I welcome everyone to the public session of our meeting today. I have to read some formal notices. I remind members of the constitutional requirement that they must be physically present within the confines of the place in which Parliament has chosen to sit, namely, Leinster House, in order to participate in public meetings. I will not permit a member to participate where he or she is not adhering to this constitutional requirement. Therefore, any member who attempts to participate from outside the precincts will be asked to leave the meeting. Thankfully, we do not have to do that.

I propose that the petitions we consider at this meeting and previous meetings be published and that any replies from Departments and other bodies also be published. Is that agreed? Agreed.

We will discuss and consider seven petitions this morning. The first petition is P00065/25, which relates to safeguards for section 19 supervision orders. It was submitted by Mr. Stephen Bernard McElligott. We have correspondence from the petitioner. This is his petition. The proposal is that the correspondence be forwarded to Tusla and that we get its comments within two weeks. Is that agreed? Agreed.

The second petition is P00082/25, which relates to Laois County Council granting quarry permission to exploit Slieve Bloom resources for no economic gain. We have written to Laois County Council. We have not received a response. The proposal is that we will write to Laois County Council and ascertain its views on this. On the basis of the response from Laois County Council, we will then consider what the most appropriate next step for this committee is. I note that the petitioner has referenced other committees as well within the petition. This may be a matter that is discussed at other committees. We will take our own decision. Is that agreed? Agreed.

The third petition is P00085/25, which relates to equality for parenting standards in Ireland around benefits. This was submitted by Mr. Shane Cusack. We have correspondence from the petitioner. It is detailed. Members can see what the issue is. It relates to a situation where there are 50-50 parenting arrangements and the petitioner contends that this is not recognised by the State. This is an issue. It is a complicated issue. It is one that may have its roots back in time when there was less equality between men and women. We have a chance to discuss this and consider it in the next couple of weeks. I propose that we do that. Obviously, we will send the correspondence from the petitioner to the Department of Social Protection. We will establish the Department of Social Protection's views on this. I propose that we would endeavour to hold a hearing. I think we will need more than one hearing because various organisations are involved in this and it would be very useful and helpful for us to hear from them, as well as the Department. Do members have any views on that?

Do we have any lead from the Department on its views? Is there an issue with this? Has this been looked into before? What sort of numbers are we dealing with?

I can respond to some of that because I have engaged with the Department of Social Protection on this. My understanding - it is only from memory - is that the Department said it does not necessarily have a fixed view on it. It would be as interested in exploring this as we are. In terms of the numbers, I do not know that. I am not sure how well this is captured because not every co-parenting arrangement is registered with a court. I do not know how we could do that. There are organisations in this space such as Treoir, One Family, etc. It would be good to hear from them because they track this issue. I think it would be useful for us to hear from those organisations and to hear from the Department. Is that agreed? Agreed.

The fourth petition is P00012/26, entitled "Reform of Foreign Birth Registration Citizenship Transmission Provisions".

We have received a response from the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. I propose that we send that response to the petitioner for their consideration and see what they have to say on that. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Petition P00015/26 is the prohibition of the commercial use of protected disability diagnoses in businesses naming. We have received a response from the Department of enterprise. I propose that we publish that and forward the response to the petitioner for comment. We can see if that correspondence from the Department of enterprise answers the query they have raised. Is that agreed? Agreed.

The sixth petition is No. P00017/26 to discuss the severe lack of services and facilities for people living with intellectual disabilities and for their families. It has been submitted by Ms Sinead McGrath. We can have a discussion about my proposal. This is an area that is getting some attention at the moment. Part of that is because of the Before We Die campaign but also because the groups might be getting a bit more organised. We should schedule some hearings on this and that is important. As part of that, we should hear from campaign groups and the relevant Departments but we should also make a point of attempting to hear from people with intellectual disabilities because they have something to say in this space.

As a committee, we will be able to give the time and space that is very important so we can hear from all voices in this space. We can hear what the Department says, as well as hear from the families of people with intellectual disabilities and the campaign groups and organisations but, importantly, we can hear from people with intellectual disabilities themselves. I will throw that out for discussion and ask if members have a view.

I agree with the proposals. I have read the responses from the Department. My biggest worry is that you can throw out figures left, right and centre as well as percentages of X, Y and Z. There is no mention of forward planning. This is what these people are afraid of for their loved ones. When they die, what will happen to their loved ones? In the previous term, there was the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act, which was something to do with people who have early onset Alzheimer's or dementia, so they would be looked after through that legislation.

