Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the ambassador and wish her and her people living in Ireland and across the globe on Sweden's national day.

The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on Ireland's economic outlook to be taken at 2 p.m. and to conclude at 3.30 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed ten minutes, all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, time may be shared, and the Minister to be given not less than ten minutes to reply to the debate; No. 2, statements on competitiveness to be taken at 4.30 p.m. and to conclude at 6 p.m. , if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed ten minutes, all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, time may be shared, and the Minister to be given not less than ten minutes to reply to the debate; and No. 3, Private Members' business in the name of Cross-Party Group Senators, Dereliction and Building Regeneration Bill 2025 - Second Stage, to be taken at 6 p.m., with the time allocated to this debate not to exceed two hours.

Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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Tragically an average of 110 people drown each year in Ireland. Irish Water Safety says this is unacceptable considering most of the fatalities are avoidable. We are entering into the bank holiday weekend. It is normally this weekend that our local authorities put the swimming guards on duty at all our open lake areas and wherever there is a blue flag, including on our beaches. Unfortunately, in my own constituency and that of Senator Murphy, we only have one public pool in our area and that happens to be in Tuam. While there is one in Ballinasloe, that is in the Galway-Roscommon constituency. There is a need for a pool in the south of our constituency. We depend on Kinvara, which is on the Atlantic, we have the lake in Loughrea and we have the River Shannon in Portumna. Aside from that, in the south there is nothing other than swim week during which Irish Water Safety does phenomenal work, led by Galway County Council and Shane Coogan who covers that area.

During the off-peak season there is nowhere for people to learn to swim. One of the best times to teach children to swim is when it is part of the school curriculum. Normally it is taught in second and third class and children look forward to that opportunity of learning to swim. Regrettably we cannot afford that to our children in our area. It is fantastic that Ballindereen will have a pop-up pool later this summer, which will meet some of the demands of the children of south Galway. However, with a growing population and with such demand, it will not service everybody by any manner of means. There is a group in Loughrea looking for a pool. Sometimes we consider viability and the role of local authorities and there is no doubt that pools are expensive facilities to run. There is also no doubt local authorities struggle to run them but at the same time we have to weigh up the need for education. This should form part of the educational curriculum. We should be providing the external opportunity for children to learn to swim, particularly when they live in areas with lots of lakes and rivers and, at the same time, the statistics show there are 110 drownings every year. There is no way one week's water safety classes can ensure that people will be safe. I want everybody to be safe coming into the summer season. I want them to take heed of the flags and I want them to always swim near a lifeguard and to swim with a buddy, check with the lifeguard, use sun cream, obey posted signs and flags, keep the beaches and water clean, learn to understand various currents, and always, which I only learned last week from Shane Coogan, if people decide to jump or dive in their local river, it should always be twice their depth.

PJ Murphy (Fine Gael)
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I would like to raise the continued closure of one of Ireland's most iconic coastal castles, Dunguaire Castle, on the Wild Atlantic Way in Kinvara. Until 2023, Dunguaire Castle was open to the public throughout the tourism season and was run and managed under the ownership of the Shannon Group. In 2023, a decision was made that the ownership of Dunguaire Castle would be handed over to Galway County Council. From that day until now, that transition of ownership has not been completed and the castle has remained closed to the public. Dunguaire Castle is the most photographed castle in Ireland by international tourists. Several busloads pass by every day travelling between Galway city and the Cliffs of Moher. This is one certain stop they make to get their selfies and other photos at Dunguaire Castle, yet busloads of tourists are disappointment because the castle remains closed. Galway County Council had undertaken an extensive and comprehensive due diligence process in quarter 4 of 2024 to progress the project but it needs government funding and a commitment from Government to get the castle in line with current regulations so that it can take the castle over and get it opened. The Minister, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan, in his latest communication to local Councillor Paul Killilea and Kinvara Community Council stated that Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland along with other bodies under their remit had been assign moneys accordingly. Those moneys have not yet been assigned. During the May plenary session of Galway County Council following questions again by Councillor Paul Killilea, it was stated by the CEO of Galway County Council: "We need a government commitment to fund the project to take the castle back into use and we as a council have committed under our capital programme to keep our end of the bargain but without a government commitment, our budget cannot absorb the costs to get it back into use and meet regulations."

