Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

First, on behalf of the Labour group, I thank the many colleagues from across the House who expressed their good wishes to Senator Harte on his retirement. I am aware of how much his family appreciated it, as did all members of the Labour group, but his family has specifically asked me to pass on their appreciation and to thank all Members again in this regard. Members will miss him in the Chamber and in the House.

Yesterday, many colleagues spoke in welcome of the capital investment plan and I welcomed the increased investment in education, housing, health and transport. However, I wish to welcome specifically the allocations for justice, which are very important but perhaps not as high profile as the others. The announcement of funding for a new family and children's court complex at Hammond Lane, Dublin, is important, welcome and long overdue, as facilities in the area of family and child care law are very poor. In addition, given the concerns many colleagues have expressed on rural crime, the announcement of €46 million in additional funding for new Garda vehicles is welcome, as is the €205 million for information technology improvements for the Garda and for a new forensic science laboratory, all of which will greatly help in the prosecution and investigation of crime.

I ask the Leader for a debate on childhood obesity and on healthy eating and nutrition for children. I am grateful to Senator van Turnhout, who has convened a children's future health group supported by the Irish Heart Foundation, Barnardos and the Children's Rights Alliance among others. Yesterday, it heard some alarming facts and figures about the incidence of childhood obesity and the sort of measures that might be adopted to tackle it. Members might usefully have a debate on that subject in the coming months to try to bring that message to a wider audience and to debate in a constructive fashion the sort of measures that could be adopted by the Government to tackle this growing health issue.

Finally, I note Members will debate a motion tomorrow on Syria and the issue of migration. This morning, the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality heard some highly informative presentations from the Refugee Appeals Commissioner and the head of the Department of Justice and Equality's immigration service on how the resettlement and relocation of migrants from Syria will be managed logistically on foot of the welcome Government announcement that Ireland will take 4,000 refugees and I look forward to that debate.