Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am sure the Leader will agree with me when I make the following statement. Accurate and timely journalism has never been so important in this country. This was a comment from the Law Society of Ireland as it yesterday awarded its Justice Media Awards for 2022. I compliment people like Mary Carolan, Simon Carswell, Peter O'Dwyer, Catherine Sanz, Michael Doyle, Barry White, Michelle Hennessey and many more. In a local context, I was delighted that my former colleagues in Shannonside Northern Sound won the Justice Media Award in the Broadcast Journalism (local radio) category. I offer my congratulations to Joe Finnegan, Anne Norris, Tommy Stenson, Kevin McDermott, Kevin McGillicuddy and Daniel Considine. They won the award for series of reports entitled "Making and breaking the law". The point I want to make concerns the importance of these people. While we might not always agree with them or might get annoyed with them from time to time, they are the real journalists.

We had a debate here yesterday about the new electoral Bill. There are outside forces - people we do not know and cannot identify and people in social media circles - who are deliberately interfering with our democracy. We should laud these awards and the people who produce these programmes be they national or local. Will Faulkner, Ellen Butler, Sinéad Hubble and Robert Fahy from Midlands 103 got a merit certificate. These people are all doing fantastic work so let us laud them today. Long may they live and continue to do this kind of work.

It is always nice to have a good news story. I know there is a lot of talk about the cost of living and the hardship people are going through. We all meet them. However, we should acknowledge that the Minister for Social Protection has announced the opening of the back to school clothing and footwear allowance scheme worth €58 million. More than 120,000 families will automatically get their entitlements. There is increased funding, which is needed. We should encourage everybody who thinks he or she should get the payment automatically but does not to inquire about it because it will be crucial for families this year.