Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I accept and support the Order of Business, as outlined.

I hope that everybody had a good and enjoyable St. Patrick's Day, wherever they celebrated it. I thank all of the amazing volunteers around the country who put so much time and effort into ensuring that towns and communities had their own parades. It is important to note the very many missions across the world that celebrated St. Patrick's Day. It is truly incredible for us as a small country to have our country and Irishness celebrated across the globe and that our Ministers went abroad. While we were all in trepidation prior to the Taoiseach's visit to the White House, he carried it off with aplomb and great diplomacy.

I must speak about the toxic masculinity that we, sadly, see being celebrated around the world. I was appalled to see the way Conor McGregor was feted in the White House. He is somebody who has a civil court ruling against him. It sent a very poor message, and it was very poor judgment to invite him to represent Ireland, as such, on St. Patrick's Day. We have no control over who the President of America invites, but I stand with Nikita Hand and with victims. The Government of Ireland has a zero-tolerance approach to sexual and gender-based violence. It is important to note that here.It was refreshing to hear the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, on the 1 o’clock news talking about the number of recruits we have in the Garda. Some 201 have gone into Templemore, which is the highest intake in over a decade, and almost 7,000 people have filled in expression of interest forms to become gardaí because it is a job worth doing and worth having. It is not just about gardaí, however. They are hugely important, and their presence is hugely important, but we need to look at other areas. Youth crime and juvenile crime is something I am very concerned about, and not just me. A survey that was carried out recently showed that juvenile crime is a concern for 76% of people. The Garda youth diversion programmes is hugely important. We obviously need to look at education and how we link in with that. There has been an increase, however. In 2024, there was an increase of 29% in sexual offences by juveniles compared to the year before. It is important that we have a debate regarding juvenile crime for which I would like the Minister to come before the House.