Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In response to Senator Dolan, it is a really exciting time when one gets such wonderful new educational institutions such as our technological universities. It will be wonderful to watch them grow and develop from their inception. It is really exciting for the areas that have them so I thank the Senator for raising that issue and for acknowledging the €1,000 rebate that will be returned to students, or indeed their mammies and daddies who have paid their fees over the past couple of months. It will be very welcome.

Senator Maria Byrne spoke about Castleconnell post office, as did Senator Gavan. I am not sure if it is of any benefit to either Senator if I contact the CEO of An Post but surely to God there must be somebody we can put in until we find somebody who will take over the post office. I am assuming, although I do not know for sure, that somebody is retiring and they cannot find anybody else to take over the business. There must be some interim arrangements that can be put in place for the 2,500 people referred to by Senators Gavan and Maria Byrne. I will certainly make contact with the CEO and come back to the Senators.

Senator Maria Byrne also spoke about the very welcome announcement of the four hospices being redesignated from section 39 to section 38 organisations, which is very welcome. Senators Davitt and Gavan both looked for a debate on housing. While the eviction ban is very welcome for most people, I acknowledge their concerns about landlords. We need to protect people. The story on RTÉ last night about the family living in a tent is not acceptable in this day and age. There have been challenges regarding accommodation and building houses in the past number of years.It is certainly not acceptable that two young children with autism and their parents are living in a car and a tent. Nevertheless, we need to recognise that the more actions we take to discourage landlords from being in the business, the more that will result in people not having anywhere to rent, given that the State is not building the houses it needs to build in order to provide for those people. It will be a welcome debate. I will organise it as soon as the Minister is available to us.

Senator Fitzpatrick asked that I write to the Minister with regard to the three statutory consultations, which probably are a bit of an overload for the residents in the same area, even though we are all trying to improve the services of public transport for them, and I will certainly do that.

Senator Malcolm Byrne asked for a debate on research grants and the establishment of proper funding for PhD students and research candidates, which I will certainly organise. He also touched on a global crisis that is not spoken about as much as other crises, namely, that in Venezuela, and spoke about attempting, through the UN and the EU, to restore democracy and look after the 7 million citizens who have been displaced over the past year or so.

Senator Conway spoke about the delay in getting the junior certificate results. I have a little lady at home who is waiting, like all the other young ladies and lads in school, and it seems to be an unacceptable delay. It certainly highlights the fact that there are not enough teachers to correct the papers, so we have to find the root of that problem and fix it.

Senator Keogan raised the welcome announcement that the fruits of the seizure of criminal assets will be redistributed to communities that have been most blighted by crime. The announcement of the first €2 million was made this week and Balbriggan was lucky enough to score €150,000. There was another announcement for Meath and there have been more for various places almost throughout the country. I was flabbergasted to hear that we have to keep assets for six years before we can dispose of them and realise the cash. That does not make sense. I will certainly make inquiries, although it may require a tweak in legislation. I would have thought that if we saw something and had the authority to seize it, we would not sit around for six years waiting to realise the value of the money, but I will revert to the Senator on that.

Senator Ardagh proposed an amendment to the Order of Business, which Senator Gavan seconded, and I am pleased to accept it. I look forward to scheduling her Bill, as soon as I can, for a Thursday afternoon in order to try to get it progressed insofar as we can between now and Christmas.

Senator Flynn sought a debate on direct provision. Every time she does so, I do ask about it but I have not yet been given a date. I will ask again today and remind the Minister with responsibility. I am concerned about the recent announcement that people in direct provision are being asked to pay for accommodation. It is not acceptable that just because we have awarded them citizenship or remain to leave but they do not have anywhere else to go, we would then decide to charge them for what is substandard accommodation, so I support the Senator on that.

Senator Ó Donnghaile welcomed the ban on evictions and raised both his party’s motion that is to be taken in the Lower House tonight and the public tender for artists in respect of life-size statues. I laughed when he spoke about Winifred Carney because not only was she an original Sinn Féin member but she was also a Fine Gaeler and then a Fianna Fáiler before she got out of politics. She was definitely a difficult woman who did not let any man push her around, which is very welcome, so I acknowledge that.

Senator Pauline O'Reilly the menopause experience, how good it is to talk about it, how often we have been talking about it and how welcome the major changes of the past year have been.

Senator Craughwell spoke about the SAR tenders, while Senator Kyne spoke about the ring road in Galway and the fact we are now back to the drawing board.

Senator Sherlock spoke about the injunction on the security industry, an issue she has raised a number of times.

Senator Chambers spoke not only about the welcome additions to the menopause clinics - we are now on the fourth one - but also about the worrying trend emerging in Iran of the disgusting treatment of women. We really need to follow up with the Minister for Foreign Affairs to find out where that young woman is and ensure she is safe.