Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome Deputy Devlin and his guests, Dr. Elissa Dooley and Colm Dooley to the Gallery. I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House today and they are in very capable hands.

Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)
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I join the Leas-Chathaoirleach in welcoming Deputy Devlin and his visitors. I was telling them on the way in that they were in august company.

The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on international developments, to be taken at 5 p.m. and to conclude at 6.30 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes each and all other Senators not to exceed four minutes each, with the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate; and No. 2, Arbitration (Amendment) Bill 2025 - Second Stage, to be taken at 6.30 p.m. and to conclude at 8 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed 15 minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes each and all other Senators not to exceed four minutes each, with the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate.

Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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Today, I will raise the issue of rehabilitation for children with acquired brain injury, which needs to be co-ordinated from the top down. Someone needs to take ownership and responsibility for the service as a whole and for the individual care of children. This should not be the complete responsibility of the parents. Every child deserves to get the same level of service and not be discriminated against based on where they live in the country. They should also not get a lesser service because their parents or caregivers do not shout loudly enough. I strongly believe that there should be a support person available to assist children throughout the country in relation to acquired brain injury. At the moment, fantastic community neurological teams are being set up and staffed. Both Ministers are working incredibly hard on the staffing. They are working very closely with Ms Mags Rogers of the Neurological Alliance of Ireland. While we have a strategy for adults, we do not have a strategy or a development for children. If a child has to go through Crumlin or Temple Street hospitals, they are then referred to the National Rehabilitation Hospital but we do not have hub and spoke support throughout the country.We really need to have community rehabilitation services as well for children. These should be mirrored on what we have already in relation to our community neurostrategy, but we will need a programme manager and a clinical lead. We have the fantastic facilities in the National Rehabilitation Hospital, NRH and it was great to see that the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, in the capital plan, has awarded funding for the expansion of it. I would love to think there will be a space there for children.

We also know that when children leave acute hospitals they go home to their communities. Our CDNT teams, while they are good, are not equipped to deal with acquired brain injury. That is a specialism within itself so we need to create pathways to support families. The community neuro-teams for children would create that paediatric rehabilitation pathway that is required. I believe that there is a need and an urgency to develop a strategy. We have some of the best clinicians working in the NRH, Temple Street and Crumlin. We need to work with them to create that. There is a need for it as well.

Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael)
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I wish to raise a very important matter and request an update from the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy James Lawless, regarding the future of student contribution fees and the Government's stated commitment to reducing and ultimately abolishing these fees over the lifetime of this Government. In our committee meeting last week, I proposed that following on from the permanent measures taken to reduce the student fees in budget 2026 we continue to reduce the fees in budget 2027, as promised in the programme for Government. Over the past few days I have not been happy with the Minister's statements and comments about this. In my book, it was just scaremongering for students, the public and families. I call for reassurance for the families across the country who are planning now for the year ahead. For many of them, the reductions introduced in budget 2026 made a real and tangible difference but these families need certainty again. They need to know that the progress made to date will be extended and that budget 2027 will continue to lower the cost of accessing higher education.

I will highlight a group that is often overlooked in all debates; Ireland's working families. Some 30% of these households do not qualify for Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grants. They do not receive maintenance supports and are paying full price for student accommodation, often at levels that are simply unsustainable. They are doing everything asked of them. They are working, paying their taxes and trying to give their children the opportunity to attend third level education. It is a bill they must plan for and save for. A continued reduction in this fee would give them stability and predictability. It would send a clear message to these families and to students that they are not forgotten and that access to a higher education should not depend on whether a family is just above or below the threshold. I therefore call on the Minister to come to this House and reaffirm the Government's commitment to further reducing these student fees in the coming budget, and indeed budgets, and to outline a roadmap towards the permanent abolition of them. This is the moment to give working families confidence that the cost of education will move in one direction only, and that is downwards, and that their children's futures will not be limited by financial pressures.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome a former Member of this House, former Senator Mary Seery Kearney, along with her husband Dave. She is accompanied by Rory Mee and Finnian Philips. They are very welcome and I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House today. They are in very capable hands.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome Ms Catherine O'Neill from Kimmage who is a guest of Senator Andrews. I also see a couple of faces from Limerick in the Gallery. They are all very welcome. I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House today.

I call Senator McCormack.

Maria McCormack (Sinn Fein)
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Today, I have a good news story from County Laois. I want to talk about something that has made us all in Laois incredibly proud. It is an incredible group of students from Rosenallis National School in County Laois. Their RNS Robotics team represented Ireland this weekend at the Vex Robotics World Championships in St. Louis in Missouri. This is one of the biggest robotics competitions in the world. They came home with the prestigious judges' award. This is an incredible achievement for such a small school in a small community. The prestigious award was awarded by the judges who recognised the team for their excellence in multiple categories, including their teamwork, determination, innovation and the incredible spirit they brought to the competition. Out of just five Irish teams competing in the elementary division, RNS Robotics stood out on the world stage. They are not the only ones who showcased their robotics talents, but they proudly represented Laois and Ireland throughout last week, even teaching the American judges and MCs a few Irish words connected to robotics and sharing their inspiring stories of resilience and determination.

