Before I begin, I express my deepest sympathies to the families, friends and colleagues of the two men who lost their lives in yet another day of tragedy, this time on my local roads at Gormanston, County Meath. I am also thinking of the two women who were very seriously injured, both valued members of our local Indian community, and of the emergency services who responded. It is again a heartbreaking reminder of how fragile life can be. As mentioned by many of my colleagues, today marks the International Day for t…

I move: "That Second Stage be taken now".

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I welcome the Bill and appreciate the opportunity to speak in my role as Seanad spokesperson for arts, culture and media. I begin by reflecting on what this Bill represents because too often technical amendments are treated as dry procedural matters, but this one carries significant weight. It speaks to the kind of country that we want to be, the value we place on our creative industries and our belief in the power of Irish storytelling. In the past few years, we have seen a renai…

Next Tuesday.

I echo the words of many of my colleagues here today because the tragic news from my home town and home county, County Louth, and the neighbouring counties over the weekend has shaken us all to the core - five young people, with their whole lives ahead of them, gone in the blink of an eye. They were the same age as my own children and my heart breaks for the parents of those beautiful young adults who had so much to look forward to. I agree with my colleague who said your heart is in your mouth every time your chil…

I will share my time with Senator O'Loughlin.

As the Minister of State correctly noticed, I have a handwritten letter with a stamp on it in my hand. I get thousands of emails per month, like everyone else in the Chamber. It is quite special to still be able to get a handwritten letter in a handwritten envelope with a stamp on it. What we need to protect and preserve is the ability and choice for somebody who wants to do that because, as has been said time and again, our post offices are the beating heart of the community. While that may be a little bit of a cl…

I add my condolences on the passing of Sr. Stan. She was a remarkable woman and her legacy will live on for many years. I will also speak about what happened in my hometown of Drogheda with the arson attack at the IPAS centre. Like many right-thinking people, I am repulsed and very heartbroken at what happened on our doorsteps. My first thoughts are with the victims. One of the local councillors, Councillor Ejiro O'Hare Stratton, has visited the victims. They are doing well, thank goodness, but they are shocked. I …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Cathaoirleach Gníomhach agus an Aire Stáit. I thank the Minister of State for coming in to listen to this today. As someone born and raised in Drogheda, I speak not only as a Senator here today but as a proud daughter of a place that has outgrown the soubriquet of Ireland's largest town and now needs to be made Ireland's next city. For far too long Drogheda has been spoken about as though it were still a provincial town on the edge of Dublin. That really does not reflect reality. It has a p…

I thank the Minister of State for that response, even if it is not exactly the one I was looking for. At the same time this is a wider discussion that needs to be had. We know that it will take legislation and the Minister of State mentioned some of the precedents with Limerick City and County Council and Cork City Council, and Dublin County Council being divided into the three local authorities of Fingal, South Dublin and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. There are examples. We are not looking for a precedent to be set, but…

If you will indulge me, I will use my time to pay tribute to a member of the Fianna Fáil family in County Louth who we lost in recent weeks. It was only at the end of September that I paid tribute to the late Kevin Geraghty, a real stalwart of Fianna Fáil in Collon in County Louth, and yet only two short weeks later, his family lost his beloved wife, Maura. They were a coalition for 62 years. She was in her 85th year. It is a great loss, unfortunately, to the Geraghty family. They had their own little cumann; they …

I want to raise a matter of real concern which may never cross most people's radars: the serious lack of access to dental care and surgery for people with disabilities, wheelchair users and those with significant challenges. The issue is not theoretical. In recent weeks I spoke to a constituent of mine who uses a wheelchair and has been waiting over 18 months for essential dental surgery. That is 18 months of pain, infection and distress, and all because there is nowhere in her region equipped to safely treat her. …

I thank the Minister of State for her detailed response. It is good to see that it is being noted and looked at, and that there is provision. From my point of view, I hear from people who are suffering and have been for the past couple of years. What can happen in an implementation plan is different from what is on the ground. The idea of it being prevention focused - on the root cause, if the Minister of State will pardon the pun - is the ideal scenario. That is not what is happening at the moment, which is that p…

To reiterate, I really appreciate the Minister of State taking the time with regard to the national oral health policy. I will be keeping a close eye-----

Gabhaim buíochas leat.

May I add my condolences to my colleague, Senator Teresa Costello, on the loss of her father. When I was driving up from Drogheda today I heard the really sad news that the Dunnes Stores premises on West Street, Drogheda's main street, is to close in a matter of weeks. I am not certain if there will be job losses or whether people will be redeployed, but it will be devastating for those workers and their families. Some of them have worked there for decades. It an important store because it is on the main street and…

Before I begin this morning, I have just noticed that my Seanad colleague, Senator Andrews, has walked back into the Chamber. It is good to see him back safe and sound.

I genuinely hope that today is the day we see a permanent and lasting ceasefire, an end to the genocide, and a return of all the hostages to their families. Closer to home, the buzzword at the moment is "living experience". I would like to speak on behalf of my two children. We have all gone through a journey of travelling from Drogheda in County Louth to UCD for the last four years. One is continuing for the next year. It is an impossibility to commute from Drogheda, the largest town in Ireland – a de facto city –…

On this budget day, I warmly welcome some great news for Drogheda and Dundalk in Louth. They are both being included in the regional centre scheme under the national planning framework. What this means is they will be included in the living city initiative. This is something I and others have lobbied for for a long time. What will it mean? I have seen it described as a carrot and stick, the carrot being that there will be tax relief to restore older buildings, thus creating over-the-shop living, and we have such a …

May I also add my herzliche wilkommen to our German ambassador and also wish him alles gute zum Tag der Deutschen Einheit . I utterly condemn what is happening to the global aid flotilla. It is an outrage. Like everybody else here, I wish for the safe return of all of the participants, particularly Irish citizens and especially my colleague and friend, Senator Chris Andrews. I hope we have a good outcome on this. With the few remaining moments I have, I amplify the voices of 114 people in my county of Louth, many o…