Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Before we move to Order of Business, I welcome Creagh College from Gorey. They are guests of Deputy Malcolm Byrne and I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House and the Seanad today.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on mental health and suicide prevention, to be taken at 12 noon and to conclude at 1.15 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed seven minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed ten minutes, all other Senators not to exceed three minutes and time may be shared, and the Minister to be given not less than seven minutes to reply to the debate. On the conclusion of today's business, the House shall stand adjourned until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 20 May 2025.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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This is the first time Senator Ahearn has taken the Order of Business during this mandate, so I wish him well with that. All of us across the country were absolutely shocked when, nine years ago, we heard of the appalling murder of Clodagh Hawe and her three sons, Liam, Niall and Ryan, by their husband and dad. I was very moved over the weekend to hear her sister Jacqueline Connolly speaking eloquently about the impact that horrific tragedy had on their family. I had not realised there had been two previous tragedies in the family. Sometimes it is awful to hear how much any one family has to endure. Jacqueline has just finished writing a book called Deadly Silence. She feels very strongly, and I agree with her, that the serious crime review findings in this case should be released and would be of particular importance to domestic violence services in understanding the background to what happened.

Separate to that, there has been an independent study on familicide and domestic and family violence death reviews which made 212 recommendations. Three consultation groups were established: a family consultation group to support victims, a cross-functional interdepartmental group and an advisory group of NGOs. I understand the Minister is meeting with the groups and that a lot of work has been carried out on some recommendations, particularly the one on guardianship rights. It is important to ask the Minister to come to the House to have a debate on those 212 recommendations, get a progress report on where some of the important recommendations are and look into the ones that have not been advanced.

The other issue I want to speak about relates to electronic health records. Data for patients is typically held in separate systems across separate care settings. Commitments have been made to develop a national shared care record which will enable healthcare professionals working in acute hospitals to see information about the care a patient is receiving in the community and vice versa. This is critical to the reform of our healthcare. Equally so is a national electronic health record system providing a digital health record of a patient's journey through life. All of this is expected to improve clinical outcomes for patients. It is important we get information on where we are with these two types of data-sharing systems that will help professionals and patients.

Evanne Ní Chuilinn (Fine Gael)
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Today, 15 May, is Hyperemesis gravidarum awareness day. Hyperemesis gravidarum, HG, is the medical name for extreme nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, which affects approximately 2% of pregnancies, so 1 in 50.

Unlike typical pregnancy sickness, it is highly debilitating with women often unable to work, look after their other children or leave the house or bed. It results in frequent hospitalisation and lasting physical and psychological effects. Some women choose to terminate their otherwise wanted pregnancies as a result. Without treatment, and in severe cases, it can be life threatening from a range of causes, including organ failure, venous thromboembolism, VTE, brain damage and suicide.

Recent research strongly suggests that HG is a genetic disease caused by an unusual sensitivity to the growth hormone GDF15, which is produced by the placenta in pregnancy. Physiologically, it is very similar to the extreme nausea and vomiting caused by platinum-based chemotherapies. Yet women, with the same levels of sickness while pregnant are often told it is normal and that is due to inconsistencies in care.

Cariban is one of the most common medications used to treat HG. Since August 2024, it has been available on the medical card and drugs payment scheme, which is a welcome development. That is due in large part due to the #HG2costly campaign by Hyperemesis Ireland.

The next focus for those campaigning on behalf of women suffering from HG is the publication of updated clinical guidelines for medical practitioners to help improve and standardise treatments. This report was due in the first quarter of 2024 and has not yet been released.

At the moment HG patients are navigating a system where early and appropriate access to care can depend on where you live and which doctor you happen to meet rather than how sick you are or what treatment you need. We have some excellent and, indeed, world-leading HG care in Ireland but this should not be restricted to just a few maternity units. It should be available no matter where and how a HG patient needs treatment. The updated clinical guidelines will help with this.

Improved HG care needs to be part of the next national maternity strategy to reduce the burden on patients, their babies and the health system. HG has multiple effects on the physical and mental health of the woman during and after pregnancy but also on babies born after a HG pregnancy. Much of this suffering and its associated costs to the health system is preventable with proactive, standardised and equitable access to HG treatment.

I would welcome a debate with the Minister to get clarity on a timeline for the publication of the updated clinical guidelines, and to ensure that improved hyperemesis care is included in the new maternity strategy.

Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein)
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Senator O'Loughlin has mentioned the murder of Clodagh Hawe and her three sons. Being from Cavan, I remember hearing about it on the day and it sent shock waves through the whole country. I commend Clodagh's sister, Jacqueline Connolly, on speaking out on a previous occasion and for writing a book about this. At the time, some of the media reports and others described the perpetrator as a pillar of society and how this was a tragic event. To me, a tragedy suggests something accidental or that could not be helped. This person was not a pillar of society. He was a murderer and he should be called out for what he was, namely, an absolutely shameful individual.

I wish to raise the issue of the continued delays in dealing with appeals by An Bord Pleanála. Local authorities must give a decision on a planning application within a set length of time and applicants must adhere to that but the board does not, so the process can go on for ages. Yesterday, a person contacted me and told me they had received planning permission in March 2024. An appeal was lodged with the board by a third party a few weeks later but the appeal still has not been dealt with and a year has elapsed. The board did write to the applicant notifying that an inspector would conduct an inspection in August but no one arrived. The board again sent a written notification that an inspector would visit before Christmas but nobody arrived. The applicant still awaits a decision and cannot get anywhere, which is totally unfair.

I ask the Acting Leader to raise this issue with the Minister, Deputy James Browne, to see whether something can be done such as putting resources into the board to address this issue in order that people do not have to wait an endless amount of time without an answer during an appeal.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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In recent days, AIB has repurchased quite a lot of its shares from the Government. On the one hand, we should be happy about this. On the other hand, it brings back to mind the misery that the financial crisis brought to this country. There are still tens of thousands of people who are severely in debt and have distressed mortgages. These distressed mortgages have been passed from banks to shark funds, from shark fund to shark fund or to vulture funds or whatever what one wants to call them. I am familiar with some people who are still in that situation, many of whom are of my own vintage. They are getting letters from vulture funds demanding payment, and threatening to take properties, etc., but there is no signature on the bottom of the page and they have no idea who runs the organisation as there are no names or anything else on the letters. I am glad that AIB has found itself liquid again and in a position to buy back its shareholding from the Government but I wonder about the people who are suffering today. How do they feel knowing that this bank, which was bailed out on the backs of workers and taxpayers, managed to offload the problem to somebody who is still crucifying the individuals who owe a few bob? I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like to be in your late 60s and find yourself in a situation where you have a vulture fund chasing you. We need to go back and see how we might assist those people to get out of financial trouble.

To a certain degree, the AIBs, Bank of Irelands and Permanent TSBs of this world have an obligation to the customers that they misled. I remember my young brother - God be good to him as he is long since gone - borrowing money and two banks competed. One of the banks brought him to St. Petersburg with five of his friends for the weekend in order to get him to sign on the bottom line. While individuals borrowing for their properties or whatever is a different story, the elderly are facing threats from these faceless people. At the very least, people should know the names of the directors of the organisation that currently holds your mortgage. People should have the name of a contact person and I am not talking about a 21 or 22-year-old who has no authority. People should have the name of a contact person that they can sit down with, meet and discuss the situation.

I call for a debate with the Minister for Finance to be arranged to specifically discuss distressed mortgages and the fallback to what the banks did to this country; not the individuals but the banks. Let us consider what Iceland did. Iceland walked away.

Manus Boyle (Fine Gael)
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I want to raise an issue I feel really strongly about. A couple of weeks ago my daughter fell and I took her to an accident and emergency unit. We arrived at the unit on a Sunday afternoon about 4 o'clock and there was a lady there with severe disabilities. My daughter and I were there for the guts of ten hours. I am not giving out about the wait as it was a busy place but that poor woman was in a wheelchair and her husband had to try to look after her for the guts of ten hours. I offered her my daughter's place to let them go ahead but I was told that the lady had to be seen by staff from a different department.

I call on the Minister to ensure that people with disabilities are fast-tracked. I ask because it is inhumane to keep people sitting there. The poor husband did his best to assist his wife and the image of that has been lodged in my head since. It is totally wrong and inhumane for that women to have to wait for the guts of ten hours. I do not know how she sat for so long or how long she had to wait to receive treatment. A fast-track system through accident and emergency units should be in place.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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American football is coming to Dublin. Craig Hughes, in his article for the Irish Daily Mail, highlights that the Government will spend €10 million on this event and on bringing over the two American teams. Yet, at the same time, 77% of Irish amateur football clubs do not have adequate changing facilities for women. The Government continues to ignore Irish football because four years ago, the Taoiseach said on radio that he would ensure the Government invested in academy football, yet not one cent has come across since then.The figure of €10 million would be transformative for grassroots and academy football. Before the previous general election, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael included a 1% betting levy increase in their manifestos. After the election, that was dropped and was not included in the programme for Government. When the votes were counted and the two parties returned to Government, they decided to drop that from the programme for Government. That would be a hugely sustainable source of income for football and sports in general. It is a huge miss by the Government.

