Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That was a quiet opening to this week's proceedings. To respond to Senator Sherlock, I think I heard the Tánaiste clearly state that our public servants deserve a pay rise. The offer made was very generous, although the talks stalled insofar as it was rejected. I think it would be expected that any union would reject the first offer. We all know how these negotiations play out and I assure the Senator they will end very shortly in a productive pay increase for all our public servants.

With regard to the announcement by the Minister of State with responsibility for special education, this is the first time in the history of the State that there has been a Minister of State with that sole responsibility. We have never spent more money on providing special education for all our children who need it. As the numbers have grown over recent years, there has been an increase in the number of special needs assistants to levels our Garda force does not even enjoy, so we know and recognise how great an issue it is to provide services in a timely manner. We have all experienced frustrations with the Department over the years in regard to schools we have represented, but to be fair to the Minister of State, her announcement on Friday evening was as a result of many months of frustration with regard not just to the four schools she mentioned but to many schools throughout the country that see this as a negotiation. They think that if they have to do something on behalf of the Department to serve the needs of their pupils, they will make sure they will get something else. That is a really frustrating place to be, not least when parents and children need the provision of services from the State, and we all know how critical we are of the State when it does not provide those services. To be fair, the delivery of the services is incumbent not just on the Department of Education, the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, or anybody else who is responsible for special needs services but also on every vested interest to ensure we will work in a timely manner to serve the children we know need the additional resources.The Minister of State's statement was born out of frustration more than anything else. What I really welcome is the newfound renewed capacity to be able to work with the Department to make sure we do deliver not just for the children of Stoneybatter but the children of Coolock and all the other children around the country who need special education and extra resources.

Senators Craughwell, Buttimer and Ó Donnghaile spoke about the announcement by the Department of Defence and the Minister for Defence of the sanctioning of our Defence Forces to help out with Dublin Airport, particularly around security issues we know we have seen over the past few weeks but expect to probably be exacerbated because of the rise of Covid in the next number of weeks. While Senator Craughwell makes very valid points regarding the stipend that will be paid to our Defence Forces, I must say that I am very proud that we have Defence Forces who are willing to stand up in any and every emergency in this country because they never let us down.

Despite all the difficulties with regard to recruitment, pay and conditions - everything we have spoken about for the past number of years - they never let the State down so they are to be commended. This is not to say that Dublin Airport should not be reminded of the fact that the reason we are in this mess is because it miscalculated, let 1,000 people go and offered a paltry and precarious contract in the past number of weeks looking for people to work 20 hours but to be available for 40 hours for buttons. It has nobody to blame but itself for being in this situation. Thankfully, after the past number of years, which were absolutely crap, people are going on their holidays again, which is wonderful to see. I want to put on the record that I am immensely grateful to our Defence Forces, who consistently stand up and help us when we find ourselves in the breach. Senator Craughwell also raised the 2016 medal. I will follow up with the Minister for Defence and come back to him.

Senator Gallagher reminded us that today is International Neonatal Screening Day and asked me to send a letter to the Minister for Health to find out when spinal muscular atrophy will be included in our national screening programme. I am very happy to do that.

Senator Buttimer spoke about the lovely, happy, warm and fun feeling we all experienced on the streets of our capital city on Saturday. It really was an enormous pleasure to be there, to support and to be an ally but also just to enjoy the fun and experience the joy that our friends, neighbours, cousins and colleagues - our citizens - expressed on the streets on Saturday. The Senator is right to remind us all that certain things happen to certain minority communities not just in Ireland but all over the world. I add my condolences to those of the Senator for the two gentlemen whose lives were taken so cruelly in Oslo on Saturday and remind everybody that we all need to be allies for every single minority and diverse community in Ireland because they suffer an awful lot of things we might not even be conscious of. I remind everybody to be an ally not just for the month of June but for every month.

Senator Ó Donnghaile asked that the Minister for Transport come to the House to give us an update on the all-Ireland rail review. Senator Buttimer looked for an update on the Dublin Airport plans. I think both Senators are aware that we are very stretched for the next couple of weeks but I will do my best to try to get it in as quickly as possible.

Senator Boyhan had previously asked for time to be set aside for a rolling debate on health. This request was made to the Minister for Health last week. I regret to say that the only access I have to the Minister for the final two weeks of this term is to debate the Bill Senator Murphy spoke about this morning that will remove charges for children under the age 16 in public hospitals. I will organise a debate on the issues highlighted by Senator Boyhan this morning as soon as the Minister's diary allows and if it is not possible in this term, I will organise one to take place as quickly as possible when we come back after the summer recess.

Senator Kyne spoke about the impact of fuel prices on home help carers who are agency staff and asked me to raise the issue with the Minister for Health, which I will do. He also spoke about the €1,000 Covid payment that, unfortunately, has only been ring-fenced for HSE staff instead of for all staff.

Senator Murphy welcomed the third domestic violence strategy, which will be announced in full detail by the Minister for Justice this afternoon, and commended the fact that we will now have a refuge centre for victims of domestic violence in every county.We are going to double the number of places and double the sentences. It is all very welcome. There are 144 specific actions in the plan and €363 million to make sure every single Department, because this is a cross-Government response to domestic violence, has the money and resources needed to make sure the plan is enacted. The Senator also welcomed the 1,000 new college places announced by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science this morning and the new legislation by the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly.

Senators Murphy, Kyne and others talked about what can only be described as the act of terrorism in Kyiv yesterday, where the Russians bombed, maimed and murdered people going about their daily business when buying clothes, food and other items in a shopping centre. They were trying to live their normal lives. I sometimes wonder about the justification of war and the arguments some people or territories and countries put forward to justify that war and, indeed, talk about the rules of engagement and how some things are allowed and some are not. In any circumstances, bombing people who are going about their normal lives in a shopping centre could not be called anything other than terrorism. People in shopping centres going about their business are not what adversaries could describe as strategic sites. I add my words of abhorrence to what can only be described as an act of terror.

Finally, although nobody brought it up today, on behalf of this House but definitely on my own behalf, I thank Mr. Paul Reid, chairperson and CEO of the HSE, for his three and a half years' service, which probably felt like ten years, God love him, and the amount of work and effort he put into running the HSE. He looked after us as a country and made sure the services that needed to be available were available and stood over one of the world-class deliveries of a vaccine, which has kept us mostly safe in this country. I thank him for his public service. I really wish him well. He has seen very little of his beautiful family and his two new grandchildren over the last number of years. I thank him for his service and wish him every happiness in whatever he chooses to do.