I rise today not with a new issue but to add words of support to two issues that have already been raised by Senator O'Loughlin. I stand here proudly wearing my harp which my children bought for me for mother's day. We are surrounded by harps here and it would be great shame if this symbol of Ireland and the instrument itself were to fade. I support what Senator O'Loughlin said about world music day and the reason we should support the harp. I also add my support to the Oireachtas broadcast workers. It is very seld…

Proving that Ireland's smallest county is not only big on footballing talent but also brains and beauty, we are bursting with pride as Louth's very own Caoimhe Kenny has brought home the Miss Ireland crown. A true Louth woman, full of grace, beauty and strength, she has done us all proud and shown the whole country the talent we have in the wee county. She is the daughter of former Ireland soccer manager Stephen Kenny so I dare say she is no slouch on the field herself. Maith thú, Caoimhe. She has made Louth shine.…

We will now begin statements on the Farrelly commission report. The statements are to conclude at 5 p.m. if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to opening remarks by the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed ten minutes and all other Senators not to exceed five minutes. Time may be shared. The Minister is to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate. I call the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Deputy Foley.

I will call the Minister to reply no later than 4.50 p.m. Our first speaker is an Seanadóir Margaret Murphy O'Mahony.

Before we hear our next speaker, we have a packed Public Gallery today and I will welcome the groups. We have the men's and women's sheds of Enfield, who are guests of Deputy Barry Heneghan. I know how busy you all are and I am delighted to see you working in alliance. I also welcome Victor and Michael. We also have guests of Senator Paraic Brady, Barbara Heslin and Samantha Healy, directors of services in Longford County Council. Welcome to you all and I hope you enjoy the rest of your visit to the Seanad.

I call Senator Pauline Tully.

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Is Senator Stevenson sharing time?

I am not certain what school group has just arrived, but I welcome them to the Chamber and the Gallery. I am not sure whether they have been given any homework before the end of term but there will be no more of it today, which is the tradition of the Seanad. I hope they will enjoy a nice long summer break when it happens.

I invite the Minister for Education and Youth, Helen McEntee, to the House to get an update on the proposed construction of the Louth and Meath Education and Training Board headquarters in Drogheda, County Louth, and the timeline for its completion. The decision to have a State body headquartered in the town was first floated more than ten years ago. It was seen as a huge vote of confidence, with the largest town in Ireland being chosen over neighbouring Navan and Dundalk. However, three years have passed since new…

I thank the Minister of State for attending today and the Tánaiste before him. Unfortunately, two minutes simply do not allow for enough words to describe the horror, the anger and, to borrow the words of the Tánaiste, the repulsion I feel watching 600 days of atrocities in Gaza. What little time I have must contain words like condemn, genocide and slaughter of innocent people. I would like to stand here as a human being - a mother - crossing party boundaries to unite in doing whatever we can to stop these crimes a…

Colette Campbell, Theresa Morgan and Bernie Cranley are the names of three of the five women who so tragically lost their lives over the weekend on Irish roads. A driver, three pedestrians and a cyclist, these women were killed in counties Clare, Meath, Wexford, Louth and Tyrone, four within an eight-hour period, bringing the number of fatalities on our roads so far this year to 67, including 19 pedestrians and six pedal cyclists. It is clear we have serious concerns and issues we have to address on our roads, part…

Senator Noonan is sharing time with Senator O'Reilly. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Before we take our next speaker, I welcome our group here. I am afraid I have not had time to find out who they are but they are always very welcome to come and join us for Seanad business. We are discussing statements on public procurement. I hope the group enjoys the next few minutes they are here with us.

I thank the Minister of State for her time in the Seanad today. I welcome our special guests to the Visitors Gallery. They are guests of Deputy Hildegarde Naughton from Clarin College. Athenry. I welcome the students. I believe the group leader is Paul Casserly, so I probably have to address this to him. It is tradition in the Seanad that when we have a school group here, they have no homework for the rest of the week. Seeing as it is Thursday, that might extend into next week. I will leave that to his discretion. …

Is that agreed? Agreed.

As Ireland marks water safety awareness week this week, the recent tragic loss of three young lives to drowning serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need to prioritise water safety education in our schools. My condolences to the families of Emmanuel Familola and his friend Matt Sibanda, who lost their lives in Donegal, and of seven-year-old Alan Singh who, sadly, drowned in Sligo. It is hard to believe that, in Ireland, an average of ten people drown every month. Given our island nation's extensive coastline, l…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. As we have heard across the House today, Ireland is facing a critical challenge with driving test waiting times, which we know have reached unprecedented levels. I will not repeat some of the figures we have heard today but we know some test centres have waiting lists four times the RSA's target of ten weeks. This backlog is not just an inconvenience. It has terrible consequences. Learners are generally paying sky-high insurance premiums, often around €3,000 annually, while waitin…

I thank the Minister for coming to the House today. I wholeheartedly support Senator O'Loughlin's Bill. Catfishing, as we know, is a growing problem in our digital age where individuals create fake online identities to deceive others, often for financial gain, emotional manipulation or even more serious criminal purposes. It is not a frivolous or harmless activity, as we sometimes may think because of the name catfishing. We need to normalise the term "online impersonation" and attach it to criminality. It is insid…

I thank the Minister of State for responding to that.