It is not the first miss by the Government in supporting Irish football; the Brexit adjustment fund was missed by the Government. It would have helped League of Ireland football clubs to access long-term, sustainable funding. A 1% betting levy increase would have taken in nearly €50 million. What would that do for Irish sport? Ireland is at the bottom of the European league in terms of investment in sport. A figure of €50 million would have made a huge difference. It would have been sustainable. It would have funded grassroots academy football and ensured the 67% of Irish clubs that lack suitable women's toilets were able to access funding. Will the Acting Leader invite the Minister to the House to have a debate on funding for Irish football and sports in general?

Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael)
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I rise this morning regarding serious health concerns for the people of Listowel in north Kerry and the people of west Limerick. I am calling for the full restoration of the SouthDoc services at Listowel primary care centre. As stated, I am calling on the HSE and SouthDoc to immediately restore full out-of-hours GP services at the Listowel primary care centre to their previous operational levels. The recent reductions or alterations of these services have had a serious impact on the healthcare access for the people of north Kerry, particularly the elderly, families with young children and those without the transport to travel to other centres.

SouthDoc plays a vital role in providing urgent medical care during evenings, weekends and public holidays. Any scaling-back of these services has compromised and will compromise patient safety and places an additional strain on elderly, overburdened emergency departments. The people of Listowel and the surrounding areas deserve equitable and timely access to healthcare. I strongly urge the HSE and SouthDoc management to work with other local representatives and community stakeholders to fully reinstate the normal out-of-hours services at the Listowel primary care centre without delay. I am calling on the Minister for Health to come to this House for a debate on these serious health concerns for the people of my area.

Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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New figures have come to light showing that nearly 4,000 deportation orders have been overturned in the past decade. The State is now revoking more deportation orders than it is actually enforcing. The Ministers, Deputies Helen McEntee and Simon Harris, oversaw the highest number of revocations. The Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, has already quashed 127 deportation orders this year alone. This is a complete failure of enforcement and of proper immigration control.

Aontú supports a fair and compassionate asylum system. We believe Ireland should offer refuge to those fleeing genuine war, persecution or violence, but the system must be firm and credible. That credibility is being utterly undermined when deportation orders issued after extensive legal processes, including appeals and judicial reviews, are so frequently revoked. The Government is talking tough but the numbers do not lie. In reality, the enforcement of deportation orders is weak, inconsistent and lacks transparency. This totally undermines public trust in the integrity of our immigration system. Advantage can be taken of it. Only a week ago, the Minister stated, "If there is not a consequence, it is going to mean that the system is pointless because whether [a person gets asylum] or not, [they] are staying [in the country]". The Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, also denies claims that chartering deportation flights was simply an attempt by the Government to appear stricter on immigration. How can people trust this when we now know there have been more deportation orders quashed than have been actively enforced since the start of this year? We need a debate in this Chamber on that issue.

Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael)
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I rise today in response to a UN report yesterday that highlighted the fact that Irish teens are among the least happy in the developed world. Irish teenagers are among the least happy in high-income countries, despite leading the world in academic skills. This report also highlights that Ireland's youth suicide rate was found to be above the international average.

Two debates have happened in this Chamber recently. I wish to explore the impact of social media on our younger people, especially our school-going children. The kids in school nowadays are social media natives; not like the rest of us, who are potential social media immigrants. They have grown up with this and it is something they have always experienced. The impact of its use is something on which we must have a debate about in this House. Prolonged used of social media is linked to depression, anxiety, isolation and poor body image.

Despite the downsides, there are positives regarding social media. We owe it to the next generation, the social media natives, to have a conversation in this House and talk to them about the long-term impacts of social media on their future lives and the benefits of same. I call on the Acting Leader to arrange a debate to discuss that, if possible.

Aubrey McCarthy (Independent)
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I raise the matter of Lyme disease. This month is Lyme disease awareness month. For those who do not know, it is a bacterial infection that can be caused by tick bites. Interestingly, this week there was a protest outside the gates of Leinster House by people who have been affected by Lyme disease. I have had fascinating conversations. It is a disease on which I was not too informed. I met one lady, Anne, who was incapacitated for the past 30 years after getting a bite on a beach many years ago. While I was discussing this with fellow Senators, one of them brought up the point that a person in his own industry, a dynamic individual, received a bite when he was jogging in the Phoenix Park and is now incapacitated too. It is a very serious disease and is something that can affect every one of us.

