Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Before I ask the Deputy Leader to outline the Order of Business for the day, I welcome Anna Molloy and Sarah Dolan, transition year students from the Holy Child school in Killiney, County Dublin. They are guests of our colleague Senator Casey. They are welcome today and I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House. They are in capable hands with Senator Casey.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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We have a small Chamber this morning. The Order of Business is No. 1, Electricity Supply (Amendment) Bill 2025 - Second Stage, to be taken at 12.15 p.m., with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, those of group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes, those of all other Senators not to exceed four minutes, time may be shared, and the Minister to be given not less than ten minutes to reply to the debate.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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This morning, I welcome the publication of the updated housing plan from the Government. The Leas-Chathaoirleach will have to give me a moment. I took the stairs two steps at a time; I will be honest. I want to do justice to the plan. My grandfather was an undertaker, and a big believer that the man who made time made plenty of it. This is an important plan, so we need to give it a minute or two. When the previous Government took on the housing challenge, it made a serious commitment to have the State invest in the provision of homes, so that everyone would have a home. Between 2021 and this year, Housing for All delivered 137,000 new-build homes.

Today, we have Delivering Homes, Building Communities. This builds on the work of the previous Government. It reinstates, reaffirms and reinvests in the State's commitment to eliminate homelessness by 2030. It supports first-time buyers by increasing the provision of social and affordable homes and private homes - all types of homes. It is an ambitious plan. It will deliver on ending homelessness by 2030. It will expand the Housing First programme. It will increase the provision of emergency accommodation, and it will focus on child and family homelessness as a priority.

For first-time buyers, there will be 90,000 affordable housing supports. There will be a strengthening of the help-to-buy supports, which have helped more than 50,000 first-time buyers buy their own home. It is going to strengthen and expand the vacant and derelict properties grants and the affordable purchase schemes.

For disabled people, there will be special needs housing delivery through the approved housing bodies. There will be funding for adapted housing units and there will be an integration of disability housing needs into local authority housing plans. This is critically important for the disabled community. There will also be support for community-based independent living models.

For Travellers, there will be dedicated Traveller accommodation projects. Local authorities will be strengthened to deliver culturally appropriate housing and there will be specific funding streams for Traveller community safety and housing initiatives.

For renters, which is really important, there is a significant increase in funding for social housing. The cost-rental housing model, which we introduced under legislation in the previous Oireachtas, will be expanded and there will be increased cost-rental housing. There will be stronger tenant protections. There will be increased supply of long-term secure affordable rental homes and there will be increased security of tenure.

This is all important work the Government is doing for the State and for everyone who needs a home. Overall, the targets are to deliver 300,000 homes by 2030, 72,000 of which will be social homes and 90,000 affordable. That means more than half of the homes that will be built will be social and affordable. People listening to the announcement today can take confidence from the fact that over the four years of the previous Oireachtas, we changed the policy, the funding and legislation and 137,000 new homes were delivered, and now 300,000 homes will be delivered under this plan. I congratulate everybody who has worked on the plan, but most importantly, I encourage everybody who will use the plan, to actually deliver homes and end homelessness.

Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael)
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Tomorrow, Friday, 14 November, is World Diabetes Day. World Diabetes Day reminds us that diabetes is growing in Ireland. It is a national challenge requiring urgent and co-ordinated policy action. Today, more than 300,000 people, or one in 17 of our population, live with diabetes, with between 12,000 and 14,000 new cases every year. Type 2 diabetes is projected to rise by 60% in the next ten to 15 years. Diabetes already accounts for between 10% and 12% of the HSE budget and 60% of the costs relating to preventable complications. Approximately 52% of healthcare professionals believe better access to continuous glucose monitoring, CGM, would significantly improve Type 2 diabetes management, yet many patients face long waiting times or no access at all. Diabetes is not just a single condition. It is a driving factor behind kidney failure, sight loss, cardiac disease and amputations. When people cannot access the right tools or timely specialist care, outcomes worsen and costs rise. Ireland is behind many European partners in access to modern, data-driven diabetes care.

