Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Senators made up for the lack of quantity with quality this morning. We started this morning's business with Senator Eugene Murphy who spoke about the Governor of Massachusetts, Maura Healey. We were all very inspired by her speech in the House yesterday. I thank the Cathaoirleach for organising that. Governor Healey really is an incredibly passionate woman. In her short time, she gave an all-embracing speech on the strength of the Irish-American connections and her personal connections, which were interesting to listen to, extending from Galway to Cork and Kerry to Newry. It was also lovely to have her mum, who is originally from Ballinasloe, in the Gallery. Her talk was on inclusion and it was particularly significant given that it is Pride month and we are commemorating 30 years since the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

The strength of our economic and cultural ties, as we all know, are hugely important, particularly as we celebrated this morning 60 years to the day since John F. Kennedy made his historic speech in Dáil Éireann. We want to have more of that please. We want to have more people like Maura Healey in here. She gave us all a lot of food for thought. We really appreciate that.

Senator Murphy also spoke about men's sheds. I was fortunate enough to get over to this morning's meeting for a few minutes. I agree with Senator Murphy that the men's sheds are terrific organisations. They are involved in so many communities right around Ireland, especially in rural areas where they have a very strong focus. I have seen the benefits of men's sheds in Newbridge, Athy, Rathangan and Allen in County Kildare. The Senator is right that we should be supporting them more. We certainly should be asking for these groups to be free from paying rates. It is a challenge to try to get sustainable accommodation for men's sheds. There is no reason they cannot share accommodation with other community groups. I support that.

Senator Paddy Burke spoke about active travel funding through local authorities. Active travel is travelling with a purpose using one's own energy, including walking and cycling, and to make people think about how they travel more sustainably. The Senator spoke about the duplication between local authorities, the National Transport Authority, NTA, and so on. The Senator is absolutely right and I agree that sometimes there is duplication between the various organisations. We need more clarity.

Senator Burke mentioned that there has been a reduction in funding in County Mayo, which he feels is nationwide. We will put in a pre-budget message on that. The Senator is looking for a debate, which would probably cover Rural Link also. Rural Link is funded by national funding but works through local authorities and does incredible work. With the two different strands, active travel and Rural Link, it would be worthwhile having a debate and we will look for one. In many ways, this issue is the lifeline of rural Ireland.

Senator Boyhan spoke about the 60th anniversary of the speech by John F. Kennedy, President of the United States of America. The Senator is ten years older than he thought he was because he was referring to the 50th anniversary ten years ago. The speech was a celebration of the many noted Irishmen, and of course there were noted Irish women as well. The men he mentioned, including James Hoban, John Barry, John Boyle O'Reilly and Thomas Francis Meagher, were very worthy men. It is wonderful. The Senator is right to point to the restoration of the flag that President John F. Kennedy presented to the Oireachtas on behalf of the people of America and on his own behalf, as the US President. I thank Senator Mark Daly also for his input in that regard.

Senator Gavan spoke about University Hospital Limerick and the HIQA report, which addressed ongoing overcrowding in Limerick and other hospitals. The first thing we need to do is thank the staff who are working under very difficult conditions and doing sterling work. There has been a large increase in bed numbers over the past two years but as our population is growing and getting older, there is more demand. The problem does not seem to be a lack of funding but a lack of outcomes. Outcomes are always more important than funding.

The Senator also mentioned the issue of contract cleaning staff finally getting their bonus, which is good. The security staff have not received it, however, and we will take that up with the Minister. As the Senator will be aware, everything goes through an independent third party, which comes back with recommendations. There have been anomalies. I have come across a few before and I have been active in trying to help deal with them.