Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Before I call the Leader to outline the Order of Business, I welcome the students from St. Gerald's College, Castlebar, County Mayo. They looked like Mayo footballers of the future, or the present, actually, when they were standing for a photograph. I wish the lads the best of luck. I hope Mayo wins the all-Ireland football final at some time in their lifetimes, although not if Mayo is playing Kerry. I thank their teachers, Tracey Flynn and Regina Duffy, for bringing them to Leinster House. We hope they enjoy their day and get safely back home to Mayo, though not with the Sam Maguire Cup this year.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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One of the unwritten rules of Leinster House is that students visiting should have no homework for the day, or the week, possibly. We will leave that at the discretion of the teachers. There should definitely be no homework today anyway.

Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail)
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I join with the Leader in welcoming the students from St. Gerald's College, Castlebar. I thank Harry Gaughan for organising the visit. I had the pleasure of having him on an internship programme for several days a week as part of his schoolwork. He showed great interest and was anxious that his team would come and join him. His team is a big team. If Harry ever decides to go into politics, he will have a fairly significant canvassing team around him. We might not have as much excitement today as we did in the days he was here. The crisis at RTÉ in respect of licence fees was going on at the time. We do not blame Harry for that crisis blowing up, but it is a little calmer today.

Yesterday we discussed the issues that flared up on O'Connell Street last Thursday. Part of that debate is the issue of migration and the way in which that issue has been hijacked by elements of the far right. They have used it for their own political ideology. They have used social media and other channels to spread disinformation. This House, politics generally and people who have a right-minded approach to the way society should be ordered have a duty to counteract that. For decades, there has been an unwritten rule in Ireland that we do not discuss the race issue. We leave it alone and try not to push back against this far right thing. We now have a duty now to discuss it and push back. We need an open discussion. We need to counter the untruths that are being told. Unfortunately, certain people in society are, through no fault of their own, being fed untruths and misinformation that are leading them in a direction I do not believe their hearts or heads want to go. As a society, we must challenge this at every opportunity. I am not just talking about challenging the hard right on the streets, rather engaging in appropriate debate, generating truthful information from the centre and explaining our approach to migration. We should be explaining where these people are coming from, the lives they are leading, the pressures and unbelievable situations in many of their countries and why they need help and support. I hear the misinformation or disinformation about open borders and fighting-age men coming to Ireland, as if to provide a narrative, which is being pushed by the far right, that these people are coming to invade our country. Sadly, there are people who believe it. They believe it because those of us who see ourselves as being more middle of the road and responsible politically are not hammering back. We have not done so because there was an unwritten rule among politicians generally that you did not get into these debates; you just ignored these people and they went away. They are not going away. Rather, they are broadening their base. Through the use of social media in particular, they are disinforming people and creating a very dangerous situation. We should start an open and frank debate on this matter here in the Seanad and it should transcend to the Dáil and committees. If we start discussing these matters here in an open and frank way, it will permeate to create a greater debate in society.

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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I agree with some of what my colleague, Senator Dooley, has said, but I disagree to an extent. The worst thing to happen in our country for a long time happened last Thursday morning with the stabbing of innocent people, including three young children and their carer. Our thoughts and prayers must remain, in particular, with the five-year-old child who remains in a critical condition and with her family. That was, by a mile, the worst thing that happened last Thursday, far worse than the violence, disorder and vandalism that took place later that day, appalling though it was. We need to keep that perspective because the safety of people is always more important than the safety of property. It is the safety of people that should be the lens through which to examine the statements and utterances from the Garda, the Taoiseach and the Government in recent days. Frankly, I do not need to know whether terms like "lunatic", "far right" and "hooligan" are in the Garda Commissioner's vocabulary. I do not need to hear the outrage. I want explanation of what happened and reassurance for the future. Why was the Garda unable to prevent arson and looting at first? How could some of its members have been endangered in the way that happened? Was the time it took to get control of the situation reasonable? What does the Garda need for the future to deal with these threats? It needs more personnel, more resources and, if necessary, more laws. I agree that the strongest measures of law and order are required in response to the thuggery on the streets but many people in Fine Gael in particular must be worried that their party in government has lost touch with the concerns of ordinary voters and gives the impression of being more interested in closing down public debate and in cancel culture than in keeping people safe in practical ways. Fianna Fáil is not immune either. Migration is part of last week's story. There are concerns about whether we are managing it in a way that identifies and deals with the small number of people who may come to our shores with mental health problems or extreme ideologies, perhaps exacerbated by past traumas. At the same time, a Brazilian immigrant who put his own safety at risk and perhaps saved children's lives last week exemplified the nobility and courage to which all Irish people should aspire. He reminded us that we should be generous to migrants because we may be entertaining angels unawares.

