Pat Casey (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Acting Leader. I wish to raise the issue of today is in relation to Circular 15/02, which was issued by the Department of Finance. Basically, this provides for civil servants to be granted leave to attend training and emergency search and rescue operations. Every one of us in this House eventually finds a community organisation that touches them. In my case, one of those organisations is Community First Responders. I have been involved with this organisation for some time. I attended the initial meeting in Bray in 2004, at which the concept of community first responders was introduced. I was involved in the establishment of the first recognised community responder group in my community of Laragh, Roundwood and Moneystown. These groups provide an incredible service across the whole country now. I had the privilege of providing my premises as a training facility for a number of years up to the establishment of the national organisation. Indeed, Sonia, my wife, hosted a coffee morning in recent weeks to raise funds because, as we recognise, the various items of equipment that responders use have end-of-life dates and will all have to be replaced at some point.

We had the Community First Responders in here a couple of years ago. The chairman, Mr. John Fitzgerald, was in here when we were discussing the Life Saving Equipment Bill 2017, which our colleague Senator Keith Swanick introduced in 2017. It is disappointing that this Bill has been help up by bureaucracy. Its simple purpose is to place a value on lifesaving equipment. We should go back to it at some stage.

As stated, I am rasing the issue of a particular circular. The circular in question clearly allows civil servants in search and rescue, Mountain Rescue Ireland and Irish Water Safety to attend training courses and to be present at search and rescue operations without having to take time off. All I am asking is that the Department and the Minister recognise Community First Responders and introduce another circular to include the organisation on the list. In fairness, Circular 15/02 was introduced when Community First Responders had not even been established.

I ask the Acting Leader to assist me in raising this as an issue to see if we can get it resolved in order that Community First Responders will be included in the same way as search and rescue, Irish Water Safety and Mountain Rescue Ireland teams. This would ensure that civil servants involved with the organisation could equally be allowed to go out on calls.

Michael McDowell (Independent)
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I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that No. 10 on the Order of Paper be taken before No. 1. No. 10 involves seeking leave to introduce the Health (Scoliosis Treatment Services) Bill 2024. It is seven years since the then Minister of Health and current Taoiseach, Deputy Simon Harris, promised that all scoliosis treatments would be afforded within a period of four months. He recently stated on radio that he had the enthusiastic support of the HSE for dealing with the crisis relating to scoliosis treatment. That is a long time ago. Recently, when he was under pressure, the Minister of Health, Deputy Donnelly, announced the establishment of a paediatric spinal task force. He appointed my good friend Mr. Mark Connaughton SC as the independent chair of that group. Currently, 775 children are waiting for orthopaedic surgeries in Ireland, including 289 who have been on the waiting list for more than a year. There are 288 children on a waiting list, 35 of whom have been waiting for one year. The position with waiting lists for children in need of neurology procedures are equally bad, with 430 waiting for surgery, one third of whom have been waiting in excess of one year. It has also been reported that 4,000 children with scoliosis are currently waiting on their first consultation.

This is a major problem. I am not here to make party-political points, but I am going to say this: the fact that the Minister for Health announced a task force to deal with this seven years after his predecessor promised there would be a maximum wait of four months for treatment raises the question as to why we need a task force. Do we not have a thing called the HSE? Does it not owe a duty to these patients to act more rapidly and effectively than it has done? The effect of the Bill to which I refer would be to require the HSE, which is the responsible body, to establish and maintain a treatment service for the timely and effective treatment of scoliosis patients. This is about putting a statutory duty on it to ensure that at all times, there are resources and that personnel are in a position to deal with this. The legislation would put the Minister of Health under a duty to the Houses of the Oireachtas to report regularly as to whether his Department and the HSE are meeting the political commitments they made. I understand that Senator Boyhan will be seconding the amendment.

Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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I want to raise two issues. First of all, it is good to see Senator Gallagher acting as Leader and I welcome him back.

I welcome that the Government is bringing in mandatory drug testing at the scene of serious accidents and that will swing into action this weekend. I would add that it should not only apply to serious accidents. I have stated here in this House previously that there is an epidemic out there with drivers taking cocaine. It is a real threat on the roads now. At one time, it was drink-driving. That is still an issue, but drug-driving now is a serious threat and we need to take it seriously. While I welcome this move by the Government, we need to extend this further. I know this has to start somewhere. The Government might not have all the resources to extend it as much as it needs to, but it is something that really needs to be done because I am convinced there is much loss of life because of drug-driving on the roads.