I would like to name these incredible youths for their achievements. The team members were Aisling Guinan, Bobbie Friel, Ollie McEvoy, Luke Somers, Ciara Dunphy, Katie Murphy, Grace Murphy, David Goodwin, David Moyles, Hannah Ormonde and Lauren Kenny. I also want to acknowledge the incredible work of their coaches Aaron Mackessy, Seanie Morris and Dean Hodge whose dedication and leadership helped guide these young people to international success. What makes this achievement even more remarkable is the journey they took to get there.In just over two weeks, this local community raised an astonishing €124,000 to ensure these young students could travel and compete. That level of support shows just what can happen when a community rallies behind young people and believes in their potential. It is important that we acknowledge it here in these Houses as well.

I also acknowledge the two other Irish schools which brought home world awards at these championships. It is proof that across this country we have extraordinary young talent in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM, coding, engineering and robotics. These students are future engineers, innovators and problem-solvers of Ireland. We need far more investment and visibility for programmes like VEX Robotics in our schools because the impact these programmes are having is absolutely enormous in building confidence, creativity and teamwork. To everyone involved, namely, the students, coaches, teachers, parents and wider community in Rosenallis, comhghairdeas ó chroí; you have made Laois and Ireland incredibly proud.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I also acknowledge the students who were there from Sancta Maria College, Louisburgh, who are guests of Deputy Paul Lawless.

Teresa Costello (Fianna Fail)
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Anyone who watched "The Late Late Show" on Friday night will have seen an interview with two brothers, Jordan and Cian Adams, known as the FTD brothers. They are undertaking an incredible challenge in memory of their mother, Geraldine. They are running 32 marathons in 32 days across Ireland, or 33 if we count the fact that Jordan began this journey by running the London Marathon with a fridge strapped to his back. What a way to start this campaign.

The mission is simple, namely, to raise awareness about and funds for dementia. This family is affected by frontotemporal dementia, FTD. FTD is a cruel and progressive brain disease that affects personality, behaviour, speech and movement. Unlike other forms of dementia, it often affects younger people, sometimes in their 40s and 50s. There is no cure at present and the impact on families and patients is devastating. Awareness matters, because understanding leads to early diagnosis, better support, more compassion and ultimately, more investment in research.

There are 64,000 people living with dementia in Ireland at present and that number is expected to double by 2045. There are more than 200 different types of dementia, including Alzheimer's, vascular dementia, VaD, Lewy body dementia, LBD, frontotemporal dementia and mixed dementia, just to name a few.

For Jordan and Cian, this campaign is personal. They run the risk of frontotemporal dementia. Their mum, Geraldine, who was Irish, lived with it and sadly passed away from the illness. Heartbreakingly, 12 members of their family have lost their lives to this illness. In the face of this grief, these brothers have chosen courage, compassion and action. They want the world to listen, hear and know about dementia. They want to educate people about dementia and the realities that people face every day. In ten days, they have raised €1 million for awareness and research; an extraordinary achievement. Their journey will conclude in Dublin on 28 May. They are asking as many people as possible to come out and support them, to dress in vibrant colours as their mother did, to shine a light on this cruel disease and to stand in solidarity with families and people affected by dementia. I encourage Members to follow and support their journey on social media through FTD brothers.

Linda Nelson Murray (Fine Gael)
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I second my colleague. I met Jordan and Cian yesterday at the start of the Navan run and my goodness, it was such a humbling experience to hear them speak about what is going to lie in their future, what they are doing and the money they have raised. I advise everybody to get out in their counties to meet these two boys when they arrive. They have only done nine counties so far, but Members should make sure they are there when they arrive because it is a very special time.

I wish to use the remainder of my time to talk about Navan rail. Meath now has a population of 230,000 according to the last census and I have no doubt but that the figure is much larger than that. Time and again, public representatives, between county councillors such as Councillor Adenuga and Councillor Duffy, as well as many other cross-party councillors, TDs like the Minister, Deputy McEntee and all other TDs and myself, a Senator, have raised the issue of the absolute congestion of the car park that is the commute between Navan and Dublin or County Meath and Dublin.It is soul-destroying to waste precious work, family and leisure time stuck in traffic. In 1850, we had a train line in Navan, but 176 years later we do not. This is the single biggest piece of transport infrastructure we can push into County Meath that will take thousands of vehicles off the road every day and help everybody, including all the counties around us. We are desperate in County Meath for this rail line.

