John McGahon (Fine Gael)
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The Order of Business is No. 1, Private Members' business, Protection of Private Residencies (Against Targeted Picketing) Bill 2021 - Order for Committee Stage and Committee Stage, to be taken at 11.45 a.m.

Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome Pat and Mabyn to the House.

I offer my condolences to the family of Derek Martin, who was tragically killed in a crash on the M50 on Friday. As we heard, his sister has reached out to the people who stayed with him during his last moments. Derek is remembered by his wife and two children. He was a valued member of the Irish Prison Service, serving as an officer in Wheatfield Prison. This tragedy brought Dublin city to an absolute standstill, with people left stranded in their cars for up to six hours. It shows the inadequacy of the roads infrastructure in the city. Derek's tragic death, unfortunately, highlighted this situation. We need to look at building a second loop road and upgrading the city roads. As a result of this awful accident, the whole city was paralysed on Friday. For a modern city, that is not right and appropriate.

The second issue I raise concerns a group, with which I have not met, called the Irish Physical Activity Alliance, IPAA. An issue it has raised might sound trivial but is, in fact, quite serious. The lobby group wants members of gyms and participants in gym classes to be able to claim back their costs through their tax. Especially for women, as we get older, bone health is really important. Lifting weights and doing physical activities can help. People do not really understand the importance of bone health and weight-bearing exercise. I congratulate the group on its work. I support its proposal for inclusion of gym membership costs under the MED1 form for claiming tax relief on health expenses. This would be aimed at anyone who has paid for a gym class or gym membership or who has a family member who has done so.

I welcome the news that Revolut is now offering a savings account with 3.5% interest. This puts it up to all the banks. People depositing money are not getting a return from the regular banks. Revolut coming into the market is a real disrupter. It is very welcome. Members of the public need to know they can earn proper interest on savings, rather than just paying interest on their mortgage. It is great that Revolut is pushing the banks to be a little more competitive.

Vincent P Martin (Green Party)
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Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Chathaoirligh agus a chomh-Sheanadóirí. Ba mhaith liom cead a fháil uaibh an Bille um Fhoréigean Baile (Leasú) (Uimh. 2), 2024 a chur i láthair inniu. Tugann an leasú reachtaíochta seo cosaint agus níos mó príobháideachas dóibh siúd atá ag fulaingt de bharr barraíocht smachta a bheith ag duine éigin orthu.

I seek to amend the Order of Business to take No. 7 before No. 1, whereby I would be permitted, with the leave of the House, to introduce my Domestic Violence (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024. The Bill proposes to extend to victims of coercive control the same protection, when attending court, as already afforded to those attending court for a breach of a safety, barring or protection order under the principal Act, the Domestic Violence Act 2018, which I propose to amend. It would place restrictions on those present in court and, in so doing, provide a level of anonymity for victims who are undergoing the severe pressure, and often trauma, of being a complainant in cases of defence of coercive control, and impose some prohibition on the publication of proceedings.

I am seeking the leave of the House to introduce the Bill this morning. I thank my fellow Senators, a number of whom have co-sponsored the Bill.At the appropriate time, at the end of the Order of Business, I will move that my fellow Senators consider allowing me to introduce my Bill.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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It is good to see the Acting Leader in the Chair today. Well done on that. I very much welcome our distinguished guests in the Visitors Gallery.

Today, I want to touch on two issues, the first being the IFA's Manifesto for European Parliament and Local Government Elections 2024. This manifesto covers both the European and local elections. I hear the IFA's asks at the doorsteps and from candidates across the country. What I like about its document is that it sets out key priorities and asks concerning the European Parliament elections and also the local elections, both urban and rural. That is an important point to make. The manifesto touches on the key issues of the CAP; the overregulation of the agriculture, food, horticulture and forestry sectors; the constant challenges around the nitrates directive; environmental fairness and, more important, our environmental-ambition planning, particularly regarding the local government elections; residentially zoned lands, particularly regarding the local elections; the challenges around ash dieback, both urban and rural, and what these mean for local authorities; connectivity in every sense of the word; environmental inspections and what some in the agriculture sector would deem to be overregulation; challenges concerning horticulture and food production, particularly vegetable production in north County Dublin but also in other parts of Ireland; and, of course, the issue of the new farmers' charter. I call on the Government to finally release the new farmers' charter, which is long expected and so important to agriculture, horticulture and forestry. Ultimately, the charter sets out the expectations of those concerned and their right to engagement with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. That is an important point to make.

