Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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Before I ask the Acting Leader to outline the Order of Business, I welcome Saara Heinola - apologies for getting the pronunciation desperately wrong - who is the chargé d'affaires at the embassy of Finland here in Dublin. The new ambassador is not here but we wish her well in her new appointment. Today is the national day of Finland. On my own behalf and on behalf of all Senators, I congratulate the members of staff in the embassy, the community who are represented by our two friends here and the people of Finland on their national day. I wish them a happy independence day and thank them for all they do. It is wonderful that we have an Irish-Finnish business context as well. It is great that we can celebrate the national day of Finland as friends of Ireland who have helped us and supported us in many different ways in the last number of years. We have not forgotten that and we will not. Thank you very much for being here. Enjoy your celebration and watch party this evening. I hope you have an enjoyable day.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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The visitors are very welcome. I welcome them to the Visitors' Gallery, and our friends on our right as well.

The Order of Business is No. 1, Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2023 – All Stages, to be taken at 12.45 p.m. and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 60 minutes 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, with the opening contribution by the Minister on Second Stage not to exceed six minutes, all Senators not to exceed six minutes and the Minister to be given five minutes to reply to the debate; No. 2, Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022 – Committee Stage, to be taken on conclusion of No. 1 and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 60 minutes 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; No. 3, Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023 – Committee Stage, to be taken at 3 p.m. or on the conclusion of No. 2, whichever is the later, and to adjourn after two hours if not previously concluded; No. 122(7), Private Members' motion regarding local government, to be taken at 5.15 p.m. or on the conclusion of No. 3, whichever is the later, with the time allocated to the debate not to exceed two hours; and No. 4, Sex Offenders (Amendment) (Coercive Control) Bill 2023 – Second Stage, to be taken at 7.15 p.m. or on the conclusion of No. 122(7), whichever is the later, with the time allocated to this debate not to exceed two hours.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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The students can all suí síos arís. Cuirim fíorfháilte roimh na daltaí as Rutland National School in honour of the visit of the school and in recognition of the good work of Senator Fitzpatrick. On behalf of the Seanad, Senator Fitzpatrick and myself, I thank the school for the student council leadership and for its great work. May I, on our own behalf, offer that the students not have any homework tonight to celebrate their being in Leinster House? This is also in recognition of the fact that in a couple of weeks' time there will be a very important visitor to the pupils' homes. That visitor sent me a message with Senator Fitzpatrick this morning, which is that they must be on best behaviour for the next couple of weeks. I am sure they know who I am talking about. The children are very welcome. I call Senator Keogan.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach and join with him in welcoming the children here this morning. I hope you enjoy your visit to your House today.

I am calling for a debate with the Minister for Justice on the exchanges between An Garda Síochána, X and Coimisiún na Meán regarding the protests and riots in Dublin city centre on Thursday, 23 November. Addressing the Dáil on 29 November, the Minister stated that she had spoken to a detective from Pearse Street on the previous Saturday who was actively engaged with the social media companies, including TikTok, Instagram and Facebook-Meta, on Thursday, 23 November. She said that TikTok and Meta had responded by taking down posts about the stabbing and the fallout but that X did not engage and did not adhere to its own community standards. Coimisiún na Meán was established in order to make sure that these companies are held responsible. X's global government affairs team said on Monday that what the Minister said is inaccurate and stated that it had, in the context of its own rules, taken a proactive stance and removed more than 1,230 pieces of content relating to the riots. It stated:

We met with the Coimisiún na Meán on November 24 to discuss our response. The Gardai did not make any formal requests to us until late Monday 27th November. We responded promptly.

The only appeal we have received from the Gardai relating to the enforcement of our rules is for a single post.

We hope the Minister will clarify her remarks.

Obviously, these statements are mutually exclusive. Either the Pearse Street detective was actively engaged with X and was, ergo, able to report that X did not engage, or X's global government affairs team is right in stating that the Garda did not make any formal request to it until late on Monday, 27 November.

The Houses of Oireachtas and the people of Ireland deserve to know the truth of the situation. I understand that the Department of Justice press office offered the following response yesterday when asked about this apparent contradiction, when it stated:

Minister McEntee was relaying concerns directly raised with her by frontline Gardaí who were working on the day of the riots.

The Minister will continue to engage with An Garda Síochána on these matters, and looks forward to directly engaging with X.

Here, the Minister's claims are not restated. Looking in from the outside, one could be forgiven for thinking that the singling out of X by the Minister might have something to do with Elon Musk's outspoken criticism of her Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill and that she was engaged in the type of political-----

John Cummins (Fine Gael)
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Come on.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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Senator Keogan, without interruption, please.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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-----point-scoring that she so vocally detests when it comes to Sinn Féin. There is no way to know for sure without a debate on the issue, which I am calling for this morning. I am delighted to hear that the young child is making a recovery.

Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Chair. It is wonderful to have the opportunity to have three minutes to speak in the Chamber.

I want to raise the issue of the knackeries and where matters stand at the moment. We have a significant issue in Ireland whereby there is a dispute between the people who collect fallen animals and the people who render the animals. All knackeries in Ireland are effectively closed. We have a build-up of fallen animals in rural Ireland. I spoke to individuals in west Cork earlier about the fact that more than 35 calls were made to one knackery. The owner does not have the ability to go out and pick these animals up because he has no place to take them. Mental health is a significant issue with Irish farmers. People do not want to be around farms where there are dead animals, but farmers cannot now move the carcasses of these animals. The people who pick up the dead animals are effectively out of business at present. They cannot move, knackeries are full and there is no place to render the carcasses because these people have left the trade. The dispute with the rendering plants needs to be dealt with. I cannot for the life of me understand how it has come to this. We knew that this issue was building in the past few months, but it has now hit a real crisis point.

I am not calling for a debate on the matter. The time for debate is over. There needs to be a meeting between the Minister, the knackeries and the rendering plants about how we can move forward. We need to have a solution very quickly, otherwise this unfortunate issue will just continue. Through the good offices of the Chair and the Leader, a note needs to be sent to the Minister about arranging the meeting I am calling for. Dialogue needs to happen, otherwise we will literally have dead animals lying around Ireland. Unfortunately, winter is coming. This means that there is potential for more animals to die. This is scandalous. I just cannot understand where matters stand.

I beg the indulgence of the House because I want to raise a second issue.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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The Senator is okay and he can do what he wants.

Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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That is a rarity.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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Is that a new thing?

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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Senator Lombard is the lead speaker. He has three minutes to raise multiple matters. The other Senator had the same time.

Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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If I could get the three minutes, it would be great.

The second issue is in regard to a briefing we will be having in the audiovisual room this afternoon. This is about trying to ensure that we can get money for new medicines. We are having a significant briefing as we have patient advocates and the industry coming in and they will inform us on what is out there on the market, and what is available in the private insurance companies and is not available in the public system. We have a two-tier health system. We have a system whereby the private health insurance companies are paying for medicines that can cure diseases or extend someone's life while, unfortunately, we do not have the same access on the public health system, which is completely outrageous. This has developed over the past three to four years in particular. It is taking 20 to 22 months to get these medicine through the procedures in order that they can be obtained on the HSE list. Unfortunately, people are losing their lives while this is happening. I hope that Members of the Oireachtas might attend the presentation in the audiovisual room because it needs to be stressed to the Minister that unless we change this, patient outcomes will be very much affected.

The Chair knows my story. My late brother Ger died of skin cancer. I will never forget the fact that Interferon was the drug that was used. It extended Ger's life by 18 months. Those are the kinds of medicine that are out there which we need to get into the system.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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We remember the Senator's brother fondly. He was a good man. I call Senator Currie. I have used gender here, Senator Cummins.

John Cummins (Fine Gael)
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That is fine. Ladies first.

Emer Currie (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach and Senator Cummins. I want to raise yesterday's news that increases in road tolls will go ahead on 1 January. I appreciate the delay from the start of 2023 and the fact that the Government subsidised the companies involved in public private partnerships, PPPs, since June, although I have other questions as to how these PPPs work.

I want to talk about the M50 and the eFlow barrier-free toll operated by Transport Infrastructure Ireland. I acknowledge that the toll revenue goes towards the upkeep and the renewal of the national road network but the toll bridge, as it is known on the M50, is the only place where a toll is actually charged. As far as I can see there has been no consideration of the impact these charges are going to have on the communities of Lucan, Castleknock, Clonsilla and the Strawberry Beds, where one can see people avoiding the tolls and the effect this has on congestion. This can been seen more at weekends, when people have more time. There is going to be a significant increase of 20 cent for cars and €2.50 per journey if you have a tag. It will be €3.10 for a video account and €3.70 each way if you do not. For other categories of vehicles, there will be an increase of between 30 cent and 40 cent. Let us remember that when it comes to electric vehicle discounts, these are also going.

The Economic an Social Research Institute says that the user pays. With regard to Castleknock and Lucan, however, we probably pay the most and have not seen any mitigation in the context of the impact the congestion to which I refer has on our communities.What is the plan? Places like Lucan village, the Strawberry Beds and Clonsilla cannot just continue to take; there has to be some give.

