Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on the HIQA review to inform decision-making on the design and delivery of urgent and emergency healthcare services in HSE mid-west, to be taken at 11.45 a.m. and to conclude at 1 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated for the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed six minutes, 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 week marked the start of 16 days of activism on the issue of violence against women. Women's Aid is leading a 16-day campaign against gender-based violence. Thirty-five percent of women in Ireland have experienced psychological, physical or sexual abuse from an intimate partner. One in four women in Ireland has experienced sexual violence as an adult with a partner, and more than 100 women have been murdered in Ireland in the past ten years. Violence against women is one of the most urgent human rights issues in Ireland today and it is affecting far too many girls and women. The Government has taken action and I commend it in that regard. It has updated the strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and has established Cuan, a new agency dedicated to co-ordinating services and driving change. It has strengthened the laws to protect victims and is updating and driving changes to education programmes that address misogyny in schools and colleges. Investment in refuges, safe houses and changes to social housing guidelines are all important, but ending violence against women is not just a policy goal; it has to reflect a value we all subscribe to. We must all work every day to end violence against women. I encourage everybody to think about this in their daily lives and about the casual misogyny, sometimes perceived as benign, that can take place in clubs, organisations, groups and online chats. We should ask ourselves whether behaviour is misogyny, bullying or a violent attack on a woman. If so, we should just call it out and not be part of it or complicit by being silent. I encourage everybody to do this, not just for the next 14 or 15 days but maybe for the rest of their lives. They should be kind and treat people as they would like to be treated themselves. I am referring not necessarily to how they have been treated but to how they would like to be treated.

Dublin Fire Brigade was established in 1862. It is over 150 years old. It is renowned worldwide as a unique and top-class fire and emergency service but it is under a really severe threat. This issue has been trundling on probably since 2014. I was on the city council in that year. I commend the leader of Fianna Fáil in Dublin City Council, Councillor Daryl Barron, and my colleagues in the Dublin group of the parliamentary party. We have raised this issue with the Minister, Deputy James Browne. There is a genuine issue over the fact that Dublin's fire and emergency services are going to be excluded from the new national mobilisation and communications system, NMACS, a dispatch system. This is not an administrative change; it is an operational change that will have real consequences for the lives of those who go out to save others' lives, those working in our fire service, those working in other emergency services and those who rely on those services. I call for a pause on making the proposed change until there is a full review and I also call for Dublin fire services to be included in the new NMACS.

Garret Kelleher (Fine Gael)
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I often think of the seanfhocal "Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí" when dealing with and interacting with young people, particularly young people involved in community groups and organisations, because young people are the future of our society, and our clubs and organisations. We need them to participate for our organisations to survive and thrive. I was recently contacted by Ms Bebhinn Lombard, the Munster regional organiser of Young Fine Gael, about an issue of concern that has arisen on the campus of UCC pertaining to the affiliation of youth sections of political parties. It relates to the affiliation of Young Fine Gael as a branch on the campus of UCC. A clerical issue arose that resulted in the branch not been re-affiliated in 2024. Early in 2025, the organisation contacted the UCC societies executive to address the issue and overcome the administrative barriers preventing it from re-affiliating. The rules on the establishment of youth sections of registered political parties changed in August 2025. The societies council instituted a new rule prohibiting registered political parties or youth wings of political parties from establishing but applied this only to new societies, which precluded both Young Fine Gael and also the Social Democrats from re-affiliating as societies on campus.This seems inherently unfair as other political groups have youth wings which have been allowed to continue as societies. A meeting took place yesterday between Young Fine Gael, the Social Democrats, Ógra Fianna Fáil and Ógra Sinn Féin on the campus of UCC, all of whom were supportive of the re-establishment of both the Social Democrats and Young Fine Gael as societies on the college campus.

As I said at the beginning, for our community groups to survive and thrive, it is essential we have the participation of young people. I call upon the UCC societies executive to reverse its decision and allow youth wings of political parties to function as societies on the college campus.