The events of last week do not point to a need for vague and imprecise hate speech legislation which undermines democratic rights to speak. The Government must step back from any opportunism here. It must step back from the temptation not to waste a good crisis. If there was incitement on social media, and there may well have been, it was incitement to violence. That is where the trouble is. These distinctions matter. The Government seems to want to avoid the discussion about how people are to be kept safe by pretending that if you can silence enough awkward questions and viewpoints, the problems will go away. We will have a better Ireland when we are generous to migrants, but when people also know they can keep their Government's feet to the fire in order that everyone can feel safe and free speech for our citizens is vital for that. There cannot be any elitist talking down to people about what topics they may discuss and what topics are forbidden. That does not work in a democracy; it only pushes things underground, stores up problems for the future. That is part of the story of what we are living now. I do not want to hear more talk from the Government, any cynical use of this crisis to push through vague, imprecise and dangerous hate speech legislation.

Regina Doherty (Fine Gael)
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I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, that No. 10 be taken before No. 1.

We are introducing the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) (Control of Nitrous Oxide) Bill 2023. As most Members are aware, nitrous oxide, more commonly known as laughing gas, is probably the recreational drug most abused by those aged 18 or younger. It is probably apt that we have such an abundant number of young people under the age of 18 with us in the Gallery. It is particularly popular among teenagers due to the temporary buzz it provides.More important, it is popular especially because of its ease of access. It has become easy to buy the canisters online, with some websites even making special offers. Its use is on the rise and, as many of us will be aware, it has become closely linked to antisocial behaviour, from intimidating gatherings to the littering with canisters of public spaces. A lot of Tidy Towns groups have reported to us that they find multiple cans when they go out on their daily litter clean-up.

In an effort to combat antisocial behaviour but also because of the rise of the awareness of this drug, my Fine Gael colleagues and I have drafted a Bill that will amend the Misuse of Drugs Act and related Acts and allow provisions to be made for the control of this substance under law. There are serious concerns about the use of laughing gas by young people because it has been known to cause hallucinations, blurred vision and nausea and excessive use can have even more long-term consequences. The symptoms are a result of what inhaling laughing gas does to the body. It deactivates vitamin B12 and causes damage to the brain and, in particular, to the nervous system. It can also prevent oxygen from properly entering the bloodstream, which is very concerning for our young people.

We recognise that there is, undoubtedly, a role for nitrous oxide to play in some small parts of society, such as medicine, pain relief and dentistry, but we are seeking to give the Minister the power to restrict its sale in Ireland, especially online, and make sure there are only specific uses for the drug. I hope we can amend the proposed Order of Business in that regard.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator Doherty. I call Senator Boylan and again wish her a happy birthday.

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
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Go raibh maith agat. This is the first chance I have had to raise the horrific attack that happened on Parnell Square last Thursday, but I want first to take up Senator Dooley's comments about the unwritten rule in respect of addressing race. I do not know what unwritten rule he is talking about. From my perspective as an elected representative and that of our party, we have been engaging on the issue of racism for years, listening to communities and engaging with them on concerns they might have, and fighting back if people are racist, whether online or in our communities. There is no unwritten rule. We all have a job of leadership to talk to our communities and stamp out any form of racism-----

Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail)
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The Senator may have misunderstood. I was talking about the public airways.

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
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There is no unwritten rule. It is everybody's obligation to show leadership on the issue of racism.

As I said, I want to focus on what happened on Thursday, and my thoughts go out to those children who were seriously injured and to the carer in that horrific attack, as well as to those who intervened and put their lives on the line to put children in safety and protect the person who had been carrying out the attack from further attacks. It showed that when people are at risk and scenarios such as this happen, people's instincts are inherently about the greater good and about intervening to protect others. Everybody who played a role on Thursday in that regard needs to be commended on and thanked for their actions.

We heard last night on "Prime Time" from Niall Hodgins of the Garda Representative Association, GRA. I will quote him directly because what he said was astounding. He stated:

There was no plan ... Members turned up simply because of WhatsApp messages being passed around from garda to garda ... no instruction came down to the members. I could give ... a myriad of examples ... about a number of text messages that were circulated but it was from garda to garda about witnessing what was happening to their colleagues. They decided upon themselves to get into a car and drive to the [assistance of their work colleagues] ... It was absolutely chaotic.