This will be the third tourism season that the castle remains closed. I call on the Government to make allocations as soon as possible to Galway County Council for the money required to meet the building and tourism regulations so that Dunguaire Castle can open to the public before this tourism season is out.

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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There are many issues that the Department of Health should be grappling with as we all know, not least a lack of oversight of children's healthcare, the scoliosis issue and the endless saga around the national children's hospital. There are a range of issues that should be top priority, but when one looks at some of things that have been prioritised, it should really make us all wonder. Last year, the Department of Health pushed through assisted human reproductive legislation with very little discussion, public or otherwise, of its controversial Part 8 which would legalise controversial international surrogacy arrangements, effectively commercial surrogacy, because it would allow the involvement of paid intermediaries and, in the legislation, the payment of reasonable expenses is contemplated. All of this occurred against the background of a new updated EU directive about combating human trafficking. That directive now lists forced marriage, illegal adoption and the exploitation of surrogacy among the forms of human trafficking which member states, such as Ireland, have a duty to combat. The Government and the Department of Health knew this.

The Government was involved in talks on the directive in the months prior to the Bill. It had advice from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission that said that any domestic regulation that seeks to control surrogacy arrangements in other jurisdictions will likely be ineffective in preventing trafficking for exploitation of surrogates, is not considered best practice and is unlikely to be capable of being meaningfully implemented, but the Government went ahead nonetheless. I wrote to the Minister for Health recently and her private secretary said that issues were identified while the Bill was progressing which required further consideration. They did not say what. I strongly suspect that compatibility between Part 8 of the legislation passed and the anti-trafficking obligations which this country has is at the centre of it. Thanks to Mark Tighe in the Sunday Independent, we know the Department of Justice has said it is working to ensure the new Bill has sufficient safeguards to protect the rights of surrogate mothers, including from the threat of human trafficking, and to make sure Irish law is in line with EU obligations.

I do not know what forces have been at work within the Department of Health. This happened under the previous Minister. The new Minister has an obligation and the option to change the paradigm. We know there is a problem with any kind of international surrogacy arrangement because it is impossible to implement it in a way that avoids the human trafficking of women and, indeed, of children. Since we know we have no power or ability to prevent the exploitation of women in other jurisdictions, pushing ahead with Part 8 of the Bill would be dishonest and reckless and what the Minister should and must now do now is move to get rid of Part 8 of the assisted human reproduction Act in the forthcoming Bill on assisted human reproduction, which, we are told, is currently being drafted. It would be well worthwhile asking for the Minister to address this particular issue because something scandalous seems to have to gone on if, on the one hand, the Government was negotiating its obligations on the directive and, on the other, this destructive and exploitative stuff being pushed through by the Department of Health at the time.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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I raise the institutional betrayal of Ireland's vulnerable children. I wish to address one of the most shameful failures of our State, which is the ongoing betrayal of the survivors of abuse in St. John Ambulance and the disgraceful response from those entrusted with protecting them. We are here because of the immense courage of Mick Finnegan and other survivors who came forward to expose horrific abuse they suffered as children. These were boys, some as young as 12, who volunteered to serve their communities only to be groomed, abused and raped by a predator that St. John Ambulance knew was dangerous. Dr. Geoffrey Shannon's damning 2023 report left no room for doubt. This was not just the actions of one depraved individual but systemic failure on an institutional scale. The report confirmed what survivors had been saying for years that the charity was aware of the risks this man posed and yet failed to act. What has happened since? Instead of justice, survivors have faced a new form of institutional abuse, the gaslighting and retraumatisation by a State that continues to fail them at every turn.

The Minister, Deputy Foley's refusal to meet with survivors is beyond disappointing. Her Department's false claims about outreach support are misleading. If we just examine the facts, there has been no public inquiry, despite overwhelming evidence and multiple victims coming forward. The Minister has outright refused to establish a public inquiry into what happened at St. John Ambulance. There has been no accountability. Not a single person has been held accountable for enabling or covering up this abuse. The preparator may have retired, but what about those who allowed him to continue operating? There is no truth. A total of three so-called progress reports have been issued but none have delivered meaningful change or justice. They are prepared exercises designed to give the illusion of action. There is no support for survivors. The much-touted national safeguarding officer is a hollow gesture when survivors are still fighting for basic recognition of their trauma. This is not how a compassionate society treats its most vulnerable. This is how a responsible Government addresses systemic child abuse. The State's inaction sends a clear message that the pain of these survivors does not matter and that institutional reputations matter more than justice. I say enough. Enough of the empty promises, enough of the bureaucratic stonewalling and enough of treating survivors like an inconvenient truth rather than human beings who deserve justice. Today survivors demand an immediate public inquiry; not one behind closed doors, but a full transparent examination of what happened at St. John Ambulance and why it was allowed to continue. They need proper support; not just lip service about outreach but fully funded trauma informed care for all survivors. There needs to be safeguarding reform, with a complete overhaul of child protection measures across all State funded youth organisations. It is important we tell the survivors that their fight is our fight, their pain is what matters to us, and their voices are being heard.

