Regina Doherty (Fine Gael)
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The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding referral to the joint committee of an application for a private Bill to be taken on conclusion of the Order of Business in accordance with Standing Order 11 of the Standing Orders relative to private businesses, without debate; No. 2, statement on moving towards zero tolerance of violence against women, to be taken at 12.15 p.m. and to conclude at 1.45 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, all other Senators not to exceed six minutes and time can be shared, and the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate; and No. 3, Oil Emergency Contingency and Transfer of Renewable Transport Fuels Functions Bill 2023 - Second Stage, to be taken at 1.45 p.m. and to conclude at 3 p.m. if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed eight minutes, all Senators not to exceed five minutes and time can be shared, and the Minister to be given no less than eight minutes to reply to the debate.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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I support the Order of Business as outlined by the Deputy Leader.

I thank everybody who joined in the St. Brigid's Day festival over the weekend. It was incredible to see the energy, not just in County Kildare but all around Ireland, and indeed outside the country as well. There was a special mass in St. Bride's Church in London, which was lovely to see on RTÉ television the other night. I make a special mention of Fr. Liam Merrigan in Monasterevin who organised a small Camino walk, which I participated in. More than 2,000 people came from all over Ireland to have a period of reflection. It was a special ceremony. I thank Brigid 1500 and Into Kildare for all the work they did, and the Solas Bhríde Centre and Sisters Rita, Mary and Phil who were so welcoming to so many people over the weekend. We look forward to this time next year when we have the Brigid 1500 programme again. One small note though is that it was slightly ironic that everybody with a Leap card could bring somebody free onto public transport on the bank holiday weekend. That is fantastic but in south Kildare we cannot avail of a Leap card because we are not in the short hop zone. We have to send that message loud and clear once again that the people of south Kildare want to be included in the zone and be eligible for a Leap card.

I also want to bring up dog control issue. We were all very shocked by recent dog attacks, including one that left a lovely young boy from Wexford called Alejandro with life-changing injuries. Of course we have also heard about recent tragic cases reported on from the Coroner's Court. A number of farmers have also been devastated by scenes of destruction created by marauding dogs. In Cadamstown, County Kildare, 30 sheep were attached last week, of which 19 were killed and the others very badly injured. Insurance will only go some way towards supporting the farmers in these cases. In that case the cost to the farmer was in excess of €5,000. We need proper oversight and implementation of dog control measures. According to the statistics, 76% of dogs are unidentified, that is, they are not licensed and chipped. We need clarity on the role of the dog wardens, and we need more of them. The country has far too few. I met with members of the Irish Farmers' Association, IFA, recently. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has set up a working group, which is important, but the IFA wants particular areas focused on. I support their members in what they need. They need a single national database and full enforcement of microchipping and licensing applications. It is shocking that not one fine was levied in Kildare last year. We need a stronger enforcement by dog wardens and gardaí. We need increased on-the-spot fines. It is something we need to take seriously. We need to have a debate in the House on the working group and where it is going.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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The Deputy Leader is welcome this morning. First, I express my sympathies to the people of Türkiye and Syria on the tragedy there and the unfolding rescue and recovery attempts following the devastating earthquake. While we have issues in this country, thankfully we do not have such geological incidents that cause the hardship and devastation we have witnessed in those countries. I also express our sympathy to the Turkish ambassador and representatives of Syria on the suffering of their people.

I have raised issues surrounding Inland Fisheries Ireland on many occasions and I call again on the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Department to make emergency appointments to the board of this organisation. The board is down to three members plus the CEO and staff representative. They have the bare minimum of five but in dealing with certain other issues where the CEO is ex officio, the board does not have sufficient numbers to carry out its statutory function. I mentioned previously that five members of the board have resigned since April last year. Questions have to be asked regarding the functioning of any board where five members have resigned. The Minister needs to take a more hands-on approach to this matter and make emergency appointments to the board to allow it to carry out its statutory functions and to continue the investigations it was involved in prior to Christmas and just after prior to the sudden, unexplained and questionable resignation of the interim chair in early January.