Joe Conway (Independent)
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Back in the days of the autumn past, I spoke on the Order of Business about a serious matter that arose in north Cork relating to fish kill. I see the matter is back in the headlines again this week. It is troubling for the people from that area. It is troubling for all of the people who enjoy the amenities of the rivers Blackwater and Allow. If you were to look at what has happened, there is a high concentration of ammonia going into the water. Ten days ago, one of the farm businesses concerned - back in the day, they used to be called co-ops but I think it is called North Cork Creameries Limited or plc or something like that - was warned by the EPA that its effluent concentration levels were well above the permitted levels. Despite that, when it was tested again in the past few days, it was found it was 50 times above the permitted level, despite the number of warnings it had received.

The problem has been checked out, examined, tested and retested by Cork County Council, Uisce Éireann and the EPA. I am wondering if there would be a case for the Leader's office, and perhaps the Cathaoirleach's office, to ask the Oireachtas environment committee to bring representatives from those three bodies to a meeting of the committee so that the elected parliamentarians can tease out the issue. There are obviously serious matters of fault in this. The proper forum would be the committee where we can get the investigators in to clear the air and people in these Houses could establish what exactly is going wrong and what exactly is proposed to remediate the situation.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Before I move on to the next speaker, I welcome Senator Comyn and her guests, the transition year class from Our Lady's College in Drogheda, along with teachers Una McGorry and Eileen O'Sullivan. They are all very welcome and I hope they enjoy their visit. I also welcome Deputy John Connolly and his guests and the guests of Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan. Everyone is very welcome and I hope they all enjoy their visit to Leinster House today.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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Last month's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas gave the impression there would be some sort of peace and order. We all support and want peace but without justice, there can be no peace. If there is not self-determination, freedom of movement, access to education and access to hospitals and health services, peace will not last very long. This is called a ceasefire and it is worrying that media attention has moved away and been drawn to other conflicts and issues in the world. The reality is there is no ceasefire in Gaza. There is no peace in Gaza. A total of 327 Gazans have been killed by Israel in the past month, 136 of whom were children. Clearly, there is no peace.

Almost half of Gaza is occupied by Israel now and the rest of the population has been squeezed into the other half. The genocide continues. The famine, hunger and starvation is still continuing. There has been an increase in aid but nowhere near enough. All of the infrastructure that allows for healthy lives has been destroyed. There is no sign that will be addressed. Israel continues to bomb and shoot civilians. There are thousands of tonnes of aid on the border in warehouses outside of Gaza and it is not getting in. Israel is still dismantling the place. Ultimately, the US is a rogue state now. It has stepped outside international law. There is no sense there is accountability for Israel. Without accountability, there will be no justice. Without justice, there will be no long-term peace.

The Irish Government needs to stay focused on it. Unfortunately, just before the last election, we thought the occupied territories Bill would be introduced and passed. It was said it would be done within 12 months. It has been 12 months now and there is still no sign of the occupied territories Bill being passed. There is a real concern that the Government will either not pass the occupied territories Bill or pass a watered-down version. We have to continue to keep our eyes on Gaza. We have to hear and see the people in Gaza and stand up and work for a lasting, just peace.

Paraic Brady (Fine Gael)
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I wish to raise an issue regarding dog attacks on livestock. This week, we saw dog attacks on livestock have surged to a six-year high. We are now coming into lambing season once more. We have seen that half the dogs that are impounded have no microchips. The system that is there at this moment in time is actually broken. There are fines from €100 to €300 for anybody caught by a dog warden who has a dog off a leash or one that is worrying sheep. Two thirds of these fines were not paid in 2024. It is alarming to see that even when a dog warden catches somebody who has a dog off a leash that is doing damage or worrying sheep or livestock and the warden then issues a fine of €300, the local authorities are still unable to collect these fines.

I am calling for us to scrutinise the legislation for this and look at tightening up the whole legislation about dog worrying and dog owners. When Covid hit, everybody felt it was a good idea to get a pet. We have seen the number of pets in Ireland rise by over 50%. We are now seeing a problem where some people have these pets that are not microchipped and are roaming free. Some dog owners do not even know where their dogs are at night-time, whether they are in the back yard or roaming free and worrying sheep.

