Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Very good. I am sure he passed on the congratulations and well wishes of the House on behalf of all Senators. Senator Ó Donnghaile also spoke about the commitment of the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, to holding a referendum on independence in 2023. He requested a debate on the shared island initiative by the Department of An Taoiseach. I will certainly request that debate.

Senator Moynihan spoke about the 40th anniversary of the AIDS pandemic, as did Senators Malcolm Byrne and Buttimer, and the need to acknowledge the 40 years we have had. As she put it, we have come a long way. I agree with her in that regard. She drew a correlation between that and how we are dealing with the current Covid-19 pandemic and posed a very interesting question in respect of the very swift move by many governments to suspend all flights from southern African nations. She posed an interesting question in respect of whether the same response would have been forthcoming if the variant had originated in an EU member state or another country. I cannot answer that question. Members will all have their own views as to what the response might have been if the variant was found elsewhere. We should commend the medical experts and authorities in the southern African states on coming forward and informing the global community as quickly as they did, knowing that it may have negative repercussions for them. They did the world a good service. There are reports today that the first Omicron variant has been detected here in Ireland. It is only a matter of time before we are trying to curtail its spread. Those experts and authorities did the rest of the world a service by giving a heads-up on the variant so that those preparations could be made.

The Senator raised the issue of community employment services, as she did last week. The advice I have received on that issue - the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, said this on the floor of the Dáil as well - is that the current employment services have been in operation for a couple of decades or maybe a little longer, but there was no formal procurement process then. The advice of the Attorney General to the Government is that there must be compliance with EU and Irish procurement rules and that is why there is a change in the approach. The plan is to expand employment services across the country. I do take on board the concerns of those working in the community employment sector.

As I mentioned, Senator Ruane raised the issue of the drugs strategy. She also spoke about the football match this evening in Tallaght. All Senators are looking forward to it. I have not kicked a ball in several years, so I ask Members to wish me luck. I know several other Senators will be there this evening. I am very much looking forward to it. I thank the Senator for organising it. It is a great initiative. It is good for us to get out of this bubble we are in and get out on the ground and meet people. I think all involved are looking forward to the craic. It may be the case that there will be several walking wounded coming into the House tomorrow, as the Cathaoirleach said, but there is no doubt that we will be the better for it. I say "Well done" to Senator Ruane on organising that initiative.

Senator Malcolm Byrne raised the issue of the Central Statistics Office report on educational attainment at third level.He outlined some incredible statistics on Ireland's attainment levels in younger cohorts. It is to be applauded that we have the highest educational attainment at third level in the EU and one of the highest in the world. He is correct to say that we often speak about one of the key reasons for the significant amounts of foreign direct investment into Ireland as being our taxation. It is not just about that. It may be an element of it for some companies, but I agree with him that it is more about talent and the educated workforce that we have across multiple sectors.

He also raised the issue of higher education funding, which has been a topic of discussion for many years. The Cassells report has been gathering dust for many years. Multiple Ministers have not moved to enact the report's recommendations or dealt with the overall question of how to fund third level education. Should it be done through student loans or Exchequer funding? It is contentious and there is not full agreement on it. A debate needs to be had. I note the Minister made a commitment to deal with that report this year. We will certainly seek a debate with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, on that issue.

He also paid tribute to Úna Walsh the harpist who played on the "Late Late Show". I thought she was excellent and I wish her well in her future career, which I have no doubt will be a stellar one.

Senator Ahearn raised the delay in the construction of Clonmel Garda station which is delaying further development in the town. He should table a Commencement matter on it. It is quite a niche issue and he may be able to get a satisfactory response through that mechanism.

Senator Mullen raised a very interesting topic and certainly one that requires further debate. It is the influence of money on policymaking specifically relating to EU rapporteurs working in different areas and the level to which they may be influenced by funding coming from certain organisations that have a particular viewpoint or objective they are trying to achieve. If what the Senator has put on the record of the House is correct, it appears that the code of conduct as set down by the EU is not being fully adhered to by all rapporteurs. Much discussion needs to be had on that very interesting point.

Senator Pauline O'Reilly concurred with the remarks of the Cathaoirleach on Romania Day. I also agree with those remarks. She also raised the issue of HEPA filters which has been a topic for discussion. Tomorrow in the House, we will have a debate on Covid and education with the Minister for Education. It would be opportune to ask the question. We also have statements on health this evening. As both Ministers will be in the House this week, there will be an opportunity to discuss that issue directly with them.

There will also be an opportunity for Senators to share their concerns about the requirement for younger children to wear masks. I agree with the comments of the Ombudsman for Children that we need to keep the matter under review every few weeks. It is a very significant ask of our younger people, in particular their curtailment of their social activities and now the requirements for masks in schools, particularly when the rest of us can move freely. We always need to question whether we are doing the right thing, taking on board, obviously, the public health advice and the need to curtail the spread of the virus. We also need to keep this under review. They are young children and these things have an impact. We will have those debates this evening and tomorrow.

