Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding appointment of member to the Committee of Selection, to be taken on conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; No. 2, motion regarding appointment of member to the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight, to be taken on conclusion of No. 1, without debate; No. 3, Finance Bill 2026 - Second Stage, to be taken at 11.30 a.m. or on conclusion of No. 2, whichever is the later, and to conclude after 75 minutes, 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, all other Senators not to exceed four minutes and the Minister to be given no less than five minutes to reply to the debate; No. 4, National Treasury Management Agency (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 - Second Stage, to be taken on conclusion of No. 3 and to conclude after 75 minutes, 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, all other Senators not to exceed four minutes and the Minister to be given no less than five minutes to reply to the debate; No. 5, motion regarding the Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 – instruction to committee, to be taken at 1.30 p.m. or on the conclusion of No. 4, whichever is the later, and to conclude after 60 minutes, if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed five minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed five minutes, all other Senators not to exceed five minutes and the Minister to be given no less than five minutes to reply to the debate; and No. 6, Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 - Report and Final Stages, to be taken on conclusion of No. 5, and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion at 6 p.m. by the putting of one question from the Chair, which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Government.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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Yesterday, the jury in the case of the stabbing of the little girl on Parnell Square came back with a guilty verdict. I acknowledge the jury's work. I welcome the guilty verdict. In 15 seconds on 23 November 2023, the world changed for a little girl, her family and all of the community of Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire. It absolutely shook our community. The verdict will not turn back the clock but I really do hope it brings some sense of justice to the little girl's family and the whole community of Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire. I acknowledge the incredible bravery and courage of Leanne Flynn, Caio Benicio and others who intervened on the day. In the face of such savagery and depraved actions, they intervened and saved a little girl's life and other lives. They are to be commended. I think of them and the little girl and her family today and I thank those who served on the jury.

Yesterday in Dublin Castle, we had the opening ceremony for Ireland's Presidency of the Council of Europe. I congratulate everybody who participated. It was an excellent ceremony. We were graced with the incredible creative talent of musicians, actors, singers and dancers. We were also graced with the presence of President Zelenskyy and António Costa. It is a very important moment for Ireland. It is the eighth time we will take the Presidency of the European Union, a union of 450 million people. This is an incredibly important six months for our country and for Europe. I hope that all public representatives from all parties and none will work in support of the Government over the six months to ensure the Presidency is a success for all of the European Union.

This Saturday marks the 250th birthday of the United States of America. The US comes in for an awful lot of bad press an awful lot of the time. It does not help itself by bringing a lot of it on. I am somebody who at a point in my life was lucky enough to get a green card through a lottery to go to the United States, like many others. Independence Day on 4 July is an important day. It is important that we celebrate the good things. I wish every American everywhere a very happy Independence Day and a happy fourth of July.

Manus Boyle (Fine Gael)
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The Government has many initiatives in place, including Build Back Home, an initiative seeking skilled workers to return to Ireland. Skilled overseas workers are being invited back to apply their skills here in Ireland. Engineering, construction and health care, to name but a few, are crying out for crucial skilled workers to take up positions immediately. I have been approached by many overseas representatives of the Donegal Association who have made it clear to me that people would like to return home to Ireland but face some negatives in their decision-making. Most people considering a move look at housing, healthcare, schools, childcare, climate and safety, to name but a few issues. However, they are totally unprepared for the driver licence laws that state if people have been out of the country for ten years or more, a driving test is mandatory. This can be a deal breaker in many cases, especially in counties such as Donegal and the more rural counties in Ireland, where transport infrastructure is not a solution when travelling to and from a workplace. Our tradesmen wishing to return and start a business immediately cannot get to work without their driving licence. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, to make an adjustment to these rules. Surely people who held a driving licence previously should not have to undergo this stressful obstacle, which is having a negative impact on them returning home. Surely a theory test and getting signed off on two or three lessons from a registered instructor would be sufficient. This would allow people to refresh on the rules of the road and the lessons would bring them up to safe practice. I believe this solution would be acceptable to people who wish to return home to Ireland. I also make the point that tourists who visit our country do not hold a valid Irish licence. They can hire a car and drive freely throughout Ireland for the duration of their time here. I am not in any way suggesting this is wrong. I am just giving the example of the different rules for people visiting and the rule faced by people wishing to return to their homeland. I believe this rule is unfair. Maybe we could have a chat with the Minister about it.

