Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Before I call the Leader to outline the Order of Business, I welcome Councillor Daniel Ennis to the Gallery, along with Paul McCauley and Mason McGuinness from Cór na nÓg. They will be back here some day, please God, in the Seanad or the Dáil. I know there are applications going for the Presidency as well. They might be a bit too young at the moment but we are all seeking applications. In the Distinguished Visitors Gallery, from the British embassy, I welcome George Moore, first secretary, and Ellen O'Donoghue, political officer. I think the O'Donoghues are from Kerry so she might have some relations there. They are most welcome to Seanad Éireann.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on sea fisheries, to be taken at 1 p.m. and to conclude at 2.30 p.m. if not previously concluded, with 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 eight minutes to reply to the debate; No. 2, Private Member's business, Health (Scoliosis Treatment Services) Bill 2024 - Report and Final Stages, to be taken at 3 p.m. and to adjourn at 5 p.m. if not previously concluded; and No. 3, Private Member's business, Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2024 - Committee Stage, to be taken at 5.30 p.m. and to adjourn at 7.30 p.m. if not previously concluded.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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I extend my welcome to the distinguished guests. Times are difficult across the world and there is a lot of doom and gloom, some of it merited and some of it not. We all need moments in our lives where we get to witness joy and to see creativity and music. It was incredible to hear so many people speaking about tuning into Glastonbury over the weekend. My youngest brother was there. I have not spoken to him yet but I understand from different communications that everybody had a wonderful time. I know that many people really enjoyed tuning in. I see that RTÉ has confirmed that it will not cover any of Electric Picnic this August. It was 2017 when RTÉ last covered any major Irish music festival. I think that needs to change. For so many people who would not have the opportunity to attend, and it is not that we would be taking away from ticket sales because all of these events are sold out quickly, it would be wonderful to expand the joy, the excitement and the music to everybody, and I would like to see that being taken up.

I want to give a shout-out to Junefest in Newbridge, which I spoke about before. It is a wonderful festival. The incredible Annie Morris, who is the chairperson, created a record for the longest bunting. This is formed from a yarn bomb that she started in 2016. They are now taking down the bunting, turning it into scarves and sending them in hope boxes to Africa for Christmas. It is a great initiative. I have just come from the Fáilte Ireland briefing. Fáilte Ireland does incredible work. In asking about regional funding, which is obviously important, I realised that Kildare only gets €5,000. I do not know how big the fund is but if we are to give meaningful support to local festivals such as Junefest, that should be expanded.

The last item I want to raise relates to IVF. I and now Deputy Catherine Ardagh introduced legislation in this House to ensure that State funding would be given to couples undergoing fertility problems, which is a medical disease according to the WHO. We all know couples who have been impacted by not being able to have a family. IVF is very expensive. It comes with a huge financial and emotional toll. We were delighted when the then Minister, Stephen Donnelly, took this up. Since September 2023, 2,500 have been able to avail of this facility. I appreciate that, during the week, the current Minister extended that to families who already have one child. One of the areas that people cannot access funding in is if they have gone through IVF treatment before. People have already taken out those loans, gone through the toll and not been able to get funding. I appeal to the Minister to change these criteria and ensure that if people have already had a round, they would be eligible for funding.

Mark Duffy (Fine Gael)
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I welcome to the distinguished guests in the Visitors Gallery. This morning, I raise an issue that has an effect on community groups across the country, which is the lack of pay parity between Tús and rural social scheme, RSS, workers and their equivalent community employment scheme supervisors.The Tús scheme and the RSS are an incredible lifeline and the lifeblood of rural communities. They do brilliant work supporting GAA clubs, community groups and village and town enhancements, but there is a total lack of parity in the pay and remuneration for the supervisors of Tús and the RSS. The supervisors of both of those schemes are paid approximately 50% more per week than the participants but the participants generally work only about half of the week, so the remuneration is almost the same. When we take into account social welfare benefits at different stages that are cost-of-living measures or increased payments at, say, Christmas time, the supervisors do not receive those same benefits. They are not being treated fairly, therefore, and are not being looked after in terms of the cost of living or inflation over the past seven years. which has negatively impacted on them. If we compare them with community employment, CE, scheme supervisors, an assistant supervisor gets paid just €300 less per year than a supervisor on a Tús scheme or RSS. There is a huge disparity, therefore, in pay for both Tús and RSS supervisors compared with that of community employment supervisors. It should be brought into line. I would welcome a debate with the Minister on it. Like I said, they do incredible work on social outreach and supporting vulnerable members of our communities, but they need to be remunerated and looked after for that. It is a small cohort of people who do exceptional work and we need to support them. I would welcome a debate on it.

