Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I welcome for the first time our new Deputy Leader of Seanad Éireann, Senator Seán Kyne. I congratulate him and wish him well in his post.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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The Order of Business is No. 1, motion re arrangements for Committee Stage of the Planning and Development Bill 2023, to be taken on conclusion of the Order of Business without debate; No. 2, Courts, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 - Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken on the conclusion of No. 1; and No. 3, Planning and Development Bill 2023 - Second Stage, to be taken at 1.15 p.m. or on the conclusion of No. 2, whichever is the later, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed 15 minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed 15 minutes, all other Senators not to exceed seven minutes, time may be shared, and the Minister to be given no less than 15 minutes to reply to the debate.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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I raise the issue of public safety in Dublin, specifically the deployment of gardaí in our public spaces, on our streets, in our parks, our canals, and on our public transportation. A concern is being expressed about where the gardaí are. We are into the summer months, the long evenings and the holiday season. Schools and colleges are out. Visitors are travelling and we want to welcome them to the capital. We want them to feel safe. The Minister for Justice declared that Dublin is a safe city to visit, work and live in. I ask the Deputy Leader to arrange a debate with the Minister for Justice on the policing arrangements for Dublin over the summer months. I am literally stopped on the street by people in Drumcondra, Glasnevin, Phibsborough and other parts of my constituency where I live, asking me these questions. I do not believe I am the only Member of the House who is interested in this. I believe there is cross-party interest in public safety in the capital. Before the Seanad rises for the summer, it is important that this House addresses the issues of concern with the Minister for Justice.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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Before I begin, I acknowledge our good friend and colleague, Deputy Fergus O'Dowd. I echo what the Cathaoirleach said about his immense contribution to public life in this country, which will have an indelible legacy. I welcome his guests.

I congratulate wholeheartedly our new Deputy Leader. I have no doubt he will bring his vast experience as a Dáil Deputy, Government Chief Whip, Minister and genuinely decent, kind, sincere person to the job of Deputy Leader. In the last number of months of this House, we need solid, dedicated and firm leadership. I know Seán Kyne very well and know that he will provide that leadership. I wish him well. We will all do what we can to help and support him. The Seanad is a great place and we can certainly make it even better by working together. I wish to highlight an important issue in the mid-west. The Deputy Leader, being from a neighbouring county, will understand the challenges and difficulties with UHL, where there are 100 people on trolleys every single day. About a month before the local and European elections, the Minister for Health announced he was sending HIQA in to carry out an emergency capacity review in the mid-west, yet we have had no timelines and do not know when the review is to commence and conclude. We do not know when to expect recommendations and when to expect those recommendations to be acted on. We were told we would have to wait until the report on other matters was concluded before the terms of reference would be put together. I do not know what the terms of reference are. Most of us here would be able to write the terms of reference at this stage, given our knowledge of the seriousness of what is pertaining in UHL.

I want to know what is going on with the HIQA review. The Minister needs to come in here and make a statement on it. We need to get the dates and timelines and know the terms of reference. We also need an overall update on the situation in UHL because the problem in the mid-west now is that, although there is a much good work happening in other parts of the healthcare system in the mid-west, the public have lost confidence in all of it because of what is happening in the emergency department in UHL. That is a great pity. It is a great pity for the thousands of people who are working with might and mane day and night to provide top-level care in the mid-west region because all of them are being tainted at this stage, and the public have lost confidence in the system. It is hard to blame them when we see what is going on.

What I want are statements with the Minister for Health on UHL. However, what we really need are answers on what is going on with the HIQA report that was announced. We were told HIQA was to carry out an investigation, yet we have not got a clue about what is happening.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I join others in congratulating Senator Kyne on his appointment as Deputy Leader of the Seanad. I wish him well. He is a very experienced politician and I have no doubt that he will have no problem with the job.

I support the Order of Business and welcome that, at last, we are to start engaging on the Planning and Development Bill 2023. I look forward to respectful and meaningful engagement across the Houses on it. Yes, we will have differences of opinion.

