Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

My colleague, Senator Chambers, and I spoke yesterday about "Women of Honour" and the need to take the group's stories seriously and act. This morning I wanted to mention the nine Army rangers who went to Afghanistan to help to bring our citizens home. I congratulate them on the work they did. Two officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs were present. We need to recognise the work that the rangers and other members of our Defence Forces do and that the difficulties over pay and conditions still exist. We need, once and for all, to deal with these issues.

I also want to raise the issue of drinking water. There was a problem earlier this summer. There are ongoing issues in Gorey and Ballymore Eustace. Silver eels were found in a water treatment plant serving approximately 10,000 people in the Castledermot area. The EPA condemned that. People are experiencing ongoing problems over the security and safety of their water supply. It is not acceptable and we need to do far more in this regard.

The last issue I would like to raise concerns a conversation I had yesterday morning with Kildare branch of Down Syndrome Ireland. It relates somewhat to what Senator Seery Kearney was speaking about. Some training courses for young people with an intellectual disability and for young people who have left formal education are offered during mainstream school hours. In Kildare, the courses have covered literacy and horticulture. I visited the premises myself and tremendous work was being done. A grant was given through the Department of Health to fund the courses. That has now been stopped but no alternative has been put in place. The response to the organisation in question was that it should become a section 39 organisation. That is ridiculous. Groups of volunteers working hard to put in place positive experiences, including learning experiences, for young people with intellectual disabilities do not want to become formal organisations. They are giving of their time and energy. We need to have a debate on how best to support young people with intellectual disabilities in acquiring the skills they need for life, education and, hopefully, employment.