I send my condolences to the family of Sir Anthony O'Reilly. His funeral will take place this morning in Donnybrook church. As we all know, he was the engine, the genius, behind Kerrygold in the 1960s. He cleverly used and tapped into the Irish diaspora. Through unique marketing techniques, he tapped into the emotional connection to agriculture and rural life in the branding of Kerrygold, the result being that we all understood what Kerrygold was wherever we went around the world. As the House knows, Kerrygold is a far bigger brand now than it was in the 1960s. It was O'Reilly's vision and ambition for Ireland that saw Kerrygold and the Kerry Group eventually expand. We should remember that the group came from the co-operative movement and was very successful. I extend my sympathy to Sir Anthony O'Reilly's family and the wide circle of business friends and politicians who will gather in Donnybrook church today to bid farewell to him.

Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael)
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I formally second Senator Martin's Bill. It is excellent, insightful legislation. It is very simple and straightforward but much needed, especially where applications regarding coercive control come into play.

I congratulate and thank the Minister for Rural and Community Development for her announcement yesterday on the local enhancement programme. The constituency of Dublin South-Central featured nicely on the list, for which I am very grateful. An award of €24,000 was made to St. John Bosco Youth Centre. That is no small sum and it reflects the fantastic work the centre does, led by Brian Murphy. These community enhancement funds and local enhancement programmes are vital.

My main objective this morning is to talk about the very worrying development in politics that we have seen reported today, namely China's launching of military war games around Taiwan in response to – it uses the word "punishment" – the fact that Taiwan's newly elected president has vowed to defend democracy. The vow to defend democracy of the new president, who has been elected in a democratic process, has brought about punitive action by China. Over recent years, I have worked with many Irish companies in respect of their supply chains and strategic management and I have noted that many of them, including very small ones, outsource to China. If China were to make an intervention in Taiwan tomorrow, the world would clamour for sanctions and supply chains in Ireland would be hit immediately, in the same way that Russia's murderous invasion of Ukraine brought about a supply-chain and economic disruption.

Today, the Critical Raw Materials Act of the EU has come into being. It pertains to 34 critical raw materials within the EU, such as those that are critical to some of our technology and production in Ireland. We are now obliged to ensure that 10% of the 34 critical raw materials are extracted from within the EU, 25% are recycled within the EU and 40% are processed in the EU. The response in Ireland is that we are going to need 15 more mines throughout the country so we can source the likes of zinc at home. This is part of the EU's economic security strategy, published last year. The laws flowing from that strategy are coming into being to secure the Union and supply chains for critical businesses and employers in this country. It is good legislation and businesses need to be made aware of it. We need statements in the House on the European economic security strategy. We need to be able to discuss and explore its implications for Ireland and its business sector.

Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael)
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The national enterprise awards take place in the Mansion House tonight. I wish well the representatives from my home county, Longford, namely Robert Higgins and Patrick McGivney from Harp Media. These two young lads have entered the TV industry and forged a name for themselves. In their home county, they filmed the notable film "Lakelands", which went on to receive international acclaim. They are moving on to bigger and better things. I wish them success this evening.

At an Oireachtas committee meeting held yesterday we had representatives of various independent production companies and Screen Producers Ireland. Funding mechanisms have changed and we have many tax incentives to attract those in the film industry to produce films in Ireland, but we need to have a regional aspect. The whole industry should not be based in Dublin and Wicklow. I mean no disrespect to those two counties or their representatives. If a company comes here, it is important that it be able to film anywhere within the country on a level playing field. I support the proposal Screen Producers Ireland made in this regard at the Oireachtas committee meeting yesterday.

