Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Before I call on the Leader to outline the Order of Business, I welcome Evan Shine from County Tipperary to the Visitor's Gallery. He is in transition year and a guest of Senator Mary Fitzpatrick. He is most welcome to the Seanad.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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The Order of Business is No. 1, Health (Amendment) (Home Support Providers) Bill 2025 – Second Stage, to be taken at 4.45 p.m. and to conclude no later than 6 p.m., with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed eight minutes, all Senators not to exceed five minutes and the Minister to be given no less than five minutes to reply to the debate; No. 2, Domestic Violence Judgments Register Bill 2026 – Order for Second Stage and Second Stage, to be taken at 6 p.m. and to conclude no later than 7.30 p.m., with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed eight minute, all other Senators not to exceed five minutes and the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate; and No. 3, Critical Infrastructure Bill 2026 - Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 7.30 p.m. and to adjourn at 9.30 p.m., if not previously concluded.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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The Leader and many of the Senators present will have listened to me speaking about the much-needed second bridge for Newbridge. Today, I feel like shouting from the rooftops that we have been awarded upwards of €20 million to make sure this bridge becomes a reality. It will be part of the southern outer orbital road and the €20 million is for the bridge over the River Liffey and a 795 m strip of road leading up to it. I thank the Ministers, Deputies Browne and O'Brien, for their engagement on this over the last year. We are confident that construction will start early in 2027. Tender documents are being prepared through the Department of Transport. I also thank Kildare County Council officials for all their help in getting us this far.

While I take great pleasure in talking about something positive, sadly, I have to talk yet again about illegal encampments on the Curragh. Over the weekend, almost 100 caravans congregated illegally on our lovely Curragh Plains. I spoke recently in the Chamber about the bill of €185,000 for the last illegal encampment, which was about two months ago. I spoke to the Minister, Deputy McEntee, on Saturday evening about this. I also spoke to the Secretary General of the Department of Defence and I have had meetings with the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, on the legislative aspect. We have to move towards the new model of management that we know is on the way because this activity is having an impact on the horse industry, the Army and people who use the Curragh for leisure and amenity, including Cill Dara Golf Club, which has had its two greens impacted. It is simply not good enough.

This is Men's Health Week and it is important that we talk about and encourage men to go for the checks they need. However, we also need to talk about men's mental health. Too often, we separate physical from mental health. Sometimes men are nervous about speaking out and feel that they have to carry things quietly until they reach crisis point. That is not a strength, and it is not sustainable. We need men and boys to know that it is okay not to be okay. Asking for help is not a weakness, but a sign of strength.

When we look at our suicide figures, in 2023, 453 people died by suicide, of whom 368 were male. Out of 14 people in Kildare who died that year by suicide, 12 were male. I raise again the need for a specific dedicated Jigsaw service for Newbridge, which would cover the county. It provides important early intervention mental health supports for young men and young women aged 12 to 25. We have a very fast-growing population and Newbridge is ideally placed to service this need. I would like to have a debate in the House on mental health provision with the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health care.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Before I call the next speaker, I welcome friends of Senator Nelson Murray from County Meath. They are most welcome to Seanad Éireann.

Cathal Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I raise the need for some amendments to be made to how the CLÁR programme is being operated. There is a call out requesting CLÁR funding from various different groups. Last Friday, I met a voluntary group, the Kilmore Area Community First Responders who are trained and work in a co-ordinated manner to be the first responders on site, particularly for people who are suffering from cardiac issues, strokes and heart attacks. They are volunteers and all of them live locally in the community. They explained to me that they are often the first people on site, even arriving ahead of paramedics and the National Ambulance Service. When someone rings 999 and says they are having a cardiac event, the group will be notified as well.Unfortunately, the CLÁR scheme that currently exists for first responders prioritises vehicles and large-scale machinery. While they will make an application for some defibrillator machines, it does not cover their day-to-day costs. When they arrive on site and someone requires a defibrillator, they need to use pads that for obvious reasons cannot be reused. Every time there is a cardiac event, a new set of pads needs to be purchased and those pads can cost up to €300 per use. That is a considerable cost for a voluntary group. Everyone in the area wants to make sure more than sufficient pads are available and that they are able to be used when necessary.