An investigation is taking place within the Department; it is the first time I can confirm that. There is an investigation under the Department's protected disclosures policy. It is not the allegations that myself I and other Members of the Houses made last September that are being investigated. They were initially being investigated as a protected disclosure but it transpired they were was not a protected disclosure because the person who contacted us was a former employee of Inland Fisheries Ireland, not a current employee. It was, therefore, not a protection disclosure. Nonetheless, it is being assessed under the protected disclosures policy. In some ways, that has been said to the Minister to frighten him. The comment is also thrown out that there is a Garda investigation. Whether there is or not, in my view there is not a Garda investigation into the people who should be investigated but that is beside the point. I call again for emergency appointments be made to the board of Inland Fisheries Ireland to allow it to carry out its statutory functions and to continue the investigations which it was engaged in. It is incumbent on the Department and the Minister to ensure there is an independent investigation. There is an investigation but my concern is how independent it is. Is it an internal departmental investigation or is it a truly independent investigation? That is my concern and one that I continue to raise here and with the Taoiseach, the Minister and the Secretary General of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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I begin with a phrase I do not find myself saying often. I would like to join the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, in calling for the extension of the 9% VAT for the hospitality sector. The hike back to the upper rate of 13.5% is set to take place at the end of the month. I, along with many others around the country, and I know many Members of this House and the Dáil, think that is going to be a mistake. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, said this week that all measures due to end at the end of February are being looked at. I urge him and the officials in his Department to look very carefully at this measure which will affect hundreds of thousands of workers and businesses across the country.

The hospitality sector employs 240,000 people worth a combined €12.5 billion to the economy each year. A recent report commissioned by the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation showed that tens of thousands of jobs could be lost if the reduced 9% VAT rate is returned to 13.5% at the end of February as planned, due to the action undermining the competitiveness of the sector which is already struggling to cope with energy costs and labour shortages. Economist Jim Power, the author of this report, states that the risk of a downturn in international travel caused by the marked deterioration in the global economy is very real and could have serious implications for Ireland's tourism industry. Mr. Paul Doran, owner of the Barn in Glanmire, Cork, said that the Government's proposal to restore the 13.5% VAT rate to the industry is the biggest threat facing the hospitality sector, which will lead to unavoidable price increases. I am sure the public are not fed up with those yet.

I urge the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, to examine ways to keep the cost to business down. I know the Exchequer needs funds but putting people out of business is no business at all for the Government to be in and that is what will happen as a result of this tax hike. If the Department is to get really serious about being good for business, the philosophy behind the temporary reduction in the first place, maybe should be raised back up.

Speaking of temporary, the USC should be abolished. More money in people's pockets, more spending and more economic growth, is that not the tune? The Department of Finance would tell us that abolishing the USC is impossible and that it would have to find the money from somewhere else. My advice to the Executive would be the same as it was giving to people all over the country, that is, spend less, spend smarter. There was a time before the USC, and its absence did not lead to planes falling out of the sky. I know the importance of business in this country, as do many in these Houses, and we are very concerned about what 1 May will hold for businesses.

Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein)
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We had a lively debate last week about University Hospital Limerick. At the end of the debate, the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, made a quite extraordinary statement. He alleged that last week there was an average of just six patients on trolleys for the week in University Hospital Limerick. I checked the record. That is what he actually said and I think the Cathaoirleach might have seen me shaking my head at the time, in disagreement with him. It is front page news in Limerick this week. The INMO official, Ms Mary Fogarty, said, "I have no idea where the Minister got the figures but there were 77 people on trolleys when we were there". The figure this morning is 76.

I want to be very clear, I do not believe the Minister is a dishonest man in any way. However, I do believe he is getting really bad information from hospital management. I was very clear during the debate last week in calling for a change in the senior management team in UHL. Either way, the Minister needs to come in and correct the record. It is absolutely outrageous to suggest there were six patients on trolleys each day when it is 76 or 77, consistently, through the week. The people of Limerick deserve the record to be corrected. I would ask for the Deputy Leader's assistance in the matter, if possible.

