Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)

We began with Senator Mary Fitzpatrick, who spoke about the decision announced yesterday by the Minister for justice on the recommendation that came from the Judiciary regarding a rise of 16.9% in personal injuries awards. He made the decision before the subcommittee met that he would not be recommending it. It is very welcome news, I have no doubt there was possibly an interesting voice note left for Fine Gael Senators and parliamentary party members in relation to that. I have always had belief in the Minster's judgement in terms of doing the right thing and he certainly did. It is not without its risks either. There is a concern that the Injuries Resolution Board may be bypassed now because payments will not be keeping in line with inflation and claims will go straight to the High Courts and bring costs up. We do always have to try to bring a bit of balance into it. To be fair, there is a concern regarding the action plan on insurance, which was successful at a level, and I commend the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, on it and I know he is working on the second action plan now, that the cost reductions that have been achieved have not been passed on to the consumer. We have to work collectively to ensure it is the consumer, the businessperson, the individual who gets the benefit of the cost reduction. That is really important.

Senator Fitzpatrick also recommended we all go to see The Pillowman. Conor McPherson is an incredible playwright, and we are lucky to have someone of his calibre. I must check out how long The Pillowman is running for at The Gate and possibly take the opportunity to go.

Senator Nelson Murray also spoke about the Minister for justice's decision of yesterday. The Senator, along with many of my colleagues, did raise the issue and did a lot of good work in relation to the leisure business. I know Tracy Smullen has taken that on. I know Tracy and she is someone who had been in regular contact in that regard. There are a lot of people who rely on having a robust, effective and affordable insurance scheme to be able to keep their businesses going. It is important.

Around this time of year, we all wear our tribal jerseys. We have had good wishes to a lot of different teams. May the best team win is what we will say about all of them.

Senator Clonan spoke about his own peacekeeping work, along with the Defence Forces. I commend him and all of those who have served in peacekeeping. He spoke about the slaughter of the innocents which is shocking on every single lever. He also raised an issue about Baldonnel and that 100 members of the Air Corps, which is a very significant - 10% of those who are there, have passed away from cancer. Our deepest sympathies go to the latest gentleman who passed away during the week. I am not doubting Senator Clonan but obviously a lot of research needs to go into this particular allegation, but we will bring it to the Tánaiste's attention as Minister for Defence, ask for information on it and look for a debate on it in the autumn.

Senator Collins spoke about the Ryder Cup coming to Adare, which is a beautiful village, the great potential for tourism in Adare and around Limerick, and mentioned the fact that a number of the local castles have been closed for periods of months and years. We will ask the OPW and the Minister to look at this. The Senator is right that there is great potential there and it needs to be taken up, particularly in that part of the country.

Senator Stephenson spoke about a Journal Investigates article, and Senator Crowe spoke about this, about a national survey and targets for starting treatments for cancer patients not being met at all. Senator Stephenson pointed out it concerned women in particular.I totally appreciate that when someone gets a diagnosis, that person's life is in disarray. There are so many different things to organise and plan. It is life altering. All that person wants to do is start treatment as soon as possible. There are regional disparities. We will look for a debate with the Minister for Health on that.

Senator Crowe also mentioned that Ballinasloe needed to be a priority and that, in Galway, the figures went from 91% in 2023 to 76% in 2024. The figure for this year is approximately 73%. He mentioned that, for the first time ever, there would be an under-23 Camogie final in Limerick. We will wear our tribal colours for Galway versus Cork. I am sure Senator Rabbitte will also be shouting for Galway.

Senator Boyle spoke about the ambulance service, which he raised previously, and the fact the Minister for Health had referred the matter to the Minister for Finance. He asked whether these people understood rural life. Both those people are Fine Gael Ministers, so I assume he has taken the opportunity to speak to both. We all support what he is looking for. It needs to be sorted out. Donegal needs a good ambulance service, as does everywhere in the country.

I understand what Senator McCarthy is saying. He spoke about the Ukrainian ambassador being concerned that Ukraine was being forgotten about in the heat of Israel and Palestine. There was an interesting presentation from European Movement Ireland at the European Affairs committee yesterday. It commissioned a survey, which was carried out by Amárach. Ukraine was third on the list of concerns people had. Out of the top five areas of concern - I questioned this - Gaza was not there at all, which really surprised me. It was first in Northern Ireland for those who participated in the survey, but Ukraine was No. 3. We absolutely have to reaffirm through solidarity. We certainly hope that war of aggression by Russia ends soon.

Senator Rabbitte spoke about Portiuncula hospital, high-risk pregnancies and antenatal care. She is right that we have to have the best care and best protection for mum and child. This was raised in 2018, when a particular survey was done. I understand from what the Senator said that what is being suggested is potentially moving those mums to another hospital. She raised a concern about the capacity to then retain staff. It is a key issue. As she said, there is a commitment to a review of the maternity strategy in the programme for Government. We will look for the Minister for Health to come in on the national strategy and ask her to address the situation at Portiuncula.

