Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Three years ago, I raised the story of a couple who had been scammed of €4,000 they had saved in their Revolut account for their wedding. They had huge issues at the time in trying to contact anyone beyond a bot about this scam. After raising this issue, I was flooded with people contacting me saying they too were hit by such scams and could not contact the company.

Today, I was again contacted by a young man who was scammed of €10,000 he had saved in the hopes of finally being able to buy a home of his own.

This young man is devastated. He has raised serious concerns about how this has happened and what can be done to stop it happening again. This not one person's story and it is not acceptable that a bank operating in this State has such an appalling record on dealing with people who have lost all their savings. What can and will the Government do to deal with this?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Farrell for raising this issue. It is horrific to hear of anyone experiencing that. The Deputy said that she has heard of another case today but she said that she has heard of many cases. I will ask the Minister for Finance to consider this matter to see what further safeguards are needed regarding this and also how we can get beyond people talking to bots when they are looking for information. I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy on this matter.

Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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I want to raise the case of a child in my constituency, Dublin Fingal West. She will be nine next month. I have permission from her parents to use her name, which is Willow. She was waiting for two years for an assessment for speech and language therapy. Thankfully, she has got the assessment and it has been confirmed that she needs speech and language therapy now. However, her parents have been told that it will be another two years before she can receive the speech and language therapy. That means that she will be 11 years old before she can access these vital services. That is not on. At her age, it is already impacting her self confidence and her development. I ask the Tánaiste or the Minister for children and disability to intervene urgently to ensure Willow can access speech and language therapy and get the vital supports she needs.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter on behalf of Willow and her parents. The Minister of State with responsibility for disability, Deputy Naughton, is sitting beside me. She is very happy to talk to the Deputy about this. I am pleased that Willow finally got her assessment. In the budget last week, we significantly increased the money to use private capacity for assessments but I acknowledge that is for the assessment. There is then the issue of accessing the therapies. We have seen a very significant increase in the budget for disability this year. It is up €618 million for 2026 on 2025. That will provide us with much more funding to hire more therapists. However, I have to be honest with Willow's parents and everybody here that trying to find and recruit therapists is a challenge we have identified. We have increased the number of training places in colleges. We are looking at international recruitment and how we can work with regulatory bodies in terms of more people coming in. We also looking at how we reform the legislation to make sure that people have a right to assessment of need but that it works in a more efficient and effective way for everybody. I will ask the Minister of State to speak to the Deputy on this matter.

Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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This morning I hosted a briefing with Uplift, ICCL and the Hope and Courage Collective. We talked about the dangers we all face online, including the security risks, the threats to democracy and the threats to our children, all posed by the lack of regulation of social media giants. We do not enforce the laws that we have. We were told by experts this morning that the perception internationally is that Ireland is not taking its responsibility seriously. We also heard about solutions, namely, making sure that recommender algorithms are turned off by default, so that people can choose what they are seeing online. We are pushing for this protection to be included in the EU democracy shield, which is currently on the desk of our own Irish Commissioner, Michael McGrath, and crucially enforcing the data protection laws that we have and making the Data Protection Commission fit for purpose. I would argue that the issue raised by Deputy Farrell and that features in The Irish Times today is exactly the kind of issue that will dealt with by this. Will this Government take action on these solutions to protect us and all of our children from online harm?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Yes, is the short answer. I go further than that and say we would be interested in working with the Deputy and across the House in relation to this. I am conscious that this is an area in which the Deputy has expertise and a significant background. It sounds like she met a number of other experts too. I am very concerned about this area in terms of the impact on our democracy, on our children and on public safety in general. Social media and digital media is a good thing but the regulation is not where it needs to be. I would be interested in receiving those solutions from the Deputy.

The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, is proactive in this area. For example, at the moment, we have a digital age of consent is 16. Clearly, that is not being applied by the companies. We need to legislatively address that. President Macron and others have said that if Europe is not going to move, they will move unilaterally on this. We are checking that out with our Minister and the Attorney General as what we can do within our own scope while pushing for more to be done at a European level.

