Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding membership of the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; No. 2, motion regarding membership of the Committee of Selection, to be taken on the conclusion of No. 1, without debate; No. 3., statements on emergency department waiting times and hospital admissions, to be taken at 11.45 a.m. and conclude at 1 p.m. if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed seven minutes, all other Senators five minutes and the Minister to be given no less than eight minutes to reply to the debate; and No. 4, Protection of Private Residences (Against Targeted Picketing) Bill 2021 - Second Stage, to be taken at 1 p.m., with the time allocated for the debate not to exceed two hours.

Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael)
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I rise today to raise an issue of some concern. Hyperemesis gravidarum is a very debilitating illness that women contract during pregnancy. It can run for the entirety of the pregnancy with illness and vomiting beyond which any of us would ever have imagined. The treatment is a medication called Cariban, which a GP prescribes as soon as a person presents with this severe debilitating illness. Up until 1 January, there was no financial support for women who were in need of this medication. In budget 2023, however, €1 million was set aside. The terminology was to the effect that this was going to mean full reimbursement in order that women would receive the mediation free of charge.

When the scheme came into operation in January, however, people had to have a consultant obstetrician's prescription before they could get the reimbursement. To get to an obstetrician, women are generally anywhere between ten or 12 weeks into their pregnancy. Therefore, they had to fund the medication up until that point despite their GP prescribing it much earlier. The consultant obstetrician must also then fill out a form in order for a person to access it. There are delays in the public system in receiving that form. Women tell me they are ringing up repeatedly having been seen by their obstetrician but they still have not got the form filled out. Then, we have a situation even if a person has the form and goes in. The system is very speedy online. Pretty much within a couple of minutes people receive confirmation that they are in the scheme. There is no retrospective payment, however. Up until the point a person submits the form, there is no retrospective payment and a woman can be 12 weeks pregnant, which is three months at that point. Furthermore, it is on the drugs payment scheme. As a result, people must fund the first €80 per month. Therefore, two and a half packets are paid for by the individual woman per month and a packet and a half is paid for by the Government. That means up to a minimum of €800 for the duration of a pregnancy that must be paid for by a woman plus on top of that, the period for which there is no reimbursement. That means that this so-called free-of-charge scheme is not free at all. It is very expensive and the description relating to it is also misleading.

I want a debate on two issues, namely, how we include payments in the drugs payment scheme and how access to this medication is so heavily burdened in red tape. Illnesses like this should be on the long-term illness scheme so that when people go in, they are automatically covered and it is automatically given to them free of charge. This red tape of having to wait until 12 weeks is nonsense. We need a debate on that scheme.

Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail)
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I certainly agree with the Order of Business. I was slightly amused to read Mr. Pat Leahy's column in The Irish Timesthis morning in which he referred to what is happening in the Dáil, Seanad and committees. Mr. Leahy notes: "Just three items on the Seanad agenda". He seems to be referring to all of Tuesday's business, so people looking in today for a debate on the National Concert Hall will have missed it. Referring to the Order of Business, Mr. Leahy refers to "windbagging on any issue that comes to mind and asking the leader of the Seanad for a debate on it". That is probably slightly unkind, but I will now proceed to raise a couple of topics and ask for debates on them anyway.

The unpublished Housing Commission report suggests that we may need to build a lot more than 30,000 houses per year. It also suggests that anywhere up to 70,000 - more likely between 40,000 and 60,000 - may need to be constructed. It would be useful for that report to be published in order that we can at least analyse it and look at the figures. Family formation is later and smaller than previously. Houses that used to have five and six people often now only have two and three people in them. We need even more units just to accommodate our existing population which, as we know, has grown by more than 50% in the last 25 years. It would be useful to have the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in here to discuss that.

The year 2023 is both the 50th anniversary of Ireland joining the European Union and the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. I congratulate the Deputy Leader on his elevation. It is important that we have serious and useful debates, contributions and commemorations in this House on 50 years of our membership of the EU and 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement, both of which are very important things that happened in our country's existence.

