Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I look forward to the resolution. I acknowledge that the State is unfortunately the last port of call in these cases. These houses need to be fixed and that is the end of it.

Senator Ardagh talked about cancer care. I was mindful, when Paul Reid was doing an interview on Saturday, that we need to get our hospitals back to a scenario where they are dealing with the normal health challenges that people have. That is why we can never have a lockdown again. It is empowering to hear that he is of that mindset. He talked about the further, wider use of antigen testing in our screening process in future.

Senator Carrigy talked about hospitality and the serious issue of the 18-month backlog with regard to driver's licences. The Minister said that he has taken on 40 new driving instructors but an 18-month waiting list is unacceptable. We will have to think outside the box and come up with something different.

Senator Cassells talked about the online safety and media regulation Bill and the three young men who are only at the start of their professional career and are already legends for what they have done not just on the pitch but, more significantly for most of them, off the pitch. I thought it was abhorrent for a Conservative MP to state in her WhatsApp group with other Conservative MPs that maybe one of them would be more mindful if he spent more time concentrating on football than on feeding hungry children. My retort to her is that maybe if she was doing her job, he would not have to spend so much time feeding the hungry children of England. It is despicable. Bravo, Rashford. What he has done in the past year will leave a legacy for generations to come. A goal that he missed last night will be forgotten in a couple of weeks because I am sure that he will go on to have a successful football career, as will the other two young men. The online safety and media regulation Bill is something that we need to grab by the scruff of its neck to make sure that our media companies take responsibility.

This is not to make this about me but I reported a gentleman who called me the C-word, the c-u-n-t word on Saturday, just for pig iron because it happens quite often. If I was to do it all the time, I would be blue in the face. I got a lovely response back from Twitter that he has not broken any of its rules. If he has not broken the rules, then the rules need to be changed. It is not acceptable that we have such a level of discourse on what we now all take for granted as a daily part of Irish and international life. We need to take the online safety and media regulation Bill, grab it by the scruff of the neck, and make sure that these people are culpable. Society is changing. We sometimes make excuses for the kind of behaviour that happens on social media and state that it is not the kind of behaviour that happens in real life. These are real people, not pretend people. I know there are accounts with numbers in the names and such but they are still people. It is not acceptable and we have to take responsibility for making these changes and to make them quickly.

Senator Conway asked for a debate on water safety. I will try to do it as soon as we come back in September. The suggestion that he made that we should have it as part of a curriculum in second level schools is one that we should champion.

Senator Malcolm Byrne talked about protecting democracy. I have not seen what he has seen with regard to the powers for our directly elected mayor in Limerick, which will be the first, but I would be concerned if what he suggests will happen is true. I will talk to the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, and come back to the Senator.

Senator Marie Sherlock talked about the drug and alcohol task forces and the independence of the chair. If she sends the letter, I would be happy to support her. The point of having these is to represent the challenges faced in communities. They are not to be talking shops that are to be managed and controlled by vested interests that want an outcome. They have to have at their heart the people living with these challenges to know what kind of a society they live in and life they have. I would be happy to do anything that I can to help the Senator. She can let me know.

Senator Paul Gavan asked for a debate on US troops using Shannon Airport again. In case he thinks I do not ask, I ask for them and I facilitate any debates that I can. The ones that do not make the cut are not necessarily down to me but I will certainly make that request again.

The Senator also raised the TRIPS waiver. I do not understand the logic behind it other than that we seem to be protecting the profits of big pharmaceutical companies. There was a report from the World Health Organization on Saturday that only 25% of the world's population is vaccinated. Here we are thinking that we are deadly in Ireland, with nearly 70% of people having had their first dose and 50% having had their second dose. If the whole world is not vaccinated, then we will be in a repeating cycle. It does not make sense to me. I do not know how I can help the Senator other than to try to have a debate on that when we come back in September, which I can try to organise.

Senator Boyhan talked about the Land Development Agency. He is right. He has been saying for months that there have been significant challenges and that all of the legal challenges that people have taken have ultimately been successful, which tells us that there is something wrong with the process. We look forward to the new solutions from the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Senator Higgins talked about wishing people well on 12 July, which of course we all do. It is a celebration for that community and the people who live on that part of our island. I do not understand people burning flags to assert their own culture and causing offence to people of a different culture who live on the same island. Having a shared island means that we should have respect for each other, even if we do not necessarily agree. I concur with everything the Senator said.

Senator Gallagher started the day talking about UniCoV. We all look forward to the results of that pilot because it will be instrumental in helping Professor Mary Horgan, who was recently appointed to the new antigen task force, to ensure that we all live more safely by using all the screening tools that are available to us as part of social life.