We know the work has begun on the route selection for the Navan rail line. What I would like to know from the Minister and Irish Rail is when we will see this route and begin to progress this work. We were supposed to see it at the end of 2025. It was then going to be the beginning of 2026, but we still have not seen anything. I am asking that the route selected be put out for public consultation before the end of this month and that we make no excuses for this not happening. Let the people of Meath see the chosen route for the Navan railway line, let them have their say in May 2026 and do not delay any longer.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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Stamullen is a town of roughly 4,000 people, where local families are waiting years for housing. Yet, the State now owns residential properties there intended for asylum accommodation, including homes that have sat vacant despite acute local need. This is the situation that residents are grappling with. A well-attended public meeting last night confirmed that a house in the Forgehill estate has been in the ownership of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration since 2022, when our own Minister, Deputy Helen McEntee, was the Minister for Justice, while families living in the same estate remain on housing lists with no prospect of allocation.

This is occurring in a community already under extreme pressure. Stamullen and its surrounding areas host a very high concentration of accommodation and care facilities, while local schools are full, healthcare access is stretched and Garda resources are minimal. Who in this Chamber knew that the Department of justice is now a housing agency focused on housing international protection applicants? Decisions of this scale are being made without meaningful consultation, transparent communication or any published assessment of local capacity. This contributes to, frankly, an insane national situation. The country is in the grip of an acute housing crisis, where working families and young families cannot access homes, while the State acquires or holds residential properties for other purposes, even leaving them vacant for years. This is a failure of governance, planning and prioritisation.

A recent report also showed that the State is ignoring basic data, such as nationality in housing, meaning it will not even bother to measure who benefits where pressures are the greatest and whether resources are being fully used efficiently. All considered, what we are looking at beggars belief: a system where first-time buyers and those on housing lists appear to be easily outflanked on one side by new arrivals entitled to the same benefits and on the other side by a State that is recklessly eating up available accommodation without any consultation. The Minister for justice, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, or the Minister of State, Deputy Colm Brophy, must appear before this Chamber to explain what is happening. Twenty-nine of these houses have been bought throughout this country. This situation is nothing but madness and our community will not put up with it. Indeed, it is my community today, but it will be other Senators' communities tomorrow, so wake up.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome another former Member of this House, former Minister of State Paudie Coffey from Waterford. He is accompanied by David Ewing, who is a friend of his from Canada. They are very welcome to Leinster House and I hope they enjoy their visit.

Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail)
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Go raibh maith agat. I can see the smile on the face of the former Senator and Minister of State. Waterford is going well again, so he has something to shout about. The county will have a difficult weekend ahead of it, but I have faith in it.

I have a proposal. I recently heard an Teachta Geoghegan mentioning more security surveillance in towns and cities and all this type of stuff. It is quite a noble idea and I can see where he is coming from, but possibly a more pertinent way to do this would be to provide a grant to businesses that already have the relevant street fronts and positions. Most of them have security cameras of some sort, although a lot of them are outdated and of poor quality.I know from my own position, having a business on a main street, that gardaí regularly look for camera footage for piles of different reasons, as we can all imagine. I suggest that these cameras should be to a certain standard, and that businesses liaise with gardaí before they are placed, so as to possibly pick up some blind spots. The quid pro quocould possibly be a tax rebate but a grant would be more efficient. It could be teased out, but there could possibly be a 50% grant for businesses that were going to install cameras. They could liaise with their local community gardaí and have the cameras to a certain standard. Most businesses have cameras at present, but the level and quality of them are hit and miss to say the least.

This would stop duplication and give a fuller picture of what is going out there. It is worth looking into. I mentioned it to the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, today when the topic came up. It is a good enough idea. I would appreciate it if the Leader were to bring it further up the line.

Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael)
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First, I want to acknowledge former Deputy and Senator, Paudie Coffey, who is in the Gallery.

Last week, I received a text message that was supposedly from my daughter, telling me about a new phone number that she has. As my nine-year-old and ten-year-old daughters were sitting beside me when I received this message, I immediately knew it was a scam. However, text scams, WhatsApp messages and emails are things we are all experiencing every day of the week now. One in three of the population, or 35% of adults in Ireland, have experienced fraud through these particular mechanisms. According to a report a last week, a third of those affected never reported it. I was interested to see that €160 million is the proposed value of fraud in Ireland at the moment, and that is supposed to be underestimated. Some 57% of people who report these crimes get their money back, but we are still looking at a very high percentage of people not reporting it and not getting their money back. That is something we really need to target.

Last Friday, 193 new gardaí were attested from the Garda College in Templemore. A further class of over 200 Garda recruits is commencing this week in Templemore and will be out in the next 11 or 12 weeks. However, once again, for what I think is the 24th month, the Longford-Roscommon division has received no additional gardaí, and this goes back to my original point about online fraud. I have been told that instances of fraud in Longford and Roscommon have increased significantly. We do not have enough gardaí on the street, never mind enough to deal with the online fraud.

