Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday the Taoiseach very proudly opened the Irish world heritage centre in Manchester and spoke to TheIrish Post about it. The Government has allegedly already given upwards of £1 million to the centre and plans to give more. I ask the Leader to arrange a discussion with the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht on our education, archaeology, architecture, inland waterways, walled towns, landscape, hearts and souls. That is what our Irish heritage is. The budget for the Heritage Council has been cut from €22 million to €5 million. Did everyone hear the list I recited? I am speaking about our hearts and souls, what future generations of children will touch and feel of the history of the country. I am grateful that the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation has taken up the suggestion Senators made last year to provide €5 million towards creating jobs in the heritage sector. We could upskill people in the construction industry to restore beautiful old buildings. The Taoiseach spoke about giving £1 million or more to the Irish world heritage centre in Manchester, but I am here to speak about Irish heritage centres in Ireland. Giving €5 million for them is an embarrassment.

Senators David Norris and Cáit Keane spoke about fluoridation. Now that we are charging citizens to be self-medicated through the water supply, can we have another debate on the matter? There is more science on the subject. We are charging citizens for water, but we are pouring in fluoride. I have no problem if we want to put fluoride in toothpaste or with using salt which people can choose to ingest, but this matter should be debated in the Seanad.

I am embarrassed for the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. He made a brilliant announcement on wind energy generation last year, but it has now fallen to pieces. We should think carefully and ensure everything is in place before making such public announcements.