By law, every dog owner must microchip their dog. The dog must have a microchip. For any dog that goes to a vet and does not have a microchip, it is compulsory that the vet must put a microchip in it. We need to tighten up the laws. Any dog that is left into a pound must get a microchip before it is handed out to a new owner. At least, we can microchip them and register the microchips to the new owners so that when damage is done, we know both the dog that has done the damage, once it is lifted, and the owner of that dog. It is very important that this is tightened up because, as I said, we are entering the spring lambing season and we will see huge amounts of damage done to sheep again and again without anyone taking responsibility.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome Mike Ward, a guest of Senator Ollie Crowe.

Aubrey McCarthy (Independent)
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I am raising an urgent matter regarding ESB, Electric Ireland, connections to houses across the country. I am on the housing committee. In recent weeks the Government rightly agreed to reforms with regard to Uisce Éireann, allowing developers to carry out certain works directly, thereby reducing delays and costs. The same principle now needs to be put in place and applied to the electricity infrastructure in our country. Housing projects across the country are being stalled as developers are forced to wait, in many cases for many months, for the ESB to connect them to the grid. We all know of the recent case in Portlaoise where a housing development was delayed by many months. In many cases those developers have the expertise and the contractors can carry out this work to the required standard, but they are prevented from doing so and we are, therefore, getting unnecessary bottlenecks. With over 16,000 people now in emergency accommodation, there is an urgency for housing targets, and everybody is under pressure. As we recognised recently with Irish Water, that we can unblock this gridlock, we need to do the exact same with electricity connections. I call on the Government to engage with ESB Networks and the industry stakeholders to establish a framework that will work, as we have done with Uisce Éireann, and that can undertake private wiring for developments according to regulation and absolute oversight. This would accelerate housing delivery. It would reduce costs and ensure houses are not left idle for many months like the ones in Portlaoise.

Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Fianna Fail)
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I speak about the recent fatal road traffic accidents. It is all so upsetting. Young people were going for a night out. There was a man at work and a man going to work doing ordinary everyday things and they never came home. I pass on my sympathies to their families, friends and those who will always be affected by what happened. I ask that the Minister would come in to discuss his plans for road safety. Something has to change and, if we can save one life, it would be fantastic. I would like the Deputy Leader to invite the Minister to the House to discuss the subject of road safety.

Linda Nelson Murray (Fine Gael)
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I raise the issue of the women's under-19 soccer qualifier against Sweden in Bulgaria yesterday. The players stood facing their Irish flag when Britain's "God Save the King" played through the speakers. The music was cut off after approximately 30 seconds. There was an awkward silence and then the ladies proudly sang "Amhrán na bhFiann". I cannot imagine what was going through their minds and how they felt before that game. I know they lost yesterday, but that must have been very difficult for them not to have their own anthem playing. It is important that we have our own anthem playing for all our sporting events, and I would like to see if we can find out what happened yesterday. Was it a complete mistake, or did the people in Bulgaria think that was our anthem? We cannot let that happen for our fabulous ladies who are travelling and playing soccer. That is my first point.