In the previous Seanad, I called for a particular debate. In the aftermath of that call, we had a good debate on not so much about the future of Europe but, rather, on the benefits of EU membership. We are quite keen to give out about the parts of the EU we do not like, but consider all the benefits the EU has brought to Ireland in terms of access to the Single Market and all the companies that want to be here because they have access to that market, to our educated work force and various other things. Equally, we have freedom to work in, travel to and obtain access to healthcare in other countries. There are many other benefits of being a member of the European Union.It would be useful to have a debate to remind ourselves of these things. I think of the Erasmus and other programmes in this regard.

I call for a debate on how far we have come with the Good Friday Agreement and where we are going, that is, what has been achieved but, equally, what still needs to be achieved.

I would also like a debate at some point on the skills shortages in the economy. I talk to an awful lot of employers, and we all know people in hospitality, manufacturing, transport and logistics. There are challenges all over the country with regard to skills shortages. I would like to get the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science in to discuss what we are doing about skills shortage along with, perhaps, the Minister for Education because schools, colleges and so on are all crying out for qualified people. We need a debate on where we are going with that.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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It is lovely to see Senator Gallagher in the Leader's chair today. In April 2021, there were 2,919 people on the waiting list for child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS. Some 18 months later, the number has risen to 4,127. In October 2021, there was just shy of 10,000 children on primary care psychology waiting lists. Many mental health services across the country are only open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Most children and young people can only access out-of-hours mental health treatment through hospital emergency departments as most CAMHS do not offer this support. In 2019, the Health Service Executive service plan included a commitment to develop a seven day per week CAMHS but this commitment remains unfulfilled. The Children's Rights Alliance committee recommended that the State take measures to ensure all children under 18 years of age have equitable and timely access to age-appropriate quality mental health treatment and services that are adequately staffed and argued that the State must urgently create a designated pathway to CAMHS for children in care. We are losing our children to suicide and drugs and those who are still with us are battling depression, anxiety and eating disorders. We need the Minister for Health and the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to get together to see what needs to be done. How do we employ and retain the specialists needed? How do we keep community mental health centres open and staffed 24-7? These questions need to be answered and these issues solved. The cost of doing nothing does not bear thinking about.

The Children's Rights Alliance recently published its civil society alternative report in response to the Ireland's combined fifth and sixth report under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. A great deal of work went into this document, which gives and in-depth briefing on the current conditions of children in this country across areas such as civil rights and freedoms, family environment and health and welfare. There is a substantial amount of information contained within the report, much more than could ever be touched upon here. I recommend that every elected Member go through it. However, it is the section on child and adolescent mental health that I want to raise today. Approximately one in three young people in Ireland will have experienced some type of mental disorder by the age of 13, with this rate rising to more than one in two by the age of 24 years. Children in care have multiple other experiences that place them at a higher risk of poor mental health. It is of particular concern that, between 2010 and 2020, 49 young people died in State care while 23 died by suicide or from a drug overdose. Those who work in the mental health sector said at the outset of the Covid pandemic and the associated Government lockdowns that the result would be a mental health tsunami that the country was not ready for. These figures show exactly that.

Mark Wall (Labour)
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It is good to see the Deputy Leader in the chair today. I will bring up a number of worrying cases I have been involved in or am currently dealing with that have regard to utility companies whose customers have contacted me. In one case, I spent a number of days over the Christmas holidays helping a family whose power had been cut off despite a moratorium on this happening. Those days with that family were spent going from one power provider to another as each blamed the other and insisted it was the other company's fault. In the middle was a family with a very sick child who had done no wrong. Indeed, they had listened to all of those advocating that it was wise and economical to change provider, which is exactly what they did. However, nobody told them that there would be nobody available over the Christmas period should the transfer not go smoothly or that the code needed to complete the transfer would not be provided by one company, which blamed the other company. That is what happened over those two to three days during the Christmas period. We can be thankful that, after many phone calls, the problem was solved. It is a serious problem.