I am once again calling for a further debate in this House on garda numbers and the specialist units that are dealing with individual crimes because somebody is significantly benefiting from this fraud at the moment, and God knows what that money is going towards.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome two groups to the Distinguished Visitors Gallery: students from Eastern Michigan University who are guests of Senator Black, and students from Sancta Maria College, Louisburgh, who are guests of Deputy Paul Lawless. They are all very welcome and I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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In the Dáil Chamber last week, there was a motion on reform of the in camera rule in family law. It was brought into the Dáil by Deputy Gogarty. The Free Legal Advice Centres, FLAC, have told us that family law is the single biggest area of unmet legal need in the State. Parents have articulated the problems the in camera rule presents, and the need for it to be reformed.

I met with Nicola Fox, who is campaigning to change the in camera rule to bring more accountability for parents like herself.Nicola and parents like her believe the in camera rule has severely limited their ability to share their experiences and left them silent, isolated and unsupported during their family law proceedings. Nicola Fox and others argue that the in camerarule has shielded perpetrators from scrutiny and accountability. The parents I met last week, along with Nicola, have also criticised the use of so-called "experts" in family courts using so-called expert reports. Family law is simply not protecting children of the State. Children like Nicola's Harry are being failed by the State. Not only are children being failed, they are being put in harm's way. There are so many horror stories coming out of the family law courts we simply cannot say, "It is complicated". We need solutions and we need to work through those solutions. Justice must be done but it must also be seen to be done. Hundreds of parents do not see it being done. The family courts are failing so many children and parents. We need to ask the Minister to come in here to address concerns around the in camerarule and address the concerns that people and families like Nicola Fox have around family law, the family courts and the in camerarule.

Cathal Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I also acknowledge our guests. They are most welcome to Seanad Éireann.

I will speak for a moment about the warmer homes scheme and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI. I was contacted recently by a lady who had applied for support from the warmer homes scheme. She was looking at getting some attic insulation done and getting some upgrades to the energy capacity of her house. She submitted all of the application forms to the SEAI and got back in the post a letter that said in 12 months' time somebody would call out to see what could be done for her house and to carry out a survey. When the Government put €640 million into this scheme last year, nobody should be getting a letter saying that in 12 months' time somebody will call out to their house to do an inspection. Ultimately, when that inspection is done the work is identified but the work is not done and will take another 12 to 18 months thereafter.

At a time when families are under pressure, when the cost of fuel and the cost of oil has gone up so much, along with the cost of gas to heat people's homes, and when we have the Government putting this money on the line, we need more accountability from the SEAI. If it is the case it then comes back to say it cannot get the contractors in order to do these works faster, then we will have to have a whole-of-government approach to putting more apprenticeship schemes in place so we can train up more people who are able to deliver these schemes. With the vast amount of taxpayers' money going into this scheme and the vast number of people who are applying for this scheme, for good reason, then we must have better accountability. Nobody should be waiting and getting a letter in the post that says in 12 months' time somebody will call out to do an inspection. I encourage the Acting Leader to ask the Minister for energy to come before this House and give us some details on what exactly is going on with the SEAI and with these energy upgrade schemes, and to see what can be done in this year's budget to ensure this is not rolled out across the country the way it currently is.

Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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I am concerned at what seems to be a co-ordinated effort to advance legislation even further on surrogacy without fully considering what is best for children and their long-term well-being. In fostering it has always been established that where possible the foster parents should try to facilitate and maintain a connection between the child and their biological parents. Adoptive parents are advised of the loss a child experiences through separation from their biological family. Countless studies dealing with early childhood separation highlight the trauma this can cause even in cases where a baby is separated from their mother at birth. To see a recent event on surrogacy being advertised as Babies and Bites was in very poor taste and I was glad to see it was cancelled.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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Hear, hear.

Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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Hatch Fertility is an egg donation and surrogacy agency based in LA. The agency advertised this as an educational seminar with one of the best teams in the business, the business of babies and bites.It is undeniable that these companies are commodifying children and using surrogacy as a business venture. Commercial surrogacy is illegal in Ireland. Countries like Spain, France and Italy recognise that surrogacy is not in the best interests of the child or the surrogate mother. The EU directive on human trafficking especially references surrogacy as a form of exploitation of women.

Why do we and the agents of the State acknowledge the loss of biological parents to adoptive children but promote it in surrogacy? Why do we recognise the importance of and allow for the continued connection for biological parents during fostering? Why would we intentionally create a scenario where a child's connection to their biological parent is deliberately cut off? This goes against accepted best practice and is not child-centred. I absolutely empathise with couples who wish to start their own families but we cannot place the wants of adults above what is in the best interests of children. We cannot ignore such an important question when it comes to the well-being of our children.