Paul Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I reiterate the remarks of my colleague, Senator Rabbitte, when it comes to water safety on the eve of the bank holiday weekend. In that vein, it is a similar issue I wish to raise, which is farm safety. In that same sphere of coming into the June bank holiday weekend with the ever-increasing workload on farms, including silage making, hay making and, in my area, going to the bog, it is a busy period. With that extra workload and that children are now coming home on school holidays, and we all know farm families live on their farm, the farmyard is a playground as well as being an area where there are many risks.

Going into the long weekend, I welcome and note that, this morning, Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, has issued a statement urging people to be conscious and safe. Along the lines of Senator Rabbitte, when it comes to teaching and learning to swim in schools, as someone who has a farm safety Bill in the system and who has done a lot of work on this, I am convinced that, to overcome this problem, we need to start at the very lowest level and that is in our national schools. If children are aware of the hazards and children can see the dangers, they will police mammy, daddy, granny and grandfather.

With that in mind, I warmly welcome the primary school art competition that has been introduced and announced recently by Teagasc and Alma Jordan of AgriKids. I ask all Members here who are ever-present on social media in their local communities to promote this. If they go to Teagasc's or AgriKids' social media, they can promote that this art competition is being run in conjunction with a webinar that is being organised by Teagasc and many school visits by Alma from AgriKids. Unfortunately, the closing date is 6 June, only ten days away. It would be really appreciated if Members could use their influence on social media or their contacts in their local national schools to get the children involved. It is an art piece to highlight the importance of safety or hazards on farms. It is a brilliant exercise and very worthwhile. If we can educate our children, they will the police and they will educate the older generations on farms.

Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)
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I rise to address an important and prominent issue, which is the issue of the payment of the widow's pension. Unfortunately, a person can become a widow or lose their spouse or cohabiting partner at any age and they then receive this widow's pension based on the stamps of their deceased spouse or partner.An issue affecting many of my constituents and people right across the country, and which has not been adequately addressed, is that people in receipt of the widow's pension cannot receive any other social welfare payment, including sick pay, invalidity benefit or invalidity pension. While those in receipt of the widow's pension are grateful for it, the payment is not enough on which to survive. Most recipients are working, particularly those who were widowed in their younger years. If they have to go on sick leave, they are not entitled to sick pay. This is discriminatory and incredibly unfair. The widow's pension is based on the contributions of the deceased partner or spouse and the amount recipients receive depends on the number of stamps paid. It is a contributory pension.

This issue has been raised previously and the answer given was that people cannot be in receipt of two welfare payments. While I take that point, it is not actually true insofar as people can be in receipt of a disability or jobseeker's payment while at the same time receiving a half carer's payment. I hope consideration will be given to allowing recipients of the widow's pension to receive a half-rate pension while in receipt of another payment, up to a limit of two years or something like that. There must be a solution to this issue. It is an anomaly that is affecting many people across the country. It is grossly unfair.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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Hear, hear.

Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)
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It is disingenuous to say the double jeopardy rule applies in this case. I call on the Minister for Social Protection to come to the House to address the matter.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I have two requests. First, I thank the people from Samaritans Ireland who gave Oireachtas Members a very powerful briefing, with personal testimony of people's experiences. One of the main takeaways was that almost every minute, a person from Samaritans Ireland answers a call for help to its 24-hour telephone service. The organisation made only three asks of politicians. I made a commitment to pursue and advocate for the first of them, which is to prioritise the development of a national loneliness strategy within the Taoiseach's office. Clearly, I have no powers over the functions of the Taoiseach but most Members of this House are members of various parties and will have an opportunity to raise this issue on Wednesday evenings or whenever their parliamentary party meetings are held. I, in turn, will raise it by writing directly to the offices of the Taoiseach and Tánaiste - in fact, I have already done so - seeking support for such a strategy. It is incumbent on all of us to use our political contacts to ask for this and it is important that we do so.