The Deputy Leader will recall that we met in the west of Ireland last week. I spent a week there after that and had the opportunity of travelling all along the western seaboard. A recurring theme was the need for one-off rural housing and the promise of the current and previous Governments regarding the rural housing guidelines, with which the Deputy Leader will be very familiar because he lives in one of our most rural parts and has served the rural community of Galway county. This is important and we should have a debate on it. It will feed somewhat into our debate this afternoon but the officials tell me it really has nothing to do with it. Despite this, we are talking about proper planning and sustainable development, be it urban, regional or local. That is important. I look forward to the debate this afternoon.

The other key issue related to housing I want to bring to the Deputy Leader’s attention is the so-called fast-track planning process that we had involving An Bord Pleanála, the famous board whose reform we are going to discuss this afternoon. Despite this, we do not fully understand the difficulties and problems it has, because it entails an ongoing process. It is all not quite connecting as it should be. I have in front of me a spreadsheet listing over 20,000 residential unit applications stuck in An Bord Pleanála awaiting a decision. We have a housing crisis in this country and are talking about reforming our planning system and bringing speedier and more timely processes into the process, yet we have sat on these applications for a number of years. There are 20,000 residential unit applications sitting in An Bord Pleanála this very day that we need expedited. I am not looking for a favourable decision or a rejection but simply a determination so we can plan for these houses. The developers can organise the necessary funding to build and the critical infrastructure needed. That is another very important issue.

These are two issues on which I ask that we continue to remain focused. I will certainly be raising them this afternoon.

Again, I wish Senator Kyne well.

Vincent P Martin (Green Party)
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I seek the leave of the House to introduce my Bill entitled Third-Party Funding Contracts (Certain Proceedings) Bill 2024. It is No. 10 on the Order Paper. I formally propose an amendment to the Order of Business so No. 10 may be taken before No. 1. My colleague Senator O’Hara is willing to second that.

Mal O'Hara (Green Party)
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I formally second the proposal.

Vincent P Martin (Green Party)
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I wish Senator O’Hara well as he is to contest the general election in the UK on 4 July, when the US celebrates Independence Day. He will be contesting in the North Belfast constituency. I wish him good luck with that.

The purpose of my Bill is to provide that the offence or tort of maintenance or champerty does not apply to certain proceedings. In Ireland, it remains unlawful, subject to recognised exceptions, to enter into a third-party funding agreement. As well as being a civil wrong, maintenance or champerty is an offence. In a Supreme Court judgment in 2018, the then Chief Justice, Mr. Justice Frank Clarke, expressed his serious concern that there are cases where persons or entities have suffered from wrongdoing but are unable to effectively vindicate their rights because of the cost of going to court. He stated that is a problem to which solutions are required to be found. It seems to me that this is an issue to which the Legislature should give urgent consideration, and that is what I am seeking today. Subject to my being granted leave to introduce my Bill, I am looking forward to a good debate on it on Second Stage.

For the avoidance of any doubt, third-party funding is not appropriate for all disputes – for instance, personal injury cases or family law cases – but my Bill does propose to extend the funding option to limited and specified case categories. Enacting my Bill into law would extend third-party funding to proceedings concerning environmental protection and climate change, and it would also, in certain circumstances, result in an increase in assets being made to creditors in insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings. In my opinion, it is wrong that access to justice is connected with impecuniosity, and this Bill addresses that issue. I hope Members will support my amendment to the Order of Business to permit my Bill to be introduced and published today.

Mark Wall (Labour)
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I congratulate Senator Kyne and wish him the very best of luck in his new role in the remaining term of the Seanad. I wish Senator O'Hara well in the upcoming election.

Yesterday, I chaired much of the debate on surrogacy in this country. I congratulate all those who took part in it, particularly Senator Seery Kearney, who is with us this morning and who did considerable work on surrogacy. I was contacted last night by so many families who are so happy with the outcome of the debate on the Bill yesterday. I congratulate all those involved.

