Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I sometimes think that I am unshockable. I have been here for a few years, but I am actually shocked by what the Senator said. I am the mother of a young man who is on the autistic spectrum. He is just the most gorgeous young man one could possibly meet. He is sitting his leaving certificate examination this year and he has had the same journey over the past couple of years that all our other children have had. He has the highest aspirations for himself and gets supported in the same way as my other three kids do, which is absolutely right. I could never imagine trying to tell him to be something other than what he is. I think what the Senator referred to is shocking.

I welcome the other issue that she raised, however, regarding the cost of disability report. We are going to debate it next week and I am grateful that the Minister of State has given her time. It will give rise to much more debate and, hopefully, a great deal of action to alleviate some of the financial difficulties that people with all kinds of disabilities experience daily, other than the obvious barriers that Senator Seery Kearney talks about every Thursday morning. I look forward to the debate next week.

Senator Maria Byrne spoke about the bizarre variances between Basketball Ireland and Sport Ireland which were brought to our attention last week and which she raised earlier this week. It was no problem for me to raise that matter with the Minister of State, and I am very glad that he has sorted out those regulations as swiftly as he has this week. It is not until something is done to upset people that it is possible to realise just how many people are involved in some of these organisations. A great many of our children play basketball and I acknowledge that.

The Senator also referred to the fact that she has been contacted by people, I presume in her part of the country, about a particular matter. Senator O'Loughlin started off this morning by talking about the increase in the number of incidences of spiking. Nightclubs only opened a week and a half ago, and yet we are already talking about what is a new phenomenon. The spiking of the drinks of women and men is not new, but the use of needles is a practice which is very new to us. I spent an hour on the phone yesterday evening talking to a mother. It was a horrific conversation. She has a young lady who is the same age as my 20-year-old daughter. I cannot even begin to imagine what the young lady in question and her family are going through now. Despite the abuse that some of us have received from people who seem to think that we are scaremongering, that there is no such occurrence as a woman getting spiked with a needle and that we are making mountains out of molehills, on foot of the telephone conversation to which I refer, I wrote to the Garda Commissioner, the presidents of all our universities and the directors of our licensed vintners' associations yesterday evening to invite them to a meeting at a date that is convenient, hopefully next week, in order that we can sit around a table and talk about the occurrences that have happened in the last ten days and the protocols that should be in place.

The mother to whom I spoke to yesterday said that her daughter was told by the health and safety people in the nightclub where she was to go home and sleep it off. When she went to the accident and emergency department the next day, the doctor there tried to assure her that it was an insect bite that she got on the dance floor and that she had not been spiked with a needle. It was only when she went to the accident and emergency department and the genito-urinary medicine, GUM, unit in Cork University Hospital, CUH, that she received toxicology reports. That young lady will now be on hepatitis and PrEP medication for three months arising from the incident she experienced.

This is a real and serious issue. I am a mother and most of us are parents, and we worry about absolutely bloody well everything. I never thought, however, that when my two young girls are going out to nightclubs that I would have to worry and to warn them about not getting injected by some bowsie wanting to take advantage of them. What is happening is unacceptable, and we must step up and ensure that we put in place the protocols concerning how we deal with this issue. I refer to ensuring that licensed vintners know how to deal with young women when they present in these kinds of situations, that hospitals know what to do and when to do it, that the police know how to follow up and that everybody is aware of their responsibilities. Anybody who wants to come to the meeting I have arranged is more than welcome to do so. I thank the Senators for raising the issue this morning.

Senator Boyhan talked about the debate on public transport we had last night. It was welcome. This is an issue, and that was made evident by many people who work in our transport sector and the number of public representatives who have made representations regarding the safety of those employees. It is also an issue affecting people who travel on buses, trains and Darts. Despite what Barry Kenny has said, this is an issue. I do not agree with him. Perhaps we do not need a special police force for our public transport, but we certainly do need a different way for An Garda Síochána to go about looking after the safety of the employees and users of public transport services.

I am glad that the Senator also met with the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, yesterday and spoke with him about the issue scoliosis. I hope that for the person concerned, and for the other 172 under 18-year-olds on the waiting lists, that the Minister will respond to us in the next couple of weeks with good news. I wish all those people success and as much success as young Adam Terry had last week with his operation. It was a success and that is great news.

Senator Ahearn spoke about the matter of protests against individuals, and he also sought an update on the sports capital grants. I will contact the relevant Minister of State today and ask him if he will give me the magic date regarding when we are going to get the good announcements.