Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

At the outset, Senator O'Loughlin spoke about the loss of life we have experienced in the country. There have been sad situations including the woman who took ill while flying; the young mother; Greig Oliver, the Munster Rugby coach who was with his son, Jack, in South Africa and had a tragic accident there; and the two young men who just graduated from secondary school, Andrew O'Donnell and Max Wall. I concur with the Senators' remarks. Many Senators expressed their sympathies with the families, communities and the school community of the two young men. As a mark of respect for the loss of life, we will stand for a minute's silence when I have concluded the Order of Business.

Senator O'Loughlin also spoke about the win for the Army Ranger Wing, the work of Gerard Guinan and Mark Keane of PDFORRA in securing that 27% increase in special allowances that will be backdated. I concur with the Senator’s remarks that it should be paid without any further delay. The work of the association has been very good in this regard. I also welcome the dementia day care centre in Kildangan. I commend Alzheimer Society of Ireland, ASI, on the work it does. I know the Senator works a good deal with ASI. It does fantastic work throughout the country.

Senator Joe O’Reilly spoke about housing and how there used to be the option to have a one-off rural house built where an individual had a site, maybe on a family farm or family land, and that should be brought back. He also acknowledged the success of Croí Cónaithe. However, there were some teething problems with the clawback and the banks. My understanding is that has been worked out. The applications to Croí Cónaithe are increasing all the time. It has been deemed a successful scheme in getting vacant properties back into use, which is an issue we have all raised for many years.

Senator Mullen proposed an amendment to the Order of Business that No. 7 would adjourn at 5.15 p.m. as opposed to the question being put. That was seconded by Senator Keogan. I am sorry to say that I am not in a position to accept the amendment today. We spoke about this before we came into the Chamber. It is the request of the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, that the Bill be finalised and finished today. That request has been acceded to by the House. No doubt there will be many votes today, on the Order of Business and later on the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022. I acknowledge the significant work by a number of Senators, in particular Senator McDowell. We had about 21 hours of debate on that Bill this term. That is a significant amount of debate. Many issues have been aired in the debate. The legislation is not agreed. Issues have been flagged. Nonetheless, it is the Government's decision to bring the Bill to a conclusion later today.

Senator Mullen also spoke about the ICCL. I, too, was in receipt of similar correspondence, which I found somewhat unusual given that, previously, amendments had been flagged by the same organisation and it appears not to want to progress with those amendments while the Bill is in the Seanad. That is a matter for the organisation. I make the point that while any organisation or division that wants to contact us is absolutely entitled to do so, we have a job to do as legislators, and we will probe the legislation appropriately and make our views known on the floor of the House, as is our right and our role as legislators and as Senators. We will do our job in regard to proposing or debating amendments and doing what we do best in the Seanad, which is improving legislation before it ultimately becomes law in this country. That is our job and our role. We are all happy to take correspondence from different groups and individuals but we have a job to do and we will do that job to the best of our ability. We will do so on that Bill and on every other Bill that comes before the House.

Senator Ó Donnghaile spoke about the A5 road and asked for a recommitment that the Government would put forward 50% of the funding to improve that road. I would certainly love to see the road improved. It connects the north west of our country right through Northern Ireland. It is an important piece of infrastructure. The Senator also requested statements on Palestine, as have Senators Black and Kyne and other Senators.This is in light of recent events in Palestine and in what used to be a refugee camp, Jenin, if I am pronouncing that correctly, and with the ongoing advancement of Israeli forces. I put a request into the Department of Foreign Affairs to try to get statements on the matter next week but I might suggest to Members who may be interested in getting a debate that, with certainty, if a motion was tabled, we will get a debate more quickly. If Members wish to follow that route, it is an option and a suggestion for them to put forward a motion on the matter.

Senator Sherlock also spoke about Palestine and made the point that serious aspersions were being made towards the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, ICCL. To be fair to comments which were made in the House, when correspondence is received, we are entitled as Members of the House to respond to that and I am sure that the ICCL would expect no less.

Senator Sherlock also spoke about the loss of preschool businesses in the Stonybatter area and the need to address that. She also spoke about a difficulty for artists in accessing particular awards and the limit on one per year. I might suggest that the Senator might raise a Commencement matter on that particular issue.

Senator Black spoke very passionately about the issues in Palestine and I believe I have dealt with that matter. I know that she has raised that matter consistently in the House on a regular basis.

Senator Keogan asked for a debate with the Minister for Health on waiting lists and spoke about the girl known as "Ivy" and the wait for scoliosis surgery. There have been particular difficulties in that space. That is not due to a lack of funding or the allocating of positions for specialist consultants but that we are competing on an international market and are finding it difficult to hire the people needed to do that type of surgery. That is leading to those delays but, certainly, promises were made which were not met and that is regrettable. I am glad that Ivy received her surgery at last and is doing well, but it is certainly not an acceptable situation that any child would be waiting on that surgery, let alone the numbers that are there. We will request a that debate with the Minister for Health at the earliest opportunity but it is likely that it will be after the summer recess at this point because we only have this and next week remaining in this session.