Joe Conway (Independent)
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I want to reference in the short time I have this morning connections, economic and cultural, between us and Japan. Economically, Japan is our second biggest trade partner in the Pacific area, with an annual import-export of over €21 billion, a not inconsiderable amount. However, it is mainly the cultural connections between the two countries that I want to advert to, in particular with regard to a great Irish-Japanese personage called Lafcadio Hearn.

Lafcadio Hearn would be unknown to many people in this House and was certainly unknown to me but for a bit of serendipity that happened back in the early 2000s. When I was principal of the school in Dunmore East, I had a Japanese intern in with me for six months. After three or four weeks, she asked me whether I realised that a very famous Japanese-Irish writer lived for many years in Tramore in County Waterford, and I had to confess my total ignorance of this. She informed me about Lafcadio Hearn and what an amazing personage he was in writing. She said that he would have the same sort of literary status in Japan as William Butler Yeats would have here in Ireland. Anyway, we had the Japanese ambassador down in 2004 to launch the Tramore Lafcadio Hearn society and on foot of that, one of the great dynamos in Tramore, Agnes Aylward, and her amanuensis Janet set about seeking to establish the Lafcadio Hearn gardens. I know Members are going on recess very shortly, so I am entreating them to come to Tramore and see these beautiful peaceful gardens, much unsung, much unheralded but nevertheless absolutely gorgeous and well worth a visit, as is Tramore, of course, in general. Lafcadio Hearn has a reputation in Japan as being the great interpreter of Japan for the western world. We had an extension of the garden on Friday last, appropriately enough on the 175th anniversary of Lafcadio Hearn's birth in 1850; he died in 1906. He took on the Japanese name of Koizumi Yakumo when he was out there. He married and had a Japanese family, many of whom still come to Ireland. His great-grandnephew comes to Tramore. It is a really wonderful story but it is one of total serendipity. Any of us in this House should celebrate the great cultural connection and ongoing and thriving cultural connection that exists between us and Japan.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator for sharing that extraordinary story of our connection between Ireland and Tramore and Japan.

Anois, an Seanadóir Andrews.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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I wish to acknowledge Mason in the Gallery and wish him well when he is running for President in the future. He would make a very fine President.

Dublin is rightfully proud of our republican history, with the Easter Rising utterly changing the course of Irish history. More than any other place, the GPO is the iconic symbol of this revolutionary struggle. It was at the GPO that Pádraig Pearse proclaimed the Irish Republic, and it served as the headquarters of the Irish rebels when they struck for Irish freedom. I find it unbelievable that this Government would suggest hollowing out this monument for use as office and retail space while offering empty promises that it will somehow preserve this irreplaceable piece of our history.

Fianna Fáil's and Fine Gael's record of protecting our revolutionary heritage is absolutely shameful. Moore Street, the final battlefield of the Easter Rising, has been derelict for years and the Government is continuing to press forward with attempts to destroy this monument to make room for commercial development. Back in 2020, the house of the O'Rahilly in Ballsbridge, Donnybrook, was disgracefully and underhandedly demolished by developers and Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael did not so much as lift a finger to prevent or rectify this. Likewise, the Government is blankly refusing to consider the naming of the new children's hospital after Kathleen Lynn despite her integral role in the Easter Rising and legacy as the founder of Ireland's first children's hospital.