Perhaps this is an area where I could ask the Minister to convene spokespeople or the likes from relevant political parties to see if we can derive some policy consensus in these areas.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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There is a commitment in the programme for Government to prioritise new wind farm guidelines. Wind is important and it is important we are able to utilise it as part of the solution to moving to cleaner energy. Last week I got a reply to a parliamentary question on it. The reply from the Minister stated that the 2006 guidelines remain in force and that the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is currently undertaking a focus review of the 2006 wind energy guidelines and engaging on all aspects of it with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. That is the same reply I got 12 years ago. This is not good enough. Why is there no movement on it? Is it deliberate? Many people are coming to the conclusion that this is deliberate in order to allow the large investors and large corporations to be able to put these in, particularly in the midlands, and then bring in perhaps weak guidelines after that. It is a case of bolting the door when the horse has gone. Meanwhile, and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle will attest to this, huge wind turbines are planned in south and north Laois and north Kilkenny, without any proper guidelines, never mind regulations. There are no community obligations-----

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Thanks, Deputy.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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-----no proper set-back distances from homes and no protection from shadow flicker and noise. Residents feel powerless and very frustrated by this-----

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you Deputy.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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-----and it is disgraceful. I will conclude on this. Every one of the past four Governments promised to do this. Who is putting the brakes on it? I have a Bill before the House, if the Tánaiste wants to support that-----

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Stanley, your time is up.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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-----or if he wants to bring in his own guidelines, that is fine. When will we finally have up-to-date wind guidelines that are fit for purpose with these huge, almost 600 ft. turbines?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am a bit frustrated by this myself as I am often asked this question and I have to give the same answer. The Minister of State, Deputy John Cummins, has responsibility for this and is doing very good work on it. I am very grateful to him for that. We need to see these guidelines. I have to be honest that when we see the guidelines not everyone will be delighted with them, I am sure, but we still need to provide a degree of clarity as to what the planning landscape looks like from a guidelines point of view in terms of renewable energy. Deputy Catherine Callaghan raised this matter with me recently in relation to her constituency. The Minister of State has told me that the guidelines are forthcoming in the next months. I will ask him to keep the House updated. I am sure he will be happy to engage with Deputies who have an interest in this issue. The new Planning and Development Act outlines quite a bit of work to be done on noise. There will be a chance for people to have input on the final draft guidelines. I will ask the Minister of State to write to the Deputy directly and expedite this as quickly as possible.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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It would be great if it was before Christmas.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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Today, I speak on behalf of Vera Twomey and her late daughter, Ava Barry. This is a story that embodies the courage of Irish families and the urgent need for compassionate healthcare reform. Ava suffered from Dravet syndrome and endured up to 500 seizures per month. When conventional treatments failed, Vera fought tirelessly for access to medicinal cannabis. She walked from Cork to Leinster House on two occasions, became a medical exile in the Netherlands and, ultimately, secured a licence for medication that reduced Ava's seizures by 70%, which allowed her to live with dignity. Even in hospital, Vera was the only person permitted to administer Ava's medication. This highlights a dangerous gap in our healthcare system. Ava passed away in May 2023 and at her inquest the jury recommended a national policy, now known as Ava's protocol, to oversee the administration of essential but unlicensed medicines. I ask the Government to formally adopt Ava's protocol and integrate it into national healthcare policy.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Collins for raising this matter. I want to pay tribute to Vera Twomey because if she was watching this she would be the first to say that she and I had a very testy relationship at the start. However, I very quickly realised that Vera was a mum who would do anything for her child. I think of poor Vera and the late Ava today. They changed Ireland in terms of the reforms that were brought about. I remember signing the licence for Ava to get access to medicinal cannabis in order to bring her some degree of ease from the most horrific situation. We owe Vera a debt of gratitude for the work she did and I thank her for that. I remember poor Ava fondly and I think of her and Vera and her family today.