I want to raise the issue of the 38 Rehab Group workers who were made redundant two years ago. I am really pleased that the Deputy Leader is here because it is an issue she has provided support for in the past. The workers had an agreement through their union SIPTU to get four weeks paid redundancy plus two weeks statutory redundancy. For two years now, the Rehab management group has ignored the deal. They have ignored determinations from the Labour Court and the Workplace Relations Commission. The final decision came out from the Labour Court at the end of November, and it was very clear, after financial analysis of the company, that Rehab has millions of euro in the bank to actually pay the decent redundancy to these workers, probably some of the most vulnerable workers in the State, many of them with profound disabilities.

An independent financial analysis established that Rehab has millions of euro in the bank. What is shocking to me is that since then, the management of Rehab has decided to just knuckle down, keep their heads down and hope that this will go away. It is outrageous. Let us not forget that this is a company in receipt of massive amounts of public money each year.

I again ask the Deputy Leader for her assistance in this matter. If I bring a motion to the Seanad calling on the management of Rehab to honour the agreement with SIPTU and honour the redundancy deal for these very vulnerable people, perhaps people of all parties would sign it. The current situation cannot stand. We cannot allow it to stand that a company in receipt of public funding ignores the Workplace Relations Commission, the machinery of the State and the Labour Court and leaves some of the most vulnerable workers in Limerick abandoned. This issue is not going to go away. I am quite prepared to stand outside Rehab's doors, along with my SIPTU colleagues if needs to be. I would hope for common sense to prevail. I ask for the support of the House in that regard.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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I would like to raise the issue of the campaign that is just over a year old now in Drumcondra to save our hall. The Corpus Christi Hall, on Home Farm Road, has been a parish resource for the people of Drumcondra for decades. It was a place where young children and not-so-young adults learned to dance. Women got together in breast-feeding clubs and knitting clubs. All sorts of activities took place. Well over a year ago, the hall was closed. A group of local residents and parishioners who live and work in the area, and care for it, came together to save the hall. The hall remains closed today, despite a very strong campaign.

There has been a recent indication that the diocese is in conversation with the Department of Education. We welcome this development. I want to particularly thank the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, for her engagement on the issue and her meeting last November with the Save Our Hall community campaign group. I ask the Minister for Education to update us on the progress the Department of Education is making in its discussions with the diocese on the reopening of the hall. My understanding is that those discussions are taking place and that the hall would be used for educational and community purposes. I want to commend everybody who has engaged in the campaign so far. I want to thank everybody for their support, but we really need to push on now and reopen the hall both for the school community and the local community.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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Over the last number of years, I have spoken frequently on search and rescue in this country. We lost four very good people when R116 crashed off the coast of Mayo. This morning, I received information that R117 from Sligo was flying off Derry on Sunday. The aircraft was overstressed, lost control and exceeded its maximum airspeed. The UK Civil Aviation Authority has impounded the aircraft to conduct a full investigation.

I also understand that the operator's accounts for 2020 and 2021 show it is insolvent. It lost over €3 million in 2020 and €2.5 million in 2021. I understand it is operating without licensed technicians. This is outrageous. What is more, unless we can prove that there are licensed technicians operating in each of the stations that the operator is working in, then the entire fleet must be grounded until such time as we can guarantee the safety of the people who are working for that organisation. I am asking for an amendment to the Order of Business today.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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Is the Senator proposing an amendment to the Order of Business?

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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Yes. I am proposing an amendment to the Order of Business because of the seriousness of what I have just learned. I believe the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Chambers, is responsible for search and rescue. He needs to come to this House to deal with this issue as a matter of urgency today. This is, without doubt, the most serious incident since the loss of R116. The Deputy Leader will know the recommendations following the loss of R116-----

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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To be of assistance and to help the Senator, could he please specify what the exact issue is on the proposal to amend the Order of Business?

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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I want the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, to come to the House. First, I want him to advise us as to what happened when the aircraft was held in Derry airport from Sunday afternoon until Tuesday evening. I want to know the exact cause. Second, I want answers with respect to the number of qualified and licensed engineers who are operating at the company. Third, I wish to know whether the company is meeting all of its obligations under its contract. If not, we need to ground the aircraft as a matter of urgency.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I second the amendment to the Order of Business.

