Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like Senator Seery Kearney, I am delighted to see Senator Conway in the chair today. I wish him well.

I hope he or the Cathaoirleach do not mind if I stay very local, because today I want to pay tribute to one of the best known Rossie fans and a character who is retiring from business, a man called Paddy Joe Burke, nationally known for his barber shop in Roscommon town. Many well-known dignitaries through the years have been there. It is an unusual place because it was like a rambling house rather than a barber shop. The main reason I mention him, apart from congratulating him on his retirement from business, is because he has also been appointed the age-friendly ambassador for the county as part of the age-friendly programme delivered on behalf of the Older People's Council network. His role will be to promote the need to be age friendly and support the local age-friendly programme to raise awareness for age-friendly initiatives. He will also be tasked with celebrating and empowering the lives of older people in the county. He is a wonderful character, and he will be fantastic in this job.

I also want to raise this in the context of loneliness. The fact is that loneliness for so many people out there, old and not so old, is an everyday fact of life. I would like us to invite our wonderful Minister of State with responsibility for older people and mental health, Deputy Butler, to come in and have a discussion with us on this. Perhaps we could look at retitling the role relating to older people to bring loneliness into the title as well. I did not realise it was such an issue until a conference was held in Roscommon recently. The interest in that conference was huge from those young and not so young. We should realise that it is a big issue out there. People may be in their houses on their own and they may not be able to get out or whatever. They may have mental health issues and be feeling lonely. It must be a terrible place to be. We could do an awful lot more by having that discussion. I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, would be more than willing to come in and have that discussion with us.