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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I request an amendment to the Order of Business that No. 17 be taken before No. 1. This is for the purpose of introducing the Protection of Children (Online Age Verification) Bill 2026. This is a revised version of a Bill I introduced in this House two years ago, which was passed at the time subject to a timed amendment. It reflects the fact that while good work may be done by Coimisiún na Meán in the regulatory space and while the Government may have its own plans with regard to social media, pornography is a distinct problem, especially for young people and it is highly damaging to them. We need clear criminal law to set a parameter that if proper age verification is not carried out, subject to some reasonable defences, thus enabling an under-age person to access pornography, an offence will have been committed. We need that clarity in our primary legislation in this country. I thank Oisín Kennedy and his staff at the Bills Office for working at short notice to enable this to reach this point today. It is a busy time of the year for them and I appreciate their help and co-operation on this matter.

I ask for a debate on the recent report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Drugs Use on the decriminalisation of certain drugs and the repeal of section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act. I have been on the record expressing major concern about such a recommendation. I do not think this proposal will have many friends among the responsible medical experts and researchers on the impact of drugs in our society. I have been and am critical of the centrist parties for, to my mind, caving in to the left and being captured in some way on this issue. This is a permissive and dangerous approach to be taken. The committee noted that the small sample of jurisdictions where decriminalisation had already been implemented reported an increase in drug consumption in public areas. With the committee members believing that local authorities should be required to discourage and reduce consumption in public areas, including through the use of local authority by-laws like those governing alcohol consumption, we need to get real. That is a complete dereliction of duty. Does anybody imagine that in some of these left-led councils we will have such by-laws?

What we need in this as in other areas is clear law that discourages certain forms of irresponsible behaviour. We have gotten to a stage where we do not want to expect people to be responsible as a matter of law for their own personal consumption habits. You hear stories, for example, of dinner parties in Dublin and people talking about the things you can order online, and we can also order this stuff. The law needs to have a clear view on that and to say this is wrong. I sometimes think that part of the dynamic behind this push for change is that some middle-class people do not want their little darlings to be on the wrong side of the law because of their personal drug consumption habits. The law needs to state this clearly. How you treat people who come before the law is where you can moderate your approach, give people a second chance and get them onto a so-called health-led approach. The term health-led is a euphemism for an abandonment of courage and principle. Of course you can have a health-led approach, but you can have an even more successful health-led approach if you back it up by clear law that prohibits having drugs for personal use, as does section 3 of the current Misuse of Drugs Act.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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I second Senator Mullen's amendment to the Order of Business.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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Two weeks ago in this House, I stated that users of the website dogs.ie can be 99% sure that they are buying a puppy farm dog. I want to correct this previous statement. I clarify that there is only an alarmingly high probability they are buying a puppy farm dog. Dogs.ie is an American-based website that is central to the puppy farming we have in this country. It provides breeders and sellers an opaque online marketplace that allows them to easily turn a profit. Industrial-scale puppy farms clearly make huge profits from this platform. Dogs.ie states that it does not actively encourage puppy farming or exploitative breeding, but it is clear that it is more than happy to turn a blind eye to abusive practices if this means extracting a profit. These sorts of websites clearly incentivise and reward extractive breeding practices that can place profit over the well-being of dogs.

Dogs.ie openly told me via email that it takes no responsibility for the physical conditions at the establishments they facilitate. That to me is completely unacceptable and shows the urgent need for these websites to be further regulated and made liable for the breeders and sellers that they choose to platform. A casual browse of dogs.ie will show many dogs advertised for sale from puppy farms with 100, 200 and up to 300 breeding females on site. That is 300 dogs, excluding the puppies, at any given time locked up and used to pump out puppies. I would not even call that a puppy farm. I would call that a puppy factory. Many of these high-volume breeding establishments are well known to have atrocious animal welfare standards, yet they are able to make huge profits on dogs.ie. Allowing sellers such as these to use the site was a deliberate choice by dogs.ie to facilitate puppy farming and it is wrong.

It is my belief that people should adopt dogs from local shelters or purchase them directly from reputable breeding establishments that are visibly in compliance with strict animal welfare standards, rather than via online platforms that can be used by breeders who act in bad faith to hide abusive practices behind a polished advertisement. I welcome the Government’s upcoming legislation in this area. It will make a difference if enacted and properly enforced, but there are significant gaps. In particular, it is vital that this legislation caps the scale of breeding establishments to prevent industrial-scale breeding operations. The DSPCA and many other groups have recommended a cap of 30 breeding females, and I believe that the Minister, Deputy Heydon, and the Department of agriculture need to be willing to engage on this point.

