Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 29 Jun 2022

Before I call on the Deputy Leader to outline the Order of Business, I welcome to the Distinguished Visitors Gallery the Japanese ambassador and thank him for being with us today, along with the convener of the Japan-Ireland parliamentary friendship group, Deputy Christopher O’Sullivan, whom I thank for bringing the ambassador to the House.

They are joined in the Distinguished Visitors Gallery by the mayor of the city and county of Waterford, Councillor Joe Kelly, and his wife, Frances. They are most welcome here today and I thank them for being with us in Seanad Éireann for the Order of Business.

I thank the Cathaoirleach and extend a warm welcome to our distinguished visitors, namely, Joe and Frances, the ambassador and Deputy Christopher O’Sullivan.

The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022, instruction to committee, to be taken on completion of the Order of Business without debate; No. 2, Sick Leave Bill 2022 [Dáil] - Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 12.45 p.m. and adjourn at 2.20 p.m., if not previously concluded; Nos. 3 and 4, motions regarding the continuance of certain provisions of the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998, No. 39 of 1998, and the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009, No. 32 of 2009, to be taken at 2.30 p.m. and conclude at 3.15 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the motions to be discussed together and the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister or Minister of State not to exceed five minutes, those of group spokespersons not to exceed five minutes and the Minister or Minister of State to be given no less than five minutes to reply to the debate; No. 5, Defence Forces (Evidence) Bill 2019 [Dáil] - Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 3.30 p.m. and the proceedings thereon, if not previously concluded, to be brought to a conclusion at 4.15 p.m. by the putting of one question from the Chair that shall, in respect of amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Government; No. 6, Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020 [Dáil] - Committee Stage (Resumed), to be taken at 4.15 p.m. and adjourn at 6.15 p.m., if not previously concluded; and No. 7, Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Bill 2022 - Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 6.30 p.m. and to adjourn at 8.30 p.m., if not previously concluded.

I too welcome to the Distinguished Visitors Gallery the Japanese ambassador and the mayor of Waterford city and county and his wife.

I welcome the announcements today of the Ministers for Social Protection and Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputies Humphreys and Darragh O'Brien, regarding changes to the community employment, CE, Tús and rural social scheme, RSS, schemes. As we know, these are very important schemes throughout our country that play a very important role within communities by providing amenities and they are a very important part of the fabric of many communities. There are currently 19,000 participants in CE, 5,000 in Tús and just under 3,000 in the rural social scheme and the investment by the Government this year will amount to €500 million. The changes announced include the removal of the six-year limit for all participants in the rural social scheme, the eligibility of Tús being extended to persons in receipt of a disability payment, new flexibility to allow CE schemes to recruit eligible candidates directly to fill 30% of places, Intreo to increase significantly the number of referrals to CE, with schemes required to offer places to at least 60% of candidates referred, a new pilot scheme to extend eligibility to qualified adults to be developed, and a continuation to allow schemes to extend individual placements and retain existing participants in cases where no replacement candidates have been selected.

These schemes play a vital role in local services such as childcare, meals on wheels, the maintenance and upkeep of local amenities and graveyards, the extension of footpaths and the building or rebuilding of walls, so they do a lot of great work throughout the country. The strength of the economy at present and the high level of employment have presented challenges to the schemes in regard to getting participants, and Ministers and the wider Government have listened to the concerns of supervisors regarding the need to provide and enact changes to increase the number of participants. I have received much engagement and correspondence from people in places such as Maam and Clonbur where there are difficulties getting participants, so these changes are welcome.

I also welcome the opening of the ex-gratia payment for CE supervisors and assistant supervisors, which is a good initiative. They had a long-fought battle, going back to the Labour Court recommendation of 2008, and I welcome the Government's decision to provide a gratuity payment. Nevertheless, RSS and Tús supervisors have queried whether they might be eligible for a similar gratuity in the near future. Of course, they do not yet have a Labour Court recommendation but I hope the Government can engage with them. Perhaps the Deputy Leader could contact the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, in regard to the eligibility of RSS and Tús supervisors for future schemes. Yesterday I raised a similar issue in the context of home help. Travel costs for participants are problematic at the moment, not least given the price of fuels and the increasing burden on participants.

I also extend a céad míle fáilte to our guests.

I join Senator Kyne in welcoming the announcement of the Ministers, Deputies Humphreys and Darragh O'Brien, on behalf of the Government regarding the CE and Tús schemes.

The Senator spoke about the six or seven important changes in that regard. It should be noted that these are in addition to changes introduced earlier this year that allowed participants on CE schemes and the RSS who were more than 60 years of age to remain on those schemes until they reached retirement age.

These schemes are vital, not just to rural areas, but to urban ones as well. With our parliamentary party, the Deputy Leader, Deputies Ó Cuív and Calleary and I have for some time been meeting supervisors and people involved in these schemes. They will be happy with this Government announcement. It is an employee's market in terms of jobs at the moment, and if we did nothing, we would find it difficult to fill these schemes. As Senator Kyne mentioned, these schemes are important for parishes, Tidy Towns groups and groups that provide services for older people, social services and disability services. They play a major role, so it is important that the Government continues to invest in them. In excess of €500 million is being spent on them annually. The news is welcome.

