Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the 15 Members of the House who contributed to the Order of Business.

Like Senator Ardagh, I begin by paying tribute to and remembering the late, great Anton O'Toole. Those of us who grew up as part a generation that watched the Dubs display their prowess in the 1970s will remember him as a fantastic and skilful footballer. We extend our sympathy to his family. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dilís.

Senator Ardagh raised the comments of the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy. What he articulated is that co-living is one housing option. It is about offering choice. Co-living works in other cities and, to be fair, we cannot all judge on one concept, whether it is single housing or planning or apartment living. We are concerned about increasing supply. That is the reason the Government is committed to Rebuilding Ireland.I would be happy for the Minister to come to the House for a debate on housing again.

Senator Ardagh raised the issue of the early childcare scheme regarding places for babies. The Government is committed to enabling people to have access to high-quality, affordable childcare. It is a very important issue. Under the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, we have seen an increase in the budget over the past two budgets. The Government is committed to ensuring that children in the nought to three age group referred to by Senator Ardagh are accommodated. We have seen an increase in the number of young children accessing services from 13,000 in 2014 to 31,000 today. I would be happy for the Minister to come back to us in June for a debate on the matter.

Senators Boyhan and Lawless raised the issue of the Famine commemoration in Sligo last weekend. In his very fine contribution, Senator Boyhan spoke about celebrating diversity and the need to have empathy, as the Taoiseach said, for those suffering today. I would be very happy to have that debate in the context of migration and where we see ourselves as a culture and society within the EU project. The remarks of Senators Boyhan and Lawless are ones about which we need a wider discussion, particularly on the issue of migration, where some people peddle a line that migration is bad for our country. As we all know quite well, there are many fine immigrants in our country today making a very valuable contribution to our society and communities. Freedom of movement of people is one that we all cherish. As the Senator for the diaspora, Senator Lawless can testify to the fact that as a race of people, we have been welcomed across the world, particularly in North America. That debate is one we should have and I commend Senators Boyhan and Lawless on their contributions.

Senator Conway-Walsh raised the issue of pyrite. As Members will be aware, the Government announced €20 million in the budget for a pyrite and mica remediation scheme for affected houses in counties Donegal and Mayo. It has committed to resolving the problem and the final aspects of the scheme are being worked out and will be published soon. Many emergency and technical works have been undertaken to date. The issue of standardisation of testing and other types of works will be fed into the scheme. I would be happy for the Minister to come back to the House with regard to the matter raised by the Senator. I join with her in commending the O'Neill Pipe Band on being here today. I also commend the work of the Oireachtas Committee on Justice and Equality on Irish Sign Language. Senator Conway-Walsh is not here but I was going to say to her that if she was talking about The Flying Pickets' song, I was hoping she might extend all her love to us on this side of the House.

Senators Ruane, Ó Ríordáin and McDowell raised the very important issue of the decriminalisation of drugs. It is a very emotional issue where we need to see a different type of approach. I concur with some of the comments made by Senators Ruane and Ó Ríordáin, as I think we need to look at how we can do things differently while recognising that the letter to The Irish Timesaddressed a different issue. I have to say that Senator McDowell's contribution regarding psychosis and cannabis is one we cannot just dismiss.