I call for a debate here on CLÁR in general and specifically on the measure to ensure that first-responder groups, which are recognised under CLÁR funding, can get access to pads and funding towards their cost. Those first responders use their own cars and vehicles to get out there quickly. A first-responder vehicle would not benefit them if they have to go from their home to a base, change vehicle and then respond. There is a mechanism here that could be rolled out across the country. There are many good groups across the country that do similar work and a tweak in the programme would benefit groups like the Kilmore Area Community First Responders.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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That is not going to help his chances.

Conor Murphy (Sinn Fein)
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I will not dent the Acting Leader's hopes any further by offering congratulations.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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Do not say anything.

Conor Murphy (Sinn Fein)
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The Acting Leader is doing a good job, by the way.

Conor Murphy (Sinn Fein)
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I raise the issue of Kilmainham Gaol and the request the board of visitors made to the OPW, which should be made directly to the Minister, to organise an event, permissible under its terms of reference, to honour the voluntary workers and families who between the years of 1960 and 1986 restored the prison from complete ruin. They are people like Charlie Gorman, otherwise known as the suicide roofer, which tells you the circumstances he was working under. He is an uncle of Teachta Máire Devine. He pushed through the gates in 1960 determined to refurbish this hallowed site, which had been left to rot. The OPW has not responded to this request and I would like the Acting Leader to ask for this to be responded to as promptly as possible to allow the event to take place.

Kilmainham Gaol clearly holds a special place in the hearts of Irish people. For almost 150 years, it has been a direct witness to virtually all events of great significance in modern Irish political history. It was the sight of the incarceration of the United Irishmen, Robert Emmet, Anne Devlin, the Young Irelanders, the Fenians, the Invincibles, Charles Stewart Parnell, members of the Land League, and, of course, all of the 1916 leaders were executed within its walls. The board of trustees wishes to host a commemorative event and relaunch an iconic historical book, Ghosts of Kilmainham. I hope they can get an answer quickly from the Minister with responsibility for the OPW.

Legislation is being launched in the other House today which, if enacted, would compel the Government to produce a Green Paper on Irish reunification and establish a citizens' assembly. That has the potential to transform the discussion. By happy coincidence, it is on the same weekend Fine Gael launched its intention on a blueprint for Irish unity, which will be published in the autumn. I look forward to the time when all of the parties here can work together on this. There has been organic growth in momentum in the population, among academics and among various voluntary organisations. This brings it to the institution itself to assist us in delivering on this, which is the biggest project in all of our lifetimes.

Senator O'Loughlin mentioned this last week, and it was remiss of me not to congratulate Cuan Mhuire on its 60th anniversary, which was held over the weekend. Sr. Consilio and the work she has done has not only saved countless lives but countless families. I have to declare an interest because I am a director of Cuan Mhuire, as was my mother before me. She is commemorated in the garden in Athy, where Cuan Mhuire's facilities are. It has done wonderful work across Ireland. I just wanted to join in congratulating it on its 60th anniversary.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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Today is 16 June and it is Bloomsday in Dublin. Even as we were coming into the Chamber, Senators will have seen the straw hats, petticoats, blouses and puffed sleeves. It is a day of real pride for Dubliners but it is a day of international importance. The literary heritage that Joyce left, not just for Dublin but all literary fans and people around the world, is immense. I commend people like Darina at the James Joyce Centre on North Great George's Street, the Joyce Stagers, the National Library, museums, Sweny's, Davy Byrnes and Dublin City Libraries. Right across the city, there are events of music, literature and food. It is truly a great event. I particularly thank those who give the walking tours of our city and bring Joyce to life for Dubliners and visitors internationally. I participated in a walking tour recently in advance of Bloomsday.It reminded me again - and I call on the Acting Leader to address this with the Minister and Dublin City Council - of Dublin City Council's absolute neglect of the public domain and the streetscape and the dirt in the north-east inner city. The North Circular Road, Gardiner Street and Mountjoy Square are beautiful. This is Georgian Dublin at its best, but the dirt and the debris, the gutters oozing, the odours - it was vile. It was embarrassing. It is embarrassing. Unfortunately, it is not a once-off event. It is absolutely not good enough. How our public domain, our streets and our public spaces look speak to and signify the value we put on that place, on those people and on our heritage. It is utterly unacceptable to the people of the north inner city that our city is left unclean in the way it is being left, and it is utterly unacceptable to the people who come to visit our city.

