Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----in circumstances where Members may need the grant but may choose not to avail of it. I ask the commission to re-examine that. The grant should be made available up to a certain amount. If someone wants to go above that amount, that will be absolutely fine. Many Members will not avail of the grant in any event. We should not deter people from availing of it, however, especially when one considers of grant all the talk we have had about the security of Members in recent months. Let us not fall at the final hurdle.

The call regarding the security of councillors was supported by Senators Carrigy and Keogan. Senator Keogan recounted her own difficulties as a councillor when she experienced an attack. She is right that it is not just limited to just us in these Houses. All public representatives face the same challenges. Many citizens do not distinguish between councillors, Senators or Deputies. We are all public representatives and they treat us the same. Many of us have served in different Houses or at local authority level. We know the representatives come in the same as they do, no matter what role you have in your community.

Senator Dolan spoke about the refugee crisis. I agree that it is verging on being an emergency. What the Senator cited could be interpreted differently, and I am not sure that the Government have taken that approach on it. However, significant attention and resources have been put into dealing with this issue. It is with regret that we saw the scenes that played out on Pearse Street and Sandwith Street and in Clare. However, we have to be careful not to vilify those communities, particularly in Clare where, in fairness, the Department did give assurances that there would be consultation in advance. That did not happen. When you do not do what you say you are going to do, there will be challenges. This is not the first community to raise concerns and it will not be the last. Let us not tell them how to think. Given that the Minister will be meeting with local representatives in the area today and that the community will be involved, I am of the view that we should give them the time and space to deal with that locally as opposed to all of us on the sidelines and from far afield chiming in and telling them how they should run their own area. I am sure a resolution will be found. I also want to acknowledge that it is very difficult for any person who is coming here from a war-torn country or whatever to seek refuge. The Senator made a very valid point about Army barracks. I am sure that matter has been explored but I will raise it with the Minister.

We must bear in mind that we also have an accommodation shortage for certain personnel, which was an issue that was raised this week. We are trying to provide accommodation for members of the Defence Forces. We do not want the two issues to clash. We need to house Defence Forces personnel who are on duty or who are on training courses. The idea of pitching tents in secure areas should certainly be examined because there is plenty of space in some barracks. We do need to bear in mind as well that they are working barracks, that people work there and they are using those facilities. There are some barracks across the country, such as in my own town, where the buildings are not safe to inhabit. People put into such buildings would be in danger. The accommodation also needs to be appropriate when we are housing people. Certainly, anything is better than a tent in an alleyway in the city centre, particularly as, unfortunately, the person in that tent is vulnerable.

Senator Martin spoke about the UVF and John Crawford. He made a very important point about reconciliation, understanding and getting to the truth. Without that, we will not have peace. It is important that we always remember that while the passage of time can make memories fade, those memories do not fade for those who have been victims of those crimes. It is important that they continue to have our support in trying to get to the bottom of those issues and to get the truth.

Senators Joe O'Reilly and Seery Kearney spoke about the 49th anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. Senator O'Reilly made a point about families needing to get the truth and access to justice. He spoke about meetings he, along with Senator Currie, has had with families of the disappeared.

Senator Gavan spoke about the British legislation. There has been a lot of cross-party work on that issue. It is one of the few issues on the island on which every single politician is in agreement. It is rare that you will find that. On numerous occasions in this House, we have condemned the legislation that is moving through the British process, which sets out to not allow prosecutions to take place where they should be taking place and wiping off any sort of legacy issues. We do not agree with that in this House and it is great to see that the issue is being raised at a Council of Europe level on a cross-party basis. Any platform or opportunity we have to raise those issues, we should use to make our voices heard. I think the message has been received, and I would be hopeful that the legislation in question will not be finalised. However, it is something we have to keep working together on.

I take on board the Senator's points regarding Palestine. It is an issue that the Senator and others from various parties have raised many times. There are challenges there. The Minister obviously feels the nine-month pause to further examine the impact of the legislation on our own country. It is a relatively short period of time in terms of the legislative process, as we all know, but I appreciate the points the Senator has made in that it can seem like a long period when looking from the outside in.

Senators Hoey, Malcolm Byrne and Seery Kearney spoke about the scenes that Senator Keogan identified as having taken place in Navan. It was an awful video to see. It really was. That poor child. I can only hope that the school is taking the matter extremely seriously. My heart goes out to his parents, community, family and friends. It was a horrible scene to witness. Thankfully, these occurrences are rare enough, but this does not mean that it is not still an issue. We have come a long way in this country. The country has become unrecognisable to what it was over the past two decades. However, that is a horrible scene to have witnessed. Certainly, discipline and repercussions for those involved are hugely important. I wish the child well and I hope he is okay.

Senator Malcolm Byrne spoke about support for the arts and he made a very interesting suggestion that there should be a capital programme for arts projects across the country. This is a really good suggestion, and it was supported by Senator Carrigy. I believe it was raised at the Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht as well. He also acknowledged the success of two schools, one of which is in Gorey and the other is in Enniscorthy, in the Young Social Innovators competition. Senator Carrigy spoke about a school in Longford as well. I wish the students there well.

Senator Boyhan spoke about the report from the Ombudsman for Children's Office, which made for very bleak reading. I take on board the Senator's comments in relation to child homelessness. He spoke about the child poverty unit in the Department of the Taoiseach. A request has already gone to the Taoiseach to come before the House to discuss that matter. It may well be towards the end of year. If we can get him before the summer recess, that would be great. However, it may be September by the time we see him.It would be good to hear from the Taoiseach about the work that unit is doing, particularly around child homelessness and child poverty.

Senator Seery Kearney spoke about the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, and the need for justice and truth. She spoke about working on social media and the impact that can have in relation to the attack on that child in school.

Senator Flynn asked for the Department of Justice to come forward and show leadership in terms of the issues surrounding the refugee crisis. She has asked if there is any support available between the Department of Justice and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. Obviously, there is collective Cabinet responsibility and all Ministers work together on a collective basis. Integration is a particularly challenging brief, but I think the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, has got the support of his Cabinet colleagues in doing that very important work.

Senator Keogan requested a debate on local government. I will get that request sent in to the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, who has responsibility for that in the Department. We will try to get the Minister of State into the Chamber at the earliest opportunity.

Senator Lombard spoke about a localised issue in Bandon. I might suggest that he submits a Commencement matter on the issue. He has asked that the Minister for Transport visit all constituencies. I am not sure it is feasible for every Cabinet Minister to visit every constituency, but I know that Ministers make an effort to get around the country, bearing in mind the workload they have to address and do.

Senator Murphy spoke about the Garda in Roscommon and the work that has been done in protecting vulnerable people against fake tradespeople who are trying to pull a fast one. He briefly mentioned, in a more general sense, how gardaí are serving the community and doing fantastic work. Then we see stories of gardaí being prosecuted for certain things. I think Senator Murphy's reaction to that is shared by many people across the board. We are trying to attract people into the force. Those types of stories do not do that particular job of work any service. The Senator also remarked that we are turning the corner in terms of housing. There has been significant investment and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage is doing his very best and working very hard to get the numbers in the right direction.

Senator Conway alerted Members to his briefing this afternoon with former Senator Maurice Manning on hemochromatosis, which I believe it is at 3 p.m. in the audiovisual room. He has urged Members to attend or to send a staff member to the briefing. He welcomed Niamh Kilcawley to the Visitors Gallery. She is very welcome. I commend her on her advocacy work for students like herself and others. It makes a big difference and it is always fantastic for us, as Members, to hear about the work and the direct experiences of people with those types of issues.