I mention the blame game because I am dealing with two further cases in which customers changed supplier around the time of the Government's €200 credit. These customers still have not received that State assistance. Once again, the two utility companies are blaming each other, stating that it is the other's problem and that it should be providing the €200 while two customers are left without that State assistance. It is simply wrong and I ask that the Minister come before the House to debate this issue. I have spoken to other public representatives about it and it seems to be a problem when people switch suppliers. As I have said, it is a problem that ends up in a blame game.

I also seek a debate with the new Minister for Defence. Reading an article in The Journalyesterday, I learned that two more ships are to be tied up at the naval base in Haulbowline in Cork because there are simply not enough sailors to man them. The Department of Defence has confirmed that the LÉ Róisínand LÉ Niamhwill not go on patrol due to the crippling staff retention and recruitment crisis in the Defence Forces. Sources have said that the decision to mothball the ships was made last week at a high-level meeting of Department of Defence civil servants and senior officers in the Defence Forces. Those sources also said that it is understood that the remaining members of the ships' crews have yet to be told of the move, which is very worrying. As we know, two new ships are on their way from New Zealand. There are questions to be asked as to how we are going to staff those two new ships. I ask that the Minister for Defence come before us so that we can ask about what is happening with the new report and where it sits and, most importantly, so that we can discuss what is happening with our Defence Forces. I ask that such a debate be facilitated as quickly as possible.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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Senator Boylan has just made it for the Sinn Féin slot.

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
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I am having the morning from hell.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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The Senator is having a great morning. The most important thing is that she is here. She may catch her breath before-----

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
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I definitely was not down to speak first. On the Order of Business this morning, I will raise a story that some Senators might have seen when it was first published in the Irish Independentin October. It is about how households have been subsidising large energy users, including data centres and pharmaceutical companies, for the last 12 years. We do not yet know the full figures because the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, was apparently not tracking how much this was costing. It says that there is an estimate of approximately €600 million but that it is more than likely to have been more than that over the 12 years. This is on top of the fact that the PSO level is also designed in such a manner as to subsidise large energy users, being based on peak demand rather than steady demand. I also understand from responses to other parliamentary questions that these large energy users are also able to avail of energy crisis supports for businesses.

It seems that households are constantly having to foot the bill for these large energy users both now, at a time when we are in an energy crisis, but also at the time of its introduction on the back of a recession. It was introduced by the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, in 2009. The Government admitted that it was the result of lobbying from large energy users. They said we were out of kilter with other EU countries when it came to energy costs but did not mention that household energy costs were also out of kilter. The Government acted on this lobbying and basically advised the CRU that it would have to come up with a permanent subsidy or subvention for large energy users, the cost of which was to be borne by households. From the documents disclosed to me through freedom of information requests, it is clear that a Cabinet memo accepted that this would be an unpopular decision among households but the Government pressed ahead with it anyway. It seems the Government is deeply unhappy with the decision the CRU made late last year to unwind this subsidy for large energy users and is now trying to engage in a blame game as to why it was taken. It is criticising the CRU for not consulting with these large energy users and arguing that the public consultation process was too short for them. It is deeply concerning that this information was not made transparent to people in their household bills.We need to know exactly how much money households paid to subsidise the large energy users and why this was done during a recession, when people were on their knees, and continued for 12 years. The CRU decided to unwind it because it knew it had to do something to bring down the cost of household bills. The Government is not happy with that.

There are many questions in respect of this matter. I would welcome a debate with the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, who was responsible for introducing this measure and is now the Minister responsible for being annoyed that it is being unwound. It is deeply unfair that households continue to subsidise large energy users through their electricity bills.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I welcome our student visitors to the Public Gallery and thank them for being here.

Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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With reference to Pat Leahy's description of the Order of Business as "windbagging" on any topic and looking for a debate on it, the same could be said of editorials in the The Irish Times.

I echo the call by my colleague, Senator Horkan, for a debate on Ireland's EU membership, which has been enormously positive for this country in terms of both the contribution the EU has made to Ireland and the contribution we have made to the EU. I was fortunate to attend the launch by the Tánaiste in the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Royal Irish Academy's EU50 exhibition. It shows how far Ireland has come. A debate in this Chamber on the future of the EU would be welcome.