I will ask the Department of Health where this is at and how it intends to act on that recommendation. It is important the recommendation is taken seriously. Currently, there are two separate programmes, the legislative medical cannabis access programme, MCAP, and the administrative ministerial licence programme. I will come back to the Deputy directly on the matter.

Martin Daly (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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I want to raise the issue of the maternity unit at Portiuncula University Hospital.

During his time as Minister for Health, the Tánaiste would have been very aware of the Walker report in 2018. There is a problem in the maternity unit in Portiuncula Hospital. I had an exchange with the Minister for Health a couple of weeks ago. The narrative being sold by HSE West North West is that this unit has failed in spite of the implementation of the Walker report in 2018. The chief executive of the HSE, Bernard Gloster, said at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Health a number of weeks ago said that it was patent to him that the Walker report was never implemented. So now we have a different narrative, which is that the Walker report was never fully implemented and this unit has failed. Can the resources that are required to implement the 2018 Walker report - all the same problems identified by Professor Coulter Smith in 2025 in the first seven of 12 cases - be provided?

There is confusion down there. We were told that 300 cases would be moved into UHG. I was at a meeting of GPs with the clinical director and the associate clinical director a couple of weeks ago. The clinical director told GPs that there was no evidence to move many of the categories they were talking about moving. Women with gestational diabetes are not being moved despite the fact that the HSE identifies that it is not safe for them to have their children there. Will the resources that are required to have a fully functioning maternity unit in Portiuncula Hospital be provided as per the Walker report? It was quoted to me that HIQA performed a review of the Walker report. It did not do that. It did a general one-day review in April 2019 and identified all those issues.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I know Deputy Daly has a professional background in this as a doctor, which is important to acknowledge. The Minister's only interest, and I know it is that of the Deputy and everybody in the area, is the safety and well-being of expectant mothers and their babies. We all share that view and we all want to get that right. I remember the Walker report. I think I was the Minister for Health at the time when it was commissioned. It was seen as an important and seminal moment and it does need to be fully implemented. I am sure resources will be forthcoming. I know the Minister has a real determination to invest in Portiuncula as well. I do not like to hear what the Deputy said about any sort of confusion on this. I will ask the Minister to reflect on the Deputy's comments here today and liaise with him directly.

Catherine Callaghan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Ballon Meats is a family-run independent meat processing factory that has been operating since 1977. It provides a vital service to local farmers across my locality - Ballon, Fenagh, Kildavin, Rathoe, Myshall and Tullow - as well as employing local people. It faces a challenge at the moment and needs our help. It needs more skilled workers. Despite having advertised locally and across the EU, it has not managed to receive a single application. It identified a number of skilled workers outside the EU, but it was unsuccessful in getting the required permits as the quota had been fulfilled before its applications were considered. I strongly acknowledge the work of the Minister, Peter Burke, in undertaking a review of the critical skills occupational list and the eligible occupational list. I welcome this initiative. Ballon Meats made a submission to the review but to use its own words, Ballon Meats is now in dire straits. It has already closed its pig processing line as it could not staff it and if it cannot get work permits soon, its sheep processing line will be next to close. I appeal to the Tánaiste to work with the Minister to ensure that small independent family-owned and family-run meat processing plants like Ballon Meats are supported by increasing the quota of work permits for skilled workers in the meat processing industry.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for bringing up this issue and her ongoing work on this with the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke. I thank the Minister for his work on this as well. The programme for Government is very clear on this. It says that the Government will "Ensure sufficient employment permits to support the agri food sector including the equine, dairy, horticulture, fish and food processing industries". We have given a commitment to do more to assist this industry by making sure there are sufficient employment permits. It is clear from what the Deputy is telling me that there are not enough permits at present. As she will be aware, the Department ran a scheme on a pilot basis to see how that would go for the sector. All of the extra applicants were taken up very quickly, which shows the demand in this area. As the Deputy has rightly said, the Minister is concluding a review of the employment permits scheme. In looking at a long-term position on this matter, he has had significant engagement with the sector. It is expected that a report will be concluded in the coming weeks. He will then consider the next steps. I will certainly work with and support him on that.

Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin (Wicklow-Wexford, Sinn Fein)
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I wish to raise the issue of school funding, specifically regarding schools that have gained a new teaching post this year. Could the Tánaiste look into the specific case of Tinahely National School? I know he knows the area. Such schools were targeted for the new mainstream teacher grant of €9,200. The new school principal, Pádraig O'Connor, has been in regular contact with the Department but he cannot get an update on when the money will come through for furniture and ICT. I would really appreciate it if the Tánaiste could look at that. Another school he knows very well is Coláiste Bhríde in Carnew. The Minister for Education and Youth was there recently. There are plans for a new school building but it is crucial for the school to have a sports ground as well. As the Tánaiste is aware, Carnew is a very sporty area. Could this be looked at as part of the tender process?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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It is breaking my heart to think about all these schools, which were in my constituency before Wicklow was carved into two. The Deputy is minding them in the Wicklow-Wexford constituency until we are one day reunited. Tinahely National School is a school I know well. I will certainly work with the Deputy and Mr. O'Connor constructively on this matter. I will ask the Department and the Minister to come back to the Deputy. Coláiste Bhríde in Carnew is a large and growing school. I am aware of its expansion in recent years. I am happy to ask the Minister to engage with the Deputy on its sports grounds.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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In the programme for Government, we made a commitment to reduce the cost of childcare for a child to €200 per month under the national childcare scheme. Along with hard-pressed families, I strongly welcomed this. A problem arises when providers pull out of the core funding scheme. In some cases, a provider of multiple facilities pulls one of its facilities out but keep others in for various reasons. As I have seen in my constituency, when that happens the cost of childcare can rise to up to €1,300 per month per child. It has risen to €1,256 in the case of one set of parents I am thinking of, who applied to 20 other providers seeking a place for their child. There are two issues here. First, what happens when providers pull out of the core funding scheme? When it works, it works really well and is very welcome. In more mature areas of Dublin that do not have community preschool or childcare facilities, the State need to step in, possibly through the local authorities. There is a commitment in the programme for Government to co-locate these childcare facilities. My principal question today concerns the fact that the withdrawal of childcare providers from core funding is having a severe impact. An increase of €1,200 or €1,300 per month could be used as a repayment on an extension or a down payment on a family holiday. These are the issues facing families.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Lahart is entirely correct. There are 21 commitments on childcare in the programme for Government, which is a sign of how seriously we are all taking this and what we are hearing from our constituencies. There is a need to look at how we move sequentially and together regarding all of this because fees are a big part of it. It is a second mortgage for many people so it is a really significant issue. It also involves places. Access to places is a challenge for everyone but it is a more pronounced challenge in some parts of the country. The Minister, Deputy Foley, is doing very good work on this. A mapping or advance planning unit in her Department is looking at where the need will be most acute if and when we start investing in more public and community facilities because we will start there. The point the Deputy is making is that there is a need to get the funding and fee model right. We can have a headline figure that says one thing but if people are actually withdrawing from the scheme, that is obviously having a more detrimental impact on the Deputy's constituents. The Deputy can expect a road map from the Minister in the coming weeks that will set out how we get from here to where we want to go on childcare.

Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Last week, I spoke about the need for infrastructure in north Kildare. Today I am speaking specifically about the need for more school infrastructure. Earlier this year, I visited St. Patrick's National School in Celbridge, which has been operating out of temporary prefabs for the past 18 years. It is planned that the school will be part of a new three-school campus along with St. Raphael's Special School and Celbridge Community School. The new campus has been delayed. It should have been in place by now but we have not got there. There are students who entered the school's prefabs on their first day in junior infants and have graduated from sixth class. I appreciate temporary buildings are needed but they are by nature temporary rather than permanent. On my visit to the school, I saw at first hand the dedication of the school community. I also saw the prefabs and the impact they have had on the school over the past 18 years.

