Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We started off the Order of Business this morning with Senator Linda Nelson Murray, who spoke about the report that showed that a lot of people who are making claims are going towards litigation, rather than going for mediation. There has been a 17% increase in the number of cases going through litigation. Basically, the insurance claims that are being paid out are higher than those in England and our other neighbours across the water. Senator Nelson Murray has asked for a debate. There are four different Ministers involved on this issue, and this is what the problem is. It involves the Ministers with responsibility for justice, insurance, enterprise and finance. It is an important issue. We certainly want to encourage less litigation and we do not want to see increases in payments. We want to ensure that insurance companies do not charge more than we are already being charged. We will take a look at who we can bring in to discuss this but, as I said, it is across four different Departments.

Senator Clifford-Lee spoke about the need for a debate on the national swimming strategy, which was launched last September by the then Minister of State with responsibility for sport, Deputy Thomas Byrne. The Senator is absolutely correct regarding access and how important it is for people to be able to go to swimming lessons and to swim. It is an awful shame that the Senator's constituency does not have any public swimming pool. She referred to various areas, such as Balbriggan, Skerries and Rush. It is interesting that there was a group of young people from Rush here while she was speaking. There absolutely is a divide. I see the same in my constituency, where we only have one public swimming pool, which is right down the far end of the constituency. The Senator referred to the site in Balbriggan that has been identified and for which money has been put in place. It is ridiculous at this point in time that there are blockages there. We will certainly look for a debate with the Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, who now has responsibility for sport, as the Senator is aware. As the Senator pointed out, the fact that swimming accounted for three of the seven medals Ireland won at the last Olympics shows that swimming is an area where we excel, and we need to help develop and support it. That is something I am happy to look for.

Senator Keogan spoke about the rise in the consumption of energy drinks, the high levels of caffeine and other substances they contain, and the surge in consumption referred to by the HSE's lead expert on obesity. The Senator spoke about a Bill she is introducing. I wish the Senator well with that and we look forward to it being presented here and going through the different Stages. The Senator also spoke about the Gradam an Uachtaráin Bill being restored to the Order Paper.

Senator Andrews spoke about something I had not heard about before, namely, surgical insemination, which is used for greyhounds. I looked it up while the Senator was speaking. There is a greyhound track near me in Newbridge and, having grown up in a rural community, I am well aware of and know many greyhound owners and trainers, who look after their greyhounds very well, I may add. I saw that the success rate can only be 11.7%. I cannot understand why anyone would go through with such a barbaric type of intervention when the success rate is so low. The Senator rightly said that veterinary practitioners announced in April 2024 that they had updated their code to state that veterinarians should not practise this. I agree with the Senator; it absolutely should be banned, and we will certainly have a conversation with the Minister for agriculture on that. We have to support all the wonderful volunteers who work in the animal welfare sector, who put so much work into supporting the victims of violence against animals.

Senator Costello spoke about the need to support public representatives, particularly councillors, and the fact that South Dublin County Council has a very good method for getting, assessing and responding to queries. I am conscious that each local authority has its own way of dealing with this but it is important that we look at best practices around the country and try to share those. We will be looking for a debate with the Minister for local government with regard to how we can support local councillors, and I suggest this is something we will discuss at that time.

Senator Manus Boyle spoke about the NowDoc service in Donegal and the fact that there are no digital records shared. My understanding from a similar scheme we have in Kildare is that the doctors who are partners and part of that scheme allow access to records relating to their patients.I appreciate it is very difficult for somebody who is not a patient of one of the partners or participants in the scheme. I know there are GDPR issues, but I understand that the Department are looking at the digitisation of records. I do not have an update at this point but it is something we will certainly look for. Anything we can do to help support vulnerable patients and older patients in particular is important, as the Senator pointed out.

Senator Rabbitte spoke about the need for the Minister for sport to do an assessment and audit of the outcomes of the sports capital grant over the past five years. Senator Rabbitte is absolutely right. Over recent years we have focused on grants going to clubs that focus on inclusion, diversity, the impact on the community and on women's sports. It is important an assessment is done in order that we can see the impact. That is something we will ask the Minister to do and to give us a report on.

Senator Comyn spoke about the driving test centre in Drogheda that is no longer there. They obviously did a lot of work there between 2021 and 2023. That the centre had the longest waiting time shows there was a real need for it. Now young people and, indeed, older people doing their driving test have to go to Dundalk and to Navan. The reopening of that centre is certainly something that should be encouraged and supported. We will do that from here but I suggest Senator Comyn put in a Commencement matter on the much-needed reopening of the Drogheda centre.

Senator McCarthy spoke about housing and homelessness. I thank him for all the work that he has done over recent years. I have joined him on a visit to some of the centres that he has opened and I have witnessed the work he does for the homeless. He asked for a debate with the Minister for housing. I am pleased to tell him we will be having that debate with the Minister for housing on 2 April on a number of different issues, homelessness being one of them. Affordable housing is another key area we need to focus on. There is a commitment within the programme for Government that all Departments would focus on this, not just the Minister and Department for housing in isolation. We look forward to 2 April.

Senator Sarah O'Reilly spoke about Storm Éowyn and mentioned the fact that only a third of those who have contacted her had been approved for the assistance scheme, with some having been rejected and some not even having been acknowledged. There should always be an acknowledgment. It is regrettable that people did not get an acknowledgment. Obviously, there have to be criteria. I did a quick check while she was speaking about it. I understand that, as of last week, 66,887 claims were received, with a total of 23,000 having been awarded to the value of €5.2 million. It is still ongoing. Food is included, but anything covered by home insurance is not because that should be the first call. The Senator also raised the issue of panic buttons not working. In my experience there is always a community scheme that looks after panic buttons. It is normally a community alert scheme. I work with a number of them. The LBDC scheme checks twice yearly with members. I suggest that as the first port of call.