Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)

I thank Senators for their contributions. I start by welcoming back Senator Andrews. I know he had a strong advocate in Senator McCormack, who made ample phone calls on Wednesday evening looking for a debate on Thursday, which was facilitated. I acknowledge the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, who came to the House on that. Senator Andrews has been a strong advocate on Gaza and his advocacy and publicity around it are important in highlighting the issues. The Senator mentioned peace and justice issues. We hope we will have peace and the deal that was agreed yesterday will work, the hostages will be released, the ceasefire will hold and humanitarian aid will flow. The Senator is right. We need to continue efforts to highlight injustice and deliver justice for the citizens in Gaza. I acknowledge all others who have spoken on the matter as well this morning.

Senator Nelson Murray raised the issue of graffiti in her own area in Navan and other areas in Meath and the possibility of having legal spaces for it. Finding such places would be the first step while the second would be targeting those who engage in illegal graffiti. It is certainly unsightly. It is not just found in this country. We see it in different parts of the world. It is not nice, particularly on historic buildings, but anywhere on private or public property. Perhaps this could be raised as a Commencement matter with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for a more direct answer regarding funding possibilities.

Senator Tully spoke about the Retrofit Ready pilot project. I am not that familiar with it. I presume it is being done through the SEAI or the Department, so perhaps the Senator can put raise it as a Commencement matter.

Senator Scahill also raised matters relating to retrofitting and funding for it. He also called for a debate with the Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, and the Minister, Deputy Lawless, on apprenticeships. I spoke to the Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, on Tuesday and she will be coming to the House in the coming weeks to talk about apprenticeships. I know the Minister, Deputy Lawless, is due to come to the House as well to speak about his areas, so we will certainly have an opportunity there to raise those matters.

Senator Dee Ryan spoke about business professionals and called for a debate on AI and the national AI office, which has been committed to under the budget, so I will request that from the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth. I am not sure where it is planned to locate it but it is an important step. I know an Oireachtas committee on AI has been established of which many Members here are part. I am sure we will get updates on that in due course. The Senator also spoke about the HIQA report. I have requested a debate on this report as it relates to the mid-west and to Portiuncula hospital, so I will request that again of the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. Senator Keogan talked about the persecution of Christians in Nigeria. Persecution of anybody for religious beliefs is wrong and certainly the atrocities in Nigerian are to be condemned. I will request a debate on that. She talked about freedom of religion and beliefs. We can all agree, irrespective of religion or beliefs, that there should be freedom to express and to practice those religions and beliefs, both in this country and around the world. I will request a debate on matters in Nigeria.

Senator O'Donovan raised budget matters, including the 9% VAT rate and the importance and appreciation of small business owners. He has also called out the hypocrisy of some parties, in particular the Social Democrats and party leader Deputy Holly Cairns in advocating for the 9% VAT rate and the separation of hospitality and accommodation prior to the election and now advocating something else. He is right to call out hypocrisy on that matter. He has also called for a debate on respite care and disabilities. On 4 November, the Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, will be in the House to talk about matters pertaining to disability, the disability strategy and the budget.

Senator Comyn raised the issue of public transport from Drogheda and the inadequacy of the service in ensuing people are brought to UCD and other universities on time. I will request a debate with the Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien, on that matter. There is always a need for increased public transport. The more public transport that is provided, the more demand there is. If buses are provided every hour, there is a demand to have them every half hour and if they are every half hour, they should be every 15 minutes, and rightly so. That change, together with better bus shelters for comfort, is needed to encourage better use. The BusConnects projects and the bus lanes in different areas are also important to ensure there is a speed and efficiency of travel.

Senator Boyhan raised the tillage sector and called for a debate. He mentioned the €50 million for the tillage sector and I wish to acknowledge the work of the Minister, Deputy Heydon, in delivering that. It was important. It was one of the top issues in farming this year. Tillage is often weather-dependent. The sector is dependent on international grain prices. There have been particular challenges in the sector this year so the funding was absolutely needed. I will speak to the Minister. He was in the Chamber prior to the budget on all matters and many Members advocated on tillage issues. I will request a debate with him.

Senator Martin Conway raised the matter of derelict properties and properties owned by the State. There were initiatives in the budget regarding the extension of the living city initiative and changes in the rules from buildings pre-1915 qualifying now to pre-1975. That is welcome and I hope that will make a difference to private properties. Regarding State-owned properties, one would hope there is an inventory somewhere in every State agency that owns property but also that they have plans for that. Sometimes, they may be held up in respect of funding, design, planning permission or whatever. However, no local authority or State agency should have property that is just sitting there. I will request a debate with the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works on that matter.

Senator Murphy O'Mahony raised the matter of farm safety and the 16 people, nine of whom were over 69, who passed away this year. It is a very high figure and behind each of those figures is a family, loved ones, neighbours and friends. We will request a debate again. We have spoken with the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae. He is agreeable to come in but Senator Paul Daly has requested that mental health be brought into that debate as well so we are trying to see if we can have two Ministers in at the same time. That is not always practical but we are seeing if we can arrange that.

Senator Craughwell raised the issue of Iran where 1,800 hundred people were hung, or as he said, strangled in the past year. There really are atrocities going on in different parts of the world that are hard to fathom. I will certainly bring that up with the Tánaiste. The Senator called for a debate on cyberprotection and he mentioned Singapore and what is going on there. I will certainly request that.

Senator McCormack mentioned the situation in Gaza but also endometriosis and called for a debate with the Minister for Health. I will organise that. Funding of €3 million was provided for research into endometriosis in UCD. That is important. I will request the debate with the Minister on the matter or the Senator might table a Commencement matter to get a more direct response on that particular issue. Finally, Senator Rabbitte raised the issue of renewables. We all say we need more renewables but when the rubber hits the road and there are applications in a local community, whether it is solar or wind, or even nuclear if it came to that, public meetings would be packed out on this. I have seen it up and down the country. People are not happy with projects like this whether they are onshore or even offshore. People are not happy with the impact. I am not sure what the solution is. Guidelines can be brought in but these may not be positively received in some communities. I will request a debate with the Minister for climate, Deputy O'Brien, on this. Every political party and none has talked about the need to increase energy security and increase renewables but when we drill down into it, there are issues. There are certainly communities that are very upset about those matters.