The issue I wish to raise today is the large-scale sports infrastructure fund, LSSIF. I received correspondence yesterday from my local authority, Kildare County Council, stating it was not putting forward the Maynooth swimming pool project but instead putting forward the Sallins amenity lands project.I wish the people of Sallins all of the very best. I am sure my colleague, Senator Martin, will be supporting them in every way he can. There are great people in Sallins. The project being put forward by Kildare County Council consists of two GAA pitches, two natural grass soccer pitches and multiple other sports facilities for the people of Sallins. The reason I am raising this issue today, however, is that will be the only project put forward by Kildare County Council. I have raised previously in this House the need for sports infrastructure in this country and I want to raise the urgent need for sports infrastructure in my county of Kildare.

In my home town of Athy, we have 13 acres which the council has earmarked. It is putting together a Part 8 application for sports facilities because of the lack of facilities. I have mention Athy Camogie Club once again, which does not have its own facility. I brought this up with the Minister for sport but it does not just concern Athy. Castledermot GAA, Monasterevin AFC, Kildare Town AFC and all the sports clubs in Newbridge are all crying out for additional playing facilities.

This is a huge crisis in many of our large towns throughout the State. I am sure the Deputy Leader has come across it in his own area. We have built houses, which are very welcome, but, unfortunately, the infrastructure is not there. Many sports clubs are struggling, particularly with regard to ladies' sports, and they cannot accommodate ladies' sports teams, which is totally wrong in this day and age. The facilities they need, be it dressing rooms or additional playing facilities, need to be provided by the Government and, indeed, the local authorities. I proposed previously that each local authority should provide additional sports funds in any town with a population of over 5,000 people. The Government needs to look at this also. It is unbelievable that we are only supporting one such project in County Kildare. Best wishes to the people in Sallins but all of those other lovely towns in Kildare South need additional playing facilities, and they need them now. They cannot afford to wait until next year when the next round of funding comes out. I hope the Government and, indeed, the Minister for sport recognise that. I believe both Ministers for sport have been down to Sallins and recognise the need there but they must start recognising the need of every other town in Kildare South.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Wall. I would like to facilitate Senator O'Hara and call him before Senator Seery Kearney.

Mal O'Hara (Green Party)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. I thank my colleagues for their good wishes for next week's election in the North. The UK is one of only two places in Europe that uses the first-past-the-post electoral system, the other being the well-known liberal democracy of Belarus. I formally second my colleague, Senator Martin's amendment to the Order of Business today.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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We wish Senator O'Hara well. We hope that we will not lose him but if we do, we do. We know he will do a good job for the people of his constituency. Go n-éirí leis. I call Senator Seery Kearney.

Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael)
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Gabhaim míle buíochas and I send my best wishes to Senator O'Hara.

I congratulate the Deputy Leader on taking up the leadership of our party in the Seanad as well as assuming the role of Deputy Leader of the Seanad. I am delighted and say that from four years' experience of Senator Kyne being an extraordinary and very supportive colleague.

I rise today to ask for statements in this House with the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, who is the Minister in charge of the State counselling services but also of the funding of organisations such as the Rape Crisis Centre. There have been very disturbing reports of late in the newspapers and in public life of counselling notes being used in criminal trials. Let us look at the prospect of this. A woman is facing into the trial of someone who was raped her. In the course of that, she accesses counselling with the Rape Crisis Centre and that rapist gets to access her counselling notes, go through all the details and read everything with regard to how that affected her. There is a report from Paula Doyle in the newspapers today in which she describes how absolutely obscene and horrifically intrusive that was. Not only was she raped and had to face into a criminal trial, which is adversarial by its nature, and not only did he get that opportunity of violating her, he violated her again through the experiences and consequences of that rape by through reading her counselling notes and for those notes to be used in the defence in the prosecution of that person. I know from my years in counselling psychology that that is obscene.

Two things happen. Either people do not access counselling and we will have an increased rate of suicidal ideation, which is what the Rape Crisis Centre is saying, or the counsellors will be obliged to keep very limited notes, which is not supportive of their clients. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, is the Minister funding these services. We need to have statements in the House to flesh out what the problem would be in legislating to prevent their use as an evidentiary basis.