I concur with my colleague about road traffic accidents. There are 16,000 learner drivers on Meath roads now. Those statistics are from the RSA. It has increased by 285 learner permits in the past six months. There are 394,000 learner drivers in total on Ireland's roads. A quarter of all learner drivers in Meath are between the ages of 17 and 20. I spoke a few weeks ago about road deaths and the Just 1 Life campaign that Navan rotary is running through schools and how important it is that we are speaking to school students about safety on our roads. We need to start young. By the end of October, 141 people had lost their lives on Irish roads. That is the same number as for the whole of last year. By the 20 November, that number was 158. That is not just 158 people. That has absolutely torn apart heartbroken families across Ireland. I cannot even imagine what those families go through when something like that happens. Most are drivers and one third are pedestrians. There are motorcyclists, cyclists and passengers and e-scooter fatalities. I agree with, and would like to see, the Minister coming here to discuss what we are doing. I know, a few months ago, we spoke about driving test wait times. They are now down to an average of eight and a half weeks, which is excellent, but we need to tackle this head on, pardon the use of that term. We need to tackle this more than we are now. We cannot have 16,000 people in Meath on learner permits and we must ask the RSA to do all it can to cut this number. It is a scary thought to have so many driving around our county and country on learner permits.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome Oisín Corrigan from Ringsend. He is a transition year student who has a keen interest in politics. He is a guest of Senator Andrews. I hope he enjoys his interest, and I wish him the best of luck for his future in politics.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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I know what I am about to speak about is something the Deputy Leader cares dearly about, given her constituency. I know her commitment to the Defence Forces and to all things defence. I am sure that she is as outraged as I am about the Financial Times article, "How Ireland became the weak spot in Europe's defences". We have been talking about defence in this Chamber for ten years. For ten years I have been constantly talking about defence, and where are we? We are getting worse and worse. We have people talking about the massive increase in the defence budget. There is no massive increase in the defence budget. I will come here with genuine figures in the not-too-distant future, because I have the figures going back to 2022, on how the defence budget has changed. In some years it regressed rather than increased. That is deeply worrying. I know the Deputy Leader engages with Defence Forces people all of the time and so do I, and that tends to be a bubble you are within. What really bothers me is that, now, ordinary members of the public are speaking to me. Neighbours are stopping me to ask me what is going on with defence, what is happening and are we at risk. They will equally throw in the neutrality thing and question the triple lock and all of these things. The key issue is that people feel the State is vulnerable. How right they are. If you sever one of the electricity interconnectors between the UK and us, people will lose power and likely lose their lives because hospitals will run out of electricity. If you damage the gas connectivity, what will that do to the country? In fairness to the flag officer in the navy, he has seen green shoots and a lot of recruitment. We met them recently in Grangegorman. However, there needs to be a more open debate on security, defence and where we are going. We need to counter the article in the Financial Times. It made the front page of the Financial Times in the United States. Leaving aside our European brothers and sisters and our American brothers and sisters, the citizens of the State themselves are now ahead of Government thinking when it comes to defence and security. I will have more to say on this, as I know the Deputy Leader knows I will, in the coming days and weeks.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I raise two issues. First, I thank the Leader's office for arranging and facilitating statements on HIQA in relation to the review of HSE Mid West. I took the time to search how many times this issue was raised in the Seanad. It was raised loads of times. How many parliamentary questions were there in the Dáil? There were many of them. I encourage and hope that we will have good attendance this afternoon. There have been many demands for engagement and for statements from the Minister on this very important subject related to the mid-west and the various options this report is recommending. I will not go into too much detail but clearly there are options A, B and C set out in the executive summary of this report. We will have time to tease it out with the Minister. I understand the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, will be here and I look forward to engaging. I appeal to Members maybe listening in at committees this morning that if they can make it to Seanad Éireann to engage in this debate at 11.45 a.m., it would be worth participating and I hope many people will come. I will also flag something else. Mental Health Reform has been in touch with all of the Senators and TDs in these Houses on its key recommendations in respect of the Mental Health Bill. Tomorrow is the deadline for the first amendments in this House. Mental Health Reform has raised some very serious issues. It is a strong advocate. It is easy to tell an advocacy group that something is not consistent with our belief on mental health. I am reliably informed that the Minister will be proposing amendments to her own Bill in this House. Some of the Members should revisit that today, if possible. We have until tomorrow to submit amendments and we will have time to engage with the Minister next week. It is important that we use this House. We are a revising Chamber. We are not supposed to rubber-stamp all legislation that comes from the Government. We would be foolish to think that. It would not be right. We are a bicameral Parliament. Our function is to revise legislation. I hope we will see some amendments to this important legislation, the Mental Health Bill, which is tabled for debate in this House next week.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome Deputy Eoin Hayes and his guests to the Gallery today. I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I agree wholeheartedly with Senator Boyhan regarding the Minister's attendance here to discuss HIQA. The mid-west and the situation at the hospital in Limerick have been at the top of all representatives' agendas for some time now. Along with me and others, the Leas-Chathaoirleach has been to the fore in this regard. I hope we will see good attendance. I thank the Leader's office for facilitating and organising that debate. We finally have a roadmap to increased capacity in the mid-west. That is very welcome. I am very keen to hear what the Minister and my colleagues have to say.

I would like to have a debate in the House at some stage on the winter readiness programme and being weather-ready. We have seen very inclement weather recently. Over the last number of years, incidents of inclement weather have been much more significant than they previously were. We all need to improve our knowledge in terms of the readiness programme. We all need to understand more about the warnings and the methodology behind them. The localised nature of recent warnings is very welcome. If they can be localised even further, we need to do that. The technology is there. Met Éireann is at the cutting edge when it comes to embracing and adopting new technology. That is very welcome. Even the Met Éireann graphics on television have improved dramatically and create a more localised understanding. The emergency section is based in the Department of agriculture's building but it is managed by the Department of housing. I request that the Deputy Leader put in train a debate, statements or a discussion on this at her convenience so that we can all improve our understanding of the issue.

Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael)
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I highlight the great work of our fire services nationally, both the full-time and the part-time services that support our communities all over the country. At the same time, I highlight the recent National Oversight and Audit Commission, NOAC, report. NOAC evaluates all of the local authorities and looks at their spending. I highlight the disparity across the country in what is being spent on fire services and in the service that is provided. Based on the 2024 figures, the average cost per capita is €74.85. However, there is a glaring underspend in a number of local authorities. Many of the local authorities are spending approximately half that amount on the service they are providing. At a time when the Government is looking at removing roadblocks to housing and improving our electricity, water and transport infrastructure, I would hope we could be more proactive in relation to the services we are providing to support the people who will be moving into these houses rather than reactively trying to improve these services when we see the increase in population at a later stage. This seems to be a bigger issue in rural counties where fire services cover vast areas. Somehow the spend is coming in at a much lower level than it potentially should be. I call for a debate, when the opportunity presents itself, on the delivery of a more consistent service across the country and on consistent investment in that service.

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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I welcome yesterday's announcement from the European Council that agreement has been reached on a Council position on a regulation to prevent and combat child sexual abuse. The European Parliament established its position in late 2023. There will be obligations on digital companies to prevent the dissemination of child sexual abuse material and the solicitation of children. National authorities will have the power to oblige companies to remove and block access to content or, in the case of search engines, to delist search results around child sexual abuse material. There is also a new EU agency coming, the EU centre on child sexual abuse, which will support member states and online providers in implementing the law.

Last week, I attended a plenary meeting of the Lanzarote committee, which is responsible for the implementation of the Lanzarote convention, which obliges signatory states to criminalise all forms of child sexual abuse. All of the developments taking place there are welcome but there were two things from last week's meeting that particularly struck me. One is the threat posed by AI, particularly the generation of child sexual abuse materials and imagery using artificial intelligence. I have made a point, which many agree with, which is that the very exposure of children, whether willing or otherwise, to any kind of pornography is, in itself, a form of child sexual abuse. We have to realise that child sexual abuse online is tied to the problem of adult pornography in general. Pornography is a public health issue. It is increasingly linked to addiction, mental health problems and violence against women.

Can we have a debate about this new regulation and the further efforts needed to combat any kind of exploitation or sexual abuse of children, particularly online? We should also look at what we need to do as a country, what is being done and what more needs to be done by Coimisiún na Meán and others to ensure that children do not have access to any kind of pornographic material, because it is damaging them. I believe that stricter rules on age verification are vital. We are not there yet. There is more that needs to be said and more that needs to be done, although all of the things I have mentioned are, of course, very welcome.

Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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I raise the urgent matter of the mass abduction of children from St. Mary's School in the village of Papiri in northern Nigeria. More than 300 pupils, both primary and secondary school children, were taken by armed groups, who spent hours ransacking the school compound before forcing the children into the bush. Families in Papiri had repeatedly appealed to the Nigerian security forces for protection but no meaningful response was provided. This does not seem to be a conflict between Christians and Muslims. Rather, it seems to reflect the Nigerian Government's persistent failure to protect its children from criminal gangs. Given that St. Mary's School has a long and historic connection with Ireland, there is even more of a responsibility on the Minister for foreign affairs to engage with the Nigerian Government to ensure these children are returned safely.Some 50 children have managed to escape. This have given parents hope that their child could be safely returned too. Some families have seen all of their children taken in this abduction. Kidnapping for ransom has become endemic. The international community must not look away. More than 1,500 Nigerian children have been abducted since 2014. Even if Nigeria is not reaching out to us for help, we still have a responsibility to work with our EU partners and offer any support we can. Time is of the essence here. Let us not forget that we are talking about young children. They will be traumatised. I would like to know what the Irish Government is doing to ensure the immediate safe return of these children. I urge the Minister for foreign affairs to engage with the Nigerian Government and other EU member states.