I am very anxious to hear from all of the stakeholders. The Cathaoirleach mentioned those who actually have intellectual disabilities and that they should come in so we can listen to them. They are the experts on this, along with the parents who are worried about what will happen to them before they die and how they will get the black and white version of what should be done. It would benefit everybody and I thank the Cathaoirleach.

I agree. Have members any other views?

Yesterday, I was contacted by a mother who has a child. Even with assessments, the HSE had been in touch to say the assessment would happen within so many months, and yet it was four years before an assessment happened. The woman has lived here for many years but she was a non-national so she decided to return home to deal with key issues regarding her children. They were dealt with immediately. Professional help was given. On a scale, I know Ireland would be a much more progressive and wealthier country than the country she comes from, and yet it seems we are so far behind the curve. This is a petition that certainly needs attention. I am in agreement to bring it before our committee.

I am in agreement. It is important that we maybe make a work plan here and bring the petitioners and the different groups in to have a chat and get their views. We might work something up that we can bring forward over the next year or so.

That is a really good suggestion.

We could give some indication to Government as to what way it needs to go.

Yes. That is a really worthwhile suggestion and we might draft a report at the end of it. I will talk to the men and women who do the actual work when we are gone - the secretariat. We will ask if we can schedule those hearings first. We will also ask about the possibility of producing a report that we can send to the Government and the Departments. We have the unique chance to do something at this committee, which is to give voice to the lived reality and experience of persons with intellectual disabilities. I am a good old-fashioned trade unionist but we used to always say "nothing about us, without us".

That is something we try to do. To be fair to all parties and Members of the Oireachtas, that is something we generally agree on. This committee has the scope to be able to give it some time. I propose that we devote as much time as we can to it, and certainly as much time as is necessary. Is that agreed? Agreed.

The last petition for consideration is P00024/26 on the restoration of the rail line from Sligo to Letterkenny. We have a response from the Department of Transport. The proposal is that we will forward that to the petitioner and see what Master Eoin Devlin has to say in that regard. We will consider his response once received. Is that agreed?

May I make a comment on that? Even where I live, just outside Naas in Punchestown, all the old railways passed by my house. We shut them all down. Ireland was absolutely ahead of its game regarding railway 100 years ago. Now we are so back behind the scenes. Railway is the solution for our housing crisis, if we could just get on top of it. I like the petition. I do not know what the Department thinks, but I certainly see the need for more rail.

The Senator is talking to the granddaughter of a train driver, so I know from talking to my family how extensive the rail network was and now is not. I am lucky; a train goes past my door. I get the train in every morning. It is fantastic. I wish more people were able to enjoy the joy of the train and commuting by train.

There is a new village near Adamstown. I was talking to some of the tenants there. They said the train arrives and it is too full.

That is a success story in itself.

We need more focus on rail.

That was interesting. I am surprised that we have not got it from every county. It took us 15 years in Midleton to get the existing railway line to Cork city back up and running. Yet, lobby groups have been petitioning and lobbying the Government to get the railway line from Midleton back down to Youghal, which was there. I think it is only one of three turntables in the whole country. I have met with the business alliance in Cork city and county, stakeholders, builders, developers and every one of them is saying that bringing back the railway lines would lighten the traffic on the N25, which is lethal and dangerous anyway. It also gives an opportunity for the whole place to expand. Rents are cheaper outside the city. There would be direct public transport and a person could bypass Cork city and go straight to Mallow hospital, so it would take stress off the hospital services. It would be a win-win. The one thing we found is that the railway line from Midleton to Youghal is not on the county development plan. If it is not on a county development plan, it cannot push forward. Iarnród Éireann is mad to do it. The national rail transport strategy 2040 mentions railway lines six times and a park and ride five times. A policy document is saying we are doing it, but on-the-ground stuff would indicate it has never been heard of. It could be fairly interesting.

That is the old joined-up thinking.

It should be fairly interesting.

I think it will be. We will see what the response is, and on that basis, we will consider it. It might be that, as part of our consideration, we will look a little bit more broadly because it is not the only train line that people would want to see reopen, but it is the one we have in front of us. On that basis, it will inform a wider discussion. It is one of those things that makes complete sense and you have to ask yourself why it has not been done. There are plenty of areas where you can see the former train lines that are effectively still there. As Senator McCarthy said, they can be used to drive properly resourced housing supply, etc. Is that agreed? Agreed. That concludes our consideration of public petitions this morning.

I invite members of the public to submit petitions via our online portal, which is available at petitions.oireachtas.ie. A petition may be addressed to the Houses of the Oireachtas on a matter of general public concern or interest, or an issue of public policy.

Do members have any other issues they wish to discuss? No.