Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Dolan. The expansion of the walks scheme this morning as announced by the Minister is very welcome, particularly in the past 18 months when plenty of Irish citizens took to walking and cycling as we did not really have an awful lot else to do. Investment in the beautiful routes in rural Ireland is very welcome.

On Senator Craughwell's point, it often astounds me as to who has €3,000 to spend on a dog in the first place. There is no doubt that prices for dogs have gone up in the past 18 months because people were at home and took to taking in pets. Now, as people are returning to the office, the reports are that these pets are abandoned. It is a real stain on the Irish character that people would do that and not welcome a pet into their homes for life and not just for a period of time.

I am aware of how passionate Senator Craughwell is about the Defence Forces - and I say to him respectfully, I do not mean any criticism - but he said in his contribution this morning that he was not saying that vacant positions were an excuse for what has happened with regard to the "Women of Honour". I do not believe that there is an excuse. I believe there is a prevailing culture within our Defence Forces that is misogynistic and which believes that women are less equal than men. I absolutely stamp that out. This is not acceptable in any agency of the country. I welcome the speed at which this is being taken seriously by the Minister, the new Secretary General in the Department of Defence, Ms Jacqui McCrum, and by the Chief of Staff Sean Clancy, who has just been appointed.

I sometimes wonder about the way we refer to the issue. I listened to Brian Dobson on RTÉ 1 news yesterday when he discussed this particular issue and the meeting that was to take place between the Minister and the "Women of Honour", and he talked about them telling their stories. Victims of sexual abuse, harassment, misogyny or workplace discrimination do not have "stories" to tell; they have experiences or allegations to put on the record. The words around this kind of unacceptable behaviour really matter. We have seen how, over the past couple of days, one of those women was so fearful that she had to come anonymously and raise her story. Words matter and we must believe victims when they come forward and tell us their experiences or make allegations. We absolutely have to respond accordingly. I really welcome the Senator mentioning this here this morning.

Senator Seery Kearney spoke about a similar topic. We have had the experience in recent weeks of allegations that were made of the most extreme nature against a particular charity. While I welcome the Garda Commissioner stating that An Garda Síochána will need to review the definition of vulnerable people, I do not know why we have to wait until something as awful and horrendous was exposed to realise that people who are living on our streets who have no home, no security and no family support systems around them are vulnerable. Surely to God they are some of the most vulnerable people in the State. I do not find it acceptable that we are going to get another review that will probably take 18 months to find out the changes we need to make to some language definitions. Even if we do have to wait for the changes to be made in legislation, the changes in practice could be happening between now and Friday. I do not believe it is acceptable to kick that off into yet another report.

Senator Ahearn asked for a very much needed debate around energy and price increases, and especially around the gaps in service. I am happy to be in a position to say that the Minister will come to the House on 2 November to talk about that. The matter will be on everybody's minds and it will certainly affect everybody's pockets in the months to come. It is very topical.

Senators Horkan and Ardagh brought to the notice of the Chamber the antisocial behaviour that has been ravaging the streets of Dublin for the past couple of weeks. This morning I saw the video of the young man in Dublin city last night. He seemed to be of Indian origin and he appeared to be on a bicycle delivering food and is therefore providing a service to Irish citizens and to people who live in the city. The disgraceful way he was treated, and the equally disgraceful way that Irish people stood around and cheered the absolute tramps who mistreated that man last night, is an absolute shame and a scourge on all of us. The Senators are correct to say that as an Oireachtas and a State agency, we have left places in Dublin city as absolutely free-for-all areas. At a parliamentary party meeting last week one of my own colleagues mentioned that he walked down O'Connell Street at six o'clock of an evening during the summer with his young son. There was one garda on the entire pedestrian area of O'Connell Street, and when he went over to speak to him the garda told them of how the gardaí who are policing Dublin city are exhausted and how they are crying out for a new policing plan. It is incumbent upon all of us to make sure that this happens sooner rather than later. There absolutely should not be any no-go areas in Dublin's capital city, and it certainly should not be for the want of resources being put into the policing system.

Senator Cassells talked about what I can only assume is yet another scaremongering tactic on behalf of some of the campaign groups around Navan, of rumours about the future of the accident and emergency department at Our Lady's Hospital, Navan. The Senator is correct that I have not lived in Meath for as long as he has, but for 20 years we have been hearing scaremongering tactics on behalf of people who would like there to be an issue with regard to the future or the sustainability of that accident and emergency department. The Navan hospital accident and emergency department has received hundreds of thousands of euro worth of investment in the last number of years and I am absolutely sure that there will be more to come. In the past, when issues have arisen we have always received reassurances, not just from the Minister of the day and we have been through a number of Ministers for Health over the past ten years when most of these issues have been raised; we have also received assurances from the HSE that even if it wanted to do something, which it does not, there is no capacity anywhere else. I can absolutely assure the Senator, as he well knows, that this capacity has not grown suddenly in the past years. I am very happy to put this on the record of the House. I will schedule a general debate on healthcare and there is one already being scheduled for Sláintecare.