Vincent P Martin (Green Party)
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Hear, hear.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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Mo mhíle buíochas. It was me great pleasure to welcome the retired members of the Defence Forces who predominantly served in Sarsfield Barracks in Limerick. They are very welcome to Leinster House and I thank them for their many years of dedicated service to our country, especially in the very difficult and turbulent time in the history of our State. We thank and salute them for their bravery and courage. They are guests, I believe, of Deputy Cathal Berry.

Anois, I call a former member of the Defence Forces, Senator Craughwell.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. I congratulate the new Deputy Leader, Senator Kyne. I am delighted for him as a fellow Galwegian and to see him take on the role of Deputy Leader. I know he will be ever-facilitating of me-----

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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Hear, hear.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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-----in the coming months and years.

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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And so say all of us.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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Next week we will be discussing independence and it has two factors. There is independence in fact and independence in appearance. Next week we will be looking at Committee Stage of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024 and the issue of the independence of the external oversight body will arise. Every Member of this House who has spoken on Second Stage of the Bill has said that it is inappropriate for the Secretary General of the Department of Defence to be an ex officio member of that committee. Indeed, during the debate in the joint Oireachtas committee, the chair of that committee said that from time to time, the Secretary General would have to recuse herself from meetings because there would be a conflict of interest. I am bringing this up today because I would ask the Deputy Leader to bring to the attention of the Minister that there is an unanimous view in this House that it would be wrong for the Secretary General to be an ex officio member of that body.

Recent events in the Defence Forces have made it important that the representative bodies have a right to speak out and, again, this legislation which is coming through the House gags both PDFORRA and RACO from speaking on matters relating to Government policy, etc. When that Bill comes back to this House next week, we must really have a look at what is going on and how we are trying to gag and, if you like, control everything to do with the Defence Forces. It is a proud body of people and there are some colleagues here in the Public Gallery today who have served this country with distinction. As I said yesterday, there are 300 of our brave men and women in Lebanon right now and we have no idea what will spark off over the next few days.

I ask the Secretary General herself to recuse herself from that committee, if she is not asked to do so by the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence. I ask the Deputy Leader to relay those comments directly to the Tánaiste for me. I thank the Cathaoirleach.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I remind Deputy Craughhwell that he has the opportunity to submit amendments on this Bill. I presume the Senator is referring to the Secretary General with regard to the position rather than the person.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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Absolutely.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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Gabhaim buíochas. I just want to clarify that as the Secretary General is not here to defend herself, as the Senator knows. We must be fair to all Members and those who are not present. Glaoim ar an Seanadóir Murphy anois.

Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach and I join with him and others in welcoming the retired members of the Defence Forces to Leinster House today with Deputy Cathal Berry. I hope that they enjoy their day.

In no uncertain terms, I also want to condemn the constant barrage of abuse against the Taoiseach and the threat to him and his family.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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Hear, hear.

Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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One can have a disagreements with the Taoiseach on policy, or whatever else, but those people who are threatening him and his family in such a callous way should be called out and condemned. It is no way for any citizen of this country to treat another citizen of this country and I totally condemn it, as I am sure all Members would join me in that. We have all suffered from this from time to time in our lives, including myself. I am not worried about myself, as I am sure the Taoiseach is not worried about himself, but I am sure he is worried for his wife and children. We must always remember that it is our families who suffer in situations like this.

I congratulate the Deputy Leader on his appointment. I was not aware of it. I want to bring something to his attention and perhaps seek his advice on how we might go about this following matter.Several buildings that used to be Garda houses are vacant up and down the country. Of course, these are the property of the OPW and the State. It is horrific to see many of these houses vacant. I have seen one in Strokestown and another in Taghmaconnell. Like many Members of this House, I constantly have members of An Garda Síochána who are travelling long distances to work coming to me. They would be more than willing to rent those houses if they were to be made available. Obviously, repairs would have to be done to some of the houses, while others are in quite a good state.