The history of our struggle for freedom must be preserved and celebrated. The area around the GPO and Moore Street is under desperate threat from privatisation and dereliction as a result of this Government's complete lack of ambition and disregard for the vision and legacy of 1916. This site should be reimagined as a vibrant cultural and historic quarter that offers a fitting tribute to our revolutionary history. I ask for a debate in this House to scrutinise the Government's proposed plans and to present our own visions for the future preservation and regeneration of the GPO, Moore Street and O'Connell Street. I cannot imagine that Government Members are happy with what is planned for Moore Street and the GPO.

Paul Daly (Fianna Fail)
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At the outset, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Councillor Aoife Davitt on becoming the first female cathaoirleach of the county council of my native Westmeath. As we all know, Aoife is a sister of our colleague Senator Davitt. It is annual general meeting time for the councils, so I congratulate and wish all incoming cathaoirligh the very best of good luck and compliment the outgoing. However, I give a special mention to Councillor Davitt on becoming the first female cathaoirleach of Westmeath County Council in its 126-year history.

The issue I want to raise with the Leader this morning is based on the front page of today's Irish Independent, which carries a large banner heading stating that the days of cheap food are over. We need to have a debate on this. The article is based on food inflation, and the timing of same is probably very appropriate because we are expecting some decision on the multi-annual financial framework within Europe next week. That is basically where our food policy and food prices are determined through the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP. The CAP was formed in 1962 by the then EEC. The reasoning behind the CAP was to make sure we had a secure supply of top-quality cheap food for the residents of Europe. With every new negotiated CAP and multi-annual financial framework, that budget has been eaten into for security or environmental schemes or whatever. We need to go back to basics, and we need to make sure that if we are dragged into a debate about food prices, we will not get into a race to the bottom and then start bringing in untraceable, poor-quality food just to keep the price down. The solution to the problem is making sure we get a ring-fenced CAP budget within the multi-annual financial framework that will be announced next week. Sooner rather than later, we need a debate in this Chamber on the broad issue of food security as opposed to separate issues of financing and prices. Food security is a major issue. I warn against the race to the bottom and keeping prices down by bringing in poorer quality food from South America. I have to say it.

PJ Murphy (Fine Gael)
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I wish to raise a topic that has been mentioned in the national media in recent days, which is the issuing of online sick notes in the State through websites that require no consultation whatsoever with a registered medical practitioner. A number of websites are offering a service where people can go online, submit their personal details, submit the details of their employer, select the dates they want the medical certificate to apply to, select from a drop-down menu what sickness they want to appear on the medical certificate, make a payment of €25 to €35, and, within a number of hours, have a sick certificate forwarded to their email address without any consultation or conversation whatsoever with a medical practitioner. I wholeheartedly agree that if an employee is genuinely sick, it should be a very simple matter for him or her to get a sick certificate. However, obtaining that sick certificate must require some form of consultation, be it over the phone, in-person, through Zoom or otherwise, with a medical practitioner, not merely by selecting a sickness from a drop-down menu on a website.

Employers are obliged under current legislation to accept these digitally generated sick certificates from their employees to pay up to five days of sick leave annually. However, once those five days have been paid by the employer, the sick payments then become the responsibility of the Department of Social Protection, which applies a completely different set of criteria to what it requires on the sick certificate. It will not accept sick certificates that are digitally or automatically generated from a website without a visit to a medical practitioner or, at the very least, a phone call consultation with a medical practitioner.

I call on the Medical Council to review the criteria when it comes to the issuing of sick certificates. I also call for an equal playing field when it comes to the criteria for sick certificates that employers must accept and the sick certificates that will be accepted by the Department of Social Protection.