One thing I learned from talking to the Lyme disease protestors was that it is preventable and curable if caught in the early stages. It is essential that our Minister for Health and the Department invest in early detection kits. There is a new, Covid-type test that is helped by AI, is meant to be very dynamic and comes from Switzerland. One of the ladies outside the gate had taken medical tests with her own tests in Ireland for eight years and was cleared of Lyme disease. She then went to Switzerland and the test showed she had Lyme disease and it was too late to do anything about it. I am asking for investment in tests that will produce the proper results. A total of 5% of ticks in Ireland carry the Lyme disease bacteria. We need to be Lyme-aware and invest in proper testing.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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As there are no other Senators wishing to contribute, I call the Acting Leader to respond.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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I thank all the Senators for their contributions. Senators O'Loughlin and Tully spoke about the tragic case of Clodagh Hawe and her three children. First, I acknowledge the incredible bravery of Jacqueline to be able to speak about this tragic incident that happened to her sister and her nieces and nephews and to write a book about it. Senator O'Loughlin raised the serious crime review findings. They need to be released. There is an opportunity for the Minister for Justice to come to this Chamber. The Minister, in fairness to him, has always been accommodating to come to this Chamber since his appointment as Minister for Justice. If there are 212 recommendations, it is important they are put in place as quickly as possible. I think everyone who heard the story of that murder from number of years ago would be heartbroken that innocent children were murdered by their own father. Senator O'Loughlin also raised the issue of electronic health records and sought an update from the Minister. I will ask the office to do that. I was in hospital for a number of weeks a year and a half ago after an infection. It is all done through paper. It would be so much simpler for all hospitals across the country if it were done electronically. It is something we have waited a long time for, and it would help the patients, doctors and nurses, and GPs in particular. I will get the office to do that.

I smiled when Senator Ní Chuilinn brought up the issue she raised. I was probably the only Senator - actually, Senator Clifford-Lee was another - who used to raise hyperemesis gravidarum in this Chamber. In fairness to the previous Minister for Health - most Ministers for Health receive a lot of criticism, and rightly so, although sometimes unfairly - he did an awful lot for women's health, and one of those things he did was to make Cariban available to women who suffer from hyperemesis gravidarum during pregnancy. As the Senator said, it is an incredibly debilitating illness. People think it is just morning sickness or normal pregnancy, or sometimes that people are overexaggerating how much they are suffering from it. It is something I am quite familiar with, however. It is important that changes have been made, but I agree with the Senator that it cannot be the case that some areas in the country receive the top-quality service they need but other areas do not receive the same type of service just because guidelines have not been updated and they are not as informed on or included in the health strategy. That needs to be improved. I will talk to the Minister about that issue.

Senator Tully spoke about the delays on appeals to An Bord Pleanála. Every one of us in this House has examples right across the country where we see delays. We all have different perspectives, but everyone acknowledges that housing and the building of houses is the number one priority for all of us. In fairness to the Minister for housing, that is why he is looking at ways to speed up processes, and An Bord Pleanála is one of them. The Senator is right; an awful lot of funding has been put in place to try to speed this up and there have always been delays in terms of objections. That needs to be looked at to a certain extent. However, we cannot have a situation where we are seeking to build houses, particularly for young people right across the country, and waiting 14 or 15 months for An Bord Pleanála just to make a decision. I will raise that with the Minister.

Senator Craughwell raised the issue of AIB shares being sold. He touched on the stress many people have suffered over the past 15 years in terms of loans or mortgages they had that were sold to vulture funds. It is an incredibly distressing time for those people and their families in particular. Unfortunately, I am aware of one or two people in County Tipperary who actually died by suicide because of the stress that was caused by vulture funds putting immense pressure on them and their families. That is something that certainly needs to be addressed. However, it is important that shares have been bought back by AIB. It has been a long time coming from where we were back in 2008. I take the Senator's points, however.

Senator Boyle referred to the fact that he was with his daughter in an accident and emergency department and witnessed a woman with disabilities who had been waiting for 10 hours. That is utterly unacceptable. I suggest that he write to the Minister on it. All decisions that are made in a hospital are made by people working in the hospital in terms of who is seen first or second, but it does seem utterly unfair that someone who has severe disabilities would not be prioritised in some way in terms of being looked after. I ask the Senator to write to the Minister on that issue.

