Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I did not expect to be called so soon to respond. The last speaker, Senator Boyhan, raised mink farming, but Senator Pauline O'Reilly - in some strange tones - expressed her concerns publicly this morning on the drawn out delay, month after month, with the animal health and welfare Bill. I was here last Thursday debating it, as I am sure all of my colleagues were. As Senator Boyhan says, there are some concerns, but it has nothing to do with mink. There is some element of trying to pit this as anti-Fine Gael, anti-Fianna Fáil and anti-Independent and to say that some are pro-mink farming. I do not think anybody I have ever spoken to is pro-mink farming.

As Senator Boyhan says, the mink farmers do have a licence to continue farming, but there is no breeding going on in this country and there is no intention of allowing the breeding of mink here. The intentions of the Members of this House are to make sure that the 30-plus workers who are losing their jobs and the three farmers who are losing their income, get a fair deal. Until that is ironed out, concerns will continue to be raised by Members of this House, as one would expect in a democratic society. I just want to put that to rest.

Senator Boyhan and a number of colleagues spoke about Senator Keogan. I want to put on record our compliments to what is the powerhouse of a woman called Sharon Keogan. I know she is new to most Members in this Seanad, but I have known her for many years. While she can talk the talk, she also walks the walk. She is nothing short of a powerhouse. Whatever she puts her mind to has an impact. I acknowledge and congratulate her and everyone else, including the ambassadors who came this morning, to support the Ukrainian coffee morning.

The Minister of State, Senator Hackett, spoke this morning. She was dead right in her tone. While we are all consumed by the atrocities of war and the impact of it on the cost-of-living crisis and potential shortages of food and energy in the coming weeks and months, climate change will wait for no man and no woman. That should not deflect us from any of the changes we must make within this country to ensure we meet our climate change targets.

Senator Mullen spoke about fee-paying schools. He makes a good point but there are two sides to the argument. I do not come from an area where there are incredibly wealthy people, but there are a number of people in my town who do choose to send their children to fee-paying schools. The sacrifice they have to make is that they do not have fancy cars or holidays every year, so there is a balance. I take on board what Senator Gavan said as well.

Senator Flynn spoke about her solidarity with Ukraine. She has requested a debate on the future of the Government's plans for the ending of direct provision. I have arranged to have such a debate, but I do not have a date for it yet. I made the suggestion to the Minister a number of weeks ago. Such a debate is timely given that a stalwart of the direct provision community passed away this week. It has caused major sadness in the community that she has spent all of her time in Ireland in direct provision. We need to put a roadmap on the table so that people can see what our aspirations are for those people who find themselves, through no fault of their own, asking for refugee status in Ireland. I will organise the debate as soon as I can.

Senator Gavan said something that I only said to my husband this morning. While the 20 cent and 15 cent decrease, respectively, on excise duty on diesel and petrol are very welcome today, I fear that by this time next week the prices will have gone back up again. The Government must continue to keep an eye on the situation and make sure that the decisions it makes are reflective of that and that they are made in a timely manner. We will have to pass that order both in the Dáil and the Seanad in the coming days and we will try to arrange that as quickly as possible.

Senator McGahon paid tribute to a gentleman called Mr. Stanislav Lapko, a resident of Dundalk and an employee of PayPal. In a way, he spoke with pride at the fact that the young man has gone back to fight for his nation's freedom. I am not sure I would have the same pride if I was related to him. There is something awful about sending men - anybody's man, whether it is a husband, child or brother - into a situation where we have no knowledge of whether they will be safe. We must double down, first, on sanctions and, second, on diplomatic efforts, to make sure that this war is ended in a way that perhaps does allow Putin to save some face, because ultimately it will allow the saving of thousands of lives.

I cannot even begin to understand or appreciate what 2 million people fleeing a country looks like. As someone said yesterday, it is the equivalent of the entire population of Northern Ireland just getting up and leaving. It is hard to get one's head around how that would impact on us. I pay tribute to the bravery of the Ukrainian people and recognise the response from the Government to the Ukrainian people coming here, which is done with an enormous heart. We have opened the social welfare system and the housing system, albeit that they are under pressure. We must make sure that we look after these people with a heart and a half.

I spoke already about Senator Keogan. Senator Malcolm Byrne spoke about the Common Security and Defence Policy. He acknowledged the move by the Minister for Education to appoint somebody from the Irish Second-Level Students Union to the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. That will make a massive difference.