John Cummins (Fine Gael)
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I support the comments of my colleague Senator Lombard on the issues around the knackeries dispute. It is a big challenge throughout rural Ireland at the moment. It urgently needs to be addressed.

I have raised the large-scale sports infrastructure fund on the Order of Business and during a debate with the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, a couple of weeks ago in this Chamber. This morning's announcement that €3.3 million is being allocated from the fund to the Waterford GAA county board for the redevelopment of Walsh Park is really positive. In all of my engagements I asked for organisations that drove on with such projects - in the case of the Waterford county board, it cut its cloth to its measure and delivered phase 1 of the Walsh Park redevelopment - not to be penalised for going ahead with projects. Thankfully, that is the position the Government took up. The allocation of €3.3 million means the county board will be able to proceed with phase 2. That is right and proper because there are other organisations that have not proceeded with any of their projects for a variety of reasons. Those that actually went on with their developments need to be encouraged. What could be done with funding in 2020, when the initial €3.7 million was provided, was very different from what can be achieved in 2023. However, the Waterford county board is to be commended on delivering phase 1 . We look forward to seeing progress on phase 2 with the allocation of €3.3 million.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his organisation of Bród 93/23 last night. It was very impressive. There is a lot of feedback from some of the participants this morning. I was in the UK but want to acknowledge the significance of the Cathaoirleach's leadership in this area. When he was elected Cathaoirleach, he gave a commitment that equality, gay rights and so forth would be at the centre of his platform. True to his word, he has been a strong advocate for all of that and much more. I want to acknowledge that.

I spent the past two days in England at the invitation of Euroforest Ireland, which is a forestry organisation that is very active in Ireland and in the UK. It is clear from site visits yesterday, with both public and private forestry, and from visits to various forestry projects that there is a crisis in Britain but we also have a crisis here. It is clear from other Irish people on that trip that Irish forestry is in crisis. We have ash dieback all over the place. It is a national disaster in the UK. There are crews all over the place. We have to address it. I would like a debate on forestry with a specific focus on ash dieback and the challenges in terms of insurance.

I wish to compliment the Minister of State, Senator Pippa Hackett. For two years I have been calling for a meeting with the Social Economic Environmental Forestry Association, SEEFA. She has finally agreed to meet them at 12 noon today in Agriculture House. It has been a long battle to try to get private forestry stakeholders to the table. I will continue to advocate strongly for a level playing pitch for Coillte, State forestry projects and the private forestry sector, which makes a huge contribution and in which many of our pension plans are involved. We need a balanced debate about public and private forestry. We need a focused debate on the challenges around ash dieback and how we are going to deal with them. I ask that very early in the new year, the Leader might facilitate that.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the announcement today of an additional €10 million from the large-scale sports infrastructure fund for the redevelopment of the Sportsground in Galway, which is the home of Connacht rugby. The first announcement came in January 2020 when €10 million was granted as part of the first phase of what was a €20 million project. There was some disappointment at the time that only - I say that cautiously - €10 million was offered. They needed €20 million. When I served as Government Chief Whip under An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, I was delighted that we received a letter of comfort for the additional €10 million. I am delighted that those funds have come through today and that this announcement has been made. This investment by the State is hugely important in terms of sports facilities. Connacht Rugby deserves the best. It deserves to have facilities that are as good as anywhere else in the country. It fought for its survival a number of years ago when there were moves to disband it and to focus elsewhere. The redevelopment now is great to see. They started with the laying of the new pitch as the first phase. There are plans for a new training centre and the redevelopment of the Clan stand. This investment is hugely important for the economy of Galway city because thousands of people come into the heart of the city on match days. It is within walking distance of Ceannt Station, which is also to be redeveloped. This is a wonderful news story for Galway and for the region. Connacht rugby's patrons come from all over Connacht. It is great news for Galway. It is important that the State continues to invest in sporting facilities throughout the country. It is important for the sports themselves but it is also a huge boost for the economy. It inspires the next generation of youngsters - boys and girls - to go out and play their sports, such as rugby, as in this case, Gaelic games and soccer, etc. This is a great news story for Galway and the west.

Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein)
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Last week I met with a delegation from the Irish Federation of University Teachers. They gave a powerful presentation. I think it was organised by our colleagues in the Labour Party. I was shocked by what they told us. I always assumed that a career in academia would be a pretty good way to make a living. Many of us would have thought that if our kids could end up there, that would be a good space to work. They did an extensive survey which revealed that 36% - more than one in three - of those employed in the sector consider themselves precariously employed. A significant proportion, 32%, of academic roles, particularly in teaching and research, are occupied by individuals who consider themselves precariously employed. Only 15% of researchers - one in ten, in effect - are on permanent contracts and 8% of respondents indicated they did not have a written contract of employment. Imagine that they do not have a written contract of employment. The sector is in ribbons in terms of workers' rights. Perhaps the most shocking thing they told us was that collective bargaining does not happen.

