Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all Senators for their contributions, starting with Senator Fitzpatrick, who acknowledged World Autism Day. I join her in acknowledging the important celebration of children and adults with autism. Senators O'Mahony and Tully also raised this matter and talked of the strengths and challenges faced by many in the autistic community. We acknowledge the work of all members of the autism committee in the previous Dáil and Seanad, which will return in this Seanad and Dáil as well. Senator Fitzpatrick also congratulated all 12,000 participants in the Dublin city half-marathon and expressed concern about what is likely to happen later today with tariffs from the United States. She highlighted that countries in the European Union need to stand together, which is an important point.

Senator Boyle raised the issue of the National Ambulance Service, which is an important issue in rural Ireland, rural towns and urban areas. It is quite clear that over a long number of years, response times in the west have been below average. That is just a fact. There have been improvements and there has certainly been investment by successive Governments over recent years. There are new ambulance bases, I believe, in Belmullet and in Tuam, County Galway. There is an additional crew in Galway city. The Senator is right to advocate for County Donegal. It deserves the same level of response times as any other part of the country. I acknowledge that in the most isolated rural communities, there are, unfortunately, high wait times. A colleague raised a matter in the other House where somebody who had been in an accident waited four hours at the side of the road for an ambulance. That is not good enough. It should not be tolerated and people deserve better. The Senator might put forward a Commencement matter about the specific case and should certainly engage with the National Ambulance Service. Its teams have, at least in my part of the world, had good engagement with Oireachtas Members. Even online, issues are raised relating to what plans the service has to invest. However, the Senator is right to raise this important matter.

Senator Clonan talked about the case of a young boy who has a number of serious conditions - autism, cerebral palsy and scoliosis - and has called for a debate with the Minister, Deputy Foley, on disability. The Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, will be before this House on Tuesday, so I am sure Senator Clonan will have an opportunity to raise that case. He could also contact the Minister of State in advance to get a fuller response.

Senator Andrews asked for a debate on dog welfare and, indeed, animal welfare. I will try to arrange that. He talked about enforcement for puppy farms. There have been significant initiatives to try to improve funding and legislation relating to puppy farms and dog breeding establishments. I will certainly ask the Minister with responsibility to come to the House.

Senator Noonan talked about investment in culture and heritage. I commend his own work as part of the previous Government with regard to greater advocacy for heritage, an area close to his heart, and to investment, whether in our national parks or wildlife services or in our built heritage. I will call for a debate on those matters at the earliest opportunity. Senator Paul Daly spoke about worrying cases of foot-and-mouth disease in Europe. I will ask the Minister if he is in a position to come to the House, or I will at least make him aware of the Senator having raised the matter. We all remember 2001 and we certainly do not want any threat of that. It is important to raise awareness to those who might be travelling. If it is to a stag weekend in Slovakia, they would not be thinking about foot-and-mouth disease but there are consequences if they bring it home. I will raise that.

Senator Scahill talked about the student enterprise programme. Congratulations to all the schools in Roscommon on their successes and best wishes to them in the national final on 8 May. Great work is being done across our schools in a wide variety of areas, which the Senator highlighted.

Senator Craughwell talked of the women of Afghanistan and Iran. In the western world, we like to think and acknowledge that the rights of women and minorities improve with each generation and that with each decade there are additional rights and wrongs of the past are highlighted and improved upon. It is regrettable that, compared with even the 1970s, the rights of women have gone backwards in certain parts of the world where women had more rights then than they have today. I will ask the Minister for foreign affairs to come to the House to debate that issue.

Senator Kennelly talked about a waiting list for elderly people and carers. That is a concern because our elderly deserve the best. A number of years ago, the issue was funding of home care hours. The issue now is getting staff to provide the hours. The Senator might have a different view locally in Kerry but across the healthcare sector there is an issue with getting staff. I know from dealing with cases in my area that it is just impossible to get people to implement the hours needed to do very important caring work. I know of a company where managers are out doing the work themselves because they cannot get people in. There has to be greater work on that issue. Some weeks ago, the House debated a Fine Gael Private Members’ motion on this very important matter. I will ask that the Minister come to the House to discuss caring and home care.

Senator Tully raised the autism and AsIAm and asked for an update on the legislation. I will try to get an update for her.

Senator Brady talked of his home area in Drumlish and Ballinamuck, and a series of worrying closures or threats of closure, which he is quite right to highlight. I do not have an answer for him. There are a number of issues. I urge the Senator to engage with An Post directly in respect of the post office. Obviously, the pub is a private matter. Hopefully someone else will take over that establishment, which, as the Senator said, is important for the local community. The Senator also indicated he would like the Minister for Justice come to the House to discuss Garda numbers. I will request that. While allocations are a matter for the Garda Commissioner, the Minister could highlight those issues to the Garda Commissioner.

Senator Cosgrove talked about Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. Volunteers with the Irish guide dog association do tremendous work. The Senator spoke of very worrying cases of discrimination in both hospitality and public services. I will raise that matter with the Minister to see what can be done because it is important that people have a good quality of life and blatant discrimination is dealt with.

Senator McCarthy talked about a good friend of his, Jason, who has a terminal illness and will be facing palliative care. This is a very serious issue. I wish Jason’s family the best as they deal with these difficult issues over the coming months. I know from experience that hospices do tremendous work, as does the HSE, in fairness, liaising with families to provide the best pathway to allow people to die with dignity and, where possible, in their own homes if that is their wish. If Senator McCarthy engages with his local hospice, it will provide a clear outline. Senator Duffy talked about piers along the Mayo coast, including Ballina, Lacken and Killala. Local authorities have staff to deal with these issues, provide plans and apply to the Department for funding. If the Senator has particular cases, he can raise them directly with the Minister and Department, but the starting point is the local authority in terms of ensuring applications have been lodged and the relevant Department has adequate funding to try to fund all projects or as many projects as possible that come in from the local authorities.

Senator Keogan spoke about the Ombudsman's report on the national paediatric review of child deaths. All deaths are tragic, especially child deaths. This is a matter for the Coroner Service. Where there is suspicion, matters are dealt with via autopsy. If she has a specific issue, I will certainly raise it and I will ask for a debate on the Ombudsman’s report with the relevant Minister.

Senator Boyhan spoke about the policing service for the future and local community safety partnerships. It was somewhat contentious legislation but it is the law of the land now. It is important that the issues in that legislation that relate to the replacing of the JPCs are proceeded with as quickly as possible. If the Senator puts down a Commencement matter for the Minister, Deputy Jim O’Callaghan, perhaps he will see the most up-to-date data on that. If not, we will try to get a debate on the new policing model and Garda numbers with the Minister at a later date.