I welcome the statement yesterday by Pope Francis in which he called for an end to anti-gay laws globally. He made very clear that the Catholic Church does not regard homosexuality as a crime and that those who are LGBTQ+ should be welcome within the church. He said: "We are all children of God, and God loves us as we are and for the strength that each of us fights for our dignity." This is a very important statement by the leader of the Catholic Church. The church has done damage to many people who identify as LGBTQ+ but this is a positive step forward. We should remember there are still 67 jurisdictions globally that criminalise consensual same-sex activity. In 11 of those countries, the death penalty can be imposed. Pope Francis's statement is very welcome. As a House and a democracy, it is something we should applaud.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I rise today in a celebratory mood. First, I congratulate Limerick's West End Youth Centre on taking first place in the Pride of Place awards a few days ago. The creativity aspect of its youth programme was acknowledged in granting it the overall award. Congratulations to West End Youth Centre. In addition, Limerick Youth Service is celebrating 50 years in operation this week. It was started by the late Sr. Joan Bowles, working with many other visionaries. It was about laying out a pathway for youth and putting a programme in place to provide training, youth cafés and so on. Its purpose was to give a space to young people to come together, work together and share ideas and resources. Many participants went on to join national youth organisations like Comhairle na nÓg and others. Fifty years ago, Sr. Joan and her team were to the forefront on this issue and the Limerick Youth Service centre was one of the first such centres in Ireland. Congratulations to the centre.

Other good news for the mid-west is the report published this week on Shannon Airport, which shows the airport has exceeded expectations in terms of the number of passengers who have come back since the Covid crisis. The number is up to approximately 80% of the 2019 figure, which is welcome. I compliment the CEO of the Shannon Airport Group, Ms Mary Considine, and her team. They used the Covid period as a time to turn around operations at the airport, including putting in new supports and a new security system. They did Trojan work, supported by funding they received from the Government. Congratulations to Shannon Airport.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the students and teachers from Scoil Mobhí, Glasnevin to the Public Gallery and to Leinster House.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I have just come from a meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts at which there was a very robust engagement by parliamentarians with the Secretary General of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on the failure by the Department to draw down and spend all its money for last year and the carryover from the year before. I will not get into all the statistics and numbers because there seems to be a lot of confusion in that regard. I then listened to proceedings in the Dáil, where the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage is taking parliamentary questions. That engagement included a protracted debate on the delivery of targets for housing, including social housing, last year. The Taoiseach, to be fair to him, has been honest in saying the Government has not reached its targets in this regard and that it is disappointing. It is important that we have that honesty in our engagement on the housing crisis. It is also important to acknowledge that the Government has delivered 6,500 new social houses. That is positive and I want to acknowledge it. We need a debate in this House on housing. The Minister talked about not making a judgement on the outputs for 2022 until all the numbers and statistics are in. We all, across both Houses, recognise there is a crisis. Rather than dwelling too much on the failures of last year, we should focus on how we can deliver the 29,000 houses that are expected to be delivered in 2023 as part of the commitment by the Government. The focus should be on that and I ask that we have a debate on it early this year.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I join colleagues in supporting the Order of Business and the calls for a debate on EU50, which would be very appropriate.

I also welcome the statement by Pope Francis calling for the equality we all believe citizens of the world should have. As my colleague, Senator Malcolm Byrne, pointed out, not only is it a criminal offence to love people of the same sex in certain countries, it is a capital offence in some of them. That is reprehensible. The statement by the Pope is most welcome and will, we hope, change hearts and minds.

Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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In May 2021, there was a cyberattack on our health service. Letters to the many people affected by it have landed in west Cork in recent days. Their data, including telephone numbers, email addresses and other contact details, have been compromised. The letters are only being sent to these people 19 or 20 months after the cyberattack. There needs to be a significant campaign by the Minister to inform the general public of what is happening. Many people thought, 20 months later, that there could not be any issue with the data in their files. They have now been informed that those data were taken, which is causing significant unrest and concern. People have moved on but they need to be told what has happened, where the information has gone and what the next steps should be. This morning, two elderly women came to my office in Bandon who are deeply upset by the letters they received today. It is a significant issue and there is a need now for information from the Minister and the State. We all know the cyberattack happened but the public must be informed of the next steps to be taken. That information is not in the three-page letter people are receiving. This is really significant correspondence going to elderly people 20 months after the event. The Minister needs to come to the House and set out the plan he will put in place to address this issue. The world has moved on, people are concerned and they do not have the information they need.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I was saddened to hear today of the death of Professor Michael O'Keeffe, who was one of the country's most renowned eye surgeons. He was a pioneer in his day and recognised worldwide for his contribution to the area of eye care.What made Michael exceptional was his generosity with his time, particularly in terms of the advocacy work he did on behalf of blind and visually impaired people, not just in Ireland but throughout Europe and the world. He will be sadly missed. Of course, his connections with Leinster House are well known. His brother Ned O'Keeffe is a former Minister of State and his nephew, Kevin O'Keeffe, is a former Member of Dáil Éireann. I sympathise with the O'Keeffe family and salute the great work that Michael did throughout his life. Even after he retired from public practice, he continued working as an eye specialist, eye surgeon and an advocate. As I said, he will be sadly missed.

I have stood up in this Chamber numerous times and raised the issue of Shannon Heritage, as have other colleagues. What is happening with Shannon Heritage is unacceptable. Clare County Council has been asked to take over Shannon Heritage but it is not being given the money to do so. My understanding is that the offer on the table falls far short of what is needed to make the attractions sustainable into the future. Bunratty Castle, Knappogue Castle and the other attractions are a hallmark of County Clare and its tourism offering. They complement the Cliffs of Moher and all of the other facilities in Clare. The Government has a responsibility to bring this to an end, not just for the sake of the tourism offering in County Clare but also for the staff who are working in Shannon Heritage. I was disappointed before Christmas to hear other politicians making premature announcements about what is happening. My clear understanding is that there has been no progress and I ask the Acting Leader to raise this matter with the relevant Ministers, particularly the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, who is the line manager, so to speak.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I am sure all Senators would wish to be associated with the Senator's expression of sympathy to the family of the late Professor Michael O'Keeffe on his very sad passing.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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We are all about accountability in this House and in Dáil Éireann. Last week and the week before, we had the spectacle of a Minister being held to account over election expenses going back to 2016. People stood on the high moral ground and pointed the finger of accusation but many of those same people have had to climb down off that high moral ground now and explain their own election expenses. I could not care less what political parties or individuals spend on their election campaigns. There is an organisation to oversee that, the Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO. What we should be talking about is how we empower SIPO to do the job we expect it to do. We should not be wasting parliamentary time. Ministers, by virtue of the fact that they are members of Government, are held to account but I could not be held to account and neither could any member of the Opposition be held to account on the floor of Parliament because we are not answerable on the floor of Parliament.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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I am meeting people all of the time who are asking me if we have nothing better to do. We have hospital overruns. I am blue in the face talking about the search and rescue service. We have problems in An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces. We have problems in education. What we should be talking about in here, and I would ask the Acting Leader to consider putting this forward for debate, is an amendment to the Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924 through which we can start to hold people responsible for decisions that are made. The system in the country we live in is such that if something goes wrong, the Minister gets fired but the people who advised that Minister do not get fired. I ask that we spend some time considering how we bring accountability to this Parliament. We have a number of extremely powerful Secretaries General who are refusing to appear before Oireachtas joint committees. That has to stop. Accountability is important. Let us hold the public service to account. Let us hold individual Departments to account. If there are difficulties between political parties, let SIPO deal with that.

Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail)
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Like others, I want to recognise and pay tribute to Professor Michael O'Keeffe. As Senator Conway said, he was without doubt one of the most recognised and renowned eye surgeons in the country. He is someone who also did a lot for premature babies in his time. I have heard from people who worked in neonatal units that he was often there at 6.30 a.m. or 7 a.m. dealing with babies before doing his other work. I would also like to pass on my condolences to the O'Keeffe family.

