Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Lá lus an chromchinn sona daoibh go léir. It is Daffodil Day today. As my friend said, many of us have been touched with cancer. The Irish Cancer Society does an unbelievable job. When one is brought into the cancer realm, one's whole life changes. One is always asking questions and learning about blood and platelet counts. It is another world that many families across the country are living with. It is a hard world. The Irish Cancer Society makes it that little bit easier because its volunteers help by driving patients to chemotherapy appointments and it offers counselling supports. It is an unbelievable organisation. If people text 5300 and give €6 to the Irish Cancer Society, it is well worth it.

I also raise the issue of the "RTÉ Investigates" programme. It was harrowing and a kick in the face for all of the parents with children with autism spectrum disorder and the organisations that are fighting so hard for services for their children. We know that defendants in legal actions can share information but this goes much further. It is completely reprehensible, morally and ethically. It is illegal. The Leader needs to go back to the Minister to make sure this is no longer happening. It cannot happen again. These are parents who are fighting for a basic education for their children and this is all going on, secretly and surreptitiously, in the background. It is disgusting. I read that videos of children in a distressed state are being shared by private clinicians. The medical profession must also answer questions in that regard. I am appalled by this and hope that it stops. It was hard to watch and acknowledge that this actually happened. I hope it is not still happening.