Particularly in rural communities, as we know, rural isolation is one of the big issues that feeds into this problem. The representatives of Samaritans Ireland told us about the number of people who call very late at night and who, after many months of ringing and maybe not even speaking, will eventually start to talk about their sense of isolation and rural loneliness. That leads in to my second request. Former Senator Keith Swanick, who is an amazing man and an amazing doctor, produced an important report, A Connected Island - An Ireland Free From Loneliness. It is an extensive report, which is available in the Oireachtas Library, and everyone should read it. I ask for a debate with that report as its backbone. We should have statements on connectedness, rural isolation and loneliness. People can live in a city and be lonely. Clearly, there are mental health issues associated with loneliness. It is all very well coming out with platitudes and talk but we can do something about this. We should seek to develop a national strategy on tackling loneliness, in collaboration with other stakeholders. I ask that a relevant Minister under whose brief this issue falls would come to the House for statements and debate on this matter.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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Yesterday, I attended the Dáil Chamber, where an apology on behalf of the State was made by the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, to the family of the late Shane O'Farrell, who lost his life tragically on 2 August 2011. He was 21 years old and a very successful young man. He was very sporting and very academic and was doing a master's degree in law. His life was cut short as a result of a traffic accident in which a motorist who had more than 30 previous convictions cleaned Shane out of it outside Carrickmacross while he was on his bicycle. Yesterday was a tough and very emotional day in the Dáil Chamber for the O'Farrell family. Shane's parents have had many tough days since their son's life, a life that promised so much, was tragically cut short and taken away.

As I said, yesterday was a very tough day for them, following on from the many tough days they have had since they lost their son. However, I was delighted the family got their apology yesterday on behalf of the State. They have been knocking on the State's door looking for answers since 2011. That door has been closed but, yesterday, it was opened by the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan. I salute him for that. I pay exceptional credit to Lucia O'Farrell, her husband, Jim, and their four daughters. Lucia O'Farrell does not know what the word "no" means. She took on the State and beat it. If one lesson comes out of this, it is what determination and not accepting "no" for an answer can achieve. I salute Lucia and Jim and their four girls for the work they put in to get to this point. I hope the State will learn the lesson that no family should have to go through what the O'Farrell went through to get to where they got to yesterday.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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I add my best wishes to the O'Farrell family, who have waited 14 long years for an apology. It is far too long and no parent should ever have such a wait. Shane O'Farrell's parents, family and friends have done the State an incredible service by way of their determination, their courage and, more importantly, their love. I can only imagine that their love is what sustained them. I thank the Minister for Justice for apologising to them on behalf of the State. I call on every Member and every employee in the public service to learn from this and never to put any other citizen through what the O'Farrell family has been put through.

I invite all Members, when they get a chance, to come out to the Royal Canal in Phibsborough, which is looking spectacular at the moment. The flowers are blooming and the swans have new cygnets.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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Will the Senator put on the kettle?

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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It is just glorious. We celebrated Biodiversity Week earlier this month. If people want to see biodiversity in action in the city, it does not get any better than the Royal Canal. I commend the Royal Canal Clean-up Group, Waterways Ireland, the local authority waterways group and the Phibsborough village Tidy Town group on the work they do during the rest of the year when everything is not in bloom, the swans are not having their cygnets and we are not all out enjoying the fine evenings. Well done to everybody who gives of their time to protect the Royal Canal.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome to the Public Gallery Ms Honor Walshe, a transition year student from Sandford Park School who is doing work experience today with Senator Clonan.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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Senator Clonan and I are facing into many weeks of talking about the triple lock. My view is that it was a ridiculous thing to introduce in the first place but it is a red herring. We are spending weeks talking about the triple lock when the Air Corps operations are now closed at weekends and at 8 p.m. every night, meaning aircraft cannot take off or land during those times. We are heading into the Presidency of the European Union and prime ministers visiting this country will not be able to land their aircraft at Baldonnel unless they arrive between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. That is my first point. The second thing is our Naval Service. We can only put one ship to sea at a time. We are going to spend weeks talking about something that is irrelevant. I have not yet met a soldier, an airman or a sailor who gives a continental damn about the triple lock. In fact, if we are going to do away with it, we should have just done away with it. We should stop all the nonsense and deal with the bread-and-butter issues. Soldiers have nowhere to live. Soldiers cannot move through the system. Five-year contracts have the system totally and utterly paralysed. In 2021, the Secretary General of the Department of Defence flagged the issue with respect to air traffic controllers. Somebody has been sitting on their hands since then and has left us, a sovereign State, without an Air Corps at weekends. The Garda had to move its helicopter to Weston. The Garda is bringing in a fixed-wing aircraft for drug interdiction and it will have to be in Weston. We have to start getting real. We are awash with money in this country and we cannot keep the air force going 24-7, 365 days a year. We cannot keep the navy going. I give up. I really do.