Senator Mary Fitzpatrick spoke about the very unwelcome announcement and confirmation by the Minister for Transport yesterday that he hopes the MetroLink will be delivered by 2034. I have requested a debate on this and hopefully that will happen in the next couple of weeks because this is certainly not acceptable. We do not yet even know why the project has been pushed back.

Senator Maria Byrne spoke on the welcome announcement on Shannon Group plc, which is very welcome. Pádraig Ó Céidigh is a colleague of most people here and we all know and hold him in such high esteem.

Senator Byrne also spoke about the fact that so many workers are not going to be working in our drinks and hospitality and entertainment industries, which is very worrying.

Senator Ardagh acknowledged and put on the record of the House the passing of Eileen Rushe yesterday. We extend our deepest sympathy and our condolences to her family. She was an incredible woman. One could not help but be charmed by her wonderful personality. This is not the least to say the amount of work that she has done advocating on behalf of people who have been much ill treated by the system over the years.

Senator Mullen spoke of what we consider to be celebrations. I did not think that Senator Mullen was being critical of anybody. I thought he was just making observations. I do not know who I could even ask for a debate on the meaning of celebrations, but perhaps it is something that we just take as they come and maybe talk to the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media who was involved in the centenary commemorations. Maybe I will put the request to her.

Senator Barry Ward raised the continued waiting list for people with adapted cars. I will write to the Minister on this. If there is a list for people who have a more urgent need for the normal test then there should be a list also for the people who have an urgent need for the adapted test.

Senator Malcolm Byrne asked for a debate on pensions. I am absolutely sure that when the report from the commission on pensions goes to Cabinet we will absolutely have a debate on that.The Senator is probably right. There will be a lot of populist talk but the stark reality is that it has to be paid for by somebody. If we do not take it out of people's left pocket, we will take it out of their right pocket. I welcome that debate, particularly as I was embroiled in it the last time we debated the issue about 18 months ago.

Senator Black spoke about the Music and Entertainment Association of Ireland’s pre-budget reflections. I will bring them to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin. That industry that has not even begun to start reopening properly. Its members need all support we can give them until they are back up and running and entertaining us on a weekly basis, as they did pre-Covid.

Senator Moynihan raised the issue of a three-year rent freeze. The living wage has increased so significantly as a result of price increases in rent. A debate on the Housing for All plan will take place this afternoon. I am sure the Minister will listen to the Senator's concerns about this issue.

Senator Ruane spoke about animal welfare and the sale of pets. She has raised this issue on a number of occasions. I will contact the Minister about it. I am sure the ban on fur farming legislation is already drafted. I do not know whether it is the legislation to deal with these amendments. If it is, it would make sense for all of us to try to do what Senator Ruane has been trying to do for the past 12 months. I will come back to the Senator on that.

I did not get a chance to reply to the email Senator Boyhan sent this morning. What it set out is horrific and highlights the major gaps that arise when the employer who people work for is not responsible for the conditions in which they work. Agency workers are a special group of people. If most of the agency workers in Ireland were Europeans, they would be covered by frontier legislation with regard to the European Union. The Senator and I know that most of the people who work in our meat industry are not Europeans. That is why it is so easy for them to be so badly treated. The Senator is right that it is up to us to make sure that stops. I will contact the Minister with responsibility for employment affairs and the officials I used to work with to see if we can quickly draft legislation to give these employees equal status, as if they were employees of the companies for which they are doing the work and not of those that are paying them. I will come back to the Senator on that.

Senator McGahon spoke about the jump in vehicle registration tax on electric vehicles. We have all been around these Houses for many years. The one thing we all know is that when we tax something more we get less of it. If we want people to drive electric cars, it does not make sense to tax them more. That is an issue we will have to discuss with the Minister for Finance when the Finance Bill comes before the House in the next few weeks.

Senator Crowe opened proceedings by seeking a special exemption from the €410 per night fee payable by those in the entertainment industry. The review of night-time licensing will probably take a year. We should push for the introduction of a temporary measure in the budget. If the entertainment, drinks and hospitality industries need the support they say they need, a new night-time licence would be a fast way for us to make a difference in the short term. I will bring the Senator’s suggestions to the attention of the Minister.