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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Well said.

Dee Ryan (Fianna Fail)
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Today I highlight a protest that happened in Limerick on Tuesday of this week. Nurses and midwives staged a lunchtime protest over what their union said are unsafe staffing levels at University Maternity Hospital Limerick. The INMO said between 30 and 35 front-line posts were cut at UMHL with the implementation of the pay and numbers strategy in 2023. That has left the hospital, which was already under significant pressure, in what they describe as a catastrophic state. Those are their words. They have told us the neonatal unit is beyond safe capacity in staffing and that the labour ward has deficits of midwives on duty. They have called for an expansion of the neonatal unit to meet demand.

Once again, I will highlight a healthcare issue in Limerick. Last week, I spoke about the consultant numbers there of 59 consultants per 100,000 population versus the national average of 82 per 100,000 population. The week before I highlighted the shortcomings in dental care through the school dental system. Only one in five eligible schoolchildren were called for the school dental programme in 2023. This week it is our nurses and midwives. We have a significant healthcare worker staffing crisis in the mid-west. I call on the Minister to come to the House to address this matter at her earliest opportunity. I also support the nurses and midwives in their protest, and I support their call for an expansion of the neonatal unit. I again ask if the Minister will please update us on what is happening with the proposed project board that is to be put in place to develop the site at Raheen for expansion of facilities at the regional hospital, which could potentially include new maternity hospital facilities in Limerick.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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I speak today on a matter of urgent child protection and public expenditure.I received a letter from the Children's Rights Alliance, CRA, expressing deep disappointment that Allpro Services had secured a contract to act as the official representative organisation for unaccompanied and separated children. These children are among the most traumatised individuals in the State. The Children's Rights Alliance has explicitly warned that these minors are extremely vulnerable to hypermobility, exploitation, trafficking and disappearing. Under section 50 of the International Protection Act, the appointed company must "represent, assist and act on behalf of the unaccompanied" child. They are tasked with navigating intense legal screenings and complex family tracing procedures, yet the State has outsourced this critical statutory duty to a commercial provider whose core business traditionally consists of cleaning, security, pest control and landscaping. As the CRA states, this company has no demonstrated expertise of the legal processes involved. This represents a staggering departure from child welfare standards. It is an absolute insult to the dedicated non-profits and childcare specialists across Ireland who have spent decades building expertise in this highly sensitive field.

However, to understand how we arrived at this point, we must look back no further than an article published by the Business Postin August of last year. This bizarre procurement decision shines a harsh light on a deeply broken international protection system. State inefficiency has turned a severe humanitarian crisis into an extraordinary corporate windfall. Corporate filings revealed that Allpro Services's after-tax profits surged eightfold to a staggering €10.6 million on the back of emergency State accommodation contracts, allowing the owners to extract a €5.6 million dividend payout.

This is not the first time this facilities firm has successfully expanded its corporate portfolio across the machinery of the State. The same article shows that they already hold a €5 million contract with the Department of agriculture, alongside a €290,000 contract with the Department of higher education. It is a devastating indictment of our current system when a single private entity can profit so dramatically from the misfortune of others, while also banking millions of euro from the Irish taxpayer due to a total lack of State planning, with no will to enforce a tough, fair and efficient migration system. We are now watching core child welfare functions being absorbed into the commercial facility.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Go raibh maith agat.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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To be clear, I am not attacking any individual. I am questioning what all of this has to say about the state of our public procurement. Section 53(c) of the aforementioned Act requires this six-month pilot contract to be reviewed. I echo the CRA's demand that this evaluation must be conducted by an independent evaluator to ensure absolute transparency. We all will be watching this and we will not leave those vulnerable children to this company.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the officials from Revenue, who are guests of the superintendent's section in Leinster House. I hope they enjoy their visit.

Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Fianna Fail)
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I rise today to speak about the issue of road safety, particularly with regard to pedestrianisation. I do not notice it as much at home because the streets obviously are not as busy as they are in Dublin, but the few days I am in Dublin I walk around a lot and to see the lack of safety of people crossing the streets in Dublin is unreal. What is frightening is there are parents with young children who are not waiting, as we used say at home to my own boys, "for the man to turn green", and an example is being shown. Every day, I witness really close encounters and someday something big and awful is going to happen. I would like the Minister to come in to discuss road safety in general and specifically with regard to this, and maybe run a national campaign to go back to basics with the red man and the green man because I fear something big and awful is going to happen.

Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein)
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Ireland has a good reputation for the production of high-quality food, achieved primarily on our family farms where there is traceability from farm to fork, but this is dependent on the continuation of the family farm. That is in danger because of the age profile of our farmers. I attended a briefing by Macra last week and some stark statistics were provided. Over one third of Irish farmers are over 65 years of age. Forty per cent have no identified successor, with 20% having no successor at all. Only 4.3% of our farmers are under 35 years of age. Macra is calling for a number of measures to address this, but one of them is a succession scheme. It has called for this for a long time. However, it wants one that works well and will encourage the farmer to pass on the farm to a family member or to enter into partnership. There is a partnership scheme where a farmer can pass on a farm to someone who is not related to him but Macra is calling for the removal of a three-year requirement for succession within that because it says it is acting as a barrier rather than an incentive. This is really important. We have to address it and it is not being addressed. I am aware it is an EU-wide issue as well. The age profile of farmers across the EU is quite high but in order to continue the production of high-quality food, we need to see the family farm thrive rather than going to corporate farming options.

Macra has called for other things, such as priority investment in targeted agricultural modernisation schemes, TAMS, 3 for young farmers because that will encourage efficiency, drive economic growth and create environmental benefits. They have many other asks to improve life in rural Ireland for young farmers. I have to say the president of Macra, Josephine O'Neill, is a very impressive young woman. We had a detailed conversation about all this. I would love to see a discussion with the Minister on the floor of the House about what we are going to do to address the age profile of the farmer in Ireland.

Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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Yesterday, the Minister and Ministers of State for Transport announced additional funding for regional and local roads damaged during Storm Chandra. Monaghan was allocated €900,000, which is welcome, but I could not believe no funding was allocated for Cavan, which also had serious road flooding issues. In a statement, the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, said, "The funding made available today will ensure that priority work can be undertaken ... to restore our regional and local roads, keeping our rural communities and businesses connected and protected." This is all well-intentioned but the reality is our road network is far from being maintained and protected.

Only this week I received an email from Drung cycling club just outside Cootehill because one of its members came off her bike after hitting a massive pothole. The lady now has a broken arm, significant facial injuries and bruises because of a completely avoidable accident. Absolutely no one should suffer life-changing injuries because of a pothole that could have been repaired. Local authorities are doing their best but they cannot spend money they do not have and their calls for additional funding are not being heard.

The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, recently refused to meet with councillors to discuss roads funding because he had no time. However, he did have time for a photo op of him opening the N55. He then had the cheek to call councillors who boycotted the opening of this road "self-promoting". Councillors boycotted the event because they are not being listened to, because they want to stand up for their communities and because the Minister will not meet with them. Since getting elected, I have tried to get a debate with the Minister on this issue on countless occasions. The Minister has said that he likes to meet people and work with them. He has not demonstrated that to me. If the Minister is so happy to work with people, why will he not come into this Chamber to justify the lack of funding for Cavan County Council?

Aubrey McCarthy (Independent)
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Just before I came up here, I had an interview on Ukraine's television equivalent of RTÉ. There was an overnight attack, which killed 17. I was asked about the European Presidency and Ireland taking up that Presidency, but the focus came back to Aughinish and the alumina plant. I was sent a list of questions and that was not on it, but we cannot be seen to support Ukraine and support Ukraine's war, and also support Ukrainian citizens in Ireland, while at the same time allowing a firm deliver manufactured materials to Russia, which then attacks Ukraine. I know we have an investigation but it needs to be swift and transparent, and then we need to move on whatever the outcome is.

I also welcome the housing figures showing more than 7,800 homes were completed in the first quarter. That is an increase of 33%. Every new home is welcome. The Government is saying that we will have 40,000 houses built by the end of this year. However, the target is meant to be around 50,000. My fear is there is roughly a shortfall of 10,000. I do not want to take from the Minister for housing's progress in getting the numbers up but we still have to up our game. The Deputy Leader will be aware that I am involved with Tiglin and I have worked on homelessness for many years. I see that 17,500 people are now in emergency accommodation.Behind every one of those figures is a person. While I genuinely believe and welcome the figures, I see the number of planning applications that have gone through has decreased. We need to focus on how we can move to homelessness falling. Until fewer children are growing up in hotel rooms and fewer families are turning to organisations like mine, our work will be far from done in this House. We need to focus on getting the numbers to the Government target.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I spoke this morning on a Commencement matter about the Dublin task force and the Taoiseach's Department responded through one of the Ministers of State. Again, I welcome the plans for the Dublin task force. My concern earlier was about the roles of the task force and its interim group of 16 members. It is great to see there are elected members on it. That is positive and augurs well for a model of collaboration between local and central government. We have seen initiatives in Limerick city. People are sometimes cautious when central government is involved with local government, but they are always happy when the money from central government comes to local government. I warmly welcome the Dublin city task force. I wish Mr. Watt well in the specific task he has been tasked with. It is always important when there is a task force that people clearly understand their functions. There are 62 elected members on Dublin City Council and I wish them and their chief executive well in the work. I just wanted to say "Well done" on all that.