Senator Kennelly spoke about the new respite day services that are needed in Beaufort. Apparently, there is a very good service there, which the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, recently visited. There is a clear demand and a growing need. It is certainly undeniable that the quality of life of the individual, and his or her family, is improved so much when there is respite care. In that context, we will ask for a full debate on respite care. We will ask the Minister to reference Beaufort in that. It is an issue that impacts on many throughout the country.

Senator Kennelly also mentioned the Shannon energy project and the need for security of energy supply, which is crucial for everything. The supply of energy gives us many answers to many challenges and issues. We need clarity. We will ask about it, but I suggest a Commencement matter, maybe next week, would be worthy in that regard.

I share Senator Andrews's dismay that those visas were not allowed. As he knows, I spoke about this earlier in the week and about another group from Lahiya, which is in the West Bank, whose members hope to come over. They have had delays and have now put out their timeframe for a longer period. I spoke to the Minister's office after I raised the matter. The Senator is right that we need to have a compassionate, humanitarian approach. At the same time, over the past few years, the public we represent have been very clear that they want to ensure there are checks and balances regarding anybody looking for a visa to come to this country. We are clear that we need to have a robust system. From talking to the Minister's office, my understanding is that, unfortunately, the paperwork was not up to scratch. It was not the Minister's decision, but the officials decided the paperwork that was presented was not robust in this particular situation. It is a question of balance. We need a humanitarian approach but we also need checks and balances for visas, no matter where anybody is coming from.

It was also a very frustrating situation, when I worked with Special Olympics and we were organising the World Games in 2003. The biggest headache was that process of trying to ensure people got visas, especially for underdeveloped countries that we really wanted to come and have a very positive experience in Ireland. Some just did not get visas. I remember having the task of telling eight host towns, which put in two years' work to prepare, about four days before the games started that those countries were not coming. I will always remember the disappointment and having to do that because of the whole visa system. It is very regrettable, but we will send the message that it is very important to have a humanitarian, compassionate approach to that.

Senator Davitt spoke about the need for the Minister for local government to come to the House to talk about the security allowance for councillors. I do not know the detail on it but I understand there was an announcement on this yesterday. It is very important. All of us worked collectively on that. Sadly, we are living in a difficult world where people think that any public representative is fair game. It is important that if we as Members of the Oireachtas can get a security allowance, then councillors can also have that opportunity. It certainly is very welcome news.

Senator Scahill spoke about the meeting with the Irish Hotels Federation, which represents a sector that employs 66,000 people nationally. He raised a very good point. I was also there and while the VAT issue is important, Ms Mary Fennin-Byrne from Clanard Court Hotel, Athy, which is an excellent hotel, raised the issue of staff training with me. I spoke to the Minister, Deputy James Lawless, about it last night. He is willing to look at that, to look at the sector and to look at what we can do to support it. Ms Fennin-Byrne raised the point that it was now quite difficult to attract chefs. Whether it is the hotel industry, restaurants or coffee shops, we need to support our hospitality trade because when we attract tourists, that is what they come for. They come for good food and good service, and we need to be able to deliver that. The Minister is certainly willing to look at it to see what he can do. We will look for a debate with him on that in the autumn. Senator Scahill also raised the situation in respect of insurance.

Senator Conway spoke about the issue of connections in Portlaoise and that the ESB had not connected houses. It is appalling, but the Minister, Deputy Browne, is looking into the situation. We have to have that. The Senator also spoke about farm safety. I understand from my colleague, Senator Rabbitte, that the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, launched a tractor safety scheme last Monday.Looking at the number of farm deaths around the country, we cannot be too careful. I know Senator Daly raised the issue the week before the last and I heard some of the radio debate about young people being able to drive tractors at 16 years of age. While not wanting to take away from the licence aspect, it is important that there be mandatory training for young people. Tractors are very powerful vehicles. The first vehicle I drove was a tractor, although I may not have driven it too far. Having been brought up on a farm, I know it is very important that we have mandatory training.

Senator Murphy O'Mahony spoke about the investigation the Minister, Deputy McEntee, announced. It is certainly very welcome but it is important that we have the opportunity to look at the terms of reference, etc. We will ask the Minister to come to the House in the autumn.

Senator Higgins spoke about the increase in the number of data centres. While I understand what she is saying, at the same time, if we are going to support the AI revolution and try to become a leader in innovation, technology and the changes taking place in the business world, we need to have data centres. Going back to the point about LNG and the Shannon terminal, it is about being able to provide energy and having that wider debate.

Senator Higgins also spoke about the cost of fees. The new limits for SUSI mean grants, including accommodation grants, are available to families with an income of up to €115,000. That is very significant and we cannot lose sight of it. The vast majority of young people going into higher education would be able to avail of those. When we are talking about the cost of higher education, we also need to factor in more than just the cost for students. Obviously, we need to do everything we can to support students but it is also about the investment in our campuses and staff. When I was chair of the Oireachtas education committee, we spent a long time considering the Cassells report, which was about the investment needed in capital and IT infrastructure in our third level colleges. The Minister, Deputy Lawless, announced welcome and much-needed investment in four universities three or four weeks ago. A balance is needed between what we can do for students, which we need to do, and State investment in the organisations that are providing third level education.