On Shannon Heritage, along with Senator Conway and others I have been working tirelessly to bring the situation to a conclusion. The facilities under Shannon Heritage, which include the Shannon Folk Park, Bunratty Castle and Knappogue Castle, are due to be transferred from Shannon Airport to Clare County Council. The council is willing, able and really wants to take on this business but in order to that, it needs financial help and support. We have talked about this matter in this House in the past. Clare County Council cannot, and the councillors will not, give sanction to the CEO to take on that business unless the council is given financial support from the State. The council does not mind whether that comes from the airport, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Department of Transport or through other supports for the tourism sector but in order to protect this tourism infrastructure and to protect the employees, it is really important that it happens without delay. I have had numerous meetings about this. I ask the Acting Leader to arrange a debate on this issue, if not early next week then possibly the following week. I know that there are lots of meetings going on about this behind the scenes but we need to bring this to a conclusion. Workers have been left in a position where they do not know what is happening and from their perspective, we need clarity.

Emer Currie (Fine Gael)
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I hope the Cathaoirleach will forgive me for sounding like I am in a time warp but it has been a year since the Covid-19 bonus recognition payment for front-line workers was announced. Unfortunately private nursing home staff and a lot of non-HSE staff have yet to receive the €1,000 bonus payment at this stage. We know that a third party was responsible for managing the payment system but there does not seem to be any clear timeline in sight as to when these people, who have been waiting for over a year, will be paid. They were hoping they would have the money for Christmas but they still do not have their recognition payment.

This is a reflection of how a lot of private nursing homes are feeling at the moment. I know this because I work closely with some of them in my constituency. They are fantastic centres providing great support to families. The Government has given what seems like an eye-watering amount of money to nursing homes over the last two or three years. The temporary assistance payment scheme, TAPS, expired at the end of last year but the Minister is looking at the possibility of extending it further. We also had the temporary inflation payment scheme, TIPS, to provide support for energy costs. We also have the fair deal scheme, which is backed up by €1 billion. However, the truth of the matter is that nursing homes are still under severe pressure, particularly with regard to staffing and the retention of staff. There is fierce competition for staff and they are also dealing with inflation and increased costs for care. I welcome the fact that the Minister is looking at this because a lot of nursing homes are under severe pressure and need to find sustainable solutions to meet the increasingly complex care needs of those they care for on our behalf.

Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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I wish to briefly return to the issue of mental health and the report on the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, situation, which came out earlier this week. I know that many politicians - including the Tánaiste and the Minister of State with responsibility for this area, Deputy Butler, who I think we will accept has done enormous work in this area – have expressed concern. While 39% of those needing the service had to wait 12 weeks or less, the reality of the issue of mental health is that we all should understand that nobody should have to wait. They should have the support there and then, when they need it. I think that is the goal we all have. Despite much investment and many changes over the past 20 years, we are still not in a satisfactory position. Some community healthcare organisation, CHO, areas are better than others. Our own CHO 2 area has improved significantly but we still do not have everything perfect. The e-mental health centre in Castlerea, which was a unique development, is working. However, there were difficulties in getting the full attainment of staff.

In that regard, I want to refer to something I brought up before. We should have an all-out campaign to attract people back from the National Health Service, NHS, in England. People say they do not want to come back. However, I know people who work for the NHS and have applied for jobs in the HSE. They are alleging that they did not get any response back. We should be making an all-out drive to bring back experienced Irish people in that system who want to come back. That should be included in the ongoing review of everything that is going on in this area. I know that the Minister for Health and the Minister for State, Deputy Butler, are both working hard on that. We all want results in this. We will never get the perfect system, but it is not satisfactory as it stands.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I thank all the Senators for their contributions. We started off with Senator Seery Kearney, who brought up a condition that some pregnant women suffer from, hyperemesis gravidarum. I ask Senators to excuse my pronunciation as it is not correct. It is a serious debilitation, as the Senator rightly outlined. There are issues. There is meant to be a scheme in place but, based on the Senator’s comments, there are serious issues with that, including delays in payment. There are expenses incurred before it is possible to get into the system and there is no reimbursement available in that regard. It is something for a debate or even a Commencement matter. I will leave that to the Senator. If she does not want to table this particular issue as a Commencement debate, I will certainly ask the Minister to come in and discuss it in more detail. I thank the Senator for that.

