Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support the Order of Business as outlined by the Leader. As our population grows and ages, we increasingly have people living longer, which is very much to be welcomed. People in Ireland live longer than in any other European country. However, more challenges and health issues come with that. One area where we see a lot of growth is the number of people presenting with dementia. The Alzheimer Society of Ireland does incredible work supporting people with dementia to live as independently as long as possible and supporting families and carers. Part of what it does is organising dementia advisers, home care services, daycare services and supports for families. Research is important to what it does.

It is interesting to read about the steps we should all be taking to improve our mental health and ensure we do not decline as we age. The Alzheimer Society of Ireland will attend the audiovisual room today for two workshops, one on at 3 p.m. and the other at 4 p.m. Part of the aim is to equip us all with the information we need to support those who live in our communities. I invite everybody to attend and I look forward to seeing Members there.

One of the requests I would make of the Leader this morning is to ask the Taoiseach to come to the House to talk about the shared island initiative. The shared island unit was established when the current Taoiseach became Taoiseach five years ago. It is doing incredibly important work. It is harnessing the full potential of the Good Friday Agreement to enhance co-operation, connection and mutual understanding on the island and to engage with all communities and traditions on achieving a consensus towards a shared future. Given the threats from the US regarding tariffs, we need to look at how we develop an all-island economy. It would be opportune to bring the Taoiseach to the House to address us because we also need to focus on the factors that are within our control in terms of tariffs and the possible tariff war, namely, diversification and expanding our markets. Doing that from a 32-county perspective would be opportune and welcome.