From here, I need to rally the troops, even in the Seanad, to make sure we are supportive of this. Am I correct that the €750,000 is available until the end of this year? Did the Minister of State say that at the end of his contribution?

Does he know if there will be a new round of money next year?

Is the €750,000 for every local authority?

It is small enough then, but it is good to know they are eligible to apply because, for the War of Independence, it does not have to fall within those dates. That is great.

I second the amendment.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I am going to talk briefly about the hierarchy of vulnerable road users. I welcome the debate today. It is great to have it. I welcome the Minister of State here. I am also a member of the transport committee. We have been discussing road safety over the last couple of weeks. We are getting an insight into more vulnerable road users in particular. That is what I am going to talk about. Vulnerable road users are simultaneously the least likely to cause other road users harm and the…

I second the amendment.

I move: “That Seanad Éireann: recognises that: - the period after childbirth is a time of significant physical, emotional, and mental adjustment and that post-natal care is critical for the health and well-being of mothers, babies, and their families; - in particular mothers need access to affordable and timely mental health resources, such as counselling, therapy, and peer support, to address potential issues like post-natal depression, burnout and anxiety; - the Maternity and Infant Care Scheme currently provides…

I am delighted the Minister of State is here and I thank her for coming in.

This is a debate on a very important issue that impacts not only every single new mother and baby but also their other children, their partner and their extended family. I thank my cross-party colleagues Senators Harmon, Noonan and Stephenson for allowing our time to be used to discuss this extremely important matter. Postnatal care is often referred to as the fourth trimester, yet while each other trimester lasts 13 to 14 weeks, postnatal care ends just six weeks after childbirth. As a new mother myself 17 years a…

Yes.

I am absolutely overwhelmed. I am delighted about the support we have received here. I thank all the Senators for their honesty and for telling their own stories. It is really appreciated. I give a huge thank you to the Minister of State. It is definitely no coincidence that it is all women Ministers driving this. I thank Senator Rabbitte for all the work she did coming up to this. She did a lot of work, as did the Ministers of State, Deputies Butler and Murnane O'Connor, and the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. …

With the agreement of the House, I will share time with Senator Stephenson.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I am also disappointed about the timed amendment and the reason given for it. Eighteen months is a very long time. As Senator Clonan has said, we do not get to bring Bills forward too often. Eighteen months is a very long time for something as significant as this. While it does not affect that many people, it can transform lives. It is small legislation but very important. It would have a significant impact on families, mothers and fathers but would not involve a huge number of pe…

The Minister of State is from my constituency, and I know the hard work she does. She has to be commended. We have met on many occasions in our own ETBs. I know the work she does in the area, and it is well recognised. Katelyn is also welcome. It is great to see more women on apprenticeships. That is what we need. I raise the issue of apprentice pay. People know I brought forward a Bill before Christmas, which would make it compulsory that apprentices be included under the national minimum wage Bill. I was disappoi…

Craft apprenticeships. Connect Trade Union has told me that 20% to 25% of first-years in craft apprenticeships have been leaving. It has cited low pay as the reason. These are representative bodies that have said this to me. We know that apprentices receive a huge amount of support from the educational side. I know that myself from working in Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim Education and Training Board, MSLETB. I worked in the Sligo training centre. I was based there. The first-year apprentices have said - and this has com…

My heartfelt sympathies go to those whose livelihoods and businesses were affected by Storm Chandra. As Senator Murphy said, we were not affected in the north west. I grew up in Bandon and the Minister of State is from Clonakilty, so we know that flood defences actually work. It is very welcome that the OPW is putting emergency measures in place in the area where I live, Strandhill, but unfortunately there is no sense of urgency to it. We can go around in circles saying we will put in and look at engineering soluti…

Go raibh maith agat a Chathaoirligh. I also want to extend my sympathies to the family and to the Cathaoirleach. As a fellow Bandonian, I knew Brian when we were growing up. He used to come to a lot of our debs' balls and graduation balls. He always had a smile on his face. We all thought he was the really cool politician with his long hair and leather jacket and he was a great singer in a band. He is so fondly missed in Bandon. I differed from him politically but he was so well regarded in Bandon and he was only a…

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for fitting me in. One hundred years ago this month, a group of ten republican prisoners, including five from County Leitrim, were released from Peterhead prison in Scotland. They were among the last IRA prisoners to be released from British prisons in 1926. This group was arrested by crown forces while engaged in a cross-Border raid in 1922 intended to kidnap high-profile unionists as part of a tit-for-tat prisoner-taking and exchange campaign that continued after the Treaty of 1921…

I move amendment No. 110: In page 62, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: “(5) Notwithstanding the generality of subsection (1) , the administration of treatment to a person shall be regularly reviewed, and in any event, shall be reviewed at least once every 7 days, by the responsible consultant psychiatrist and the capacity of the person concerned shall be regularly reviewed by the responsible consultant psychiatrist or, on his or her direction, by another mental healthcare professional and in any ev…