I am also highly impressed, from the bit I know and have seen, with the vision and plan for the GPO's transfer to the Office of Public Works, OPW. The OPW is an extraordinary organisation that sometimes comes in for a bit of bad press. However, I know a lot about its work. I have been to many of its sites. Many of us were at Dublin Castle, which is yet another site it beautifully maintains, so I wish it well.

Finally, I will ask the Deputy Leader again, as it would be helpful before the summer recess, if we can have some indication about the local government task force because Members across the House have advocated strongly for it. It would be a pity to go into a recess for two months without having an opportunity at some point to discuss its recommendations.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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I am still busy writing on the last issue. I thank all 13 Senators who contributed to the Order of Business this morning.

We started with Senator Fitzpatrick who spoke about the verdict of the jury in the case involving the awful stabbing at Parnell Square. Many of us were brought back to the day of 23 November 2023 when that awful tragedy happened and what ensued in Dublin after it. As the Senator said, much changed for that little girl, her family, the whole school community and the larger community. I listened to her mother speak yesterday. What an incredible woman. She is without bitterness and just wants to help her daughter to live the best life she can in a difficult situation. She is an incredible woman. As the Senator said, the verdict will not turn back the clock, but we saw true heroes in Leanne Flynn, Caio Benicio and others who assisted. They are incredible people so it is important to shine a light on them.

The opening ceremony, which many of us had the privilege of attending yesterday, was absolutely excellent. A huge "Well done" to all involved. The cultural programme was absolutely excellent. We were able to showcase the best of Irish talent and culture, a merging of the old and new. That is important in any celebration such as that. It is an important time for Ireland and Europe and the Senator is right to hope we can all work together to ensure the priorities of the EU Presidency, of competitiveness, values and security, are upheld right across Europe. In the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, and the negotiations, particularly around the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, we need to ensure the Irish influence works in a positive way.

It is the 250th birthday of the USA. While the present presidential team is often criticised, and rightly so, we still have to celebrate all the positive aspects of the US and the many Americans who live here and the many Irish people who live in America. We wish all well, particularly all those who work for American companies in Ireland.

Senator Boyle spoke about Government initiatives to encourage skilled workers to come home. Some of the areas they focus on are housing, health and childcare, which are key issues for all of us when making decisions to come home. The Senator raised a valid point that the driving licence rules are quite draconian. People who have a licence here and then leave and spend more than ten years away have to sit a test again. The Senator suggested the possibility of requiring them to do a refresher course instead. We will certainly ask the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, to come for a debate on this. Once people have sat a test in this country and have driving experience elsewhere during the period of absence, it would make sense to do that. The insurance for those returning can be draconian as well, and that needs to be looked at.

I accept Senator Mullen's amendment. It is a well thought-out motion so I thank him for it. I note Senator Keogan seconded it.

We spent a little time on Thursday last week talking about the drugs use committee and I understand there will be a debate in both Houses, and rightly so, when its report has been laid. Senator Mullen focused on only one of 161 recommendations and it is the one that is getting all the attention. The report does not call for the legalisation of drugs. It calls for the decriminalisation of the individual, which is slightly different. We need to have a clear, health-led approach, but I agree that we need to have clear laws on drugs as well. It is a complex issue and without doubt, all Members, whatever seat they sit in, want to see a situation where we are preventing addiction and helping those who have sadly fallen into addiction to recover their lives and taking the scourge of drug addiction off our streets. The consequences of crime and how families and communities are impacted are shocking. Drug selling, distribution and dealing would still be crimes under the recommendations, but they are just recommendations at this point. I agree we need to have a debate.

