Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We have many years of underfunding and under-resourcing to catch up on. As well as wanting to do more than just get to a low base, we want to increase what we can do. We have a big gap to bridge. It will take time but the will is there to do that. Crucially, the support from our citizens is there to do that in terms of increasing defence spending by the State.

The Israeli friendship group was dealt with adequately by Senator Craughwell. Diplomacy and keeping channels open are important. The Senator has made his views on the Middle East very well-known.

Senator Flynn spoke about the Irish Foster Care Association. The requests made by that association are very reasonable. Foster carers do such an important job. We do not have enough of them. We do not have enough foster places. There are more demands in certain parts of the country and fewer people doing it.A lot of work has been done by the Department of children to increase the number of people coming into that sector and to get more foster carers and families in place. It is difficult to get people to sign up. It is a huge responsibility and people never know what situation will land in through their door or what the child has been through. It is extremely important and anything we can do to make the job easier and to encourage people to do it, we should.

Senator Keogan spoke about the four councillors newly elected to Donegal County Council, who were elected for the 100% Redress party. The redress scheme has been an ongoing issue there. I can only speak about my own county of Mayo. It has worked very well in some circumstances and homes have been rebuilt to a high standard. While it is traumatic to have to knock down your home and go through that process, anyone I have spoken to who has been through it is really happy now that they have gotten it done and sorted. They have a brand new, A-rated home that has been substantially paid for by the State, if not fully paid for. It is a significant cost to the State as well. Through no fault of the State or the people affected, the regulations of the time were too lax and the proper checks were not carried out on the defective blocks that were used to build homes. We are just going to have to deal with that. From what I understand, the challenge in Donegal is that it is slow getting into the scheme, accessing it and getting advices. There is a particular constraint with the supply of construction sector workers to do the work. It is a big challenge in my own county getting tradespeople as well. They are hard to get and have a lot of work on. I commend the councillors on their work. They have been working with other parties in Donegal as well to try to get things moving for the affected homeowners.

Senator Cummins spoke about Waterford and the 44 new cost-rental units, the second such development in the county, which is great to see. We are turning the tide on housing. Cost rental did not exist four years ago; it does today. It is a fantastic addition to our housing supply and the choice available for people. There is a long way to go yet. We still need to increase the numbers but we are catching up on a period when there was not enough building. We are putting record financing into housing and starting to see the fruits of that labour.

Senator Victor Boyhan has requested a debate on the recent report from Mary O'Toole on the sex abuse scandal in schools. We are actively working to get time for that and get the Minister in. It is really important to have that debate in the House and give it its proper airing, and give Members an opportunity to have their say as well.