Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank those Members who have raised matters on the Order of Business.

Senator Ardagh raised Brexit in the context of insurance. I heard a piece about that on the radio this morning. It seems there is no great clarity on the green card for travel, which would arise in the case of a no-deal Brexit and may need to be clarified. There are a lot of matters that will need to be clarified in the event of a no-deal Brexit, which we are all hoping will not occur. The head of the insurance bureau spoke on the radio and said it would be something that would be very straightforward to sort out in such an instance. One would merely need to inform one's insurer if it was one's intention to travel.

A debate on pensions would be a good one to have in the House and I will ask the Leader's office to seek to arrange same.

Senator Conway-Walsh and other colleagues spoke about the Ormeau Road incident or atrocity. It was an horrific event. When it comes to evidence in such matters, I refer to Senator Ó Donnghaile's point about the undermining of trust in policing. This is at the core of what the three contributors had to say on those matters. Although the location of this atrocity is not within our jurisdiction - although Donegal is - we should have a debate in this House with the Minister for Justice and Equality on some of the issues that the three contributors have raised.

Senator Bacik raised the issue of the Women's Aid launch of the Too Into You initiative which deals with the darker side of dating. We have unfortunately seen many high-profile cases where women have been either very seriously injured or murdered. I see young people in the Gallery here today and younger people are spending an awful lot of time online. This speaks to Senator Wilson's point as well that the Internet can be really dark and our citizens are vulnerable. Vigilance and awareness are key.

No more than how one conducts oneself in the real world when walking around, we have to take measures to protect our citizens when it comes to the online space. It speaks to a culture that is developing online, where people would never have had the courage to say to a person, in person, what is being said online. I am unsure how we are going to deal with this as a society. We really need to row back. It has become acceptable to say the most horrendous things to people online. This is very regrettable. We should all work in these Houses to try to do something about this and I will cover this a little bit more, when I come to Senator Wilson's contribution.

Senator Feighan complimented the former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and also raised Declan Rice's decision, which he is quite entitled to make, to play for England. We are sorry he will not be playing for Ireland but I am sure we all wish him well.That Declan Rice is being abused online is just not good enough. He is a young man who is entitled to make his own decision. We may be disappointed, but we should get on with our own concerns. It is no way to treat a player or to attract others to play for Ireland.

Senator Leyden's comments were welcome and I acknowledge his full support for the Bill to which he referred. We are focused completely on the date of 29 March. I know that the Bill will be before the House in the week beginning 11 March, by which date we hope the United Kingdom will be clear on the deal to be struck. It is hard to countenance a no-deal scenario, but I thank the Senator for indicating Fianna Fáil's support on the issue.

Senator Boyhan referred to Irish Water. We should have a debate on the issues involved. We should also discuss with the Minister responsible the proposed constitutional referendum on water services.

I have referred to Senator Ó Domhnaill's contribution, the core of which was confidence in policing, which I do not think is served by the evidence coming to light in cases such as those outlined by various contributors.

Senator Wilson also referred to Declan Rice and has been leading on the issue of online abuse, about which more Members have spoken. I, too, have spoken about it, but when speaking about the abuse one has received online, it may seem that one is feeling sorry for oneself, which is no way to conduct oneself. An interesting point was made that An Garda Síochána did not have the tools it needed to do anything about such abuse. Clearly, we need to look at the issue. I know that the Joint Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment is looking at it. As I said, we should discuss it in the Seanad as it has been raised by four or five Members in different contexts.

Senator Warfield raised the issue of Traveller accommodation. I do not know the details of the case he mentioned, but the issue should be debated in the House. At the very least he should seek to raise it by tabling a Commencement matter, but the Cathaoirleach might inform him that he has already raised it in the House. However, in that way the Senator should be able to obtain more detailed information from the Minister responsible. We should be trying to reach the targets set.

Senator Devine mentioned the proposed strike tomorrow by paramedics who, clearly, do great work, no more than the nurses. The Senator mentioned that she had tabled a Commencement matter to discuss the issue.