Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support the Order of Business as outlined by the Leader. I compliment the Leader on her leadership and work around the March for Maternity, which is to take place at 1 p.m. today. It is a really important matter that affects so many young mums and dads. We absolutely want to see a position where maternity treatment and care is the same as it was before Covid-19. We have spoken about it many times in the House but I wanted to say "well done" to the Leader on her work.

It is very welcome to see this morning that the Minister for Defence has outlined what he is doing for the victims whose story was told in "Women of Honour". Members know that Senator Chambers and I raised this matter last week on the Commencement and we are really pleased that much of what we said has been taken on board. It is important there is an independent commission but there must be a trusted confidential service available for the victims of sexual abuse and harassment, whether they are men or women. It is important that sanctions should be put in place for perpetrators. While we help victims, the perpetrator must absolutely suffer sanction.

A really important part of Monday's national development plan launch was the extra investment in public transport. It is important for so many different reasons. Extra funding or support should go to the Rural Link service, which does absolutely tremendous work linking smaller communities and villages with larger towns. I know from experience in Kildare, where Mr. Alan Kerry is chief executive, there is an excellent service but it could be so much more if it was funded for development. In a household a second car may be required to go perhaps ten miles to a local railway station in order to commute to Dublin. If there was extra funding, it might be possible to enable a minor bus link to join a larger commuting hub, which would be well worth doing. We must also look again at rail fares, which must be affordable, accessible and flexible. We must have a medium hop zone between Sallins and Portarlington, as commuters and students in particular may not be able to afford accommodation in Dublin at this point.

It was very refreshing to hear dads on the radio yesterday speaking about international surrogacy. We know the upcoming assisted human reproduction Bill will deal with domestic surrogacy but, unfortunately, there is a lacuna relating to international surrogacy. A mum is a mum is a mum, and that absolutely needs to be addressed. It is something we should highlight in the Seanad.