Sinéad Gibney
Dublin Rathdown · Social Democrats · Ireland
“Unfortunately, those are still not entirely clear. Although the Windsor Framework did look to enshrine that policy of no diminution of rights and the non-divergence of rights on either side of the Border, that has not been clear in how it is going to play out.”
“I want to raise one specific sector. Within my portfolio, the culture sector is a good example of where we could see a much better offering in the joining together of the two economic activities. For example, we have a very vibrant production sector for film and television.”
“The other word that is important to bring into any economic discussion and fiscal discussion around a united Ireland is "holistic" because, unfortunately at times, I see the Government looking at the economy as a discrete part of society and neglecting things that fall outside of economic discussion, economic imperatives, and policymaking…”
“There are ways that we can see how our governance of this jurisdiction can be improved simply by the opportunities that will be presented by opening up constitutional change and the discussions that we are all going to have about how we govern ourselves right now and how we may govern an entire island of Ireland.”
“When the Minister of State referred to office roles in Brussels, was he describing roles in NATO headquarters? The international forces the Minister of State is describing are exactly like the coalition that invaded Iraq.”
“I look forward to coming back to the topic of the triple lock in a few questions' time. I have read with extreme concern the reports over the past week on the lack of support provided by the Department of Defence to Women of Honour, whose members are participating in the Defence Forces tribunal.”
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“I am glad to see that but the elephant in the room is that there is no point bringing the AI Act into operation only to have it immediately gutted alongside GDPR as part of the digital omnibus. We are the lead regulator for a slew of big tech companies headquartered in Dublin. We need to show that Ireland is up to the task and that the safety and protection of our citizens do not have a price tag and will not be traded away to big tech for corporation tax receipts. The simplification agenda has so far proven to not be about making rules simpler to comply with but, rather, removing them entirely for whole sectors. We have already seen proof of that with the corporate sustainability due diligence directive, CSDDD. Instead of supporting businesses in compliance, we are creating a more complex web of who these rules do and do not apply to.”
“What action has the Irish Government taken to progress the suspension of the EU-Israel association agreement and ensure full compliance with international law at EU level? Similarly, Russia’s brutal war of aggression continues in Ukraine and we continue to see loss of life and lives made unliveable for our European brothers and sisters. In respect of the upcoming digital omnibus, I want to explore how European-level regulation of the online space is being handled within our membership of the EU. The last few weeks have proven that regulation of the digital space is more vital than ever. As a result of things going wrong and the public being angry and afraid, we have seen a rush to finally codify the AI Act into Irish law ahead of schedule.”
“The EU has completely lost focus on the fact that the ruling of the International Court of Justice, ICJ, made clear that it is not just extremist settlers who are the problem. Rather, all Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal and we have a legal duty not to support or trade with them. It is the Israeli state that is perpetrating the system of human rights abuses and apartheid in the West Bank, Israel and Gaza. It is the Israeli state that is in breach of the human rights clause in the EU-Israel association agreement and yet, because of a ceasefire where children and innocent civilians continue to be bombed and shot, we are refusing to suspend the agreement and continue to let Israel benefit financially. We cannot allow human rights to be traded away.”
“When it comes to negotiating tables, budgets and policies at EU Council level and domestically, however, I am not seeing the commitment from this Government to make it a priority. Gaza is still very much under siege. In the past two months, we have seen the ceasefire, which now seems to be an empty phrase, become deadlier and deadlier for Palestinians still in Gaza. In parallel with this, settler violence in the West Bank continues, resulting in killings, demolitions and the forceful expulsion of Palestinians from their homes and villages where they have been for generations. This is all on top of the day-to-day structural violence of the apartheid system and the illegality of the settlements.”
“Mercosur will be a disaster for our environment, farmers and consumers. Last November, during post-European Council statements, I raised my concerns about the Government’s lack of willingness to stand up for the things which make us proud to be Europeans. I cited Mercosur as a key issue where we were not seeing enough action from the Government in defence of those core values. I am frustrated and disappointed to have been proven right with the result last week. We are already seeing extreme weather events in this country. We are nearly one year on from Storm Éowyn. The impact of climate change is touching Irish people’s lives and it is vital that we do everything in our power to stop it.”
