Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)

I will raise the fact, with increased funding from the Department of agriculture, that Kildare County Council will be able to hire a new dog warden, which means we will have three in the county to improve dog control issues. That is important in enforcing legislation on the control of dogs and dog breeding establishments, responding to complaints about uncontrolled dogs and, where necessary, bringing them to the pound. A key issue in the responsibility of a dog warden is educating the public on responsible dog ownership and the impact of stray dogs on people, livestock and property, and assisting with rehoming efforts. This an area that could be expanded. A lot of work could be done in schools with the assistance of dog wardens. The Holy Family Secondary School in Newbridge has a school dog, which is terrific in showing children how to care for a dog responsibly. We also have two excellent animal foundations in Kildare. While encouraging licensing and microchipping is very important, as is cleaning up after dogs, we could have a debate on dog wardens and the education part of their role, and on supporting schools to roll out similar programmes.

As the Leader knows, Ireland is very proud of its ongoing participation in UNIFIL peacekeeping missions. Coming from Kildare, I know many who have served in Lebanon and are very proud of it. We know that the renewal of the UNIFIL mandate is due at the beginning of September. It is expected to be a challenging process, with different views on the mandate renewal from members of the UN Security Council. In the event that the UN Security Council does not renew the UNIFIL mandate, under current legislation, Irish troops will have to withdraw from the mission upon the expiration of the mandate. I know that the Government is totally committed to UNIFIL. Its work is key to maintaining security and stability in the region. If the mandate is not renewed, Irish troops will have to withdraw and there will have to be transition period. That is something about which we need to urgently have a debate in this House.

I will raise a query about the National Children's Science Centre project, which was committed to 22 years ago when the OPW undertook a project with a developer in Dublin 8 and planning permission was received. It was then decided to move that to the north wing of the National Concert Hall. Permission was granted for there in 2016, but we still do not have any sight of the children's science museum. It is something important that we should progress towards. Maybe we could have a debate in this House on it.