork North-Central.”