I will bring an issue to the attention of the House. On 1 February 2023, we had a debate on a Fine Gael Private Members' motion on University Hospital Limerick, UHL. We discussed many issues with regard to the hospital and the care provided there. I raised the issue of a woman and her daughter who were admitted to a hospital in the west. I inadvertently referred to Ennistymon. I did not mention any hospital but it has come to my attention that I was not fully correct. It was a hospital in the west. I spoke to the people involved yesterday and they stand over the story about the lack of appropriate care they received. It is important to bring this to the attention of the House because I believe in being fair and transparent. I do not know the hospital in Ennistymon and I do not wish to slight it in any way. I confirm it was not my intention to do so. It was not Ennistymon but it was a hospital in the west. It is important I make that point.

I congratulate the Government on proceeding to appoint the chair and commissioners of the electoral commission. The news, announced overnight, is very important. I especially congratulate Ms Justice Marie Baker, a woman of vast experience, skill and expertise. I wish her well on the commission. I also acknowledge the appointment of Mr. John Curran, a former council councillor and Deputy, to the commission. It is a very good appointment. Mr. Curran knows the process and the electoral system. I wish him well.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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Yesterday, the health unions, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, Irish Medical Organisation, IMO, SIPTU and Fórsa. appeared before the Joint Committee on Health to discuss the abuse of and attacks on nurses and members of the medical professions. In 2021, there were more than 4,500 attacks on staff on the front line of the health service. Of those, almost 500 were investigated. Unfortunately, relatively few, if any, resulted in a prosecution. I want the Health and Safety Authority, HSA, to establish an internal department to deal specifically with abuse and attacks on front-line healthcare workers. It has a section dealing with farming, industry and so on, but from what I can see and from the evidence that was given to the committee yesterday, there are more attacks on nurses, doctors, administrative staff and paramedics than on workers in any other industry. It is high time this matter was dealt with by the HSA, the statutory body for dealing with workplace incidents such as these.

The Government also needs to have an information campaign. When people are understandably under pressure for one reason or another and present at emergency departments, they need to realise that the staff are there to help them. Abusing staff, raising their voices at them and treating them with disrespect does not do anybody any good. An information campaign is necessary and urgent. Based on what the committee was told at yesterday's meeting, if that does not happen, we will see a mass exodus of nurses and healthcare workers from the health industry. We do not need that. We need people to join the industry, rather than leave it. I suggest we have a debate, discussion or statements in the House on this significant issue in the not-too-distant future.

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
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I will raise a story that appeared on the front page of The Independentabout a ground-breaking decision taken by the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland, ASAI, with regard to greenwashing. It is very important, when we are all trying to do the right thing on climate change, that we are not being misled by companies that are trying to greenwash and are saying they are doing things they are not doing. The decision taken by the ASAI relates to companies claiming that they produce 100% renewable electricity. Customers could choose to get electricity from that company because they think they are doing the right thing. What the company is actually doing is using certificates of origin, a very complex system that effectively means they are buying up certificates of renewable energy that is produced in another country, adding these up to make 100% and telling customers they are getting 100% renewable electricity. I welcome the decision taken by the ASAI. I understand it affects approximately 250,000 customers of companies which have used this claim about using 100% renewable electricity. It will set a precedent that they will no longer be able to advertise in this manner. It is a real win for customer confidence. The climate action plan calls for a change in the system whereby these companies buy these certificates legally - they are not doing anything illegal - because it has facilitated their use of greenwashing advertisements. The decision is very welcome, but I remind the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, that the system needs to change. We could debate this with him when he is next in the Seanad. We need to change the system of green certificates because it is greenwashing and facilitates these misleading advertisements.

Regina Doherty (Fine Gael)
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I have made such a request a number of times and I obviously did not get a response. Maybe it is because the Minister of State is out with the diaspora, which is probably a good thing, but I will certainly request a statement. I congratulate the community that cherishes the Irish who emigrated to Canada. I did not know about this until I visited Montreal a couple of years ago. The community really does care. It is lovely to see, even from afar, that continued commitment.

I know Senator Boylan has campaigned on greenwashing for many years. It was lovely that she got the credit, not for the decision that was made, but for her campaign in the past couple of years. It is really good to see. What is really scary to see in today's world, and not just in Ireland, is the amount of information people believe to be true that is completely not true. Nobody seems to be responsible for telling us such information is not true in a co-ordinated way. I congratulate the Senator. I am delighted the ASAI has found in favour of customers, as opposed to our being duped, as we have been for many years.

