Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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The Order of Business is No. 130, motion re a casual vacancy in the membership of the Seanad, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; the European Arrest Warrant (Amendment) Bill 2022 - Message from the Dáil, to be taken-----

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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The Acting Leader might include the number, please.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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No. 1, the European Arrest Warrant (Amendment) Bill 2022 - Message from the Dáil, is to be taken at 11.45 a.m.; and No. 2, Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services) (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2023 - Committee Stage (resumed), is to be taken on the conclusion of No. 1 and adjourn no later than 2 p.m., if not previously concluded.

Pat Casey (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Acting Leader. The issue I wish to raise is that of policing, specifically Garda numbers and recruitment in Wicklow. Wicklow has seen a significant population increase, one that is probably far above the national average, yet we are seeing a decrease in our number of police. This is causing concern. There has been significant population growth in our major towns on the eastern and western sides of Wicklow. In Arklow, where we have just invested €149 million in a new wastewater treatment plant, we are about to see the development of housing for the first time in almost 20 years. The municipal district has written to the Garda over its concerns about the number of gardaí allocated to the Arklow division even before the resultant significant increase in population. This issue is reflective of what we are seeing across the country, in that there is no increase in Garda numbers. Rather, we are probably just holding steady. Wicklow has seen a 5% reduction in Garda numbers and an almost 10% increase in its population.

Front-line policing is where all of our hearts are. There are concerns about the amount of remodelling done in recent years and how resources have been reallocated. Wicklow has gone through a number of changes. We were first in with Dublin and bits of Kildare and Carlow. Then, Wicklow was on its own. Now, we are in the new Wicklow-Wexford division. Every time we go through a remodelling, we are told it will improve visibility on the ground and front-line policing, but no one can honestly say that we are witnessing such an increase. Wicklow is due to be remodelled again, this time within the county, on 26 March, and this is where my fear arises. The remodelling will be presented as not affecting front-line policing, but we all know that numbers will be moved around and front-line policing will suffer as a result. Be it at inspector level or gardaí on the ground, we need to ring-fence them for front-line policing as much as possible. We must stress the importance of front-line policing in our communities. Whenever there is a remodelling, it should not be presented to us as delivering better community policing when we know it will not.

Emer Currie (Fine Gael)
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I ask that the Minister for Education come to the House to discuss building projects. I have raised this matter previously, but there is a dearth of information on key strategic projects in Dublin West. This issue affects other areas as well. I wish to discuss the unnecessary stress and heartache caused by long admissions timelines and a lack of co-ordination. This year in Dublin 15, families have received letters from schools placing their children on long waiting lists. It has caused a great amount of anxiety about whether there will be places available at the end of the school year. That anxiety has proven correct, in that the lists are not dropping and people are still waiting. There is much at play in this.There are very popular schools that people want their children to attend. People are holding places in a number of schools. The knock-on effect of that on schools that might not be the first priority is that they do not know whether they will need the resources they are seeking because they might lose students at the end of the process to a preferred school. There is much uncertainty, with people holding on to duplicate offers of places.

In my area, some of the schools are working together to draw out the duplication. However, because there is a bigger area involved than what is covered by just those schools, the issue is affecting all 11 schools in Dublin West, which includes Dublin 15. In other areas, including Limerick and north Dublin, a central applications process has been introduced that has worked very well. It does not mean all applicants get what they want but the process is done quickly. There are common admissions deadlines and a common forum in which people get to set out their preference. It takes into consideration that a child might be offered a place in one school but would prefer another school. Preferences are taken into account and it speeds up the whole process.

Right now, we do not know whether there are enough school places in Dublin 15. My instinct is that there are enough because there are schools that were not at capacity last year and in previous years. However, the stress on parents, schools and the Department is too much. Let us take that on and look at introducing a central applications process for those schools.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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I welcome Senator Fitzpatrick to her role as Acting Leader today. I take the opportunity to acknowledge Saoirse Ruane, the 12-year-old who appeared on "The Late Late Show". In her short life, she raised millions of euro for children. We should remember her today.

I spent the past few days in Brussels and Bruges to discuss defence and security. I have spoken many times about my great concern regarding our defenceless Atlantic coastline. The Cathaoirleach, as a Cork man, will know we have only one ship patrolling the part of the ocean under our remit, which is ten times our land mass. I have called for an Atlantic fleet to be established that would involve all member states of the European Union working in harmony with one another.

