Sarah O'Reilly
Agricultural Panel · Aontú · Ireland
“I support Senator Harmon in everything she has said. I want to raise the ongoing crisis in assessments of need and the impact this is having on families in Cavan and Monaghan. Earlier this year, I was helping a mother whose young son had been offered a place in an early intervention preschool.”
“In Cavan and Monaghan alone there are 578 overdue assessments. I commend Cara Darmody on continuing to shine a light on this issue. She is absolutely right when she says children are missing the window for early intervention. We all know that the earlier a child gets support, the better the outcome. These early years are precious.”
“Parents should not have to pay out of their own pocket because the State has failed to meet its own legal obligations. Disability teams continue to be short-staffed while many newly qualified therapists and psychologists cannot get the supervised placements and recognised experience they need to practise.”
“She has already had two near misses, as she calls them, that left her badly shaken. She describes Cavan's footpaths as being like a racetrack and says she dreads leaving her home now. That should not be the case. This is not just about an inconvenience.”
“I also welcome the delegation from Canada. They are very welcome. I have three sons living and working in Manitoba, Souris and Brandon. I bring up the issue of e-scooters. Imagine being afraid every time you step outside your own front door. That is a daily occurrence for a visually impaired woman living in Cavan town.”
“People had to take long detours just to get to school. The Department said that inspections carried out in March 26 found around 130 roads needed complete reconstruction, 440 had significant damage and several bridges could no longer be used. I believe those figures cover the entire country. My question is simple.”
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“I had the privilege of hearing sepsis stories from Hannah Tormey, Catríona Cahill and Sinéad O’Reilly, two of whom are nurses. They shared their personal experiences with sepsis. The presentation was incredibly personal and heartbreaking, but the part that stood out the most for me was when the nurses were asked if they had trust in the accident and emergency departments and both women, shockingly, answered "No". Anyone who has been in an accident and emergency department knows that the atmosphere can only be described as chaotic. In fact, your treatment plan can often be determined by how effective you are at advocating for yourself or your family member, and this was the case for Hannah's 17-year-old daughter Sophie. Sophie had ongoing symptoms for ten days before she had blood cultures done.”
“The tariffs on Irish goods, the threat to our corporation tax model and retaliatory economic measures from the EU are not distant possibilities; they are happening now. We need leadership that does not just sit back and hope our EU counterparts will fix everything for us. We need to be proactive. We need a considered approach. I was happy to hear the Tánaiste speak about that this morning. Businesses need support and good and timely information. We want business to thrive but we also want a sense of economic sovereignty. If we are to weather this storm, we must make Ireland a place businesses choose to stay not just because of tax breaks but because we have built a resilient, innovative and fair economy.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming in today. I wish to speak about the effect this trade war will have on small areas such as my town in Cavan. Two of the largest employers in my town are Lakeland Dairies and Terra Limited. One makes butter and the other is a distillery making whiskey for the US market. The tariffs announced are causing fear and instability in the world of business but also in local communities and the workforce. Most people going to work this morning were listening to the radio. It is causing some concern. I am also concerned, living in a Border county, about the more favourable tariffs in Northern Ireland and the effect that may have on our local economy.”
“Ireland has long prided itself on being a voice for peace and justice on the world stage. With our history of peacekeeping, we have always sought to uphold international law and human rights. However, neutrality is not just about staying out of wars; it is about ensuring we do not enable them. Passing this section of the Bill is a crucial step in reaffirming our neutrality in a meaningful and principled way. Some will argue that an arms embargo is merely symbolic and Ireland is too small to make a difference, but history has shown us that small nations can lead the way. We saw it with the Dunnes Stores workers who stood against apartheid in South Africa. We are seeing it again by way of the provisions of this section. Ireland cannot claim to stand for peace while allowing any form of munitions of war to fly over our airspace.”
