Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The post office should be a possibility or something along those lines. It is not up to the Minister to sort that out but I will communicate to him that it is an issue for some people the Senator is meeting. I do not believe it is an attack on rural Ireland. It may be a reflection of the fact that some people in rural Ireland do not have bank accounts. I do not understand why they do not.

Fair play to Senator Craughwell for being positive and giving credit where it is due. I welcome that. To answer the point he raised on Jadotville, I commend the Senator and give him credit where it is due, as well as Senator McFadden and the Leader, Senator Buttimer, who are due a lot of credit for that also. That has to be acknowledged here.

Senator Coffey raised a point on psychiatric nurses. I am the daughter of a psychiatrist and since I was a child I have been hearing about the issue of mental health services, not that my mother is a complainer as such because she tries to find positive ways to go around things. It is a huge issue. As a population, not as a Government, we do not treat mental health as seriously as it needs to be treated. The forum on the future of mental health is addressing that issue but that needs to be meaningful. We need to restructure the way we treat mental health. It is part of health. We all need to mind our mental health. Those of us in this job certainly need to mind our mental health. I agree wholeheartedly with the Senator on that and I believe we should have a debate in this House on the way we treat the area of mental health.

Senator Black spoke about the homelessness issue, which she validly raises at this time of the year. We have to be careful about anything we say in this area because it can be misrepresented but homelessness is nearly a business of its own now. There are so many different stakeholders and vested interests in that space. It is really about the individual who is having the difficulty. The Minister, in fairness to him, is working day and night on this issue. The Senator will say I would not say otherwise standing here as a Fine Gael Member, but we need to be reasonable in our expectations because it is a complex issue. Everybody accepts that there is a great deal of work going on, and in certain instances it needs to be more joined up, but there must be some trust in the Minister, who is devoted to this issue, on the part of some of the other stakeholders in this space. Both he and the Minister of State, Deputy English, are committed to dealing with it. The least objective people would have to acknowledge that and I hope we will start to see real results in the new year.

I will come back to Senator Feighan.

I commend Senator Devine for all the work she does in the area of mothers and babies. Her voice is always heard on that issue. I am spokesperson on children also and I bow to her superior knowledge of the area in so many ways. I do not know the state of play but I will request that we have a debate with the Minister, Deputy Zappone, in the House on that issue in the new year. The Senator also mentioned the Mental Health Warriors. I refer her to my response to Senator Coffey on that issue.

Senator Bacik spoke on the penal reform group. I want to attend her briefing. I hope I am available, and I would encourage other Members to attend. It goes without saying that ratification should be done. I am one of the highest on the list of those who should appraise myself better on that issue and I encourage colleagues to support the Senator on it.

Senator Reilly mentioned the choir, which all of us look forward to hearing later.If Senators have a spare few minutes in their busy schedules to listen to a bit of singing, it would be nice. Senator Warfield raised the issue of Creative Ireland and the €4.4 million. I am a big supporter of the arts. I know a lot of artists and I hear the Senator. The reality is that a new Minister is in place. The old Minister did a great deal of good work and we should afford the incoming Minister the opportunity to come to the House to dispute some of the facts Senator Warfield has presented. The Leader would be delighted to organise that in the new year.

Senator O'Mahony raised the issue of GMIT. I do not know what the state of play is there, but the Minister, Deputy Bruton, should. It is something the Senator could table as a Commencement matter to get a clear answer.

Senator Gallagher also mentioned the choir. He is not here now but I will ask him to email me directly so that I can raise the issue he brought up with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Zappone.

I wish Senator Ó Clochartaigh well. He is a brave man. There is a great deal on which we agree in the hospitality area and the arts. We often speak to the same issues. I agree with him on the hospitality industry in general. There is probably a need to have a better practice for workers. A Fine Gael councillor in Wicklow has an organisation which runs an initiative to recognise the best places to work, which is a really good one. A lot of employers are so busy trying to keep the boat afloat that they do not take time to realise people may be struggling. We need to create policies which improve lives because that is what a Government must be about. A centre of excellence would be a great thing and I would hope people would not be too political with it. In the hospitality space, that 9% VAT rate should be getting to the employees as well. I will certainly pass the Senator's remarks on to the organisation with which I am involved, namely, the Irish Country Houses and Restaurants Association.