Any of us who watched the events unfold last week will know the gardaí were left high and dry on Thursday. There was no leadership from the top down. In light of all the accounts from Garda representatives, it is astounding the Minister and the Garda Commissioner will still not accept that they lost control of our capital city on Thursday night. It is also an insult to the intelligence of the entire population to say it could not have been anticipated. I could show the House text messages I was sending and phone calls I was making at 3.30 p.m. on Thursday telling friends and family members to get out of town and get home in whatever way they could because it was going to turn very nasty. It beggars belief, therefore, that the Minister and the Garda Commissioner are still saying that could not have been anticipated.

Mark Wall (Labour)
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I too raise the "Prime Time" programme broadcast last night. When I left the House, I went home to watch it. I watched Sarah McInerney interview Niall Hodgins of the Garda Representative Association and it was an extraordinary interview. In his answers, Niall Hodgins informed all of us who were watching that, as my colleague has said, there was no plan. Garda members turned up simply because of WhatsApp messages being passed from garda to garda. He described it as chaos. I am sure that other colleagues in the House have, like me, seen the videos of Garda members being isolated and attacked again and again by a baying mob. It is simply not good enough that this was allowed to happen in the capital city.

In every justice debate in which I have taken part in this House since I was elected, I have raised with the various Ministers or Ministers of State of the day the issue of Garda resources and numbers in south Kildare. I have also heard colleagues from Dublin, in both this House and the Lower House, raise issues time and again relating to Dublin. All of this raises the question as to who is in charge. Who is providing the leadership the GRA spoke about last night and who is responsible for that leadership? Who can restore confidence among our gardaí and among the general public? The Commissioner and the justice Minister will appear before the justice committee today and tomorrow and we will have to ask questions. There is no doubt but that after the horrific events of last Thursday night, confidence in the security system of this country is at an all-time low. I hope we can get in the coming days answers to the questions the public and the members of the Garda deserve.

I have come across the following issue as a member of the cross-party autism committee. It relates to communication boards. They can play a very important part for those in the autistic community and for those with a number of other disabilities. Communication boards are invaluable tools for non-verbal individuals, offering a means to express thoughts, needs and desires. They comprise symbols, pictures or words arranged systematically on a grid or display, allowing users to point, gesture or use eye-tracking technology to communicate. I raise this today because two of my colleagues in County Kildare, Councillors Mark Leigh and Ciara Galvin, have been involved in introducing them in the county. A number of the boards have been installed in playgrounds in County Kildare over recent weeks and they have made a huge difference. I call for this to be replicated in each local authority, and not just in the number that exists in Kildare at the moment but throughout the county and the wider State. The feedback from parents who bring their children to playgrounds, when they see the communication board, is phenomenal, and I want to see it replicated throughout the State. I compliment Councillors Leigh and Galvin on bringing this forward in Kildare and I know other local authorities have been similarly involved. It can make and has made a difference and I look forward to seeing it replicated in each local authority.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I raise the Peter McVerry Trust and the work it does. I commend the Government on having approved yesterday the advancement of €15 million to the trust for the homeless. Homelessness is very obvious and in our face, but it also feeds into deprivation, social isolation and many of the other issues that propagate disquiet within our community. It is important, therefore, that the Government has acknowledged this. The Department does not normally directly fund homelessness charities; that funding usually comes through the local authority structures.

We have to acknowledge the enormous work the trust has undertaken. Long before it was at the top of all the political agendas, Fr. McVerry and the trust he set up, from which he has since stood back somewhat, have done amazing work. It is involved in promoting and a just system for people who are homeless and advocating for them, and in being a first point of contact for people on the ground, so I acknowledge that important work. It was right that the Government supported it by providing the €15 million to get it going. It is, as I understand, conditional for the Minister and rightly so. It is true the charity has run into corporate governance and cash flow issues but the bottom line is the trust is doing good work and is collaborating with local authorities, not only in Dublin but throughout the country. It is commendable that the Government is stepping in. I know there was some resistance to the funding being given to the charity but that is the decision the Cabinet has made. It is the right decision and it is important we acknowledge that fact, but there has to be more robust corporate governance for the charity and I understand that is a condition of the funding.I wish the charity well. I hope it gets back on its feet. I hope it builds confidence again and continues to do its outreach work. It is great that the Government is fully supporting it albeit with the conditionality about corporate governance. I say, "Well done" to all involved who made that happen.

Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael)
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I support the amendment proposed by Senator Doherty to the Order of Business to take No. 10 before No. 1, regarding the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) (Control of Nitrous Oxide) Bill 2023. It is incredibly important that we bring this forward. I am chair of a drugs task force and am aware of the increase in nitrous oxide use. The view of some parents that it is safe and that it is a recreational thing to do in the home is really quite shocking when, in fact, it has damaged young people. Young people have received cognitive impairment that they will never recover from as a consequence of this and it is time it was put on the footing that is set out in that Bill.

