Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach. We started this morning with Senator Murphy, who quite rightly complimented all the ushers on how they deal with our school tours and all of the visitors who come to this House. This is the Parliament of the people. It is wonderful when everybody acknowledges when we have schools in. We have had four groups in already this morning. I thank Senator Murphy for reminding us to thank those who facilitate that. It is very important.

Senator Murphy also spoke about the sad loss of Christy Dignam. We all share in that. I was listening to recorded interviews with Christy on the radio this morning. It would bring a tear to anybody's eye. He spoke of his love for his family, his love for his wife Kathryn, his daughter, Kiera, and his three grandchildren, Cian, Jake and Ava. We extend our full sympathies to them.

The very first time I saw Christy playing was at the Kildare Derby Festival. I was about 21 years old. I will never forget the energy he showed on stage. He was just wonderful. In the week that my father was diagnosed with lung cancer, Christy was diagnosed with lung cancer. That was just over ten years ago and I have sadly since lost my dad. But every time I saw or heard Christy, I thought "You are beating this". It meant something very personal to me. He lived so much life in those 63 years. Senator Murphy outlined Christy's struggles with addiction, about which he himself was open. We have all learned so much from him and I extend our deepest sympathy to his family and his friends.

Senator McGahon spoke about the vacant property scheme and the grants.I assume he is talking about the Croí Cónaithe scheme. He spoke about an anomaly whereby one bank has not passed on the proper communications to branches regarding the first call on a mortgage and the dichotomy between banks and councils. He acknowledged that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has fixed this problem. It is a pity he did not mention the bank because I would rather call out a bank that is not giving the correct information to branches. There seems to be poor communication, despite the fact the Minister has fixed this. The Senator sought an assurance that the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has given a clear indication of the position. I will ask the Minister for the information. I have no doubt that has happened.

Senator Clonan spoke about Christy being from Finglas and other relevant and notable musicians from the area. His key issue was the Ombudsman report on deficiencies for disabled drivers. That was brought up late in the day. We should look for a debate on this. It falls between the Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities and the Minister for Transport, as indeed so many things do. I will have a meeting with both later about a different issue because it falls between two stools. We will certainly look for that.

Senator Gavan spoke about the situation in Turkey, a country that still aspires to become a member of the EU. The way it treats its prisoners is absolutely shocking. Academics, journalists and peaceful people who call out the bad things that are happening under the regime are deemed as terrorists and put into jail with no parole, hope of early release or family visits. It is really wrong. He also spoke about the release of Julian Assange. Across Europe we are, sadly, seeing situations whereby people are being put into jail for no apparent reason. This may be something we can have a debate about further down the line.

Senator Hoey spoke about the shocking situation with Tara Mines. Our first thoughts have to be with the families of those impacted. Senator Cassells had a Commencement Matter earlier on this. I understand from what I hear that the Government is working very closely with the management of Tara Mines. We should ask for a briefing, something which was echoed by other Senators. We do not need to have a debate, but there should be an opportunity for the Ministers, Deputies Coveney and Humphreys, in particular, to come before the House. We should look for a briefing tomorrow, if we can. It is certainly something we will request. Apart from the 650 people employed by the mine, many businesses are connected to it and rely on the business they have been given from it. It is crucially important for the people of Meath and the surrounding areas, as Senator O'Reilly mentioned. Councillor Paddy Meade was very busy on the phones this morning. He contacted me. Fair play to him.