“He was on "Prime Time" last night, speaking about the surgeries he performed in Gaza. It was horrific to hear his descriptions and see the video footage of the injuries he was treating. One girl, who was only six years old, had to have surgery to remove shrapnel that was lodged in her throat. It was absolutely horrendous. The Bill is about making a stand against the killing of innocent people. It is about sending a clear message that we will not allow our country to be complicit in war crimes by exempting munitions of war being carried through our airspace. I commend and thank the Civil Engagement Group for bringing this legislation forward. The legislation also speaks to a fundamental principle of Irish foreign policy, namely, our long-standing commitment to neutrality.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House today. I welcome the opportunity to speak on section 2 of the Bill. It is such an important step towards ensuring that Ireland is not complicit in the devastation we are witnessing in Palestine. Some 50,000 innocent people have been killed, the vast majority of whom were women and children. Families have been torn apart, entire communities wiped out and international law has been trampled on. The Irish people have watched in horror as hospitals, schools and refugee camps have been bombed into rubble. We have seen the images of starving children, of mothers cradling the lifeless bodies of their babies and of people being systematically displaced from their homeland. I spoke of Cavan surgeon Dr. McMonagle last week in the Seanad.”
“There are people who can build their own houses, but what is stopping them is the bureaucracy and the prohibitive cost of connections to the ESB, water and wastewater. Investment in serviced sites for young people must be seriously considered.”
“Yet this young couple and their two babies have been threatened. An enforcement notice has, harshly, been served on them for parking a mobile home in their back garden where it is not even visible from the road. Why is the Government hell-bent on punishing citizens who work hard? Why are they being treated so harshly? Prior to Storm Éowyn, I rang the couple to see what provision they had made, given that a red warning had been put in place. A local hotel in Cavan town had already been in touch before me to offer them a night's accommodation. While I welcome the proposed planning changes, it must be extended to mobile homes. We also need a commitment from the Government that those currently under pressure and under threat of eviction will have a stay put on their eviction until the change is made.”
“They used the money they had saved as a deposit to buy a mobile home, but they never realised the mobile home needed planning permission as it was on wheels. The current rules around cabins and modular units are bizarre and ludicrous. The fact that modular units of 40 sq. m attached to existing structures do not need planning approval but stand-alone units do makes little sense to me. Eoin and Maria McGovern have two little babies. They work hard. All they did was try to fend for themselves. Can the enforcement order served on them now be lifted? They have gone through enough. The Government could, theoretically, build an accommodation centre for asylum seekers in the field next to this family, for hundreds of people to live in, without a single sentence appearing on An Bord Pleanála's website.”
“People have been locked out of the housing market and, in an attempt to put a roof over their heads, they have invested in mobile homes and caravans. The issue is these families are living in constant fear of being served enforcement notices by local authorities as they may not have planning permission for their mobile homes. The recent move to ease the planning laws for cabins and modular homes in back gardens is a welcome development but I would like to see the relaxation extended to mobile homes, even temporarily, while we are in this crisis. I have worked closely with a family in County Cavan who are petrified they will be evicted from the mobile home they live in behind their parents’ home. After being approved for a mortgage, the wife became pregnant and, because she was seen as a dependant, the mortgage was withdrawn from them.”
“I welcome the Minister and thank him for coming to the Chamber to hear what we have to say. Homelessness is at an all-time high. As of March, it was 11% higher than it was in the same month last year. There are 15,378 people living in emergency accommodation and that number includes 4,653 children. This is equivalent to 155 full classrooms of children living in uncertainty and stress, without permanent housing. These numbers are stark enough, but what is often lost in this shocking legacy of homelessness is the hidden homelessness, the people who are not recorded in the statistics but who are staying on friends’ couches, sleeping in their cars or, as in cases in Cavan and Monaghan, tucked away behind ditches in mobile homes. Cavan and Monaghan are littered with mobile homes behind every ditch you pass on the road.”
“Why do we put no focus on supporting those people, predominantly women, who want to stay at home as parents? They provide a valuable service to the State and the country but they receive no financial assistance or supports. Aontú wants an additional, means-tested, second rate of child benefit to be introduced. It could see 40,000 children lifted out of poverty and would significantly ease financial pressure for families. We also want to introduce a €3,000 childcare subvention for parents who choose to stay at home in the first three years of the child’s life. Creating an environment where that was possible would take pressure off the demand for additional childcare places but would also allow families to make the best decisions for themselves, based on their own desires and needs.”
