Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Members who contributed this morning. The first was Senator Malcolm Byrne, who also raised the issue of rail transport and infrastructure and the shared island unit and the fantastic work it is doing. It was good to see the Tánaiste announce further funding for the shared island unit and to see those North-South projects being supported. I am not sure I can agree with Senator McGahon on Dublin-Belfast being the economic engine of Ireland. I will always advocate for the west and our city of Galway but we will agree to disagree on this occasion. Senator Byrne raised the issue of Rosslare railway, which is one of our oldest rail lines and needs further investment. Any time there is an announcement in one area, people will ask, "What about my area?". That is part of it as well. I will always advocate for the western rail corridor, as Senators know as well. Things have changed in the country, particularly with the climate agenda and a desire to leave cars at home and use public transport. There has never been more of a demand for rail transport. When we look at older maps going back 100 years, we had far more rail lines in the country and better rail transport. We are trying to get back to that now and invest right across the country. People want to have that option, so investment in all of our rail lines is really important.

I, too, want to see the publication of the all-island rail review. We have been told we could not publish it until we had an Executive in the North and the Northern Ireland Ministers. We got a draft report published. There is no good reason now that review cannot be published, and investment flow thereafter. I look forward to seeing that happen. I concur with Senator McGahon's remarks on capacity on those rail lines. We know from engagements with Irish Rail that they are very much aware of the capacity constraints on all rail lines. If you are paying full price for a ticket, you should have a seat to sit on except in circumstances where there is a big event on the day as it can be difficult to plan when there is huge demand. In those circumstances, on balance, people will just be happy to get on the train. Ordinarily, on a normal day-to-day basis, there should be capacity to accommodate people with a seat. That has to be the aim, allowing for reasonable times when there may be an unusual peak in demand. I would certainly agree with that.

Senator Malcolm Byrne also raised a proposal by Galway-based Councillor Albert Dolan on gym membership being tax deductible. It is a good suggestion from someone who is coming from a different generation, a younger person involved in politics and looking for practical solutions to assist people and encourage them to stay fit and healthy, mind and body. I am glad to hear that the Minister of State with responsibility for sport, Deputy Thomas Byrne, is looking at that. I take on board the Senator's comment that artistic organisations might also be considered for such a tax deduction because not everybody is into sports, but everybody has their thing or their niche that they want to find.

Senator Mullen raised some serious issues in respect of the upcoming referendums on 8 March. He referenced the McKenna principles as set down by the Supreme Court in its 1995 judgment in respect of access to information and that Governments should not use public funds to push for a particular result in the referendum. I take on board the Senator's comments on supporting and funding NGOs that, in turn, go on to support a particular position. I think that does merit debate. There is probably not time now to have those debates in advance of 8 March. The public will make up their own minds. We have a very intelligent and informed electorate who are able to assess for themselves information they are getting, the sources they are getting it from and whether or not there are agendas attaching to organisations that may be advocating for a particular position. I do trust the electorate to go with their instinct and their gut on this. We will get a result on 8 March, whatever happens. I can understand the concerns being raised when minutes of a meeting are not released, as to why that may or may not happen. I can also understand from a Government perspective that advice was taken and it is trying to do what it believes is in the public interest as well. Sometimes there is disagreement on what is in the public interest and what is not. Certainly it is a debate worth happening. Ultimately, we want to ensure that the democratic process is protected and is run in the proper manner. I am sure that is a shared aim of all of us.

Senator Ward spoke about the need to do more for victims of crime. I would always agree with that. We have done a lot in the lifetime of this Government in terms of improving the justice system in a holistic way, not just looking at the laws on our books and in terms of sentencing but talking about prevention as well, getting in at community level and dealing with crime and community responsibilities. We have done a lot in that space but we have more to do.