I welcome the announcement by SSE Airtricity that it is reducing its prices by 10%, but that is not enough. I read somewhere where these people made profits of €110 million last year. The high cost of electricity is a burden on all families, particularly those on lower income because nobody can do without electricity. What I would like to see happening is that we would ask the Minister with responsibility there, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to come in and have an all-round discussion. I am not asking the Minister to come in so that we fire darts at him but that we would have an all-round discussion in terms of why these companies, particularly SSE Airtricity, are only reducing the cost of electricity by 10%. Electricity costs are high all over Europe, they are very high in England but there is no excuse that a company here such as SSE Airtricity which made such enormous profits last year should not reduce the price of electricity by a further 10% to 20% because prices are way above what they were before the crisis.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I formally second Senator McDowell's amendment to the Order of Business today. It relates to the Health (Scoliosis Treatment Services) Bill 2024. The Bill, which will not be outlined today, seeks to impose on the Health Service Executive certain special duties and powers in relation to the establishment of a specialised treatment service for the inpatient and outpatient treatment of children and adults of spinal scoliosis who are resident in the State and to confer certain duties and powers on the Minister for Health in relation to the service to be established and to provide for related matters. Hopefully, we will have the support of the House on that matter today.

I would like to flag that Bord Bia Bloom is on this weekend, starting tomorrow. It is a major showcase for the horticultural sector and, indeed, the agricultural sector. I was briefly on-site last night. Visitors will see a showcase of over 100 Irish artisan food producers. I particularly thank the Department of agriculture, Bord Bia, Teagasc and others who are staging this event on 70 acres in the Phoenix Park. It is a wonderful showcase of our sector and it needs to be supported. Linked in all of this, of course, is the vibrance of rural communities, particularly artisan food production that is so amazingly fantastic in terms of micro-enterprises that have grown to be big, serious enterprises in Ireland. I thank Enterprise Ireland and, indeed, the local enterprise offices, LEOs. Many of these little businesses started with LEO support. It is a great showcase for agriculture, food and horticulture. All the State Departments are taking stands there. It is worthy of support. Hopefully, we will have support. Maybe the Senators might spread the word.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Boyhan. I endorse the Senator's remarks about Bloom. I was there in the Phoenix Park last night and the Senator is correct. There is great work being done.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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Currently, there is a debate going on in the other House on the triple lock. Somehow or other, the triple lock has got tied in to neutrality. We will have a debate in this House, I assume, at some stage in the near future, on the triple lock. It is particularly embarrassing as I move around diplomatic circles in Dublin that people are telling me that elected Members of Parliament in this country do not understand neutrality, do not understand what the international law requirements of neutrality are, are mixing up neutrality, defence and overseas development aid, see Ireland boxing above its weight and how our neutrality is such a great thing to bring to countries that are in crisis. We serve overseas with countries such as Poland in UN roles. Poland is a member of NATO. Most people - the Acting Leader should talk to Defence Force people if he does not believe me - will tell you that when they go overseas, the Lebanon knows where Ireland is because we are there so long but, generally speaking, when we go overseas to strange countries nobody has a clue where Ireland is. They have no idea in the world who or what Ireland is.

My plea today relates to when we bring a debate on neutrality into this House. First and foremost, the Tánaiste promised at the defence committee to provide a brief for Members of the Oireachtas on what neutrality is. I sincerely hope we will not get a Paddy-neutrality brief. I hope we will get a neutrality brief based on international law. The triple lock is a ridiculous constraint on our country when it comes to a need to get people overseas quickly as we are restricted to 12, which is nonsense in this modern day and age. The triple lock, we all know, was brought in to sell a European vote some years ago and I would ask Senators to educate themselves before they start to speak on this.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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I want to raise issues in relation to Thornton Hall in County Dublin and the proposal to use that for emergency tents for international protection applicants. Yesterday I was briefed along with Oireachtas Members by the community engagement team from the Department of integration and neither the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, nor the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, thought it wise to sit down with their colleagues to brief them at the same time. I was shocked to hear what is to happen to the site. The Department has leased 30 acres from the Department of Justice for the provision of tented accommodation on this site. It will be used for single men only. Men will be housed in shared tents on five acres of the 30-acre facility at this time but I would suspect 750 occupants on that 500-acre portion of land. It is a 30-acre site and the Senators can work the figures out for themselves. However, the number of those who will reside remains unclarified but in a meeting, we were told that there are over 30,000 people in the IPAS system. Thornton Hall is only one of the six State-owned sites currently being assessed for similar-style emergency tented accommodation with a view to long-term accommodation on these sites in due course. The contract was signed the day before that meeting. It was signed on Monday. Surely the Department should know that engagement with Oireachtas Members and local representatives should happen before any contracts are signed. This is typical of the Department. It is wrong. This is not the way to do business. How does the Government expect local leaders and community leaders to bring people with them with this shoddy approach to housing refugees? There is no transportation out of that site. To tell the truth, it is disgraceful. We will have to have that debate here. The Minister must come in, discuss his long-term plan and tell us where those six sites are. It is simply not good enough.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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I would like to raise an issue in relation to the rail services. I compliment Iarnród Éireann on a tremendous service throughout the length and breadth of the country which is improving daily. I call for an extra service for the western line, from Heuston Station to Westport and Ballina, in the morning. There is no service, between 7 a.m. and 12.45 p.m., from Dublin to Westport or Ballina and we are looking for an extra service in that regard. We are also looking for extra carriages on some of the existing services that. They are overcrowded most of the time. There is a huge increase in the number of people using the rail services, and the bus services, here in Dublin. Since the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, reduced the cost of travelling by train and by bus, there is a huge increase in the use of public transport. It is great to see it. We need an extra service in the morning, from approximately 10 a.m., 10.30 a.m. or whatever.A new service was provided recently at 7.30 p.m., which is very welcome. The service is improving all the time, but we are looking for an additional service in the morning.

