Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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I raised the issue of the Raphoe community playgroup a number of times last year. I had commitments from the Minister that funding would be available. The Tánaiste met the group. We were told funding would be available. It applied for the funding it was told to apply for but it has not been granted the funding. It has written to the Tánaiste and he has responded that the council rather than the group owns the land. Despite the fact it has a 22-year lease, it cannot rebuild the community playschool.

Why is this important? This is a community group funded by the EU and fundraising money. Its building has defective blocks and is condemned. Currently, the playgroup is in another building that is not fit for purpose. It has to take the tables and chairs and put them in a shed every evening. It is not acceptable. This was not something of the group's making. Defective blocks got onto the market because of a lack of regulation during successive Governments. Now, the funding the group was told would be there to help it rebuild its premises has been refused to it. How many times do we have to raise this issue? The Government has made pledges on community childcare facilities. There is a serious issue with childcare. This community group tells us it will not be able to function next year unless it gets the funding to rebuild the playgroup. Will the Tánaiste please intervene, knock some heads together and give this group the money it needs to rebuild a community playschool that is falling apart because of defective blocks?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I will endeavour to work constructively with Deputy Doherty and others in Donegal on this issue. As Deputy Doherty said, I met the Raphoe community playgroup. It told me about the great work it has been doing and I am in no doubt about that. It has been in operation since the early 1980s. It moved into a new purpose-built facility in 2000 and, as Deputy Doherty rightly said, that building has been condemned due to defective blocks. We all have sympathy for it but it does not want sympathy. It wants money. It wants to move this forward. It has been working very hard to come up with a solution. The Department of children has the building blocks grant scheme, which provides capital funding for new buildings and extensions. There is an issue with the ownership of the land. We need to find a way through that. I have written to the Ministers, Deputies Foley and Browne, on this. The Minister, Deputy Foley, is committed to working with the group through the Donegal county childcare committee and Pobal. I will keep Deputy Doherty updated on this.

Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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Yesterday was World Autism Awareness Day. It cannot just have been another day of empty promises while families continue to struggle. Last night, families slept out for a second time, pleading for support. We must acknowledge their challenges every day. With this in mind, I acknowledge in my constituency of Dublin Fingal West there are 539 children who have waited for more than 12 months for their first contact with Balbriggan CDNT. This is the highest waiting time in CHO 9. I would imagine it is well up there in the country. We know children with needs benefit significantly from the access and inclusion model in early education up to two years before they enter primary school. Can these figures be used to inform the Department of Education when planning necessary supports, easing the transition and reducing the chaos of school places that we are seeing?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for the constructive suggestion. He is right, in that we have to get a hell of a lot better at planning. The sense of surprise when a child seeks to move in a moment of transition in his or her life is not acceptable. We need to break down the silos. We have established the Cabinet committee on disability. We met last week, or the week before last, and a number of decisions were made, including to put therapists back in schools, starting with special schools. I see a lot of frustration from parents who get a place for their child in school and think it is great and they have finally made some progress only to realise that is just the education part and they are still not able to get speech and language therapy, physiotherapy or occupational therapy.

That decision we made last week, on which the Minister for Education will shortly bring proposals to Cabinet, will allow the NCSE to hire therapists for schools, starting with special schools. That will make a difference. I know that no parent sleeps out at night if not for a very good reason. It speaks to their frustration and genuine worry. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, met with a number of parents in the group last Wednesday. I understand there was positive engagement on the issue and the Minister wants to meet the group again to discuss their concerns and how progress can be made.

Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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The Government put on paper its commitment to progressively reducing the cost of childcare to €200 per month through the national childcare scheme. As the Tánaiste knows, young families are desperately struggling to get a place, and if they do they face crippling costs. Our childcare and early years education sector is in a precarious situation with regard to recruitment and retention. I hope the Government is considering pay parity with their colleagues in education for early years workers. The Tánaiste is on the record as saying that the model of childcare and early childhood education in Ireland need to be in the public space. Given that public commitment to the sector, the crucial importance of the sector and with committees being actively considered, will the Government consider the establishment of "páistecare", a Sláintecare approach to what is very important work, and to spell out a cross-party and long-term vision for what childcare and early years education will look like in Ireland?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I like "páistecare"; it is a good way of putting it. What emerged during the election period is that while all parties had different areas of focus, they all said that something significant needs to happen on childcare. I take the point, and while it is not for me to tell committees how to do their work, but as they are established, a focus on how we can advance a proper fit-for-purpose childcare system is crucial. I am proud of the some of the work we have done on reducing the cost of childcare. I know it can still be too high but not being able to get a place is the real issue. That is why I am unashamedly on the record, and the programme for Government alludes to this, regarding need for the State to intervene in terms of public provision. We will of course be working with private providers too. They have a role to play, and I have no issue with that, but there are certain parts of the country and certain communities where there really is a lack of provision. I am happy to work constructively with the Deputy. Perhaps when the new Oireachtas committees are established, which I hope will be soon, this could be an area of focus.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Many, if not most of the people who broadcast the proceedings in this Dáil who work for Oireachtas TV are on precarious, or "if and when" contracts, where they basically do not get paid if the Dáil or the committees are not sitting during Christmas, during the summer and other breaks. Most of these part-time workers earn approximately €12,000 per year. I could not believe it when they told me. A big contract is given to the company that provides these services but these workers are asking they get some kind of retainer because they have to be available to do the work of broadcasting the proceedings, which is an important role for all the parties, democracy and the Dáil. However, they are on miserable pay and conditions and the company that has been given the contract is not currently entertaining in any serious way their request for improved pay and conditions and for a retainer during those periods when they are not working. I have raised it at the Business Committee and in the Dáil previously but I would like the Government to intervene in this. It is disgraceful that people broadcasting these proceedings should be on this miserable earnings and on "if and when" contracts.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I thank those workers and everybody who works in the Oireachtas complex for the important role they play in how this place and our democracy functions, and the broadcasting of all that to the public. It is not out of any lack of sympathy or respect for the workers and the issues the Deputy raised but this is a matter for the Oireachtas. We have had significant debates about the difference between the Oireachtas and the Government in this House in recent times. My understanding is that we are shortly due to constitute the new Oireachtas commission. Perhaps that is a forum in which this could be discussed.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The Government will have members on it.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Government will have members on it too, and Government parties certainly take precarity of employment seriously.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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The people of Union Hall, Glandore and surrounding areas are rightly frustrated with the progress on promised improvements to their local pier. These promises are going on for years, and in that time, they have had visits from the Taoiseach and the former Minister for agriculture and the marine, looking at what needs to be done and raising the hopes of local fishermen and the tourism sector that funding would be given, but nothing has followed. The local authority has said there are three phases to the works that need to be done: first, refurbishment of the old pier; second, development of an additional 150 m of quay space for commercial fishing; and third, dredging of the channel for access to the pier facility. Councillor Daniel Sexton and myself attended a public meeting last Monday night, and I heard the same as I have heard year in and year out. The council is blaming the Department as its seeks clarity, and the Department blaming the council. Those who attended were rightly furious. I promised the people present that I would raise this issue with the Tánaiste. Will he speak with the relevant Minister to meet immediately with council officials to cut out the confusion to pave the way for funds to be delivered on these hugely Keelbeg pier works in Union Hall?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy, and I hear his frustration on behalf of his constituents. My understanding is that in April 2024 a delegation of Cork County Council officials and representatives from the Union Hall Save Our Pier Committee had a meeting with the then Minister and the assistant secretary general for the seafood and marine division in the Department headquarters in Agriculture House. At the meeting the council outlined that the development plan for Keelbeg pier consisted of three phases - the refurbishment of the old pier, the extension of the new pier and the dredging of Glengarriff harbour. My understanding is that the council was reminded of its own responsibilities to step projects forward to make them ready for delivery and that any costs associated with studies, design and consenting must be borne by the council. My understanding is the council was advised to apply to the Department once the relevant consents were in place and I will seek a further update on that. I will send the Deputy a note on the next steps. There is quite a bit of detail, but I am happy to engage with the Deputy directly on this to see if we can make progress.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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Household electricity prices in the EU in 2024 were the highest in Ireland and the lowest in Finland. The reason for this is that Finland generates 35% of its energy from nuclear power. Ireland has a growing economy of more than 5.3 million people. Do we need another Ardnacrusha Shannon scheme moment a century on where we decide how we are going to power our economy? In my constituency of Cork East, thousands of acres of agricultural land, the finest in the country powering our world-leading dairy sector. are being swallowed up for solar farms. It is generating huge unhappiness. Do we need a more sustainable, carbon-neutral approach, in the area of nuclear energy to power our economy for another century like the Shannon scheme and Ardnacrusha did at the foundation of the State?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Indeed, I heard him comment on it publicly this week as well. I first admire his guts in putting forward radical ideas on energy policy. That is worthwhile in this Dáil because energy and security of energy supply is really important for homeowners, businesses and for broader security reasons. The best advice available to me in Government is that the pathway to advancing the supply is through renewables and offshore wind development. However, I will ask the Minister for energy to respond to the Deputy's proposal directly.