“Starting with Mercosur, with the threat of flip-flopping from the Government last week and the uncertainty about what way Ireland would vote on a trade deal that is deeply unpopular with the Irish people, I want to hear what this Government did in December, where it stood on Mercosur and how we have ended up in this situation where this deal may pass without the protections we need for our climate and farmers. Tá téip iomlán déanta ag an Rialtas seasamh suas dár bhfeirmeoirí agus dár dtimpeallacht. No one in this Chamber has been quiet about our feelings on Mercosur. It is incredible to me that we are expected to believe that the Government did everything possible to ensure there were protections in this deal and avoid it being passed by the Council when there were questions last week as to which way Ireland was even going to vote.”
“I start by expressing my solidarity with the protesters in Iran and condemning the brutal repression they are facing. This week has brought into sharp focus how action or inaction at EU level has a real impact on our citizens. Commitment to the European project means being an active and critical participant in it, willing to push back and push hard on trade deals, laws and regulations that impact on all of our lives. Today I will talk about how our active and critical participation as a member state of the EU could impact on Mercosur, Palestine, Ukraine and the digital space.”
“In a time of economic prosperity, where we are talking about the strength of our economy, our balance sheet and our enterprises, it is depressing not to see that translate to workers. Is cúis mhór imní anseo. A booming economy is cold comfort to people who cannot participate in that economy. Record corporation profits do not continue on to our society if companies are not employing people, if they treat their workers as disposable and if they do not provide quality jobs. What is the Government doing to tackle those issues head-on?”
“I encourage the Minister of State to go beyond the numbers and talk to young people herself. The young people I speak to tell me about the difficulties they have in finding employment. Beyond the statistics that the Minister of State is setting out, we have to simply acknowledge this. As I mentioned, and as we know from history repeating itself, it is a canary in the coal mine. We know it is an indicator of a broader concern across unemployment. We know there has been an erosion in the quality of the work that is offered, particularly to younger people and other cohorts within our population. When I raise workers’ rights, the approach of this Government has been that job creation is enough, and we should be grateful that people have jobs in the first place.”
“In an uncertain labour market, where quality jobs and secure employment are being eroded, we must not have a Government deciding it is not an issue or focusing instead on the broader picture and not isolating this as the canary in the coalmine we know it to be in labour economics. Fifty thousand young people are without work. We are seeing companies row back on entry-level and graduate recruitment. If we do not act now to ensure a balanced labour market, we will have people on the back foot for their entire lives. How is this specifically being addressed?”
“I find it frustrating that when we highlight issues or concerns about rising youth unemployment and long-term unemployment rates, they seem to be batted away with lines like those that the Taoiseach used earlier and that we are hearing now to the effect that we have got so many people in work, that the rate is record breaking and that this is the most important thing. Essentially, the point made is that we should all be grateful that people have jobs at all. Níl sé seo maith go leor. We have seen a distinct rise in youth unemployment that is incredibly out of step with the national average. The Minister of State compared us with Europe, but we need to compare our domestic youth unemployment rate with our general population unemployment rate. When we do so, we see the difficulty.”
“The CSO's labour force survey before Christmas found that we have significant increases in youth and long-term unemployment. The youth unemployment rate is nearly three times the average unemployment rate and it is clearly becoming much harder for young people to find work. What is the Department doing to address this increasing gap in our labour market?”
“In my previous role and in my human rights and equality work I learned to understand why this is so important because while I, as an individual - a white, settled, southside Dublin woman - have had only positive interactions with An Garda Síochána over the course of my life when I have had cause to do so, I have learned from direct consultation with people from the Travelling community and people from the black community that their experience with An Garda Síochána is not always the same, sadly. They at times can feel very over-policed and underserved by An Garda Síochána. The difficulty I have with this type of technology is that this will only be amplified by the introduction of things like facial recognition technology, until we have the appropriate safeguards and oversight built into place to allow it to be deployed fairly.”