On a separate but connected topic, a number of similar websites and, in some cases, the same websites are offering and providing prescriptions for antibiotics to be emailed to a pharmacist of choice, after the provision of exactly the same type of information and, again, without any consultation with a medical practitioner. In this country at the moment, we are moving in the direction of overreliance on antibiotics and there is a build-up of antibiotic residue within the population. These websites require no verification of identification in many cases. Given the overuse of antibiotics in the State and this quite loose means of obtaining prescriptions, I call on the Medical Council to examine the criteria for the issuing of online prescriptions for antibiotics within the State.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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The weekend of 12 and 13 July is a weekend of commemoration and remembrance. The Royal British Legion's annual event at Islandbridge takes place on 12 July and the Irish commemoration takes place on Sunday, 13 July. As president of the Connaught Rangers Association and a former member of the Royal Irish Rangers, I will be there. I encourage people to be there. As a nation, we have grown up, and we have started to commemorate our fallen. Several thousand of our countrymen died during the First World War and Second World War. I recently had a visit from representatives of the Korean War cemetery, where several members of the Royal Ulster Rifles lie since the Korean War. It is important that we remember Irishmen who died in the name of peace.

I also want to remark on the tremendous work done by our security services, whether in the Garda, Customs and Excise, Naval Service or Air Corps, in arresting drug runners in County Kerry. I am sorry, I think it was Cork. Cork or Kerry, what is the difference?

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I think the Senator is out of time.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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It was €30 million worth, nonetheless. It is wonderful to see how the security services can work together to stop gun runners and drug runners. The sad thing is that we do not have sufficient naval cover to cover the entire coast.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Before I call the next speaker, I welcome the members of the Claregalway Church Choir, who are guests of Deputy John Connolly and Senator Ollie Crowe. You are most welcome to Seanad Éireann. If I was allowed under Standing Orders, I would ask you to sing but I am afraid we do not allow singing here. I have heard a few people sing-----

Joe Conway (Independent)
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Badly.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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-----but it might not have been appropriate at the time. You are most welcome to Seanad Éireann.

I call Senator Fitzpatrick.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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I join in the welcome to our visitors from the west. They are very welcome. They are in great company with the esteemed Senator Crowe and I hope he looks after them well. I am sure he will.

I have just heard the very sad news that Brother Kevin Crowley has passed away. Kevin Crowley hailed from Cork and he passed away in his home county. He came to my constituency of Dublin Central many years ago. It is very sad news. For 56 years, Kevin, the volunteers and the people in the Capuchin Day Centre have never turned anyone away. They have always treated everyone with dignity and respect. They have cared not just for their hunger and their need for food and water, but for their well-being. It is very sad. May he rest in peace.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Thank you. We join with the Senator in extending our sympathies to the Capuchins and thank them for all of their work, especially on the sad passing of Brother Crowley. May he rest in peace.

I call Senator Brady.

Paraic Brady (Fine Gael)
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I hope that chess will be recognised as a sport rather than a game. Chess is a competitive sport where two players are deeply enthralled in a mind game that takes a serious amount of concentration for a number of hours. It is a global game. It has Olympic recognition and chess has been recognised as a sport by the International Olympic Committee since 2002. It was an event at the Asian Games and before the Pan American Games, Russia has been trying to bring it in as an Olympic sport. It has European recognition. Only three countries in Europe do not recognise it: Ireland, Belgium and Sweden. I find that bizarre, to say the least. It is not only a mental sport but also a sport that blind people and those with partial sight can play if they can see the board. It is a very inclusive sport. I hope the powers that be and the sporting bodies in this country might look at this and recognise chess as a sport.

During the Ukrainian war, people from Ukraine have come to this country and they have improved the game of chess significantly. Some 150,000 children are taught it annually in our schools. Only soccer is ahead of it with regard to participation worldwide. I believe it needs to be recognised as a sport, not a game.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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We can all agree on one thing, namely, that housing is a major issue for this country and the Government. Unfortunately, there are no silver bullets when it comes to finding a solution to the problem, but there are small steps that can help to increase the supply. One initiative introduced in this regard was the vacant property grant, which has been a great success. Up to March this year, there have been over 12,000 applications, of which over 8,500 have been approved to a value of €112.5 million. It is not just about bringing properties back to life and having people living in them, but also about breathing life into many of our towns and villages and indeed many rural areas throughout the country. The initiative tidies up our towns, villages and rural areas, and it is great to see people living in them again.

