Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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The Order of Business is No. 1, Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024 – Committee Stage, to be taken at 11.45 a.m. and to adjourn at 1.15 p.m. if not previously concluded.

Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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This morning I raise a particular issue for probably the third time. It relates to compulsory purchase orders, which are a very serious issue for any community but in particular for the farming community. I raise an issue that is ongoing for ten years. It is ten years since the first liaison officer was appointed by Galway County Council to inspect a person's land on 10 September 2014. In that period, there have been numerous communications. The road has been developed and completed but a number of landowners along the N63 have not been paid. Notice to treat was served on 25 January 2016. It stated that when the notice to treat was served, reimbursement would take place within a 12-month timeframe. Now, it is the middle of July and that landowner has still not been reimbursed. In order for him to pursue the payment, he has had to engage a barrister, a solicitor, a valuer, an independent engineer, a senior planner and another engineer. He has made four offers. He has gone out of his way four times to give an amount he was prepared to accept and he asked the council to work with him. The last time he had a meeting with Galway County Council was this time last year. While he was at the meeting he was more than willing to close the door on this and to move on, but he got a letter saying the case was going to arbitration. He has never been offered anything by Galway County Council. Only in the last month he got another letter saying the date is fixed for 25 July, still without an offer. In the following week he was told the meeting had been cancelled and it would take place in October, but the council wanted to see who was involved in his team. There has not been engagement at any stage.

There is an issue in regard to how local authorities engage on strategic infrastructure projects with landowners. This is no way to treat a person. This takes a mental toll on families. This man is fortunate in that he is prepared to challenge they system but for those who cannot afford to do so, their land is being taken and they are not being compensated.

Michael McDowell (Independent)
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I want to raise on the Order of Business today the need for a full debate in this House on facts and circumstances, some of which have only partly emerged in the media, concerning grave issues relating to the armoury section of An Garda Síochána, which have been dealt with by An Garda Síochána and the Department of justice. There has been limited media coverage of the falsification of documents submitted by An Garda Síochána to the Department of justice, designed to facilitate the importation of firearms for civilians who are not gardaí. There has also been limited publicity in the media concerning the misuse of protected disclosures made in utmost good faith to the Department of justice concerning matters relating to the Garda armoury.

Deputy Alan Kelly has also raised in Dáil Éireann defective holsters issued to armed members of An Garda Síochána, which appear to have been contributory factors in the death of one garda and the very serious injury caused to another. Very grave issues arise in regard to the procurement process that led to the defective holsters, which have been withdrawn, being manufactured here in Ireland to a grossly substandard level. Other very serious issues have arisen in regard to the procurement of defective ammunition by An Garda Síochána.

Far more serious than any of this has been what appears to be the gross mistreatment of honest gardaí who have been affected by these matters, or who have raised them. There is clear evidence that criminal and disciplinary processes have been launched to conceal major malfeasance in the management of the Garda armoury. A senior Garda officer of the utmost integrity has been sidelined for his part in raising these matters. A junior member of An Garda Síochána, also of the utmost integrity, is currently facing criminal charges on indictment, which appear to be motivated by a desire to conceal abuses in the armoury section.

Senior management in An Garda Síochána is aware of all of these matters. Anyone who thinks that the culture in An Garda Síochána has been transformed by the outcome of the disclosures tribunal concerning Sergeant Maurice McCabe is, I fear, gravely mistaken. I am truly shocked by what I have learned. These matters must be brought into the public domain and an urgent debate is required on them in this House, attended by the Minister for justice, when it resumes in September.

Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail)
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Members will have seen reporting this morning of the comments by the Minister for justice at the Institute of International and European Affairs about a case currently before the Court of Justice of the European Union and its expected outcome. In short, he advised that the likely outcome is that asylum seekers will soon be entitled to damages from the State for its failure to provide them with accommodation, while Irish homeless people and homeless people from other EU member states will have no such right. As the Minister pointed out, this will be very difficult to justify to Irish citizens and, indeed, citizens of any EU member state.

The expected outcome of this case sounds like lunacy. It will be deeply problematic and will only cause anger and frustration among our people. Ireland has faced unprecedented pressure in terms of asylum applications while trying to deal with existing shortfalls in housing. Despite that, the State has continued to act responsibly in dealing with asylum applications. There are Irish citizens experiencing homelessness and waiting on social housing lists. Those people have no entitlement to compensation. For asylum applicants to be given additional rights over them is incredibly unjust. If the case is decided as expected, it will be an example of the people who make decisions being so far removed from the practical implications of those decisions as to make them blind to what justice actually is.

Michael McDowell (Independent)
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Hear, hear.

Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail)
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The decision will not be finalised until September at the earliest. We need an urgent debate on this topic after the recess. I would be grateful if the Leader would request that the Minister for justice come to the House to talk through the issue in depth as soon as possible.