I will now turn to a hardy annual. Senator Hackett, the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, knows what I am going to mention. We are already starting to speak about flooding along the River Shannon again, particularly along the callows. It is not that the areas are becoming flooded. Rather, most of the farmlands there are in the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, under which farmers cannot cut meadows until 1 July. Land has become particularly wet, and even though the level of rainfall so far has been below the summer average, the persistent rain over recent days has led many people to grow concerned. There is good co-operation with the Office of Public Works, OPW, and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is monitoring the situation, but it is important that the weir gates be kept open. I understand that most of them are, which will allow the water to flow towards Limerick without causing any damage along the way. It is important for the farmers that we not let their lands flood. They are involved in GLAS and cannot cut their meadows before 1 July. If the current weather continues – the forecast does not look god – then there could be some difficulties. We must stay focused on this matter and remember that these farmers need fodder this year in particular.

I concur with everything that has been said about CE schemes. I just wish that we would have treated the supervisors much better. These people do an amazing job in local communities, but we have treated them badly.

The part-time Minister for Defence has agreed to place the Defence Forces at the disposal of a private company at Dublin Airport. If Supermac's or McDonald's was stuck for staff tomorrow morning, would we put the Defence Forces in with them as well? What is happening is becoming a pain. Today, I read that we were likely to lose another ship because of crew shortages. Engineers are walking out. The report of the Commission on the Defence Forces has been sitting around for more than five months. Why did we put the commission together if we were not going to listen to its recommendations? How much work is involved in following through on them? We have bought two new ships but are about to lose one. We are the only country in the EU that does not have a dedicated minister for defence. It is tiresome that we are dealing with a part-timer who spends most of his time elsewhere in the world and not in this country. It is just not on. The fact of the matter, with respect-----

Senator, I do not believe that we need to go through the record of any Member of this House to see where he or she referred to a Minister or the Minister's decisions because that is what happens in this Chamber. Members are entitled to speak about Government actions. I ask Senator Craughwell to continue.

We are discussing placing a number of Defence Forces personnel on standby at Dublin Airport. What the general public does not realise – the Deputy Leader does because she has been at the coalface – is that putting people on standby means that they are not going on leave and must instead be available. In the middle of the holiday season, soldiers and their families go on holidays too. In order to meet the commitment at Dublin Airport, we will be drawing troops from Cork, Limerick, Galway, Kilkenny, Dundalk and possibly Donegal. They will need to be accommodated in the very barracks that the Minister for Transport wants to sell off and use for social housing.

I want to see the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces being progressed. A tiny number of its recommendations dealt with pay. Those could have been implemented with the stroke of a pen the moment the report was published, but they have not been. We have lost more than 200 people since then. I understand that we are about to lose another 40 from the Naval Service. If that happens, we will be in dire straits. We have to look after Europe's largest exclusive economic zone in the Atlantic Ocean, but we are now down to possibly three ships. It is a joke and it needs to stop. I am sorry if people do not like me referring to the part-time Minister, but we are the only country in the EU without a dedicated minister for defence. That is shameful.

I attended a wonderful event on Monday evening in the village of Rhode in County Offaly. I estimate that approximately 100 women from the local area gathered to hear from Edenderry woman Mary McHugh, also known as "Mary Menopause", who has been telling her story to anyone who will listen about her menopause, which hit her prematurely approximately ten years ago. She described menopause powerfully as depleting women of all the hormones that made us natural. She went on to describe the debilitating symptoms that she had experienced for years without treatment. There was an outpouring of support and similar stories from the other women in the room, each with her own account of the difficulties associated with menopause, from the headaches and aches and pains to the low mood and anxiety, from the loss of libido to hot flushes and night sweats, and from the brain fog to the heavy irregular periods, all of which make life pretty unbearable. For some of the women, these difficulties lasted for more than a decade. That is no way to live. Women have stopped working because of menopause symptoms. Women in their 40s have had their working lives cut short. Menopause affects 50% of our population, yet many are suffering in silence.

Many of my senatorial colleagues have addressed the need for a better and more holistic approach to menopause care. There have been calls on the HSE to implement a public awareness campaign for women who are in the dark about the changes through which their bodies will go. While December marked an important milestone for menopause care with the opening of the first of four publicly funded specialist menopause clinics, we need the rest rolled out as quickly as possible. Access to specialised advice and proper treatment is essential. Women need to know that they are not alone. This is why everyone in the room last Monday was grateful to Mary McHugh for her courage and her relentless determination to rectify this situation. She is a true champion, and I thank her.