Eileen Flynn (Independent)
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This week is Traveller Pride Week. Last Thursday, I was privileged to present an award for intersectionality to Ms Annmarie Sweeney. I want to mention that today in advance of Traveller Pride Week.

Traveller pride came about 12 years ago. I remember the Irish Traveller Movement asking me whether I would participate in a video about being a proud Irish Traveller. I would not do it because I was not proud, because society was not proud of us as a community. I have changed a lot in those 12 years when it comes to recognising Travellers as an ethnic minority group. For years and years, we were told that we were never good enough in Irish society and that we did not belong in education and could not grow up to be anything we wanted to be. That was internalised and externalised oppression.

We have come a long way as a community. The theme of Traveller pride is voices less heard within the community around addiction, mental health and LGBTQI+ people within our community. We are not just Travellers; we are Travellers who want to be something in the world. Even yesterday, a Senator with a crowd stopped me and introduced me as the Traveller Senator. I am not just a Traveller Senator; I am an equal Member of this House who raises many issues at the heart of human rights and equality. I just want to say that this morning. Nobody is just anything. We do not define people in this House because of the community they come from, say, from counties Donegal or Monaghan. We do not say, "There is the Monaghan Senator". It is important that we are mindful about that.

I will mention one last thing about the hate crime legislation. I know the Taoiseach, Simon Harris, is committed to introducing the hate crime legislation. Could the Acting Leader find out where that legislation is and whether we could get it passed before the summer recess?

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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I commend Senator Flynn on what she just said, but I have to disagree with her on one thing. The Monaghan Senator will tell you they are a Monaghan Senator and make sure they bring up the Monaghan issues, such is the local nature of Irish politics, and rightly so.

Eileen Flynn (Independent)
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I bring up issues that affect the Traveller community all the time.

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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And rightly so.

The Education Act 1998 makes clear in section 9 that schools are required to do two things: to provide "a curriculum as prescribed by the Minister" and to "promote the moral, spiritual, social and personal development of students and provide health education for them, in consultation with ... parents, having regard to the characteristic spirit of the school", or what most of us would probably refer to as the ethos of the school. Not surprisingly, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA, is currently conducting a public consultation on redevelopment on the curriculum side, that is, the primary school curriculum. That process runs to 7 June and invites input on five draft curriculum specifications. I encourage parents, in particular, but all concerned citizens to make submissions to the NCCA. What amazes me on the "characteristic spirit" side is that despite the constitutional priority given to parents in the education of their children, little attention is paid by the NCCA to parents' views on the content of their children's education. I am asking for a debate, in fact, on the shaping of our curriculum. The NCCA and the Department consistently ignore the reality that the characteristic spirit of a school should be a guiding light for the implementation of any syllabus. However, there is never any mention of this in consultation documents except occasionally to decry that influence. As I said, the Education Act 1998 makes clear what the rights and responsibilities of schools are. Why does the NCCA continue to ignore this duty on schools? Why does it insist on producing curriculums that seek to bypass the responsibility around characteristic spirit? Why does it kowtow to critical theory and gender theory in producing its draft specifications? I encourage all primary school parents, in particular, to push back against this centralising, controlling, ideological politicisation of the curriculum by the NCCA and the Department and make their submissions determinedly by 7 June.

