Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On Senator Fitzpatrick's point, I will respectfully decline the request to write a letter to the Minister because I already know the answer. We cannot change what An Bord Pleanála is doing until we change the legislation. I have invited the Minister to come in after he announces his Housing for All plan on 13 July, which we are looking forward to hearing and will all hopefully support. I have invited him to come in, time permitting, to have a debate on that as soon as possible.

Senator Gavan spoke about the review of the abortion legislation. It is imperative that the chairperson is truly independent. I was concerned when I heard him say that he believes, based on a Topical Issue debate, that we will not be proceeding with exclusion zones. Much as I appreciate that the one third of people who voted against the referendum are entitled to make their views known, and it is important that we do know them, it is a real pity that any woman should be intimidated while going about what she feels is right for her and making decisions for herself. I do not know what the difficulty is. I concur 100% that all medics should be able to make the decision themselves as to whether they will offer these services but that is no reason for every hospital not to be obligated to recruit people who will offer those services, which would not put anyone in an awkward position. For nine of our 17 hospitals not to offer services that are legal and available in the State is just not acceptable. Direction should be given to those nine hospitals to recruit people who will offer those services.

Senator Buttimer requested that a debate on reopening be held tomorrow. Again, I am sorry but I cannot do that. However, I will try to organise one as soon as I can because I do not think we are at the end of the debate on this matter.

Senator McGreehan talked about the Love This Place, Leave No Trace campaign. The fact that we are all spending so much more time outdoors means we are constantly reminded that we all need to share this space and be mindful of each other.

Senator Hoey asked for a debate on eating disorders. I will try to arrange that for the first week we come back or the second week in September.

I was in pain listening to what Senator Lombard said because I have a little lady at home who has gone through exactly the experience he spoke about. Approximately 10% of our population are made feel, through no fault of their own, like they are inadequate or that there is something wrong with them when there is not. I agree that we should change the Drumcondra test but we should also change the fact that when parents are made get that test so the child can be diagnosed as dyslexic, it does not get them any extra resources unless the relevant school has a central pool. What is the point of acknowledging that a child has an issue without giving him or her the required help to get them through?

Senator Ardagh talked about sinking funds. She is right and maybe a review of the local property tax could help. Organisations that built houses in the 1990s did not have the right regulations in place to ensure proper planning. I will send a letter to the Minister and ask for a debate on that.

I am sorry but I do not know how to get Senator Craughwell the answers he is looking for. I know how passionate he is about this issue. I will write to the Secretary General of the Department today asking about the three issues he highlighted with regard to night vision, the undercarriage buckets and the incubators, and will come back to him on it.

Senator Seery Kearney spoke eloquently about a priest in Ballyfermot she knows. I said last week or the week before that we take so much for granted and think everything is fine. However, we know from examples of what happened over the weekend, as well as in Waterford and Capel Street, that not everything is fine. We should never take anything for granted and we should say often and proud that love is love no matter what shape or size someone is. We should continuously make sure we say that, and not just in Pride Week or Pride Month because the intimidation our colleagues, friends and family members suffer does not just happen in June; it happens all year round. We should say that loud and often.

Senator Gallagher talked about the new programme of sexual consent classes that will be available in universities this summer, arising from the Union of Students in Ireland survey last year. With respect, if we did a wider survey of all women in Ireland, and even some men, we might find that the shocking statistics about university students reflect Irish society as a whole. We have an issue whereby people do not know when to take "No" for an answer or where to draw the line. The consent classes should not just be available if people want to go. They should be made compulsory for all people in third level institutions in first year. They should also be repeated in second or third year and introduced into some secondary schools at an earlier age.

I ask Senator Black to send me a copy of the letter she read out. I will certainly ask for a debate on that issue. Again, I am not sure I will get access to the Minister in the next few weeks but she needs to read that letter and be mindful of her responsibility to the entire sector. I am conscious of the decisions that are being made about reopening tomorrow and I do not mean to pre-empt them but if we are going to keep hospitality and tourism closed for the next few weeks the cut-off for new entrants to the PUP on 1 July has to be extended or abolished until we allow reopening. That is also true of the live entertainment industry.

Senator Boylan spoke about the daft.iereport that was issued yesterday. As I said, we will have a debate on housing when the Minister comes before us on 13 July to launch his new housing policy. I look forward to that.

Senator Martin spoke eloquently. He is absolutely right that this is a shared island and we need to be respectful and mindful of everybody on it. I am not quite sure I could have been so forgiving as Gordon Wilson. It is a testament to the man and his wife arising from their loss.

Senator Sherlock asked for a statutory inquiry into Terence Wheelock's passing. It is awful to think that, 16 years later, a family is still fighting for justice. The most I can offer is to write a letter to the Minister for Justice asking about the status of that investigation and what the plans for it are. I will send the Senator a copy of the Minister's response when she comes back to me.

The most interesting thing Senator Keogan brought up this morning, apart from her frustrations, was the article about Singapore that came out on Sunday. I read it too. Sometimes it is frustrating to watch other countries that are so much further ahead in their thinking. We all accept that just because we are all going to get vaccinated, please God, in the next few months, Covid is not just going to wilt away. It is probably going to take a number of years. We all need to be planning how best to live alongside Covid, particularly those who do not want to get vaccinated and our children, for whom no plans have been made yet. That was a very interesting article and I acknowledge the Senator's frustration.

Senator Kyne talked about the planning process and the debacle that happened in Athenry a number of years ago. In the new regulations and plans that will be announced for critical infrastructure legislation, we need to be mindful that we cannot hinder progress. However, we also have to allow people to assert their rights when they have genuine reasons for doing so.

Senator Chambers opened today's proceedings by referring to the endometriosis seminar she organised. I have been promising a debate on maternal health for the last few months. Again, September will give us a bit more space and opportunity to discuss some of these matters as we will not have as much legislation to get through. I will organise that as quickly as I can.

I will be accepting Senator Gavan's amendment to the Order of Business.