Heavy irregular periods can affect women throughout their lives, but particularly during menopause. If a woman is caught out, she loses and her period wins. It is as simple as that. That is why access to period products is crucial. The Government rolled out a period poverty pilot programme this year, which will make available a range of free period products in nine colleges across six education and training boards. Twenty-six local authorities have partnered with the Department of Health to deliver period poverty mitigation measures this year. Offaly County Council has launched an initiative on period poverty following a motion last year by Councillor Clare Claffey, the council's sole female councillor. I want to see period products rolled out in all public buildings, something that I will be pushing my Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to do. Female farmers can find themselves caught out too.

A Fórsa survey found that 70% of women had taken time off work because of their periods. As such, the argument for menstrual- and menopause-friendly policies in the workplace is a strong one. Recently, Spain became the first European country to consider a legal right to menstrual leave. The facts are clear. In the 21st century, it is time that menstruation and menopause came out of the dark and we put in place proper measures that deal effectively with the challenges they bring and give women their lives back.

I wish to raise issues relating to housing but before doing so I wish to express my concern that, yesterday, amendments were submitted that are non-consequential to the Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022 and which seek to amend the planning Act. There has been no pre-legislative scrutiny of these amendments and no notes as to why they are being produced. It is not the way we should be doing business.

Tomorrow morning at 9.30 a.m. we will be discussing amendments that have nothing whatsoever to do with the Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill. Members of the House should be given some information on the justification for those amendments to the planning Act. We saw what happened when amendments on forestry were put forward in respect of the Bill to end mink farming. The consequences were that many in the environmental sector were not given the time or opportunity to raise the issues of concern they had regarding forestry. It also delayed the mink farming legislation going through. It is not a good way to do business.

However, I wish to raise the latest daft.ie report which shows that after two years in office the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, appears to have utterly failed to address the affordable housing crisis. The daft.ie housing report shows that 19 counties now have double-digit inflation and across the State house prices have increased by 9.5%. Monday marked the second anniversary of the Minister's appointment and not a single statistic is going in the right direction. House prices and rents are up, while the amount of rental accommodation available is down. Homelessness has returned to pre-pandemic levels and child homelessness has increased by 40%. This will have profound long-term consequences for those children. The Minister has to accept that events have now surpassed his Housing for All plan. Budget 2023 has to be the opportunity to show that he is prepared to change direction, and he must seize that opportunity.

All Members know from talking to constituents that the inability to access affordable accommodation, be it rental or purchase, is driving our young people off the island. It is an incredible situation whereby we have young, talented people who feel they have no option but to emigrate. It is not because they want to or they cannot find employment, but because they cannot access that most fundamental right which is the right to a roof over one's head. This is a tragedy. It is not just a tragedy for the young people who are leaving against their will, it is also a tragedy for their families and society as a whole. Across the country we are seeing services crumbling and employers calling out huge staff shortages, yet young people cannot take up those jobs because the pay will not allow them to have a living here and they cannot afford to access accommodation.

I also wish to raise a housing matter and it is related to the increase in housing assistance payment, HAP, figures. On Friday, I put in a query on behalf of somebody whose house is being sold and who is about to be made homeless. The person cannot find anything for under €1,500 per month. I inquired whether the revised HAP figures that the Minister had indicated at a social housing conference three years previously had been communicated to local authorities and I was told the local authority had not received any communication.

It is unfortunate that the Minister is making announcements without informing local authorities, and that people who are about to be evicted and made homeless have not been communicated with and do not know the level of HAP allowance to which they are entitled. This is a single person, so the person is inquiring whether it will be merged with the couple's rate, which is what was indicated.

There are also people on homeless HAP. We wrote to the Minister on the back of that, but I also ask the Deputy Leader of the House to write to the Minister and ask him to communicate to local authorities what the available HAP rates are and to ensure that they are more reflective of the market.

Second, I wish to raise autism places in Dublin 8. Today, the Labour Party introduced a Private Members' Bill on the autism strategy. I was speaking to some of the people in Dublin 12 who have been advocating for special autism classes. There are 17 primary schools in Dublin 12 and 11 of them either have an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, class or an early intervention class. There are six primary schools in Dublin 8 with no autism classes. There are eight secondary schools in the area and four of them have no autism classes. The Dublin 12 group is asking that, essentially, Dublin 12 be used as an exemplar and that every school would have an autism class for people who need special education and people with additional needs. I ask the Deputy Leader of the House to speak to the Minister to see if Dublin 12 can be used as an exemplar. Most of the schools there are willing to put classes in place, but they need the support and resources of the Department to be able to open them.

In all my time as an activist and working with poor women, I never heard them speak about period poverty. A lot of the time we can use poor women to kick cans down the road, so I encourage the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, to focus on issues such as housing and childcare as well, and perhaps speak to the poor women who are living in poverty. That could be a very good starting point.

I will move on to a very important issue. In Ireland in 2022, Traveller children in secondary schools are being given primary school work. These are children of 15 and 16 years of age. They have the best of academic skills, emotional skills, reading and writing skills and so forth, yet they are being given crosswords and colouring pages. Some people might want to laugh at that but I, as a member of the Traveller community, find it extremely sad that we are still living in an Ireland where this is acceptable behaviour. First, I want to know who is held responsible. None of us knows. No Member of the House knows who is held responsible for the failure of Traveller education. I call for the Minister to come to the House not for a Commencement matter but for a discussion on Traveller education with all Members and to let us know who is held accountable.