James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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Investment in infrastructure is a key part of the programme for Government. Housing and water infrastructure are key in that but public transport is too. Dublin Port is carrying out an expansion plan and is going to build a new bridge alongside the toll bridge that would facilitate the extension of the Luas to Poolbeg. I ask that in the lifetime of this Dáil we get that project at least to a stage where there would at least be planning permission sought for a Luas extension to Poolbeg via Ringsend and Irishtown, and we could build on the extensions already happening for Finglas and Lucan.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. As he rightly said, the National Transport Authority, NTA, has a responsibility for transport planning in the greater Dublin area and the development of the Luas red line extension to serve Poolbeg is currently one of the projects they are giving real consideration to. Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, is the sponsoring agency for the proposed Luas to Poolbeg project and the NTA is the day-to-day approving authority. I understand the NTA recently instructed TII to undertake a pre-feasibility analysis of the Luas to Poolbeg project. We are cognisant that an increased demand for travel from Poolbeg to the city will need to be catered for in coming years. The Deputy is quite right. The transport requirements of the area will need to be met in a variety of ways, and indeed light rail-Luas could well be one of those. These issues will all be considered in our review of the national development plan and what level of funding is available. However, the project will be considered in that context this summer.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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Yesterday, on World Autism Awareness Day, parents of neurodiverse children slept outside the Dáil for the second time this year. I went out to them after the voting block yesterday, so taken was I by their hard-hitting presentation in the audiovisual room yesterday.

Many of these children have no school place for September. They are being denied fundamental human and educational rights by the State. One of the mothers said to me last night that although her child is non-verbal, she is not. These parents are a formidable force. The Tánaiste should take the demand seriously.

In my constituency of Kildare North, Scoil Mochua in Celbridge was granted approval to set up autism spectrum disorder classrooms in 2021 but is still without them. Yet, the Government says it cannot guarantee a school place for every child in September. When are these schools going to be built? When will the education of our special children be taken seriously?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I take those parents extraordinarily seriously. Parents are busy and have a lot going on, particularly parents of a child with special needs. To come and sleep out at the Dáil shows the sense of real frustration, worry and concern they feel right now.

Some 369 of the 400 classes for next September have been sanctioned as of today. The NCSE continues to assess additional provision in local areas. My understanding is that the provision of those additional special classes for the 2025-26 year, that is, the next school year, will be confirmed in the coming weeks. I understand the Minister for Education and the Minister of State with responsibility for special education met with a number of parents of that group last Wednesday. I am told it was a positive engagement on the issues parents face when seeking a suitable special educational placement. The Minister said she would like to meet that group again to follow up and we will ensure that happens.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The geoblocking of RTÉ and TG4 programmes in Northern Ireland where many television and mobile app viewers cannot access RTÉ coverage of Irish sporting events must be stopped. The unavailability of RTÉ programming, including the broadcasting of GAA and other sporting fixtures, is the cause of much annoyance and frustration for many people throughout Northern Ireland. Last Saturday evening and Sunday, I had calls from people North of the Border who could not get coverage of the Division Two National Football League Final between Monaghan and Roscommon. This is totally unacceptable.

In 2010, the then-Minister for communications, Eamon Ryan, signed a memorandum of understanding, MOU, on digital television with the British Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. It was clearly stated at that time that the MOU provided for the widespread availability of TG4 in Northern Ireland and BBC services in our State. The MOU underpinned the key role played by public service broadcasting throughout our island. The BBC now proposes to block its audio streaming service to listeners outside the UK, which, if implemented, would be a huge loss for audiences in our State. Turning off BBC Sounds in Ireland is not acceptable. Many of us living in south Ulster will no longer be able to listen to BBC Radio Ulster in our own province.