World Diabetes Day is an opportunity to change course. We need equitable access to CGM for all who need it, multi-annual funding for specialist diabetes teams, rapid publication of a national diabetes strategy and a national diabetes register to ensure transparency and accountability. Re-establishing the Oireachtas cross-party group on diabetes will help deliver the unified leadership this issue demands. By taking these steps, we can improve outcomes, reduce complications and offer real hope to anyone living with diabetes in Ireland.

Joe Conway (Independent)
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Is mian liom dul i gcomhluadar leis an Seanadóir Fitzpatrick nuair a bhí sí ag déanamh tagairt ar an bplean nua tithíochta atá foilsithe ag an Rialtas ar maidin. Delivering Homes, Building Communities is the plan being delivered and published today to give us all some hope about the dire straits in which people looking for housing find themselves. We know it all too well. Every organ of the media and every person you meet in the street who talks to a politician will say the homelessness situation is pretty dire.Those of us who have children in that age bracket know only too well that they have to go through awful struggles to get on the housing ladder, as it is referred to. Only last Friday I had the pleasure of walking around building sites and housing projects in Tramore with the Minister for housing, Deputy James Browne, and a grand man he is to be in the company of. We were talking about the big challenges there are for housing. In this plan, I wish him and his Government, and all his colleagues and everybody who is associated with the housing challenge the very best. I hope they attain all their objectives but I have serious misgivings. I do not think there is a person in this Chamber today who believes we are going to deliver 300,000 houses by 2030. Be that as it may, I want to address a couple of things I have noticed. As Mayor of Waterford and as a councillor I have been on a lot of building sites over the last couple of years and I noticed a couple of things. One is that I have yet to see a woman working on a building site. Second, in IPAS at the moment we have roughly 30,000 people. One in four of those are children, so we can take those out of the equation. That leaves over 20,000 people who are technically employable. Unfortunately, the access to the labour market is denied to these people for six months. A lot of people in IPAS want to work. I ask the Government to reduce the six-month bar on an IPAS resident back to three months so if they want to work they can get cracking at those building sites more quickly. We should have a national campaign to encourage women to work on building sites. They do it when they go out to Australia; there is no reason they should not be doing it here. That is just a couple of practical measures.

Joanne Collins (Sinn Fein)
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I want to raise an issue that seems to be a policy flaw. Many of us have advocated for victims of domestic abuse. We have gone to the audiovisual room and listened to their stories. At the moment, if the male or the female victim of domestic abuse is living in a council house and they have to leave for their own safety, the years they have had in that council house are wiped clean. They no longer have those years, and they also have to wait 12 weeks to get back on the housing list to receive HAP payments and supports, putting them at a disadvantage. It seems to be a small little flaw in the system that does not fall into the black or white. It is that grey area that does not seem to be taken into account. For their own safety they have to leave that house, and they seem to be punished for that reason of having to leave. They have to wait 12 weeks. Twelve weeks is a long time for somebody who suffers domestic abuse at the hands of another. It seems to be another hurdle they have to jump through. I would appreciate if the Leader could take this to the Minister with responsibility for this to see if there is something that can be done about this policy so that 12-week wait is not going to be the case going forward, and that we can have that, not minimised, but completely taken out.

Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail)
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Today I want to raise the issue of how our planning process works, or does not work in many cases, if we are being honest. All Members will be aware of projects being bogged down in endless delays and appeals tied up in court for years on end. The system should be for those who have an actual interest in the planning applications in question, not those seeking to push some sort of agenda. The Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, has said as much recently, and his office is currently drawing up legislation to achieve this. This is especially important now with today's launch of the new housing plan. It is a plan that sets out ambitious targets and if these are going to be reached, we must have a planning process that is suitable. Vital housing and critical infrastructure projects cannot continue to be delayed by those using the planning process to push an agenda. If a project directly impacts you and there is an issue you want to raise, you must of course have the right to do so but there are needs to be balanced in the system. Projects which are going to serve communities should not be delayed due to some minor technical issue being raised by someone with an issue. The UK has tackled this issue by making large-scale projects into a category of nationally significant infrastructure projects with a specific planning process. After many years they have reformed this further recently to try to speed up the process more. We should look at what learnings we can take from there and, indeed, other countries on this issue. Regardless, it is an issue we must address in the short term if the Government is going to meet the targets that we need. I would be grateful if the Leader of the House would invite the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan to the House to discuss the topic.