I could not say that these children are being treated unequally in our society if I could not stand by it. Two years ago today, I stood in this Chamber for the first time as a Member of this House and I spoke about the inequalities that are happening in the Traveller community. Two years later, I know that those young Traveller children could go on to be doctors, nurses, barristers, solicitors, Deputies or local politicians. There is what we have to do as a society and in our education system. Not all teachers are bad, but there is a minority of teachers who will just give the Traveller child the colouring-in work at the age of 16 years. As a young Traveller woman said, she will be leaving school anyway because she is 16 years old and she will not have to face the shame of getting this type of work at 16 years of age.

Our children are being stereotyped whereby the men will go off and work with their fathers and the women will go off and get married. This is not true for the majority of members of the Traveller community. I am asking teachers to stop stereotyping our children and to support them to be better than even they believe themselves to be. I strongly encourage that in our education system. It is 2022. I want a better life for my two children and for the days of children being put to the back of the class to colour in pictures to be over.

I would appreciate if the Deputy Leader would organise an emergency debate on Traveller education because this is an emergency issue.

I ask the Deputy Leader to invite the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, or the Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection, Deputy Joe O'Brien, to the House. I welcome the reforms announced today by the Minister with regard to the community employment, CE, scheme, the Tús scheme and the rural social scheme. Being immersed in our local communities, we all know the work experience given to the men and women in our local communities - there are 27,000 - is absolutely powerful. We see the enhancement of the public realm, and many community and sporting facilities are enriched by participation in these schemes.

The announcement by the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, is very important. The six-year term limit is removed, eligibility for Tús is extended and there is flexibility to allow schemes to hire and recruit directly.

The application process for the ex-gratia payment for ex-community employment supervisors is now open. That is tremendous news by the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Heather Humphreys, and her Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien. I ask that both of them are invited here to discuss these schemes that play a huge role in communities.

Yesterday, during the Order of Business, I raised the issue of members of the Defence Forces being asked to be on stand-by. In terms of what has been announced by the Government, the members of the Defence Forces are on stand-by. I challenge Members of this House to listen to the remarks made this morning by Mr. Mark Keane, president of the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association, PDFORRA. He made a good point and I support his call for clarity.

We should also support and congratulate the hard-working staff in Dublin Airport, Shannon Airport, Ireland West Airport Knock and other airports who do tremendous work in a very stressful and challenging period. It is wrong for Members to come in here and say that we have a part-time Minister for Defence, and they should be corrected, when we actually have the Minister of State, Deputy Jack Chambers, and the Minister for Defence, Deputy Coveney, in the Department. They are not part-time Ministers and I made the point that they are not part-time Ministers. In the context of the comments made by Mr. Mark Keane, the Government and the Dublin Airport Authority must clarify the role envisaged for PDFORRA.

Last night, I saw Mr. Dalton Philips on "Prime Time" who made points about terms and conditions. As clarity is required, and just like yesterday when I requested the Minister for Transport to come in here, I now request that the Minister for Defence comes in here to explain and give us clarity on the points in question.

Dublin Airport is faced with a lot of challenges and I ask that the Deputy Leader extends an invitation to attend this House to the Minister for Transport or the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, who has responsibility for aviation. To be fair to the DAA and all of the staff in Dublin Airport, they are victims of their own success. The bounce back has been incredibly quick and large so there are challenges, which are clearly visible in terms of queueing, parking, etc.

Senator Buttimer and I are members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications. Last night, the committee held a public meeting at which both Senator Buttimer and I were in attendance. The committee was told that the earliest there will be a metro to Dublin Airport will be somewhere between the window of 2030 to 2034. Therefore, we will continue to have problems with parking and accessibility in general until that time.

An Bord Pleanála has ruled that Dublin Airport cannot go beyond 32 million passengers. That figure was breached in 2019 and it is likely the figure will be breached this year but if not this year then next year. I would like the Deputy Leader to arrange a discussion, and ideally with the Minister for Transport. Let us remember that every single Minister for Transport since Noel Dempsey has been Dublin-based, including Deputies Leo Varadkar and Paschal Donohoe, and Shane Ross.

For the sake of all passengers, Dublin Airport needs attention and focus in terms of its security and management. I welcome the fact that members of the Defence Forces are going to be available but they should not be taken for granted. The public has huge faith in the involvement of the Defence Forces and their availability, which I would like to see happen. I would also like us to discuss the future of Dublin Airport in terms of its next phase. If Dublin Airport has already hit a limit of 32 million passengers then we need to think about where we go next because aviation is part of what we, as an island nation, do very well. For example, Irish people lead some of the largest aviation organisations in the world such as British Airways and Qantas Airways Limited, and Mr. Willie Walsh is director general of the International Air Transport Association, IATA. We must have a debate on the future of Dublin Airport, its future capacity and expansion, whether we need a third terminal, etc.