“The CEO of the Federation of Early Childhood Providers recently spoke of massive staff retention issues, with providers feeling burned out and underpaid. The starting rate for these positions is €13.65 per hour, only 15 cent more than the minimum wage and €1 less than the living wage. We are expecting people to take on these incredibly emotionally and physically taxing roles but do not compensate them for the work. We will not see an increase in childcare places if we do not immediately provide the financial compensation needed to keep childcare workers in the industry and encourage young people to pursue this career pathway. We lack imagination on childcare issues. In an Amárach Research poll last year, more than two thirds of mothers polled said they would rather stay at home with their children were it financially possible.”
“Across the childcare sector there is huge frustration among service providers, staff and families. In March, the Government approved fee hikes in nearly 20% of childcare providers in the country. These hikes directly contradict the promises outlined in the programme for Government, which committed to reducing the cost of childcare to €200 a month per child. The caring professions are often praised as career paths that add incredible value to the country. These individuals are told the work they do is invaluable, and it is not unusual to hear people say these roles are like a vocation. Remarkably, however, when I speak to people who work as early-years educators, they tell me they would discourage anyone from pursuing a career in the sector.”
“It is a scandal that all the focus is on making abortion more widely available rather than putting supports in place so that no woman feels pressured to go down the road of abortion. The right to life is the defining human right issue of our time. That will continue to be the case regardless of what the law permits.”
“Almost seven years on it is far from rare, with more than 10,000 abortions each year. When you consider that this quite literally is a life and death issue, it is deeply troubling how little interest those who pushed so hard for repeal have in talking about the massive increase in abortions. In addition, there have been misdiagnosis errors, potential life-threatening complications, coerced abortion, women living with post-abortion regret and psychological burdens for hospital staff. It is strange how there is no outrage from self-professed liberal progressives for these terrible consequences. Doctors should not be mere tools of the State to be forced to violate their conscience in any way. This is a gross injustice to them, particularly in a democracy. I ask that the Minister for Health adopt a different approach.”
“I want to address the issue of Cavan General Hospital. This last bastion of safety for the unborn is now performing abortions. This means that all 19 maternity hospitals in Ireland will end the lives of preborn babies. This is happening despite the many pro-life doctors, nurses and other staff of the hospital who bravely stood by their belief in the Hippocratic oath to exercise ethical conduct and the core principle of doing no harm to patients in their care, often putting their principles before their own career advancement or promotion possibilities. In recent weeks, many staff have privately signalled their distress at this development, which involves the HSE bringing in new staff to carry out abortions. In 2018, the then Government promised voters that abortion would be rare.”
“I welcome the good news which the Minister of State has come with here today in that the deficit in staffing has reduced from 30% to between 14% and 22%. I do not really know what that means but it is good that it is improving and that has to be welcomed. The faster treatments are not always suitable for patients because they are more concentrated. As they take a shorter time, they are more concentrated, which means that there are more side-effects. Not all patients are suited to taking these faster treatments. I want to remind the Minister of State that this is a very important issue for many people. It is good to keep on top of it, keep an eye on it and ensure that we are making improvements where we can. I thank the Minister of State for coming into the House today.”
“I call on the Minister of State to provide proper and decent pay and conditions for nurses and doctors, who are currently voting with their feet and leaving the country, to ensure the highest standard of care for these vulnerable people.”
“Even the language of the response issued to us from the NCCP is concerning in that it talks about working days. We in Aontú believe that cancer treatment should be available on weekends and public holidays. Cancer does not stop spreading on a Friday evening and resume on a Monday morning. Therefore, treatment should not either. Staffing is, of course, an issue here, with a 30% shortage of radiotherapists in the country. The national radiation therapist review report was completed in 2024. The recommendations of this review include opportunities to improve staff recruitment and retention, including the implementation of new roles such as advanced practice and aid roles and a review of the grading structure for the radiation therapist profession.”