Given there seems to be a great deal of difficulty with gardaí being able to get transfers closer to home now because it is a slow process due to the vacancies not being there, would it not make a great deal of sense if the journeys could be shortened for gardaí by enabling them to take up residence in these vacant houses? I am seeking advice on how we might handle this matter and talk to the OPW rather posing a question. As I said, there are several houses in this category and they would be a real benefit to gardaí concerned and their families. We should follow up on this potential and see if it may be possible to make it work for families.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I congratulate the Deputy Leader and wish him all the best. I look forward to working with him in future. We have worked well together in the past and he will do a fantastic job as Deputy Leader.

I am continually raising the matter of University Hospital Limerick, but today I wish to highlight it in a good way because of the new virtual ward and remote patient-monitoring service launched there. Doccla and the HSE have partnered in this endeavour to allow hospital-led treatment for patients at home. The first two wards are to be launched shortly. This initiative will provide acute care, monitoring, and treatment via remote healthcare as an alternative to traditional inpatient care. This development is most welcome. Many changes have happened in UHL recently and the institution is moving forward in a positive light.

I was over at the launch today of the pre-budget submission of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland. One thing highlighted was the shortage of specialist nurses in hospitals. They can help to keep people at home because they can give advice over the phone regarding any issues or assure family members in cases where there may be issues around medication. These nurses are trained specialists, and while they are in some hospitals in Ireland, they are not in all. They need to be put in each of the CHO areas. It is an issue the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, should come to the Chamber to discuss because it is extremely important. There is not a family in Ireland that has not had a member or close friend impacted by Alzheimer's or dementia.

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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Ar dtús, déanaim comhghairdeas le mo chara agus mo chomhghleacaí, an Seanadóir Kyne. Go n-éirí leis lena dhualgas nua.

I was also extremely glad Deputy Fergus O'Dowd had his friends and former classmates from the Sharman Crawford Street technical institute in the House. In the group was my friend from my own home parish, Mattie Kilroy, and his wife Kathleen. Mattie Kilroy is one of those men who really deserves great commendation for being one of those people who greatly contribute to the social capital in our community. This ranges from his work as an educator over the years to being very well known in GAA circles and being responsible for the north-east Galway news in The Connacht Tribune. He is just one of those great community people. I am delighted to see Mattie and Kathleen here today.

I will ask my colleagues three simple questions. Should we be concerned about children accessing pornography and the extent to which it is going on now online? Do we think it is harming children and our society as a result? If we do think this is a problem and is harmful, should we be doing something about it? I propose to introduce a Private Member's Bill very soon, and I hope I will get time for it in this House before the recess, on age verification for access to pornography. This would place an obligation on Internet service providers and app store services to ensure that persons under 18 shall not be able to access pornography online. It would require those web controllers and app store providers putting up such material to require users to go through an age verification process, one that can be outsourced to relevant third parties according to a list the Minister could approve for this purpose. There would, of course, be a defence where someone else has facilitated the circumventing of the age verification process. The proposed legislation would also provide for the secure storage of age verification data for five years and that this would only be accessible when it is needed for legal proceedings.

It is quite remarkable that the likes of Pornhub, which has been described as the YouTube of the pornography industry, opposed age verification laws in many states in the US. What is also remarkable is that these age verification laws have been highly effective and have attracted strong, non-partisan support from Democrats and Republicans. I think it is time we did something like that here. I have circulated my proposal to my colleagues in the Seanad. I would be grateful if they would all look at it. If we could come to a united perspective on this matter, I think we could do the young people of our society a whole lot of good.

Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael)
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Comhghairdeas to Senator Kyne as well on his new post as Deputy Leader of the House and leader of the Fine Gael group. I pay tribute to him because he has been involved so much in guiding and mentoring many of us, especially when we were new here way back. It seems a long time ago now when we first came in as new Senators. I also congratulate Senator Regina Doherty, who is our new MEP. She has done fantastically well and will now be working for us representing Ireland, along with our other MEPs, Nina Carberry, Maria Walsh and Seán Kelly. They will all be working for us on the Fine Gael side in Europe.

