Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on inland and marine fisheries, to be taken at 4.45 p.m. and to conclude at 6.15 p.m., with the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, those of group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes, those of any other Senators not to exceed five minutes, and the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply; No. 2, motion regarding the proposed approval by Seanad Éireann of a proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion of the agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the transfer of passenger name record data for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime, to be taken at 6.30 p.m. without debate; No. 3, motion regarding proposed approval by Seanad Éireann of a proposal for a Council decision on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, of the agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the transfer of passenger name record data for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime, to be taken on the conclusion of No. 2, without debate; and No. 4, Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill 2026 - Order for Second Stage and Second Stage, to be taken on conclusion of No. 3 and to conclude after two hours, if not previously concluded, with the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, those of group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes, those any other Senators not to exceed five minutes, and the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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I support the Order of Business. It has been wonderful to see so many Brigid events around the country, particularly in Kildare. I congratulate Kildare County Council, Solas Bhride, Into Kildare and the dean of St. Brigid's Cathedral, Kildare, for all the wonderful events that were hosted, despite the bad weather, across County Kildare. They were a pleasure to attend, particularly the inaugural Spirit of Kildare Awards ceremony, which was the brainchild of Mayor Carmel Kelly. That was held on Sunday night. Several awards were made. All were noteworthy, particularly that given to Sr. Rita Minehan. Together with Sr. Phil and Sr. Mary, she has done wonderful work in the spirit of Brigid at Solas Bhride and by reaching out.

Despite all the bad weather, there was a lot of light and hope over the weekend until last night, when we heard the sad and tragic news of the passing of Vivian Carroll. He was a wonderful community man and businessman in the town of Newbridge. Like myself, he was from Rathangan. He learned his trade as a barman in the Silken Thomas in Kildare and his ambition was always to have his own pub. He owned two very fine places in Newbridge, namely Judge Roy Beans and Harrigan's. Vivian lived with his wife, Breda, and four children in Kildangan. He was a leader in every community he was involved with. He was kind. He was the best of us. He was a good person but, sadly, the light and hope in his life left him yesterday evening. To say that we, as a community, are absolutely distraught would be an understatement. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. We always need to have hope and to be able to reach out to the Samaritans or whoever we can, because there has to be a better way.

I congratulate the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, on bringing Grace's law to Cabinet in recent days.A number of us about the tragic passing of Grace Lynch last week and people indicated that they wanted something to be done. This just shows that where there is a will and support, things can happen. It was good to hear the Minister talking about that matter this morning. Since 2023, over 1,000 scramblers have been taken off the road. It is not that nothing was happening, but it is important that stringent laws are put in place to seize scramblers and to make our roads safer.

Noel O'Donovan (Fine Gael)
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We debate many topics, from healthcare issues to fishing issues, in this House. It is always matters of policy that we are looking to change. An issue that has come up in west Cork in recent weeks - it arises issue annually - is the condition of our roads. This is a topic I often raise in this Chamber. I am going to focus on national and local roads. We are going to see an announcement of funding in the coming weeks from the Department and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, to local authorities for the maintenance of our roads. On local and regional roads, Cork County Council got an increase of over €18 million last year, which was welcome. However, the condition of the roads at present is absolutely diabolical. I am not exaggerating when I talk about the volume of representations I have received in my office about the condition the roads are in.

Since I became an elected politician in 2011, issues relating to condition and the proper maintenance of our roads have not been solved. We have given an extra €80 million to Cork County Council but we cannot keep the water off our roads. I am talking here about the policy relating to drainage and maintenance. This might sound basic and might be seen as an issue that should not be discussed in the House, but it is a waste of money and there is also a serious danger to the lives of the people who travel on our roads.

A driving instructor in Skibbereen in west Cork has spoken about young drivers failing their driving tests because of the dangers on our roads. We must change the policy. We provide funding for the maintenance of roads, but we do not give discretionary funding for drainage to area offices. We give a little, but it is not enough. We must change the policy. I would welcome a debate with the Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien, in this House on the basic issue of road drainage and maintenance. The dogs in the street in west Cork know what needs to happen, but we need to change the policy here in Dublin.

I have raised the N71, the only national route in west Cork, as a Commencement matter and on the Order of Business. The N71 needs to be properly developed. People listening to this on social media or in the Chamber will know west Cork and the beauty of all towns and villages there. However, driving on the main road into west Cork, from Bandon to Clonakilty to Rosscarbery and on to Skibbereen, is like driving through a third world country. On the front page of the Southern Star, there is a picture of councillors standing in potholes in the middle of Clonakilty. That is how bad it is. This year, we need to see proper investment. You could spend half an hour to 40 minutes in complete congestion when trying to drive through the village of Inishannon. We in west Cork have been treated like third world citizens for 40 years. We need to see proper investment in the N71 for all. I will keep talking about this until there is proper investment. This is common-sense politics, and that is what we need in terms of road maintenance, drainage and proper investment.

Michael McDowell (Independent)
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I want to add my voice to the kind, well-chosen and generous words that the Leas-Chathaoirleach spoke about the late Máirín Quill. The Leas-Chathaoirleach outlined Máirín's history of work, her commitment to her community and her devotion to her city and to national politics. As the Leas-Chathaoirleach said, she was, along with myself and others, a founder member of the Progressive Democrats.