Aubrey McCarthy (Independent)
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I read a disturbing article on thejournal.ie this morning about 13 Oireachtas broadcast workers who will have to sign on the dole next week. I want to know what the situation is in that regard.

I reiterate the deep concern expressed by my colleague Senator Crowe regarding the upcoming ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union. As he noted, the suggestion is that asylum seekers arriving in Ireland could have stronger entitlements to State support than do Irish citizens who are homeless. I have mentioned many times my involvement in the Lighthouse Cafe on Pearse Street, where we feed people of all nationalities who are experiencing homelessness, including Irish people, asylum seekers, etc. They eat, sing and play bingo together. It is a wonderful place where there is no division. It is a space where dignity, unity and compassion are shared in equal measure.

The suggested ruling risks undoing the delicate balance we have created. It will not just affect housing policy but also social cohesion. The perception, right or wrong, that Irish people are treated as second-class citizens in their country, while others are fast-tracked for accommodation and support, is a recipe for disaster, resentment and disruption. We never want a repeat of the riots we saw a while back.

Ireland absolutely has obligations under the European Union and we must remain a welcoming nation, but not by sidelining our own vulnerable people in the process. It is not about either-or; it is about fairness for all. I join Senator Crowe in urging that the Minister be asked to come to the House to discuss how the Government will ensure parity of treatment for all and that decisions made at European level do not fracture the social fabric we work so hard to mend every night in places like the Lighthouse Cafe.

Alison Comyn (Fianna Fail)
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I join colleagues in thanking the Belgian ambassador for her many years of service and wishing her bonne chance in her new adventures.

I stand here, on the last day of term, with a sense of gratitude that I have had an opportunity to raise so many local and national issues. It is a privilege to be able to do so and we do not do it alone. Without wanting to sound like an Oscar winner, I thank the many people who are involved in enabling us to do this, from the ushers who meet us in the morning to the staff who give us our cups of tea. A cast of thousands help us to do our jobs, including my wonderful administrative assistant, Anna Brennan, who has become my right-hand woman.

There is a group of staff without whom we would not be able to pass our messages on to the great public. I refer to the Oireachtas broadcast workers. I am dismayed that as we go into the recess with security, 13 of those staff go into it with a lack of job security and will be forced to sign on or get work in other places. The Committee of Public Accounts is set to hear from them and review their situation. Perhaps the relevant Minister might write to the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission and ask that there be a pause in the tendering process until the issues are sorted out. These staff are not receiving the same fair pay and conditions as other Oireachtas staff. They carry out such a vital role that it would benefit us all if they were looked after with the same fairness.

I wish everybody a good summer recess. I assure all those watching the proceedings, who are able to do so due to the Oireachtas broadcast workers, that our work will go on during the recess. I look forward to engaging with many people during the summer. I thank everybody here for their service.

Joe Conway (Independent)
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There has been a significant European dimension to the contributions this morning. I am happy to add my three ha'pence worth before we go our separate ways.

I am charmed and warmed that a very important meeting is taking place this morning in London between Prime Minister Starmer and the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz. It signals a rapprochement and closeness between two countries that were traditional enemies in times past. It also signals the urgency with which European leaders want to address the current situation, which is fraught with dangers all over the Continent, within and without the European communion. The Government should signal to all our European partners our ever-growing eagerness to stand up for what we believe in, which is European democracy and our way of life. We need to signal a greater co-operation and closeness in defending, and being willing to defend, those European values.

In a different Senate, a long time ago, a politician called Cato the Elder used to finish all his speeches with the ringing words, "Carthago delenda est", which means "Carthage must be destroyed". We could adopt the same attitude in this and the other House in terms of the need to stand up to Russia. I have said so many times during the course of this term. Russia is an ever-present threat and that threat will not go away by reconciliation or mediation. It must be faced up to with growing efforts of deterrence and strength by the Europe we hold dear. Unless we do that, we will face the same possibility as that faced by the unfortunate people of Ukraine not so long ago. Well done to our European partners. Let us get on board. We must stand up to Russia.

Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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I lend my support to the comments by Senator Comyn. We heard reports yesterday that 13 of the Oireachtas broadcast unit staff will be signing on the dole for the summer recess. This is appalling. They are our colleagues with whom we work every day. They are fundamental to the effectiveness of what we do. Their live streaming of the proceedings of the Seanad, Dáil and committees is not a little nice-to-have thing; it is fundamental for good democracy, accountability and transparency. It allows members of the public to tune in from wherever they are, follow proceedings across the Oireachtas and hold us accountable as elected representatives. Many of us use those streams to show the people who voted for us in our communities the work we are doing on a daily basis. This facility really strengthens the work we do.