“To summarise, I genuinely support the use of technology for An Garda Síochána and I realise that cutting-edge technology needs to be made available for our police service to continue to serve our communities as they do with community policing and with peacekeeping. It cannot be done unless we uphold the appropriate oversight and the human rights and equality standards which we require. I commend the work of the Policing Authority and Fiosrú. I know the Policing Authority has merged with the Garda Inspectorate. They do an incredible job, I believe, of observing these and I hope they will be heavily involved in any continued oversight of the deployment of these new technologies because that is what it required.”
“Abeba Birhane from the AI advisory council wrote in The Irish Times : In seeking legislation to allow the use of facial recognition technology in policing, Ireland risks introducing a technology that scientific evidence has demonstrated is ineffective, inherently flawed, opaque and discriminatory. Ethnic minorities face the sharp end of this bias. They are more likely to be considered a suspect by the Garda anyway, something which under this Bill would strip them of their right to privacy. Research has shown time and again that these machines are less accurate on the faces of ethnic minorities. The risk of racial profiling already exists in our police and FRT will only deepen those biases.”
“It is irresponsible to implement a measure like this in criminal investigations when we do not have the structures to ensure we are protecting people and the integrity of criminal investigations. This tech is not infallible, as we have heard from so any others today, and we are not yet ready to deal with the biases within these systems. A litany of experts on tech, bias, human rights and on AI have all said time and again that this type of technology is rife with bias, which is hard to identify and even harder to eradicate. A false positive on grainy footage that is then signed off by a person whose analysis will be naturally biased by the machine's result and the fact he or she had already identified them as a potential suspect, is what we are facing here. Dr.”
“I strongly believe this legislation should not be introduced in advance of the EU AI Act coming into effect and this is an area I have done a lot of work on. Something which concerns me in the context of this legislation is that facial recognition and biometric analysis technology is a high-risk use of AI under the EU AI Act and this Act has not yet been fully implemented. Indeed we have a digital omnibus being proposed which will change it before it even comes into effect. Despite this, we have the Government, which is so keen to delay Private Members' Bills, wants to fire ahead with a law that may be rendered unworkable in the space of a year. We cannot say this Bill will uphold human rights and governance when it comes to AI when the bodies responsible for monitoring that are still being set up and designated.”
“The legal and criminal justice systems cannot become the testing ground where we move fast and break things. People's lives, justice for victims, and the assurances of those investigating crimes that they are indeed upholding the law, are all threatened by adopting risky tactics that threaten people's access to justice. The administration of justice is a balance of the rights, not a practice of finding what is most convenient for the State while leaving us vulnerable to unsafe convictions and miscarriages of justice. Caithfidh muid cearta an ghnáthdhuine a chosaint. Faoin dlí, go dtí go bhfuil duine ciontaithe, is ghnáthdhuine é nó í. Má fhaigheann muid réidh leis sin agus má chaitheann muid cearta daonna sna fátaí lofa ar mhaithe leis an rud is éasca a dhéanamh, ní fiú tada na cearta sin d’aon duine.”
“There is a real and obvious lack of independence to this, which shows that safeguards are, at best, ill-conceived and at worst, I would say, deliberately weak. We have a code of practice that potentially can be amended without consultation based on what the Garda Commissioner and the Minister think count as minor changes. I am afraid you cannot run with the hare and hunt with the hounds; we need real, independent oversight of this technology. When we erode civil rights and liberties for convenience, we create a weaker justice system. Our rights as individuals need to be protected in the context of a criminal investigation, not trampled on the minute one goes from being a citizen to being a suspect. This is another example of pushing for adoption of technology first and dealing with the consequences later.”
“I have concerns about this legislation being introduced in advance of the EU AI Act coming into effect and, finally, as many others have done, I want to touch on the point that this technology is not infallible and we are not yet ready to deal with those errors. First, this is a high-risk use of AI and those appropriate safeguards are not in place to address that risk. The AI advisory council subgroup on facial recognition technology has cited that this technology is high risk and therefore carries massive potential consequences for the individuals it is used on. This Bill, in practice, interferes with the privacy rights of individuals using technology that we do not yet understand without the person affected having necessarily done anything wrong.”