To my shock and surprise, while I was in Europe, I learned about the common information-sharing environment, CISE, initiative and that Ireland is not a member. It involves 20 countries of the EU and is concerned with the safety and security of maritime transport, fisheries control, marine pollution preparedness and response, protection of the marine environment, customs and border control, general law enforcement and defence. Why is Ireland not a member? The answer is we do not have anybody to drive it. We do not have what we should have, which is the appointment of a senior naval officer as co-ordinator to pull together the Coast Guard, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Defence Forces, including the Air Corps, Naval Service and Army, and the people in charge of fisheries control. Everybody who has anything to do with maritime matters should be involved in this. We should be a member of CISE. Why we are not is beyond me. I will write to the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence about it and I call for a debate on it in the House. We have failed to capitalise on the organisations that are established in Europe and are under the umbrella of the EU. If we were a party to this programme, an amount of information would flow our way with respect to drug interdiction, defence, etc. We would have access to all that information. We really need to get on top of this issue.

I note the motion on the Order Paper today concerning the Seanad election to replace our good colleague Niall Ó Donnghaile. If there is nobody here to move that motion, I would be happy to move it at this stage.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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It will be done after the Order of Business.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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It is a worthwhile endeavour.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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To clarify for the Senator, in case he thinks it is the case, I did not put that motion on the Order Paper.

Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
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March is Endometriosis Awareness Month. Yesterday, we had a fantastic briefing in the audiovisual room that was organised by the Leader. As someone who suffers from endometriosis, I know it is an excruciating and debilitating condition. There is so much to a condition like endometriosis that is unseen. It can affect sufferers at any time of the day or month. It is not just about one particular week of the month.

I welcome that the Government has moved forward on introducing endometriosis clinics in specialist regional hubs. This means that for the first time, there is recognition that endometriosis is a very hard condition for many people. One in ten women have it. They are only the ones we know about, given it takes such a long time to get a diagnosis. With the better healthcare provision we now have in Ireland and the acknowledgement that women's healthcare actually should exist, I hope we will see great advances in care. To my fellow sufferers of endometriosis, I say there is hope and they are not unheard.It can be a soul-destroying condition. It travels with a person and affects their mental health. Sufferers do not know when they are going to be in agony. If someone is in agony, most days she will have to walk along with it, put on a positive face and smile, even though she might not be able to sit down without feeling pain. People in Government know about this. I encourage sufferers to keep the chin up because there is nothing without hope.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I raise the situation at University Hospital Limerick, UHL, which I raise regularly. For two days in a row, all procedures at the hospital had to be cancelled. On "Morning Ireland" today, Mr. Bernard Gloster said that what was going on at the hospital was not acceptable. He questioned how financial resources were spent. This was a very strong message to hear. I pay tribute to the staff and people who use the hospital. It is a safe place to go and people are very well looked after when they go there but there is an ongoing negative narrative about the hospital. Having a backlog and procedures being cancelled is not sending the right message. People are afraid. The Leader said yesterday that the Minister for Health hoped to come to the Chamber soon. That debate cannot happen soon enough. We need a fresh pair of eyes to look at the issue. This is not the first time I have said we need to bring in someone from the outside. I will keep banging the drum with this request.

The legislation for a directly elected mayor of Limerick was signed by the President last night. I thank all of my colleagues for passing this legislation. It is an exciting time for Limerick. The legislation will set the tone for other directly elected mayors. Now that it is in place, we need to move forward. I wish all candidates for mayor the best of luck.

Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the latest announcement from the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine regarding the agri-climate rural environmental scheme, ACRES. This is a very important scheme. Initially, it was intended that it would accept 30,000 applicants but there has been huge demand for it. The Minister insisted that the number of applicants be increased to 46,000. On top of that, an extra 4,000 places were announced in tranche 2 of the scheme and 9,000 applications were received for those places. Yesterday, the Minister announced that they would be totally funded. This means that 55,000 farmers have now signed up to this scheme. It shows that farmers want to look after the environment and make changes. Farmers will be compensated for doing so. They will receive up to €7,000, which is a very important payment. ACRES is very important for the environment and it shows the enthusiasm farmers have when a scheme is explained to them and can work. I ask that the Minister come to the House after Easter for statements and to provide an update on what is available in all of the schemes. This is a very important day, particularly for rural Ireland. As we say in rural Ireland, when farmers are spending money, the local towns and villages are doing well.

