Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach and all Members who contributed to the Order of Business today.

Senator Crowe kicked off this afternoon's proceedings by requesting a debate on antisocial behaviour, particularly in Eyre Square, and by highlighting the apparently different treatment between the capital and other urban areas. I agree with his remarks in that regard. A debate has been scheduled with the Minister, Deputy McEntee, on public order and safe streets for Wednesday, 23 November. I note that Senator Fitzpatrick requested a similar debate on antisocial behaviour. We will have that with the Minister in the latter part of November, which is great.

Senator Buttimer asked for a debate on special education, particularly home school liaison officers, with the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan. That request has been sent to the Minister of State. He also welcomed the pay increases for staff of the Oireachtas, which we all welcome. I know that a number of secretarial assistants in this House worked very hard on that campaign over a number of years to get not just the pay increase but also a change in their title and acknowledgement of the actual work they do. The change in role and duties is important as well.

Senator Clonan spoke about cancer care and particular drugs available in other jurisdictions that are not available here. He requested a debate on the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics. I suggest that a Commencement matter might be more appropriate, to start off with, regarding the specific question of why it takes two years here as opposed to one year somewhere else. He might see how that one goes. We can look for a further more in-depth debate if that is not successful.

Senator Hackett spoke about two new schemes that have been launched by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine along with the Minister, Deputy McConalogue: the agri climate rural environment scheme and the organic farming scheme. She made the point that while some people are being negative about these schemes, from her perspective they reflect the way things are going. It is just about how quickly we get there, not if we get there.

Senator Ó Donnghaile spoke about the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly gathering in Cavan and commended all Members who were involved in what looks like a successful event. He also made comments in regard to the Northern Ireland protocol in the context of what is happening in the UK and the change of Prime Minister. We will be watching closely to see what happens in that space. He also welcomed the fact that the BBC will now provide coverage of certain GAA championship games. That is welcome.

Senator Hoey spoke about her recent visit to Iceland with the WorkEqual group. It was interesting to hear that they look at it from the perspective of the right of the child as opposed to getting a parent back to work. I am not sure we have got the balance right in this country in many respects because it is difficult to be a parent and to work. Parents are going back to work sooner than they would like. The current approach does not work for families. It puts a lot of pressure on families, marriages, relationships and children. Households are very stressed. While I am not sure about the mandatory aspects of it, the question of more leave for parents merits discussion. At the outset, providing or offering more leave to parents would be a welcome start in that direction. Society as a whole would benefit because children would have a less stressful environment rather than people coming and racing, day and night.

Senator Hoey also spoke about the prospect of 30% of taxes going to local government. She clarified that in Iceland, local government does a good deal more and has responsibility for education and other areas. It would be interesting to debate whether we should have more devolved local government or keep things more centralised. There are always different views on that. I would favour more devolved government. We have had much tinkering around with local government in recent years, some of it successful and some not so successful.

Senator Davitt spoke about Ukrainian refugees and criticised some of the negative commentary about the State’s response. I agree with him. There is no doubt that we face challenges. Countries such as the Czech Republic were mentioned. Countries closer to Ukraine clearly have taken in more refugees simply by virtue of their geographic location. A country like ours, which is further away, is taking in more than many other countries per head of population. We are a destination that Ukrainian refugees are coming to because we are hospitable, we have been welcoming and we are doing a very good job in providing a safe place to be. We have 12,000 Ukrainian children in our schools and between 42,000 and 45,000 Ukrainians are in State accommodation. That is a success story. That is not a negative story; it is success. We need to acknowledge that because there are people, particularly in the public service and the Civil Service, who have been working around the clock to put it in place. My own local authority in Mayo meets on a weekly basis as a crisis management team to address the situation and deal with the people who are coming in every week. For those people working on the front lines here, it is a question of the State’s response in a wartime situation. This is not something we could plan for. We did not foresee it. We have not had war in Europe since 1945. It is worth acknowledging that all in all, we are doing a pretty good job considering what we have had to deal with. Less of the negative commentary would be welcome. I note that some of the commentary, such as the contention that we are housing Ukrainian refugees but cannot manage to house our own people, is divisive and dangerous. We need to call it out when we see it because it is not a question of us versus them. We are all in this together. Every member state is struggling with the pressures of this and it is not going away any time soon. It is incumbent on us as public representatives to show leadership and be responsible in our commentary.

Senator Ward spoke about Belarus and the gentlemen he has adopted, which is his own term. Some of those with whom the Senator is working have been imprisoned for very minor matters. We could hardly even call them offences. He said that the regime needs to be consistently called out for what it is.

Senator Boyhan spoke about balanced regional development. He referred to the West on Track regional development conference that I attended, along with Senator Crowe and others, at the weekend. There was a big focus at the conference on the reopening of the western rail corridor, WRC.

Senator Malcolm Byrne mentioned the all-island strategic rail review. A debate request has been submitted in that regard. We hope to have that debate when the report is published, which is imminent. We will wait to see what the comments are in regard to the WRC but I agree with many colleagues that it is not a matter of if it opens, because it will open. We are determined to get that rail line open not just for freight but for passengers as well.

Senators Malcolm Byrne and Maria Byrne spoke about the regional uplift scheme. It might be worth a Commencement matter at the outset to see if there are plans to extend it or replace it with something else. However we can certainly request a full debate on that issue after the recess at the start of November.

Senator Maria Byrne spoke about Pathfinder being initiated in University Hospital Limerick. It was a pilot in Dublin, but it is now being rolled out to Limerick and Waterford. This sounds like a fantastic scheme whereby older people are treated in their homes as well as possible which avoids those over 65 years of age having to come into hospital. She also spoke about the nightlife economy scheme and the fact that it is being extended to Limerick.

Senator Gavan spoke about the numbers at University Hospital Limerick. I know there has been an ongoing problem in the hospital. It seems that there has been more of a focus on this hospital than any other hospital in the country from elected Members across all parties. The Minister has responded by having meetings there and setting up a task force. Additional beds are coming in. There are challenges in the health service, but I would caution against creating an expectation that it is fixable overnight. Other parties have created an expectation, if they are ever in a position to deliver.