Cathal Byrne (Fine Gael)
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In anticipation of the orange weather warning that is affecting some of the counties on the east coast and particularly in the south east in my own area of Wexford, I again highlight the urgent need for the Enniscorthy flood defence project to be progressed. As a local councillor back on Christmas Day 2021 I will never forget meeting residents in the town who had to stop the cooking of the turkey in the over because the water had burst through their front door and into their kitchens. It was a scene that should never be repeated but, in reality, has been experienced too many times in Enniscorthy. I am aware, through the councillors in Wexford, that Wexford County Council is making preparations for sandbags for residents right across the county and in particular in Enniscorthy. I sincerely hope that, with 100 mm of rain anticipated to fall between tomorrow and Saturday morning, that we will not see another flood event in Enniscorthy. It reiterates the urgent need for this plan,which has been promised for so long but not delivered, to be delivered.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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I rise today to highlight a deeply troubling issue in our family courts, namely, the misuse of the concept of parent alienation. Yesterday, I attended a presentation by the Alliance of Birth Mothers Campaigning for Justice. What I heard was harrowing. They told us how parent alienation is being used as a legal weapon and a tactic to dismiss mothers' allegations of child abuse against fathers. Instead of protecting children, this concept brands protective mothers as manipulators and transfers custody to the very parent accused of abuse. This is not just anecdotal. Advocacy groups and research confirm that the in camera rule, that is, the secrecy surrounding Family Court proceedings, enables this injustice. Women and children are being silenced. As the alliance said, there is an unbroken chain of State abuse that did not end with the closure of the last mother and baby home. That is a damning indictment of our system. Our Government must act. We need urgent reforms to remove parent alienation from influencing custody decisions and to shine a light on what happens behind closed doors. The in camera rule has to go. It is time to follow the UK, where transparency reforms allow journalists to report on family court cases under strict anonymity safeguards, restoring public confidence and accountability. We must also challenge parent alienation itself, which is a concept with a weak scientific basis, absent from the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM-5, and not accepted as a clinical diagnosis. However, speakers have pointed out that Tusla has adopted it uncritically, thereby forcing vulnerable children into the custody of abusive parents. This is an appalling failure and must stop. I call on the Minister for justice to begin dismantling the in camera rule and to bring transparency to the family court and accountability to our social services. Families deserve justice, not secrecy.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I want to follow up on a very good contribution made by my colleague, Senator Cathal Byrne, regarding the situation he experienced in Wexford in 2021. I can recall similar experiences on Christmas Day in 2009 and 2010, which other colleagues will remember. One was a flood and the other was a freeze. We have an orange weather warning and orange and red warnings are becoming more prevalent than ever before. I ask the Leader if the Minster, Deputy Browne, who is the lead Minister for emergency planning, could come in for a debate on that specific issue.We have improved hugely when it comes to planning for emergencies but there is always work that can be done to improve it further. We need a real-time instantaneous response, which happens most of the time, because we have phenomenal people in all of our emergency services and local authorities who all end up working together when these situations present themselves. The co-ordination unit in the Department of agriculture does a superb job. It is worthy of further examination and discussion in this House. Would it be possible at some stage in the not-too-distant future to have the Minister in for statements and a discussion on emergency planning to share with us the more inner details on our readiness and what needs to be done to be even more ready? Met Éireann has done great work in improving its forecasting and facilitating more localised forecasting, which is even more important. I recall hosting an event here when there was a red weather warning in 2023. We managed to go ahead with the event because people flew in the day before. There is a huge amount of further work that can be done to ensure we are weather-ready and ready for such emergencies. A debate like that would be very useful for Members.