Dee Ryan (Fianna Fail)
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This morning, I rise to acknowledge and thank the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, for the significant committed moneys that we heard about yesterday for Limerick in the NDP sectoral plan for transport. We are delighted that key projects like the M20-N20 Cork to Limerick motorway and route, the N21 Abbeyfeale relief road, the N21 and N69 Limerick to Foynes road, including the Adare bypass, the Newcastle West relief road and the Coonagh to Knockalisheen distributor road all got funding. They are important roads to us locally. Indeed, they are almost the sum total of the major roads that we were seeking allocation of funding for. We are grateful for that. They will help to improve safety, reduce congestion and better connect communities across the county of Limerick. The inclusion of the N20-M20 Adare bypass is particularly important for us, as the Deputy Leader knows. We are eagerly anticipating and getting ready for the Ryder Cup coming to Limerick in 2027. We are delighted to see all of these projects advancing. The next step, in my view, and I have sought a meeting with the Minister to advance it, is delivering a metro rail line for Limerick with a rail link to Shannon Airport. I look forward to raising that with the Minister very soon. I look forward to working closely with the Mayor of Limerick and all the city and county councillors on these projects and further projects into the future to ensure that Limerick has the resources and investment it needs for a strong future.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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I thank all of the Senators who have contributed to this morning's Order of Business.

First, Senator Mary Fitzpatrick spoke about the elimination of violence against women and gave us the horrific statistic that about 35% of women in Ireland have been impacted by gender-based violence. About one in four have experienced sexual violence at the hands of an intimate partner. As we know, more than 100 women have been murdered over the last ten years by a current or former partner. She is correct to raise that. We are in the UN 16 Days of Combatting Violence Against Women. It is important on so many levels that we have these conversations. It is not just about legislation or supplying refuges and safe spaces for women. There has to be a strong conversation with men and between men and boys in terms of the values that we have as a country about kindness, respect and about all of us collectively calling out when we see them casual inferences that are belittling women, because that is where it starts. I know that the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, has done a lot of work in this area and is continuing to do so. He has increased funding for Cuan and for safe spaces. He is also working on significant legislative change, including the removal of guardianship rights where a person has murdered their partner, limiting the disclosure of counselling records for victims and Jennie's law, which I have worked on myself with Jason Poole. While there are a lot of measures coming from this House, we also need to make sure in society that domestic violence and the way it is viewed changes.

Senator Fitzpatrick also brought up the issue of Dublin fire brigade and the fact that it is in existence since 1862 and is currently under threat. As Deputy Leader, I totally support her call to have a pause on the proposed changes awaiting a full review. We have to ensure that we have fully functioning fire services in Dublin and across the country.

Senator Kelleher spoke about a situation in UCC where the affiliation of the youth wings of political parties has now apparently been stopped. Two particular parties, Fine Gael and the Social Democrats, have been prohibited from starting. This is completely wrong. There has to be one rule for everybody. I hope this will change. It seems to be a common-sense response to ensure that it changes. It is something we can bring up with the Minister for higher education and to ask him to address because it is certainly not correct.

Senator Joe Conway spoke about the issue regarding a fish kill in Cork. He has raised it before. It is shocking to hear that things have not improved and that there have been high levels of ammonia detected only in the last week or two in terms of what is going into the water. We do know that Cork County Council, the EPA and Uisce Éireann have been working on this. Obviously, there is still a huge gap between what they are doing and getting the right result. I agree with the Senator that this needs to come before the Oireachtas environment committee. I will speak to Members of this House who are members of that committee and ask them to bring it forward and to liaise with Senator Conway.

Senator Andrews spoke about the ceasefire in Gaza. It is concerning. It is a ceasefire by name only, I think. We all have to work collectively and internationally to try to ensure that it is a working ceasefire and that the aid is there. The fact that 327 people have been killed by the Israeli forces during that ceasefire period is testament that it is a ceasefire in name only. In terms of the occupied territories Bill, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, when she became Minister for foreign affairs last week said it is her first priority. We know that any legislation that comes from the Dáil and the Seanad needs to be robust. I understand that officials are working on it. Obviously it would be better if all countries implemented the same legislation Europe-wide. That would be sending a really strong message. It is unfair to say that nothing is happening in relation to it because it is.