I mention the ETB sector as well, which held a meeting in Buswells Hotel yesterday. I ask the Deputy Leader to highlight some of the key asks from this sector. One concerned deputy principals in post-primary ETBs. As the spokesperson on education for Fine Gael in the Seanad, I highlight the need to provide supports to the ETBs to deliver the type of education we want to see at the post-primary level and in further education, as well, which is so crucial. We are promoting apprenticeships and seeing the roll-out in respect of TUS in Athlone and the ATU in Galway. These institutions are working to deliver strong apprenticeship programmes. We need to examine how we are supporting people of all ages who live in our towns. I refer to being able to roll out colleges of further education in our smaller towns. We are seeing these campuses, in the context of the new TUS locations, now being rolled out to our smaller towns. I guess that this is one of the key things in this context.

Additionally, I have been and am engaging with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy O'Donovan, around the need to have an apprenticeship centre in Roscommon town. We lack this in terms of the Galway and Roscommon ETB. I wish the councillors now joining the ETB well. After the local elections, they are now going to be representing their areas and fighting for this as well.

Emer Currie (Fine Gael)
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I congratulate the Deputy Leader on his new post. I wish him all the best and thank him sincerely for all the assistance and support he gave to people like me and Senators Dolan and Seery Kearney when we started as Senators. I have not forgotten it.

I refer to the article in The Irish Times today that states there could be a €2,000 incentive for new teachers to take up full-time teaching roles and this is part of the Government's agenda to address vacant posts in schools. This is a major issue in Dublin West. It is an issue in the context of balancing out the demand for certain secondary schools over others. We know there are certain schools that many people apply for and then others where parents may be concerned about vacancies.

The proposed measure is a good move. We must also, however, talk again about the pressure being felt by teachers, guards and nurses in areas of Dublin where accommodation is expensive and hard to find. I am looking at a development where 725 cost-rental apartments will be built in Pelletstown. This is another initiative being undertaken by the Government in terms of supply and affordability. Should these two initiatives not be joined up, however?There is a role, where there are acute pressures in a particular area for gardaí, teachers and nurses, for looking at ring-fencing a certain portion of apartments to be available for cost rental to those teachers, gardaí and nurses.

Barry Ward (Fine Gael)
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Gabhaim ar dtús mo fhíorchomhghairdeas leis an Leas-Cheannaire agus leas-cheannaire Fhine Gael, an Seanadóir Seán Kyne. Ba mhaith liom a rá go soiléir go bhfuilimid thar a bheith sásta dó go mbeidh sé sa phost sin. We know he will do a good job and look forward to the final few months of this Seanad.

I raise an issue that relates to Gaeloideachas. A group was here yesterday, who I unfortunately did not have a chance to meet because I had another group of visitors. There must be a right to education through Irish. We have come quite a distance with making the facility available through bunscoileanna and Gaelscoileanna. A new school opened in my area in recent years, Gaelscoil Laighean, initially in Deansgrange and then we found a permanent site for it in Mount Anville. That is to be welcomed. However, within the next few years, the children in that school will go on to secondary school and at the moment the options for them are limited. We are lucky to have two excellent Gaelcholáistí i mo cheantar, i nDún Laoghaire, Coláiste Eoin agus Coláiste Íosagáin agus tá dalta ó Choláiste Íosagáin anseo liom, Hanako O'Donnell, atá ag obair liom i rith an tsamhraidh. Tá siad ann, but there is limited capacity in those schools to accommodate people graduating from Gaelscoileanna. We need more Gaelcholáistí.

Cherrywood is an example of a new development in the Dún Laoghaire area, a planned town with parks, businesses and accommodation and residential areas. It is a fantastic development and has two sites for secondary schools, one of which has full planning permission. For some reason, the Department of Education has not moved forward the patronage process to allow people to decide what type of school will go there. It is ready to go. There is a fíorghá le Gaelcholáiste sa cheantar sin ach níl aon rud ag tarlú laistigh den Roinn. Caithfidh muid rud éigin a dhéanamh faoi agus táim chun Ní i dTosach Suíonna a chur síos faoi, b’fhéidir an seachtain seo chugainn. Is ceist an-tábhachtach í do dhaoine atá ina gcónaí i gCoill na Silíní nó sa cheantar sin.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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I thank all the Senators for their contributions and their good wishes. I will certainly do my best on their behalf in the months ahead.