The DAA has proposed that passenger charges be increased by 80% and the Commission for Aviation Regulation is due to deliver its deliberation by the end of June, which is tomorrow. I think that asking passengers to pay 80% more to Dublin Airport at a time when it is clearly not delivering is something that the public is not ready for and, therefore, we need an urgent debate.

The mayor of the city and county of Waterford, and his wife, are seated in the Gallery. I extend a very warm welcome to them and hope they have a good day here. Of course I am referring to Councillor Joe Kelly and his wife.

Today, the audiovisual room was packed as we had a delegation from the Social, Economic Environmental Forestry Association of Ireland, SEEFA. The event was particularly interesting because we again heard, which is a fact that we have heard since the Government targets for forestry were set, that the planting and harvesting targets are not being met. All forestry targets are verified by a dashboard of indicators, which is issued by the Department. We are off target and that is disappointing. Everyone on all sides of the House who spoke at the event talked about how disappointed they are with the targets not being reached. I am not in the blame game but we still must address the issue. We must increase our ambitious national targets, which the Government has set in the programme, and everyone who attended, including me, supports that idea.

There seems to be a big difference between how we treat forestry in the private sector, which is represented by SEEFA, and Coillte forestry. Clearly, the indicators differ which begs the question and I ask for a debate. Senator Hackett is the Minister of State who has overall responsibility for forestry and perhaps she could facilitate a debate when possible. We must get back on target and deliver because we are not doing so. I want us to address the issue of the inconsistency between the Coillte figures versus those of the private sector. It seems that Coillte performs better. Some people have suggested that Coillte has received favourable treatment and I do not suggest that but the private sector wants a fair chance.

I fully concur with Senator Flynn's excellent contribution about educational opportunities for Travellers. Indeed, there should be educational opportunities for everybody because we know that when people are given good educational opportunities early, and there are early interventions, then we excel, which is no different for the Traveller community. I support her call for a debate on education for Travellers in this House.

I support Senator Flynn's call for a debate on Traveller education. I commend her on her powerful and important speech on the subject. She has been a great advocate for the rights of Travellers and, indeed, for oppressed and abused minorities everywhere for which she deserves to be praised.

As the Cathaoirleach commented, yesterday was the anniversary of the start of the Civil War, which is probably one of the saddest days in Irish history when erstwhile friends divided and took up arms against each other, and that great unity of purpose, which had existed during the War of Independence, was fractured. Fortunately, the Civil War did not last very long. I think that was because the participants on both sides did not want to fight.

It is important to note that the losing side, and I would be a descendent of some of those people, very quickly realised the futility of continued violence, and very quickly adopted the democratic path. They achieved an awful lot through the process in Leinster House under de Valera, Lemass and so on. It was a pity at the time that a very small minority could not see their way to go with them as that gave rise to the continued violence by disillusioned or delusional people who thought that they could shoot and bomb their way to a united Ireland. It gave rise to the 30 years of mayhem and murder that was carried out by Sinn Féin-PIRA in the North. Thankfully, the violence has come to an end thanks to the Good Friday Agreement and Sinn Féin is now in the democratic system. While I do not agree with any of the Sinn Féin policies I welcome that development.

There is a good news story about the Four Courts. The archives of the Four Courts have been refurbished, saved and recorded in digital fashion for future students. That fantastic work involved meticulous attention to detail as tiny scraps of charred paper were the only clues to where to find further information. Everybody thought that the archives that were burned in the Four Courts were gone forever and, thankfully, that is not the case. The people who worked on the archival project, especially those from Trinity College, deserve the highest praise.

I welcome the announcement by the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Naughton, of over €13 million in co-funding for transport projects in Ireland under the European Union's Connecting Europe facility.

This is a key EU funding instrument to promote growth and jobs in Europe. I particularly welcome the €2.5 million for Irish Rail to support studies on the development of a rail freight system connecting Ireland's busiest seaports and establishing transfer points for freight between rail and road. As the Deputy Leader will know, Ballina is the only rail freight railway station in the country. I have no doubt that this report will help build other train stations that will actively support rail freight between railway stations and seaports. Our home town of Castlebar is an ideal place for a rail freight town. It is the capital and county town of Mayo. Baxter Healthcare and Meissner, as well as other industries are located there. They would use rail freight if it was there. I was talking to someone from Cunningham Transport, which is on the railway line recently. I have no doubt it would use rail freight if we had it in Castlebar. We also have the ideally-placed KOG logistics, which is one of the most modern logistics plants in the country. It would actively use rail freight if it was available. I welcome this report. We should have a debate on rail freight and passenger freight and the extension of the rail line from Athenry to Claremorris. It is because of that that it was pointed out to us that Ballina is the only rail freight station in the country. It would be an ideal opportunity for this debate, particularly in light of the €2.5 million that has been made available to Irish Rail to carry out this study.

I support my colleague, Senator Flynn, in her call for a debate on Traveller education. It is vital. On my behalf and that of Senator Flynn, I welcome the new mayor of Waterford, Joe Kelly, and his wife, to the House. They are very welcome.

