Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators for their contributions on a wide variety of topics.

I will start with Senator Conway and his special guest, Ms Aimee Foley, who attended in the Visitors Gallery. Aimee is a very brave young woman who waived her anonymity in a case of rape and sexual assault by her father. Clearly, she is a victim who was wronged. She has suggested changes to the law that this House and the Minister need to take up. She is meeting the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, and other politicians at the moment. I acknowledge her bravery and support all that she is looking for.

Senators Murphy and Horkan congratulated the 67,000 junior certificate students, for whom today is a special day. It is important that people sit a State exam in advance of the leaving certificate. It is preparation for them. My cohort in 1988 were the last year of the old group certificate. There were also the intermediate certificate and the leaving certificate. There were three State exams in my day, so two should not be too big a problem. The junior certificate is good preparation for students.

Senator Murphy also called on the Department of Education to implement the models suggested by the Ombudsman for Children and the Oireachtas education committee as regards child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS. I support that request. The committee sent a delegation, including its Chair, Deputy Kehoe, to Dorset recently. It was a worthy investigation. I will ask the Minister for Education to attend the House to engage with us on the matter. I congratulate Ms Sharon Donoghue of Taghmaconnell, County Roscommon on becoming a patient advocacy and liaison service, PALS, co-ordinator, where she will help patients in, I presume, Portiuncula. Senator Craughwell talked about the tragic case of Caitríona Lucas, the wait for an inquest after six years and information regarding a lifejacket being faulty. Again, that is information that needs to be investigated if not already done so. Whatever information that the Senator has, I would suggest that he contacts the Health and Safety Authority and other bodies to ensure that the information is taken on board and investigated even in advance of an inquest.

Senator Craughwell talked about individuals arriving in this country without a passport. I agree with him that to board a flight to get into this country, one needs a passport. How then does a person suddenly arrive without a passport? That is an important and serious question. With electronics now, passenger details and lists, as well as copies of passports, should be forwarded to the authorities here in Ireland so that when people do arrive, they are known and can be validated.

Senator Ó Donnghaile talked about the human tissue bill being critical legislation and the importance of soft opt-outs. He sought an update on the legislation. I will ask the Leader's office to investigate what progress has been made. The Senator also talked about the shared island unit and the progress on the Narrow Water Bridge project and that tenders have been issued, which is very good and significant news.

Senator Wall commented on the progress concerning the number of schools to which additional accommodation has been granted or sanctioned or at least intimated as such. That is welcome news in the south Kildare area. Senator Wall also talked about the NCSE and how parents have found it difficult to get places for their children in schools. He called for a debate on the matter. As the issue is quite localised in the south Kildare area I suggest that he tables a Commencement matter. I will also mention the issue to the Minister of State at the Department of Education, Deputy Madigan. Senator Wall also mentioned the Life Saving Equipment Bill brought forward by Fianna Fáil. As far as I know, the Bill passed its Final Stage in this House but I will check to see where it is and whether it is going to the Dáil.

Senator Malcolm Byrne welcomed the students of Riverchapel National School. He also welcomed the Cabinet signing off on the legislation on young people vaping, either yesterday or today. Senator Marie Byrne tabled a Private Members' motion on this issue last week and we had a debate. As a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health, I am aware that the committee had a pre-legislative scrutiny meeting on this Bill a number of months ago. I look forward to the Bill being published and moving through the Houses.

Senator Marie Byrne mentioned the good news concerning the re-opening of the restored post office in Castleconnell. She welcomed the new pilot scheme in terms of ETBs, youth mental health services and the University of Limerick. That scheme is a positive step and feeds into the suggestion made by Senator Murphy that psychologists and counsellors should visit schools to engage with students and assess them.

Senator Lombard called for a debate on the National Transport Authority to be arranged with the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, in attendance, on changes to a bus stop which has resulted in discommoding people in Kinsale. The Senator said he was denied a meeting despite a huge increase in the level of staff. He said there has been a 284% increase in the level of staff in the NTA over the last number of years. I believe that it is important that the NTA engages with Oireachtas Members on issues that arise. Finally, the Senator has requested that the Minister comes to this Chamber to discuss the matter.

