Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I would also like to be associated with the remarks expressing our sympathies to the people in Creeslough and the wider Donegal community. We thank those from north and south of the Border who rushed to try to help on Friday.

I raise the matter of Garda numbers. I very much welcome that up to 1,000 extra Garda recruits have been sanctioned by the Government. However, we should look at making greater use of retired members of the force and possibly encourage them to take part in the Garda Reserve by doing a number of hours in Garda station offices and so on. This is something Councillor Mannix Flynn on Dublin City Council has raised on a number of occasions. We are missing out on the valuable resources many of our retired gardaí could give to the reserve.

Like Senator Wall, I wish our women's soccer team well. I am glad the FIFA Women's World Cup will be held in locations that respect human rights. There is a major concern about the fact the men's World Cup will take place in Qatar where there continues to be evidence of abuse of migrant workers, including wage abuse. There is evidence more than 50 labourers died there in 2021. Homophobia is rife in a country where it remains on the statute book that if you engage in same-sex sexual activity, the penalties could include death. As for the treatment of women there, a woman in Qatar must obtain the permission of her male guardian if she wishes to marry, work in certain jobs, travel or study abroad or indeed be the primary carer for a child, even in the case of divorce. I express the concern of this House about the FIFA World Cup or any international sporting event being held in a country where human rights are abused.I would hope that every Member of this House, if they are travelling to any of these countries, would raise human rights abuses and certainly should not praise the regime in these countries or try to minimise the deaths of migrant labourers. We need to send a very strong message. This House and this country have always stood strongly for human rights and their protection in all locations in the world. I believe every Member should reflect that concern.