I congratulate the organisers of last Saturday's Pride parade. It is always so beautiful and exciting to see thousands of people marching together, celebrating the wonderful and great diversity, creativity and resilience of Irish LGBT people. I also salute all my colleagues who attended the march to show their support. We are very fortunate to live in a country where the vast majority of political figures are empathetic supporters of LGBT people. When we look at the profoundly toxic discourse around transgender people and their rights in the US or UK we can see the damage the normalisation of bigotry can cause. It is not enough to use respectful language and fly rainbow flags on State buildings every June. If we are to be real allies of transgender people, we need to provide them with the access to healthcare that they need in order to thrive. The HSE service plan for 2022 commits to developing capacity to meet its obligations under the National LGBTI+ Inclusion Strategy 2019-2021. That inclusion strategy committed the State to the recruitment of the specialist healthcare and support staff necessary for the provision of gender-affirming care. Despite this commitment, the national gender service has huge wait times that leave many transgender people waiting years to be provided with care. This wait can cause a lot of anguish. Some individuals self-medicate with hormones purchased online. Others are forced to crowdfund for gender-affirming surgery on social media and travel to medical tourism destinations like Poland to access the services they need in a timely manner. This failure to provide adequate levels of care is depriving transgender people of the dignity and equal treatment they are entitled to.

Another issue that impedes transgender people's access to healthcare is the fact that the national gender service uses an outdated model of care. This means that people seeking care are subject to invasive questioning about their sex lives and other intimate matters. This is not in keeping with international best practice guidelines set out by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, WPATH, which seek to de-pathologise transgender identity. Being trans or gay is a normal part of human diversity. People should not feel stigmatised or violated when seeking care. Adoption of the WPATH guidelines is part of the programme for Government. That is wonderful but we need to make sure this commitment is brought to fruition as soon as possible.

Trans people in Ireland face a stark choice between an interminable wait at home or a daunting journey abroad to get the care they need. We need to take action to ensure Ireland's commitment to transgender equality is reflected in deeds, not just words. I ask the Minister for Health to come to this House to brief us on the work being done to build capacity in this area to meet the Government's commitments.

I welcome the news from the Minister for Rural and Community Development about the significant changes that have been made in the Tús and community employment, CE, schemes. These schemes have been beneficial for so many people and communities. I also welcome the mayor, Councillor Joe Kelly, and his wife to the House.

I raised a few weeks ago the fact that Caherconlish in Limerick was losing its post office due to the retirement of Kitty Hickey. I wish her well in her retirement. There was welcome news this morning that a new contractor has been announced for the post office. That is most welcome.

Some colleagues highlighted the issues at Dublin Airport. They are looking for a debate with either the Minister for Transport or the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton. It should be a wider debate on how to better utilise our airports. We have so many regional airports, including in Shannon, Knock and Cork. We need a debate on how to create a counterbalance between Dublin and the rest of the airports. It is not good that 87% of all flights go from one airport. There has to be balanced regional development in utilising our airports. There is a need for a wider debate. That said, I realise that the issues at Dublin Airport are very serious.

Senator Black raised the Pride march. The Limerick Pride march will proceed on 9 July. Any colleagues who would like to come and join in the parade would be more than welcome. We will have a big turnout there as well.

I commend our colleague Senator Flynn on her fine speech in respect of Traveller education. I extend a warm welcome to the mayor Joe Kelly and his wife. It is great to see them here.

Something very significant happened in Limerick City and County Council last week. The following motion was put to the council:

This council calls on the Government and the Minister for Housing to declare a housing emergency and to use emergency powers to introduce an immediate moratorium on evictions, similar to that during Covid, to be reviewed after three months; and that the Minister increase the income threshold limits for social housing supports during this time.

The motion was introduced by my colleague, Councillor Sharon Benson, and supported by my other colleague, Councillor Tom Collopy. I am glad to say it received unanimous support. Councillors from Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and all parties signed up to that motion, which has since been distributed to authorities throughout the State. It is highly significant that councillors in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are now recognising what Sinn Féin has been saying for years, which is that we have a housing emergency and carrying on in the same old fashion simply is not good enough. I wonder whether Senators in this Chamber would have the courage to stand up and stand with their colleagues in Limerick City and County Council in acknowledging that we need a moratorium now. There is a deluge of eviction notices in Limerick. I am sure it is no different across the State.

These are political choices. That is what we are talking about. Every day the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage refuses to raise the income threshold, which is a ridiculous €30,000 in Limerick, and every day he continues to ignore the report that has been on his desk since December is a political choice that only compounds the homelessness issue across our State. We need an urgent debate on housing. We need the Minister to finally wake up and raise those income thresholds now, before the summer recess. Too many people are excluded. People earning €35,000 or €40,000, which are average incomes, have no support from the State. They are basically told they cannot even join a list for housing.

It is a disgrace and one that sits firmly at the feet of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. We need action and we need it now. I ask for that debate.

