Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Perhaps that is the case. They are fine things to be proud of. We are all proud of our country. Perhaps there are things that are outdated and need to be updated. They may not be top of the list in terms of dealing with the challenges within a sector and therefore they may not have been spotted heretofore.

Senator Currie raised an issue on which I am not fully up to speed, namely, the changes to the train timetables in Dublin. I take on board the Senator’s comments regarding the level of feedback she has received in her local constituency because of those changes and the challenges they present. I suggest to the Senator that a Commencement matter may be appropriate to deal with that and to get further information.

Senator Warfield raised the matter of the story in The Ditch on the transportation of weapons through Irish airspace. A number of Ministers have commented on this and, of course, the Minister for Transport has direct responsibility for this matter. An investigation is taking place to see what happened and the Tánaiste has been very clear that it is not permitted. Permissions need to be sought to use Irish airspace and where they are not sought, that will be looked at. Airlines will not be given permission to fly through Irish airspace and breach the rules that are set in place. It is unfair to say the Government facilitated this, as clearly it was not known if it did happen. That is being looked at. We all share in that concern, I am concerned myself that it may have happened. This must be properly investigated and reported back in a transparent way.

Senator Flynn spoke about hate crime legislation. The hate crime legislation has not been dropped. The Minister has been very clear that it will be progressed. The Minister has indicated that the hate speech element of the Bill lacks consensus. For that reason she is withdrawing it and will deal with it at a later stage. To correct the record, the Minister has given a commitment to advance the hate crime element of the Bill. I take on board the Senator’s point about being part of an ethnic group and the importance of this legislation to her but it is to protect everybody. It is to protect all citizens. Nobody has monopoly-----