I take on board the Senator's point around accessibility issues. I will request a debate broadly on disability and accessibility with the Minister. It has come up and different aspects of that debate have been requested. It would be an opportunity to raise that. The Senator also made an interesting point around the deposit return scheme. There has been a lot of criticism of it. It is in its infancy and just getting started. It is a good idea and the intentions are good. If it is given time to work out some of the challenges, it will have a positive impact. We must give it a little time. People were rushing up with pictures of bottles sitting outside. That is to be expected. It is a new scheme and people are getting used to how to use it. The fact that there are people turning up with bottles in the first place is a good sign. They want to use it. I would take a different view of that.

Senator Gavan raised the issue of UHL and has requested a debate with the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. I will request the debate. I think there has been a debate request on a number of health issues that were raised yesterday. We will try to get that debate. I take on board Senator Gavan's remarks. He will be well aware that my response is consistently that it is probably the hospital that has had the most focus of the Minister for Health. He has attended personally onsite. There is new management in place. There have been more beds and more investment. Every effort is being made to try to alleviate the pressures at the hospital, notwithstanding a very honest acknowledgement that those numbers on trolleys are not acceptable. We do not want to see that persist. We acknowledge it is very difficult for staff and for patients and their families. We need to get that under control. There is responsibility on and a role for management in the hospital as well as to why there is such a level of difficulty there. Weekend discharges and having step-down facilities and all that feeds into that and are part of the picture and part of the story as well.

I take on board Senator Gavan's comments about Julian Assange. My view, as I have expressed previously, is that we would all hope he could return to a normal life at some point and be with his family, and not be extradited to the US or locked up in prison for the rest of his days for doing what he believed was the right thing and in the public interest, for telling the truth. We hope for the right outcome in that case for Julian.

Senator Craughwell raised the referendum issue as well. He asked for a definition of "strive". The definition is that you make great efforts. That is what it is defined as. I am not going to give anything extra on that. Again, the public will make up their own minds as to whether the language is to their liking or not. On the referendum leaflet, it is the Electoral Commission that produces that information. It does not offer an opinion either way; it just provides the facts. It is up to each one of us as citizens to assess those facts and make up our own minds and form our own opinions. That is an important part of the process. It is not something that the Government or politicians are involved in putting together, so it is not really something I can answer on.

Senator Boyhan spoke about farmers and the farmers' charter of rights. We have to acknowledge that there is a lot of pressure on farmers for lots of reasons. Global trade is putting on pressure in terms of deals outside the European Union that may or may not go ahead. There are huge demands in terms of climate change. Farmers need and want to address climate change because they will not be able to continue to farm if there is adverse weather and the planet gets hotter. They want to do, and are doing, the right thing. There is a lot of regulation coming down the tracks. There are a lot of i's to be dotted and t's to be crossed by farmers on a weekly and monthly basis. There is an argument that every time we get a new scheme that it is more complicated. It should not be the case that you have to employ outside professional help to access a scheme and fill in the forms.However, that is where it is going because of the complicated nature of accessing some of these schemes. A whole industry has been built up around filling out the forms and getting the applications submitted. The Minister, Deputy McConalogue, has done a really good job in engaging with farmers. There is not a county in the country that he has not visited to meet representatives of farming organisations on the ground directly. He is a very accessible Minister and has done everything he can. If one takes ACRES as an example, that scheme was supposed to be limited to 30,000 applicants but every single farmer who applied was accepted. I believe there were 46,000 accepted because the Minister wanted to ensure every farmer who wanted to be in the scheme got into it. His modus operandiis such that he wants farmers to get into schemes and to be involved. While he is doing his best to make sure things are simplified as much as they can be; there is an element of complication because of what one is trying to access. There is an acceptance that farmers are more than playing their part. We have to look to other areas, such as big industry and transport. There are other sectors that have to contribute to carbon reduction, not just agriculture. The farmers' charter of rights should be fit for purpose and should represent the views and needs of farmers and their families.

Senator McGahon spoke about the shared island unit and the Irish Rail capacity issue. I have dealt with that matter and I concur with the Senator's remarks.