Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach and my colleagues for their contributions. It is lovely to see a large multinational being ethically responsible to their own communities; we all know we rely on them for jobs, investment and corporation tax, among others. The most impressive thing Senator Maria Byrne said this morning was about employees going out and working in the communities. That is wonderful. It is inspirational. I congratulate Regeneron, particularly their management and all of their staff for what they are doing for the Senator's neck of the woods.

Senator Byrne also said this morning that Linda Ledger is the most inspirational woman in Ireland and I can attest to that. I have seen the work she does and the impact she has on the Senator's community. The Senator is correct; if we had a Linda Ledger in every community in Ireland, we would be doing well. I congratulate her.

Senator Ahearn spoke about the millions of euro announced by the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, this morning on behalf of the Government with regard to rural development. Sometimes the cynics around us talk about the fact that rural Ireland is lacking, yet when I go around the country, as I am sure most of us do, all I see are vibrant communities that are both working for themselves and being supported by the State. Today's announcement is no less. I tip my hat to the Senator on the €30 million for County Tipperary; his county did well today. I congratulate the teams involved in Roscrea and Cahir. I join the Senator in congratulating Mark Fitzgerald in particular. His tenacity on this project has astonished most of us. He was like a dog with a bone and was not letting go despite the opposition of people who will now take credit for the announcement this morning. I wish him particularly well and congratulate him on his success. I hope it continues. I congratulate all of the communities that got announcements this morning. It is well deserved and needed in most cases.

Senator Currie asked for a debate on public transport. We had the various actors in before the Oireachtas transport committee this week. The issues highlighted included a lack of drivers, which is having a knock-on effect of no buses or full buses, no-shows or late-shows. Perhaps colleagues heard testimony from a female driver who is giving up the job because it is just not safe and she does not feel safe any more due to the amount of intimidation from passengers. If one looks at the whole circle, I wonder why we have such resistance to transport police because it would make the job safer and therefore more attractive, meaning that we might get more drivers and fewer no-shows. We need a debate on it, so I will try to organise that as soon as I can.

Senator Keogan brought up COP27 and statements that have been made highlighting some of the inadequacies of states' responses, including our own. She has asked for a debate regarding the effectiveness of the EPA and whether it needs more teeth, to use her phrase. I will organise that as soon as I can.

Senator Buttimer requested a debate on the future of An Garda Síochána. It is an eerie fact that we have more members of the Garda not only qualifying for retirement but taking it earlier than they need to than we are recruiting at the moment. That tells me there is something wrong with the recruitment process. It cannot just be that it is not necessarily an attractive career, as has been said by the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors. There has to be more to it and we need to dig deeper. The most funding ever has been allocated to An Garda Síochána, yet reports back have shown that we have the least visibility on our streets and in our towns and villages. That does not add up. We will try to get a debate with the Minister for Justice sooner rather than later.

Senator Malcolm Byrne spoke in support of Senator Gavan's query as to what the problem is regarding the remaining people who served us so well, and continue to do so, under enormous stress during Covid-19. It is bizarre. I know from his perspective he blames the Government and that is fine but given that the money has been allocated, there is a blockage in the middle to getting it into people's pockets. I do not understand what it is. I will write, as I have been asked today, to the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. We need somebody to come in to the Seanad to explain to us and, more importantly, to the people who were here yesterday why they are still waiting. We have all nearly put Covid-19 behind us and they are still waiting to be respected, as the Senator said. Senator Malcolm Byrne also said that he finds it frustrating that some of our private hospitals are not paying their nurses. I heard our former colleague Jim Daly on the radio last week; as he said, nurses are nurses regardless of where they work. If we accept that they went over and above what they would normally do, which is an enormous role in itself, then they should all be treated exactly the same. I will look into that further.

Senator Black spoke about seeking a sub-regional area for our islands based on presentations she heard yesterday. It is strange that the European Union is ahead of us in recognising the value of what the Senator saw on her trip last week. I will look for a debate and raise it with the Minister and come back to her.

Senator Wall spoke about front-line workers, as it was the Labour Party who brought them in this week. He welcomed the Athy training and innovation hub and the investment in his home town that has been a long time coming; it started when he was on the council there. I congratulate Athy. More seriously, he also spoke about the lack of GPs in County Kildare and is looking for a debate on that, which I will seek.

Senator Gavan spoke about front-line workers and the €1,000 pandemic bonus. The sinister thing the Senator said was about the eligibility criteria, which gives the impression that someone might not make the cut. That is not good enough. I will write and come back to him about that later today.

He also mentioned Flora Crowe. My colleague, Deputy Carey, brought that up at our parliamentary party meeting last night. The figure of €20,000 is off the clock; nobody can afford it. The Finance Bill will probably be the area where we debate this scheme. It will be with us, I hope, the week after next. It is a great scheme and it will make an impact. The 40% as suggested is a threshold we have to adhere to because of the European Union's new rules. What is not a rule is the date on which it starts. All of these businesses are suffering today and as for when we are going to start the scheme, I know we have an issue with retrospectivity in Ireland but we need to recognise that these people are in trouble now. I will bring that back and come back to the Senator with the date of the Finance Bill as soon as I can.

Senator Craughwell spoke about the Defence Forces and an article yesterday that raised some of the concerns he has been raising frequently over the last few months. He is looking for a debate. He is particularly aggrieved about a medal allocation, which I will take up with the Minister because what he said this morning does not seem to make sense.

Senator Kyne sought a debate on our capital programme spending in health. He highlighted what is, from their perspective, a very welcome cohesive plan for Saolta University Health Care Group and an investment of over €100 million in the provision of services in Galway. I wish we could have it in every region, if it was that easy. He is looking for a debate on the capital programme, which I will organise.

Senator O'Loughlin spoke about the €4 million funding in Athy. What is wonderful about it is that there are food entrepreneurs and hospitality involved. Some 150 young people locally will get the opportunity to train and work locally with experts. I wish them all well.

The disregard for historic convictions was not something I was aware of and it is something we should be screaming from the rooftops about. Our opening speaker, Senator Norris spoke today, as he has done for many years, about equality and rights for our gay community. He highlighted the provocative sermon recently by Fr. Sheehy, but also more importantly the restrictions around freedom of movement in Qatar in what should be one of the most celebrated sports events internationally, but which has restrictions on it immediately, even before a whistle is blown. The two things are directly related. It is wonderful to see Senator Norris here today still advocating for his community. We should all be advocating for this community because it is our community. It is our brothers, friends, sisters, cousins; it is everybody, it is us. If we stand by and allow any form of discrimination or even provocation, as was put upon us by Fr. Sheehy, it is not acceptable and is not tolerable. We need to call it out and say that it is not acceptable. I will do my best to highlight the survey. If we can all do the same and encourage everybody to make submissions, it will have a fruitful outcome. I wish Senator Norris continued good health. It is lovely to see him here today.