Dee Ryan (Fianna Fail)
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I rise to highlight an exciting new venture taking place in Limerick tomorrow evening. It is the first of what we hope will be a run of successful Twilight Thursday initiatives. Limerick was chosen to be one of nine pilot towns and cities around the country to pioneer this initiative. It is being led by our night-time economy manager. It is all the work of the Government to ensure we are stimulating greater economic development in our towns and cities in the evenings and promoting them as safe and enjoyable spaces for families and people of all ages to come and enjoy in the evenings. There is a range of events on tomorrow evening in Limerick for the first of the Twilight Thursday series. It includes storytelling along the three bridges walk in Limerick, which is already a huge hit. This is a family-friendly walk, with animation along the way. There will be supper clubs, painting and Prosecco, and food tastings. I congratulate the night-time economy manager Craig Power on the work he has done. I wish all the participants well. I have connected a number of local businesses to the initiative already. It is still open for those who wish to get involved. The council is offering free parking in the Potato Market car park in Limerick, and even the taxis - Uber and FREENOW - are offering discounted taxi fares for the evening. Best wishes to all around the country who are participating in it. I thank the local authority, the Department of tourism and the councillors for funding this through their municipal fund.

Tom Clonan (Independent)
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I raise the issue that has come to light from an internal cable that was published by Reuters, which is the statement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the processing of all F, M and J visa applications should be halted. The US authorities say they want to introduce increased vetting of the social media profiles of, particularly, students applying for J1 visas. That has an immediate and pressing implication for our own students. Hundreds of thousands of Irish students have done a J1 visa. I did my own in 1985, travelling to New York. I know the Cathaoirleach has a particular interest in Irish-American relationships. It is unconscionable. The views of our students on Gaza and Palestine are what is being highlighted by Secretary of State Rubio. Any criticism of US or Israeli actions in Gaza is - these were the words used - “a threat to US foreign policy”. This is a very dark moment in the freedom of expression and the expression of views. I ask that we use whatever relationships we have across the House with our American counterparts to try to stop this before it happens because it is a retrograde step.

In that context, I wish to mention the definition of antisemitism that is being considered for adoption by the Government. For example, the Israel Defense Forces, which is involved in the slaughter and genocide of Gazans, is a multiconfessional organisation. There are Christians; Orthodox Christians; Copts; Bedouin Arabs have a tradition of serving; Sunni Muslims; and Shia Muslims in the Israel Defence Forces. It is a multiconfessional force. Therefore, criticism of what the IDF does in Gaza is not antisemitic or anti-Jewish. It is what it is; it is criticism of war crimes. Criticism of Netanyahu is not antisemitic; it is criticism of a war criminal. In fact, coming up here, it was a TY student who suggested to me that, in explaining the Order of Business, the number one priority should be raising the plight of the people of Gaza, and to criminalise that by way of detention and deportation is unspeakable.

Aubrey McCarthy (Independent)
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I raise the issue of end-of-life care and bereavement. Last week, I had the Irish Hospice Foundation come in to visit, and they reinforced the urgency of the work they do and the need for a compassionate, well-co-ordinated approach to end-of-life care and supporting individuals. I spoke a number of weeks ago in this House about a friend of mine, Jason, who was confined to hospital and wanted to die at home. After speaking here, the HSE intervened, and it is wonderful that he is now spending his last days with his family at home.

The recent end-of-life survey provided critical insights into realities faced by families across Ireland. It showed that cancer, dementia and heart conditions are the top common illnesses leading to death. Some 62% of people who die are aged 80 years and over. It shows that geriatric care and palliative care must be a huge, important part of our healthcare system. It also shows that where people die impacts the quality of their experience. Some 22% of people die in their home, and 24% of the whole survey expressed alarm that there was not co-ordinated care when it came to end of life.

