Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is always an honour to share the Chamber with Senator Norris.

I want to start by supporting the Order of Business as outlined. I also welcome the more than €400 million funding announced for the new Athy food drinks and skills innovation hub, which will located in the old model school in Athy. It will be a start-of-the-art hub in which to base food and innovation collaborations. The hub will house food production units for food entrepreneurs, and provide culinary and hospitality programmes. The initiative will prove very significant for County Kildare and the wider region. The announcement is really good news.

I wish to follow on from what has been said by Senator Norris. I welcome the important announcement by the Government that it has launched a public consultation on a scheme to disregard historic convictions of gay and bisexual men. The survey will run until 9 December. I encourage any of the people impacted, their families, their loved ones and the wider LGBT community to engage with the consultation in order that we can be mindful of their unique perspectives as we move forward. The scheme is really important in terms of disregarding convictions for consensual sexual activity between men prior to decriminalisation in 1993. As it is obviously very wrong that these archaic convictions can still impact negatively on people's lives, it is important that our voices are heard concerning this matter.

I want to mention the judgment that came out yesterday concerning the young girl with Down's syndrome who was left outside of her classroom for long periods. Basically, she only spent 40 minutes in her classroom and her special needs assistant, SNA, effectively became her teacher. It is a very sad situation. I admire her parents for having the courage to take the case. It is an important case because it shows there are still issues with ensuring there is proper inclusion within schools. We must be mindful of how we support schools and teachers when they cater for children with additional needs and special needs. There was no mention of the special educational needs organiser, SENO, in terms of this matter. It is important to be able to say to teachers and schools in situations like this that they must seek help and support. It is not a sign of weakness to look for extra support. It is a sign of weakness not to say that a child or school needs support. Obviously it was a very upsetting situation for the young girl and her sister, who attends the same school. It is important that we take note of this case and ensure that such a situation never happens again.

Finally, I propose that No. 15 be taken before No. 1.