It is a genuine honour to be on the Taoiseach's Fianna Fáil team in the Seanad. I have a few small issues to raise. I commend the Taoiseach and his team on all the women's health initiatives. The shared island unit is a huge part of our tradition as members of Fianna Fáil and a huge part of our republican ethos of treating children equally, but it would be remiss of me to stand up here without mentioning HSE community health organisation 7, CHO 7. There is a serious lack of funding and a serious fallout over missin…

I want to talk about antigen testing. This is an issue I have raised on many occasions in the House. I welcome the extension of antigen testing to schools, but I feel it is not going far enough. In the UK an individual can order seven antigen tests and QR codes for a household and report the results of the tests. We are just not going far enough. I realise there is a great cost involved. The cost is not as much as that associated with PCR testing, but if we invest in antigen testing we will be able to keep our econ…

Today, I wish to raise two issues. First, I seek a meaningful debate on the St. Michael's House rejuvenation project. This is not just any development; it is one of the State's flagship cost-rental developments. At this stage we do not have a meaningful update from the Minister on where exactly we are with the project in terms of the budget envisaged and the timeframes. I would like the development to be treated with more urgency. It is a huge vacant site in the middle of Inchicore. Traditionally, it housed hundred…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. I thought her speech was very honest and informative. I wish to convey some positive news about the way we treat people with disabilities. There are 12,700 people with autism and learning disabilities in the education system and €9.2 billion was put into education funding in budget 2022 with additional special education assistants and teachers. Obviously there are a lot more obstacles for pupils and teachers when it comes to deciding who goes into these special…

I thank the Deputy Leader for attending. I wish to raise the matter of disability services in Dublin 12. The first service to which I wish to refer is the EmployAbility service in Dublin west, which is based in Bluebell. Service users were told in November that the office would cease operating next month and that it would continue to give support until then. When I made my own inquiries with the Department as to what was happening to the EmployAbility service in Bluebell, however, I was told that its contract will …

I ask you to bear with me for two minutes, a Leas-Chathaoirligh. The group has told me that not one child in Dublin 12 is receiving therapy. We know that the three-month assessment rule applies and that children are getting assessed within that time, but there is no point in a child having an assessment of need if he or she is not going to get the therapy arising from it. It makes no sense. A parliamentary question was tabled by an Oireachtas colleague asking how children are affected and a blurb outlining the poli…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. We know that no budget is a panacea. Each budget has to be ambitious and try to change people's lives. Our representative in the Department, the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, and his counterpart, the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, have come up with a progressive budget that lays the foundations to ensure that people have better lives, especially when it comes to childcare, and in some other aspects. It is not perfect but it goes some way to giving a little back.…

I will raise the issue of early-school education and after-school education. I raised the issue last week in the context of the national childcare scheme and how it is disadvantaging children from lower socio-economic areas of the city and country. I support those providers, and parents, who were outside Leinster House yesterday in their campaign to get clarity. They hope the employment wage subsidy scheme continue because at the moment it is masking major deficits in the national childcare scheme. Ultimately, the …

I thank the Minister for attending the House today. This is a topic on which many of us are ad idem . Many of us had the opportunity meet Ms Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya when she was in this country. We know Sviatlana, along with her compatriots, have unceasingly and courageously stood up for human rights and basic freedoms. As others have outlined, they have sought democratic elections in the country. Others have said Ms Tsikhanouskaya put herself forward because her husband was jailed by the Lukashenko regime. I know…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Josepha Madigan, for coming to the House today. As we all know Fianna Fáil has a very proud tradition in education. Famously, and radically, in September 1966 Donogh O'Malley announced plans to introduce free second level education, something we take for granted now but at the time was very radical. In 1996 our former colleague, Niamh Bhreathnach, introduced free third level fees, which was a game changer in regard to upskilling our workforce and attracting foreign investment. …

The Minister of State indicated that this work is under way. Can she give me a timeline for its completion in months or years? I would appreciate if she could be a little more specific for the benefit of the schools that would like to be included. I seek a timeline.

I would like to get a timeline.

I raise the issue of crime on our streets. We have seen a surge since the pandemic of groups of teenagers terrorising people on our streets. There has been a substantial increase in homophobic and xenophobic attacks. Every second day, we see a video go viral on the Internet of people being attacked. They are shared widely and it is terrifying. It puts people off going into the city to socialise and it puts businesses off setting up and reopening. We need to see a policing plan in place. Looking at these videos, the…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, for coming to the House to introduce this legislation, which I very much support. Immigration is one of the biggest challenges facing European nations, including this country. It is important that we have legislation like this to tackle the smuggling of persons. Interestingly, one of the first sentences for involvement in human trafficking was handed down in Mullingar criminal court yesterday. The Minister of State has acknowledged the dedication of An Garda Síoch…

Next Tuesday.

I raise the lacuna in the national childcare scheme. This issue may have been raised before but thousands of children, especially in the inner city of Dublin, are going to lose out on after-school places because of the October 2019 changes. Many childcare providers are still staying afloat because of the current wage subsidy schemes, which will end in September. Those schemes have given childcare providers some respite and space to figure out what to do. We know the part of the national childcare scheme that affect…

I congratulate Senator Chambers for bringing this legislation to the House. We were fortunate enough to meet the protagonists, Una and Eve, today. I understand the Senator heard them on the radio, contacted them and was able to support them in their mission to get to this stage. They must be thanked. The women of Ireland owe them huge gratitude for being so brave. We are also grateful to Senator Chambers for running with them and supporting them through the legislative process to where we are today. I listened to m…

I support the points raised by Senator Seery Kearney, who is a great advocate for families going through surrogacy. It is important that the Minister listens to her point that there must be a pathway found between his Department and the Department of Justice in regard to international surrogacy. I have heard anecdotally that there is an impasse on the issue. The Minister needs to find the political will to address it. We are here to discuss the cervical screening programme and, as I speak, there are only women in t…

I congratulate our former colleague, Senator, now Deputy, Ivana Bacik. I got to know her in 2016 when I became a Member of this House and she has been a pleasure to work with. She is always very kind to new Members and is a terrific role model for women of all parties and none who wish to enter politics, so I wish to put my congratulations on the record. Today, I will raise the issue of cancer care. Unfortunately, Covid-19 has impacted severely on cancer diagnosis and treatment, with many people getting delayed dia…

I support my colleague, Senator Flynn, with regard to her call that a high-tech, state-of-the-art school be built in the new amalgamated school in Ballyfermot and for that to specifically include a canteen and sports hall. We know Ballyfermot is a very working-class area. The children there need every advantage to level the playing field in order that they have every opportunity, like the rest of the children in Ireland. It is not good enough to build this school without those facilities, which are very much basic …