Senator Fitzpatrick kicked off this morning with the issue of public safety and the deployment of gardaí. Safe streets are hugely important to all our citizens and there is a huge demand in respect of Garda numbers. Recruitment is always an issue. I welcome the increase in Garda recruitment in recent times, including the increased number of reserve gardaí graduating from Templemore. There was a lacuna during the Covid-19 pandemic unfortunately. A total 746 trainees entered the training college in 2023, the highest intake in any year since 2018. There were changes to the age at which people can enter An Garda Síochána and that has also led to an increase in applications. I look forward to those recruits coming through. Certainly, visibility of gardaí is hugely important, whether that is in Dublin city or rural areas. The key is recruiting sufficient numbers of gardaí every year. Their deployment is a matter for the Garda Commissioner but we want to see our capital city being safe. I will request a debate with the Minister on that.

Senators Conway and Maria Byrne raised matters in University Hospital Limerick, UHL. Senator Conway commented that 100 people are on trolleys there today. The Minister made a commitment before the local elections about HIQA. I suggest that the Senator table a Commencement matter on that topic or I can write to the Minister for a response. A Commencement matter, if chosen by the Cathaoirleach, would provide detail from the Department of Health, if not the Minister himself. In the meantime, I will write to him to request he come to talk about UHL.

Senator Maria Byrne also spoke about the alternative to in-person treatment in Limerick and the exciting plans for a virtual ward. I am not sure of the exact details of that but telemedicine seems exciting and I look forward to hearing more about it. She also spoke about issues relating to Alzheimer's disease and asked that the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, come to the House to speak about specialist nurses for Alzheimer's disease.

Senator Boyhan spoke about the Planning and Development Bill 2023, of which we will take Second Stage in the House today. I am sure we will have plenty of opportunities in the coming weeks to debate those matters. It is an important, long awaited and comprehensive Bill. Senator Boyhan also spoke about one-off rural housing guidelines. We have been waiting for some time - a number of years - for those. Perhaps the Minister will touch on that in his contribution today. Senator Boyhan also spoke about fast-tracking applications to An Bord Pleanála, which is part of this debate with respect to streamlining An Bord Pleanála. In recent years, we have seen a full cohort of inspectors in An Bord Pleanála to try to speed up decisions. Senator Boyhan commented that some 20,000 residential units are stuck in An Bord Pleanála and he is right that speeding up determinations is good for everyone concerned.

Senator Martin sought leave to introduce his Third-Party Funding Contracts (Certain Proceedings) Bill 2024. This is No. 10 on the Order Paper. He requested that it be taken before No. 1 and I support that request.

Senator Wall congratulated, as do I, Senator Seery Kearney on her Trojan work on the surrogacy Bill which was passed by the Seanad yesterday. I look forward to the President engaging on it in the coming weeks. He also spoke about the large-scale sport infrastructure fund. There are a lot of projects in his county, County Kildare. A project is being put forward and he listed a number of projects in Athy, Monasterevin, Newbridge and Kildare. He rightly spoke about houses being built without the back-up infrastructure. I acknowledge that. I have liaised in recent years on the community centres investment fund, which has seen dividends in a number of projects across the county announced earlier this year. However, more investment in sporting facilities is needed. He spoke about women's sport. The Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, announced today record investment of €4 million in the women in sport programme for 2024, which is an increase from €2.7 million last year. That is welcome but more is needed. The infrastructure can be quite costly and there is a need for an increase in specialist funding for it.

Senator Seery Kearney spoke about the use of counselling notes in criminal proceedings. It is hard to credit that is happening, that perpetrators would try to access and be successful in accessing those notes. Something needs to be done to ensure that is not possible. We will contact the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, to ask what plans he might have. As this has been in the media, I am sure he is aware of it and that his Department is looking into what can be done to ensure it is not allowed.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I will interrupt to welcome the guests of Deputy O'Dowd. I thank them for being here. They are from County Louth, which had a great win against County Cork at the weekend.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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Senator Craughwell asked that I contact the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence regarding whether it is appropriate for the Secretary General of the Department of Defence to be an ex officio member of an external oversight body. I will ask the office to contact the Tánaiste on this matter. It is quite a specific matter that could be raised by way of an amendment to the Bill or as a Commencement matter. The Senator feels strongly about it and will have the opportunity in the coming weeks to raise it on Committee Stage of the defence Bill that is going through the Houses.

