Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all Members who contributed to Order of Business today. Senator Cassells spoke this morning about the ongoing challenges for An Post workers who are awaiting a restoration of their pension. That is, I think, some 7,000 members. A letter will go from my office today to the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, asking for an update as to when that will be resolved.

Senator Paddy Burke spoke about planning, and the recent meeting with Mr. Niall Cussen. Senator Burke spoke about the new learnings from that meeting, and what can be done that maybe people are not fully aware of. He asked for a debate on that matter. Senator Victor Boyhan spoke about the same issue and of the work of the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which Mr. Cussen attended regularly. Senator Boyhan also notified the House that he intends to bring back his Bill to have a register of wills and restore No. 50 to the Order Paper, which is acknowledged.

Senator Frances Black spoke about the really horrific report, the Emily report, about the woman who was sexually abused and assaulted in State nursing home care. It was a horrifying report to have before us, and it certainly highlights significant failures in care of the elderly and vulnerable people. We seem to be doing a poor job with both children and senior citizens in vulnerable categories, in terms of protecting them. I can inform the House that the HSE has conducted a review of this. There has been assessment, and it has issued a full apology, as one would expect. Our thoughts, of course, are with the victim's family. The HSE is bringing in an external expert from another jurisdiction to go through the report and to deal with the recommendations. Change is coming, and I know Senator Black acknowledged the work of former Senator Colette Kelleher, who did a lot of work on this in the last term. I want to acknowledge that, and I take on board Senator Black's comments. There is a need for a mandatory reporting system, similar to what we have for issues that might affect children.

Senator Warfield asked about the night-time economy Bill. I do not have an update on the Bill at the moment, but I take on board his comment that the industry is facing particular challenges. It had kind of recovered from the pandemic period, but is now facing into extraordinarily high operating costs, and challenges with getting people in the workforce. It is another challenge to deal with, when it has really had very little time to recover from the previous one. It is a considerable pressure on it. The night-time economy is important for everybody, because lots of people are employed in that sector. It is important for our cities and towns.

Senator Hoey wished everybody a happy and safe Pride week, and acknowledged that not everybody in the community still feels safe in Ireland. That is really unfortunate, and we have to work towards changing that. We have come a long way, as has been acknowledged. Ireland is a completely different country, and I want to wish everybody a happy Pride week and to enjoy the celebrations tomorrow in particular, and over the weekend. The Pride parade in Dublin will be spectacular. I hope everyone has a great time, and a very safe time. I expect lots of colour and smiles. It is a great festivity to have.

Senator Fitzpatrick also wished everybody a very happy Pride, and she drew our attention to the ongoing issues with Dublin street cleaning, as did Senator Mary Seery Kearney. It has been well-publicised that the streets of Dublin are not looking as clean as they should be. I do not live in the city but I am here pretty much every week for work, and there are parts that leave a lot to be desired when compared to other European cities and the level of cleanliness. I am not taking away from the work being done by those who are employed, but perhaps staff resourcing is not where it needs to be. Anecdotally, there seems to be some parts of the city that are cleaner than others. There does not seem to be a uniform approach, but perhaps there is more footfall. I do not know. Certainly the north inner city needs work. It is not the same as parts of the south of the city, which seem to be a lot cleaner. People can take whatever they want from that. Where tourists are going, there is certainly going to be more footfall, waste and rubbish, so there needs to be an increased effort to have a clean city centre.

Senator Mary Seery Kearney asked for statements on the report we got this morning about the horrific situation with young girls in care and who appear to have been groomed and exploited by criminal gangs and others. These girls and young women are in the care of the State, and are already very vulnerable. They seem to have been identified by criminals for certain purposes. I would agree with the Senator's remarks that the standard is falling far below what we would expect from the State in caring for children, and I will request statements with the Minister at the earliest opportunity. As we are nearing the end of term and we have quite a lot of legislation to get through, it may be after the summer recess, but we will try to get those statements at the earliest possible opportunity.Senator McGahon spoke about the pre-budget stuff we are all getting and will be getting a lot of. The budget process has begun. The Ministers, Deputies McGrath and Donohoe, will be working on it and we will be getting requests in different areas. There is agreement that investment in education is investment in our country, our future and our children and young people. I take on board what the secondary school teachers are saying. There is a desire on the part of the Minister for Education to work towards lowering the pupil-teacher ratio so students can get extra time. That is important. I take on board the Senator's comments. The requests from Ms Matthews are reasonable. I have no doubt the Minister will give full consideration to requests coming from teachers.

Senator Maria Byrne acknowledged and welcomed the International Rugby Experience in Limerick, a fantastic addition to the city. Limerick has a fantastic rugby tradition. The first rugby match I ever attended was in Thomond Park and it was a great experience. I wish them well. I have no doubt it will give a boost to the city and surrounding region.

Senator Mullen spoke of the teaching of Irish in schools. There are only so many hours in the day so time taken from one subject to give to another will have an impact. That is obvious enough. We do not have the level of languages other EU countries have. We want to address that deficit as well. We want to make sure we have a good standard of Irish as our national and main language but also to give students an opportunity at a younger age to learn a European language to ensure their employment and education opportunities are as good as they can be and they can compete with students from other countries. It is a fine balance to strike but may be worth a Commencement matter to the Minister. I have no doubt she is aware of the research but the Senator could ask if there are plans in place to acknowledge and deal with that challenge.

Senator Currie spoke of the ESRI report on problem gambling. I will get an update on that. There are moves for a gambling regulator. The Government has been proactive in tackling gambling. Many brave and courageous people from the sporting world, in particular, have come out publicly to talk about their addiction to gambling, their challenges and the detrimental impact on them and their families. There is much more discourse about the issue now and we are starting to clamp down on advertising to young people. There is greater responsibility being placed on gambling companies so we are moving to a different space on this topic and are more informed than a number of years ago. I take on board the Senator’s comments.