Last week, everybody here was involved in our autism-friendly Parliament project. Everyone took part in our awareness training. The entire Houses of the Oireachtas Service supported the project, which took place mainly in 2023, and we received our accreditation in January of this year. We have the highest standard of any parliament in the world. Just last week, the first class to visit under the initiative, from Ardscoil Phádraig, Longford, on whose board of management I have been for the past 15 years, came to Leinster House with their special needs assistants and teachers and had a fantastic day. Since the visit, I have spoken to the principal and special education teachers. They and parents who contacted me wish to thank everybody for supporting the children ahead of and on the day to ensure they would have a fantastic day, just like every other child who comes to Leinster House. I thank everybody, including the Ceann Comhairle, the staff in all the services, the catering team and the ushers, who made the day such a special one for the students of Ardscoil Phádraig.We can look forward to students from any school in Ireland who come here having an enjoyable day and being supported. That is important. I wanted to put that on the record.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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I was contacted by a county man of the Acting Leader's, Councillor Paddy McQuillan, regarding sports capital grants. It is quite shocking that the bureaucracy in this country sometimes goes totally and utterly crazy. Councillor McQuillan told me that local sports clubs work hard to get capital grants but when they are presented with the paperwork to make the application, it is so complex they have to bring in people who are expert in the completion of these documents. The cost of that is 3% of the grant. We should not see any of that grant being siphoned off by anybody. Surely, it is possible for the Department, in this day and age, to put together some form of presentation that would simplify the process and assist those making these applications in order that money to a club is not lost to somebody filling in forms for it.

During the run-up to the search and rescue contract recently awarded to Bristow, I made the point that having all four bases run by one company was to place Ireland in jeopardy. For example, it is using the same helicopter and, if the AW139 or AW189 were grounded for some reason, we would have no search and rescue. If there were industrial action, we would have no search and rescue. I made the case that we should have at least one other operator and, at that time, I advocated for the Defence Forces. I read now that Bristow, the company that won the contract in Ireland, has got industrial action going on in the UK. If that happens in Ireland, and there is an all-out strike, we will have no search and rescue cover in the country. We should go back and look at that issue again.

Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein)
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I will speak about the issue of airports in the west of Ireland. I was at Shannon Airport last week. It is good to see the car park there full again. However, there is still plenty of unused capacity at Shannon and Cork airports, and there is certainly potential capacity at Kerry Airport, yet 88% of all flights that leave this island do so from the east coast. We know all the challenges that brings with it, including car parking spaces and congestion. It saddens me that every day when I leave Limerick, I see people queueing for a bus to bring them to Dublin Airport. This is an issue of an airline policy that is skewed in favour of the east coast, when 40% of the people who arrive in the State want to go west. It makes no sense. At the heart of it is this nonsense of pitting Shannon Airport in direct competition against Dublin and Cork airports. It makes no sense.

I have argued consistently in the House, for several years now, on the need for an enlightened transport policy that recognises we need to distribute our air travel more evenly, especially across the west coast. It is not as if this is not being done elsewhere. The Netherlands has embarked on this policy and has limited flights to Schiphol Airport for some years now. What is lacking, frankly, is the political will to get it done. I once again call for an urgent debate on airport and airline policy. There is huge scope for additional flights from Shannon, Cork and Kerry airports. What is lacking is any kind of vision to make that happen. We need a new policy for our air transport and flights. It should have happened years ago. We need to do it urgently. I ask for a debate on the issue so we can have some progressive thinking on an airport policy that will be inclusive of all of us who live in the west and south of the country.

Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the fact we will hopefully see the framework for the life carbon farming project. That framework will help farmers, foresters and other landowners take climate actions, reduce greenhouse gases and enhance carbon capture. We need EU-wide co-ordinated monitoring of ratification and reporting methods. I ask for a debate in the House on how the Minister is working with his EU counterparts on how we ensure an accurate measurement of what farms are carbon capturing currently, how we can enhance that, and how this will interact with the retaining of our nitrates derogation, which is so important to so many farmers throughout the country. I have done a lot of work examining what carbon farms capture and have brought it up under Commencement matters over the past couple of years. We can be carbon neutral fairly quickly, especially on small farms, if we start auditing and measuring carbon capture, and then enhance our soil quality and what we are growing on the land. This can secure the future of the small family farm model we have in Ireland, which we hold very dear. It would be a proper and very welcome move. I would like it if the Minister for agriculture came to the House to speak about it.

John McGahon (Fine Gael)
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I join with the Leas-Chathaoirleach in welcoming Mabyn and Pat all the way from the great state of Louisiana. They are both very welcome as guests of our Leas-Chathaoirleach, who is extremely well-known, not just on Capitol Hill but right across the United States of America. That is indicated by their presence here. We really appreciate that.

Senator Ardagh raised the matter of the death of Derek Martin, who passed away on the M50 last week, which was extremely tragic and harrowing for him and his family. I am sure we send all our thoughts and sympathies to Derek's family. It was mentioned by his sister that people stayed with him on the roadside and offered him comfort in those awful moments. His family are thankful for that. The Senator raised an important point about the need to upgrade our road infrastructure so when an accident or something happens, not just in the Dublin area but throughout the country, a whole city does not come to a standstill. That is based around good planning and emergency actions being able to come into place. It is something that will definitely be raised with the Minister.

Senator Ardagh also brought up the issue of the Irish Physical Activity Alliance, which is essentially calling for a tax rebate through the MED 1 form. I am all for cutting taxes and putting money back in people's pockets. It is a political view of mine so that suggestion is something I am definitely willing to take back to the Minister for Finance. It is a simple thing. It would increase activity and be very good for people of a certain age. Anything we can do to encourage people into further physical activity, while cutting taxes at the same time, is a good thing.

I am a huge fan of Revolut. I absolutely agree with Senator Ardagh that one of the best things about it is it is introducing a huge amount of competition into the market. The company is now getting into mortgages. I see it with loans I have been able to get from Revolut, which were very impressive. I look forward to seeing what it can do in the Irish banking market.

I commend Senator Martin on introducing very important legislation today. Several times over the past four years of this Seanad term he has introduced and championed important legislation, especially in the judicial area, and has done so again today. It is a credit to him regarding the issues he works on.

Senator Boyhan raised a number of issues, particularly in respect of the IFA document. It is a good thing, especially when it comes to the IFA, that it is not just about urban and rural. There are various issues, whether they involve Dublin or parts of rural Ireland. The IFA champions those issues, whether they relate to CAP, the forestry sector, nitrates or ash dieback. That is a very good thing the IFA is doing because, as we have seen in recent weeks, who we send to champion Ireland's cause in the European Parliament is very important, as is who we send to our local authorities. All of us were elected to local authorities previously so we know what we are talking about in that regard.

Senator Boyhan also mentioned the funeral of Tony O'Reilly, who was a huge business visionary for this country. He achieved a significant amount in championing Ireland Inc, but also had a highly successful career on the rugby pitch both for Ireland and the British and Irish Lions.

Senator Seery Kearney discussed two issues. The first was the local enhancement scheme. That level of funding going across so many different groups is so important to people, whether it is €2,000, €4,000 or €5,000. Every year, clubs sit down and wonder where they can get together a couple of pennies for this or that. The fact the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, is able to put that funding into those communities and allay funding concerns is very important. She is doing that, not just in rural Ireland but in constituencies like the Senator's in the inner city and Dublin South-Central. The fact the Minister is ensuring there is a fair and equitable spread of funding throughout urban and rural Ireland is a testament to her.

Senator Seery Kearney also raised concerns about the security of supply chains.She spoke about this last week in Cambridge at the Cambridge union debating society, which I watched back. She made some very forthright points about it. I agree that we need statements in this House on it, particularly when 34 critical raw materials are coming into consideration. The world is a scary place now with what we see happening in eastern Europe, the Middle East and parts of Africa, and we are not immune to something happening between China and Taiwan. The Senator, along with other Members in the four years I have been in the House, have been strong advocates for the Taiwanese and the Taiwanese nation. That is an issue I will go back to our leader, Senator Regina Doherty, about. We should have those statements and do so in the next couple of weeks, before this House rises, because this is an important issue to discuss.