Senator Lombard referred to the boundary movement in Cork. A plebiscite sounds like a good idea but it is not for me to decide. His comments are very positive and a good suggestion. Equally, Senator Burke's comments were also positive.

Senator Gavan also referred to workers and I agree with a lot of what he said. The point about economic certainty is valid and well made and we could have the Minister in for a debate on it in the new year.

Senator Conway raised the issue of the Citizens' Assembly. We are in danger of being "Citizens' Assemblied" out of it. The Houses of the Oireachtas constitute the citizens' assembly for the State. By all means, we can use the Seanad's public consultation process to discuss other issues of importance, which is probably what the Senator was referring to.

To come back to Brexit and the DUP veto, none of us liked it when we heard the Conservatives were to be backed up by the DUP, least of all, I imagine, Sinn Féin. I am not trying to get in a dig, if it is one, but it highlights the prospect that Sinn Féin should take up its seats. It might be something the party should discuss at its next Ard-Fheis. It highlights how much influence Sinn Féin could have in UK politics whereas I do not know what anybody achieves by abstention. I acknowledge that the Senators here do not make those decisions personally, but that is my tuppence-halfpenny's worth. I am not trying to get into a fight with the Senators and it is all I have to say on the matter.

This is about more than one political party. I commend all the political parties for wearing the green jersey on this one. It has been very consistent. It has been very helpful to the negotiators, including our diplomats, led by the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister of State, Deputy Helen McEntee, to know the whole political system is behind them. As a country, we punch far above our weight internationally.One has to pay tribute to Deputies Enda Kenny and Noonan for the work they did in establishing relationships in Europe and internationally. People underestimate how important it is to have good foreign relations to get work done. We are bearing the fruit of that now because we are so well-respected internationally and in European circles. We have their backing and that is not by accident. It is because we play ball in Europe and do so well as a result.

The point is that it is greater than the DUP now. There is UK politics at play when it comes to Wales, Scotland and, indeed, London. That is the difficulty Theresa May is dealing with now. The DUP's worst nightmare is Corbyn. That is what the DUP will face if it does not play ball as he will end up as UK Prime Minister. That is the way I see it. I do not know about others. I hope that in the coming days we will have some white smoke, for want of a better term.

Senator Mark Daly spoke about semantics. While I agree with him on much of that, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade are well aware of the subtleties involved. It is an important point the Senator raised but the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste are on top of that.

I liked Senator Boyhan's comments about stepping back. Sometimes we need to get a perspective on politics and look at matters more objectively because we can be in a serious bubble in here. There is more that unites us and the UK than divides us. It is to be hoped we will be able to come to some agreement.

Senator Conway-Walsh raised the issue of the DUP and the Tories, which I have addressed. She said the Government needs to hold firm. The Government has exhibited it will hold firm on this issue. We could not be firmer and the EU and the North of Ireland are backing us. It is the first time in history that we are in a better bargaining position than the UK, which is remarkable. It is to be hoped we will hold strong.

Different Members brought up the point of how the UK views Ireland. That is relevant. I was at a meeting yesterday with Senator Boyhan in the House of Lords. One UK politician referred to the Irish people needing to realise about the mainland. I explained our mainland is Ireland. It showed a remarkable mentality.

Senator Alice Mary Higgins referred to the European Court of Human Rights, which is a valid point.

Fair play to Senator Craughwell for being positive about this matter. Credit has to be given where it is due to the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste. The Government has had a difficult few weeks, but we have had a good week this week. People are quick to acknowledge the bad weeks. We should acknowledge the good weeks too. Although we have not got there and we should not be triumphant, it is going well in that regard.

Senator Coffey referred to Brexit and paid tribute to the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee. Senator Feighan articulated it well when he spoke about the perfect storm and references to shooting. We are in a position of strength. He acknowledged that people have not played politics. Senator Bacik mentioned that Donald Tusk was supportive, which is crucial. When we heard that last week, everybody felt a real sense of confidence going into these negotiations.