Results 481-500 of 15,908 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I acknowledge the teachers, the wonderful SNAs and special education teachers and everyone in our schools for the fantastic work they do. While billions of euro has gone into our schools portfolio in recent years, there is obviously more we need to do. I am very aware that there are schools that need replacement buildings and extensions and where further progress needs to be made. I am...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I look forward to attending the opening of Harold's Cross school and, I hope, of many others in the Deputy’s constituency as we work to provide education for our young people. It is really important that we have therapies in our schools. Children spend so much of their time in school, it is important that they have access to therapies while there. The Government's very clear...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: Once again, I acknowledge the fundamental work that our paramedics play in keeping people safe. For so many people, they are the first point of contact. They can stabilise people and make sure they get to hospital on time. I acknowledge their role and work in our healthcare system. I do not have the details of the particular case the Deputy mentioned, but I can ask the Minister to look...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I acknowledge and commend our colleague from Louth for the fantastic result at the weekend in what was a fantastic game.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: If I mentioned other counties, we could be here all day. I acknowledge the importance of the large-scale infrastructure grant and the contribution it has made to sport across our country. There is a very clear commitment in the programme for Government to make sure we continue to invest in smaller scale projects via the sports capital grant. Obviously, any decision on a larger scale would...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: We all agree that our objective, working closely with the HSE and individual hospitals, is to make sure that hospitals have the equipment they need and that patients can access services in their communities as quickly as possible. I will raise the matter with the Minister directly.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The significant investment that has gone into special education in recent years has been with the sole purpose of making sure children have places and that when they are in school, whether it is in special schools, special education classrooms or mainstream classes, they have access to the support that is appropriate to them. That is why we have more than 23,000 SNAs and thousands of new...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: We all acknowledge the importance of credit unions in our towns and villages, for many reasons. While I am not aware of the particular cases Deputy Lawless mentioned, I can certainly raise the matter directly with the relevant Minister.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I join with the Deputy in commending the members of our fire service, An Garda Síochána and all of our emergency services on the fantastic work they do in protecting us and keeping us safe. A huge amount of work happened under the previous Government. That has continued into the term of this Government. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has engaged with the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. He and I live in commuter towns. The populations in such towns have grown significantly in recent years. What is most important is that the services respond to those increases in population and that we forward plan insofar as is possible. In recent years, particularly this year, 15 new special classes have been sanctioned for County...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: We have made great strides in recent years to make sure that we can allow for those who are Gaelgeoirí to access content in order that they can engage with services in their native language.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy directly on this. I do not have a clear answer, but I certainly think we are all keen to build on the progress that has been made. Obviously, this would be part of that.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: We need to be open to anything we can do to support those who have addiction issues but also to prevent young children from going down that path. As the Deputy rightly mentioned, the new Gambling Regulatory Authority was introduced following significant work by our colleague the Minister, Deputy James Browne. It is important that the authority should be open to looking at all forms of...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: As a result of the actions of this Government, and because we have not spent every single penny we have, it has meant that over the years when we have had significant challenges - be it Covid-19 or the war in Ukraine and the implications these have had in terms of the cost of living - we have had money to give back to people. In last year's budget alone, there were €2.2 billion worth...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: Let me assure the Deputy that this is not being rushed. This issue has been discussed for ten years. It was agreed in 2023 that the first tranche would start in 2025. It is important that this proceeds. It will benefit our students and that is why we are doing it. Teachers agree with it, unions agree with it and students, who have come out very clearly in support of what is proposed,...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I acknowledge the work of Cara Darmody in highlighting the very important issues he mentioned. Supporting people, particularly children with disabilities, is an absolute priority for this Government. A total of €3.2 billion was allocated for disability services in the budget. Almost one third my Department's budget is focused on...

Ceisteanna ó na Comhaltaí Eile - Other Members’ Questions (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for raising what I know is an absolute priority for him and his constituents. He is absolutely passionate about achieving an outcome and delivery above all else. Housing is the number one priority for this Government. Making sure we can deliver housing for every citizen who needs it, be it in urban or rural areas, is the number one priority. That is why we are...

Ceisteanna ó na Comhaltaí Eile - Other Members’ Questions (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: What is absolutely key is delivery and that we look at problems with fresh eyes and in a new way and make sure those who are responsible and able to deliver are very much part of the solution. That is why Uisce Éireann will be part of the various bodies I mentioned - the new infrastructure office established in the Department of public expenditure and the new housing delivery office. ...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: This is across a number of different avenues. Our farmers, business people, those involved in transport and private economy and all of us in our homes need to make sure we are doing every single thing possible to contribute to the overall reduction so that we can achieve our targets. It is something we are committed to doing, as I know the Deputy is.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. This is something that impacts a significant proportion of our population and there are very different reasons people may not have children, choose not to have children, cannot have children or are in different scenarios where it does not happen. It is always open to any individual or group of people to make representations, be it prior to the...