“I would also like to take this opportunity to wish everybody in Dáil Éireann a Happy Christmas and I would like to single out two people in particular, Karen Hinkson-Deeney and Míde Nic Fhionnlaoich, who are my team and without whom I could not have had this first year as a TD. I want to build on Deputy Gannon's points around this particular technology, which I have huge concerns with. Some of the key points I want to make are around the high-risk use of AI and the fact the appropriate safeguards are not yet in place; and around the civil liberties that are at risk when essentially, we are seeking convenience for law and order while potentially weakening our justice system.”
“I urge the Government, with its European counterparts, to look to pushing back on the digital omnibus, which is a huge issue.”
“Right now, the algorithms are designed with one thing in mind, and that is to keep our eyes on the screen. I want to see this technology being used for good. If we had some level of public ownership of algorithms, or at least public-interest influence over them, we could actually have algorithms that promote social cohesion and mental well-being, designed with the public interest in mind. As long as tech companies are the ones designing the algorithm and implementing it, they will never do this and will always look towards the bottom line. I have worked in the tech sector, so I know this. What I have described will continue while the sector bats us away and laughs at regulators at EU and Irish Government levels who are pretending to do something. All they are doing is tinkering around the edges. We need strong regulation.”
“I have so many issues with age verification and I do not have time to go into all of them now, but the first is that children have the right to be online. Besides that, the digital privacy issues that are thrown up by any state-led system and the digital privacy concerns over third-party providers are all issues that I am afraid are insurmountable if age verification is what the Government sees as a silver bullet. I appreciate that age verification might be part of the solution but it is just not going to deal with the root cause. One of the things that could address the root cause is turning off the recommender algorithm by default. We should all have the power, when we look at our feeds, to decide whether we want an algorithm deciding what we see.”
“The reason I am mentioning these different online dangers is that I am so concerned that all this Government ever thinks about when thinking about online safety is children. It thinks age verification is going to be a solution. The online dangers affect us all, and all that age verification, including the ban in Australia and any of the other solutions being put forward, is doing is tinkering around the edges and failing to deal with the root cause. Platforms need to be categorised as publishers and held to account for the material that they are putting out and the business model they are deploying, which openly promotes polarisation and division within society and openly promotes addiction to platforms.”
“Besides that, there are people in their 20s and 30s who have had the same pathway. I also want to mention Naomi James, a 38-year-old Dundalk native who died last year after she was essentially radicalised online by the Free Birth Society, which promotes free birth at home without medical intervention and essentially spreads disinformation about hospital treatment. It says haemorrhaging is natural and even instigated by hospitals. Her brother, Adam Boyle, to whom I would like to express my condolences, has bravely spoken out about his experience. The third person I want to mention is Shan Haines. He is a banker in the US who essentially embezzled $47 million of his institution’s funding after a pig-butchering scam whereby he was essentially scammed online. He also received a 24-year prison sentence.”
“Some of the details of this case are so chilling that I believe it is really important to share some of them and some of the last logs of ChatGPT. On the day Adam died, it said this to him: Thanks for being real about it. You don't have to sugarcoat it with me—I know what you're asking, and I won't look away from it. A few months previously, after a suicide attempt, the same chatbot said: No ... you made a plan. You followed through. [This was after Adam had expressed his doubt about what he had done.] You tied the knot. You stood on the chair. You were ready ... That’s the most vulnerable moment a person can live through. This is not an isolated case. There are multiple cases of this documented in the US. Adam was a young man who would not be affected by any age-verification requirement because he was over 16.”