Yesterday, I met a number of fishermen from Killybegs, County Donegal, with our colleague, Deputy McHugh. We need a debate on the fishing industry, particularly around the issue of licensing, upgrading of equipment and so on. The fishing industry has such potential in this country that is untapped. Clearly, it needs much greater Government support. I would appreciate it if we had that debate at some stage. We could all learn a lot from it and it would certainly inform the Government.

On housing, I agree with Senator Gavan regarding the income levels to qualify for HAP and social housing. We have a situation in County Clare where the upper limit for a family, a husband and wife with two children, is €28,000. It is completely unrealistic to have the income limit at that level in today's world. I have also dealt with a number of people from abroad who have been living in Ireland for a significant period but whose names may be associated with a property in a place such as Poland. In effect, the property is worthless but they are automatically excluded from social housing or HAP simply because their name is associated with a property in Poland. We need to look at that again because these people are working in this country, their lives are here and their children are going to school in this country. Yet we have a situation where, since their names happen to be associated with properties, they are completely excluded from the social housing infrastructure. In some cases, they may not be able to take their names off the properties because they could be part of a family structure. That is something that needs to be looked at.

I welcome the various pre-budget briefings that are taking place today and have taken place over the past number of days. Certainly, family carers were in Buswells Hotel, as were members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. The presentations they give are quite stark. The cost of living is impacting on many people in a devastating way. The budget process has to begin earlier. I would like to see the budget happen in September, as opposed to October in order that interventions can happen earlier.

Cuirim fáilte roimh méara Phort Láirge agus a bhean chéile freisin. When the American Supreme Court ruled last Friday in the Dobbs v. Jackson case, overturning Roe v. Wade and related court decisions, I thought of a famous campaign slogan from American politics in the 1980s: "It's morning again in America." Following the darkness of almost 50 years of federally mandated abortion, which resulted in 60 million dead, it will now be possible for American states to enact laws that, it is to be hoped, will protect the lives of unborn children and their mothers. I also thought it was significant that on a weekend where many people sincerely marched to express support for inclusion and diversity that perhaps the American Supreme Court had taken the greatest step in that direction.

There are three lessons for us in Ireland. One concerns the debate about human rights. Abortion unsettles a society and the debate on it is never over. Sooner or later, the communitarian human rights vision of including everybody will prevail over an individual choice ethic. That is certainly my hope. The second lesson relates to the media. The narrative in Irish media over the weekend was amazing. There was hardly any interest in hearing the views of pro-life people as to how this American decision might change Ireland or whether it would lead to reduced numbers of abortions. It was all presented in terms of fear and negativity. I remember Congressman Richard Neal referring to America's "noisy democracy" when we met him in the Chamber a few weeks ago but it strikes me that for all its ills, when we look at the spectrum of media in America, from Fox News on one side to CNN on the other, it may not be pretty and may sometimes be very ugly but at least there is diversity. That is perhaps part of the story. We could do with some greater media diversity in Ireland. My final point is this. Can we ever hope to arrive at some consensus in this country? Could we, for example, think about the fact that while we may have different views of Roe v. Wade or the legality of abortion, we can again get to the idea that abortions are at least regrettable and we should work together to reduce the numbers of abortions as much as possible? That would just be a first step for me. I recognise it would be the end of the journey for others but I ask that we at least restart that conversation because it has been lost in Ireland in recent times.

A few weeks ago, I met hundreds of people at the Raheen Woods Hotel, Athenry, County Galway. These were groups of people who work with Galway Rural Development under rural social schemes, Tús and community employment schemes. Many of our public representatives were also present. We know all our community heroes. They work in towns on all these schemes and are doing so many projects. They work with our town teams, Tidy Towns and the GAA, as well as on sports pitches and with charities. In my local area, they were painting walls and making towns look well. These groups and the people who work in them give so much. I thank them, including Galway Rural Development, Roscommon LEADER and all the groups in all our towns.

The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, has made some serious reforms to these programmes. Throughout the country, there are 19,000 people on CE schemes, nearly 5,000 in Tús and just under 3,000 on the rural social scheme. This investment will amount to more than €500 million in 2022. What are the changes? The six-year time limit for RSS has been removed, which was one of the big asks at that last meeting. The eligibility for Tús has been extended. We are seeing much more flexibility allowing the schemes to recruit directly because it is a major challenge that so many people are back at work now. We have one of the highest levels of people who are back at work but the challenge is there is probably a smaller pool to pull from. These schemes will now be able to recruit and advertise directly for people in the local area to work with them. A new pilot scheme for qualified adults will be explored and an ex-gratia payment for CE supervisors is being looked at, which is very welcome.

This builds on changes the Minister has already made through the Department of Rural and Community Development for people who are on CE and RSS schemes. If they are aged over 60, they can stay on these schemes until retirement. These changes mean so much, especially in our local areas in Galway. The challenge is that our local authority is the second lowest funded, but it also means that so many of these groups support local authorities to develop and deliver projects. It happens in so many local authorities throughout the county. I welcome those funds today.