Another issue that was brought up was the financial burden of funerals and bereavement in itself, which can give another layer of difficulty for families, with many people going into debt, and can cause real financial hardship. It showed that lower socioeconomic families that experience grief are spending a lot on funerals and going into debt, and that is impacting their futures.

I ask that we commit to delivering compassionate, comprehensive care and policies that uphold dignity and care for people at the end of their lives, and also those who are grieving for them.

Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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I was at a very informative presentation yesterday given by EDIT in the audiovisual room. One of the women speaking spoke about her issues with the current inheritance tax system. She does not have any children, and she has a sister with a disability. She wants to make sure that her sister is set up for life if, God forbid, she should pass. She cannot leave more than €40,000 to her nieces and nephews tax-free. They are the people who will be looking after her sister and responsible for managing her finances, and are not viewed as direct relations under inheritance tax. This system for capital acquisition tax is incredibly discriminatory against childless couples and needs to be reviewed. It discriminates against single people, people who do not have children and families with an alternative structure.

More than 1 million people in this country are childless, which is 18.4% of the population. The principle of equality before the law is enshrined in our Constitution. The Government has a duty to ensure that all people are treated equally, regardless of whether they have children. This tax discriminates against almost 20% of the population and it is totally and completely wrong. The real kicker is that if I want to leave my assets to a charity, I can do this tax-free, but if I want to pass them on to my granddaughter, she will have to pay through the nose at over €40,000.

The Government has acknowledged in various debates that it does not want to see anyone unfairly penalised, yet it has taken no action on this. One of the reasons cited for the failed referendum last year was to acknowledge different family structures and yet, when there is an opportunity to provide concrete support to these families, the Government simply turns a blind eye.

Capital acquisition tax has not been reviewed since 1991. I ask that the Government specifically looks at inheritance tax for childless couples. In its current form, it is clearly discriminatory.

Mark Duffy (Fine Gael)
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I attended the official opening of Western Care's new facility in Ballina on Monday. It is brilliant to see a building in the town that was vacant for so long brought back into use for a wide range of care service users and staff. It is so welcome and I congratulate everyone involved in it. The rural social scheme supported the renovation of the building. The support of the redevelopment of the asset for use by Western Care is a great example of the use of this scheme. The scheme needs further support for its work. The key issue is that the ageing participant demographic means that the eligibility age limit needs to be increased to allow more people onto the scheme. The current retirement age is 65. It is becoming more and more difficult to get people onto these schemes. Having more eligibility and flexibility for the scheme can help more people to get onto it and is a positive net gain for social inclusion and development in communities.

The ask is that the rural social scheme extend the participation age beyond 66, all the way up to, potentially, 70, to give people more opportunity to be involved in the scheme. It would help to buy time for the rural social scheme to review recommendations and address the recruitment challenges that are faced in rural communities. I would like to highlight that and perhaps the Leader will have a discussion on it with the Minister.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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I thank all Senators for their contributions this morning, starting with Senator Rabbitte, who gave sound advice ahead of the bank holiday weekend and indeed ahead of the summer to those who will be swimming to take care, be safe, abide by signs and to swim near lifeguards. It is important that people take care over the weekend and over the summer. She quite rightly talked about the possibilities of advancing the curriculum with regard to swimming. We should certainly have a debate on that matter when there is an opportunity.

Senator P. J. Murphy talked about Dunguaire Castle in beautiful Kinvara, a very scenic location, which quite rightly gets many tourist stops. He stated that Galway County Council has taken ownership of it but does not have money to run the facility, which begs the question of why it took ownership and the Office of Public Works did not take ownership. As needs be, I suggest that he table a Commencement matter to see if the Office of Public Works could get involved in ensuring that this important facility for the local community, and part of our heritage, is reopened.

Senator Mullen talked about international surrogacy and the forthcoming amendment to the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024. There is still some way to go on that Bill. It is being drafted and is some way off. He raised concern about Part 8 of the existing legislation and whether it is compatible with an EU directive. If there are issues in that regard, they may be raised with both the Attorney General and the Minister as part of the drafting and the legislative process.

Senator Andrews put forward compelling concerns regarding abuse at St. John's Ambulance and Dr. Shannon's report. He talked about the systemic failures. I understand that the Minister, Deputy Foley, has stated that she has no plans for an inquiry into this matter. I will raise it again for a debate in these Houses.