I was taken by the remarks made on the initiative by the Hardware Association of Ireland, which recently met the Minister, Deputy James Browne, on its proposal to see the grant extended to commercial properties. We are all familiar with shops in towns and villages whose first or second floors, and third in some instances, are lying idle. The proposal is to extend eligibility for the grant to include, along with single dwellings, multistorey units above shops. It is an excellent idea to allow people to draw down a grant on these. First-, second- and third-floor units have been lying idle for years in some cases because it does not make financial sense to do them up. According to the Hardware Association of Ireland, something like 20,000 units could be brought back to life. When I say “units”, I mean property that could contain people and become family homes. The idea is excellent and I would be grateful if we could arrange a debate on it with the Minister at his convenience so this issue and many others concerning increasing supply can be discussed in more detail.

Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)
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I wish to address a matter I have raised before, namely, the need to provide ring-fenced funding for transport for those in receipt of adult disability day services. Currently in my county of Cork, there are 242 users of adult disability day services across 25 providers. The issue is that there is no transport provision or funding for a child using the services. These are provided until a child turns 18 but not after that. In certain cases, there is provision on a discretionary basis. This is grossly unfair. There are no guidelines and there is not even a means test. It is simply the case that those who shout the loudest seem to be successful. This is in no way fair because parents with a child or adult with a disability quite simply have enough to be dealing with.

Just last week, I received a call from a lady in my constituency whose son will turn 18 this August. Given that he will be 18 in August, he will not be allowed back in September to the special secondary school he has been attending. His peers of the same age in mainstream education will be going into the leaving certificate year. He is currently receiving transport to take him to and from his school and that will be cut off from September. His mother said to me that if she could turn things around such that, when he turns 18, his disability will leave him, she would do so in a heartbeat and a half. Unfortunately, she cannot do so. Her now-adult child, who has been receiving transport to a service until now, will no longer receive it from September.

As we know, carers and care providers are often caring not just for a child or adult with a disability. They may also have an elderly parent and other children in the house. Quite simply, it is not good enough that this pressure is being put on affected families. I believe the service was cut off in 2008. I seek ring-fenced funding. Maybe it involves a cross-departmental measure involving the Departments responsible for health, transport and disability. I urge the relevant Ministers to come to the House to discuss this.

Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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I wish to express my deep concern over the European Union's attempts to enforce hate speech legislation on Ireland, legislation that would undermine our national sovereignty, erode free expression and impose a one-size-fits-all model out of step with our Constitution. Before the general election, the Government suddenly recognised its lack of popularity among the general public and removed the hate speech aspect of its Bill. We now know the Government is sitting on both sides of the fence. When the Taoiseach was questioned about the potential of the EU imposing hate speech legislation, he did not offer any kind of support for it. He was clear that he would engage with the Commission but at no point did he say he would legislate on the matter. That was before the election. Now I have seen that Commissioner Michael McGrath has congratulated the Council of Europe and its partners on their continued efforts to address hate speech and on their strong support for the initiative. The LGBTQI+ national inclusion strategy for 2025 also mentions the need for hate speech legislation.

Every single person in our society deserves to be treated with decency and respect. There can be no tolerance for threatening language or behaviour. We already have legislation in place that offers legal protection against incitement to hatred, the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act. It is already illegal in Ireland to send threatening or grossly offensive communications. We cannot legislate for loose ideas on what constitutes hate speech. As was evidenced in debates last year, there is no clear definition of it. In this regard, look at the mess in Britain at the moment. In recent months, people who have spoken about genocide in the occupied territories have been accused of antisemitism. The proposed legislation essentially equates to "I don't really like what you said". Will the Government offer some real leadership on this and represent the views of the majority of the Irish people? It is time to stop listening to the lobby groups.

Noel O'Donovan (Fine Gael)
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I rise today to put on record my appreciation and that of the west Cork community for the efforts of An Garda Síochána, our Naval Service, the Defence Forces and the Revenue Commissioners on the seizure of more than €30 million worth of drugs off Courtmacsherry yesterday morning. The community there is in shock, although delighted about the seizure. We are aware that the seizure is the tip of the iceberg of what comes in to our coast. This highlights the need for an increase in garda numbers in rural areas, although there have been increases in Garda funding in recent years and a commitment to increase the number of gardaí by 5,000 in the programme for Government.