Mark Duffy (Fine Gael)
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I call on the Minister for justice, Jim O'Callaghan, to provide some clarity regarding the local safety partnerships that were established following the bringing to an end of the joint policing committees. I was a member of Mayo's joint policing committee for a number of years and found it to be an excellent forum to discuss policing-related issues in a very constructive, community-led way.

In Mayo - I believe it is the same in other counties - there is a lack of clarity around the attendance of the media at meetings of the local safety partnerships, which is creating a lot of discontent locally. I respect the full authority of the partnerships' decision in this regard, but my view is that the media should have access to these meetings across the country. It is very important, out of public interest, that members of communities understand that their issues, concerns and voices are being heard in respect of policing-related matters. Ensuring that this happens really oxygenates democracy. Without the media's attendance, things can be misconstrued in terms of these meetings.

I would welcome it if the Minister could make a decision on and give direction in respect of this matter for all local safety partnerships across the country. There is ambiguity at the moment. The partnership in Mayo has decided not to have the media in attendance. My view is that the media should be included. That would benefit the councillors who are working hard on the ground in communities. Sometimes, they are not credited for the work that they do. Having the media in attendance can demonstrate that there is active representation on behalf of concerned communities on the policing-related matters of the day.

Aubrey McCarthy (Independent)
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I want to raise the case of the Oceanwide Expeditions liner that is now off the coast of Cape Verde. Just before coming in, I spoke to one of the passengers, Ann Lane, who is a good friend of mine. She was a colleague of many of us in this House. She worked with Mary Robinson for 28 years. She worked with Deputy Ivana Bacik and Senator Michael McDowell. She is a lady who is well known to this House. This is her sixth expedition. She has been to Antarctica four times, and has really enjoyed it. At the moment, the liner is lying off Cape Verde and is not being allowed to dock. Two people have died on board and another two are seriously ill. Seven out of the 90 passengers have contracted the Andes strain of the hantavirus. This is a very serious issue.

Ms Lane informed me that the Oceanwide Expeditions ship is immaculate and that everything on board is done professionally. However, it is not being allowed to dock. This is a matter of serious concern. I asked Ms Lane how they are doing food-wise and she stated that she is really enjoying it. The only thing she is worried about is getting on the scales when she comes home. She is very positive. I heard the news before coming in to the effect that Pedro Sánchez has stated that the ship is going to sail to the Canary Islands.However, it seems now the Canary Islands will only allow Spanish citizens to dock and they will be transferred to Madrid, while the rest of the people on board have to be repatriated.

I want to bring, as a matter of urgency, the situation of two of our citizens before the House, one of whom we know very well. Ann has said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and consulate have been excellent but we have no solution. It is a life-and-death situation. Behind Ann's humour, it is a very serious situation. Ann is well known to us at the Lighthouse. She is one of my best volunteers and she knows everybody who comes in and out. I hope passengers will be brought ashore safely soon and medical science can intervene.

Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein)
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I want to highlight the case of a woman who lives in County Cavan. She is a wheelchair user. She acquired a disability earlier in her life but has lived a very independent life, worked until retirement and never looked for assistance. She never needed it but now she does. She has a shoulder injury and is awaiting approval for surgery on it. She has been approved for home support care but is waiting months for home care assistance to be provided. She cannot get into or out of bed without assistance, which means she is putting a lot of pressure on her family, particularly her sister, who is working full time. She phones every week but the HSE still has not identified any carers. As she says, this is not just her; there are other people in a similar situation. There are people waiting to get out of hospitals, nursing homes and so on but they cannot because there is no home care provided.

We just looked at the situation with home care. There are many home care assistants leaving that profession because they are burned out. They cannot take annual leave because there is no one to replace them. They have too many clients so they are overworked. They are travelling the back roads of Cavan, and we know the state those roads are in. There is the wear and tear on their cars, replacing tyres and getting repairs done. They cannot afford to replace the car. They were very badly impacted by recent fuel increases and there was nothing provided to account for that.

We need to seriously look at the home care situation. We need a lot more carers but will not get them if the pay and conditions do not improve. It is serious. If people cannot stay in their own homes, they will end up in nursing homes and that will cost the State much more money, plus it is not what anybody wants. This needs to be raised with the Minister for Health. We need a plan to increase the number of home care assistants immediately.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I would like to join Senator McCarthy, and perhaps others, in wishing Ann Lane all the very best. We have known Ann around the House working with the Labour Party over the years. Her good humour does not surprise me whatsoever. I wish her every success. I hope she has enjoyed her expeditions overseas.

