Results 1-20 of 2,596 for speaker:Christopher O'Sullivan

Criminal Law (Prohibition of the Disclosure of Counselling Records) Bill 2025: Second Stage [Private Members] (12 Jun 2025)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I thank Deputy Coppinger once again for raising this important issue and all Members of the House who contributed to the discussion. I assure Deputies that I have listened very carefully to their contributions and will convey their views to the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan. Violence against women is an epidemic in our society. We are all aware of the chilling statistics. One in every...

Criminal Law (Prohibition of the Disclosure of Counselling Records) Bill 2025: Second Stage [Private Members] (12 Jun 2025)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following: "Dáil Éireann resolves that the Criminal Law (Prohibition of the Disclosure of Counselling Records) Bill 2025, be deemed to be read a second time this day twelve months, to allow for consideration by the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to consider and bring forward...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Energy Infrastructure (12 Jun 2025)

Christopher O'Sullivan: As Deputy Farrell rightly points out, I was just getting into the relevant section on Storm Éowyn so I will come back to that. As I was saying, the major cause of service outages in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn was the result of cascading impacts mainly emanating from the lack of electricity supply to power the network communication networks. Communication networks themselves...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs (12 Jun 2025)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I thank the Deputy for raising the question and for giving me the opportunity to reassure the House that the Department of Education and Youth and the NCSE are committed to ensuring all children can access an education suitable to their needs. The Department of Education and Youth continues to engage intensely with the NCSE on forward planning for new special provision to ensure every child...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Energy Infrastructure (12 Jun 2025)

Christopher O'Sullivan: The Deputy raised some specifics regarding the generator, phone outages, etc. I will endeavour to get the Department to come back to her on those points. The written response I have is quite lengthy. I hope it will set out the plan and answer the Deputy's questions. I hope she has time to get to it. With regard to the national development plan, in early April the Government agreed to...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (12 Jun 2025)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I spoke in jest about the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, taking on the brief of school transport. He is very experienced in this. He has been around the block, was a backbencher for a while and battled in similar situations to the one the Deputy has presented. He understands the need for that but there are parameters and guidelines he has to work within. The requirement is for ten...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs (12 Jun 2025)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I thank the Deputy. Her description of the special school in Bray mirrors my experience of visiting special schools in Cork and elsewhere. I have seen the improvements in these children's education, ability to cope and mental health. What they are able to do is incredible, especially when they have access to additional therapies. That is another part of what we are trying to do. I take...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Schools Refurbishment (12 Jun 2025)

Christopher O'Sullivan: Yes, I will press this. There is also an opportunity for schools to apply for the climate action summer works scheme, although perhaps it does not apply to Coolmine. The emergency works scheme is obviously the right one. I take the Deputy's point about buckets. All we have to do is look at the number of buckets that are gathering water at the moment to discover that there are leaks there....

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (12 Jun 2025)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I am responding on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, who has the privilege of taking over the issue of school transport, which he is absolutely delighted about. He is very reasonable and I know that he will give this consideration. On the Minister of State's behalf, I welcome the opportunity to respond on this matter. The school transport scheme is a significant...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Schools Refurbishment (12 Jun 2025)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I thank Deputy O'Gorman for raising this issue. He has painted a pretty bleak picture of the conditions at Coolmine school, which, as he stated, is quite a large school of 1,000 pupils. It is very concerning and disappointing in this day and age, when we have seen the level of investment in education and in capital works in particular, that a secondary school is experiencing that level of...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Hospital Overcrowding (12 Jun 2025)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I thank the Senator for raising this issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I know how important University Hospital Limerick is to the people of the region. Clearly, it is a matter the Senator is passionate about and acutely aware of. She has presented her case well, especially her analysis of why there is a higher number of presentations...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Hospital Overcrowding (12 Jun 2025)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I completely understand Senator Ryan's frustration and concern. This has gone on for too long in UHL. We have heard the stories and examples of long waiting times on trolleys. It is not good enough. There needs to be urgent action. I also mentioned the 100 extra beds due to come online in the coming year. I hope that will alleviate some of the pressure. The Senator mentioned the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services (12 Jun 2025)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I thank Senator Kennelly for raising this Commencement matter, which I am again taking on behalf of the Minister for Health. He is absolutely right. We have the same service in Cork South-West. I understand that reconfigurations have happened over recent years and that these have caused concern. Consolidation and reconfiguration happen, and this causes concern. I hope to allay some of...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services (12 Jun 2025)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I will absolutely request such a review. The Senator is right. SouthDoc has its own management structures and board. The HSE has very little input into its day-to-day running but it does fund the service so it must expect an appropriate level of service. The Senator gave a good lesson on the geography of Kerry. I am familiar enough with north Kerry. It is very similar to west Cork in...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Renewable Energy Generation (12 Jun 2025)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Darragh O'Brien. I am delighted to see this issue being raised in the Seanad because I see it as a key way for agriculture in particular to play its part in renewable energy provision. I always point to the example of the Timoleague anaerobic digester in my neck of the woods. It almost...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Renewable Energy Generation (12 Jun 2025)

Christopher O'Sullivan: Fair play to the Senator. He got to announce that instead of me. That is some going. The news is welcome. Farmers want to play their part in reducing emissions. The bulk of the input into an anaerobic digester is coming from farming and we are getting renewable gas and electricity to power thousands of homes, so I have always felt that those emissions reductions should be attributed to...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Childcare Services (12 Jun 2025)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I thank Senator Boyhan for raising this issue. The way he describes Mountainside Montessori school sounds incredible. It sounds inclusive and open and is exactly the type of model we should have for our Montessori schools. There is clearly an urgency because September is looming and there needs to be a solution in place. I am not sure if my answer will provide much satisfaction in terms...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Childcare Services (12 Jun 2025)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I again thank the Senator. I know he does not live in the constituency, but to be fair, he always represents his councillors and representatives in that area. He is doing so again today. My priority and concern are with the parents and the children who are all set up to avail of the Montessori school service in September. They must be anxious not knowing where they are going to be homed...

Housing: Statements (10 Jun 2025)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I echo the Minister of State's sentiments. The Opposition has been calling for a debate on housing for a while and has accused the Government of avoiding and not having the debate. When we eventually have it, one Opposition Member graces the benches. Well done, Deputy Ó Broin. There is no one here from the Social Democrats or the Labour Party. That is disappointing. I thank the...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Housing Schemes (28 May 2025)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I thank Deputy Brennan for raising this important issue. He is in an unusual position in that he is a TD who represents two different counties in a new constituency. I wish him the best of luck and congratulate him on his election. The Deputy highlighted an issue with regard to discrepancies between different counties. These schemes are constantly under review and we will certainly...