Senator Paul Daly raised child safety as the summer holidays approach and all those children who will be out and about on farms, where there are hazards. As well as great enjoyment and a great upbringing, there can be hazards on our farms. He talked about the primary school art exhibition to promote farm safety. I know there is a website, agrikids.ie, which helps to promote farm safety. I encourage all Members to be cognisant of and try to promote that in their communities.

Senator Lynch talked about the widow's pension and concerns regarding the inability to draw down two social welfare payments. I suggest that she tables a Commencement debate with the Minister on that matter. It is an important issue and she has raised valid points. She might talk with colleagues on the social protection committee to see if that can be raised. The first port of call would be a Commencement debate with the Minister, Deputy Calleary.

Senator Boyhan talked about the Samaritans. I was at their launch last week. He has talked about the work done by Dr. Keith Swanick on the report on loneliness. I was at the launch of that report five years or so ago. It is an important issue. It is difficult to solve but it is a real issue. As the Senator said, you can be as lonely and disheartened in New York city or Dublin city as you can be up a bóithrín or a mountain. It is a real issue. If there is a possibility of having a debate on that report, I will certainly try to organise that. Perhaps Dr. Swanick might be invited back to debate that if possible.

Senators Gallagher and Fitzpatrick raised the issue of Shane O'Farrell and the apology. I commend the Minister, Jim O'Callaghan, on his advocacy and his apology in the Dáil yesterday to the family of Shane O'Farrell. I commend the long-standing advocacy of Shane's parents, Lucia and Jim, and the family who were present. I know they have had many difficult years. I hope that yesterday was some comfort but obviously it will not bring Shane back. Still, an important process was gone through.

Senator Fitzpatrick commended all involved in enhancing the Royal Canal. I would like to join with her on that.

Senator Craughwell raised the issue of the triple lock and air traffic controllers. I know he is a member of the Committee on Defence and National Security, as I am. I know these issues will be discussed with regard to the work programme at our meeting tomorrow. We will have time to arrange such debates on the air traffic controllers. We are carrying out pre-legislative scrutiny on the triple lock at the moment.

Senator Dee Ryan spoke about Twilight Thursdays. I wish the participants and all who will enjoy the safe spaces across Limerick well. I extend my compliments to the night-time economy manager. I wish them well in all that goes on there.

Senator Clonan raised J1 visas, which are an important issue for so many Irish youngsters and students. It is a sort of rite of passage to go to the United States on a J1 visa. My niece went to Chicago last week and I had a nephew in Berkeley last year. It is important. A month ago, either the president or somebody senior in the Union of Students in Ireland talked about the concerns and advised students to take down posts that may be problematic for them. As Senators know, the United States is a good friend of Ireland, but it is their country and their rules. I certainly hope that the J1 visa and its future are not under threat. I hope that these issues will be raised in the engagement between our two countries at the highest level and that there will be no issues with the generations of Irish youngsters who go to the United States.

Senator McCarthy talked about end-of-life care and bereavement. Delivering compassion in our system is an important issue, which many of us here would have had experience of with our own families and loved ones. Most people would wish to be able to die in comfort in their own home. Where the State and family can facilitate that, it is the least that can be done. I compliment Senator McCarthy's advocacy on behalf of his good friend and hope that he has comfort in his final time. I will raise this and see if we can have a debate on this matter as well. Senator Sarah O'Reilly talked of EDIT and the campaign group in respect of inheritance tax. I was at the briefing in the audiovisual room yesterday, where the group made very valid points about their concerns that they are discriminated against. It is not just an issue of financial matters but one of equality. The group has engaged with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, and the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Deputy Foley, and has advocates in both Houses on this matter. Perhaps colleagues on the finance committee could examine it and see if it can be raised as an issue over the coming weeks, before negotiations and more detailed work on the budget take place.

Finally, Senator Duffy has raised the issue of the Western Care Association and wished it well on its official opening. He raised eligibility issues with the rural social scheme. I do not have an update on what has been planned but it is certainly very important. He has sought information in the past on Tús as well. I suggest that he propose a Commencement debate on the matter, which is very important, particularly when we have such high levels of employment. It is difficult to find people to do the valuable work of some of our social schemes, including Tús schemes, which are hugely important. Eligibility is an issue that is often raised. Where we can, we should try to maximise participation on these schemes across rural and urban Ireland.