Not a line engages with what was asked, not a shred of accountability... just polished nothing. At this stage, PQs feel less like a tool for scrutiny and more like an exercise in how many words can be used to say absolutely nothing, and the worst part is you expect it before you even open the reply.
Another round of PQs submitted and the absolute word salad that came back... it would nearly be impressive if it wasn’t so infuriating. You can spend hours crafting something precise and thoughtful, and what you get in return is a generic, copy-and-paste fog that sidesteps every single point.
I only launched this last night at 9pm and I’m almost at €2k. I’m blown away.
This supports children who deserve happy, fulfilling school days. For them, school is their only State support, and their teachers and SNAs/ANAs make each day better.
Every euro makes that experience happier.
Thank you. ❤️
If you can donate, even a little, it would mean so much. And if you’ve ever taken anything from my writing or advocacy, this is a very real way to support it in action.
Thank you ❤️
Ciara (and Doireann) (3/3)
www.gofundme.com/f/a-2026-lap...
Last year, your support helped create a sensory room and gross motor space. This year, we’re fundraising for outdoor sensory equipment to support regulation, confidence and movement for the children every day. These staff and children mean everything to us. Truly. (2/3)
THREAD: Like so many parents, we spend a lot of time fundraising for the services and advocates who support our child. For me, the Mini Marathon is for my daughter’s incredible autism class. I’m lacing up again this June to raise funds for her school. (1/3)
Other Government ministers will be asked to find €446m in efficiencies and other reforms this year, to pay for extra funding for the Department of Education. That Department is today being given €646m in extra cash to cover rising costs in Special Ed, with €200m ‘new’ cash and the rest in savings
Delighted to have had my article published in @irisheducationalstudies
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
A poster advertising an Instagram live discussion on Sunday, April 19th.
We’re going live on the other place (🤳) this Sunday at 8pm, on the AsIAm page. I’ll share my bit from an educator’s perspective, but as always, the voices that matter most are our autistic panellists, who’ll be sharing their experiences to help us all learn, reflect, and avoid ableism. Join us.
As a mother of two and a teacher of 29, I see every day how we’ve made childhood and the lives of children smaller, harder, and poorer than it needs to be; not through inevitability, but through a lack of imagination, care, and any real interest in doing better for children in this country.
Another day, another announcement dressed up as progress.
Bigger classes. No clear resourcing. And a name that raises more questions than answers.
New Substack here: ciarareillylecturer.substack.com/p/a-new-auti... #edchatie
🚨 Michael Healy-Rae resigns as junior minister and will vote no confidence
The WhatsApp line for #MondayGR is open now - we’re all ears for your comments on the fuel supports, the demos, the disruption, the government’s response and whatever comes next!
➡️ wa.me/353896074218
New Morning Ireland jingle alert.
And a left and green alternative look on, wondering how an electorate can be so quick to forget (or so willing to forgive!) for some but never them.
The very lads with the chests out now, convinced they’ve shown them, will be the same ones walking into polling stations in November 2029 and calmly putting a big number 1 beside the very party they were tearing apart in the residents’ WhatsApp.
FF&FG represent a cohort, but in trying to remain everything to that group (and avoid being anything that might cost them broader support) they’ve made themselves politically shapeless. Malleable to the point of meaninglessness. Shifting on any issue, and in doing so, standing firmly for nothing.
This is so needed. The lack of political backbone is draining any sense of credibility from public life. Governing becomes less about conviction and more about testing the waters, then retreating at the first sign of resistance.
Irish politics! We’re political party A & B. Our decisions are landing badly and causing real frustration. But we’re not *them*. That is enough. Enough to pivot, to U-turn, to try something, drop it, and move on, all on the assumption that, when it comes down to it, you won’t risk voting for others.
At some point, we have to ask what the mandate actually is. Reality is, they’re only in power because the electorate isn’t ready for a Sinn Féin government. They’re in because they aren't them, and can retreat on decisions on a whim. We are governed on whatever is acceptable… until it's not.
How many times in this government’s lifetime can it govern *exactly as it said it would* (in line with its own policies, the ones people voted for!) only to roll it all back the moment public pressure lands? SNA issue the perfect example. Now this.
Some women lose their men to the Masters.
I have lost my man to a Hugarian general election AND the Masters.
A lot of people in this country are struggling right now. Speaking to them like this isn’t helpful. If anything, it risks making things worse. If you think this kind of approach will solve anything, it won’t. Sorry for attempting some exploration of nuance.
It's not just about them, and you know it.
Resharing this because
(a) apparently the Insta version “is going viral within government” (folks, have you maybe considered trying to explain this yourselves?)
and (b) it illustrates how hard it will be to offer some other tangible costcutting that can convince the blockades to stand down
As we await what happens next, my thoughts on the blockades and the big feelings attached. ciarareillylecturer.substack.com/p/when-the-m...
You can probably support the working class and demand support for people who are struggling because of capitalist inequality and also not pretend massively bigoted rhetoric and action isn't happening or being Trojan-horsed in under the guise of taking down those in power, by the way. Just a thought.
A quick look at social media and live streams showing all the anti immigrant, anti IPAS, anti trans crew all over the blockades spinning rubbish re climate crisis etc.
New Substack. open.substack.com/pub/ciararei...