For the university sector to be let go to this degree is an absolute disaster. Of course as usual people are voting with their feet. They are leaving. Some of our best academics are now going abroad. They are going to Europe, the US and so forth because they actually cannot get a permanent job here. The damage is not just to the university sector, and not just to the teaching skills. It is damage to the future education of all our children. This needs an urgent debate. I call for that debate as early as we can in the new year.

We need to address this issue and listen to the trade union involved, which does excellent representation for these people. How can it be acceptable, when we have fully funded State education, that these organisations are not talking to the union because there is no engagement in collective bargaining with the union? They are behaving in a cavalier manner by not giving people decent contracts of employment. In this day and age that is entirely unacceptable.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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There was a welcome auction on Friday and on Monday of about €500,000 worth of goods that have been seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau, CAB. Rolex watches, Louis Vuitton bags and other assets were seized from some of the highest criminals in the country. CAB is an organisation set up by Fine Gael to attack criminal organisations and such people as the former Sinn Féin councillor, Jonathan Dowdall. When we talk about Fine Gael supporting stronger, safer communities, this is exactly what we mean. We are going right into the heart of criminal organisations and hitting them where it hurts. The really important thing about that online sale on Friday and Monday is the €500,000 that has been raised, funding which goes back into the Exchequer.That funding will be put back into communities that have been affected heavily by organised crime. That €0.5 million comes on the back of €3 million that has already been put into 30 communities around the country to support and help them because they have been impacted negatively by some of the worst criminals we have in this country. I welcome and support that.

A number of people have spoken about the announcement of funding for sports clubs today. Tipperary got an extra €200,000 for the sports campus in Thurles, which means that around €750,000 will be put into the design project, which is very important and must be welcomed.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I thank Senators for their presence this morning. Before the Acting Leader makes his contribution, I must say that I welcome the projects that have been announced for the National Rowing Centre, Athletics Ireland, Munster Technological University, and the home of Munster Rugby in Cork in what used to be called Musgrave Park.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I will get the message out.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I knew that would get a reaction from Senator Gavan. Over to the Acting Leader.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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He has been here since 9 o'clock this morning.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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We know that, but this is the Order of Business for the Members, in fairness.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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I know; I am only joking.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I note the Cathaoirleach's comments and those of other Members-----

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I will get the message out.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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-----who have welcomed the announcement of sports funding this morning.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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He was out in other quarters early last night. The Senator is right.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I will pass on their appreciation to the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, at the earliest opportunity.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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He can tell the Minister of State that he was playing other people early last night.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I thank all the Senators that contributed this morning. We kicked off with Senator Fitzpatrick, who extended fantastic news to us on the improvement and recovery of the young girl and the carer that were so viciously attacked a couple of weeks ago in the city. We very much welcome that. Hopefully, as Senator Fitzpatrick outlined, the young girl and the carer in question will be home for Christmas to spend time with their families. That is good news.

Senator Fitzpatrick also talked about the Land Development Agency and the setting up of a possible €3 billion in funding that has the potential to create 6,000 badly needed new homes for people. We look forward to the development of that. She went on to tell us about her visit to Shanganagh yesterday, where 600 new homes are being handed over. That is very positive news in relation to housing. I believe we are making an impact. Of course, there is much more to do and we all accept that, but it is good to see people being handed new homes. The Senator also talked about Dublin City Council and criticised it for the mismanagement of housing in the inner city, and said that in her opinion, certain parts of the city were being ghettoised. We note her comments.

Senator Keoghan called for a debate with the Minister for Justice on the riots in Dublin. She went on to talk about the three social media platforms, TikTok, Meta and X, and the confusion in relation to what exactly is going on there. She called for a debate with the Minister on that. It is certainly something that we can look at in the new year. I note that the Minister for Justice is due before the justice committee tomorrow at 9.30 a.m. Perhaps that might be an opportunity to raise the issue.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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I raised it there.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I know the Senator attended the last meeting of justice committee with the Garda Commissioner and contributed to it. Perhaps there might be an opportunity for her to address that particular issue at the meeting tomorrow.