Senators Boylan and Blaney asked about the mica redress scheme. As someone who lives in a county where homeowners have been affected by mica, I very much welcome the scheme. It has been a long time in negotiation. It is a significant improvement on the scheme that was announced by the previous Government. Many of the concerns have been taken on board. In excess of €2 billion will be put into the scheme which is a colossal amount of money by any standards. It will ensure that the vast majority of homeowners will be able to rebuild their homes to the best of standards as of today. It is welcome to have a conclusion in sight before Christmas.

I commend the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, Councillor Martin McDermott in Donegal, Senator Blaney, Deputy Calleary, the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, Deputy McHugh, my constituency colleague, Senator Burke, and all those who have worked on it. Many people have given input into this having listened to the concerns of those affected. Many families have endured a very traumatic experience over a long period and many of them had to move out of their homes. I am sure the scheme will be welcomed, despite some people not being fully happy. It is a significant scheme with a large amount of money behind it.

Senator Ardagh raised the issue of the Irish Sign Language Bill that was brought through by the Cathaoirleach, Senator Mark Daly, in the previous term. She supported the call for it to be a subject in second level schools. She also raised the need for transport police on our public transport, the DART and Luas in particular, because of ongoing antisocial behaviour. It is certainly something to be considered.

Senator Buttimer asked about the process and criteria to select host countries for sporting events like the World Cup and the Olympic Games. He pointed to the need to have an audit on the human rights abuses of countries. Any country that has been found to have been abusing human rights or not adhering to human rights practices and standards should not be a host country for these world sporting events. He made a very good point. What are the criteria for selecting a country? Very often it appears to be money from what I can see. One would have to question the locations of some of the most significant sporting events in recent years. We should not need to have a discussion now about whether we should be sending Ministers and members of our diplomatic corps to the Olympic Games because that should be considered before these host countries are selected.

Senators Murphy and Maria Byrne raised the plight of the hospitality sector. In all the areas where we are living, we are aware of many cancellations. It is nearly worse than when they were closed because when they were closed, they had certainty about the State supports they were getting and they did not need to buy food, pay staff and pay certain overheads, whereas now they are open and are depending on all of us to support them.

Senator Murphy made a very good point that public health advice allows us to go to our local pub or restaurant to have a meal. In line with public guidelines, it is a safe place to go. It is an important message in the run up to Christmas. Many businesses survive on the basis of having a good Christmas which gets them through the quieter months in the earlier parts of the new year. We need to get the message out that it is safe to go out in smaller groups to those settings because the public health advice is clear. Those businesses are running a tight ship and are ensuring their customers are safe. I really feel for those businesses that have bought in food and paid staff, and people are cancelling. I understand the concerns leading to people cancelling. We need to convey the message that it is safe to go out. People should try to support their local hospitality businesses because they may not be there next year if they do not get that support.

Senator Burke spoke in support of the mica scheme. He also pointed out that nobody had been held accountable for this. Who is to blame for this? The politicians of today were not the perpetrators of it. Many people were involved along the way. Questions need to be asked about why everybody was able to walk away leaving the homeowners with nothing. It was then left up to the politicians to try to rescue the situation through an enormous amount of taxpayers' money. This money is being spent out of the public purse. More than €2 billion is a significant amount of money. If it is being spent on this scheme, and rightly so, it means it is not being spent on other public services and investment in capital projects. Those are the decisions governments must make and that is the responsibility that lies with Cabinet Ministers.

Senator Byrne and other Members of the House have made the point previously about the corporate veil and those organisations and corporate entities that may have been responsible. We do not know who knew what or when. We do not know anything about how this happened. We all suspect certain things, but ultimately the taxpayer is footing the bill for this. Significant questions remain to be asked as to who is responsible and where the accountability for this issue lies.

Senator McGahon raised the lack of electric vehicle charging points or infrastructure for those living in an apartment block. It is an area of concern. How are we supposed to get to 1 million EVs without having charging points, given that many people are living in apartment buildings? I was not aware of this until recently; technology exists to allow EVs to be charged at a lamp post. We need to embrace any such technology because we have very ambitious targets to meet in our climate action plan. It will involve all hands on deck and using every bit of technology we can to meet those ambitious targets and objectives.

Senator Dolan spoke about the EU competition. I am aware that See Her Elected has been nominated. I wish those involved well. It has been a fantastic initiative. Some of my party colleagues are involved in the organisation. Women living in a rural area have particular difficulty in getting noticed and getting involved.We are often asked how we got involved in politics and very often it is because we were asked. We did not push ourselves forward, for the most part. The Senator is right to point out that in rural areas, it was traditionally done through organisations such as the Irish Farmers Association or the GAA, which were, historically, predominantly male. It can be difficult for a woman to break through. The Senator is right that parents associations, Tidy Towns associations and community groups are often led and run by women who then do not make the decision to run for public life. See Her Elected and similar campaigns are, therefore, important and make a difference. Women for Election is another organisation that has done fantastic work over the years to increase female participation by providing training programmes and putting people in touch with different political parties or other public representatives to push women to go forward for election. That is good because we are a much richer and diverse democracy when we are more representative of our communities.