Senator Gallagher congratulated Monaghan GAA on its fantastic win at the weekend and wished the team well as they take on Dublin in two weeks’ time in the All-Ireland semi-final. It is fair to say, and apologies to any Dublin Senators, that the rest of the country will probably be supporting Monaghan on that particular day. The smaller county and team, in club numbers, has done fantastically to get there. As a Mayo supporter, it just was not our day at the weekend and we have had to bow out. As we say, there is always next year and we will start focusing on next year again.

Senator Flynn spoke very passionately about the loss of her friend, a young woman, to suicide very recently and of the high levels of suicide within the Traveller community. She also spoke about the need to focus on Traveller mental health. I have no doubt that the Senator will be focusing on that topic at the Oireachtas joint committee which she chairs, which I believe is a fantastic initiative on behalf of the Oireachtas. It is also great to see her leading up that committee. I would certainly have no difficulty in scheduling a debate on this matter also at the appropriate time. I can liaise with Senator Flynn as to when the best time to do that is.

Senator Boyhan spoke about the Seanad Select Committee on Scrutiny of Draft EU-related Statutory Instruments which is having its first public meeting today and the reporting on RTÉ. I agree with the Senator’s remarks that the terms of reference were clearly laid out in December 2022. These are to scrutinise EU directives that the committee wants to scrutinise and not what the Department allows it to scrutinise. I have no doubt that the committee members will ensure that the intent of what the committee was set up to do will be fully achieved and that it will do its work. It will have the support of this House in doing that work and I have no doubt that the Minister and the Department will facilitate and work with committee members, as they are obliged to do.

Senator Carrigy raised a number of issues on the GAA and his own involvement with the GAA; he also spoke about Palestine.

Senator Gavan raised the issue of housing and homelessness. It is important to note for the Senator that no one is going to suggest that it is okay that there are children in homelessness. Of course, it is not. People are moving out of homelessness, however, every day and week. There are also people coming into homelessness and the numbers have gone in the wrong direction. Quite a large number are also exiting homelessness. We have had a great number of new arrivals into the country which is putting pressure on. We are having a difficulty in increasing housing supply the way we would like to, even though the numbers are going in the right direction. There are many challenges to that issue also but it is certainly a top priority for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to address those numbers and to get people out of homelessness into permanent homes as quickly as possible. Certainly, no one wants to see the numbers who are there and it is something we as a country must address. Senator Kyne spoke about support for debates on Palestine and Traveller Pride Week as well. I take on board what he said about the challenges with secondary school places. It might be worth submitting a Commencement matter to the Minister on the topic. I also take on board his comments about the need for a pension increase. It is well-publicised at this stage that there will be an increase, but what it will be we do not yet know. That is a matter for the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. It is an important point that a person, especially one living alone, is bearing all the costs of the household because it is just him or her. I certainly support the calls for an increase in the living alone allowance because it targets those who need the support most. That is a fair way to allocate what are limited resources when it comes to the budget. The budget process is well under way and there are many demands on what might look like huge resources, but which are ultimately limited and must be spent in the best way possible. That is to the fore of the minds of both Ministers I mentioned. They must do that job as best they can.

Senator McGahon spoke about the Enterprise train from Dublin to Belfast and the delays. The information the Senator found out about the comparison is quite impressive. With our public transport there seems to be a certain acceptance it is okay to be late. Whether it is a bus or a train, it does not seem to be a problem for us. It has an impact on passengers. They are paying for a service and that service should be delivered. If it is not there should be some sort of reimbursement on that. A Commencement matter to the Minister might consider engaging with Irish Rail on how it could compensate customers better where there is a significant delay.

Last of all, Senator Maria Byrne welcomed the €1.4 million for St. John's Hospital, Limerick and the fact the medical assessment unit will now operate seven days a week. We need to have a seven-day system across the board. That has been a particular pinch point. The service in our hospitals on a Sunday does not operate the same as it does on a Monday and that is a fact. It has been well-documented of late that considerable work is happening in the Department of Health under the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, to try to get a seven-day week across the board. Numbers on trolleys are usually at their highest on Monday and Tuesday because of the backlog after a weekend and that is something we need to address. I sincerely hope that goes some way towards alleviating the pressures in the hospital in Limerick, which has had a very difficult time of late, especially the staff and the patients there. It is good to get some good news on that and see significant funding coming in as well as extra personnel to staff the unit at the weekends. It is welcome news for the region and the city as well.

I propose a minute's silence for the passing of the four individuals named at the outset of the Order of Business.