The big question on the lips of many parents from Celbridge to Naas, and from Maynooth to Kilcock, is where their children will go to secondary school next year. That is also a serious issue. I have two asks today. Can we ensure that in the capital plan there are additional places for new secondary and primary schools in north Kildare? More importantly, can we have an answer on the three-school campus?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this and for his ongoing focus on infrastructure delivery in north Kildare following our discussion in the House last week. It is our collective priority to ensure every child in the State has access to a school place. I know the Department of Education and Youth, and the Minister, Deputy McEntee, are working hard on that. We remain determined to do that. Kildare is an interesting county in the sense that you can see enough school places in the county as whole. Of course, as the Deputy has pointed out they are not spread equally across the county. There are pinch points, particularly in the part of Kildare represented by the Deputy. That is why the roll-out of the pilot Apply to School system marks a significant step forward in sharing information. I hope that can be rolled out nationwide. That also includes Celbridge. The Celbridge campus project has been devolved for delivery to the National Development Finance Agency. There are three schools within the campus project, St. Raphael's Special School, Celbridge Community School and Scoil Naomh Pádraig. In March, the Department formally approved the project to progress to stage 2A of the architectural design process. This involved the design team developing the design, fully costing the planning of the campus project and preparing the necessary documentation. The NDFA will be continuing to engage with the school authorities. I will ask the Minister to get an updated timeline for the Deputy.

Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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My community and many others throughout the State are being terrorised by scramblers every day, driving on our roads, our paths and in our parks. I have consistently called for the establishment of an anti-scrambler unit that is trained and resourced to deal with this scourge. The Minister for justice refuses to do it and kicks the can down to senior gardaí, who then kick the can back to him. I will give one example. Drones are used in conjunction with anti-scrambler units by British police. An Garda Síochána has had a unit trained since 2023, but it will not use it because of a lack of legislative clarity. However, I can get a coffee or fast food delivered in the same area by a private company. I find it bizarre, at a time when our communities are being terrorised by scramblers, that a unit has not been established here. We have the resources. We know it operates in Britain. We know it works, but we do not have such a unit here. It is time to ask the Minister for justice to sit down with senior gardaí to establish an anti-scrambler unit, sort out this legislative clarity and get dealing with this problem. What is happening at the moment is not working.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Donnelly for raising what is a serious issue for his constituents, based on what he has told me. From memory, I think there was some legislative work done on this in the previous Oireachtas. I need to refresh my memory. I will certainly ask the Minister for justice to seek the views of Garda management and respond to the Deputy directly.

Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)
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The arts and culture budget received an actual cut in budget 2026. It went from just above €300,000 to under €300,000. There was a lot of fanfare about the basic income for the arts and that expansion is welcome. However, that fanfare has masked what is happening to arts and cultural funding, which is that there will be less next year than this year. Arts Council funding is crucial to supporting arts practice in Ireland. It is a crucial lifeline in promoting and sustaining the best of artists in this country. Last year it supported 1,800 individuals and 588 organisations. There is a real concern that with this cut to arts and culture current expenditure funding, the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, and the Government are intent on punishing the Arts Council because of the IT crisis that emerged earlier this year. I want to hear from the Tánaiste what assurances he can provide to artists that Arts Council funding will not be cut in 2026 and that we will see the same volume, or more, given to the practice of arts in this country.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I will not cut across the Minister, other than to say that we can differentiate, and should be able to do so, between governance failures and shortcomings in an agency or organisation and the vital work done by artists on the ground in the community supported through that agency. I know that is a view shared by the Minister. I will ask him to come back to the Deputy directly on this. The basic income scheme, which was meant to be a pilot, was rolled over and has now become a permanent scheme. The Deputy welcomed that, and I welcome that. We also need to look at the overall capital and current budget for arts and culture in the round in terms of the investment we will see in major arts and culture projects in the years ahead. I will ask the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, to come back to the Deputy directly.