I would appreciate if the Acting Leader would ask the Minister to address with Dublin City Council its maintenance, enforcement and street cleaning, including the sweeping and power-washing. I know it can do better. Our city deserves better.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Before I call on the next Senator, I welcome from Derry and Belfast members of the Identity Project, who are guests of Deputy Mary Lou McDonald. You are most welcome to Seanad Éireann. I welcome also a guest of Senator Cathal Byrne who is in the Gallery, Paul Sinnott from Ballagh, which has an excellent hurling team, Oulart-The Ballagh, in Wexford. You are most welcome to Seanad Éireann as well.

Linda Nelson Murray (Fine Gael)
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I want to bring up two issues. One is about the agricultural shows we are seeing now across our counties. I would like to say a big thank you to the Department of rural and community affairs for the money that is provided to these shows. I think approximately €1 million is dished out to about 126 different agricultural shows around the country, and they get between €4,200 and €11,400 each. I was at Ballivor Horse Show at the weekend. It was my second year going to it. I went to it last year as well. It really is value for money. These agricultural shows are really important in these rural communities. It was absolutely packed. I entered my two dogs into the dog show. They did not win or even get the waggy tail prize. It was very disappointing. Seriously, though, the shows are brilliant. I am heading to Trim Haymaking Festival next weekend as well. I know there is €1 million distributed annually but there can always be room for more, especially for these shows that are so important to rural communities. I congratulate everybody involved in the Ballivor show. It went on for two days. I wish the best of luck to the people in the Trim haymaking show this weekend.

The second issue I want to mention is the housing infrastructure investment fund for my county. I think every county got massive news today, but in Meath, we got five projects over the line, to the value of about €70 million. Together, all the projects will directly unlock capacity for about 2,275 homes and indirectly support a further 2,705, so roughly 4,980 homes in total. There is an €862 million budget nationally, and it is fantastic to see this. The infrastructure is needed there when it comes to water, the ESB and everything that surrounds helping to get these houses built and to unlock the lands and the surrounding areas by building bridges and whatever else needs to be done. I very much welcome this. Today is a very positive day for all the counties.

Tom Clonan (Independent)
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In the spirit of collegiality, I also commend the iarCheannaire on his leadership here in the House. Although we crossed swords from time to time-----

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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Every time.

Tom Clonan (Independent)
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Not every time. Come on. I think Christmas Eve, no? Anyway, mar a deirtear as Gaeilge, cogann na faoileáin, ach cagann siad ar an gcloch chéanna. I commend the collegiality of this House and, in that spirit, I congratulate Senator Costello from Fianna Fáil on the great work she has done on having givinostat approved as a drug for people suffering from Duchenne's muscular dystrophy. In that same spirit, I ask, please, that similar action be taken in relation to Skyclarys, the drug that supports people with Friedreich's ataxia.We have 200 young people, and they are mostly young people, in the Republic who are suffering from Friedreich's ataxia, which is a progressive disease that leads to the deterioration of the neurological and muscular systems. As I have said before, the sufferer struggles for breath. It is not an easy disease to deal with. Skyclarys shows great promise in halting the progression of the disease and giving people extended quality of life and life itself. I will mention a former colleague of mine, journalist Niamh Ní Hoireabhaird, who has a piece in theIrish Independenttoday. She is in the process of having her voice banked because she is losing her voice as a journalist and a recently married lady. She is now using a wheelchair. While she still has a voice, I ask that we listen to her and have Skyclarys approved.

