Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. I must say you are looking well after your trip. I hope you enjoyed the weekend. I am one who very much believes that we get great mileage out of St. Patrick's Day across the world. I know some people have a different view, but we really get huge publicity across the world, and I think our Ministers and various leaders, including the Cathaoirleach, sell Ireland well across the world. If one takes the overall benefit from that in terms of tourism, business and so on, it is not a huge cost. I support the Order of Business outlined by the Deputy Leader.

It is great to see people back here. I want to start with last night's "Prime Time" programme and the excellent report by Conor McMorrow on the type of abuse faced by another set of front-line workers, that is, people in the retail trade. I do not know how many Senators saw that programme last night, but it was utterly shocking and deplorable. While we accept it is a minority of people, it is too bad that it is happening. On a number of occasions, I and others in the Seanad have spoken very strongly about all of our front-line workers, whether it is gardaí or health workers. Here we have another sector. Shopkeepers and retailers feel they have to speak out about the way they and their staff are being abused, attacked and threatened. There was one story about a person in a shop who was threatened with being stabbed with a needle outside the shop when somebody was shoplifting from it.

This brings us back to the word "respect", and respect for people, whatever one's differences are with them. I said before in the Seanad that we need to revisit that word. I ask the Deputy Leader, as I did previously when the Leader was here, to look at the possibility of holding a debate with our leaders, the Taoiseach, Deputy Leo Varadkar, the Tánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin, and the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and redefine this whole area of what respect is. The word "respect" is slowly but surely being dragged out of society. There can be wrongs on both sides, but there can be no excuse for the type of material we saw on "Prime Time" on which Conor McMorrow and his team did such a good job.

We, as leaders, must take this further. We can all talk about it. I am talking about it a lot here, but we need to do something. I hope all Senators agree. This is not in any way divisive. Everybody in this Chamber would abhor what is being done to front-line workers. Perhaps it is something the Deputy Leader would at least look at to see what benefit there could be by having a debate with our Taoiseach, Tánaiste and the Minister for Transport, even if it is only an hour long debate to highlight the issue. Let everybody sing from the one hymn sheet with regard to stamping this out, and bringing the word "respect" back for all people.

I would like to welcome the new Government scheme announced by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Charlie McConalogue, yesterday, namely, the €260 million suckler carbon efficiency programme, SCEP. This new scheme will see farmers receive a payment of €150 for the first 22 cows, and €120 for subsequent cows. The Minister, Deputy McConalogue, might come in to address all of those schemes which are available to rural and farming communities. This scheme is to be very much welcomed.