Senator Lombard talked about knackeries and the fact that they are closed at the moment, which is a very serious issue for the farming community. There is a dispute ongoing there at the moment. The Senator asked us to write to Minister to see if he can bang a few heads together and try to get a resolution to the dispute. No farmer likes to see a knackery van come near his farm. As someone who was born and reared on a farm, I can say that it is a sight that none of us likes to see. It affects the mental health not only of the farmer himself but the entire family, because as we know, farmers love their animals. We would like to see that dispute resolved as soon as possible.

The Senator also mentioned a briefing that is happening today in the AV room on new medicines. He highlighted the frustrating time delay in getting some of these new medicines approved. In some circumstances, and the Senator included his own family in that, it can make the difference in extending a life. It is important. That briefing is on in the AV room this afternoon and Members are free to attend.

Senator Currie raised the impending toll charge increases that are due to come into effect in January 2024. None of us likes to see these particular charges coming. She went on to highlight, and rightly so, the areas like Castleknock and Lucan that will be affected when people are avoiding the tolls and the charges. That is going to lead to congestion for people within those communities. As someone who regularly uses the M1 motorway, I note that the port tunnel charge at peak times is rising from the current rate of €10 to €12, which is a substantial increase. We are told that, unfortunately, inflation is the key component in this increase. It would be welcome for us to have a debate on toll charges in the new year so that people can get clarity on the funding that is coming in via the tolls. There are 12 tolls in total around different parts of the country where these charges occur. Perhaps we can get additional clarity on where the funding is going. I know the increase is being blamed on inflation at the moment, which is fair enough, and the increase in charges for maintenance and so on. I think a debate along those lines would be useful.

Senator Cummins also mentioned the knackery dispute and called for resolution to it. He welcomed the announcement this morning from the Minister for sport that Waterford county board has received €3.3 million through the large scale sport infrastructure fund. Like other Members in this House, I am of the opinion that any money spent in sport is good money, and money well invested. It is great to see all the different organisations getting funding this morning.

Senator Boyhan congratulated the Cathaoirleach for organising an event yesterday evening in the LH 2000 canteen. Unfortunately, I was not around, but I got some feedback this morning and heard that it was a very positive event. I compliment the Cathaoirleach on his work in this area. He said that he set his stall out when he was appointed Cathaoirleach, and that he would talk about and promote gay rights. He has held true to his word. The feedback I received this morning is that it was a good event and was very enjoyable. I compliment the Cathaoirleach for his work in that regard.

Senator Boyhan also raised the issue of ash dieback and requested a debate on it in the new year. Unfortunately, it is a big issue in every part of the country. We will organise a debate with the Minister in the new year.

Senator Kyne also complimented the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, on the large scale sport infrastructure fund announcement for Connacht and Galway. I agree with the Senator that the provision of €10 million in funding is substantial. It is great to see all sports getting it. In particular, it is great to see Connacht Rugby flourishing like it is. I know that the result did not go too well for them last week, but it is great to see rugby alive and well. Indeed, it is great to see all sports being promoted. As I said, any money spent on sport is money well spent. Senator Kyne did not just talk about the sporting aspect of it, but about the economic benefit it brings not just to Galway but indeed the whole region. It is a good news story. I wish Connacht Rugby continued success.

Senator Gavan referenced some worrying statistics on university teachers. I must say that I was taken aback by his contribution. He noted that roughly one in three, or 36%, is in precarious employment. That is a shocking statistic. It is an issue that deserves a debate so that we can shine a light on it. As the Senator said, it does not just affect the teachers concerned. Ultimately, if we are losing good people, it is our young people who will suffer in the long term. I thank the Senator for bringing that to our attention. We will endeavour to get a debate on the issue in early the new year.

Finally, Senator Ahearn talked about the large scale sport infrastructure fund and thanked the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, for the sports capital funding for his home patch. I will pass on his good wishes, and those of the rest of the Senators on that. On a more serious note, he also talked about the Criminal Assets Bureau. The bureau has done fantastic work in this country.It has been a hugely successful outfit. That the half a million euro in funding brought in by the online sale that took place last week is going back into the communities is a fantastic aspect of that. As I said, the Criminal Assets Bureau is a good news story. To be fair, setting it up was a great move. It tracks criminals, and any funding it receives from the sale of whatever it might be goes back into the communities affected. That is a very positive point.

That concludes the contributions from all the Senators this morning.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the family, relations and cousins of our good friend and colleague, Senator Aisling Dolan, to the Gallery. They are all very welcome. They have come from Ballinasloe, Nenagh, Ballydangan and more. They can be justifiably proud of their cousin, who is doing a wonderful job on our behalf and on behalf of the people of her area. The visitors are all very welcome today and I thank them for being here.