My own family is also experiencing this. My son's voice is being banked. I do not think there is an intervention for him, but when I think of those 200 families where there is an intervention, if there is something we can do together in this House as a collective, I ask that we push for the recognition of Skyclarys.

Nessa Cosgrove (Labour)
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I again raise the issue of funding for local government. This month's meeting of Sligo County Council heard that due to the war in the Middle East, the costs of road-building materials have increased by 25% to 30%. We all see the impact of it through the rising fuel costs, but often we do not think about the effect of the rising cost of by-products, such as petroleum tar, on local government. My former colleagues in Sligo County Council were told by the director of services that because the price of material costs has gone up so much, unfortunately, the roads which were due to be delivered in 2026 are going to be pushed out to 2027. That is going to keep going on now. What I am asking is that the Minister commits to giving additional funding, across all the county councils, so at least roads which were promised to be built this year can actually be completed this year, and we are not always on the back foot for the next couple of years. I would appreciate it if the Acting Leader could bring that back to the Department.

Alison Comyn (Fianna Fail)
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Like many of my colleagues, I thank the Minister, Deputy Browne, for listening to my impassioned pleas and helping me deliver a vital piece of infrastructure to south and middle Louth. There are now almost 3,000 houses unlocked, thanks to an injection of almost €40 million, which is something really vital. It is not only going to bring housing but other developments, like the potential for a second railway station, sporting facilities and plenty of jobs.

While I am standing here and very unsubtly wearing my County Louth colours, I also mention a magnificent win against County Armagh, the first it had in the all-Ireland championship. We have to talk about Sam Mulroy. He really does like his last-minute victories, putting one in the net with only two seconds to go and catapulting us straight into the quarter-finals. I have to mention, of course, that historic win against Dublin only two weeks ago, the first since 1973. I am not rubbing it in with anybody-----

A Senator:

You are.

Alison Comyn (Fianna Fail)
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-----but yes I am, indeed.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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You are, by the way.

Alison Comyn (Fianna Fail)
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I spent last night knocking on doors in Drogheda selling Field of Fortune fundraising tickets because this is the main fundraiser now for completing the 14,000-seater stadium in Dundalk. We need new home county grounds and I am going to ask one more time for funding from the sports capital grant. We are short €7 million, unfortunately. The Minister can see we are on a roll, and this is the type of structure we need to give a team clearly heading towards a major part of the championship. We need to give it a home suitable for champs. Once again, I raise the matter of the sports capital grant for the grassroots and right the way through because with the likes of the wee county doing so incredibly well on a national platform, we need the infrastructure to match it.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Congratulations to County Louth on their amazing performance.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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I would also like to be associated with the comments directed towards the Acting Leader. I am not sure he wants us to do that. I withdraw them so.I want to acknowledge the tremendous performance by Cape Verde yesterday. At the heart of that performance was Pico Lopes, who is a Shamrock Rovers player. As a Shamrock Rovers fan, I see these man of the match performances week in, week out, so it is not any huge surprise to me. It was fantastic, and I congratulate him and the Cape Verde team. Cape Verde is the third smallest nation ever to appear at a FIFA World Cup. It is an incredible achievement. Pico has also been an outspoken critic of Israel and its participation in European football and he has campaigned for the Ireland-Israel game to be stopped. It was a great night for him and his family, his wife Leah and their new child Diego.