Senator Horkan mentioned The Irish Timesand a certain journalist, as did Senator Malcolm Byrne.

On a more serious note, Senator Horkan mentioned a housing report that came out recently, which estimated that we need somewhere in the region of 50,000 to 60,000 homes per year. Senator Boyhan also mentioned this issue. There is no doubt housing is the biggest issue this country faces. It is a challenge on its own. While it must be admitted that progress has been made, we would all like to see more progress. Some €20 billion has been allocated – record funding – to try to address this issue. We have some work done, but we have much more work to do. There is a collective responsibility to ensure there is housing available for our young people as soon as possible.

Senator Horkan mentioned that the EU is celebrating its 50th anniversary and pointed out that later this year we will mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. He called for a debate on both. That is timely. EU membership has been beneficial to us as a country. We all know the benefits of the Good Friday Agreement and we are deeply indebted to everyone involved in bringing that forward. It is important that we protect that at all costs. A debate on that would be welcome.

Senators Keogan and Murphy mentioned the concerning and worrying CAMHS figures that came out this week. I can only imagine what any parent whose child is suffering from mental illness, whatever form that might take, is going through. It is a very stressful situation. In many ways, many parents and their children have travelled a journey before the parent takes up the courage of trying to seek help and they cannot manage it themselves. When they seek that help and it is not available, that adds to the stress and worry. It is incumbent on the HSE to get its house in order. Statistics were released this week which indicated that around 65% of children can get an appointment in 12 weeks. I think the target is 80%, so we are some way short of that. On the other side of the scale, almost 15% of children looking for help are waiting more than 52 weeks. That is clearly not good enough. There is a responsibility to do all we can. Senator Murphy mentioned trying to attract staff who are abroad to come back home. That is something that needs to be looked at. We need to look at every potential avenue to address this very important issue. I am delighted that there is a debate scheduled next Wednesday on this particular subject. It is a good opportunity for Members to contribute.

Senator Wall mentioned the issue of utility companies and the difficulties people experience when switching provider. Many people would say it is a challenge to try to get through on the telephone to suppliers. It can be very stressful. One can be hanging on for ages for someone to answer a phone. It is frustrating. There is an issue there. The Senator requested that we have a debate on it. I certainly will do what I can to arrange that.

Senator Wall also called for a debate on the lack of staff available for our ships in the navy, which is a big issue. He would like the new Minister for Defence to come in and have a debate on defence. I certainly will do what I can to try to arrange that as soon as possible.

Senator Boylan talked about utility companies and large-scale energy users and the levies that they should be paying but are not paying, and perhaps will not have to pay, and the cost that is then disproportionately affecting householders. That is an important issue. Going forward, energy use is a serious issue. It is important that there is transparency and fairness. Householders certainly should not be carrying an uneven burden. It is up to industry to play its part. We can organise a debate on the future of energy in this country as soon as possible.

Senator Malcolm Byrne also spoke about EU membership, the 50th anniversary of the EU and the Good Friday Agreement. We will schedule a debate on that as soon as possible. He also mentioned the comments of Pope Francis, which were very welcome. Senator Mark Daly outlined the fact that it is a crime in some countries.It is up to the church to give leadership in that regard. I welcome that the church is finally coming around and Pope Francis has made this statement. I hope it will give comfort to many people.

Senator Maria Byrne spoke about issues in her home patch, specifically the West End Youth Centre winning a Pride of Place award. I congratulate the centre on that and extend congratulations to all participants in the Pride of Place awards. It is a fantastic initiative. I compliment all involved, including a village close to my home place in Monaghan, Knockatallon, which ralso received an award. Bualadh bos to them all.