I commend the work of the Minister for justice, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, on tackling the issues in Dublin. We all see more gardaí on the streets of Dublin and other cities, but in rural parts of the country, in our one-man stations, we need to see increases. The garda figure for west Cork is between 600 and 650 approximately, which is the same as in 2015 and 2016. We have provided for increases in respect of the services of An Garda Síochána, including protective services, and the force has become more professional in how it carries out its business, which is great, but this is taken from front-line policing. Therefore, we need to have a conversation about front-line policing in our rural communities as well as our cities.

Again, I thank An Garda Síochána. The members of our security forces who went out in the early hours of yesterday morning put their lives at risk. Thankfully, there were no lives lost or injuries and there was a successful outcome. I appreciate the work of the security forces but a wider debate is needed on the policing of our rural communities.

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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I support what Senator O'Reilly just said. The Government has said it is required to implement the European framework decision on combating racism and xenophobia. If it had implemented that alone – no more and no less – we would not have had the controversies we had over the legislation last year. We will test the Government on the extent to which it simply implements the European framework decision in what it may propose in the future. If it is to go much further, as it did last year, it can expect similarly strong opposition from across society and certainly in this House.

I join those who have paid tribute to the great man, Brother Kevin Crowley. I was very honoured to have been involved in 2018 when the then Ceann Comhairle, Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl, presented him with the Oireachtas Human Dignity Award. Brother Kevin was a follower of the Poor Man of Assisi, Il Poverello, St. Francis of Assisi, who in his life of poverty and embrace of poverty and simplicity revolutionised not just the church but also the entirety of western society. Brother Kevin and his Capuchin followers, since the foundation of the Capuchin Day Centre in 1969, have exemplified that commitment to simple living and, from that place of simplicity and love, have contributed to the lives of others, particularly the most vulnerable, responding at all times to the emerging problems in Irish society.Whether it was caring for people discharged from residential care in the seventies who had no social supports or looking after the new poor who became stranded with unpayable debts after the collapse of the banks in 2008, the Capuchins followed the times and addressed the problems of the times. Back in 2018, we celebrated more than 50 years of their heroism. That legacy continues through the good work of Br. Kevin's colleagues in the Capuchin order. It is to them in particular that we should all extend our sincere sympathies today. We must commend and continue to support them in the vital work they do for the poor of our society.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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I thank Senators for this contributions. Senator O'Loughlin raised the fact no music festival since 2018 has been broadcast or streamed by RTÉ. I agree with the statement by the Music and Entertainment Association of Ireland that the failure by RTÉ to cover Electric Picnic is a missed opportunity to showcase Irish performers. The Senator mentioned Junefest in Newbridge and the Fáilte Ireland briefing she attended. She raised the possibility of additional regional funding for Kildare.

Senator O'Loughlin also talked about the IVF legislation, in the formulation of which she played an integral part, working with the then Minister, Stephen Donnelly. She called for changes to the eligibility criteria such that those who have had IVF treatment in the past are not excluded. I will raise that with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill.

Senator Duffy raised the lack of pay parity as between Tús and RSS supervisors and CE supervisors. He noted that an assistant CE supervisor gets more or less the same pay on a yearly basis as does a supervisor in Tús and the RSS. These matters are all in the mix in the Department of Social Protection. I understand CE supervisors are employed by local community companies, whereas Tús and the RSS are administered by community development companies. Therein may lie the difference. The Senator might get some clarity by raising this issue as a Commencement matter. I will raise it with the Minister.

Senator Conway spoke about the connections between Ireland and Japan. The Taoiseach is in Japan at the moment and has met with the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Ishiba. Trade missions and visits like this are important in cementing the relationship between our two countries and growing trade and partnership. The Senator also spoke about Lafcadio Hearn and gave a great history of his work and his connections to the Tramore area.