“Studies indicate that even a four-week delay in starting cancer treatment can increase the risk of death by approximately 10%. Four weeks might not sound like much on paper, but for a person battling cancer it is an eternity. It is four weeks of stress, uncertainty and potentially the disease advancing while they wait. Delays due to resource shortages, administrative inefficiencies or a lack of capacity can have life-threatening consequences. Ensuring adequate staff and facilities and streamlined processes is essential in giving every patient the best possible chance of survival. We need to ensure that when a person is diagnosed with cancer and is deemed fit for treatment, there is absolutely no delay on the part of the health service. When a person has cancer, it is often a race against time.”
“It was met once in Galway hospital and only twice in Cork University Hospital. The target is being missed by a scandalous margin and, as a result, patient care is being compromised. Nearly every family in Ireland has gone through the experience of a loved one being diagnosed with cancer. Having to wait for treatment brings additional and unnecessary stress to patients and their family members. Timely access to cancer treatment is critical in achieving the best possible patient outcomes. The earlier treatment begins, the greater the chance of success, significantly improving survival rates and quality of life. Any delay in initiating therapy can allow the disease to progress, reducing the effectiveness of interventions. International research has demonstrated severe consequences of treatment delays.”
“I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber and thank her for coming in. I have a letter in my hand from the national cancer control programme, NCCP, detailing how the HSE is failing to meet its radiation treatment target of 90%. This target aims to have those who are deemed fit for radiation treatment to begin the treatment within 15 days. The 10% buffer is there to allow for exceptions where a patient is too ill for treatment, does not show up or dies in the interim. The NCCP has told us that in 2024, the national rate of compliance with the target was a mere 72.8%. It has given us a snapshot of the data for each month from September 2023 to August 2024 in Beaumont Hospital, Galway hospital and Cork University Hospital. The 90% target was never met in any of those months in Beaumont Hospital.”
“We should always strive to support the vulnerable and those in need, but we must acknowledge that if people are now working here and earning a decent wage, they should not be eligible for this payment. We can offer humanitarian support while putting in place sensible measures that ensure money is not being paid out to those who are not in genuine need. I do not wish to see anyone at risk of homelessness but if these amendments are not supported, I will have to vote against the motion as the scheme in its proposed form is unjust and flies in the face of equality. If we are advocating for anyone to be treated equally, surely everyone should be means-tested.”
“In many cases, landlords are receiving ARP as well as totally unregulated top-up payments. We should be trying to ensure there is fairness and equality throughout the country. We are putting other people in the rental market at a serious disadvantage. Young couples who are not entitled to the accommodation recognition payment are being locked out of the market, while others who are entitled to it can offer the payment to potential landlords as well as an additional sum from their own earnings. I support the proposed amendments. It is only fair this scheme should be means-tested. There is no other housing assistance payment where a beneficiary does not have to be means-tested.”
“The Minister is very welcome to the Chamber. The Government is drowning in dysfunction. The implementation of the accommodation recognition payment is another example of this dysfunction. The scheme was originally set at €400 per month, it was then doubled to €800 and the proposal now is to reduce it to €600. The Government has offered no clear rationale for this. The entire implementation of the scheme has been haphazard. The accommodation recognition payment was introduced as an emergency measure to support those who made the admirable decision to open their homes to vulnerable individuals fleeing war-torn countries. Unfortunately, ARP payments are now distorting the rental market as the scheme is far more advantageous to landlords than renting to the private market.”
“As we are all aware, there are teacher shortages and this undoubtedly has an impact on the provision of special education. There needs to be a multifaceted approach that targets issues such as the availability of housing and the cost of living, and in order to provide a high standard of education and cater for a range of diverse needs, we need to ensure that teachers and SNAs can afford to live and pay for accommodation. I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for the opportunity to speak today.”
“This is commendable, but I hope that these promises are, in fact, brought to fruition in time for parents who are worried about having a school place for their child in September. Parents are being told the importance of early intervention in significantly improving outcomes for children by fostering cognitive, social and emotional development, and yet these parents who are seeking this support find themselves being failed at every turn. We need to place particular emphasis on the recruitment and training of teachers and SNAs to ensure they are equipped to meet the needs of students in special education classes. Without educational professionals, we simply cannot honour the fundamental right of every child to access education.”