Senator Murphy correctly condemned the barrage of abuse and threats to the Taoiseach and his family. It is the same for any member of the public in public life or any politician. I join in his condemnation, not only on behalf of the Taoiseach, but also for his neighbours and people in the locality.A bomb threat is a bomb threat. It will not just affect the Taoiseach's house. It will affect the neighbouring houses. The picketing and threatening behaviour in the protests affects more than just the Taoiseach and his family and we condemn it.

The Senator also spoke about old Garda homes and mentioned Strokestown and Taghmaconnell. Obviously, it makes sense that any vacant properties are put back into use. I suggest that the Senator puts down a Commencement matter for debate with the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, who is responsible for the OPW. I will mention it to the Minister of State. I am sure I will see him around the Houses. I know that from time to time, old Garda stations are sold at auction but it would make sense if the OPW was to invest and provide those for rental to members of An Garda Síochána. It is important for those properties to be brought back into use, so I will raise it with the Minister of State but I suggest putting down a Commencement matter for debate.

Senator Mullen welcomed Mattie Kilroy to the House as a guest of Deputy O'Dowd. We wish Mattie and Kathleen well. Senator Mullen also raised the issue of children accessing pornography and age verification for pornography. This is a real-life issue because so many children have access to smartphones at a very young age and you can effectively find anything you want using a smartphone and Google. Of course, there are advantages as it opens up a whole world of learning but there are negatives and downsides, so I look forward to the Senator's Bill. It is a worldwide issue. There may be issues relating to where companies are listed but he certainly raises a very valid point.

Senator Dolan mentioned the ETB day in Buswells Hotel yesterday. I know Councillor Michael "Moegie" Maher, president of Education and Training Boards Ireland, was there and spoke as did many of the directors of the ETBs, who do great work up and down the country providing education from national school to secondary school to further education and lifelong learning, which is becoming more and more important. We will try to have a debate on this matter and invite the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to the House to discuss the role of ETBs. That would be important.

Senator Currie spoke about the top up of €2,000 for teachers and quite rightly spoke about the demand for housing among teachers, gardaí and nurses. That list is not exhaustive. You could go to a range of front-line people, be they in our local authorities, the fire brigade, the ambulance service and civil defence, who have a demand for housing. The legality of that might be a question for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage or the Minister of State. I am sure the Senator can raise this matter during the debate on the relevant sections of the Planning and Development Bill. The Government has been ramping up supply, which is vital, for the past number of years under Housing for All to provide additional housing units, be they cost rental, social and affordable or for purchase. Increasing supply is the most important thing we can do. I suggest Senator Currie raise this with the Minister during the debate on the Planning and Development Bill.

Senator Ward raised the very important issue of Gaeloideachas agus an obair atá á déanamh trasna na tíre ar son na Gaeilge agus an oideachais trí mheán na Gaeilge. Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil feachtas i mBaile Átha Cliath 2, 4, 6 agus 8 agus go bhfuil muintir na háite ag lorg Gaelscoileanna sna ceantair sin. Is ábhar fíorthábhachtach é agus tá ar an Roinn níos mó a dhéanamh chun na Gaelcholáistí sin a bhunú. Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil an t-éileamh ann agus b'fhéidir go mbeimid in ann é seo a phlé trí Ní i dTosach Suíonna nó rud éigin mar sin i rith na míosa seo chugainn. Is ábhar fíorthábhachtach é agus molaim agus tréaslaím leis an Seanadóir as é a ardú anseo inniu agus an obair atá á déanamh in earnáil an Ghaeloideachais. Gabhaim buíochas.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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Senator Martin moved an amendment to the Order of Business: "That No. 10 be taken before No. 1". The amendment has been seconded by Senator O'Hara. The Deputy Leader has indicated that he is prepared to accept this amendment.