Senator Andrews raised the positive news that the NFL is coming to Dublin. The Government is investing a significant amount of money in it. As a person who is from the city, I know the Senator sees the financial benefit of that coming to Dublin from an economic and tourism perspective. The Steelers and the Vikings are quite popular teams. I am an NFL fan. The event will be quite popular and I am sure it will be a very good weekend. In saying that, as the Senator knows, I am a very good supporter of the FAI and Irish football, and we need to invest more in grassroots football. The Senator was at the briefing two weeks ago with the FAI. It has put forward a really credible plan that can transform Irish football at youth level over the next ten years. As a result of Brexit, young, talented Irish soccer players cannot go to England until they are aged 18. I know the Senator is aware of that because he is very passionate about the issue. Damien Duff and people like that went to clubs there at age 15 or 16 but people now cannot go until they are aged. That means the quality of coaching and training needs to be up to a standard right across Europe in order that those players have top-quality international coaching during those important years of 16 and 17 to prepare them for when they move to the UK a number of years later and become Premiership players and players at international level. I take on board exactly what the Senator said. He made a very good point. The Minister for sport should come into the Chamber. I will ask the Leader's office to try to arrange that in the coming weeks.

Senator Kennelly raised the issue of Listowel Primary Care Centre, and the need for full restoration of out-of-hours SouthDoc services. I know he is very passionate about this. I suggest that he table a Commencement matter and bring the Minister for Health into the Chamber to discuss it. I was down in the Senator's county a couple of weeks ago doing a cycle around Dingle. One of my friends made the strange decision to take his hands off the handlebars while he was cycling up a mountain. He fell and I ended up having to drive him to the SouthDoc in Dingle to get nine stitches. The out-of-hours service was not on but, in fairness to the GP, he came in and did nine stitches for my friend. He should not have taken his hands off the handlebars, but anyway.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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He is a bit old for that.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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Exactly. This issue is really important, however. The people of Kerry need to receive the sort of service they are used to receiving. I agree with the Senator that the HSE needs to consult with all public representatives in the area to make sure that a satisfactory agreement is put in place.

Senator Sarah O'Reilly raised the issue of deportation orders. There are an awful lot more people coming into this country. There is absolutely no doubt about that. Changes have been made by the Minister for Justice in the months since he has been appointed. We have seen a number of flights on which people have been deported. Many people leave voluntarily; that has always been the case. We need to do more of it. We need to enforce it. The Senator said that these flights are just done to show that the Government is doing something. I remember two or three instances in the past two years when we were asked to put on these flights to bring people back to the countries from which they came. That is what is happening with the Minister. In saying that, the Senator is right; we need to do more and it needs to be fair and transparent. More people are coming in every single year. That means we have more approvals for people who are allowed to stay here, but it also means we will have more deportations, and we need to be able to facilitate that if they do not leave voluntarily.

Senator Scahill raised the issue of the UN report which indicated Irish teens are the least happy and the suicide rate is above the EU average. I agree with the Senator; how we manage social media for young people is one of the biggest challenges we have as a Government. I was debating during the week what we can do for under-16s in particular. I was actually amazed to discover that 93% of kids aged between eight and 12 have a smartphone, which is absolutely crazy. Young people cannot get access to awful lot of social media companies until they are aged 13, and then they need parental guidance between the ages of 13 and 16. There is no rule in place for every single one of them, however. They are all different. We need to be real. Young people are able to get on to these sites and are influenced by them, and they do have a detrimental effect. We are very lucky at the moment to have good weather outside. Senator Scahill has two young daughters and I have two young boys. The last thing we want them to be doing is to be on social media all day. We want them out playing and enjoying their youth. To do that, however, we really need to wake up as a country and certainly regulate it more.

Senator McCarthy raised the issue of Lyme disease, which is something I am not hugely familiar with. He gave the example of someone who had a bite and then had a very serious reaction to it. The fact is that these are preventable if caught early. The Senator is correct; if we can invest in early intervention kits to simply stop something as serious as what could happen from contracting Lyme disease, I certainly think we should do it. I suggest that the Senator raise that as a Commencement matter for the Minister.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the students from Straffan National School in County Kildare and Sancta Maria College in Rathfarnham. I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House today, especially to the Seanad. It is the tradition of the House that they have homework off for the rest of the day.

Evanne Ní Chuilinn (Fine Gael)
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The rest of the week.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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It is the week, is it? I hope they enjoy their visit.