We are just two weeks away from the beginning of Ireland's EU Presidency. To say that Government and senior civil servants are excited by the prospects of this event is a bit of an understatement. It has been the obsession of the whole State apparatus for well over a year, with Ministers and functionaries salivating at the glamour of facilitating EU Council meetings. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy McEntee, is even so excited that I believe she chose a logo that replicates, or is very similar to, her party logo. However, for people outside the EU political bubble, the Presidency is not that big of a deal. It is a bubble issue and it is projected to cost the taxpayer between €300 million and €400 million to accommodate the EU Presidency here. To put this in perspective, the Danish Presidency last year cost one fifth of that amount. Our previous Presidency 13 years ago in 2013, it cost €50 million, so it is a pretty extravagant increase in costs. The Government appears to be rolling out the red carpet for the EU, with hundreds of luxury vehicles purchased to ferry VIPs across the State with, no doubt, every effort being made to show them a good time. That is all well and good if the money is being used to get value from the Presidency but it is hard to see how we are going to get that sort of return from €300 million or €400 million. It seems extravagant.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Before I call the next speaker, I welcome guests of Senator Nessa Cosgrove to the Gallery, who are the staff and students of the Sligo and Leitrim Community Training Centres. They are most welcome and I thank the Senator for bringing them in today. Anois, an Seanadóir Mullen.

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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I welcome the UK Government's decision to embark on policies that will restrict access to social media for under-16s. My first hope, of course, is that the Irish Government will follow suit. There has been a lot of talk and hints, particularly from the Tánaiste in recent days, that Ireland might go in this direction as well. That would be welcome in itself but how it is done is as important as what is done.

There is a concern in some quarters that the Government, under the guise of acting in children's best interests, would seek to exert control and surveillance generally over people's access to the Internet, including social media. There is a concern, for example, about the proposals, to roll in a digital ID system. These issues should be kept completely separate. What is necessary is that there would be legislation putting requirements on tech companies restricting access to under-16s around the creation of social media accounts because it is primarily through the existence of social media accounts that young people can be targeted by strangers, addictive advertising and so on. This should not be about creating and requiring each person to have some sort of a digital identity before they can access social media.

However, we must recognise that social media is only one aspect of the problem facing young people in regard to Internet engagement. The toxic trio are, in fact, pornography, social media and video games. Video games in particular feed addictive tendencies and, again, involve young people being very often approached by strangers. Sooner or later, we have to move the conversation beyond the question of just the software to the hardware and ask the questions about whether, why and when young people should be enabled to have smartphones, including the question of whether it should be possible to legislate to prevent them being brought to school and so on. I would like a debate on all of these issues very soon with the relevant Minister.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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I thank the 11 Senators who made contributions this morning. Senator O'Loughlin aptly spoke about men's mental health after I just went up four flights of stairs to speak here so it was perfect timing when it came to speaking about it, particularly in relation to mental health. It is a real problem for men right across the country. An awful lot of good work is being done by organisations such as See Change or Jigsaw. Jigsaw has been operating in my county of Tipperary over the past number of years and we have seen significant benefit, particularly young people suffering from anxiety and mental health difficulties. The number of people who die by suicide is far too high. If we have seen the benefit of Jigsaw in some counties, we definitely need to see it in others. With such population growth, Kildare is a prime example of a place where that service should be provided

Senator Cathal Byrne spoke about the CLÁR programme, which is a very significant programme, particularly for rural areas right across the country. There is always an opportunity to amend and the Senator mentioned a prime example. A lot of these first responders looked to get large-scale machines or vehicles for use but it is always the day-to-day costs. The Senator used the example of defibrillator pads that cost €300 per use, which can certainly become a large cost after a while, so I will ask the Minister. It would be a good opportunity for the Minister to come in and debate funding for rural areas and in respect of CLÁR in particular.

Senator Keogan spoke about governance and accountability. She mentioned Kerry County Council and data. It is for the county council to decide what data it wants to use so it is not really for us to say. It is for the officials and the members. The Senator also mentioned the derelict property tax, which has been in the news in the past couple of days. The Senator mentioned that it is sidelining local authorities but that is not what it is doing. Local authorities have a challenge in terms of recouping money that is owed to them. Sometimes it can go farther and go into court, which costs the local authority an awful lot of money. The plan from the Government is to, hopefully, move this towards Revenue so that Revenue deals with it as opposed to local authorities. That is what would suit local authorities as well. It will still be the local authorities' decision on what properties would be classed as derelict but it would not be for the local authority to actually follow up and recover that money. It would be for Revenue, which is best placed to do that.

