Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. Our opener this morning was Senator Shane Curley, who spoke about the issue of waste and surplus energy due to the lack of storage, while at the same time we have fuel poverty. It is really good to hear about the pilot scheme in Galway relating to the energy cloud initiative and that 150 families benefit from this. The Senator is correct to say that Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan, who is now a Minister of State, and Deputy Paul McAuliffe brought forward a Bill on this issue.I think it is extremely worthwhile. While we have a scheme that is up and running, we all need to learn from it. I, too, compliment Councillor Emma Murphy on her work, as has been rightly pointed out. I think we should have a full debate on this matter. We will ask the Minister to come in here to debate this topical issue as we need further information and an opportunity to feed into any solution.

Senator Duffy spoke about a housing tsar. The word "tsar" means an emperor. All of the councillors around the country are doing excellent work and I am not sure they would like to be known as emperors in their counties and constituencies. The Senator is correct in what he said about empowering councillors and local government to deliver houses. He is also correct when he argued for one-off houses, particularly for anyone who own their land. They have been brought up on their own land and they trying to make rural areas, villages and small towns sustainable.

On the point about a housing tsar, it is hugely important that we have somebody who will examine the blockages that exist. A lot of the blockages that arise, no matter the county, concern issues with Irish Water and services that are not provided. I understand that no name has been put forward, but it is important that whoever it is can knock heads together. One does not exclude the other, so while there should be somebody to look at housing activation on the macro, we need to empower local councillors and ensure they are part of the delivery programme.

Senator McCarthy spoke about the need to engage with EU bodies on transport and emphasised that stability is needed for exports and free trade. All of that is laudable. I have no doubt that through the Council of Europe, where our Ministers meet on a regular basis to discuss transport, these issues are thrashed out.

The Senator also spoke about the very concerning issue of homelessness and, without doubt, we all share his concern. His comments go hand in hand with the view expressed by Senator Duffy who said that the only way to deal with homelessness is to provide more houses. We need to put everything we have into that. The Taoiseach has already said that housing is a priority. The Government is extremely clear on that.

Senator Higgins mentioned that today is International Workers' Day, as did Senator Sarah O'Reilly. Senator Higgins suggested that we should have a debate today on workers' rights rather than Europe Day, which traditionally is Schuman Day, that is, 9 May. We will look for a debate on workers' rights as it is important. We must strike a balance by ensuring businesses are sustainable and can give employment. I totally agree with what was said about section 39 organisations. There have been advances made in Government talks in respect of pay parity for people who work in section 39 organisations.

Senator Andrews spoke about the crisis in dog welfare and how we need to support people who work in rescue centres. These people do incredible work. Last weekend, I was with the KWWSPCA, which was doing its own mammoth fundraising. The KWWSPCA needs to fundraise to care for animals that are, it is sad to say, badly treated or abandoned some place. My family, like many Senators, choose to adopt rescue animals and it is very worthwhile thing to do.

Senator Andrews talked about the Government's failure. The failure is by those who illegally breed dogs or are irresponsible owners of dogs. I refer to people who have not thought about the amount of time and commitment it takes to provide a home for a dog.It is quite shocking. We should make recommendations to improve policy and work with the Minister in that regard. The Senator rightly spoke about simple measures that could be put in place. We will ask the Minister to come to the House for a debate on animal welfare. It comes up on a regular basis. It is an important issue.

Senator Costello spoke about Alzheimer's tea day. I thank everybody who came yesterday. We had an excellent morning. We will set up the all-party committee on dementia. I invite those interested to join. We only meet three or four times a year because we are conscious of the demands on everybody. It is a growing area. As our population gets older, we have an increase in dementia. Senator Costello spoke about her dad using Rose Cottage. I thank all of those involved in Rose Cottage and the different areas. It is important that we raise as much awareness as possible. The new initiatives around making towns and communities dementia-aware and dementia-friendly are really good. Dungarvan is going through that process at the moment and Macroom in County Cork has gone through the process. It is about working with all retail workers in a town and giving training so that people with dementia and their families can feel comfortable going into a place where they know there is awareness. The Alzheimer Society of Ireland does incredible work. It is an honour to support it. We will ask the Minister of State for older people to come to the House for a specific debate on dementia.

Senator O'Donovan spoke about driving tests and the RSA needing root-and-branch reform. I would be inclined to agree. When the Minister, Deputy Lawless, was the Minister of State in that area in the previous Government, he started quite a bit of work on taking away some responsibilities from the RSA. It is very difficult for young people starting employment or who need to drive to go to college, etc. They need to be able to do their tests quickly. We will ask for a debate with the Minister for Transport on that.

Senator O'Reilly spoke about International Workers' Day and those who commute. Six tolls is an awful lot. I get her point. She spoke about the carbon tax and the Government cashing in. At the end of the day, we all agree there is a climate emergency and there is a need for a carbon tax. I do not like to see energy consumption prices going up but we cannot ignore the crisis. It is not cashing in by the Government. The money is used in two ways. It is used for public transport. The fairer fares scheme came in last Monday. It benefits the area I live in because we are in a commuter area. I accept it does not benefit people in Cavan who have to commute to Dublin daily. That needs to be looked at when it is a longer route, particularly when there are six tolls. Some of the money from the carbon tax also goes to support those in fuel poverty and in the just transition in areas that had worked in the provision of turf, for example. My county of Kildare as well as Offaly, Roscommon and Laois will benefit from that. I take the Senator's point. We need to look at how to support those who have to travel from farther away and do not have the benefit of a better train or bus service. We should bring up with the Minister for Transport how to support those who commute from farther away.

Senator Tully spoke about the regulation concerning utility companies. She said it was not sufficient. She raised a particular situation that would take about 12 months. Senator Tully spoke about the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. She raised a particular situation that would take about 12 months to deal with and said it was not sufficient. It is not good enough. Everybody should get fair treatment. There should be a fair expectation that complaints are addressed within a relatively short period. Those timelines should maybe be defined. That is something we can also bring up with the Minister.

Senator Scahill gave us a good news story about Castlerea and access to nursing being delivered through FET and the ETB. It is wonderful when we see that higher and further education is being rolled out on a regional basis in order that people do not have to travel or take a long commute and they can do it in their own town. That benefits everybody. It benefits the individuals. It benefits local businesses too because if people are staying and studying, they are spending their money in their small rural town. It is a good news story and let us hope we see a lot more of that.

Senator Keogan spoke about the recent court ruling in the UK. I did not take the Order of Business yesterday but the Senator said it was an issue that was raised yesterday. Obviously, each country has its own judicial system and its own way of dealing with issues. I have no doubt that down the line something like that will be taken here. Obviously, there is a division between the State and the judicial system. I believe it is only a matter of time and we will have to see how something like that will play out in the Irish courts.