Teresa Costello (Fianna Fail)
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Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending a very special celebration marking 30 years of the Threshold Training Network based in Tallaght. It was a positive and uplifting event filled with past pupils, advocates and community partners who all gathered to celebrate the incredible impact of this organisation on people's lives. I want to take a moment to acknowledge the fantastic team - Adrienne Kilkenny, Steven Fitzgerald, Alicia du Toit, Stephanie Curley and everyone who has been part of Threshold over these 30 years. The dedication, kindness and commitment they have shown to helping others truly shines in everything they do. What makes Threshold Training Network so special is the way it combines mental health recovery with education and training. It has created a space where people can come as they are. Whether they are struggling with anxiety, low mood or confidence, they find encouragement, understanding and hope. The accredited programmes, Pathfinder and Pathway to Employment, are QQI level 3 and level 4 programmes, respectively. There are also more holistic programmes, CUPPa coaching and mental health recovery workshops. They all give people the tools and belief they need to take the next step forward. They help people rediscover their strengths, rebuild their confidence and see a brighter future for themselves. Thirty years of this kind of impact is something that is truly worth celebrating. They have changed lives, strengthened our community and shown what is possible when compassion and education come together. I thank them for their care, energy and unwavering belief in people's potential. Congratulations to Threshold Training Network on 30 remarkable years, and here is to many more.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I call for a debate on Delivering Homes, Building Communities, the new Government's national plan on housing. It is important we do not rush to any judgment, that we see the detail of it and drill down into it. It will take some considerable time to look at it over the next few days. It is important and we have to set it in the context that in the past 12 years there have been four national housing plans. I do not need to point out to all of us who are politicians who was in power for that period of time. I want to look at it and tease it out. We should have a substantial amount of time set aside in this House. We are full-time Senators. We have time and we can make more time. This is one of the most important issues. I ask for that to happen.

I commend the Citizens Information Board. The Minister, Deputy Calleary, launched its strategic plan for 2025 to 2027. We all know of the important work of the citizens information service and the bureaus around the country. Key to their work is that they are people-centred, empowering, trustworthy, independent and, importantly, they are accessible. This strategy will require a roll-out of finances and support to get it through. The Minister acknowledged that. He is an exceptionally committed Minister. He is particularly interested in all of this. It was launched in Buswells Hotel yesterday. I commend him on his ongoing support to the organisation and the many volunteers who work in this network. It is important that, commensurate with this, the necessary resources are put in place. I acknowledge the work and commitment of the Minister and the Citizens Information Board. I wish them well with the strategic plan for 2025 to 2027.

Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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According to a recent survey, 80% of childminders are considering leaving the sector ahead of the draft regulations coming into place. This would cause a total collapse of childcare services. Parents are already at their wits' end trying to find a crèche or playschool place for their children. Childminders provide a fantastic and much-needed service in their communities and yet the Government seems set on over-regulating them out of the sector. If home-based providers disappear, where are those children to go? What alternative is the Government providing? The draft regulation is invasive and includes measures such as publishing the home addresses of childminders and assessing their homes for commercial rates. I do not agree with that at all. The Government and the Minister for children have failed to engage with the childminding sector, yet when people come up with their own creative solutions to the childcare crisis, the Government waltzes in and sets regulations that will force the majority of them out of the sector. I want to see the Government put real, genuine value on caregiving. Whether they are mothers at home, childminders or family members, these are the people holding society together and they are constantly overlooked. We want a tax credit for families whose children are cared for by childminders or relatives to equalise support with what crèches and playschools receive through State subsidies. Home-based childminders should be exempt from commercial rates. Any regulation needs to be drafted with the input and support of childminders. I ask the Department and Minister to stop ignoring the sector before it collapses completely. I ask for statements in the House on this matter.