That colleagues who work alongside us daily are forced to go on the dole is fundamentally wrong. The broadcasters have been incredibly brave in advocating for themselves and standing up against the deeply unfair working practices they face. I commend them on their courage, particularly given the statement by their employer, reported in The Irish Times yesterday, that they have "engaged in ill-informed criticism of their employment terms to further [their] objective". They are entitled to challenge poor working conditions. We are very lucky to have workers' rights in Ireland. In some parts of the world, workers do not have those rights. The broadcast staff are well within their rights to speak out and demand better employment conditions.I find it shocking that an employer would have a stance of ill-informed criticism because the employees know their conditions better than anybody else. Working rights and fair conditions are crucial. It is not sustainable for them to have no income until September. No one should be facing that. I request the Leader to write to the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission on behalf of all the Senators to request a pause on the tendering process for the next contract until these issues are addressed. If the next contract, which is due this year, comes in exactly the same form then these issues will continue until the next contract. We are in the moment now to evoke some sort of change. They deserve industry standards. They deserve retainers. They deserve income protection. They are being abused quite frankly. They deserve better working conditions.

Similar to Senator Comyn, I thank everyone who makes the Oireachtas function correctly, including cleaners, waiter staff, cooks, and all of the people who allow us to be able to work hard and do our jobs on a daily basis.

Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Fianna Fail)
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Under present requirements, a person with a disability who wants to access a postal vote has to pay €25 for the GP to sign off on the request. I call the Minister for Health to get this covered, either by paying separately or get it covered under the medical card. A person with a disability, even if he or she has a medical card, has to pay the €25. In a recent study, it is proven that this prevents some people from accessing a postal vote. We have an amazing system of one person, one vote, rich or poor. Whoever a person votes for is between them and their maker. However, this section of the community are the only people who have to pay to vote. In essence, having to pay that €25 is making them pay to vote. I ask for that €25 fee to be waived.

PJ Murphy (Fine Gael)
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I express concerns about what is coming down the track soon with the Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertilisers Regulation Act 2023. From 1 September, the new regulations will deem all antiparasitic veterinary drugs to be prescription only. These are a large number of remedies used on farms on a day-to-day basis, such as sheep dip, dry cow mastitis tubes and ivermectin that is used for treating cattle for worms, fluke and lice. These products are currently available over the counter and have been for many years. The products are on the market under tight Department of agriculture control and experienced well-trained staff provide advice to farmers at the point of sale.

According to new EU harmonised legislation, prescribing must be undertaken by veterinary practitioners, who are also permitted to sell and dispense these products. Most importantly, there is no requirement for vets to keep prescribing and dispensing separate from one another, creating a concerning conflict of interest. This shift is not just a regulatory update. It is an economic and structural seismic shift to the many small independent licensed traders across this country. According to the Central Statistics Office, CSO, Ireland's veterinary medicines market is worth approximately €400 million annually. While €300 million of this already ends up with veterinary practitioners, the remaining €100 million goes to a network of small, independent merchants and co-ops found in towns and villages across rural Ireland.

The Independent Licensed Merchants Association, which represents 350 of these smaller merchants nationwide, warns that only 38 of its members can remain in business under these new rules. That is a potential loss of nearly 90% of this industry. This is a choice that is anti-competitive. The justification given to this change is that we need to combat antimicrobial resistance by ensuring responsible use of medicines through mandatory prescriptions, while also improving traceability and oversight via the national veterinary prescription system which requires all prescriptions to be on a central controlled database. However, as a person who has worked my whole life in the cattle farming sector and administered these medications on thousands of occasions, I assure this House that we as farmers are not in the habit of overusing these expensive medications and do not use them when they are not necessary. Indeed, it quite on the contrary. I fear the inevitable price rise, which will result from the gifting of a monopoly on the sale of these crucial antiparasitic products could result in their under use leading to severe animal welfare concerns. I have great fear that it could also lead to an increase in the purchasing of these medicines through black market sources.

While the goals of health and EU compliance are important, implementation must reflect Irish rural reality. Without safeguards for independent merchants, this regulation risks creating a dangerous monopoly in the veterinary medicine distribution sector. On my own behalf and my Fine Gael colleague and Councillor Michael Boyle from Donegal County Council, I urge the Minister for agriculture to postpone the implementation of these regulations and conduct a full and independent review of the economic and social impact before regrettable and permanent damage is done to this sector.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Before I call the next speaker, I welcome my fellow county men and women who are here today. They are guests of Deputies Danny and Michael Healy-Rae. They are most welcome to Seanad Éireann. I hope they have enjoyable day in Dublin. We will all be back up the weekend after next for another enjoyable day in Dublin, please God, and we will be bringing Sam Maguire back home.

Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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I raise the issue of the roads in counties Cavan and Monaghan. They are in such poor condition that drivers are getting seasick, particularly those who drive tractors and there are many of those. Earlier this year, I welcomed the announcement from the Department of Transport that there was an 11% increase in funding for rural roads in Cavan and Monaghan. This increase, however, does not allow for the shortfall in the funding between 2008 and 2023. Over this 15-year period, we saw a €105 million shortfall in the funding for our road network in repair and maintenance.

Cavan has the highest NCT failure rate in the country with steering and suspension issues being the number one issue. These problems are directly linked to the poor condition of our roads. It is no coincidence that vehicles are failing where the roads are at their worst. People should be able to commute to and from work without worrying about ripping the wheel of their car. People pay motor tax, fuel tax, tolls and full excise. The least they should expect is the roads they travel on are safe. There may be an increase in funding, but there is an actual reduction in the number of kilometres of local and regional roads being maintained. When I started in the council in 2016, we were doing 23 km in our municipal district. Last year, we did 11 km. These incremental rises in the early budget do not cover the increase in cost of materials or match the rate of inflation. Given the cumulative deficit in road funding during the 15-year period, there needs to be a much higher allocation in funding if we are to see our roads improve. According to the executive of Cavan County Council, it will take 40 years and €220 million to get our roads up to an acceptable standard.

The Government is literally and politically patching over this problem. Rural communities like those in Cavan and Monaghan deserve more than token increases that barely keep pace with inflation. We need a serious sustained investment that addresses the backlog in funding and restores our roads to a safe reliable standard. I have asked for a Commencement debate a few times on this and it has never been picked. In the next term, I would like to have a Commencement debate with the Minister.

Dee Ryan (Fianna Fail)
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I rise to make my final contribution on my first term in the Seanad. During my time so far in Leinster House, I focused on highlighting the trolley crisis at University Hospital Limerick. I turn my attention to the other burning issue for us in Limerick which is the challenge of affordable housing. That term "affordable housing" is often misunderstood.When I say "affordable housing" in this context, I am talking about the Government scheme to support people who earn over €40,000, as the threshold is in Limerick, that is, over the threshold to qualify for social housing, but who do not earn enough to be able to purchase from the private market, so approximately €75,000 or €80,000. That is a huge salary range and those are fine earnings that people are making in Limerick. Unfortunately, however, the private market is not delivering homes at a cost at which they can purchase them. Affordable housing in this context is the scheme whereby the Government subsidises the cost to deliver housing for those people. I am really dismayed to learn that in Limerick, on foot of my questionings with the local authority, we have only 12 homes in that affordable range coming forward in the pipeline in the foreseeable future. They are rental; they are not even affordable purchase.

We need an urgent debate with the Minister for housing. I know it is an area he is very focused on. I look forward to the work he has done on this being unveiled in the coming weeks. At the earliest possibility, when we come back after the recess, I would like the Minister to come into the House to discuss this cohort of working people, the people who pay for everything, who are not being housed in our society. In Limerick, it is a significant number. We think it is approximately 20,000 people, according to the last census, over the age of 18 who are still living at home with their parents.

Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael)
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I rise today, on the final sitting of this term, to talk about school buses once again. It is something I have raised on at least two occasions in recent weeks, but this is a good news story. Bus Éireann this week came back to me and, after a submission I made initially in March, said:

We have investigated the feasibility of amending the school bus to serve Ballymoe Village and I wish to advise that this amendment will take effect for the 2025/2026 ... academic year.

Because of what I have said in this Chamber before, I want to acknowledge and thank Bus Éireann for coming back to me on that. Now that Bus Éireann has an idea of who needs buses for the next academic year, I would like it to engage with us as public reps much earlier, right now, to see what solutions we can put in place before September to ensure that everybody is serviced and has that service available to access school. However, I wish to put on the record my appreciation. It did take two and a half months to get a response from the reps' email address, so hopefully we can improve on that for the next term.