“I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this important issue. I wholly support the Sinn Féin motion. Across the country, there are thankless parents who have to fight tooth and nail to get access to education for their children. As was mentioned already, a child's right to education is enshrined in our Constitution. There must be equal access to education for children with disabilities. In Cavan and Monaghan, people have to travel for multiple hours to bring their children to school as there is no special educational class closer to home. The programme for Government has committed to ensuring that each child with a special educational need has access to an appropriate school place.”
“It stated that cuts could lead to increases in fatalities and serious injuries due to delays affecting new projects and improvements of dangerous sections of national roads. The bypass in Virginia was named in the document. It was stated that four lives would be lost and there was a prediction of five injuries if the project is delayed. That is very serious. Will the Minister properly fund the roads and fast-track the major projects?”
“A bus cannot really travel without a mirror. Local authorities need to be funded. They are not fully funded to enforce safety measures. What is the Road Safety Authority doing about these issues? Is it failing in its remit? Can it justify its future existence to the taxpayer? Is it not time the authority talked to regular road users such as lorry drivers, couriers and hauliers? Is it not time it did something other than taking the easy option of blaming the motorist? On enforcement, where is the Garda in all this? Is it resourced enough to police our roads properly? Is it choosing the easy option? It is very easy to place yourself inside a 50 km/h speed-limit zone with a speed gun. On transport, Infrastructure Ireland outlined concerns about funding cuts in a 12-page pre-budget briefing document.”
“Punishing all motorists, who, in the main, are responsible road users, is not the answer. The public feel they are once again being targeted as an easy scapegoat designed to take the focus off the real issue with our roads, which is funding. I listened as someone from the Road Safety Authority jumped on the bandwagon following the speed limit review. He also placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of motorists, particularly young motorists. Again, there was no mention of dangerous driving, the use of mobile phones, texting, drugs, drink or suicide. There was no mention of overgrown trees and hedges jutting out onto roads and forcing HGV, bus and van drivers to drive in the middle of the road to avoid damaging their vehicles. When a mirror is ripped off a lorry or bus, it can cost upwards of €350 to replace.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming to speak to us. Every single death is a tragedy for victims, families, friends and communities. However, the new speed limits were a knee-jerk reaction to an issue that was more complicated. Speed can be a factor in road deaths but it is not the only issue that contributes to the loss of lives on our roads. For example, motorways have a high speed limit and are four times safer than single-carriage roads, and that is because they are safe roads to travel on. Poor road surfaces, bad roads, bumpy roads, bendy roads, potholes, roads with their entire edges eroded, poor lighting, water running onto public roads and dangerous dips are huge problems in my county. The reason we have so many of these hazards is a lack of investment in our roads. Local authorities can spend only what they are given.”
“I ask that he be called to this House to answer questions on what he is doing to help protect the lives of innocent people and our own Irish humanitarian aid workers.”
“Civilians are coming to these hospitals looking for aid and safety. Instead, they are being met with sustained airstrikes and threats to their lives. Dr. McMonagle described, after a recent airstrike, how he and his colleagues spent 20 minutes pronouncing people dead. How can we stand by and allow this bloodshed to continue? We need to use our own experience in peace negotiations to try to bring an end to the conflict between Palestine and Israel. We should be actively using that record as a catalyst for peace. Last December, the Tánaiste stated in an interview that he thought that pretty much all parties in the general election were committed to passing the occupied territories Bill, or a form of the occupied territories Bill but despite his comments, we wait in limbo as no material action has taken place.”
“I too welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Niamh Smyth from Bailieborough, and her family. It is great to see them here today. I call on the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs to take immediate action on the war crimes Israel is committing by bombing hospitals. Cavan native and surgeon, Dr. Morgan McMonagle, is currently acting as a humanitarian worker in Nasser hospital. Following the recent airstrikes, my constituents reached out to me voicing their serious concerns for Dr. McMonagle's safety. Over the weekend, Dr. McMonagle spoke about how the majority of those who were killed by these Israeli strikes were children. The youngest child he pronounced dead was four or five months old. The latest figures we saw this week were that 40% of those killed were under the age of 14.”
