I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response to my question. As he outlined, this particular initiative makes perfect sense. What we are talking about is prevention rather than cure. If we can encourage, where possible, more people to take up gym membership, whether in swimming pools or wherever, that is a good thing. It can be quite costly to be a member of a gym - €500, €600 or €700 per annum - but it is hugely encouraging to see so many, young and old, taking up gym membership. Giving them someth…

I thank the Minister of State.

I was struck by a report published by Michael McKeon of Teagasc recently. Mr. McKeon cited research carried out by Dr. Breda Smyth into farmer mortality rates to highlight the poor state of farmers' health in this country. Some of the findings of the report were stark and alarming. It found that farmers experience a five times higher incidence of cardiovascular issues, five times higher incidence of cancer and seven times higher mortality rates in the working age range compared with white collar workers. Mr. McKeon…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit, an Teachta McConalogue. The Minister of State is very welcome. I thank him for taking time out of his busy schedule to be here. I attended a meeting of the local sports partnership at the Monaghan Peace Campus last Friday, where two schools, the Model National School and St. Macartan's College, gave presentations. The Model National School gave a presentation on road safety, and St. Macartan's College gave a presentation on social media. The St. Macartan’s school principal is a ge…

Go raibh maith ag an Aire Stáit and I thank the Minister of State for his response. The presentation made by the principal of St. Macartan's College, an all-boys secondary school, last Friday is one of the most powerful presentations that I have heard in all my years in this House. Everyone who was present was saddened, shocked, alarmed and fearful of the effect that social media is having on schools. The principals and teachers in all schools are at the coalface in that they are dealing with the effects of it on a…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire ar ais arís chuig an Seanad um thráthnóna. I welcome the Minister back to the House this afternoon. On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Group, I welcome this debate and very much support the Bill. We firmly believe that everyone deserves to feel safe in their home, in their community, on our streets and on public transport. To achieve this, citizens must have faith and trust in An Garda Síochána to effectively tackle crime. Providing gardaí with the technologies needed to deliver an effective p…

Next Tuesday.

This week, I endorse the ongoing campaign in relation to Tractor Safety Week. The campaign urges and encourages people using tractors and farm machinery to be very careful as they go about their daily tasks. The tractor is synonymous with farm work. Indeed, it is centrally used - nearly every single day of the week and with that comes many dangers. Unfortunately, last year, 25 people lost their lives on Irish farms. That is twice the number of the year before. In addition to that, there were approximately over 4,60…

At 10.30 a.m. tomorrow.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire ar ais arís chuig an Seanad. The Minister is very welcome back to the Seanad. I thank him for taking time out of his busy schedule to take this Commencement here this morning. His presence is always very much appreciated. As the Minister well knows, a CCTV scheme offers significant benefits for communities, homes and businesses by deterring crime and improving overall safety. The Act is a strong deterrent to potential offenders. It assists authorities in identifying suspects and resolvin…

I thank the Minister for his response. I again thank him sincerely for his input in trying to progress this scheme. As I said at the outset, the people of Carrickmacross have been waiting for a long time. From my experience of the CCTV system, one of the pieces of feedback and the learnings that have come back from it is the frustration by all concerned with the length of time it takes to get from the initial application to approval status. There seems to be an awful lot of fences and hurdles to jump before you get…

I call for an increase in the income threshold limits to qualify for social housing. Many young people who contact me are getting no assistance whatsoever in this area. They are not earning enough money to be able to purchase a home of their own and in many cases are struggling to pay the rent. They are also just over the limit of the social housing guidelines. To give the House an idea, in the part of the world I hail from, in Monaghan and Cavan, and in many other counties, the income threshold for a two-income ho…

Next Tuesday.

At 10.30 a.m. tomorrow.

On a point of order, if I may, respectfully, I have a suggestion that might perhaps move matters on. I am not trying to curtail debate here. I am just wondering whether, if perhaps the Minister came in at this point, it might answer some of the questions the Members have legitimately put forward.

I beg your pardon.

The Minister's contribution might help to move matters on.

It was only a suggestion.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire ar ais go dtí an Teach seo. We in Fianna Fáil very much welcome the debate and support the Bill. The Bill, as the Minister outlined, has a single purpose, namely to assist the Omagh bombing inquiry established by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in February 2024 to investigate whether the bombing could have been prevented by the UK's state authorities. The formal decision taken by the Government on 9 July 2024 to assist the inquiry was taken in recognition of the importance of…

Next Tuesday.