Results 41-60 of 372 for speaker:Pádraig Rice

Programme for Government: Statements (6 Feb 2025)

Pádraig Rice: I am delighted to have this opportunity to speak on the new programme for Government. Having read the document from start to finish, it is my firm view that it fails to provide for transformative change. Over the 162 pages, most of the commitments are vague, notional or regurgitated. There are very few new ideas and it is completely devoid of the promised new energy. Instead, what we get...

Housing Policy: Motion [Private Members] (12 Feb 2025)

Pádraig Rice: Like my colleagues, I thank the Labour Party for this debate. I have spent the past couple of years listening to the debates in this House on housing. As a younger person, I find it really hard to stomach the Government's rhetoric on housing. Rarely does it acknowledge how bad the situation is, with unaffordable rents, soaring house prices and record homelessness. There is a real...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (12 Feb 2025)

Pádraig Rice: The chronic shortage of public health nurses needs urgent attention. Not for the first time, developmental checks for those aged under five have been suspended in some parts of the country. These checks are vital to ensure milestones are being met and to identify medical issues and developmental delays. At the moment, the best the HSE can offer to some parents is a QR code to a guidance...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (11 Feb 2025)

Pádraig Rice: 298. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there are plans to provide additional autism classes in an area of County Cork (details supplied); if the National Council for Special Education has engaged with local schools in respect of need; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4374/25]

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Legislative Measures (11 Feb 2025)

Pádraig Rice: 507. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to outline her plans in respect of the programme for Government commitment to “advance legislation to ban conversion practices”; the timeline she is working towards in publishing the necessary legislation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4371/25]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Strategies (11 Feb 2025)

Pádraig Rice: 647. To ask the Minister for Health to outline her plans in respect of the Programme for Government commitment to “ensure a transgender healthcare service that is based on clinical evidence, respect, inclusiveness and compassion”; the status of the development of a new model of care for transgender services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4372/25]

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (11 Feb 2025)

Pádraig Rice: 737. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development to explain further the Government’s plans in respect of the Programme for Government commitment to “renew the focus and the purpose of the community recognition fund”; if this process will include a consultation process with key stakeholders such as community groups involved in local integration initiatives; and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (12 Feb 2025)

Pádraig Rice: 297. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of discussions between a union and officials from his Department in respect of a matter related to academic calendar alignment (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5187/25]

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (18 Feb 2025)

Pádraig Rice: We learned today that the potential cost of the national children's hospital has soared by €100 million in just a matter of months. It now stands at nearly €2.5 billion, although no one believes this will be the final cost. It is outrageous that after all this time, nobody in this House knows for sure how much this project will ultimately cost or when it will start treating...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (18 Feb 2025)

Pádraig Rice: The latest estimate is that it will be at least another year. This is the biggest capital investment in the health service in the history of the State and it has been a botched project.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (18 Feb 2025)

Pádraig Rice: We need time set aside to have a discussion on this fiasco. We need an update on this from the Minister.

Mental Health: Statements (18 Feb 2025)

Pádraig Rice: I too congratulate the Minister of State on her reappointment as Minister of State with responsibility for mental health and also her appointment as Government Chief Whip. I will talk about funding, policy and the law. On funding, for far too long mental health services have been the Cinderella of our health services. Decades of underinvestment have left us with understaffed and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Cycling Policy (13 Feb 2025)

Pádraig Rice: 159. To ask the Minister for Finance if he is considering increasing the tax relief limit for e-bikes under the cycle-to-work scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5345/25]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (13 Feb 2025)

Pádraig Rice: 186. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps she is taking ensure that children are provided with stability in their education, following the termination of a private contract to house Ukrainian families (details supplied); the measures in place to deal with such circumstances; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5346/25]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (13 Feb 2025)

Pádraig Rice: 233. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the dietary requirements of children with coeliac disease are catered for in all schools, as a part of the school meals scheme; if this requirement is included in contracts with suppliers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5344/25]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Policy (13 Feb 2025)

Pádraig Rice: 256. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to respond to matters raised in correspondence regarding the application process on the immigration service’s new online platform (details supplied); the steps he will take to ensure that the system is not unduly difficult to navigate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5347/25]

Housing Crisis: Motion [Private Members] (19 Feb 2025)

Pádraig Rice: I find it really hard to listen to the Government's rhetoric on housing. The Minister comes in here and talks about the progress the Government has made but homelessness has hit an all-time high. How is that in any sense progress? Rents and house prices are soaring, and schemes such as the help-to-buy scheme are just driving up house prices. The Government is failing people in this...

Housing Crisis: Motion [Private Members] (19 Feb 2025)

Pádraig Rice: Branding the houses as affordable increases the level of hopelessness among young people. They feel the houses are just more out of reach for them. I believe we should rename the Act the Unaffordable Housing Act because unaffordable housing is genuinely what it is delivering. We need a radical reset of housing policy. The answers to this crisis are not found in the failed policies of...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (20 Feb 2025)

Pádraig Rice: It is concerning that children are currently excluded from the draft regulations of home care support services. This is despite the fact that more than 650 children with complex needs are receiving these services. In the case of baby Luke, as highlighted in a report from the Ombudsman for Children today, multiple serious issues with home care services were documented. These include routine...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Legislative Programme (18 Feb 2025)

Pádraig Rice: 119. To ask the Taoiseach the date on which the Spring legislative programme will be approved and published. [6320/25]