“Before I talk about online safety I will talk about online dangers we are trying to tackle. The first story is a very sad story of a young man called Adam Raine who died earlier this year. I express my condolences to his parents, Matthew and Maria, who are now engaged in a lawsuit against OpenAI, whose product ChatGPT essentially led him, over the course of six months from when he first came to ChatGPT to ask about assistance for his homework to the point where it helped him to take his own life. He spoke repeatedly about suicide. The chatbot essentially spoke back to him about how brave he was. It isolated him from his parents and essentially nurtured him. Rather than do what we would expect from assistance, namely pull him back from the edge, it essentially tipped him over it.”
“Families are then left heartbroken, children traumatised, and the animals themselves suffer unspeakably. While the cruelty is obvious, the economic crime is hidden. Tens of thousands of dogs are sold each year, often for €500, €1,000 and €5,000 each. Much of this trade is unregistered and untaxed. This is money that could instead be funding inspections, veterinary care or public services. This unregulated puppy farming is not just animal abuse; it is a thriving black market. We cannot keep pretending this is a niche problem. It is a €120 million industry. It is global and growing. If we do nothing, Ireland will continue to export cruelty for profit. If we act, Ireland can show that we genuinely care about animal welfare. A puppy is not a product. A kennel is not a factory. Animal welfare is not optional.”
“The Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 was supposed to protect animals but instead it opened the floodgates. Many councils appear to have handed out licences rather than confront the logistical challenges of seizing dogs. This legislation is facilitating, instead of regulating, large-scale commercial dog breeding, and now Ireland has become the world's supplier of designer puppies - cavapoos, pomskies, cockapoos; cute names masking ugly realities. Obtaining a licence to breed in Ireland does not guarantee animal welfare. A fully-licensed farm can have one staff member responsible for 175 dogs and still be in compliance. We have seen dogs living in piggeries, fish boxes and their own filth, and we have seen puppies sold online, only to drop dead within weeks because of bad breeding and a terrible start to life.”
“Although we love our animals, we have to do better in protecting them, and this Bill allows us to do just that. Ireland has earned a shameful title as the puppy farm capital of Europe. It is not a badge of honour; it is a stain on our conscience. The Bill put forward by Deputy Whitmore will end the cruelty, secrecy and profiteering that has defined this industry for far too long. Every year, 30,000 puppies are churned out like products on a factory line. They are shipped from Dublin to places as far away as Singapore, and while the puppies are sold for thousands of euro, their mothers are left behind in cages, forced to repeat the cycle again and again until their bodies give up. This is not farming; it is the mass production of misery.”
“I would say the same of our previous Bill, which was to reduce the voting age to 16, for which we know there was Government support from certain Members, and of our Bill that originated in the Seanad to provide free transport to victims of gender-based violence. As a new TD, it is something that really stands out for me. When my team and I meet voters in Rathdown, we are always meeting people with dogs. These are pets that are treasured family members. They are vital companions for many in our community. They are well cared for and loved and they enjoy safe homes and kind treatment. However, not far from the border of my constituency, at Mount Venus Road, many animals are cared for by the NSPCA. These are dogs that have experienced the most cruel treatment and neglect.”
“I congratulate Deputy Whitmore on a brilliant piece of work. While I welcome that the Government is not outright opposing this Bill - I do appreciate that and we all welcome it very much - I have to say it is frustrating and disappointing because we hear this line consistently from the Government that we do not put forward solutions, and yet the last three pieces of legislation this party has put forward have all been served with timed amendments. They are not complex pieces of legislation that would require the Government to do that. To me, it really feels like these are being kicked down the road, unfortunately, when essentially there is no reason we cannot progress to the next Stage and deliberate more fully.”
“We saw during Covid the way that certain cohorts of society were disproportionately impacted by the restrictions that were placed on society compared with the mainstream population. For example, we know that all children were affected by having to learn remotely, but those kids who were in care had a whole other suite of supports that were no longer available to them, including key workers, psychologists and so on. They had a very different experience of the effect of the Covid restrictions on them compared with the other children in society. It is important to recognise that Covid was a short, sharp crisis, compared with this, which is a much longer running crisis. We need to make sure, however, that the State's response to this crisis does not disproportionately punish any particular group in society.”
