Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----particularly given that one of Sinn Féin's leading Members, Deputy Ó Broin, has unashamedly called Sinn Féin a populist party. Those are his words not mine. Anyway, I thank Senator Gavan for his good wishes.

The Defence Forces were brought up by Senator Conway who was also looking for clarity on CLÁR funding. He is looking for a debate in September on the ongoing ill effects of Covid. I will certainly organise that.

The sentiments Senator Mullen raised are incredibly worthy not just of a debate but also of a political and policy response. I do not know how to organise that for him, but I will certainly organise a debate with the Minister in September as soon as we come back. I thank him for raising that matter.

Senator Ahearn also spoke about the numerous towns in Tipperary that he represents very ably. He is looking for further funding for a second scheme for community halls. The scheme has been oversubscribed and received a welcome around the country. He is also looking for update from the Minister on when decisions will be made on CLÁR applications. I will try to organise that today.

Week in and week out Senator Craughwell - along with others to a lesser extent - speaks about his pride in the Defence Forces and provides great advocacy on their behalf. While I have not seen the memo yet, it must be a really good memo for the Senator to stand up here and welcome it. It is a really good day for members of the Defence Forces for him to talk so positively about it. I thank him for being so generous in providing such a positive reaction. Other colleagues also welcomed it. To be fair to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, an enormous body of work has been done in a relatively short period, but it was probably a long time coming. I am really glad that the Defence Forces are receiving the news that they are. Obviously, and as Senator Craughwell pointed out, the work is not all done.

Senator Seery Kearney mentioned the report about CARI on our airwaves this morning. We have had this conversation before. I had to ring CARI on Monday on behalf of somebody. I did not know at that point that the organisation would feature on the radio this morning. The lady who answered the phone told me that the shortest wait time for a child who was sexually abused, either recently or in the past, and is still traumatised by it is two years.CARI is the only agency that is providing trauma and therapy services to our children in respect of an issue that has not gone away. There is somehow a perception in Ireland that child sexual abuse is something that used to happen years ago when we were all young and that it was hidden under the table. By Jove, it is certainly hidden under the table today and I am calling on the Minister not just to double CARI's funding - the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, did make an increase in its funding last year - but it should be quadrupled this year.