Before we finish up, on behalf of the Fine Gael Members in this House, I say "thank you" to all the staff here in the Houses of the Oireachtas, including the ushers, the caterers and the cleaners. It has been my first five months involved in this House and they have made us feel very much part of the furniture throughout. I thank them for that. I thank Bridget and all the staff here in the Seanad as well. They have made it a very easy transition from rural Ireland to coming up here.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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Last Friday evening, the Department of Health published its report on the number of abortion notifications received for 2024. The figure, totalling 10,852, is the highest yet on record. It represents a 63% increase in the abortion rate in 2024 by contrast with 2019, when 6,666 abortion notifications were received. To put it more starkly, newly released data means that at least one in six pregnancies were aborted, excluding miscarriages. This is a harrowing statistic and something we should all reflect on. It underlines the need for serious action by the Government to address the abortion rate, which continues to soar to horrifying new heights annually. More supports are needed for women in unplanned pregnancies to ensure no woman feels like she has no choice but to have an abortion. We also need to ensure that a woman facing an unplanned pregnancy and considering her options is truly given her options, including information about social welfare entitlements, parent support and adoption. I draw attention to the fact that the Department of Health issued a publication on its website late on Friday evening with no known associated press release. This meant that the news of the sky-high abortion figures did not receive much media attention and swiftly fell out of the news cycle. I am doubtful that this was just a coincidence. Under the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, the Minister is required to issue a report of the previous year's abortion notifications, which is to be prepared by 30 June. It felt like the Government was just publishing this important data due to the statutory obligations but hoped it would receive as little public attention and scrutiny as possible. The revelation of 10,852 abortions last year has not received the proper attention it deserves. This should generate a national debate about our current abortion policy and raises questions about how the Government can try to reduce the spiralling abortion rate.

Evanne Ní Chuilinn (Fine Gael)
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I echo the sentiments of many Members today in wishing everybody the best of luck over the recess. There is lots of work to be done elsewhere, but thank you to all the staff here in the Seanad, the ushers and everybody who has looked after us so well, particularly us newbies just getting used to everything.

There is a group of workers here in Leinster House who face into a lot of uncertainty over the recess. The broadcast workers for Oireachtas TV face going onto social welfare while we are going into recess. Everything is very unstable and uncertain for them. Not only that, but the pay they receive is far below industry rates, even though the likes of RTÉ, Virgin Media, TG4 and others use their footage. It is broadcast quality. Speaking as a former broadcaster, it is the best of work that is being done by those broadcast workers. The contract with the provider of Oireachtas TV is up this year, and it is high time the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission looked at the contract because these workers are doing amazing work. None of us would have social media clips either without the work being done in these Houses by Oireachtas TV staff. I just want that marked as we enter recess and as our colleagues in the broadcast unit look at going on social welfare for the recess. It is time we supported them. As the contract is up for renewal, now is the time to do as much as we can to get them onto industry standards and the rights they deserve.

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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I spoke yesterday about my concern about the religious orders' interactions with the State and the need for them to be very careful about being bullied by the State in the context of future redress arrangements concerning not abuse in schools, which is a very separate thing, but what happened in mother and baby homes. I do not suggest that there is not a case in some cases for redress but I am very troubled. I read this morning an excellent article by John McGuirk on Gript about the Tuam babies and the whole cultural narrative being presented around that. I have heard of no credible suggestion or evidence of foul play and heard of no finding by any commission about deliberate neglect. I have heard a whole lot of doubt about how and when a structure that may have had a connection with a sewerage system at some point in the past came to be used as a repository for some children's bones. I suspect I am one of many silent dissenters from the idea that the State should be digging up and examining the bones of long-deceased infants who were unfortunate enough in life to begin with and concerning whom no credible claims of foul play or deliberate neglect have been made, to my knowledge. I have secular friends who dismiss the exercise as a waste of money. It would not be a waste of money if there were a real and honest purpose, but how realistic is it to expect that this long forensic exercise will unearth any significant fact that will lead to justice for any person, living or dead? Some see it as the State giving into performative politics or maybe catering to the asks of people who have been hurt in life in some way connected with the homes, and I understand that. I also wonder about the role of public commentators who are anti-Catholic and who want to ferment public rejection of Irish Catholic heritage and culture. Is that in play here?

I am interested in the truth, but the truth is complex and textured. Every time I hear RTÉ talk about a disused sewage tank, I know what that is contributing to in people's minds, and it has very little to do with a broad understanding of historical reality. It is for that reason that I ask that we have a respectful debate in the autumn. I know it is irrevocable at this stage that this forensic exercise is going on, and I hope it leads to facts that will bring justice to some person living or dead, but I really doubt it. We should have a discussion about the Tuam babies, the narrative around it, the role of the State, the way the State is acting on this, the type of motivations it appears to have and the way it publicly expresses its policy around this because I am not sure that justice is being done in the present in connection with the realities of the past.

Linda Nelson Murray (Fine Gael)
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I echo Senator Ní Chuilinn’s thoughts and wishes for the support we have received from everyone in the Seanad since we began. We are total newbies. Lots of us are brand new politicians and greatly appreciate the support. I echo what Senator Ní Chuilinn said about the workers in the background because we all use our social media clips and little videos so I support the workers in all of their endeavours.