The Leas-Chathaoirleach and I, along with other colleagues, were at a very powerful and emotional briefing in the audiovisual room, partly facilitated by our former colleague, Mary Seery Kearney. We all know the great work the former Senator did in this House to get the surrogacy legislation over the line in 2024. It was a labour of love for her for many years, certainly for the couple of years pre-2024. It is quite concerning to learn that most of that groundbreaking legislation has not been implemented or activated yet, particularly section 12 of the Act, which would make a huge difference to the thousands of lives impacted.

We pass legislation in this House in good faith. We debate and scrutinise it. It is scrutinised by the other House and by Oireachtas committees. That particular legislation was subject to significant Oireachtas scrutiny at the time. I would like a debate with the Minister on why so many sections of that very important legislation have not been commenced yet.We need a debate on surrogacy in general. There is now going to be amended legislation, which will be extremely important. We have a situation in this country where young people are not being treated equally. If there is a bereavement in a family, the question suddenly arises as to who will look after the child or be his or her guardian. This is not normal legislation; it is crucial legislation. It needs to be commenced and the new Bill needs to be fast-tracked through this House. I am looking for a debate at the earliest convenience on this important issue.

Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)
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I thank colleagues for all their comments and participation. I will begin with Senator Rabbitte of Fianna Fáil on rehabilitation for children with acquired brain injuries. Senator Rabbitte, who was an excellent and distinguished Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities, is aware of the issues and has real expertise in this regard. It is great that such expertise is now available to the Seanad. It is good that she is speaking out on these things because we need someone who has been on both sides of the fence. I agree with her that these children should be dealt with and sorted at community level and that teams should also be available at community level. Through my office, I recently dealt with an adult with a lot of injuries of this nature who wanted residential care locally in order to have the support of family, etc. Again, that should be facilitated. We should do these things locally. Support should be provided around the country. The Senator acknowledged the good work being carried out but it needs to be expanded upon and it needs support. She raised a point worthy of debate. We will try to ensure that, through the Civil Service, this point gets to the Minister for possible discussion.

Senator Kennelly raised the entire question of university fees. This issue has featured in the news in recent days. I know Senator Kennelly is personally interested in the whole question of third level grants, university fees and the ambition and stated objective in the programme for Government to abolish those fees over the lifetime of the Government, as well as to augment the grants as much as possible. I take the Senator’s well-made point. The Minister, Deputy Lawless, has said that he will do everything possible to avoid cutting college fee supports. He makes the point that it is early to announce the budget. He clarified the position well yesterday when stating that once Department allocations are made, he will examine the spending room available and negotiate to secure the best outcome for students across fees, grants and support for skills and apprenticeships, while at the same time recognising that overspending at the Department could risk possible cuts in the future. Basically, as the Minister outlined, it is a balancing act. The Senator’s point is well made, however.

Personally, it would be worthwhile to have a debate in the Seanad on student fees, third level financing and the whole sector. It is a relevant debate, and it should be acknowledged. Indeed, Deputy Maeve O’Connell made the point publicly, both on the plinth the other day and on the radio yesterday evening, that the Minister is extremely proactive and doing an excellent job in his Ministry. He is quite visionary in this regard. We will emerge at a consensus and the Government will honour its commitments.

Senator Craughwell raised the point about violence against women. It is interesting that he does so on the day in which, through the good office of the Cathaoirleach, I had a Commencement matter on this topic myself. The Minister, Deputy O’Callaghan, encouragingly answered me by saying that there will be a refuge centre for women and children who are victims of domestic violence in County Cavan. He committed to that publicly. It is already in train in Monaghan. I will address the specific point raised by Senator Craughwell, however.He cites the fact that 21,000 homes have been affected and a frightening figure of 277 women have died in violence since 1996. Domestic violence was a big issue for the Minister for foreign affairs, Deputy McEntee, when she was in justice. She did a lot of pioneering work on coercive control and domestic violence. The current Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, is similarly committed to this. He said today in the course of his reply to me that it was a huge priority for him.

Senator Craughwell makes the point well. It is a point we cannot lose sight of. Let us work together on it. It would be worthwhile to discuss the issue as a House. I will discuss this with the Leader, Senator Kyne.

Senator Maria McCormack raised a pleasant and good story. We need good stories, too. They are important. It is important to affirm. We all thrive on affirmation and it is important to affirm good things when they happen. Senator McCormack talked about Rosenallis National School in County Laois, whose robotics team represented Ireland this weekend at the Vex Robotics World Championship in St. Louis in Missouri, one of the biggest robotics competitions in the world, and came home with the prestigious judges' award. That is a huge achievement for Rosenallis. I congratulate and applaud Senator McCormack for bringing this success of young people to the floor of the Parliament of the country. It is important that we applaud those children and that whole concept and that we revel in their success. There is enough bad news in the world, so it is great to have that. The Senator went on to make various points around the need to promote robotics and so on. I am sure that Senator McCormack will be happy to make submissions on that to any relevant Department. It was a very good point.