Senator Boylan asked for an update on the e-scooter legislation. I do not have it but I will try to come back with the information. The Senator commented on neutrality. There will be a larger debate on neutrality this evening. I think that while we are a neutral country, and there no doubt about that, most of us know the difference between right and wrong as well. Most of us know, for example, that the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia is wrong. There are different views on how we can assist and help the people from Ukraine, which is important as well.

Senator Paddy Burke talked about the huge shortage of teachers in the country. He called the Department of Education to engage on ways to retrain individuals. I think that is a good idea and would welcome the initiative. Today, a lot of Senators have mentioned shortages of staff. I do not think that such shortages are due to funding issues. I think that the shortages have been caused because we have almost full employment in this country. There is a shortage of mechanics for NCT centres. We also do not have enough bus drivers, taxi drivers and teachers. Staff shortages is a huge problem.

Senator Horkan raised issues concerning the late Dr. Brian Hillery and asked for tributes to be arranged. We can discuss the matter with the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight. I know that there are other Members, including Terry Brennan, who should be remembered in the course of the coming months.

Senator Buttimer asked for a debate on COP27 with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, who was the lead negotiator. I will certainly request that and I think there already has been a request for the Minister to attend here for a debate. The Senator also asked for the Minster to engage on the decision made by Transport Infrastructure Ireland to impose the maximum increase in the price of tolls.

Senator Dolan raised a very important bus service issue. As I said, whether it is school transport or other services, there are difficulties across the board in sourcing buses and drivers. I believe there is an appetite and a willingness to provide more services, more frequent buses and have greater capacity but there is literally a shortage of people. I will engage with the Minister for Transport on enhancing services in some parts of the country. Concerning my own area, I have engaged with, for example, Citylink and Bus Éireann and we have been told there is a shortage of people. Senator Dolan also acknowledged the changes in the rules to qualify for the fuel allowance. There will be an opportunity over the coming weeks, when the Social Welfare Bill comes before the House, to further engage with the Minister for Social Protection on the changes to the fuel allowance and, indeed, other measures that were outlined in budget 2023.

Senator McGahon raised interesting points about Daisy Hill Hospital located north of the Border. He called for greater co-operation between the Daisy Hill Hospital and other facilities in the Republic. I know that there are collaborative initiatives between Altnagelvin Area Hospital and Letterkenny University Hospital so a lot of patients, particularly patients from County Donegal, use the hospital facilities at Altnagelvin. Collaboration makes perfect sense but I am not sure what is the best approach to take. Perhaps, initially, a Commencement debate with the Minister might progress the matter or otherwise to engage. I certainly think that it is worthy of engagement.

Senator Mary Seery Kearney called for a debate on transport and BusConnects. I believe that BusConnects is grand until one tries to consult and engage about transport. We have seen that in Galway on a smaller scale in terms of closing down the road at the promenade and from Blackrock tower over to the road from Barna to Taylor's Hill Road. That initiative created ructions and was eventually overturned by councillors. A lot of projects look great on paper but once one tries to engage, one is taking away car parking spaces of private residents and all that sort of thing. Therefore, consultation is very difficult. I have seen that happen in both Galway and Limerick, and the Senator highlighted cases in Dublin. Finally, Senator Seery Kearney raised the issues of Irish Water and dealing with older infrastructure. She discussed a very challenging situation. I know that funding is routinely provided for the replacement of lead pipes, for example, and other pieces of infrastructure. There are also rolling programmes. Therefore, I do not see why projects like this one could not be funded at some stage to provide an alternative. It is not right to have shared services going through someone's private property and one generally has a feed into a main line rather than that. Certainly there needs to be a change and I do not think that the burden should be placed on homeowners. If the Senator tabled a Commencement matter or raised the issue directly with the relevant Minister and asked that person to engage on this issue specifically. I am not sure how many houses would be involved but I do think there should be funding provided.

I believe I have covered the range of topics that were raised earlier.