What I want to say about Máirín and her late sister Ita is that you could not meet two nicer people, either inside or outside of politics. Máirín was kind, gentle, brilliantly well read and sophisticated. At the same time, she cared passionately about those people in her community and her constituency who needed assistance, particularly through education, the arts and the like. She came to Dublin as a TD. She graced these Houses with her kindness, her dignity and her wonderful personality for many years. Later, she became a Member of this HousePolitics is a rough game sometimes but you could not meet somebody more gentle and more sweet-natured than Máirín Quill. She was predeceased by her sister, Ita, and they were inseparable. They lived on Wellington Road in Cork. Senator Boyhan and I visited them recently. To say she was a matriarch would be an unfair description of her; she was a loving, kind, decent colleague who thought the best of everybody and did the best for everyone. I want to take this opportunity to endorse everything the Leas-Chathaoirleach said about her contribution to national life. As probably one of the few people in this House who served with her for so long as a Member of the Oireachtas, I want to say how deeply I miss her as a friend but also how appreciative Ireland should be for a woman of her calibre, drive and intelligence and also her commitment and bravery.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I want to acknowledge the presence of the Castletown House protection group. I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House today.

Nicole Ryan (Sinn Fein)
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I want to raise the issue of flooding and the State’s response to it. What we have seen in Enniscorthy and the surrounding areas in recent days has been horrific. People’s homes have been destroyed, their livelihoods wiped out and families left traumatised. I genuinely hope the Government steps in quickly and meaningfully to support those affected because people cannot be left to pick up the pieces on their own.

However, this disaster opens a much wider and more uncomfortable conversation about how the State responds to flooding in this country. Ireland has a wet climate - that is not news to anybody. Heavy rainfall is not an unexpected event yet time and again flooding is treated as a surprise and something that needs to be reacted to rather than planned for. Too often it feels like when the flooding is a little too close to home or too close to Dublin the carpets are rolled out but when it happens elsewhere communities are left waiting. When Storm Éowyn hit the west, Connemara was devastated. Places like Clifden and Carna suffered enormous damage yet those communities waited months for proper meaningful assistance. The urgency just was not there. We see the pattern elsewhere. Cork city floods regularly. We know it will flood yet time and again there is a last-minute scramble to protect the city rather than having long-term resilient solutions. Look at Midleton. Although the relief scheme is finally being put in place, it will take years to implement. It is full of interim measures at the moment.

The Minister for housing sought to blame Met Éireann but, with respect, kids in glass houses should not throw stones. The real question is to ask why the Government has failed to put in proper comprehensive flood relief schemes in places across the country. This is no longer just a coastal issue. Even dense inland areas are now expecting flooding. In my own area of Millstreet, which is well inland, we are beginning to see repeated flooding events affecting people’s homes. This would have been unthinkable years ago. Flooding is not a once-off emergency. It is the reality of climate change and it demands proper planning, investment and fairness across the whole country. I am calling on the Leader to ask the Government to have a debate in this House on flooding, flooding preparedness and unequal response experienced by communities across the State. People deserve better than reactive policies when their homes and their lives are at risk.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Before I call Senator Stephenson I would like to welcome her aunt, Nadette Foley. She is accompanied by Julianne and Aileen from the Phibsboro Tidy Town group. I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House today.

Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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I will repeat a lot of what Senator Ryan already said on the question of flooding. We have seen the most horrendous floods. There is still high risk of flooding this week. We have serious questions to ask about the lack of a public flood warning system. The Minister for housing was pointing blame at Met Éireann last week, utterly shifting responsibility as if Met Éireann does not fall under the line division of his own Department. I find this Government to be quite effective at pointing out blame for serious Government failures to State agencies without any self-awareness that their own Departments line manage those agencies. It seems to suggest it is evading responsibility. The Taoiseach said last week the Government cannot wave a magic wand when it comes to improving flood defences. No one is asking for that. What we are asking for is long-promised flood defence schemes to be delivered. We have been discussing climate change for years so why is the Government totally unable to put proper mitigations in place?We hear promises again and again about flood relief schemes. They have been discussed for years. Many of the areas that were badly affected last week, including Thomastown and Graiguenamanagh, have long been promised flood relief schemes. I wonder why those schemes have not been put in place. We cannot pass the buck any more on this issue. People have been abandoned by the State. They do not even have the most basic flood warning systems. Why was the rainfall monitoring system not publicly provided, for example? Flood warning data should be public and easily accessible.

Unfortunately, severe weather events are only going to become more common. This is not news. The impact of climate change is not new. We have been discussing it, as I said, for many years. This gives rise to big questions as to why we have not prepared. It has been a year since Storm Éowyn, but households still have not received the information booklets about what to do when a storm hits that were promised. We need better analysis of what the right solutions are for floods and whether they are being used.

Concrete flood defences simply move the problem downstream. We need upstream flood protection, with natural solutions to allow excess water to rapidly drain away. We need natural forests and flood plains to allow this to happen. For example, the River Nore in Kilkenny city is usually very quiet. In the past week or so, it has been incredibly fast flowing. This has not caused serious damage in Kilkenny because concrete flood defences were put in but places downstream such as Bennettsbridge, Thomastown and Graiguenamanagh have felt the impact of the flood defences being located in Kilkenny. We are literally pushing the problem downstream.