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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I bring up the issue of opting out of religious classes for children who go to religious schools. A number of parents have contacted me about this issue, and it is causing huge concern, upset and disappointment. Children who attend schools that are under religious patrons and who are not part of that religion or belief system are supposed to be able to opt out. It is set out in the Constitution under Article 44.2.4° that the right of any child should be facilitated. The issue is that guidelines were supposed to be given by the Department, but they do not seem to be clear. They say that the school should provide that facility, but unfortunately schools are not doing that. There is a loophole where the Department says it is up to the school to do it, but parents say this is not happening. The difficulty is that the Department issues schools with so many circulars about things. This is one of those things that should be part of a circular to help schools to facilitate parents in vindicating their right to opt their children out. I am being told that children are being othered at the moment because there is no facility for them to opt out. They are sitting at the back of the classrooms and are unable to have their constitutional right upheld.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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It is an important issue. The idea of any child being othered in any school on the basis of their own wishes and choices, and those of their parents, on the education they access is not appropriate. I know the Minister, Deputy McEntee, would share that view. I will talk to the Minister about where her mind is at with regard to a circular. It certainly sounds sensible to have some degree of clarity and consistency and ensure what is meant to be in place is actually happening in the school community. I will ask the Minister to talk with the Deputy directly and I am sure she will have a look at it.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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According to the Central Statistics Office there has been a drop-off of almost €50 billion in inbound foreign direct investment value into Ireland. As the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Tánaiste will understand the importance of connectivity for a small island economy. The reality is that the world economy is moving further east all of the time. Only one flight leaves this country for Asia and that is directly to China, between Beijing and Dublin. Does the Minister think there is a need for a strategy from his Department to analyse this and to see if Ireland can connect with new markets like Japan, which is the largest source of FDI in Asia for Ireland and other countries? Following on from the enterprise committee's visit to Japan in recent weeks, a serious issue has been raised regarding the lack of direct connectivity with Ireland for people from outside of the United States who want to come to our country and invest. Some 90% of Ireland's corporation tax take comes from the US. Surely this is an extremely serious risk, and we need to look at dealing with a more balanced system of corporation tax take.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. There is a lot of merit in what he has said. The Government has published in recent weeks a market diversification plan recognising, as the Deputy states, that while we do a lot of trade between the United States and Ireland, and the United States and Europe, and intend to continue that, we also have to make sure we look for other opportunities for Irish business in both directions. Those connection routes are really important. There has been an unprecedented number of Government Ministers in Japan over the course of the year because of Expo being hosted there, and the opening of the new Ireland House in Tokyo. I will ask my Department to undertake that piece of work and come back to the Deputy. We will do it under the umbrella of the market diversification strategy. I will also have it raised as an issue at a future meeting of the Government trade forum.

Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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As the Tánaiste knows, since I was first elected, the expansion of the Scoil Aonghusa special school in Cashel has been a priority of mine. I pay tribute to everybody involved in this centre of educational excellence. The school is under huge pressure as it caters for 150 children with complex special needs. Thankfully, the 15-room modular expansion was approved in February this year. It is my understanding that the tender process is just about complete. As the Tánaiste knows, it is all about delivery now. I am anxious to maintain the momentum to ensure we move to the detailed design and planning phase at the earliest opportunity and soon after to the modular construction phase. In the context of maintaining that momentum, I appeal to the Tánaiste to engage with the Minister for education so we can see the realisation of this project at the earliest opportunity.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue with me and previously with the Minister for education, and not for the first time. I know this is something he has been following and working on intensively since his election to the Dáil to represent Tipperary South. I welcome that it looks like we are at a moment where it is about to move on to the next phase.

What we then need to make sure is that there are no delays and that we progress this with a bit of momentum behind it. I know how important this is. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, has worked very hard in terms of increasing the budget for special education, both capital and current. I know this is a school she will keep in close contact with the Deputy on, as will I. I look forward to visiting Cashel with the Deputy in the time ahead and perhaps being able to meet with the school community there.