Senator Carrigy discussed Screen Ireland and the tax incentives, which are quite good to attract the film industry to Ireland. However, I agree with him that it has to be regionally-based. It cannot just be centred around Dublin or Cork, for example. Whether that is his area of the midlands – Longford-Westmeath – or my area of the Border counties, as a Government we should be trying to promote and encourage the spread of the film industry around this country when it comes here.

Regarding the autism-friendly Parliament in Leinster House, we have the highest standard of any parliament in Europe. That is down to Senator Carrigy and the incredible work he has done on that issue over the past four years. If it was not for him, we would not have these high standards in this Parliament today. If it was not for him championing this issue at every occasion, we would not be the standard bearer of how we have to treat people with autism in the workplace. That is all down to the Senator, so I congratulate him on the hard work he has done.

Senator Craughwell raised the issue raised with him by Councillor Paddy McQuillan, a friend of mine on Louth County Council. Again, Senator Carrigy will be aware of this. Ten years ago, if a person filled in the sports capital grant application wrong, it got put in the bin straightaway. It was not even considered. The application process has improved a lot. It gives people the opportunity to rectify mistakes that have been made. More money has gone into it than ever before, so nearly every club is getting something here or there. However, I agree with Senator Craughwell and Councillor McQuillan that if clubs are finding the application process difficult or if, for example, they are perhaps having to pay someone to write an application, that is not within the spirit of the grants. That is not what we want to see as a Government. It may be the case that the Department needs to introduce workshops, like the GAA does, for example, where in each county, club officials can go to dedicated workshops that will teach them exactly how to fill in an application, shows them the points to look at and shows them some of the pitfalls. That would be a very good idea and it is something that can be looked at.

Senator Craughwell also raised the issue of search and rescue, which he has been to the forefront of in this House. Of course, he will continue to raise it. It is something we always have to be aware of, particularly if there was any industrial action in Ireland and we are then without a search and rescue service.

I am getting onto all the points here that everyone has been championing for the past four years. For the past four years, Senator Gavan has been strong supporter not only of the west coast, where he comes from, but of the aviation industry as a whole. I absolutely agree with him. It makes no sense that there is an over-balance towards the likes of Dublin Airport when there are Knock, Kerry, Cork and Shannon airports. It is better for the island and the economy as a whole to have a much more balanced plan when it comes to our airports. I note given our two American tourists here today, many American tourists fly into Dublin and then go the west to travel all around it. It is about promoting the economic activity of the western seaboard and having a good aviation policy. I agree with the Senator that we need a debate on having a proper and dedicated aviation policy and how we can spread it around evenly.

Senator McGreehan raised the issue of life carbon farming projects and the framework. It is important we have the Minister in to debate how we need accurate measurements with that. The Senator has been a strong supporter of the farm community in our native county of Louth. Raising this issue again shows her commitment to the farming community. That absolutely will secure a lot of future for small farmers in this country, who are the bedrock not only of our agricultural community but of Irish society.

Without further ado, that is the end to the Order of Business.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Acting Leader for welcoming our guests. I forgot to mention that Louisiana State Senator Beth Mizell was also acknowledged in the letter to Pat regarding o the introduction of legislation to honour those of Irish descent in Louisiana and encourage stronger commercial links. When he retired in 2021, they declared the 29th of January to be Pat Shingleton Day. If we could declare today Pat Shingleton Day in Seanad Éireann, we would, but we will do it informally anyway. I thank him for being here today.

Senator Vincent P. Martin has proposed an amendment to the Order of Business: “That No. 7 be taken before No. 1.” The amendment was seconded by Senator Mary Seery Kearney. The Acting Leader has indicated that he is prepared to accept the amendment. Is the amendment agreed to? Agreed.