Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Senator Ó Céidigh has a Bill before the House and it can be debated during his group's Private Members' time. It is important to provide solutions. That is what Members of the Upper House should do, namely, be proactive in offering solutions. I commend Senator Ó Céidigh on doing so.

Senator Feighan raised the direct flights from Hong Kong to Dublin and Beijing to Dublin and the importance of connectivity. We are now at the heart of Europe and it is important that we expand and broaden our markets. What Senator Feighan said is right. I am happy to have the Minister come to the House in regard to the matter he raised.

I am happy to accept Senator Gavan's amendment to the Order of Business. I think he referred to No. 15. I reiterate the point made by him and Senator Humphreys that workers should be able to be part of a trade union for collective bargaining. They should be treated fairly and properly.

Senator Ó Ríordáin raised playing pitches and sport. I am happy to have the Minister of State with responsibility for sport, Deputy Griffin, come to the House. I commend Senator Ó Ríordáin and the Scoil Uí Chonaill GAA club on the great work it does in the promotion of Gaelic games and getting young people involved in sport. The Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs is looking at childhood obesity today. I commend Hannah Leahy on her role with the Dublin minor team. Senator Ó Ríordáin is correct in that there is an issue we need to address as a society on the allocation of playing pitches, pocket parks and green spaces in the capital city and other urban areas. I would be happy to have that debate in the coming weeks. I have requested the Minister of State with responsibility for sport, Deputy Griffin, to come to the House.

Senator Gallagher raised the issue of CCTV. I am also happy to accept his amendment to the Order of Business. As the Senator is aware, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, has set aside €3 million for grants for community CCTV schemes. There are 45 schemes across the country. Senator Conway tabled a Commencement matter on the issue last week. The Minister came to the House to answer questions on it. It is important to put on record that between 2005 and 2013, we have 45 community-based CCTV schemes in operation. That involves 367 cameras to which the Garda has access. As the Minister said in his reply to Senator Conway last week, the Garda safety camera service commenced in May 2017 and it provides an annual minimum of 90,000 hours of monitoring and surveying, not merely of matters relating to crime but also of vehicle speed across 1,031 designated safety camera zones. The Minister is committed to the scheme. There is an opportunity for community groups to be involved in hosting such cameras. I am happy to have the Minister come back to the House again to speak on the issue but he was here on 26 April to respond to Senator Conway.

Senator Paul Daly raised the very important issue of the labelling of Irish food products, in this case rashers of bacon. He raised a very interesting point that needs to be addressed in that even though the product is packaged in Ireland, the meat is not Irish. As he said, it is very important that such a loophole is closed in terms of traceability because it is about ensuring that the consumer is able to purchase and consume Irish goods, in this case meat.

I am happy to accept the amendments to the Order of Business. I thank the House for its co-operation with the Minister for Health who will be in the House tomorrow afternoon.