The Social Democrats have been calling for an interdepartmental review of the State's preparedness for Storm Chandra, including in the context of the mitigation actions that were taken in advance. We cannot have another round of lessons learned. We need some credible analysis of what was done to prepare for the flooding and where the gaps were. I appreciate that we will be having a debate on this matter soon. I hope there will be an opportunity to discuss it in more detail.

Shane Curley (Fianna Fail)
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Bhí comhrá againn sa choiste Gaeilge an tseachtain seo caite maidir leis an nGaeilge ag an tríú leibhéal agus líon na gcúrsaí atá ar fáil trí Ghaeilge. An rud is mó a sheas amach domsa ná taobh amuigh de chúrsaí oideachais agus an Ghaeilge mar chúrsa faoi leith - na cúrsaí cosúil le céim sa Ghaeilge nó céim san aistriúchán atá ar fáil - níl ach dhá chúrsa timpeall na tíre ar fáil trí Ghaeilge. Tá dhá chúrsa ann don tír ar fad. Ní dóigh liom go bhfuil sé sin inghlactha sa lá atá inniu ann. Ní hamháin go bhfuilimid ag iarraidh boscaí a thiceáil agus a bheith in ann a rá go bhfuil na cúrsaí ar fáil ach tá tionchar ag an easpa cúrsaí sin ar an sochaí. Níl na dochtúirí ar fáil sna ceantair Ghaeltachta chun rudaí a chur ar fáil trí Ghaeilge. Níl na múinteoirí in ann rudaí a chur ar fáil trí Ghaeilge uaireanta. Tá easpa seirbhísí poiblí ata riachtanach, bunseirbhísí gur cheart a bheith ar fáil sna ceantair Ghaeltachta, nach bhfuil ar fáil. Ceann de na rudaí is mó a chuireann tús leis sin ná an easpa cúrsaí trí Ghaeilge. Tá géarghá le comhrá leis an Aire sa Seomra seo. Táim lánsásta Ní i dtosach suí a chur isteach más gá ach ceapaim go bhfuil géarghá le comhrá maidir leis sin.

Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael)
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I rise to speak about the devastation caused by the recent flood events on the east coast that destroyed homes, businesses and entire communities. This latest incident has deeply unsettled people in my area in places like Listowel, Killacrim, Tralee and Kenmare.

In November 2024, Listowel experienced its worst flooding event in more than 60 years. Following that event, the OPW, in partnership with Kerry County Council, undertook emergency work valued at more than €500,000 to stabilise the banks of the River Feale and prevent further breaches. While these works were greatly welcome, one critical element was omitted, namely the installation of an early flood detection alarm system. The latter is an upstream monitoring and alert system that can be deployed quickly without the need for planning approval and that detects abnormal increases in river stages and provides advance alerts of imminent flood risks. The OPW has informed me that this system will be considered for the Listowel full flood relief scheme. Unfortunately, it will be ten years before the latter is completed.

Such a system capable of detecting rising water levels along our rivers would provide immediate warnings to local authorities, community groups and first responders, no matter who they are, giving them the vital time needed to act to protect lives and property. This technology saves time, and time saves lives. With continual rainfall leaving the ground saturated, a status yellow weather warning has effectively become the new red warning.Communities must not continue to live in fear of the next storm. The perfect storm, which I raised here before, was in Listowel. Two days before the serious flood there, there was a snowfall event. There was a status yellow rain warning for the Friday night, the same night that the temperatures rose. You could say the thaw and the flood destroyed north Kerry. I therefore call on the Minister of State responsible for the OPW to come before the House to debate the urgent need to install lifesaving early-warning infrastructure in flood-prone areas, not just in Kerry but also across the rest of the country.

Aubrey McCarthy (Independent)
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In the past week, our world champion Katie Taylor spoke about her impending retirement. She believes she will retire at the end of the year. Senator Andrews raised this matter before. Katie Taylor is an absolute model of supreme athletic ability in Ireland. We should all look up to her and support her. During the summer, she and her husband visited Tiglin and spent time with the students on the programme there. This had a real impact on them.

Katie Taylor was recognised as lady of the year at the American Partnership's Nollaig na mBan event in Boston. She was given €10,000 to appear. She said she wanted to give this to Tiglin, the charity she visited. The organisation was so impressed by her speech and what she said about Tiglin that it doubled the amount to €20,000. Investing back in the very community she came from shows the nature of the athlete. In her interview with RTÉ Sport, she said she has a strong desire to end her professional boxing career in Croke Park. Her most recent fight was in July 2025. Ending her career on a high note in Croke Park would be amazing. Croke Park and the GAA have their own decisions to make but facilitating our world-class athlete's request would be momentous. It would be wonderful for the people of Ireland and for those who look up to Katie in the world of sport.

Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail)
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I wish to raise the issue of the schools building projects announced last week. The Minister, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, announced 105 projects that will be proceeding to the tender or building process imminently. We were very disappointed not to see the projects promised for Rush. These involve two school buildings on the Park Road campus: St. Joseph's Secondary School and Gaelscoil Ros Eo. These are two schools that have been waiting a long time for new buildings. We worked together for many years to acquire the land, which was a tedious process, and widen the road to the land. The project is now shovel-ready but it was not on the list released last week by the Minister, Deputy Naughton. The fury of the people of Rush over the past week has been considerable. I do not blame them.