John Cummins (Fine Gael)
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I appreciate that the Acting Leader is filling in today. A couple of weeks ago, I requested the scheduling of a debate with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Ryan, on national aviation policy. I would appreciate if the Acting Leader could follow up on this. In the context of transport, there are a number of transport matters which we are all - I am sure it is not just me - grappling with. They include getting responses from the National Transport Authority, NTA, about bus routes and from Bus Éireann regarding school transport issues. While it is great to be able to acknowledge emails, the important thing is the follow-up, which we are simply not getting. I have highlighted to the NTA issues with bus routes in Waterford city. I have received an acknowledgement but no actual response. I have had the same experience with the issue of school transport. I sent an email to Bus Éireann which was acknowledged but, again, there was no response. This cannot be allowed to continue over the next months as more and more queries come in. It is great that we are expanding public transport offerings but with that, difficulties and challenges arise and certain cases end up with public representatives. We need to be able to give answers to the public. It is simply unacceptable that we are not getting that service from both organisations.

Yesterday, issues regarding licences for tractors were highlighted. Some people have licences that cover more than solely agricultural use. In the construction sector, people now have to have a different licence type. This is causing serious concern in the sector. The changes seem to have been made unilaterally. We need to follow up on this issue with the Departments of Transport and Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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Last week, I raised a report the Irish language committee published a few months ago in which it expressed the view that exemptions from studying Irish should be removed from children who are dyslexic. This is a very important issue, which I have raised repeatedly. I have spoken to the Leader and others about trying to ensure the report is placed on the Order Paper. That would allow us to have the Chairperson of the committee come before the Seanad to discuss the report. I note it is still not on the Order Paper. I ask the Acting Leader to use her offices to write to the Cathaoirleach of the committee asking him to put the report on the Order Paper and also that she allocate time to debate this important issue. This has created unbelievable upset for many people who now believe the exemptions they have secured for their children will be taken away. It was an unbelievable statement to make. The author of the report, the Chairperson of the committee, needs to come before the House, as provided for in Standing Orders, and deal with the matter. I ask the Acting Leader to ensure this happens.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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Yet again, I raise the issue of UHL. Today, at least, elective surgery is resuming at the hospital having been suspended for two days due to pressure on the emergency department. A number of things have happened, one of the most important of them being the decision announced today by Mr. Bernard Gloster, CEO of the HSE, on "Morning Ireland" that the minor injuries unit at Ennis Hospital will now be open 24 hours a day. The necessary arrangements are being put in place to facilitate this. This is welcome. The unit stays open until midnight at present. It will give a lot of confidence to people if they know that the unit will be open 24 hours per day.

I also welcome the acknowledgement by Mr. Gloster of the serious challenges that exist in UHL and the need for proper explanations regarding the spending of enormous amounts of taxpayers' money in the hospital. We have gone from a situation in 2019 where the spend at the hospital was €265 million to one where the spend in 2023 was €386 million. That is a significant increase. We have also seen a dramatic increase in the number of staff. Since 2019, an extra 1,040 staff have been recruited to the mid-west hospital group. An extra 98 beds have been provided in UHL and 150 extra beds have been provided across the five hospitals that make up the hospital group.There is a significant increase in capacity and staff and a dramatic increase in the spending of taxpayers' money. We need to drill down and find out what is wrong that we have record-breaking numbers of people on hospital trolleys in UHL in March, given all the money that has been spent, all the staff who have been recruited and the increase in capacity. That is in addition to what will be available in 2025, when an additional 96-bed block will open, this time next year.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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I thank all the Senators for their contributions to the debate on the Order of Business and their agreement to it.

I will begin by offering my condolences to the friends and family of Saoírse Ruane. It is very sad news for us to hear this morning. That little girl had more bravery in her body than any of us will ever have. I am sure their hearts are broken. We are thinking of them and her. May she rest in eternal peace.

Senator Casey raised the issue of Garda numbers and recruitment. We commend the Minister for Justice on the work she is doing with the Commissioner and the force to increase Garda numbers. The huge response to the recent advertisement and recruitment campaign was very welcome. The numbers indicate the good standing An Garda Síochána has in our community and society, the value we place on it and the importance of its role and of the roles of individual gardaí in our communities. The specific point he raised was on the adequacy of Garda numbers in Wicklow, especially in front-line Garda positions and the community garda role. The community garda role is hugely valued and it should be promoted more in the force. In the constituency in which I live, Dublin Central, we piloted small-area policing more than ten years ago, which allowed for dedicated gardaí to be deployed on a geographic basis in small areas. It is incredibly powerful when gardaí are dedicated to a local area and know the people who live and operate businesses in the area and the people who come to the area to go to school, work and engage in other activities. The issue the Senator raised is pertinent not only to Wicklow, but to every constituency. I will suggest to the Leader that she facilitate a debate, particularly on the adequate resourcing of community gardaí in all communities.

Senator Currie raised an issue that is always a pain point at this time of year, especially for parents who have children coming towards the end of primary school, namely, the scramble to secure a place in secondary school. In Dublin, we have a particular issue. Senator Currie raised and articulated well the challenge faced by parents in Dublin West, including Dublin 15, and I suggest she raise it through a Commencement matter with the Minister for Education because she made a good suggestion that could be progressed in that manner.