Senator Andrews called for a debate with the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, on the redevelopment of the GPO, which I will try to arrange. The plans for the GPO, which will go to the Cabinet shortly, include a museum. I hope the redevelopment will bring life back to the north inner city. O'Connell Street is our main thoroughfare and the GPO is an iconic building. I hope whatever plans are finally agreed bring new life and energy to that part of our capital city.

Senator Paul Daly congratulated Councillor Aoife Davitt, sister of our colleague Senator Davitt, on becoming the first female cathaoirleach of Westmeath County Council. I concur with that and wish her well in what I hope will be a productive and enjoyable term for her. The Senator also called for a debate on food security, which I support. CAP was originally put in place to provide food security for Europe after the Second World War. Indeed, the establishment of the EEC was about food security, and CAP is integral to that. There is a lot happening at the moment regarding the MFF. I will request a debate with the Minister, Deputy Heydon, as soon as possible.

Senator P. J. Murphy spoke about the issuing of online sick notes and prescriptions. The ingenuity of people in coming up with schemes for making money never ceases to amaze me. It certainly seems strange that this can be allowed. I concur with the Senator's call for a review of the matter by the Medical Council. It is important that people who have a valid illness can obtain the sick certificate and the days off work to which they are entitled. However, having an online system and a drop-down menu seems very strange. I agree there should be a review by the Medical Council. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, to pursue the matter.

Senator Craughwell raised the upcoming commemorations on 12 and 13 July of the Irish citizens and peacekeepers who lost their lives in various wars. He mentioned the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War cemetery. Both he and Senator O'Donovan applauded those involved in the seizure of drugs worth €30 million off the coast at Courtmacsherry. I congratulate all who worked to achieve that. Such operations can be painstaking in terms of time, intelligence and all else that goes with them.

Senator O'Donovan called for a debate on policing in rural Ireland. The allocation of gardaí is a matter for the Garda Commissioner. Garda numbers are a matter of funding and support provided by the State. Changes have been made over a number of years to the age of entry to and retirement from An Garda Síochána to assist in growing the numbers. That is working but the allocations are a matter for the Commissioner. I will request a debate on the matter. In addition, we will have statements on drugs next week with the Minister for Health.

Senators Fitzpatrick and Mullen acknowledged the passing of Brother Kevin Crowley, who came to Dublin 56 years ago as a Capuchin friar and did great work in the subsequent years in assisting people who needed help. I am sure thousands have passed through his door in that period and were given support. I convey my sympathies to his family and his Capuchin friar colleagues. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

Senator Brady raised the interesting point that Ireland, Belgium and Sweden are the only three countries in Europe not to recognise chess as a sport rather than a game. I hope to have statements on sport in the last week of the term with the Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, and the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan. The Senator will have an opportunity to raise the issue then or he might choose to raise it as a Commencement matter. It is an interesting proposition. If we are an outlier without good reason on this matter, it makes sense that we should recognise chess as a sport.

Senator Gallagher called for a debate on housing, particularly in respect of funding for the use of over-the-shop units. The croí cónaithe scheme has made excellent progress across the country in bringing new life back to rural and urban communities. It has been a huge success and I certainly would support its extension. I will try to arrange a debate on that.

Senator Lynch again raised the issue of adult disability day services and the disparity in provision as between those aged under and over 18. I will again request a debate on this, but the question is with which Minister it should be. Part of the problem is that, as with many such issues, a number of Departments are involved. The Departments of disability, Transport and Health need to come together as a sort of working group and one of them, probably the Department of disability, needs to be the lead Department. One way to go would be for the Senator to engage with the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, to request that a working group be established under her Department and work with the Departments of Transport and Health to find a solution to this problem. I will also engage with the Minister of State on the matter.

Senators Sarah O'Reilly and Mullen referred to hate speech and the EU requirements in this regard. The Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, is examining the issue. There are suggestions that legislation must be implemented by 13 July, which is unlikely to happen at this stage. We are awaiting a response from the Minister as to how he plans to proceed on the recommendations from the European Commission.