St. Joseph's Secondary School has 950 students and is bursting at the seams. It is a DEIS school and it does excellent work. It has a massive waiting list and cannot cope with the number of students who want to attend. It has fantastic outcomes, fantastic leadership and fantastic education but it is being let down by the failure to provide a decent school building. The school has students who want to access special education classrooms but are unable to do so. If the new school project were given the go-ahead, it could be proceeded with immediately. That this is not possible is very disappointing.

Gaelscoil Ros Eo has served the community for many years from prefabs located in a car park belonging to the GAA. There are children who have gone through it and moved on to secondary education having spent their entire primary education in a couple of prefabs.They received an excellent education but they were not given the dignity of a decent school building.

The town of Rush has a population of more than 12,000 and is growing exponentially. We are absorbing the housing needs of Dublin. We are getting housing and more housing but we are not getting the facilities to keep up with the housing. It is an absolute disgrace. I would really like the Leader to call on the Minister, Deputy Naughton, to come into this Chamber and have a proper debate on education and the infrastructure for education. We need to prioritise the areas that are exploding in population with young populations and not her own constituency.

Manus Boyle (Fine Gael)
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Yesterday morning, I was doing the school run when I turned on Highland Radio and "The Greg Hughes Show", which is very popular, was on. The manager from Donegal Airport was on it. Listening in, it was very worrying and to be honest, the phone has not stopped ringing since. I am calling on the Minister for Transport to clarify and protect the service from Donegal Airport to Dublin. Under the new public service obligations, PSO, contract, there are plans to change current flight times. This will have a major impact for people travelling to Dublin, especially for medical appointments in Dublin. There is a great service for cancer patients. Additionally, the new plan shows the plane will no longer stay overnight in Donegal. It will have to come from Dublin in the morning. There is also the problem of weather. Dublin is a major airport. Will there be time delays? That has a knock-on effect.

We are proud of this service in Donegal and proud of the airport at Carrickfinn but with the Government subsidising this, it needs to take a major look at this. What is there is working at the moment and everybody is happy with it. There is no need for change. Enhance it, by all means, but this will really mean people who have an appointment in Dublin in the morning will not be able to make it. They will have to come down the day before. What is going on here is not practical. I hope the Minister might come in here to have a debate on this so we can see what is going wrong.

As the Leader knows, we have no trains in Donegal. This is a lifeline for everybody and especially for cancer patients. It is something we really need to tie down and get the Government to sort out one way or another.

Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein)
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Last night, I attended a public meeting in Ballintemple Community Centre, Bruskey, County Cavan. It was a meeting organised by and very well attended by local people, as well as three county councillors from the locality along with me. The reason for the meeting was concern about the deterioration of the local road structure. I acknowledge this meeting could have taken place in many other places in Cavan and in many other counties throughout the country, as we are hearing, but there is a genuine concern about the lack of funding going towards the repair and upkeep of our local road structure.

Cavan is a county without a rail service so we are depending on the roads for transport. It is also an area that depends on agriculture and intensive agricultural practices, in particular. People hear about billions of euro of funding in the budget and yet, the money that is coming to local authorities for the repair of our roads is minuscule. Two local roads were particularly outlined which have a lot of traffic on them, including local buses. Of course, councillors will work with the engineer in the area to see if is there a possibility of having those roads repaired.

There was a wider discussion about how they feel there is a lack of accountability as to how the road money is spent. There are also issues of waste. Drainage came up a lot as well. A number of those councillors were part of a delegation to the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, towards the ends of the year. They were looking both for an increased allocation and for the allocation to be made sooner in the year. They were asking that the allocation be made in early January in order that planning within local authorities could take place as to what roads they could repair. Any additional funding that might come later in the year, which is always welcome, could also be allocated sooner as well. It often ends up that there are roadworks in several locations at the one time, which causes a lot of disruption in a local area where councillors are trying to get the money spent before the end of year.

The allocation still has not been made, despite promises it would be made in January. We are into February and it has not been made. I ask for the allocation to be made to local authorities but we need an increased allocation in Cavan as well.Not even 2% - 1.5% of the local road structure can be repaired under the current funding model and that is not sustainable.

Teresa Costello (Fianna Fail)
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As we all know, today is world cancer day. Earlier on, I attended the launch of the cancer dashboard for Ireland prepared by the Swedish Institute for Health Economics. The report made some very good points and is a really interesting read. However, today, something unexpected happened to me. At the launch, I came face to face with my oncologist from 12 years ago, Professor John Kennedy, and I had not seen him in over ten years. Seeing him again today was genuinely emotional and it was so random that it was on world cancer day. He was a huge part of my breast cancer journey. At a time when my world had become very small and uncertain, he represented hope. I always knew that when I walked into the hospital to see him, his objective was simple: to get rid of my cancer and give me back my life. Today, I finally had a chance to say thank you.

We talk a lot about data, outcomes and systems. All of that is so important but behind every statistic is a person, a family and a team of professionals doing really difficult work every single day. The staff who treat and care for people with cancer carry an enormous responsibility. It cannot be an easy job. They deliver life-changing news. They walk alongside people through fear and uncertainty and they continue to show compassion even in the hardest of circumstances. Today reminded me that while policies and programmes shape our health services, it is people, dedicated skills and deeply caring people, who truly change lives. I will always be grateful for those who looked after me.

Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael)
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In April, last year, I highlighted water outages in the village of Cloonfad in west Roscommon. I had a Commencement matter that month. I also highlighted a hospitality business that contacted me unable to open on Good Friday last year because of the loss of its water supply. On Monday last, I was copied on a message by the same hospitality business titled "Enough is enough" highlighting that it was now looking at another high-footfall day on which they would not be able to open due to the fact that it had no water supply on that particular day. That was actually the fourth time last week the water supply had stopped in the village of Cloonfad. In June last year, following a lot of correspondence with Irish Water and with the office of the Minister, Deputy Browne, I got correspondence from Irish Water stating it was pleased to advise that an update had become available. The management department had confirmed that Uisce Éireann was currently carrying out designs for the replacement of approximately 5 km of water mains around Cloonfad and that there were currently no timelines available for construction. We allowed time for that to happen. That was June last year. Last week, when I had the first of the outages in Cloonfad, I contacted Irish Water for an update on this. On Thursday, I looked for a follow-up on that. This morning I spoke with Roscommon County Council to find out where the blockage and the barrier to completing and starting this work was in Cloonfad. It seems to be down to the reinstatement of the road. I left a message with Irish Water this morning for somebody to contact me before I came into the Chamber this afternoon. Nobody has contacted me. I want to highlight once again that we are constantly sending messages into these Oireachtas lines for Oireachtas Members. We are making representations for constituents. I know Senator Stephenson raised a point earlier about the Government and us blaming some of these agencies for the blockages but if they are not showing the respect to us as representatives and coming back to us when we are looking for these answers, what are we meant to do about that? I would welcome the debate on flooding but I would also welcome a debate on these Oireachtas email addresses and contact lines in order that we can start getting some standard answers on it.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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Last Friday morning, Mr. Barry Andrews MEP launched a paper entitled Irish National Security in a Changing World. It is researched by the former Deputy Cathal Berry. When we look at the executive summary inside, we see that the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, is quoted as stating in March 2025 that "Europe must do more to secure its own security and defence," acknowledging that "Ireland is not immune from these threats".In December, Deloitte told us that we are at the most dangerous point in recent history. During a recent visit by the President of Ukraine, we had the French, the Portuguese and members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland provided security for this country. Not one Member of the Houses spoke publicly about this.

We will be quite happy to sit back and let foreigners come in and secure our country during the Presidency of the European Union. More importantly, last night we were told that Baldonnel will be the only place protected with respect to drone technology. The Department of Defence was told to buy technology to protect our airports. It bought one set for Baldonnel. What about Dublin Airport and the airports in Shannon, Cork and Knock? Is there one red-blooded Irish citizen who is prepared to say enough is enough? We are walking ourselves, our country and our economy into the depths of danger. If foreign direct investment companies start to feel that they cannot be secure in this country, there will be a flight. In the context of the likes of Dell, Digital, TikTok and LinkedIn, the Leader knows that when one came to this country, they all came. If one leaves, they will all leave.

It is time Members of the Oireachtas started asking questions. What the hell is going on with defence in Ireland? Why did the Department of Defence buy one set of drone technology? Why did it not cover the whole country? The money is there for it. Is there nobody in this House who is embarrassed by the fact we have to turn to other countries for security? I am absolutely mortified, and I wish I saw more of that mortification coming out of the Oireachtas.

Joe Flaherty (Fianna Fail)
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In recent weeks, Horse Sport Ireland, HSI, was back in front of the agriculture committee. Once again, its CEO, Denis Duggan, stated that there have been no HR issues in the organisation over the past two to three years and that there were no legal fees associated with any HR issues. He was certainly convincing and resolute. However, in the Sunday Independent at the weekend, Mark Tighe confirmed what the equestrian sector has known for several years, namely, that Horse Sport Ireland is involved in a series of HR disputes. In January of last year, Nadia Rea took a bullying case that was subsequently settled for a six-figure sum plus costs. In July, HSI settled a case with Michelle O'Reilly, another former staff member. Brian Hennessy, a former press officer, also filed an action against HSI. In addition, two defamation actions are being pursued by two former show jumping coaches, Sally Corscadden and Grant Wilson. These date from November 2022.

When Mark Tighe sought clarity from HSI on this, he received a statement to the effect that it was relying on its insured risk management framework to cover the costs and that there were not costs accruing to it. The other alternative is that the company possibly has employment practices liability insurance in place. However, at no time in his appearances before the committee did Mr. Duggan venture to share this important information. It seems strange that an entity such as Horse Sport Ireland requires such an insurance policy when many of our larger sporting organisations do not have the same.

Horse Sport Ireland is lavishly funded by the State. It will receive €3.6 million from Sport Ireland for the current Olympic cycle. A large proportion of its €10 million budget comes from the Department of agriculture.

There are serious misgivings about Horse Sport Ireland at this time. The level of HR strife within the organisation in a very short window is deeply troubling. More worrying has been the failure to confirm that the body was indeed involved in HR disputes, some of which have been protracted, and was funding them through an archaic accountancy method, or as I said, possibly by means of employment practices liability insurance. There are serious questions to be asked about this organisation. We have repeatedly asked both the Department of agriculture and Sport Ireland to look at the matter. They need to look at everything including, possibly, immediately ceasing funding for Horse Sport Ireland.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I remind Members that it would be preferable if names were not mentioned in the Chamber, especially when people are not here to defend themselves. If Members could refrain from mentioning names and stating situations, that would be preferable.

Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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The use of AI to create sexual abuse material is wrong. The Internet is saturated with this material and there are no restrictions on who can access it and no protections for children. The fixation on X is totally missing the point. Banning, deleting or cancelling X will not stop child sexual abuse material from being created. A Google search will bring up far more explicit results. It feels like there is some scapegoating here, and it is targeted at one company in particular, instead of acknowledging Government failures to protect children. We have seen numerous cases of people getting suspended sentences for having child sexual abuse material. The Government could legislate for harsher sentences and it does not. Why all the focus on X when victims of child sexual abuse are being failed by the Irish courts?

Instead of safeguarding children, the Government’s response is to introduce mandatory digital identification for social media. This will force people to hand over sensitive personal data to identity brokers that have no legitimate need to process it. We are told this is necessary for child protection but we are more than capable of protecting our data and our children ourselves. Irish and EU courts have repeatedly held that administrative convenience is not a sufficient justification for interference with our fundamental rights. The last thing we want to see is State-run social media where only one narrative or viewpoint is tolerated.

At a recent AI committee, Deputy Ó Cearúil raised concerns about the values of CEOs who may tender for State contracts. He essentially asked if CEOs who are anti-Government or anti-immigration could be excluded from winning State contracts. Why should the best company be excluded from winning a State contract because it is anti-Government? We can protect children by banning smartphones and pornography and by embedding watermarks in AI content. Mandating digital ID to use social media is completely unjustified and opens the door to mass State surveillance and data breaches.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the three groups in the Public Gallery. They are guests of the Taoiseach and Deputy Neville. I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House today.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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I ask the Leader to invite the Minister, Deputy Calleary, to come in to speak on his portfolio and particularly on family carers. There was a very good briefing last Wednesday from Family Carers Ireland as part of the cross-party interest group. There is a lot of concern and distress among family carers across the country and there are a number of issues they have had to deal with in recent months and years. One is the automatic reporting of carer payments to Revenue. Approximately 34,000 letters have been sent to carers, which have created anxiety within that community. There is fear and confusion around tax liability because of media reports and Revenue correspondence. More than 2,000 phone calls were made to helplines by distressed carers who believed they might have historic tax liabilities. There are issues in relation to the carer’s allowance and carer's benefit that are taxable, unlike the carer’s support grant. That reduces already low household incomes and penalises full-time carers financially.

They also spoke about the high out-of-pocket costs for carers. Carers are facing substantial, ongoing expenses, the likes of therapy, speech and language and physical therapy, mobility aids, medical equipment and specialised consultations. There are a number of requests the carers who spoke last week and Family Carers Ireland in particular have. Those are to make the carer’s allowance and carer's benefit tax exempt, to end the means test and taxation of caring payments, to improve communication and tone in official response, to increase payment levels to reflect real care costs and inflation, to reform tax credits to reflect caregiving realities and to update carer policies to reflect modern economic and social conditions.

We can all appreciate the amount of work carers do across this country to look after and support people. From an economic perspective, the work they do means an estimated €20 billion a year in savings for the Government that it does not have to pay in hospital, caring and professional fees.An awful lot of this is done by families, and by women in particular. This is a sector where we have done an awful lot in the last couple of years, but there is certainly more to do. We certainly should not be creating more anxiety for people who are just trying to care for their loved ones.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I acknowledge and welcome the Romanian ambassador. He is accompanied by Ms Georgeta Bratu and his assistant, Federica. They are here for the first meeting of the Irish-Romanian Friendship Group. They are very welcome here today.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the delegation and wish them well in their new group.

Two days ago, on bank holiday Monday just gone, there was a sulky race of up to six sulkies on Dollymount Strand. A young horse carrying a foal was part of the race. On its way back towards Ballyfermot on the N4, the horse collapsed from exhaustion. The poor horse was given the name "Anne" by the amazing staff and volunteers in My Lovely Horse Rescue. The poor horse had severe and deep wounds and was seen skidding along the ground for 30 m to 40 m. Anne, the horse, was seen being whipped and kicked to get back up. She did not get back up because she could not physically get back up. Her cowardly abusers fled the scene and left the poor horse to die.

My Lovely Horse Rescue and a kind vet from Highfield Veterinary brought her for treatment to University College Dublin, UCD, but the horse and foal were sadly put to sleep. We always hear about how urban horse owners love their horses. Now is the time for them to prove it. They know who brutalised and killed this poor horse. If this animal abuser was okay to brutalise the horse and foal in public, imagine the suffering and pain that poor horse was dealt in private. How many more horses are treated like this by urban and rural horse owners? Those who know who it was need to put their money where their mouths are and expose the abusers of this horse and foal. I ask that anyone with dashcam footage please make it available to the Garda.

For the Government, it is really clear that we need to have a special animal welfare unit to investigate these sorts of incidents and the ongoing abuse of animals. There have to be consequences for people who show this sort of brutality to horses and animals and dogs and cats. There are and have been no, or very minimal, consequences, and it is just not good enough. Ongoing lawlessness is impacting so many communities, and Government needs to act. I ask that the Minister for agriculture or Minister for justice come into the Chamber to ensure we have a debate around lawlessness and the abuse of animals and what needs to be done. It is clear more needs to be done, and it needs to be done as a matter of urgency.