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Home improvement grants are essential to facilitate disabled and older people to live at home with independence, dignity and safety, but a backlog exists to accessing this crucial support across the State, including in County Monaghan. The Minister for housing has said that this funding will be reviewed in future years as part of the annual budgetary process, but for those who need these supports this year and will not receive them, a promise to review the situation in the years ahead is of little relief, especially if their independence is compromised in the interim. Will the Tánaiste undertake to review this immediately and to ensure that local authorities are properly funded to deliver the supports, so those who most need them get them?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is right to raise this, and I have heard it raised in the House over the last couple of weeks. I am pleased to be able to say that we now have significant funding for 2026 onwards. The Deputy’s question is a valid one, namely, whether there is anything that can be done between now and the start of 2026. My understanding is that the Department of housing keeps this under review and, as it gets closer to the end of the year, if there is an ability to provide additional funding to local authorities that can carry out the works, it tries to do that. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Browne, to look specifically at the case of Monaghan and revert to the Deputy directly.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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Does a woman or person abused by someone in the Army have the same rights as other victims? The victims of crime Act 2017 does not apply to the Army. It applies to the Garda but not to the Army. In June, I raised a case here with the Tánaiste about a woman who was stalked, abused and assaulted by an Army officer. He used Army equipment, even an Army grenade, as part of that harassment. She made a complaint in November 2022. We are nearly three years on and she has heard nothing further about how that case is being prosecuted. She has no right to review it because the victims of crime Act does not apply to the Army. I raised this with the Tánaiste but I did not get any reply back, and neither has the woman since the end of June or July.

I have also been shown a GoFundMe that the Army had in one of the battalions, where they all used rapists’ names when contributing to the GoFundMe - names like Paddy Jackson, Ted Bundy, Fred West, Jimmy Savile, Larry Murphy, Stuart Olding and so on. Such is the toxic rape culture within the Army that they felt no problem in doing this. It was the “11th POC planting 1200 native trees” GoFundMe. This was sent to this woman as a message that anybody can say anything they want in the Army.

Will the Tánaiste please extend the victims of crime Act to the Army, allow people to get information on their cases and allow them to have the right to a review if it is not prosecuted? Will he agree to meet this woman to discuss the situation further? We have had Natasha O'Brien, we have had the Women of Honour and now we have this.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I sincerely apologise if the Deputy did not get a reply to that. I will check that.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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I got an acknowledgement.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Yes, I know, but you should have got a substantive response. My sincere apologies if that did not happen. I will ensure that it does now because there can be zero tolerance for this. “Zero tolerance” cannot just be a phrase. The Defence Forces cannot recuse themselves from zero tolerance. It has to apply to every part of Irish society, including the Defence Forces.

I am open to meeting that individual. I just need to take advice on the appropriateness of it and what the current status of the case is. Certainly, let me come back to the Deputy in relation to that and the appropriateness of it. On the victims of crime Act, again, I want to engage with my officials on it, but it seems logical to seek to extend it to the Defence Forces

More broadly, the Deputy rightly mentioned the Women of Honour, which is important. They have done the State a huge service. We have established a tribunal to investigate the many important issues. The culture needs to change. There can be zero tolerance for any gender-based violence, domestic violence or sexual violence within our Defence Forces.

Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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Last week, the Happily Ever After childcare service in Tuam, County Galway, informed parents that it will be forced to close its doors at the end of this month. The building does not meet fire safety requirements. The landlord has reneged on previous commitments to carry out the necessary works on the building to make it safe and has said these works would be too costly. This has left the operators, their 19 staff members and the parents of the 97 children the service cares for in a very difficult position. Their livelihoods are at risk. There is a lack of childcare spaces in Tuam, and the reality for many of these parents is that they will now be forced to leave their jobs to care for their children.

This is a really serious situation. Time is of the essence. I ask the Tánaiste and the Government to look into this, to engage with all the different parties involved, to offer any supports they can to prevent this service from being lost and to ensure adequate childcare provision in the local area.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for bringing the matter to my attention. I will certainly ensure that contact is immediately made with the Minister for children about the Happily Ever After childcare service. Perhaps there is also a role for the county childcare committee in relation to this. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Foley, to look into the issue and to revert directly to the Deputy’s office.