John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join with the Leas-Chathaoirleach in welcoming Mabyn and Pat all the way from the great state of Louisiana. They are both very welcome as guests of our Leas-Chathaoirleach, who is extremely well-known, not just on Capitol Hill but right across the United States of America. That is indicated by their presence here. We really appreciate that.

Senator Ardagh raised the matter of the death of Derek Martin, who passed away on the M50 last week, which was extremely tragic and harrowing for him and his family. I am sure we send all our thoughts and sympathies to Derek's family. It was mentioned by his sister that people stayed with him on the roadside and offered him comfort in those awful moments. His family are thankful for that. The Senator raised an important point about the need to upgrade our road infrastructure so when an accident or something happens, not just in the Dublin area but throughout the country, a whole city does not come to a standstill. That is based around good planning and emergency actions being able to come into place. It is something that will definitely be raised with the Minister.

Senator Ardagh also brought up the issue of the Irish Physical Activity Alliance, which is essentially calling for a tax rebate through the MED 1 form. I am all for cutting taxes and putting money back in people's pockets. It is a political view of mine so that suggestion is something I am definitely willing to take back to the Minister for Finance. It is a simple thing. It would increase activity and be very good for people of a certain age. Anything we can do to encourage people into further physical activity, while cutting taxes at the same time, is a good thing.

I am a huge fan of Revolut. I absolutely agree with Senator Ardagh that one of the best things about it is it is introducing a huge amount of competition into the market. The company is now getting into mortgages. I see it with loans I have been able to get from Revolut, which were very impressive. I look forward to seeing what it can do in the Irish banking market.

I commend Senator Martin on introducing very important legislation today. Several times over the past four years of this Seanad term he has introduced and championed important legislation, especially in the judicial area, and has done so again today. It is a credit to him regarding the issues he works on.

Senator Boyhan raised a number of issues, particularly in respect of the IFA document. It is a good thing, especially when it comes to the IFA, that it is not just about urban and rural. There are various issues, whether they involve Dublin or parts of rural Ireland. The IFA champions those issues, whether they relate to CAP, the forestry sector, nitrates or ash dieback. That is a very good thing the IFA is doing because, as we have seen in recent weeks, who we send to champion Ireland's cause in the European Parliament is very important, as is who we send to our local authorities. All of us were elected to local authorities previously so we know what we are talking about in that regard.

Senator Boyhan also mentioned the funeral of Tony O'Reilly, who was a huge business visionary for this country. He achieved a significant amount in championing Ireland Inc, but also had a highly successful career on the rugby pitch both for Ireland and the British and Irish Lions.

Senator Seery Kearney discussed two issues. The first was the local enhancement scheme. That level of funding going across so many different groups is so important to people, whether it is €2,000, €4,000 or €5,000. Every year, clubs sit down and wonder where they can get together a couple of pennies for this or that. The fact the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, is able to put that funding into those communities and allay funding concerns is very important. She is doing that, not just in rural Ireland but in constituencies like the Senator's in the inner city and Dublin South-Central. The fact the Minister is ensuring there is a fair and equitable spread of funding throughout urban and rural Ireland is a testament to her.

Senator Seery Kearney also raised concerns about the security of supply chains.She spoke about this last week in Cambridge at the Cambridge union debating society, which I watched back. She made some very forthright points about it. I agree that we need statements in this House on it, particularly when 34 critical raw materials are coming into consideration. The world is a scary place now with what we see happening in eastern Europe, the Middle East and parts of Africa, and we are not immune to something happening between China and Taiwan. The Senator, along with other Members in the four years I have been in the House, have been strong advocates for the Taiwanese and the Taiwanese nation. That is an issue I will go back to our leader, Senator Regina Doherty, about. We should have those statements and do so in the next couple of weeks, before this House rises, because this is an important issue to discuss.

Senator Carrigy discussed Screen Ireland and the tax incentives, which are quite good to attract the film industry to Ireland. However, I agree with him that it has to be regionally-based. It cannot just be centred around Dublin or Cork, for example. Whether that is his area of the midlands – Longford-Westmeath – or my area of the Border counties, as a Government we should be trying to promote and encourage the spread of the film industry around this country when it comes here.

Regarding the autism-friendly Parliament in Leinster House, we have the highest standard of any parliament in Europe. That is down to Senator Carrigy and the incredible work he has done on that issue over the past four years. If it was not for him, we would not have these high standards in this Parliament today. If it was not for him championing this issue at every occasion, we would not be the standard bearer of how we have to treat people with autism in the workplace. That is all down to the Senator, so I congratulate him on the hard work he has done.

Senator Craughwell raised the issue raised with him by Councillor Paddy McQuillan, a friend of mine on Louth County Council. Again, Senator Carrigy will be aware of this. Ten years ago, if a person filled in the sports capital grant application wrong, it got put in the bin straightaway. It was not even considered. The application process has improved a lot. It gives people the opportunity to rectify mistakes that have been made. More money has gone into it than ever before, so nearly every club is getting something here or there. However, I agree with Senator Craughwell and Councillor McQuillan that if clubs are finding the application process difficult or if, for example, they are perhaps having to pay someone to write an application, that is not within the spirit of the grants. That is not what we want to see as a Government. It may be the case that the Department needs to introduce workshops, like the GAA does, for example, where in each county, club officials can go to dedicated workshops that will teach them exactly how to fill in an application, shows them the points to look at and shows them some of the pitfalls. That would be a very good idea and it is something that can be looked at.

Senator Craughwell also raised the issue of search and rescue, which he has been to the forefront of in this House. Of course, he will continue to raise it. It is something we always have to be aware of, particularly if there was any industrial action in Ireland and we are then without a search and rescue service.

I am getting onto all the points here that everyone has been championing for the past four years. For the past four years, Senator Gavan has been strong supporter not only of the west coast, where he comes from, but of the aviation industry as a whole. I absolutely agree with him. It makes no sense that there is an over-balance towards the likes of Dublin Airport when there are Knock, Kerry, Cork and Shannon airports. It is better for the island and the economy as a whole to have a much more balanced plan when it comes to our airports. I note given our two American tourists here today, many American tourists fly into Dublin and then go the west to travel all around it. It is about promoting the economic activity of the western seaboard and having a good aviation policy. I agree with the Senator that we need a debate on having a proper and dedicated aviation policy and how we can spread it around evenly.

Senator McGreehan raised the issue of life carbon farming projects and the framework. It is important we have the Minister in to debate how we need accurate measurements with that. The Senator has been a strong supporter of the farm community in our native county of Louth. Raising this issue again shows her commitment to the farming community. That absolutely will secure a lot of future for small farmers in this country, who are the bedrock not only of our agricultural community but of Irish society.

Without further ado, that is the end to the Order of Business.