Senator Byrne also spoke about the late Sr. Joan Bowles and the work she did in the Limerick Youth Service, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Well done to it. The Senator also mentioned Shannon Airport and the great progress it is making. When Covid hit it was an opportunity for some and it looks like Shannon Airport availed of that opportunity. The CEO and all concerned deserve great credit for that.

Senator Victor Boyhan mentioned the housing targets. As I said, we will organise a debate on that issue as soon as possible.

Senator Mark Daly spoke about the EU and the Good Friday Agreement. We will arrange a date for a debate on that. The Senator also welcomed the comments of Pope Francis, as we all do.

Senator Tim Lombard spoke about the cyberattack on the HSE computer system about a year and a half ago. Letters are only being issued to people now. The Senator spoke about two elderly people who are very concerned that their personal information is in somebody else's hands. The Senator believes it would be a good idea for the HSE to have a public information campaign to alert people as to what is happening and what options are available to them. We can certainly arrange a date for the Minister for Health to come to the House on that issue.

Senator Martin Conway informed us this morning of the sad passing of Professor Michael O'Keeffe. Professor O'Keeffe was a truly inspirational man who did great work on eye care and also, as Senator Dooley outlined, in relation to pregnant women and birth. Professor O'Keeffe made a huge contribution. On behalf of all the Members in the Seanad, I extend our deepest condolences to the entire O'Keeffe family.

Senator Conway also referred to the transfer of Shannon Heritage to Clare County Council. Clearly, there are many tourist attractions in that part of the world. There is an issue with the proper funding the council will need to secure all the assets and infrastructure it currently owns and give security to the staff who work there. It will be important to have a Commencement matter or perhaps even a debate in the House on this matter. I will speak to Senators Conway and Dooley about that.

Senator Craughwell spoke about accountability and the news of the week with regard to expenses and the tit-for-tat that went on around that. I have fought a general election campaign and to be fair to all concerned, it is a fairly intense period of time. No one goes out to deliberately tell mistruths about their expenses. There is a lot that goes on and it is difficult for a candidate to have oversight of all of it. We need to give a little slack on this to all concerned. I am reminded of the old saying, let he who is without sin cast the first stone. We need to allow a wee bit of flexibility. We have SIPO to do a job and it must be allowed to do that job. There is no doubt it will deliberate on all of the goings-on of the week, if I can put it like that, and make its findings known in due course.

I covered Senator Dooley's points. Senator Emer Currie spoke about the bonus payment that was announced a good while ago. It is very disappointing that some people who operate private nursing homes have yet to receive the payment. I know the scheme is being managed by a third party. I have been contacted by some employees of nursing homes. I am glad to say that many have received the payment but others have not, which is very disappointing. A helpline available for employees to contact the third-party company that is looking after the payment. I encourage people to ring that number and if they fail to get satisfaction, they should contact their local representative to see if any assistance can be given in that regard. I am hopeful the persons concerned will receive the payment they have more than duly earned. It is disappointing that 18 months down the road, they are still waiting on that payment.

Senator Michael Carrigy spoke about the need to review the temporary business energy support scheme. Unfortunately, the energy crisis carries on and bills are getting bigger. There are issues with the scheme and it would be timely to have another look at it. I will ask the Minister to come to the House to discuss the issued. The Senator also spoke about the tourism season ahead and noted that Bord Fáilte is carrying out a marketing campaign to try to encourage more tourists to come here, especially Irish people who may not have been home in a while. This was done previously with The Gathering. This campaign will encourage them to come home and see what the country now has to offer. Unfortunately, as we are all aware, there are deep strains on accommodation and it would make perfect sense to press the pause button, reassess and perhaps take another look at it next year if things improve. The House can certainly examine this issue.

Senator Eugene Murphy mentioned the issues with CAMHS. We discussed these earlier. The Senator made the very good point that we need to be more proactive and think outside the box on the staffing issue. The Senator raised the idea of exploring the possibility of trying to encourage many of our young and perhaps not so young people living abroad to come home to assist in what we are trying to do. Perhaps now is an opportune time to have a debate on the issue with the Minister. I thank all of the Senators for their contributions.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Acting Leader, Senator Gallagher, for his sterling work this morning.