The defender of the Defence Forces, Senator Craughwell, informed us about his recent visit to Europe and the existence of the common information sharing environment, CISE, which is a European initiative the Senator believes the State should be involved in. He specifically called for the appointment of a naval officer to champion that initiative and I wish him well with that.

Senator Gavan raised an issue that has been a topic of significant debate in the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party. We agree that the challenges are significant. In fact, small retailers met us recently. Every Member of this House will know from talking to them that they are under pressure. There are many reasons for those pressures, including competition and the additional costs in delivering quality employment, and there is a challenge in getting the balance right. Everyone will agree about that. The Senator's suggestion to invite the Minister for enterprise to the House for a debate on that issue and a review of how the initial responses have worked is welcome and I will suggest to the Leader that she arrange that debate as soon as possible.

He also raised the issue of Palestine, which is impossible to escape from thinking about. The horrors that are being experienced by the people in Palestine are unforgivable and are to be utterly condemned. There should be no debate about that. The Tánaiste and the Government have been very strong on it. I thank the Senator for recognising the instrumental role Ireland has played, especially in UNRWA, in drawing a line and stopping the complete abandonment of UNRWA by other states and ensuring not only that the funding from other countries did not stop entirely, but that funding is beginning to be restored. It is nowhere near enough. We all see the coverage and this House should resoundingly renew its message, and continue to do so every day, of calling for an immediate, sustained, humanitarian ceasefire, the release of hostages and its commitment to a two-state solution

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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Hear, hear.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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We should be unequivocal about it. We should not rest and never stop calling for it.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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Well said.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I will interrupt the Acting Leader to welcome students from Pope John Paul II National School, Malahide, who are guests of Deputy Alan Farrell. In the spirit of all visits to Leinster House, I offer them a night off homework tonight as a gesture of our appreciation of their civic interest in public life and politics.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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The students from north County Dublin are welcome. The kids in north County Dublin are among the smartest and the hardest working. The boys and girls are very welcome.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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Half of them must be in Dublin Central as well.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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This is Endometriosis Awareness Month and Senator McGreehan raised the issue of endometriosis, which one in ten women suffer from. Many of them suffer in silence, so it is great that the House and the Government recognise it. The investment that is going into women's health is transformative and the Government is to be commended on that. It is the first Government in the history of the State that called out and made a priority of women's health and it has not only talked about it, but has put real funding behind it, which is making a real difference in women's lives.

Senators Maria Byrne and Conway raised the issue of University Hospital Limerick. I will not add to the acres of coverage except to say that, as both the Senators know, the people of Limerick deserve access to proper healthcare. Senator Conway outlined articulately the increase in funding from €265 million to €400 million, the more than 1,000 staff additional staff and the 98 additional beds. I am sure the people of Limerick welcome that the Ennis minor injuries clinic is now operating on a 24-7 basis but both Senators made a reasonable request for an independent review of what is going on to be carried out. I will pass that request on to the Leader.

Senator Murphy raised the matter of support for farmers and the environment in direct climate action. Specifically, he highlighted the enthusiastic response by farmers as custodians of our land to the Government scheme to protect the environment. It is good to hear that a scheme, which we initially thought might have 30,000 applicants, now has more than 50,000 applicants. Farmers who are protecting our environment, land and biodiversity are being directly supported financially by the Government. The scheme is welcome and we all benefit from it.

Senator Cummins raised the issue of his previous request for a debate with the Minister for Transport. I apologise that I do not have an answer for him and that the matter has not been scheduled.I will certainly communicate to the Leader the urgency and need for that debate. I am alarmed to hear about the tractor licence issue. I will talk to the Senator more about that afterwards. It is not that we need many tractors in the city, apart from construction, as the Senator pointed out.

Senator Lombard raised the report that recommends the removal of exemptions for people with dyslexia. It sounds quite alarming. I will raise it with the Leader and ask that the report be put on the Order Paper and that there is a debate on the issue.

Senator Conway mentioned University Hospital Limerick. I will refer that to the Leader and we will get a debate on the matter.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Acting Leader. Well done and congratulations. I join with the Acting Leader and other Members who spoke about Saoírse Ruane and her tragic death earlier this week I want to acknowledge the wonderful inspiration she was to the nation and to all of us. We extend to her family our deepest sympathies. She certainly lit up our lives with her wonderful ability to communicate by all of us. Her life has been so tragically cut short. We send her family our deepest sympathies this morning on their very sad loss. May she rest in peace.