Senator Costello raised the question of RTÉ's "The Late Late Show" the other night. I did see a bit of it. As Senators know, I am a bit of a fan of the show, for a combination of reasons. I have been one of the beneficiaries of the show, next to Patrick Kielty. In all seriousness, Senator Costello makes a good point about the two young men - two brothers - who are going around the country doing a marathon in each county to highlight dementia, celebrate their wonderful mother, Geraldine, bring attention to this issue and, hopefully, raise funds for it. The issue was also raised by Senator Nelson Murray, who met them in Navan. It behoves all of us in our respective counties to meet and support them if we possibly can. They should be saluted from here. It is a wonderful thing. Jordan and Cian are the two young men. They are inspirational people.

Senator Nelson Murray raised a point dear to my own heart. In fact, I live on this route and know exactly what she is talking about, as would Senator Tully. I am referring to the N3, the whole chock-a-block thing on the M50 feeding off it and the lunacy that it is in terms of the waste of human effort, family time and quality time and all the awful things that go with it. I have sat in car parks on the M50 myself many a day. It is awful. The Senator is right. We have to prioritise the Navan to Dublin rail link. We must bring back rail travel to the maximum possible degree. Well done to the Senator. Knowing her, her tenacity and grit and the way she dealt with the insurance question, as sure as anything she will deliver a railway. Having worked with her close up, I would warn the Minister to ignore her at his peril. She will keep insisting until he does it.

Senator Keogan talked about a difficulty. I believe that she cited Stamullen specifically but then broadened it country-wide. It goes without saying, although she would be the first to say it, that we have to be a warm place for victims of international trafficking, for victims of the Syrian civil war and victims of violence abroad.We have to be a warm and gentle place for asylum seekers. That is what Christ would want and what anyone with even humanist values would support and I know that the Senator does not dispute that. However, I do take her point that we have a housing crisis. It is certainly the case that in the housing of IPAS applicants, we cannot in any way prejudice the housing of young people who need homes. It is a worthy point that she raises and we will bring it into focus. I am sure the Minister for housing and the Department are monitoring these things but if they are not, they should be. We will try to get that fed in. Well done to the Senator.

I support the Cathaoirleach in welcoming the former Senator, Paudie Coffey. I beat him one time on a panel, which has been a great source of good humour between us since. We ran on the same panel for the Senate and I got more votes but he had a much more glamorous and glowing career subsequently, so he got me back.

There is one thing that should be said, unpatronisingly, to Senator Davitt, which is that he raises very intelligent points and innovative and creative ideas in the Senate. That is, in theory, what the Senate should be about and he does that in spades. He raises the good point today that if we support businesses financially, through taxation or grants, in having good, effective camera systems we avoid the need for community cameras and the vexed questions around civil liberties that arise with them. These cameras in businesses can be made available to An Garda Síochána. Senator Davitt is well placed to go to the Minister for justice with that and he should do so because it is a very good point.

I will move on now to Senator Cathal Byrne. I hope I have not missed any one in between. Senator Byrne was next, or at least I hope he was. He made a point about the warmer homes scheme and he is correct. It is crazy that there is a 12-month waiting list. It is daft that it is so slow but in my own office in Cavan town I have encountered this too. It is a problem.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I think you skipped Senator Scahill.

Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)
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Apologies, Senator Scahill was next. I will come back to him presently. Staying with Senator Byrne, he argued that there should not be that level of delay and he is right. We will get that point made and fed in and will try to see what can be done about it. I personally have an interest in that issue. I know from work in my office that people are waiting too long. The Tánaiste said recently that we should focus on energy support and he is right. We have to give people fishing rods as well as fish. It is not enough to just apply a patch to deal with the present-day problem. Of course, we have to do that but we also want to get the heat pumps, solar panels and insulation in and create a situation where we do not need this into the future and where we would be fit to cope in an energy crisis.

