Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators who contributed to the Order of Business. Senator O'Loughlin congratulated the Irish National Stud and Gardens in County Kildare on being named one of the top 10% of attractions in the world by Tripadvisor. It is a fantastic accolade for the stud. I have no doubt it will attract increasing numbers of visitors over the summer and beyond. Well done to those involved. The Senator also acknowledged the turning of the first sod at the €200 million investment by Diageo at a brewery in Kildare. The project involves a huge investment in jobs in the area.

Senator O'Loughlin referred to the ongoing advocacy work being done by Cara Dermody, whom I have had the pleasure of meeting with her father. Young Cara is advocating on behalf of her two brothers and other children awaiting an assessment of needs. The Senator rightly acknowledged the work of the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, who is making great inroads on this issue. The challenge is finding qualified people to do the assessments. The waiting time is very long. In these matters, early intervention is key. The longer a child is left waiting for assessment, the greater the chance of a reduced impact from any treatments.

The Senator also highlighted that, remarkably, we have yet to pass legislation to facilitate maternity leave for Oireachtas Members. We have done great work across the board on improving maternity and parental leave for workers but we have yet to get our own house in order. Action is long overdue. I wish Deputy Cairns and her partner well and congratulate her on her fantastic news. We need to address this issue. My understanding is that there are constitutional issues because we are seeking to facilitate not just maternity leave but also cover for voting and attendance at committees. Apparently, that requires constitutional change. If so, let us do it. We must have that debate. The conversation has been rolling on for years but we have yet to see any progress. Bespoke solutions have been put in place for Ministers, and rightly so. Consequently, however, there is a view among the public that the issue has been sorted. In fact, it has not been sorted for other Members. That is the challenge. The issue looks as if it has been fixed but that is not the case. I absolutely agree it needs to be addressed.

Senator Burke asked for clarification from Iarnród Éireann regarding the in-carriage services on some of its lines. I agree with him that such services are not provided on the Westport route, which also serves Ballina, and some other routes across the country. The company certainly is dragging its feet in sorting out this matter. It is a very poor service if people are on a train for more than three hours without being able to get a cup of tea or a bottle of water. This is particularly so for passengers on the 5.30 a.m. service from Castlebar, which I am sure the Senator has used, as have I. There are no shops open at that hour of the morning. It is not really possible for passengers to purchase anything to take with them on the train. In this day and age, I am not sure why it is taking so long to address this issue. When we met representatives of Irish Rail more than a year ago, they told us they were looking to contract the service but were finding the prices being quoted quite expensive. Time has passed and the company really needs to sort out this problem. It is not acceptable in this day and age that there is a service on some routes and not on others. People travelling from Dublin to Cork, for example, enjoy a fantastic service. Passengers going from Dublin to Mayo, however, cannot avail of an in-carriage service. It is neither fair nor acceptable for those passengers, who are paying for their tickets the same as everybody else.

I take on board the Senator's point regarding overcrowding on trains. More carriages are needed. I welcome the provision of some additional services on the route he mentioned. However, people are still having to wait around for three hours for a train. There is a gap in the service. We need to be ambitious. The vision should be to have an hourly service from those parts of the country to our capital city. That needs to be progressed.

Senator Mullen has proposed an amendment to the Order of Business, that No. 7 be taken before No. 1. His proposal was seconded by Senator Murphy. I am happy to accept the amendment. I commend Senator Mullen on his work on the Bill in question. I look forward to the debate on this important legislation next Thursday. It is unfortunate that we have to legislate to get online operators and companies to do the right thing. They could use the existing age verification technology to prevent young people from accessing what is extremely damaging material. They choose not to do so. It is left to us as legislators to try to protect children and make sure that verification process is put in place. I look forward to the debate next week.

I take on board Senator Mullen's comments regarding the increase in the number of abortions taking place in this country. Regardless of the topic, I will always support the call that media should report on everything, even if it makes some people uncomfortable. That is important in a democracy. I was a member of the Oireachtas committee on the eighth amendment. One of our recommendations was that an effort be made to help women with the challenges arising from a crisis pregnancy. We spoke about looking to reduce the number who want to go down the abortion route while, of course, facilitating choice. Senator Mullen does not agree with facilitating that choice. Ensuring women have choices was a key recommendation of the committee. There is a good deal of work still to be done to identify what we can do to support women who feel they cannot progress with a pregnancy, for whatever reason. The statistics show that single parents, who predominantly are women, are at greater risk of poverty. There are financial aspects to consider. The State can and should do more to address those issues. There is still a stigma around being a single parent in some quarters. That also needs to be addressed.

Senator Gavan spoke about the ongoing conflict in Gaza. There are very few words left to describe the appalling nature of the humanitarian crisis there. I am proud of the position Ireland continues to take. We have been very strong supporters of the Palestinian people. We have advocated for peace and continued aid and financial support for Palestine. We need a ceasefire. Supplying munitions to Israel is just wrong.