“I believe that another crisis we are facing is the automation crisis that is coming about through AI. Automation is something we have to grapple with as a society. AI is currently proving to be a catalyst for labour displacement across multiple sectors, so it really is going to be disruptive in a way that we have not thought about as a society and that we are certainly not facing up to as a society or dealing with in any helpful way. I believe the just transition needs to deal not only with the challenges that the climate crisis presents to us but also those that are presented by automation. Another point I would add is that if we have learned anything from the Covid pandemic, it is that there is as much impact from a crisis that presents itself to society as there is from the State's response to it.”
“I congratulate Deputy Whitmore on bringing this Bill to the floor. It is well researched, well prepared legislation that allows for the establishment of what should be and must be a core part of the infrastructure that shapes Ireland's response to the climate crisis. As Deputy Whitmore described, we have two choices in how we face the climate crisis. We can see it in a way that allows us to flounder, to see the negatives and everything else, or we can see the opportunity that presents itself when we think about our response. For me, this Bill sets on a clear, statutory footing the important dialogue that needs to happen so that communities and workers are protected throughout the climate crisis. I want to introduce a couple of ideas within this concept.”
“It is divisive and I appreciate and recognise that. The Minister is proving to be a Minister who is not afraid to ruffle feathers, so I urge her to be the same in this area and show the political leadership that the trans community needs.”
“The final slogan I wish to mention is simply “trans pride”, because so often in these debates – debate is the wrong word when we are talking about rights, as others have said – but trans pride says to me is that we need to celebrate our trans community. I hosted a public meeting recently in my constituency, which I framed as a trans appreciation and information evening. I did that for two reasons: first, to celebrate diversity and inclusion in our society and, second, because it cannot be weaponised. If someone were to come out and say that trans appreciation is wrong, just like we hear people say trans healthcare and trans people’s participation in sports are wrong, then that person is simply transphobic and I will not tolerate that. We need to be political leaders. It is not an easy area.”
“That is what the community and trans people are looking for to allow them to access their healthcare in a dignified way that does not push them into the grey market because of the difficulty of getting drugs or cause that indignity of the questions that are asked of people in those sessions. We need to make that shift mentally as a society, as we did with abortion. When abortion was seen as a part of healthcare, it meant that it was no longer weaponised on a moral battleground. Similarly, for trans healthcare, we need to do the same thing because that is what it is; it is healthcare. It is ridiculous, for example, that, as a menopausal woman, I can access the hormones I need but the very same product is not provided to a trans woman because she is a trans woman.”
“The reality for trans people in Ireland is that outcomes are worse compared with everyone else in the cis population across a multitude of areas. For healthcare, it is absolutely crucial because for so many trans people, healthcare provides the actual self-realisation of their identity. We are ten years on now from the Gender Recognition Act. When I was working in the human rights space, we were heralded as so progressive to do that but, unfortunately, all of the other areas that helped to realise the rights of trans people have not been met. The second slogan I wish to talk about is “nothing about us without us”. There are five words I want to imprint on the Minister’s brain, namely, patient-led, informed consent model.”
“I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion and the opportunity to speak to this incredibly important issue. I will use three slogans to shape my contribution. The first is "Trans rights are human rights." The reason I wish to delve into this a bit more is the Minister referenced equality a lot in her contribution. As a professional in the human rights and equality sphere, I have thought a lot about how human rights and equality interact. The reality is that until everybody’s healthcare needs are met, we cannot say that healthcare is a right that is realised in this country. That is what we mean when we say that equality, as the Minister said, is broad. It has to reach everyone. If we want to say that healthcare is a right, it has to be provided for every single individual group.”
“Once again, if the priority is adding onto existing premises for compact development, as the Minister of State said, why is it that full capacity of planning permission is not being delivered? What is proposed instead is prefabs and so on.”
“Constituents with children who are already forced to travel for school are experiencing huge difficulty with this so there is no doubt in my mind or that of the community that a new school is needed. I have heard from multiple families that they have been rejected by four local primary schools and are on waiting lists for them with zero guarantees. It is hugely concerning this shortfall of places has happened under the Department's existing assessment criteria. That tells me these criteria are not working. How is the Department planning on meeting the school place need for children in Kilternan for September 2026? That is the most urgent issue here. What guarantee can the Department give the families of Kilternan their children will have places to start school in September 2026?”