Emer Currie (Fine Gael)
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I am the Fine Gael Seanad spokesperson for special education and inclusion. I have met with our new Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, a couple of times in the last couple of weeks with regard to our inclusive education policies and the shortage of special class, autism class and special school places for September 2024. Obviously, this is a huge priority for her and is critical for the families who are affected in Dublin 15 and nationally. I feel it would be appropriate to schedule a debate with the Minister at an optimum time for everyone to raise their concerns. It strikes me that we are in May, and schools are finishing up. Secondary schools are finishing up this week and there are children out there who do not know what school they are going to in September. That is incredibly stressful for any family, but particularly for families who require a specific handover of reports or behavioural advice and a transition plan for those children. It is not acceptable that there may be schools in an area that are opening four or five different special classes, autism classes or speech and language therapy classes and then there are schools that do not have any special classes. It is not fair. When we speak to principals who have opened classes, they say it has enriched the culture of the school and yet other schools are holding back and finding excuses. It has to change. Schools have to get the memo; we are building an inclusive education system. Everybody has to get on board. Everybody will benefit from this. We also have to look at our catchments and co-ordination to make sure there is a process that is not parent-led but is system-led, where children can access a place that is close to their school instead of being sent all over Dublin to access places.

Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael)
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I fully concur with the comments of Senator Currie. We need to have the opportunity for every child to be educated in his or her own community with his or her own siblings. I do not think it is acceptable that any principal in any school would not seek local support for a class to give every child the opportunity and the same chance in life. It is unacceptable for any school to fail to do that.

I rise to speak about a school in County Longford, Lanesborough Primary School, which sought and strove to provide fully inclusive education. It was sanctioned for an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, class 18 months ago. It sought an additional class and was sanctioned for that. It is using temporary facilities for that class. It actually converted facilities that were meant as silo facilities within the school to provide it. It has an application in since last June to the school building fund get sanction for a new additional class to be built onto the school, but it has heard nothing since. When we have schools that are actively looking to provide that, we need to support them and put the facilities in place. We need to put the funding in place. As I said, we need to put in the capital funding to allow that additional space to be built with the proper sensory area for the kids. That has to be in every community. I will repeat what I said. It is unacceptable for any principal in any school not to provide an education for every child in the community. That has to be strongly endorsed, and I know it is by all. I support the Minister of State with responsibility for special education, Deputy Naughton, in making sure that is the case, and I know she is committed to it.

To finish, I want to mention the announcement today from the Minister for sport, Deputy Catherine Martin, and the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, regarding the sports capital programme. We all know the magnificent benefits the sports capital scheme has in every community throughout the country in improving facilities. It is a significant commitment from the Government with €250 million set aside for sports capital and equipment applicants. Grants in excess of 90% will be available to all accredited applicants.We need to look at a new scheme - and I said this before - for facilities to adapt integration of ladies' GAA into the GAA. We need to upgrade our facilities that were not made available or were not fit for purpose.

Barry Ward (Fine Gael)
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First, I agree with what my colleagues said about the need for special education and the provision for everybody who needs it.

There are two things I wanted to raise specifically under today's Order of Business. The first is in regard to the regulations that came in on 20 May for e-scooters and e-bikes. It is a welcome development. We needed some sort of regulation or recognition of their status in law and I welcome that. However, there is quite a lot of detail in the regulations. There are important points like, for example, you cannot use them if you are under 16, and you cannot use them on footpaths. They will be treated like bicycles as long as they travel at under 20 km/h. There are a number of other details that are there for the provision of everyone's safety, and that is a good thing. We should have a debate on this and we should bring the Minister in here to discuss the specifics of those regulations, where they are good, where we think perhaps they could go further, or where they go too far. A debate on that would be welcome.

Today, I had the pleasure of meeting with Noelle O'Connell, chief executive of the European Movement Ireland at the European affairs committee, where EMI was presenting its EU Poll 2024. It is a very important document that the European Movement Ireland does every year to monitor support for various aspects of European policy in Ireland. I am pleased to say that 84% of people still support our membership of the European Union. That is an important figure because it shows we are still one of the most pro-European countries in the European Union, and it is something that those seeking election on 7 June who are de facto Eurosceptic should take note of. Irish people value hugely their membership of the European Union. Also, interestingly, 88% of them say that it is important to vote in the European elections, so I hope everybody will exercise their franchise in that regard.

There are, of course, takeaways from this with regard to specific issues like migration, defence, the European response to the conflict in Gaza and the invasion of Ukraine, which we should all be having a look at. I encourage Members to have a look at it. I want to put on record my huge support for the European Movement Ireland, the work it does, the assistance it gives us all in explaining the work that Europe does and the benefits it conveys to all of us here in Ireland.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator. I welcome Deputy Michael Creed to the Distinguished Visitors Gallery, and his guest Michael Healy from Macroom. Michael is very welcome, and Deputy Creed is also very welcome. Anois, glaoim ar Threoraí an tSeanaid chun freagra a thabhairt ar an Ord Gnó.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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An amendment to the Order of Business has been moved by Senator McDowell: "That No. 10 be taken before No. 1". The amendment was seconded by Senator Boyhan. The Acting Leader has indicated that he is prepared to accept the amendment. Is the amendment agreed? Agreed.