Senator Conway raised the very frightening campaign, which has been started by a young lady who does the Newstalk programme at lunchtime, but it came to a head yesterday with the presentation by some of our nurses detailing exactly the kind of conditions under which they have been working and the lack of response from the HSA for the past number of years.It definitely warrants a debate. We are trying to find time in the schedule next week to take the healthcare report as quickly as possible, but this is probably equally urgent. We will try to get it in as quickly as we can.

I thank Senator Boyhan for correcting the record. I do not think anyone would have doubted that there was anything but sincerity in his initial contribution.

There are very few people outside the Houses who care about the Electoral Commission. I know it is probably very nerdy, but I am pleased to see that it is finally up and running. Hopefully, we will get the recommendations from it sooner rather than later.

I cannot accept Senator Craughwell's amendment to the Order of Business but not because I do not agree with his request. I am informed that the Minister is in the west of Ireland today. I have requested a written response from him. First, he is not aware of the issue the Senator raised, so he is going to contact the Department immediately to get answers to the questions, particularly on the grounding of the flight in Derry, but, more importantly, about the unlicensed holders and the accounts raised by the Senator. I will get the written response for him if not today then hopefully by tomorrow. If I do not, I ask the Senator to raise it as a Commencement matter on Tuesday in order that we can get the Minister in, especially as the schedule for Tuesday has already been agreed and Orla Murray cannot change it at the moment. That would be the best way to do it. The Senator raised some very concerning issues this morning.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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Okay.

Regina Doherty (Fine Gael)
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Senator Fitzpatrick spoke about the campaign to save the Corpus Christi Hall in Drumcondra. I wish her well. I will follow up with the Department of Education and see if I can get some response from the Minister on the ongoing negotiations.

I am disappointed to hear the situation raised by Senator Gavan is not resolved. I will contact the chair of Rehab today to see what is going on.

Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein)
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Thank you.

Regina Doherty (Fine Gael)
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Both the Minister responsible for charities and the Minister for Health need to intervene. No State-sponsored or State-supported agency in this country should be allowed to ignore the Workplace Relations Commission. I will come back to the Senator later and give him a call on that.

Senator Keogan echoed others' calls for the extension of the 9% VAT rate for hospitality and cited all the concerns that have been raised by people in the industry with regard to the 240,000 jobs that may be put in jeopardy.

Senator Kyne asked for an independent investigation into Inland Fisheries Ireland. What is bizarre is that the Senator has been raising this consistently, week in, week out, for months now. There have been five resignations and then the interim chair resigned in January and we still do not have sight of an independent investigation. I will write to the Minister for Transport to ask him when the internal investigation, which is all it is, in the Department will come to an end and what he expects to do thereafter.

We can all join Senator Kyne in expressing our deep sympathies to the people of Syria and southern Türkiye on what they have had to endure in the past number of days. We announced €2 million of emergency aid funding on Sunday. An enormous number of people in this country who would go to the region and help. It is something the Irish should consider doing, as opposed to just looking to international agencies and giving them money. I acknowledge the sympathies and I assume we all join with him in expressing them.

Apart from mentioning the very successful St. Brigid's Festival campaign the country enjoyed over the weekend, Senator O'Loughlin raised the very serious issue of lack of dog control measures and the need for increased oversight and stronger enforcement. At the moment, we do not seem to have any enforcement whatsoever. There was an article in the paper just over a week ago showing that a massive number of licences were not being purchased by dog owners but also that there was no enforcement at all by local authorities in a variety of counties, which does not seem to make any sense whatsoever. I will pass that message on to the relevant Minister.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy Leader. The next matter will be of interest to her. The students here this afternoon are from Bremore Educate Together Secondary School in north County Dublin. They are very welcome, and I thank them for their visit. I hope they have a very educational and delightful visit to Leinster House. Go raibh maith agaibh.

An amendment to the Order of Business has been proposed by Senator Craughwell. Is the amendment being pressed?

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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In light of what the Deputy Leader said, I will not press it.