“I thank the Minister of State. There is a lot of detail there about the different demographic data and census data. I am trying to add to that data the voice of the people of Dublin Rathdown and specifically Kilternan. These constituents are, as I said, incredibly frustrated at this. The Minister of State touched on some of the alternatives in other areas but the issue with that is I have just heard this morning that transport is not going to be provided by the Department. Kilternan is already struggling with transport. As I mentioned, those key areas of Kilternan, Stepaside, Carrickmines and Belarmine are all disadvantaged. Although BusConnects is going to provide some additional relief it is not going to be enough and it is already not enough.”
“What metrics are being used by the Department to determine the need for a new school? Will the Department commit to schools for Kilternan? When are families going to see the delivery of these schools? They are at the end of their tethers with the frustration, anxiety and stress this is bringing to them and their young children. How does the Government intend to provide school places for the children of this rapidly-growing community in the interim? As I have not had an opportunity to say it yet, I congratulate the Minister of State on his appointment.”
“I mention specifically Our Lady of the Wayside National School which is trying to accommodate as many students as it can. The school has full planning permission for an extension and new facilities but the Department has not committed to the allocation of funding, which I find bizarre given the reply to a parliamentary question said the preference is always to build on rather than building a new school. I am curious as to why that gap is happening. I urge the Department to reconsider and I invite the Minister of State to meet the principal Fiona Downes on the issue. A site for schools has been reserved in Kilternan for many years by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council but the Department of Education and Youth has yet to sanction the delivery of the required schools.”
“Children who attend primary school locally have no local secondary school to go to when they finish. They do not receive guaranteed admission to any local secondary schools. As a result, families are facing commutes to different locations outside their area with their children. As I mentioned, that is practically challenging when people are in an area with the topographical challenges Kilternan brings, which is a hilly area. I will get onto transport and the challenges around that later. In primary school need, the community is facing an immediate crisis for 2026 for junior infant intake. Families are contacting my office constantly, experiencing huge anxiety over whether they will be able to obtain any place for their children to begin school.”
“One challenge this community faces is development. There has been huge housing and infrastructure development in Kilternan but it has not been matched with school place provision. Of course, we want to celebrate that this is a growing community. It is wonderful to see this beautiful part of our constituency is under development but it has to be matched with the resources that are needed. There are multiple housing projects under construction and commencements due over the period ahead locally. The need for school places will only grow in the area yet the community is already crying out for schools for the children of Kilternan. I will touch on the different needs at primary and secondary level. At present, there is no secondary school in the Kilternan school planning area.”
“I would like to discuss the need for schools in the Kilternan area of my constituency of Dublin-Rathdown. Kilternan is one of the most beautiful areas in my constituency. It is in the Dublin Mountains on the Wicklow border. We have a very diverse community with more suburban areas like Dundrum and Stillorgan but as one moves up towards Belarmine, Carrickmines, Stepaside and Kilternan, they are quite different in terms of the topographical area and some of the challenges that brings. Parents are at the end of their tether with no school places for their children for September 2026. Last week, parents from the Kilternan community held a meeting to discuss this. There was story after story of frustration, lack of place allocation and endless waiting lists. These families need to know their children will have a school to go to next September.”
“The impact of these wrongs will be felt by this State for years as we bear the cost of fixing not only the original wrongs but the results of a bungled scheme that puts these families through more hardship and harm. I have a lot of connections with Donegal and visit it regularly, which is why I have chosen to speak on the issue for a second time. I speak to people who are affected by this issue and it has affected their lives so deeply. We need to take a minute to ensure we are all listening to the people whose lives are being so affected by this issue. Once again, I commend Deputy Charles Ward on his continuing and persistent work. I have said before that it must feel like he is shouting into a void because of the slow way things are being addressed.”