“He must simplify the schemes and let the farmers return to doing what they do best. The first thing I raised when I entered this House was the ACRES payment. I had two very similar cases in which payments from November 2023 were supposed to have been made in the middle of January this year. When I chased these up, I was told that they would be paid in the middle of March and that there was some kind of IT issue. Those payments still have not been made, so I would appreciate it if I could get some help on this from the Minister's Department.”
“What happens when farmers manage to satisfy the paperwork demands is that payments are delayed. We hear of technical issues and unacceptable delays. Funds that should be supporting rural livelihoods are held up by inefficiency and IT systems that are not fit for purpose. Instead of investing in rural communities, the Government continues to prop up a system that works against them. We need a radical shift in agricultural policy, one that recognises and supports farmers in disadvantaged areas. We need to prioritise those who farm in the toughest conditions, not those who already have the advantage of location and resources. If the Minister is serious about regional development, he must commit to an immediate review of CAP allocations and ensure fairness is at the heart of the process.”
“How can a Government that claims to support rural Ireland allow this to continue? The very purpose of CAP payments is to sustain those who work the land, particularly those farming in challenging conditions, such as bad, rocky wetland, where every inch of progress is hard earned. The EU Commission has classified the north and west of Ireland as comprising a lagging region based on GDP and poverty levels. Instead of prioritising investment in these areas, we see a system that favours the capital city while leaving rural Ireland struggling to survive. It is not just unfair; it is completely unacceptable. Then we come to the bureaucracy surrounding the CAP and the delay in ACRES payments. This only adds insult to injury. Farmers are strangled by paperwork and are fighting red tape and a bureaucratic system, with inspections at every turn.”
“The Minister is very welcome. I thank him very much for coming here to hear what we have to say. We hear time and again about the Government's commitment to rural Ireland but the figures tell a different story. The latest statistics on CAP payments reveal a shocking and unacceptable disparity. The statistics point to evidence that proves what we all know already: there is no actual commitment to fairness and regional balance. Farmers in Dublin receive an average CAP payment of €25,500 per year. Meanwhile, the figure for Cavan is €14,500. In Mayo and Monaghan, it is just €12,500, and Donegal farmers receive an average of €13,500. Right across the north and west, including Roscommon, Galway, Leitrim and Sligo, farmers receive payments that are more than €10,000 lower than those of their Dublin counterparts. How is this justified?”
“People are confused about being refused compensation for the very items the scheme is set out to cover. I ask that the Minister for Social Protection clarify what the scheme is for. We need to get immediate clarity when it comes to the scheme. While I welcome the Taoiseach's comments yesterday that the scheme will be extended, I ask him to review urgently how the scheme is being delivered and why people's requests for help are being rejected. A worrying development since the storm has very become noticeable in my area. This is the number of elderly people who have been pressing their panic buttons seeking assistance only to find the panic buttons are not working and nobody has come to their aid. Recently in my area three people passed away because nobody was able to come to their assistance.”
“We are eight weeks out from Storm Éowyn and we still have many difficulties in my area in Cavan. To date, the Department of Social Protection has received 66,000 applications for the humanitarian assistance scheme with only one third of them approved. Many people have been in touch in recent days to say their applications for support have been rejected. In fact, some people have not received any response, not even an acknowledgement letter. All of the rejection letters read the same. They state lost freezer or fridge contents or damaged clothing are not covered under the scheme. I took the liberty of bringing the application form with me to the Chamber today. The first line on the form explains the humanitarian assistance scheme is designed to meet the costs of essential needs such as food, clothing and personal items.”
“It is an embarrassment that a First World country such as Ireland must resort to passing this legislation to ensure our most vulnerable are protected and treated. It is to our shame that this legislation is required at all. It should not be necessary. I support this Bill because it is a step in the right direction towards improving the quality of life of those affected with scoliosis. I thank the Independent Group for bringing forward the Bill.”
