Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In the first instance I accept Senator Murphy's recommendation that the House should have a minute's silence, as a sign of respect not only for the passing of Ruth Morrissey but also for Dr. Ali and his wonderful family, in particular his younger daughter whose very moving words we heard yesterday.I suggest we do it first thing on the Order of Business tomorrow when perhaps there is a full Chamber. If that is agreeable to Members we can put it on the Order of Business tomorrow.

On Senator Boyhan's point, there is no problem. It may have been done in the past and I did not know and have not started it, but I will make sure the Order of Business is emailed to everybody on the morning of the order so it gives Senator Boyhan ample opportunity to make changes, if that is what he wants. I apologise if it was something that was done before and has not been done since I was appointed to the House. I will make sure it starts from tomorrow morning. It is fundamental that Senators should have the ability to make changes and amendments if that is what they wish to do.

I will follow up on the various debates that have been asked for today by writing to the relevant Ministers, but the issues around aviation, Shannon and heritage sites have been brought up by a number of Senators from that region over the last number of weeks. I have written and have not received a response yet but everyone will concur that a vast amount of legislation is going through both Houses at the moment. I will get that done as quickly as I can. Of the two debates we are having next week one might suit those Members from that region because the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport is coming in. It might give ample opportunity for Senators to be able to raise the concerns they have. I believe we need a task force on aviation, therefore, I will continue to look for a separate debate on that.

We will also have the Minister for Education and Skills in the House next week, not least, to discuss the transport issues going back to school. Given that the protocols were announced yesterday by the Department of higher education on the return expectations of our higher education sector, the return protocols for both our second level and primary schools will be announced by the Minister next week.

It makes absolute sense, and we will do it here from today, to call for universities that have not already done so - I know DCU in my neck of the woods has already done so - to set out their schedules so people can actually make those decisions as to where they will spend their hard-earned money and not waste it. That, in itself, will cause another issue in campuses around the country that rely heavily on income from student accommodation. The €163 million announced yesterday by the new Minister with responsibility for higher education is welcome but it will still see a massive deficit in the fund required for those educational facilities. We will have that education debate on the return to school protocols for both our primary and secondary schools next week.

I know many people, not least me, are keen to get their children back to school full time, not one or two days a week. We should also have a programme of events to alleviate the impact, and I say negative impact, notwithstanding some of the tremendous work our teachers have done over the last couple of months, because many of our children now suffer from anxiety where they never would have before. Given that before Covid-19 was a reality in February, our educational welfare officers will tell us that some 40% of the cases they dealt with on an average normal week were children who suffered from anxiety. We need a programme of well-being and care that is extra, over and above our standard civil, social and political education, CPSE, curriculum for our children going forward in September. I would like the Minister for Education and Skills to address that for us next week.

I do not have an answer for Senator Black as to why things have changed. I happen to have been a member of a Government that would always have opposed the Senator's Bill on the grounds it was against EU regulations and EU law. I certainly know there is a difference between Opposition and Government and now the current Government concurs with the same advice, even though it comes from a different Attorney General. The EU regulations and the law have not changed but that is no solace to Senator Black and other Members who have supported the Senator's Bill in the past. I will get the Senator a written reply if that is okay. I do not have the full facts in front of me at the moment.

Senator Cummins made the highly appropriate call to have an appropriate lead appointed to the university for the south east so that person can drive the application. I will write to the Taoiseach today and ask him for it.

Every time Senator Moynihan stands to her feet in the last number of weeks she has brought up the eviction and residential tenancy provisions that have been secured in the last number of months by the pausing of the rights of landlords. I know Senator Moynihan has not seen it yet but that Bill is going to be published today. The Senator will have that Bill and we will debate it in full in the House next week. I hope it provides the Senator with the solace she needs because the last thing we need is an onslaught of people losing their homes, particularly when they do not have the financial supports available to them to find replacements.

My county colleague brings up the North-South interconnector and the new application that was made by EirGrid yesterday.Long before I was ever elected to either House, I attended public meetings where there was a huge outcry and aversion to the North-South interconnector building overground pylons. I did not have much confidence in the ability of that project to be delivered back then, and I probably have even less confidence now.

The announcement yesterday is welcome and it very much brings into the debate the fact that there is an acceptance of having overground in certain areas and underground in others. EirGrid has finally come to the realisation that immovable objects, such as the will of the people of Cavan, Monaghan and Meath which has not changed one jot in the past number of years, cannot be moved.

I want to acknowledge that the review of the rail project to Navan, a project which was instilled in our hearts many years ago and was interrupted by a lack of funds, is currently under way. It was brought forward from 2021 to 2020. I have no doubt that the review will justify the need to build a train line to Navan. All of us, in particular our county colleagues here, will support that.

In response to Senator Keogan, I do know not know what is wrong with county councils who have not bought land to build social housing. It has certainly not been because of a lack of funding from the last Government and it will not be because of a lack of funding from this one. Councils are refusing to buy land and I do not understand that. That, coupled with the dezoning of serviced land in our county, makes absolutely no sense. We need to work with our council colleagues, not just in Meath but in Galway, Sligo and other areas where land is being dezoned, to find out what the rationale for that is. Such decisions make no sense when we are already behind on our targets to build social, affordable and private housing this year. I do not know why land that is fit and ready for building would be dezoned. We might follow up on that collectively.

I will change the Order Paper tomorrow to reflect the wishes of the House to hold a minute's silence. We might have it at the beginning of the session.