I have spoken on this previously, but I wanted to finish off the year by speaking about it again because it is so important and I will bring it back up in the autumn. The analysis from the Irish Dental Association shows we need an extra 500 dentists across the private and public sectors immediately. We are down 642 dentists who are on a DTSS contract nationally during the past 12 years. Focusing on County Meath, in quarter 4 of 2017, some 7,711 children were seen but in quarter 4 of 2023, 2,378 children were seen. It has not been good and children have not been able to be seen. In the public dental service the lack of dentists has led to a situation where fewer than half of the children who should be seen under the school dental programme have been seen and there are children in parts of the country who are facing a ten-year backlog.

The previous time I spoke about this I mentioned my own children. They have a condition that is growing in Ireland called molar incisor hypomineralisation. It means the enamel is not growing on their teeth. Only that I was lucky enough to be able to bring them to a private dentist, it would not have been a good story. They have had a lot of procedures and one operation. Many children have this condition and if children do not see public dentists in schools until they are in sixth class we will be in a lot of trouble in regard to children's teeth in the future.

I am delighted we have opened another 20 student places in Dublin but with only 90 people graduating every year and 45 of them returning to various countries, while we are adding 20 places we need to add a lot more to that. We need more investment in our colleges. We need specific training in other aspects of dentistry. I thank the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, for the work she is putting in but I ask for more to be done so more dentists can be qualified in future, particularly for County Meath.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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The Dublin City Taskforce should really be renamed the "north inner city Dublin task force" because it will not actually impact the south inner city. For instance, Pearse Street and Kevin Street are very important parts of the city and the task force will have no impact there. Dublin City Council has been appointed to head up this new task force and to regenerate the inner city. It is supposed to be doing that anyway. The reason Dublin City Council is not doing it is because it is not getting the funding. This task force says it will get Dublin City Council to fast track and work on the regeneration of the flats in the inner city. Dublin City Council is already supposed to be doing that and working on improving the lives of people living in the inner city. The difficulty is that the funding for the local authorities is not there. It is already Dublin City Council's job to refurbish and regenerate flat complexes right across the city but it will not be doing that because it does not have the funding. The council has already pulled the plug on the redevelopment and regeneration of Pearse House. The conditions in which people are living in the inner city, such as in Leo Fitzgerald House, are absolutely shocking, not just on the northside but on the southside as well. The task force will not actually affect the lives of residents.

Look at Trinity College, which has turned its back on the local community in Pearse Street. If you walk from Trinity College down to Westland Row all of one side of the street is effectively sterile because Trinity College and planning has meant there is no life on that street. Very often there are tents lying open and homeless people on the other side of the street. Senator McCarthy will know well that Pearse Street is lively and active but on the Trinity College side there is that systemic neglect. The Dublin City Taskforce will not address the systemic neglect of the inner city. Dublin City Council has that remit. The local councillors do not and have not had any engagement in relation to this. Looking at the conditions people are expected to live in, the public realm and the lack of employment and educational opportunities for people living in the inner city, they are completely unacceptable and the task force will not solve this. All the task force will do is allow Government Senators and TDs to stand up and say they will do things differently now, even though they have overseen the demise of the inner city for decades.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Before I call the next speaker I welcome the delegation from Kerry who are up here on a scouting mission in advance of the all-Ireland football final.

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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They must not be planning on travelling in the coming days.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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They are guests of the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae. They are most welcome and please God we will all bring home Sam Maguire the weekend after next. I thank them for coming in. Senator Joe O'Reilly is next, who does a great version of The Gallant John Joe about Cavan and how they won the all-Ireland final.

Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)
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Unfortunately, we are still dining out on 1947.

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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Think of all the money you are saving on hotels in Dublin.

Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)
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Cavan will be back shortly. We nearly did it this year. I wish all colleagues in the House a wonderful summer and great recess after a year of multiple elections and frenetic levels of activity. I wish our wonderful staff of the House a great summer also. Our ushers and all of the staff of Leinster House do a great job and provide such wonderful support. One cannot help but remember with fondness today the great Martin Groves who has now been very brilliantly replaced by Bridget, but we do miss Martin. He was a great man and we hope he continues to enjoy a good retirement.

Those of us of a certain vintage remember many great social revolutions, changes and advances over the years. Among the many I have seen and that were great was the introduction of carers to the homes of older people and people who are sick. This generation now take that for granted and assume it was always that way. It was not always so. Like everything else it is not flawless but a great initiative recently was raising the income limit by €200 whereby people can have carers. That is a huge reform and we have to move to a situation where carers are provided irrespective of income. My understanding is that it is contained in our programme for Government and we should work towards that.

The second thing we must look at is the provision of an adequate panel of carers in each county. When the hours are allocated throughout the country there is a shortage of actual personnel to do them and that means some reforms of the salary, contracts and basis on which carers work. That will need to be radically looked at. I ask the Leader to bring this to the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, to see if we could have some debate or discussion on this in the autumn to examine whether the panel can be developed. We need to improve income for carers and also further improve income limits. We need to improve the supply of carers. We also should put home care on a statutory footing, like the fair deal scheme, so people are assured under the law they can get home care and have the option to be cared for at home. With the demographic structure of our country now, this whole debate and area is all the more pertinent now. If you take humanity, well-being and wellness out of it, from a purely cold economic perspective, in terms of money, it is the logical thing to do.It is the cheapest option, if also the preferred option. I thank the Cathaoirleach.