“In 2017, the then Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, promised that no child would wait longer than four months for scoliosis treatment. Last year, in reply to a parliamentary question from Aontú, we learned that 55 people, between Temple Street and Crumlin hospitals, were waiting more than a year for surgery. That is not good enough. Because there is little accountability, Deputy Harris did not have to follow through on this commitments. This Government has refused to cherish the children of the nation equally. It is failing children with scoliosis. We have all seen the headlines and photographs, and the lengths to which people have had to go to highlight their individual traumas.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill, which Aontú will support in both Houses. It is a pity that the Government's promises have rung so hollow that my colleagues in this House have been forced to introduce a Bill to push the Government legally to fulfil its commitments to people with scoliosis. It is a condition that has severe physical impacts, but it is not just a physical ailment. We know it can also lead to harmful emotional challenges. Prolonged wait times for treatment only exacerbate the condition. Scoliosis particularly impacts the lives of children and adolescents. As they grow, their bodies are still developing and untreated scoliosis can lead to severe complications, including chronic pain, respiratory issues and reduced mobility. This is happening, unfortunately, to too many of our children.”
“Our young people and parents deserve better than having to deal with this avoidable stress by missing out on an unfair lottery system. The pick-up zone restrictions particularly penalise those in rural areas. We cannot be so strict with the distance rule when many children who live in a rural area have no option except to travel by car. Due to the clever use of language by this Government, many parents believed this new distance rule had already been introduced, but now these families are stuck not knowing what to believe. I call on the Minister for Education to provide a clear roadmap on how this is going to be phased in over the next few years.”
“I wish to raise the issue of the school bus scheme. While it may seem too early to be raising this, I am already being overwhelmed with communications from stressed-out parents. Under the current criteria, a primary school pupil must live at least 3.2 km from their nearest school to qualify for a bus place. In 2024, it was mooted that this will be reduced to 2 km and then eventually to 1 km for primary pupils. One of my constituents lives on a road where there are 12 students who do not meet the criteria and are not eligible for the bus. This means there are six parents and six cars driving in and out the road twice a day and leaving work early to do collections. The Government talks about wanting to reduce carbon emissions, but its words are not backed up by clear actions.”
“In Monaghan, there is a beautiful tradition of speaking Irish that has been fostered by hard work on the ground and by families, Gaelscoileanna and groups like Muineachán Le Gaeilge. The county has the highest number of people who say they speak Irish on a daily basis, as well as the highest number of students in Irish-medium primary education. I encourage the Minister to look at the success in Monaghan and try to replicate this throughout every county in Ireland. There is an issue where children who attend Gaelscoileanna for primary education are then unable to continue on into secondary school due to a lack of capacity. We need to ensure enough teachers are being trained but also that there is availability of secondary level education so students are not forced to abandon their language once they leave primary school.”
“Mar atá luaite ag daoine eile inniu, táim fíorbhuíoch as an deis a bheith agam inniu labhairt libh ar ábhar tábhachtach, is é sin, ceiliúradh agus cothú ár dteanga dhúchais. Tá an Ghaeilge luachmhar don ghlúin seo agus na glúnta atá romhainn. I gContae Mhuineacháin, tá traidisiún láidir de labhairt na Gaeilge atá cothaithe sa phobal ag teaghlaigh, Gaelscoileanna agus grúpaí mar Muineachán le Gaeilge. Tá an céatadán is mó daoine sa tír a labhraíonn Gaeilge gach lá agus a fhreastalaíonn ar Ghaelscoil i Muineachán. I appreciate the opportunity to speak on such an important topic. As many others have shared today, the preservation and celebration of our national language is of the utmost value to current and future generations.”
“The support for Fiona Donohoe, Noah's mother, all over Ireland is incredible and I want her to know that it is unwavering. We all know that something is not right and that Fiona is not getting all the information that is available and that she rightly deserves. Every woman and mother I know, North and South, talk about this case. They stand united in full support behind Fiona in her quest to obtain the truth and in her fight for justice for her son, Noah. I ask that we, in this House, ask the Minister for Justice to speak with his counterpart in the North to ensure a rigorous, open and transparent police investigation into Noah's death and that there be no more delays to the inquest. Noah was Fiona's son, Belfast's son, but we know in our hearts that Noah could have been anyone of our sons.”