Senator Scahill raises a very good point. In fact, I almost fell victim to this scam myself. Quite seriously, my youngest son has a tendency to lose a lot of things, which he did not lick off the grass. Neither did he lick off the grass a level of disorganisation, so when I got that call, my son was abroad and I was sure that he had lost his phone. I had gone most of the way to dealing with it and to sending money. They looked for money. The next message that comes back after one responds is that the son wants money. One transfers it and then one gives them access to one's bank account and they can get more money. It is a very effective scam because it pulls at the heart strings and gets to one's insecurities about a child abroad. Senator Scahill's child happened to be eight or nine years of age and sitting beside him but how many people were like me when it happened? We were anxious about a young fellow travelling out in Asia at the time when I got that message. I was sure he had lost his phone and I was really concerned and I was about to send money. I nearly did it. I went almost to the wire. Senator Scahill is right in what he says. I heard a figure of €160 million on the radio the other day, which is a huge amount of money to be gone in fraud. As Senator Scahill said, that money is gone to very dubious actors, places and causes. Approximately 57% of people retrieve their money but think of the poor unfortunate 43% whose hard-earned money evaporates.Very few people can afford to lose whatever is in their bank account. The Senator also mentioned the gardaí coming out of Templemore last week and that something should be done about that. If I understood correctly, he proposed that a specific dedicated unit be established. My own nephew, Brian Tully, from Roscommon - the Senator will know the young man and his family - was one of those who graduated last week and I want to congratulate him. Senator Scahill is correct that part of that group which came out of Templemore should be dedicated to this issue. I have to give Senator Scahill very full answers or I would be in trouble domestically.

Senator Andrews raised the very important and fascinating issue of the reform of the in camera rule and the accountability for parents which can be hidden by the in camera rule. He is right that we need to look at this. We need transparency here and for parents to take responsibility. If justice is seen to be done publicly, those parents will step up to the mark. They will be shamed into doing it. It is amazing how public shaming can get the right result. I agree with Senator Andrews on that point. I will try to get that point brought to the Minister for justice and he should raise it again. It is worthy of further discussion in this House.

I will take the contributions of Senators Sarah O’Reilly and Martin Conway together. The two addressed the question of surrogacy from differing perspectives. I will start with Senator Conway and go back to Senator O’Reilly’s well-made points. Senator Conway is right that there are children all over this country in limbo. We had a colleague in this House, Senator emeritus, let us call her, Mary Seery Kearney, who is a great pioneer in this area. She has an 11-year-old child who does not have full legal rights from a family perspective as things stand. That is the point Senator Conway was making. Senator Sarah O’Reilly was making the point that there must be protection for birth mothers, foster parents and adoptive parents. Hers was the flip side of the same point but they are not mutually exclusive. There is no reason that we cannot live in a society that accommodates the human rights of all concerned and ensures rights and that there is not an abuse of women, whether they are abroad or in this country. I thank both Senators.

I personally agree with Senator Duffy. I was a member of a joint policing committee, JPC, and it did great interactive work. It was very good. I was a local representative. You could attend the meetings and know what was happening in your area. Often the superintendents and senior inspectors would come down chatting. Indeed, Senator Tully was on the JPC with me in the past. You would raise a point in broad terms in the public arena there and the superintendent might come down and chat to you afterwards on the specifics of that and there was follow-up. Very often the superintendent would come back to you later. The input of public representatives is a big loss to those committees and I think it does need reform.

Senator McCarthy sounded a very interesting note on the hantavirus. It is a sobering reminder to all of us that we are never all that far from a potential global pandemic. With global travel and things the way they are internationally we can have a pandemic at any time. That is one of the reasons, without being party political, that we cannot squander the family jewels and spend every penny in the public coffers. We have to keep a contingency fund. You never know when we will have a virus, a natural disaster or an act of terrorism. We do need to have money in reserve. There could be a national outbreak of animal disease like foot and mouth or avian flu. We cannot spend the family silver exclusively at one time. That merits saying. Senator McCarthy raised a valid point. We are concerned about the two Irish citizens. I anticipated the big news things that would come up here and I contacted the Department of foreign affairs on this question.The Department is following up with consular assistance for the two Irish people involved. It is a concerning situation, that is all I can say. The Senator is right to raise it.

Senator Pauline Tully raised a matter that I previously raised on the Order of Business a few weeks ago. I could not agree with her more. Her office is located just up the street from mine in Cavan. It is possible that we have some of the same people. Certainly, in my office - and it cannot be that different in the hers - people are coming in and stating that they have got home help approved but they are waiting for months and can get no help. What good is that letter to a poor creature who cannot get out of bed or have a shower, when her family have to collect the children from school and there is no help. We all know the difficulties involved. I will not labour the point. The Senator is absolutely correct. We have to bring in a State system of home care along the lines of the fair deal model in order that people will have an automatic right to home care. It should be organised in a way similar to the fair deal scheme and we get home care workers paid properly on a full-time basis. As they give up one portfolio when a person dies, they get another client. There is a need for radical reform here. The Senator is absolutely right. These things are above party politics. I have no inhibition about having a debate on the matter in the Chamber or about joining the Senator in raising it here, particularly as it is so important. Colleagues are nodding in agreement. We are picking all picking up on this in our clinics. Well done to the Senator for raising the matter.

I do not think I have not left anyone out. If I have, sincere apologies. I thank the Senators for their contributions.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Before we move on from the Order of Business, I would like to welcome the representatives from the Fingal Old IRA Society, who are guests of our colleague Senator Clifford-Lee. I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House.