Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We will not be cynical yet. Senator Hoey raised an issue on behalf of the Labour Party. Many others would share the view that the new national maternity hospital should be independent of any authority other than State policy on the delivery of maternity care. That certainly could do with updating, as we have all spoken about before. I recognise that the Senator also supported Senator Gavan in his praise for Senator Black. She raised this matter here last week and spoke eloquently for three or four minutes on the work that the groups do and on the unilateral decision made by the Israeli Government. I thank both Senators for putting their support on the record today.

Senator Ahearn looked for an update on the Fethard primary care centre. I will happily write to the Minister today to seek an update and come back to the Senator.

Senator McGreehan talked about what I can only call a lack of sportsmanship. She was absolutely right in talking about this. It does, unfortunately, stem from the sidelines and from the mammies and daddies who sometimes get overly exuberant. However, when this exuberance drives them to display the lack of sportsmanship we have seen far too often on our football pitches, that must be taken to task. The Senator is right to call on the GAA, the FAI and the IRFU to check themselves and to make sure we are sending out the right messages to create sportsmanship and develop the team element of these sports. There is no pride in winning if one has to win a particular way.

Senator Carrigy asked for a debate on tourism, as did Senator Conway. Given that we have reopened our skies to American tourists and that American skies were opened to Irish tourists yesterday, it is really important that we go back to marketing our land, our hospitality and our welcome as far and as wide as we possibly can. The Senator also mentioned boil water notices in Longford. I have also heard other colleagues talk about Wexford in recent weeks. It really is not acceptable or tolerable in a modern society that these notices should be in place for so long. Accidents can happen and emergencies take place but to be here a week later and still scrabbling for a resolution really leaves a lot to be desired. I wish the Senator a speedy recovery and hope the issue gets resolved very quickly.

Senator Malcolm Byrne talked about a lack of appropriate changing facilities. I do not know if he wants me to write to the president of Technological University Dublin, TU Dublin, to support him but I could certainly do that today. I hope we will get a response very quickly.

As he does week in, week out, Senator Craughwell brought up what is probably the issue most consistently raised in this House not only by him, but by anybody. He talked about search and rescue and the men and women who fly our planes every day not only to rescue us off our coasts and inland, but also for commercial and national purposes. The report regarding Rescue 116 issued on Friday. The lives of Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, Captain Mark Duffy and winch team members, Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith, were lost in this incident. The report highlighted the tragic loss of those lives and the senselessness of how the incident occurred. We are having a debate in this House next Thursday on the report on Rescue 116 and on the recommendations arising from it. Let us be very clear; there are many State agencies that must learn from the multiple mistakes that caused the tragedy on that day which meant that those four people did not come home to their families. One thing Senator Craughwell is right about is that the Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020 is at Committee Stage in this House. We have a real opportunity to strengthen that Bill to make sure that no regulatory authority will ever again have to question whether it has a responsibility for air safety in this country. I believe the Bill is not as strong as it should be as primary legislation.We will have that debate on Rescue 116 on Thursday week.

Senator Conway spoke about Ireland's marketing budget and the need for the amalgamation on it to ensure we sell our capital as much as we can. I do not mean the capital city of Dublin; I mean the entire welcome and the wealth of beautiful scenery and hospitality we have in Ireland.

Senator Horkan talked about is a very welcome mental health initiative run by the Local Authority Members Association, LAMA. The Ceann Comhairle, Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl, did something similar a few years ago in 2017. It is most welcome. What is particularly welcome about it is the fact it is so discreet and anonymous, because for some reason, we still have an issue - pride, I suppose - in admitting people are vulnerable. It is a welcome initiative. I thank the Senator for raising it here today and for applauding those involved. I challenge every other organisation that has members, of which there are many, to do exactly the same for their membership. People are fragile. Our children do not have the resilience they should have and that we probably had as kids. It is incumbent on all of us to ensure the people we care about and the organisations we are part of are inclusive and that we mind and look after each other.

Senator Wall and the Deputy Leader, Senator O'Loughlin, opened today's proceedings looking for an update on the Monasterevin day care centre. I will do my best to find out what is causing the delay and I will come back to both Senators. Senator Wall talked about the lack of GP services in County Kildare and is looking for an update from the Minister, which I will try to get.

Senator Garvey made a call-out today for the return of what probably is, unfortunately, tens of thousands of people who have left these shores, not just in the past ten years, but probably since we were younger in the 1980s and 1990s. These are craftsmen we are crying out for now. We all know that for those who do not have a husband who is handy, even those who want somebody to put up curtains in their house, the waiting lists are weeks long. Those who want painting, decorating, extensions or plumbing done will be waiting for weeks. That is because of the ambitious plans of Government to ensure we build, build, build. However, we will not be able to build without the people to build. I thank the Senator for raising the issue today.

Senator Ó Donnghaile talked about the joined-up thinking we should have with regard to promoting sports activities and transport routes to get home. I cannot believe that the port tunnel will close five minutes before the game is over on a night when we are bringing thousands of people into Dublin city. It makes no sense. I suppose it leaves an awful lot to be desired about the joined-up thinking we have in this country. The Senator asked me to raise the issue with the Minister for Transport, and I will certainly do so.

Senator McDowell talked about the draft Dublin transport strategy that was published today. I can only say how dismayed I am by it, and I know Senator Cassells is so delighted by it. It is a week after we issued probably the most ambitious targets from a climate perspective. Transport is one of the two industries that are very responsible for us achieving those targets. The only way we are going to meet the targets is by getting people out of their cars, and not just walking and cycling. Walking and cycling are great, but not everybody can do that. We need to get people onto public transport. Tinkering around with BusConnects is just not going to cut it for the next ten years. I know that the problem is not money. We must get to the root of what is causing the delay on the MetroLink, metro north and DART+ projects and what is causing us to say it will be 2042, when the Senator and I will be well retired, before we are getting around to do something for the southside.