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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I raise a global human rights crisis that is ignored far too often. Next week, the charity Aid to the Church in Need will mark its annual week of witness which highlights the ongoing persecution of Christians around the world. It is a sobering thought when we realise that since the first century AD of the Roman Empire, which we most associate with the beginning of Christian persecution, more Christians have been killed for their faith in the past 100 years than in the previous 1,900 going back to the first Christians. The latest religious freedom in the world report of 2025 published by Aid to the Church in Need shows that a staggering 413 million Christians live in countries where religious freedom is severely violated. That is 18% or about one in five Christians. Of these, approximately 220 million live in countries where they are directly exposed to persecution. That is 10% or one in ten of all Christians. I seek an urgent debate on this matter. At a time when there is heightened awareness of human rights abuses globally, it seems there is a blind spot when it comes to violence against Christians and the wider threat to religious freedom for people of all faiths and none. According to Aid to the Church in Need, the right to believe or to live according to one's convictions is in decline in 62 countries, affecting billions of people. Religious persecution destroys communities, fuels conflict and forces millions to flee. Now, more than ever, religious freedom must be defended and protected worldwide. Religious freedom is a litmus test for all other freedoms. Without the freedom to believe, all other freedoms are under threat.

I wish to mention my sorrow at the news of the death of Alice Cairns, the mother of Philip Cairns, a name known to everybody in this country. I had the honour of knowing Alice Cairns. She was a champion of the cause of protecting human life from its very beginning to its natural end. She was a woman who was suffering but she was strong through it all.On hearing the news of her passing today, I thought of the words of T.S. Eliot:

We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.

Through the unknown, unremembered gate

When the last of earth left to discover

Is that which was the beginning;

She was a great woman, admired by many, who endured a lot but was courageous throughout. May she rest in peace.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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We started the Order of Business with Senator Fitzpatrick, who spoke about the publication of the updated housing plan. She is correct in saying it is a very important plan. She mentioned the key issue of State investment in homes. That is not to forget that under Housing for All 137,000 new builds were put in place and 500 new mortgages for first-time buyers were drawn down every week. I have not read all the detail - as Senator Boyhan said, there is a lot of detail in it. It takes time to absorb it. Every time I had the opportunity to speak to this Minister or the former Minister, I said we had to build sustainable communities as well as houses. I am glad that is in the title. It is not just about houses but also building sustainable communities. Senator Fitzpatrick also spoke of the different types of housing, social, affordable and private, with particular mention of those with disabilities.

Senator Scahill spoke about tomorrow being World Diabetes Day. These world days are hugely important in shining a light on conditions, diseases and issues on which we need to step back, look at and see how we can improve and do better. The Senator said 10% to 12% of the health budget goes on conditions associated with diabetes. If it is not managed properly, it can lead to a traumatic, life-changing diagnosis. I remember speaking to a dietician a number of years ago. She worked in Naas General Hospital at the time and was shocked at the number of people, including young people, presenting with conditions that led to diabetes but stemmed from malnutrition, not eating correctly and not being aware of what can lead to diabetes. We need to invest more money, we need a co-ordinated approach and we need a lot of education around that. The Senator mentioned a cross-party group. I suggest he reach out because, in my experience, cross-party groups, regardless of the issue, are really important. It is an opportunity to shine a light and to approach the Minister. I look forward to hearing of the Senator's work on that.

Senator Joe Conway spoke about the delivery of homes. He mentioned before the Order of Business started that he had visited a number of housing sites with the Minister, Deputy Browne, last Friday and spoke of the number of building sites in Waterford. He said he had yet to see a woman on a building site. I had a quick look and, at the moment, women make up about 9% of the construction workforce. Obviously, that is not all on sites. A lot of it is background work. The CIF is looking to increase that to 25% by 2030. The number of women entering apprenticeships has gone up substantially but we need to do more. We have beneficiaries of temporary protection, BOTPs, who are Ukrainian and people in IPAS centres who we should be reaching out to. Somebody in Newbridge who reached out to me recently had two Ukrainians living in Naas and said they are excellent workers. We need to think outside the box a little more.