Senator Brady spoke about dog attacks on livestock and the fact that half of the dogs impounded do not have microchips. It is shocking that two thirds of fines are not paid. The legislation is there but it is not being implemented. We need to have a look at a review of the legislation. That might be something that we could ask the agriculture committee to look at. It is an important issue and it comes up time and again. As the Senator says, we are not at Christmas yet, but particularly as we will be heading into spring and lambing season soon, it is absolutely a concern. There is a disconnect between the legislation and the implementation, but we will take it further. I assure the Senator of that.

Senator McCarthy made the suggestion that the ESB connections should be treated in the same way as water connections. We know now because of recent policy change that the Minister, Deputy Browne, has introduced that developers can do that work themselves. That was an important policy change. I support that we could do the same with electricity. We will certainly bring that message back to the Minister. That should accelerate house delivery.

Senator Margaret Murphy O'Mahony spoke about the recent road deaths. The most recent was in my own County Kildare last night. Sadly, somebody was killed in a car accident.Sadly too, there have been a number of fatal accidents over the past two weeks. Our thoughts and prayers go to all the families of those who have been killed. A lot of people have been injured as well. These people are our neighbours, friends and part of work or college communities. It is shocking and has a huge impact on communities. We will look for a debate with the Minister on road safety.

Senator Nelson Murray spoke about the game in Bulgaria last night where the women's under-19 team played Sweden. I did hear a clip of that this morning. I did think “Ooh” when I heard the British national anthem was played but, fair play to the girls, they started singing themselves. They stood up and sang loud and proud. Even though they did not win the game, they won the moment. We will ask the Minister for sport to write to all international sporting organisations to make sure that something like this never happens again.

Senator Craughwell spoke about the article in the Financial Times about defence. We live in a world where the geopolitics are changing all the time. We have to support all of those in our Defence Forces. I want to pay tribute to all the men and women in the Defence Forces who do a terrific job. The Government and the Minister for Defence have committed to the recommendations of the commission report. There were three levels. They committed to the second level and is implementing that.

Senator Boyhan spoke on the debate on HIQA in the mid-west, which is coming up and which it is hoped there will be a good attendance for. It is important. Senator Ryan called for this and we were happy to facilitate this and ensure it happened. We hope all Senators from the mid-west will be here to contribute to that. Senator Boyhan also spoke about mental health reforms and highlighted that tomorrow, I think, is the last day for amendments.

Senator Martin Conway spoke about the need for weather readiness and localised weather forecasts. That is something we will discuss. Last week we looked for a debate on that.

Senator Scahill spoke about fire services that are doing great work and the NOAC report evaluating all the different local authorities, which highlighted the big disparity. No matter where anyone lives, they should have access to the type of services the fire brigades offer. It is concerning there is a glaring omission in some local authorities. That is why it is so important that in the latest housing plan “building communities” was part of its title. It is about looking at everything that makes up a community and, of course, safety is one of those elements. We will ask the Minister to look at that and to see if we can have a debate about more consistent delivery right across the country.

Senator Mullen spoke about the EU Council announcement yesterday on regulation to combat child sexual abuse and the fact that an EU agency is being established. We are all concerned about the threat AI poses to everybody, not just our young people. We have to ensure we do not allow our young people to be exploited. We have to bring in very strong regulations to ensure they are not exposed to pornography. Coimisiún na Meán has over 300 people working for it now. Only earlier this week, it gave a presentation about its work and it was at the European Affairs committee about three weeks ago too. The call for stricter rules on age verification is a worthy call and something we will bring to the Minister and the AI committee.

Senator Sarah O’Reilly spoke about the mass abduction of children in Nigeria from St. Mary’s School. The international community must respond. We will ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to engage with the Nigerian Government.

Senator Dee Ryan was the last contributor. She spoke of her delight yesterday when she saw, among other funding announcements for Limerick, the Cork to Limerick road, Limerick to Abbeyfeale road, Limerick to Foynes road, including the Adare bypass, and others. It is certainly a very good day for connectivity in Limerick. I know she wants to advance the metro rail link for Limerick and connecting to Shannon Airport. It is important for Limerick to bring resources and investment. We look forward to seeing how that progresses.