Senator Andrews spoke about puppy farms. He held a successful briefing in the audiovisual room yesterday. He spoke about the website dogs.ie, which takes no responsibility for the dogs it promotes. He is right that these websites should be regulated because, unfortunately, a lot of the dogs they are promoting are in high-volume breeding factories. We need strict compliance with high welfare standards. With the upcoming legislation, we will have the opportunity to debate that further.

Senator Dee Ryan has consistently highlighted health concerns in Limerick and the mid-west area. Today, she spoke about the protest in Limerick last Tuesday, which she attended with nurses and midwives who have huge concerns, as the INMO has, about the staffing at University Hospital Limerick, particularly in the neonatal unit, which is an important element of the hospital.What is happening there at the moment in relation to staffing has been described as catastrophic by health professionals themselves. The Senator has also raised consultant numbers and dental appointments for young people before. We will ask the Minister to come in and address this and give an update on the new site at Limerick which will be really important for the mid-west area as well as the people of Limerick. A new neonatal clinic could go there.

Senator Keogan spoke about a report from the Children’s Rights Alliance about vulnerable minors and particularly unaccompanied children who come to this country. She spoke of her concerns about private companies having the contracts to take these young children. My understanding is they are quite heavily regulated and rightly so. I know someone on an individual basis who happens to work with Tusla. I know from informal conversation that they are really involved in the placement of the unaccompanied minors and the monitoring of them. The Senator is right. It is a concern and we need to ensure the regulation is there and that we can support these young people who are very vulnerable in whatever way we can.

Senator Murphy O’Mahony spoke about road safety for pedestrians and particularly what they call jaywalking in America. There is such a difference when you walk on the streets here and in America where people will not jaywalk. They have such respect for the lights. As adults sometimes we are giving a bad example to children and schoolchildren when we decide we will take a chance and cross when there is a red light. We all have to reflect on our own behaviour. We will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Canney to come in and debate this and see if we can roll out an educational programme among young people and let them tell adults, if adults want to take that chance, that they are wrong. We have to empower them to be able to say that too.

Senator Pauline Tully spoke about her meeting with Macra na Feirme when it was here giving a briefing and about Ireland’s really excellent reputation in food production. We are relying on our farmers for that. She raised the concern about the age profile of our farmers and that we need to have good succession plans. At the EU affairs committee about three months ago, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, very clearly said that a priority for him was encouraging younger farmers and succession within farming. All the EU Commissioners are meeting in Cork today, as they do at the start of any EU Presidency, in relation to the host country but we do need to see advances on that and we will look for a debate on that with the Minister for agriculture when we come back in September.

Senator Sarah O’Reilly spoke about funding for roads for Cavan and not for the first time. I noticed Cavan was left out; Kildare was left out too so I have questions about it as well. I know she has raised this before so I assume she has put in a Commencement matter specifically on roads for Cavan. She is nodding her head. I will take it up with the Minister to see if we can get some response on that because she has been very consistent in raising it.

Senator McCarthy spoke about Aughinish Alumnia in Limerick. I would make the point that 800 people work there. It is the biggest ratepayer in Limerick and the biggest user of Foynes Port. An investigation is going on to see where the finished product actually goes to and if it is used in war products in Russia. The EU rule on sanctions was very clear that sanctions would only come into place once the host country was not going to be overly disadvantaged by being sanctioned so we have a bit to go in relation to this. I agree we need to see the report come out. We must also be mindful of 800 people and their families who are relying on employment and who are very nervous about sanctions being imposed and their livelihoods.

Senator McCarthy also mentioned housing. He said the Minister, Deputy Browne, had made great progress but we need to see more. It was interesting at yesterday’s ceremony to see António Costa mention affordable housing very specifically and how it is an issue right across Europe. We can tend to focus on how our communities are being impacted but it is across Europe. It was very clear from what he said that Europe needs to be able to step in and help and support where it can with progressive policies.

Senator Boyhan spoke of the plans for the Dublin task force and welcomed them. The new Lord Mayor, Daryl Barron, is very keen to make sure they are implemented. He also spoke about the transfer of the GPO to the OPW. It will be an incredible project and I am really looking forward to seeing that being advanced. I take the Senator’s point about looking for an indication of the local democracy task force. We will ask the Minister if we can get some type of briefing before recess.

I thank all the Senators.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Senator Mullen has moved an amendment to the Order of Business, "That No. 17 be taken before No. 1." It has been seconded by Senator Keogan and the Deputy Leader has indicated she is prepared to accept the amendment. Is that agreed? Agreed.