Senator Collins spoke about victims of domestic abuse in terms of housing. I did not get to read all the detail but I was pleased to see that was dealt with. People will keep their place on the housing list when they relocate to another county. Up to now they had to start again, but now victims of domestic violence will be able to count the years that they have spent in a different county. Sometimes for safety and protection, they need to move to another county. That is really important. Safety should not mean having to start over again. That is addressed.

Senator Crowe spoke of the planning process and projects being bogged down, as we hear about all the time, with red tape, bureaucracy and judicial reviews. It is good that the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, is looking at that. The Senator is right to say we need to learn from other countries and that is something we can ask the library and research office to do. We will ask the Minister to come in and discuss where he is at with that legislation.

Senator Cathal Byrne spoke about the orange weather warning and the urgency of the Enniscorthy flood scheme. He described Christmas 2021, when people were not able to cook their Christmas lunch. It is all about lived experience and painting that picture. While we have invested as a State and progressed these areas, it is important we do more. Senator Martin Conway spoke about similar situations in Clare in 2009 and 2010. Because of climate change, these situations are becoming much more prevalent. Driving home from here last night with all the water on the road was so dangerous. It slowed everything down. It is important we ask the Minister, Deputy Browne, to come in and have a debate on where we are at and where we need to be and, to be fair, to acknowledge the progress made in recent times.

Senator Keogan spoke about how parental alienation is being used in the legal process. It must be incredibly difficult and traumatic to have custody battles. Sadly, we know not every separation can be amicable and there are situations where parents are at one another and using children. It is very sad and needs to be debated. I appreciate the in camera rule is to give confidentiality but the Senator is right in saying accountability is important. Sensitive as the topic is, it is worth exploring and debating. I would not come down at this point on the side of taking out the in camera rule but it is important we have the opportunity to listen to the experts and speak to the Minister on it.

Senator Costello spoke of the 30th anniversary of the Threshold Training Network in Tallaght. She mentioned Adrienne Kilkenny and her team, who have been dedicated to people's mental health and to training. The Senator mentioned a number of projects they are doing and their good work in trying to find the best in people and helping them find their pathway. We all send our good wishes to the Threshold Training Network.

Senator Boyhan spoke about the new housing and community plan that has been launched and asked that, rather than rushing to judgment, we all set aside time for debate. We will look for the housing Minister to come to the House and debate this. The Senator mentioned citizens information, which gives incredible service to people around the country. It is independent, accessible and people-centred, and the Minister, Deputy Calleary, is absolutely very committed to it.As the service unveils its new strategy, we wish all involved well in the incredible work they do.

Senator Sarah O'Reilly outlined that 80% of childminders are considering leaving the sector. They provide a really good service. We must be concerned about regulation. I spoke yesterday about the worry and concern among childminders that they may be liable for rates. This would be a very retrograde step. We have already asked the Minister to come to the House to speak about the whole area of childcare and to see how we can positively support people in the sector. We most certainly will not do that by bringing in over-regulation, which will take people out of the system. A lot of people, particularly women, will not be able to stay in the workforce if there is over-regulation of the sector.

Senator Mullen spoke about a very important global human rights issue, namely, that in 2025, as per the report he mentioned, 413 million Christians live in countries where they do not have religious freedom, with the right to belief declining in 62 countries around the world. That right absolutely should, of course, be protected. We support it and will look to see whether we can have a debate on it. I also support what the Senator said about Alice Cairns, who was a very fine lady. As Deputy Leader, I echo his expression of sympathy to the Cairns family.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome to the Distinguished Visitors Gallery Deputy Michael Murphy, accompanied by his son, Alex Murphy, and their friend, Eoin Murphy. To my right, I acknowledge the students from UCC who are guests of Deputy John Paul O'Shea. I hope they enjoy their experience in Leinster House.