I stand today to comment on last Thursday and absolutely condemn the violence and what we saw, first of all, the attack on the children and the care worker. Our prayers are for them; for that little girl and that care worker. Second, I condemn the violence that we saw on the street and applaud the incredible bravery of members of the public, as well as An Garda Síochána. We cannot depart from the fact that there is a central role here of social media in this. I, too, saw the messages in community groups and people being anxious on Thursday afternoon as the country of origin of the assailant in the incident was being put out on social media. There was a very quick move to then brand all migrants in the same way and I agree with Senator Dooley that we need a debate in this House on that. We need to hold Members to account for some of the inflammatory statements that have been made in this House and draw attention to the fact that if one is in public life, one has a duty to lead with integrity and to ensure that one is not inflaming situations.

This brings me to the notorious Conor McGregor and the fact that his statements were also being pasted into community groups as they utterly condemned what he was saying on Twitter, formerly X, on Thursday afternoon. It is a matter for the Garda. It is not for me to question beyond that other than to say the following in respect of someone in a position like him. There was one time when he was a hero for people in the community. He worked with Crumlin Boxing Club, and they were fantastic. There are men in there who dedicate their lives to the mentoring of young people right down the right direction and he is, most certainly, not one of them. We need to also hold Twitter to account.

Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein)
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Today, as the Leas-Chathaoirleach will be aware, is international solidarity day with Palestine and I call for a further debate on the issue of the illegal occupation of Palestine which has gone on for 56 years. As the Leader will be aware, there are points on which we agree. We all called for a permanent ceasefire. We in Sinn Féin have recognised the value in that call. However, there are fundamental points of disagreement between ourselves on the left and Fine Gael and its sister party, Fianna Fáil. Fundamentally, for example, we believe there must be consequences for Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine. There must be consequences, in particular, for the genocide that we have witnessed over the past number of weeks of over 13,000 human beings, including 10,000 women and children. We believe the occupied territories Bill should be passed. Fianna Fáil has flip-flopped on this issue. When it was in opposition, the party stated it was in favour of it. Now Fianna Fáil is in government, it has abandoned the Bill. Fianna Fáil has argued that it cannot pass such a Bill and it has to be done at EU level. Perhaps the Leader might reflect on the fact that Belgium passed a Bill almost identical to the occupied territories Bill 2018 only last week. They have shown leadership. They have shown that they believe that there must be consequences for genocide and for the illegal occupation of Palestine.

I have to say the stance of the Government is in stark contrast to the stance in relation to Russia, where, quite rightly, it has called for strong action. The Government has called for sanctions against Russia. It has completely avoided the issue of sanctions in relation to Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine. When the Government had an opportunity to deal with the issue of divestment in relation to companies in the occupied territories where the State has invested €4 million of taxpayers' money shamefully, the Government put off any opportunity to deal with that. Clearly, the Leader and the Government do not believe there should be consequences. If the Leader does, I ask her to spell them out in her response. That is not acceptable. I have said for some time that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are on the wrong side of history when it comes to Palestine and the Palestinian people. Sinn Féin will always stand with Palestine.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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Some time ago, I spoke, and the Leader herself spoke, on the appointment of the next head of intelligence for the State and it surprises me that they are continuing with the appointment. Former colleagues from the UK have contacted me and they cannot believe that we would even consider the appointment of a foreign national. By the way, those who came in here and accused me of racism, etc., because I objected to a foreign national taking the most senior intelligence post in the country have yet to apologise. It was an outrageous allegation to make against me. The bottom line on it is-----

Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein)
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On a point of order, is Senator Craughwell saying that foreign nationals were objecting to a foreign national?

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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One cannot interrupt a Senator unless the Senator gives one permission. Is Senator Craughwell giving way to Senator Gavan?

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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There is no need to give way.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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That is fine. Senator Craughwell, without interruption.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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The bottom line on it is we really have to think about what we are doing. The person who will take over intelligence in this country will have access to information on all of us, on past deeds in this country and on those who were involved in various different things down through the history of this country. Micheál Martin, in the Dáil the other day, said that the person appointed would be appointed under normal appointment conditions and would have to take an oath to the State, etc. For God's sake, I ask the Government Senators to talk to their parties. One cannot have a foreign national heading up the Irish intelligence service. Would the British take a Frenchman to head up MI5? Would the Americans take an Englishman to head up the CIA? It would not happen. I ask that the Leader organise a debate on security in this House in order that we can get to the core of it.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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Hear, hear.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Senator Doherty has tabled an amendment to the Order of Business: "That No. 10 be taken before No. 2". The amendment was seconded by Senator Seery Kearney. The Leader has indicated she is prepared to accept the amendment. Is the amendment agreed to? Agreed.