Some of us, over many years, have advocated for closer and more intense co-operation on a North-South basis in all facets of daily life. These broadcasting decisions fly in the face of such positive developments. The blocking of RTÉ in Northern Ireland and the BBC in our State has to be in breach of the Good Friday Agreement, and particularly in breach of the memorandum of understanding of 2010.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for the ongoing work he has done to promote closer relations and engagement throughout this island. Of course, he is right. The Good Friday Agreement committed to facilitating a number of initiatives, including the widespread availability of TG4 in Northern Ireland. I will certainly raise that issue, the issue of BBC Radio Ulster and all the other issues the Deputy has raised with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when we next meet.

With regard to the sports events the Deputy referenced, it is my understanding that TG4 had the right to broadcast that event on an all-island basis. As such, viewers in Northern Ireland may access these events on a free-to-air basis on the Freeview platform, which carries TG4. My understanding is, without sounding like some sort of technical person, that there is an issue when a viewer in Northern Ireland attempts to view an event on the TG4 online player. On a technical level, this is because there is no separate IP address protocol for Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK and, therefore, the device assumes that the viewer is outside of Ireland. We need to work our way forward on this. I am assured that TG4 circulates this message on its Spórt TG4 website and social platforms.

On the broader issue the Deputy has raised, let me raise it with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and I will then come back to him. I accept the seriousness of this issue for people on both sides of the Border.

John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The promises President Trump made from the Rose Garden last night were essentially protectionism with thorny tariffs, presenting challenges and uncertainty for many sectors, including businesses, farmers and livelihoods in County Offaly. It is essential we maintain a sense of calm with a measured response, proactively working with our EU counterparts through trade, diversification and deepening relationships with other global partners. Thankfully, we come from a position of strength due the prudent management of our public finances. Every challenge presents opportunity. Our respective State agencies must renew their focus on introducing our high levels of quality, innovation and diversification to new markets. Will the Tánaiste outline the significance and plan of new free trade agreements, considering the tariffs imposed by the United States on the European Union? Can he provide a timeline for the ratification process of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada, CETA?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. He is right. We are in a phase now when it comes to trade policy and our economy where we have got to keep influencing what we can influence, including the United States and the EU but we also have to control what we can control. As to what we can control, we can help companies diversify and help open up new markets throughout the world to Irish companies. This country is proudly a free trade country. We have always been a nation of traders and there are big opportunities in Singapore, Vietnam, Canada and, potentially, India. I had a good meeting with the Indian foreign minister in Dublin a couple of weeks ago.

The Deputy is right to reference CETA, which we endeavoured to progress in the previous Oireachtas. We know the difficulties we got into on that occasion. I have been working with the Attorney General and with my officials to find a way forward and I am pleased to tell the House that I intend to bring a memo to Government in the coming weeks - hopefully this month - that will set out a legislative path that will allow this country to ratify CETA by the end of this year.

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North-West, Sinn Fein)
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Car insurance hikes are hitting the ordinary motorist, particularly loyal customers. Despite certain reforms that lowered legal costs and claims, these savings are not being passed on to the customer. The Government has given a commitment in the programme for Government to publish a new action plan for insurance reform. When will this plan be published and its recommended reforms implemented?

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister of State with responsibility for insurance reform, I confirm to the Deputy that work is well advanced on the new action plan. I have met with a number of key stakeholders and it is hoped we will seek submissions from the public on the action plan in the next number of weeks with a view to having it finalised in the next two months.

Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
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I am sure the Tánaiste will agree it is essential that the ambulance service should be staffed, funded and equipped properly and operate from bases that are fit for purpose. A new base is urgently required at Tipperary University Hospital in Clonmel. The existing base is a 25-year-old prefabricated building built to cater for ten all-male staff. There are now 22 staff using the base with a 50:50 male to female complement. Facilities, as the Tánaiste can imagine, are totally inadequate with small, limited showering, changing and locker room facilities, especially for female staff, as well as very small rest rooms and almost non-existent kitchen facilities. While this has been flagged for a number of years and is included in the HSE capital programme, it needs to be progressed urgently. I ask the Tánaiste to intervene to make sure that happens.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I agree with him that we need to continue to invest in the bases for our ambulance service. I will certainly seek an update from the Minister for Health on the plan for the new ambulance base at the Tipperary hospital in Clonmel. My understanding from conversations I have had is that the Minister hopes to bring forward the HSE capital plan this month. That, perhaps, will be a moment of update. I will certainly ask her to come back directly to the Deputy.

Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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I raise the urgent medical case of Filip Kosacki, a 15-year-old boy from Midleton. I have consent to speak on his behalf. On January 16, Filip was diagnosed with a ureteropelvic junction obstruction in Cork University Hospital, CUH, and identified as being in need of emergency surgery. He is in constant pain and has not been able to attend school since early January. There has been confusion between CUH, the Mercy University Hospital and Crumlin hospital as to who has responsibility for Filip’s treatment. Filip’s mother, Kasia, was told last week that his care has been transferred from CUH to Crumlin hospital but Crumlin hospital said it was unaware of this and it redirected my representation back to Cork. Filip’s mother was told this morning by Crumlin hospital that his referral had in fact arrived but that it was incomplete and was being sent back to CUH. Filip’s family are extremely distressed and concerned for him. He is missing out on school and is suffering greatly. Filip’s family and I would be very grateful if the Tánaiste could intervene in order that this surgery could be expedited without further delay.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for bringing this situation to my attention. It must be a very stressful time for Filip, his mother Kasia and the family, made all the more stressful by this confusion, to put it mildly. I suggest that the Deputy, with the family's permission, send the details to my office and I will link with the Minister for Health and the head of the HSE and l ask that they provide some clarity to the Deputy on a way forward.

Catherine Callaghan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Many families I represent in rural counties Carlow and Kilkenny have been granted home support services for their relatives, due to illness or advancing age. In theory, these families in Kildavin, Callan, Bagenalstown and Bennettsbridge have State support to care for their family members at home but in reality, in many cases, there are zero HSE staff to fulfil these home support hours. Hard-pressed, full-time working families are left to take matters into their own hands and draw up family rotas for covering the care of their loved ones. The issue is particularly pronounced in rural areas of my constituency, especially over weekends. Families have been told by HSE staff that if their mother was living in a town, she would be have home support but the organisation cannot get the staff to go up long lanes or into rural communities. This is not acceptable. It is not fair for people who have paid their taxes for their entire lives to not get the support they need, when they need it. What is the Government doing to ensure that there is an increased focus on recruiting and providing home support workers in rural areas and, in particular, to provide home support at weekends?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for the important question. I will ask the Minister with responsibility for older people to meet her to discuss what more can be done. We are spending more on home support now than ever before. The home support budget for this year is the largest ever at €840 million, delivering more than 24 million hours of home support to more than 60,000 people at any one time. However, the Deputy pointed out the disparity between rural parts of her constituency and less rural parts of the country and how we can recruit and retain staff in those areas. The work the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, is leading on is around the need to get to the statutory home care scheme. That will provide much greater clarity in terms of funding, employment and structures than the current situation. In the here and now, I will ask the Minister of State what more can be done to help people in Carlow and Kilkenny and I will ask him to meet the Deputy to discuss this matter.

Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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We know that Dublin's buses operate on very strict timetables and that reliability is a key element of operating a bus service but safety also needs to be a consideration. To keep delays to a minimum, we often hear of cases of bus drivers pulling away from bus stops five or ten seconds after passengers board but for individuals with mobility or balance issues, like those public transport users with cerebral palsy, this can be extremely dangerous and distressing. While I acknowledge the importance of keeping these buses on schedule, I would like the Tánaiste's support in emphasising how crucial that extra five or ten seconds can be for someone with cerebral palsy or a balance issue and to increase awareness of the just a minute, JAM, card initiative, which signals that a person may need a little more time or understanding. I also ask him to intervene with the Minister for Transport and the NTA to make additional driver training be made available so that it becomes standard practice for drivers to wait until any person using a JAM card is safely seated or stable before the bus moves off. We want to encourage everyone to use public transport, including vulnerable passengers, but we need to strike a balance between efficiency and compassion. I thank Colin Dempsey, a transition year student from Pobalscoil Iosolde in Palmerstown for raising this and educating me on this issue.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy and I join him in thanking Colin Dempsey for his work on this project and bringing it to the Deputy's attention, and the Deputy, in turn, bringing it to the attention of the Dáil. He is right that everyone wants to see an efficient public transport system but other issues also matter. Safety and inclusion also matter. As we go about out daily lives, all of us want people to access public transport in a way that is inclusive and safe. My understanding is that disability awareness training, DAT, is provided by all public transport operators. The PSO contracts have a condition that the staff DAT has to be renewed every three years. As part of DAT, they now also have to give consideration to the issue of hidden disabilities as well. I will follow up with the specifics in terms of what the Deputy raised for very good reasons and I will ask that the Minister comes back to him and Colin on this matter.

Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin (Wicklow-Wexford, Sinn Fein)
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As a County Wicklow man, the Tánaiste will be very familiar with the small, rural town of Carnew. This town is somewhat isolated, lacks basic facilities and services and has insufficient public transport. This week, local people were alarmed to learn that an investment fund, Quest Retirement Solutions, is applying to install an International Protection Accommodation Services , IPAS, centre to accommodate 44 persons, who are usually young males, in a public house on Carnew's main street. Needless to say, as usual, there has been no local consultation on this. County Wicklow is already accommodating more than 1,500 IPAS applicants. Has an impact assessment been conducted to evaluate the effects of imposing yet another IPAS on a local community in County Wicklow? Will the Tánaiste intervene in this matter?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. I do indeed know Carnew well as I represented it until the Electoral Commission took it off me. I am sure it is well represented now. Regarding IPAS centres, I am not familiar with that one. It is always important that communities are informed. However, I am also very proud to live in a county that has welcomed so many people from migrant communities and people seeking international protection. Communities across County Wicklow have done that. The flow of information with communities is important and I will ask the Minister with responsibility for migration to provide the Deputy with an update regarding the issue he has raised.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I want to raise the issue of the report from Sheila Noonan, the negotiator, which is now in the possession of the Minister, Deputy Foley. When she was appointed almost two years ago, she was to report within six months. The report is completed and with the Minister. I have two issues that concern me. The first is the question of what the next steps will be. We need a clear outline of what is going to happen and the consequences of the negotiation that has taken such a long time. The second issue is that we are reading about section of the report in the newspapers, albeit not all of it. Once again, we have a leak. This is the second time now that survivors have been treated with utter disrespect. Back in 2020, the Government got the report on the mother and baby homes. In January, we discussed it in the Dáil and the only people who had it were in the media. There were comments and an interview with Deputy Micheál Martin at the time on a leaked report. The exact same thing has happened again. There should be an apology. I also want to know what is going to happen now and when the survivors will get the report.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is right. Survivors should never read that information third-hand or in the media. The Minister, Deputy Foley, shares that view. I will speak to her about what can be done to update the survivors directly and to apologise for any way in which that information has been disseminated and put into the public domain in a way that is not sensitive to the survivors and does not attach paramount importance to their needs. My understanding is that the report is due to come to Cabinet but let me seek clarity on the next steps and I will ask the Minister to come back to Deputy Connolly directly.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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It has been almost two years since the publication of Dr. Shannon's report on sex abuse of children at St. John Ambulance. The report makes for harrowing reading. The report found that a culture had facilitated the potential grooming of children and that the organisation had failed to intervene, despite knowing that the boys were at risk of abuse. It concluded that the organisation had failed to act against the perpetrator for years, despite "a significant degree of organisational awareness of the risk that he posed to children". Survivors who have bravely campaigned, spoken out about this and pushed for the report, including Mick Finnegan, have an apology but they have no accountability. There has been no accountability whatsoever. They are calling for a public inquiry into how this happened and how it was able to go on for so long. They want this to ensure that it cannot be repeated. Will the Government grant the survivors an inquiry?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the issue and I thank Mick Finnegan for his incredible advocacy on this issue. He has been in Leinster House on many occasions because of his advocacy work. I sincerely thank him for that. I will speak directly to the Minister involved and I will come back to the Deputy.