I wish to raise the impact of insurance on sports, community participation and voluntary activity. This is something that my colleague, Senator Nelson Murray, has raised and I will expand on it. Public liability insurance is not an abstract cost for sports clubs and community organisations. It affects whether training can happen; whether events can go ahead; whether volunteers can be supported; and whether facilities can open to the public. Recently, a small GAA club in east Galway had to find almost €7,000 to pay …

Gabhaimid buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as a bheith anseo don díospóireacht seo. It is rare that you will see Senators from both sides of the House take a take a joint Commencement matter, but an rud is annamh is iontach. Senator Harmon and I believe that inclusion in sport is not party political, and we tabled this matter together as a reflection of real inclusion. We have reached a point where women's sport is no longer what could be described as a minority sport. Increased and sustained ring-fenced funding from th…

I thank the Minister of State for that update. This is the beginning of a debate we could have at a broader level across the House. There seem to be a lot of Senators who would like to contribute to a debate on inclusion in sport. That would be welcome. We might approach the Cathaoirleach about that. The Minister of State mentioned the next national sports strategy, which will run from 2028 onwards. It will be really important to have some of those points he highlighted included in the next policy. We should examin…

On Tuesday, I spoke in this House about the lack of sporting facilities in Dublin 8. I was speaking particularly about a school, St. Audoen's National School, in Dublin 8, that I visited on Tuesday morning. While it is important to point out what is wrong and the lack of access to facilities, it is really important to also point out and celebrate what is good. I got word this morning that the St. Audoen's girls' football team that I spoke about on Tuesday won their final league match yesterday against John Scottus …

I want to speak about a wonderful group of students I met in my community yesterday. I visited St. Audoen's National School in Dublin 8 and sat down with the children from the older classes in the school. We had a great chat and spoke about life, politics, sport, writing and journalism. We chatted about the importance of democracy and the changes they brought about in their school as a result of their student council. I was delighted to spend my morning with the best and the brightest of us and I am grateful to Pri…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as a bheith anseo sa Seanad anocht chun an t-ábhar tábhachtach seo a phlé. The national broadband plan, as the Minister said, is the single most significant investment in our telecommunications infrastructure in the history of the State. However, it is not just about providing access to the Internet. It is about ensuring that communities across Ireland are supported economically and socially, that we connect communities and that no town, village or home is left behind as we digitise. T…

I want to talk today about something that has come up here a couple of times in relation to swimming, swimming pools and swimming lessons for our young people. Swim Ireland recently launched a report about the provision of swimming pools in Ireland. This is something I know Swim Ireland has been working on for a good few years. It has done an inventory and looked at the provision of swimming pools in Ireland. Unfortunately, at the moment there is one swimming pool for every 81,000 people in Ireland compared to, say…

I want to talk about a place I visited last week. It is a new residential hub in Inchicore village called Richmond Place. We have 68 new neighbours in Inchicore in Richmond Place. It is a great facility. It is a pilot programme that has been in the making for years between the HSE and local government and it is funded by the Government as well. The Minister of State, Deputy Kieran O'Donnell, was out and we met all of the residents who have moved in there in the past couple of weeks. These are older people. Some of …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. Nach iontach an rud é gur beirt bhan iad an tAire Stáit, an Teachta Higgins, agus an Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, an Seanadóir Rabbitte, agus muid ag plé Lá Idirnáisiúnta na mBan. I am going to use my few minutes to raise the issue of women in sport. I feel a responsibility to do it. I probably sound like a broken record at this point but we have to keep talking about the agendas that we want to push in the Oireachtas. There is a theme for the International Women's Day and there is …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as teacht chuig an Seanad inniu. I welcome her to Seanad Éireann. As she may be aware - I know she is because she put up a video on social media - last Saturday, 28 February marked rare disease day. It was very welcome to see Leinster House lit up in the colours of blue, pink and green in acknowledgement of this important day. While we mark and acknowledge rare disease day, it must not be lost on us that such diseases are not in fact so rare. That is something the Minister has pointed …

I know how busy the Minister is and I appreciate her coming to the Seanad today with that update. The 180-day target is obviously a huge improvement on the 710 days, and even an improvement on European best practice. When does the Minister expect that to be met? It is very easy for us to forget, when we are talking about these figures and price agreements, that a lot of the time we are talking about children, because a lot of rare diseases will present in childhood. The unpredictable nature of these reimbursement p…

Tá fáilte roimh an Aire. Nach iontach an rud é go bhfuil an díospóireacht seo ar bun againn go hiomlán trí mheán na Gaeilge? Cuirim fáilte roimhe sin. Tá Gaeilge an Seanadóra Noonan go breá ar fad agus ba chóir dó leanúint ar aghaidh á húsáid. Aontaím leis go bhfuil athbheochan ar bun faoi láthair leis an nGaeilge, agus is iontach an rud é sin. Tá sé sin le feiscint i bhfianaise an chlú agus cáile atá ar an scannán "An Cailín Ciúin", an podchraoladh "How to Gael" agus fiú an grúpa ceoil Kneecap. Cé cur ceart dúinn …

I put on record my dissatisfaction, disappointment and shock regarding the news concerning the planned neonatal unit at the Rotunda. I know it has been spoken about quite a bit in this Chamber but the more voices are raised, the better. This is not a political issue; it is a human issue. I wrote of a letter of support for the application and met the master of the hospital, Professor Sean Daly, in September or October of last year, as did lots of people. Letters of support were written. This application was meticulo…

I promise it will not take me longer than that. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Gabhaim buíochas leis as ucht a bheith anseo. Molaim an obair atá déanta ag an Seanadóir Harmon ar an mBille seo. Is saothar suntasach é agus leagann sé béim ar an dualgas atá orainn mar reachtóirí iad siúd atá ag obair sa chóras oideachais a chosaint ó dhíobháil, bíodh sé d'aon ghnó nó ná bíodh. I commend Senator Harmon on her work on the Bill. She is supported by Senators Stephenson, Noonan and Cosgrove. I also welcome Sophie Cole …

I thank the Minister for sport, Deputy O'Donovan, for coming to Crumlin last week. This is not just a "thank you" to him; it is also an acknowledgement that in 14 or 15 years living in Crumlin, I do not remember previously seeing a Minister for sports around those parts. I am very grateful he came out at my request last week. It is really important that the voices of sportspeople in Crumlin and Drimnagh are heard. As I mentioned previously in this Chamber, the biggest issue in regard to sport in the area concerns p…

I thank the Minister of State for being here to take this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien. It is good timing. We have another set of residents of Chapelizod and other parts of Dublin protesting outside Leinster House today. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, agreed with Deputy Cummins last Thursday in the Dáil that they should not have to, but I will tell the Minister of State why they are here again today. Hopefully, we can get to the bottom of it and get some movem…

I know this is not the Minister of State's portfolio and I appreciate her taking the Commencement matter, but I am really disappointed. I printed something this morning because I was afraid that what just happened might happen. The Minister of State has read, word for word, what was said by a Minister in the Dáil last week in response to questions from Deputy Jen Cummins on the 80 bus route. This means that the feedback, fixes and implementation the NTA says it wants to identify and hear about from public represent…

It is unreasonable.

I thank the Minister of State.

Over the last several weeks, I have had the pleasure of hosting two transition year students, Kate and Saoirse, as interns in my office. During their time at Leinster House, they have been learning about the purpose and functions of the Houses of the Oireachtas including the differences between the Dáil and Seanad Éireann and the role of the Government. They have provided administrative assistance in my office and learned about the workings of a political office and the different workflows in political life such as…