Senator Conor Murphy spoke about Kilmainham Gaol and the hosting of an event. I am surprised the OPW has not come back. I will write to it as Acting Leader of the Seanad to make sure that it does. The Senator outlined how historic Kilmainham Gaol is and how hosting an event would be perfect. I cannot see any reason the OPW would not respond or would not be favourable towards it but I will make sure the Seanad promotes that as much as possible. The Senator also spoke about the unification of the island of Ireland. That is obviously something that garnered a bit of news over the weekend but as he said himself, momentum is growing from all sides. It is not that one side is right and the other side is wrong. It is about what sort of unification we are looking for, which is a long discussion. It is right and proper that people feel free and are open to actually discussing what they are looking for in the future because year on year, it is becoming a bigger issue.

Senator Fitzpatrick spoke about Bloomsday in Dublin, which is obviously a really good event and is internationally known at this stage because of James Joyce. When we have events like this, they bring in tourism and Bloomsday is one example. Bloom was held only a number of weeks ago. These events bring large crowds to the city and it is important that the city is looks as good as possible. It is very frustrating when one walks around the city and sees areas that are derelict, dirty or not maintained to the standard that they should because, whether we like it or not, the city is a reflection on the whole country. As Dublin City Council needs to make sure that things are being looked after and are being kept to a standard that is respectable, I will ask the Minister to contact the chief executive of Dublin City Council to make sure that this could be done to a better extent than is being done at the moment. Senator Nelson Murray spoke about agricultural shows and the €1 million in funding that goes towards the 26 agricultural shows right across the country. There is always a case to put more funding into those shows. The turnout is very positive every year. I see it myself in Clonmel, where an agricultural show has been going on for years, since well before I was born. The numbers keep increasing every year. It is a really good family event. As the Senator said, money spent promoting these agricultural shows right across the country is money well spent.

The Senator also spoke about the housing infrastructure investment fund, which the Minister, Deputy Browne, and the Minister of State, Deputy John Cummins, announced this morning. Over €800 million in funding was announced this morning, essentially to speed up the delivery of housing by speeding up infrastructure projects right across the country. I believe 82 projects were announced this morning. I hope that, as a result of the speeding up of these projects, we are going to see the delivery of housing speeding up. An estimated 200,000 houses could be built in a quicker timeframe because of these projects. This morning's announcement related to the first call. It is really welcome. It may be a good opportunity to have the Minister for housing come to the House to outline exactly what this will do and where we will go from here.

Senator Clonan congratulated Senator Costello on the approval of the drug givinostat, which is very welcome. It is great to have that recognition from both sides. Senator Clonan is always very good about that. This obviously strengthens the case for the approval of Skyclarys for Friedreich's ataxia. All of these matters are dealt with individually between the HSE and the drug companies. It can sometimes take some time to do it. It can sometimes depend on when the drug company applied to sell the product in Ireland. Sometimes the HSE and the Department of Health actually have to ask the drug company whether it is willing to sell it in Ireland. That process can take some time because Ireland is obviously not the biggest country in the world and coming here is not the first priority when the drug has approval in other countries. However, for obvious reasons, it is important that we try to get drugs that have been approved in like-minded countries to our own people as quickly as possible.