Mark Duffy (Fine Gael)
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I apologise for any confusion earlier. Before we finish for the summer, I thank the Cathaoirleach, all of the team and the Leader for his welcome, help and support to the new Senators. I thank Martin Groves for his professionalism and diligence in the short term I worked with him in the Oireachtas. Indeed, I also thank Bridget Doody, Clerk Assistant of the Seanad.

I also support the words of support by Senators Cummins and Ní Chuilinn on the Oireachtas broadcast staff who will be, essentially, on the dole from next week. I lend my voice of support to them.

Senator P.J. Murphy, my colleague in County Galway, raised the upcoming proposals and changes to veterinary prescriptions for farming. From discussions I have had with the farming community in County Mayo, there are serious concerns about how they threaten to monopolise the market. We need to have a discussion before these changes are brought into effect because it could have serious ramifications and increases in cost for farmers. I support Senator Murphy on it. I would welcome a discussion before any changes are made.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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I thank all Senators for their contributions this morning. I will start with Senator Anne Rabbitte who mentioned the particular case, or cases, of compulsory purchase orders, CPO in Galway. People had lands acquired for infrastructure projects, which in this case was for road widening and road realignment, but have not been paid. It is not good enough and the Senator is right to raise the matter. For any landowner to be waiting more than ten years to get paid is not good enough. In the first instance, I will raise this matter with the chief executive of Galway County Council and I will certainly join the Senator in anything I can do to ensure that case is put to rest.

Senator McDowell put on the record issues regarding the armoury section of An Garda Síochána and called for a debate with the Minister for justice, Deputy O’Callaghan. I will certainly request that debate. It is an important issue and he has obviously put a lot on the public record in this Chamber. In doing so, I hope it gains traction and that this is examined. A new Garda Commissioner will be appointed in the next number of weeks and I am sure the Minister will engage with that new Commissioner on matters such as this.

Senators Crowe and McCarthy have raised the European Court of Justice’s possible decision in respect of compensation for asylum seekers. I absolutely agree with Senator McCarthy that this will cause issues. The Senator used the term “recipe for disaster”, and I agree. Pitting Irish people and the homeless against asylum seekers, and what that might result in, is worrying. I will request a debate with the Minister for justice in September. I also acknowledge Senator Crowe’s comments on this matter. It is of concern because of the implications of such a decision. While we have rights and responsibilities, we also have rights and responsibilities to Irish people as well and I wish to acknowledge that.

Senators Cummins, McCarthy, Ní Chuilinn and Duffy raised the issue of the broadcasting staff who will have to sign on for the summer. I will raise this initially with the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission to determine the stage this matter is at. If we write requesting the contract be stopped or paused, I do not know what will happen. I wish to ensure we have broadcasting services when we return in the autumn. Certainly, it is a valid issue. It has been highlighted in this Chamber and most of us have expressed support for our broadcast workers in recent months. I will engage with the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission in this regard. I know we have representatives present in the House today who were appointed from various groupings.

Senator Joe Conway spoke about signing up to Europe and standing against Russia. We have had a lot of debate in this Chamber on Gaza, the West Bank and Palestine, and rightly so, but we cannot forget the other war we have and the illegal invasion of Ukraine. We still have the Ukrainian flag outside on Merrion Lawn as a symbol. I acknowledge the work of the former Ceann Comhairle, Deputy Ó Fearghaíl, on those matters. He was a very strong advocate for Ukraine and stood against the illegal invasion of that country.

Senator Stephenson also raised the issue of the broadcast workers. As I said, I will engage on those matters.

Senator Margaret Murphy O’Mahony raised the issue of postal votes and the fee of €25 for signing off on that and argued it should be waived. It is a valid issue. She may raise it as a Commencement matter. I am not sure whether the Department of Health or the Department of housing and local government is responsible because it has the franchise section. Maybe it could waive that cost in some way.

Senators P.J. Murphy and Duffy raised the issues of concern regarding veterinary prescriptions. As both Senators know, the Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertilisers Regulation Act was passed in these Houses in the summer of 2023. That is the law we are working with. There may be some sections that are now being commenced, but the law has been agreed and passed. There were debates on those matters at the time. I will raise this matter again with the Minister for agriculture, Deputy Heydon. Perhaps there are issues with the commencement of some of these regulations.