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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We have come a long way in this country in tackling cruelty to animals but, sad to say, it seems we still have a journey to go.

I spoke recently about how an NGO, namely the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, which in 2024 received about 96% of its funding from abroad, published a widely promoted know-your-rights guide on trans rights. It emerged that a major claim in its guide, regarding schools' obligation to use preferred pronouns, was transparently false. Indeed, its guidance on accessing toilets and changing facilities was also potentially misleading. I noted that the guide was funded by an €18,500 grant from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, which is a totally State-funded independent human rights and equality body. At best, the guide that was produced is really a particular group of people using public money and pushing their own interpretation of Irish law as though their claims have been tested in the courts. Ironically, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties was part of the initial national counter-disinformation strategy group established by the Government.The ICCL had a representative on the strategy group and IHREC currently has a representative on the strategy group. That strategy defines disinformation as "false or misleading content that is spread with an intention to deceive or secure economic or political gain and which may cause public harm". It seems that the ICCL, which was a member of the original strategy group, was itself guilty of disinformation in that it sought to intentionally mislead people about the scope of their rights and, indeed, about the scope of their obligations. Has the ICCL apologised? Not at all. Laughably, the council clarified by saying it never claimed that such schools were under an absolute legal obligation. I do not know if it is a mental reservation but it sounds more like direct disinformation. It is the equivalent of Father Ted saying that the money was only resting in his account. IHREC has not apologised. The guide has not been changed. The guide is on the public record, funded by the public, and not corrected. None of the four NGOs involved in the guide's production have sought to distance themselves from the contents. Unsurprisingly, the fact-checking section of The Journal, which was involved in the original counter-disinformation strategy group, could not find time in the last few weeks to seek to fact-check the offending guide. There has not been a peep from any Government representatives despite this misuse of public money.

In conclusion, the sad experience of the last referendums and the most recent ones is being repeated, namely, that disinformation can never be admitted when it comes from those on the inside track. Of course it is the taxpayer who foots the bill for this information. Why should the taxpayer be required to fund political advocacy dressed up falsely as truth? Why should we stand for that? Is it not time for Government-led measures to make sure there is accountability when such direct misleading of people takes place and to make sure it does not happen again?

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I welcome yesterday's Cabinet announcement about increased flexibility and funding for those people whose homes, businesses, organisations and voluntary groups have been destroyed by flooding. It is appropriate as these people have suffered in terms of not being able to get insurance, etc., because of historical experiences. The Leader is in the process of trying to organise a debate on the whole issue of flooding here and examine protocols. The national conversation on flooding is happening and I think we will have a much improved and more localised forecasting system.

I ask the Leader to invite the Minister with responsibility for European affairs to come here for a debate on the countries that hope to become members of the EU. I am convenor of the Ireland-Moldova Parliamentary Friendship Group. We had a meeting with the Moldovan ambassador, and I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for attending, where we discussed their hopes to become members. Recent elections saw a phenomenal mandate for the parties that supported accession to the European Union. Ireland will assume the EU Presidency on 1 July for six months. During that period perhaps there is a mechanism and an opportunity for Ireland to assist countries that hope to become full members of the European Union. Again, I call for a debate to be arranged with the Minister on the specific issue of accession countries and we could have statements on the EU Presidency to discuss our agenda, priorities and the constructive role that this House can play.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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I thank all the Senators for their contributions this evening. Senator O'Loughlin acknowledged the number of events for St. Brigid's Day, especially in Kildare. The Senator also commented about the sad passing of Vivian Carroll. He was a stalwart of Newbridge and Kildangan. May he rest in peace. His family and friends are in my thoughts.

Senator O'Loughlin also welcomed the fact that Grace's law, which proposes to ban the use of scramblers in public places, has been approved by Cabinet.The Minister proposes to introduce a total ban on scrambler use in public places and to strengthen the existing enforcement powers of An Garda Síochána. We look forward to the legislation progressing to publication and to it being debated by these Houses.

Senators Noel O'Donovan and Pauline Tully referred to roads funding and the condition of roads in Cork and Cavan. Senator O'Donovan called for additional funding for maintenance and drainage, discretionary drainage funding and investment in the N71, which is the only national route in Cork South-West. He stated that he has tabled Commencement matters on the issue. I will request a debate on our national road network and on local county roads in particular.

Senator McDowell remembered his late friend and colleague, the former Deputy and Senator Máirín Quill and her sister Ita. He remembered Máirín as a dignified person who was kind, well read and sophisticated and who was particularly interested in those in need. Senator McDowell stated that you could not meet a more gentle, sweet-natured person. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam dílis.

Senators Nicole Ryan, Stephenson, Kennelly and Conway referred to flooding and to the State response to it. We will have a debate next Tuesday on the issue of flooding and storm preparation at which time Senators will have an opportunity to raise all the issues that have arisen in recent weeks and other issues relating to flooding. Senator Kennelly mentioned Listowel in this regard. Other Senators mentioned Graiguenamanagh in Kilkenny and other areas. We have seen successful projects as well. Clonmel is a case in point where investment has been made by the OPW. That investment has worked and has prevented additional flooding. Hard solutions can work, but there may be a need for better flood warnings and detection systems. I also refer to the softer environmental possibilities.