Senator Cosgrove spoke about funding for local government. We are all being lobbied by the directors of services and roads in every county council. You sometimes do not think about it but, once you are told, it is very obvious. Councillors in local authorities agreed to put these road projects that are meant to be happening, whether they are small road maintenance projects, LIS projects or big road projects, on the 2026 or 2027 budget a year or two years ago. However, when the authority goes to complete them, the cost is much higher than expected. I know the Department of housing is very much aware of the issue. These authorities need extra funding to deliver these projects. Particularly in rural areas, whether in Sligo or anywhere else, simple road maintenance is really important for people. I know this comes from a very genuine place. In every local authority, the directors of roads and services are very worried that they will not be able to deliver the projects they had promised to deliver and that the councillors had promised to their communities. They are on a list for delivery so the local communities expect them to be delivered. I will contact the Minister's office to see if it is possible for more funding to be put in place for local authorities.

Senator Comyn also spoke about this morning's announcement of the housing infrastructure fund. A significant amount of money, €40 million, is going to Louth, where we hope it will deliver 3,000 much-needed houses. An awful lot of people are looking to live in that area, which is just outside Dublin. One of the most frustrating things for people is when a developer or builder wants to build but the infrastructure, whether water, wastewater or roads, is not there. We now have a pathway for those big developments to be built and for homes to be delivered. That is really important.

The Senator also mentioned Louth beating Armagh and Dublin. As a Tipperary person, I do not think we should be talking about the GAA any more this year so I will not. However, I will talk about the sports capital grant, which is obviously very important. The Minister is keen to deliver on that this year.That is always beneficial to communities around the country.

Senator Andrews spoke about Cape Verde. It was an amazing win yesterday. I was watching it with my two sons. They thought that we were meant to be cheering for Spain because I had told them that Spain might win the World Cup, but as the game went on, I kept saying that we needed to support this team. It is a small country with one fellow from Ireland. It is an amazing achievement. It gives that uplift that you get from the World Cup, where small countries - we have been there before - can pull off these amazing achievements and successes. It is really good to see. Congratulations to Pico Lopes. His block in the last couple of minutes was phenomenal. It is great for the supporters and for the tournament in general, because there are issues with this tournament and where it is on. It is great for the sport.

The Senator also referred to the EU Presidency. The EU Presidency is a really positive thing for the country. This is the eighth time since we have been a member of the EU that we are hosting it. An awful lot of work goes into delivering that. Obviously, it costs a significant amount of money to do it, but it is not like a sports event or other event where we are trying to get the money back. This is an investment in promoting Ireland across Europe. I would always say in relation to membership of Europe that we have gained more financially than we have had to put in. There are a lot of things. While the Senator talks about it being in a bubble, the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, is not a bubble, and it is massive for farmers. The fisheries deal is important for fishermen. The multi-annual financial framework, MFF, deals with funding right across Europe and needs to be delivered during the Irish Presidency. Most countries want it and feel that it has to be delivered during the Irish Presidency because of our experience of holding the Presidency. I understand the narrative from the Senator, but many people in this country, particularly farmers, need to be sure that our Ministers can deliver on key funding structures to support them over the next couple of years. As we hold the EU Presidency, it is the best chance to get a good deal that supports the Irish people.

Senator Mullen spoke about what seems to be a very quick decision by the UK to restrict access for under-16s. This comes on the back of a number of things that have happened in the UK in the last week or two. As the Senator knows, we serve on the media and sport committee. It produced a report that did not recommend this, although we all have separate views on it. The Senator is right that it is how it is done and delivered that is important. He made the point that it should be the responsibility of the social media companies to restrict access. I do not think the Senator or I fully believes that they would actually do it, or that it could be delivered on. I am not a tech genius, but I am told it is very easy to get around this. However, I would make the point that even if it is very tricky to get around or is hard to implement, that does not mean we should not do it. It is difficult.

We can all see that social media is addictive, in particular for young people. When we are talking about under-16s, it can even be addictive for extremely young people if they can get their hands on it. We need to do whatever we can to prevent that as much as possible at a younger age, and have kids out playing sports, colouring or doing whatever they want to do.

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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Can we have statements in the House with the Minister?

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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I can contact the Department to see if he is willing to come in for statements. We have four or five weeks left before the recess, but I will put that on the agenda, if I can.