Senator Sarah O’Reilly raised issues with the roads in County Cavan. As I have said previously, there will never be enough money for roads throughout the country, including in Cavan. There is always extra demand. I could say the same about Conamara because we have boggy conditions, which means, even with nice new roads, they sink quite quickly with traffic. All we can request is that there is ongoing investment in our roads in Cavan and elsewhere. I will certainly continue to advocate for that. I hope the Senator has success in a Commencement matter being chosen on that issue in the autumn.

Senator Ryan raised issues regarding affordable housing. She is of course absolutely correct about those cohorts of people who do not qualify for social housing and, indeed, do not want social housing. They want to be able to own their own home but fall short of being able to get affordable housing or purchase their own home. It is a huge issue throughout the country, not just in Limerick. She is right to raise it. I will keep the pressure on this issue and will request a debate with the Minister, Deputy James Browne.

Senator Scahill raised the issue of school buses. I congratulate the Senator’s advocacy on getting that matter sorted. It is a success for the children and parents of Ballymoe. It is important. It is a positive when public representatives, including councillors, and other people, who have the local knowledge, engage with Bus Éireann. It is a positive for Bus Éireann because it enables it to get the best routes to be able to weave their way around rural Galway and rural areas elsewhere and to ensure the best services are provided.

Senator Keoghan raised the 10,852 abortions and that one in six pregnancies have ended in termination. I draw her attention to my comprehensive response to Senator Mullen this week or last week on this very important issue.

Senator Ní Chuilinn again raised the issue of the broadcasting workers.

Senator Mullen raised the dig in Tuam. As he knows, the Institutional Burials Act 2022 was debated and passed in these Houses. I am sure he participated in those debates at the time and put his issues on the record. There was always divided opinion, even locally in Tuam, on the best approach. That decision has been made now. He is right in terms of rewriting history. I remember when the late Pope Francis visited Ireland and was with the then Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, in Dublin Castle. As he said quite rightly, the churches were the Department of Health and the Department of Social Protection before they were actually established in this State. Religious institutions played an important role. We are where we are now, however, and legislation has been passed. We have to ensure those remains are given a dignified burial. There was debate at the time and there probably still is debate locally on that matter. Senator Nelson Murray raised the issue of dental services. We had a comprehensive debate on the matter in Private Members' business recently. Deputy Colm Burke has consistently raised the need for additional places in our dental colleges and I know Senators Scahill and Boyle have raised the issue of dental hygienists. We raised it here because we believe it is an important issue and it is not getting adequate attention and investment. We are storing up trouble unless more is done regarding dentists and the reform of the dental Act. The Dentists Act goes back to 1985. It needs modernisation. There is also the work of the Dental Council and what happens when a dentist is suspended. If the practice closes overnight and someone leaves the country, what happens to the clients? There are insurance issues. There is a lot in that whole area that needs investment and attention and I will certainly raise that again with the Minister for Health.

Senator Andrews spoke about the Dublin task force. I would hope that a Dublin task force is a positive thing. As I understand it, the task force at Cabinet level is being chaired by the Taoiseach. He will be in the Chamber in October and Senators will have an opportunity to raise these things. Obviously, having a focus on a particular area is right and proper. Dublin is a big city. If, within that task force, there is a focus on particular areas such as Pearse Street, that would be a positive and investment would be needed in that regard.

Senator Joe O'Reilly has raised the issue of carers and our elderly and, in some cases, those who are not so elderly who require support and care. The population is getting older. There are challenges as things stand today in terms of sufficient staffing. It is not so much resources or the funding, which may have been an issue a number of years ago, but actually getting people physically to do the work of carers. As the population gets older, it is an issue of which we need to be acutely aware. We need to continue to invest, improvise and see how we can do those things better. The Senator is right that there is a commitment in the programme for Government to an ending of the means test for carers and a move towards a statutory home care scheme as well.

Finally, I join with others in thanking all the staff in the Seanad Office. I extend thanks to Bridget Doody, Martin Groves, the ushers, the cleaners, the caterers and all who make these Houses function and assist in democracy in this great country. Long may it continue. As I said, all those people and groups are vital cogs in that wheel to keep things turning and moving. I thank them and I thank everyone for the courtesy shown to me over the last number of months. I hope they enjoy the summer.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Leader. I join with him in thanking Bridget Doody and all the staff in the Seanad Office. I thank Martin Groves for his great work and wish him a happy, long and successful retirement. I thank all the Senators for their courtesy to everybody on the Seanad team. We do not always agree but we always agree that the part we play in democracy is important in terms of scrutinising legislation. Holding Government and the institutions of the State to account is an important part of democracy and that is part of what we do. The people who make that happen are those who help out and keep the lights on and the cameras rolling; people who have to work long hours. We are looked after with great courtesy by all the staff and we thank them for that.