D’ardaigh an Seanadóir Curley ceist maidir le Gaeilge sa tríú leibhéal. Tá sé ag lorg díospóireacht maidir leis sin. Labhair mé leis an Aire oideachais. Beidh díospóireacht againn maidir leis an nGaeilge thart ar Lá Fhéile Phádraig sa Seanad leis an Aire, an Teachta Calleary, ach labhair mé arís leis an Aire, an Teachta Naughton, maidir le díospóireacht faoin nGaeilge agus faoin gcóras oideachais.

Senator McCarthy raised the issue of Katie Taylor and recent charitable donations she made to Tiglin. He also referred to an issue Senator Andrews raised last week regarding Croke Park. I will engage with the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, on that.

Senator Clifford-Lee raised the issue of the school building programme, particularly in the context of investment in her area of Rush and Fingal. Some 105 projects were detailed to progress to tender and construction over the course of 2026 and 2027, totalling over €1.6 billion of investment as part of the first tranche of the roll-out of the national development plan. These projects aim to deliver 27,000 additional and modernised school places. I acknowledge the Senator's concerns about the absence of schools in Rush from the list. I cannot give a definite answer about why they were not on it. The Senator may wish to put down a Commencement matter. She referred to the Minister's constituency. While Galway got ten schools on the list, there were four in Galway West, including St. Joseph's Special School. That represents 3.8% of the total school projects. I do not think it can be said there was an undue preference shown to the Minister's constituency. Galway East got five schools on the list and Galway-Roscommon go one. I am sure that was not the official Fianna Fáil view on the matter. I am sure Senator Crowe and Deputies Connolly, Albert Dolan and Daly would all welcome the investment in Galway schools, whether it is for Galway East, Galway West or Galway-Roscommon.

Senator Boyle referred to the important role of air travel from Donegal and to concerns around changes being proposed to the service and the impact these could have. I ask him to table a Commencement matter in order to see whether he might get a more detailed response from the Department of Transport regarding what exactly is being proposed, whether things have been set in stone, whether there can be agreement on the matter or whether changes can be made.

Senator Costello referred to the recent meeting with Dr. John Kennedy, a former oncologist. I wish her well in regard to her advocacy on the issue of breast cancer. She also mentioned the cancer dashboard.

Senator Scahill mentioned the Cloonfad water scheme. Four times last week, water supplies in the town were interrupted. The Senator referred to the update from Irish Water and the fact that it has indicated that it will replace 5 km of water pipe in the vicinity, which is certainly welcome. There is no certainty in relation to that happening, however.The Senator asked for a debate on Irish Water. I will raise that.

Senator Craughwell referred to security issues, particularly in the context of the recent visit by the President of Ukraine, drone incursions, the need for investment, the forthcoming Presidency of the European Union and our ability to defend ourselves. These are all very genuine issues. The Senator is a very active member of the Joint Committee on Defence and National Security. The Minister for Defence is due before the House on 25 February for a debate on security issues.

Senator Flaherty referred to Horse Sport Ireland and HR issues. I ask him to put down a Commencement matter on this issue, particularly as it is quite specific.

Senator Sarah O'Reilly mentioned AI. We had a debate on that last week. I am not sure if she got an opportunity to get raise some of these issues. She spoke about scapegoating, digital IDs, the banning of social media and watermarks on videos or images, be they on Grok or other platforms. If there are specific issues further to the debate last week that she wishes to raise, she may table a Commencement matter.

Senator Ahearn rightly raised the important role of family carers, the work they do for their families and, in many cases, for neighbours and friends and the saving to the State. He mentioned a number of issues, including the possibility of tax exemptions for carer's allowance and carer's benefit and other changes that could be made to tax credits. I will request a debate with the Minister for Social Protection on this important matter. I know this that the letters issued recently did give rise to some concern. Carer's allowance and carer's benefit are and always have been taxable. Carers were required to submit annual returns, so the change is that this onus will be taken off them. I know the wider point the Senator is making with regard to whether there should be tax exemptions on that. I will request a debate on the matter.

Senator Andrews referred to sulky racing and the recent unfortunate and deplorable scenes where a horse was whipped and kicked to get up after racing on Dollymount Strand and on a national road. The Senator called for those involved to be reported or to report themselves. I certainly concur with him in that regard. Of course, sulky racing is illegal without authorisation, but there are issues of enforcement that certainly need to be brought attention to An Garda Síochána. I agree that anybody with dashcam footage should make it available to An Garda Síochána. I acknowledge all involved, namely My Lovely Horse Rescue and the local vet who was involved in putting the poor horse out of her misery along with her unborn foal.

Senator Mullen referred to the Irish Council for Civil Liberties' Know Your Rights campaign and disinformation. I know this has been raised a couple of times in the House. I am delighted that clarity has been provided to the effect that there is no legal obligation or requirement regarding people's preferred pronouns. As I said in my original response to Senators Mullen and Sarah O'Reilly, it is a matter for the Department of Education and Youth and boards of management to issue circulars. Doing the latter is certainly not the responsibility of NGOs, and certainly not those funded from abroad.

Senator Conway raised the issue of businesses and flooding, welcomed the changes made by the Cabinet and called for both a national conversation and a debate with the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs on accession countries and our Presidency of the EU. I will certainly request that the Minister of State come to the House for a debate. I am not sure that the priorities have been fully finalised, but perhaps it would be an opportunity for Members to raise issues that they would like to see as part of that. I will request a debate with the Minister of State.