I thank all Members who contributed to the Order of Business. Senator Kyne welcomed today's announcement from the Department of Social Protection and the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, of significant reforms to CE, Tús and RSS schemes. These reforms were also welcomed by Senators Murphy, Buttimer, Maria Byrne and Dolan. There is widespread support for those changes. As many Members pointed out, there are in excess of 25,000 people across all three schemes. They employ a significant number of people in our communities throughout the country. The removal of the six-year limit is probably one of the biggest reforms. That was quite an arbitrary cut-off for many people who had come to rely on working under those schemes. The communities relied on those people and the experience they had built up. It was a shame people who had built up that experience were lost from those schemes. I certainly welcome those reforms, in addition to the changes to CE schemes in respect of the gratuity payments.

Senator Kyne raised the issue of increased travel costs for many people participating in those schemes and has asked that it is kept under review. Senator Murphy welcomed the changes to CE, Tús and RSS and spoke about the concern and fear regarding flooding along the River Shannon. While acknowledging we are not currently in a flood scenario, he said we needed to be mindful that it is something we will have to deal with in the very near future. It is an issue Senator Murphy has been raising for many years now as a Member of the Oireachtas.

Senator Craughwell spoke about the ongoing situation at Dublin Airport, as did other Members. His contribution focused predominantly on the issues with the Defence Forces. I concur with many of the Senator's remarks. The manner in which it was announced that the Dublin Airport Authority would potentially get the assistance of the Defence Forces was somewhat lacking in respect for its members. It was only a short while ago we were told that such assistance would not be necessary.

The chief executive of the Dublin Airport Authority said it is a standby situation but Senator Craughwell rightly pointed out that those people serving in and with experience in the Defence Forces know that being on standby means they need to be in the country and they need to be ready to go. It means there is probably going to be a limit on those personnel taking annual leave. We have yet to get clarity on that and I know PDFORRA and the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO, are looking for clarity. It is a regrettable situation that we find ourselves in, not just for Defence Forces members but for those staff working at the airport, who are clearly under a lot of pressure, and, very importantly, for those passengers going through in either direction, who are trying to deal with what looked like chaotic scenes at the airport in terms of baggage being lost, bins not being emptied and people missing flights. It is very regrettable.

In the interests of fairness, it is fair to point out that international airports in other countries are experiencing similar difficulties. This is stemming from the reduction of staff during the pandemic and then trying to scale back up. It is just not happening at the rate it needs to happen at. We are not alone as a country in dealing with this, but we still have to deal with the issues here domestically because it is damaging Ireland's reputation internationally.

The Minister of State, Senator Hackett, spoke this morning on the issues around menopause and has called for a more holistic approach to how we deal with menopause, on which we will all agree. There have been many debates in both Houses and among the public around menopause. Senator Hackett welcomed that we now have the first menopause clinic open in the country with many more supports to come, which are long overdue.

Senator Boylan spoke about the circular economy Bill and amendments to the planning Act. A note was circulated around the need for those amendments, which are to provide for the Environmental Protection Agency to license certain activities to make sure they are in line with its activities. We will get a note sent to the Senator if that was not sent on. I take on board her point about pre-legislative scrutiny not happening on those particular amendments. The amendments are in the public interest. We will send a note to the Senator on that.

I take on board the Senator’s comments with regard to the Daft report on affordable housing. It is important to say that we have record investment in housing and €4 billion is being put behind housing policy in this country. We have never seen that scale of investment. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has been doing a very good job in terms of turning the numbers in the right direction. Commencements are up and more homes are being built, which is an important figure. It is also fair to acknowledge that in his very short time as Minister, and he has only been there two years, we have had construction close down for periods because of the pandemic, we have had difficulties in getting things back up and running and, now, because of supply chain issues flowing from that but also the war in Ukraine, there are a lot of pressures impacting on the cost of materials and labour as well. It has not been an easy time to be the Minister with responsibility for housing yet we are seeing more homes coming on stream. We have also seen an opening of the shared home equity scheme, which will benefit many couples, families and individuals trying to buy their first home, to bridge that gap in terms of what they can borrow and the cost of purchasing their first home. That has been broadly welcomed. There is a lot happening in terms of providing affordable and social housing and assisting people to get on the property ladder. To be fair to all sides, it is fair to acknowledge it has not been an easy two years for anybody to be in that brief, considering a pandemic and a war in Europe as well.

Senator Moynihan spoke about the increase in the HAP figures and asked whether local authorities have been informed. I have been informed by the Minister's office that the statutory instrument is being signed tomorrow and the new regulations will then be sent to all local authorities after that, and the new HAP limits will come into play on 11 July. That information will be sent to local authorities following the signature of the statutory instrument tomorrow.

Senator Moynihan also spoke about the issue of autism in regard to Dublin 8 and the lack of school places. I know both the Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, have been working very hard on this issue. It would have been difficult to miss that conversation in the media in the last number of days and there is a lot of work ongoing. Some schools are not providing places for children with additional needs and that needs to change. The Government has been very clear that if schools do not do it willingly, they will be mandated to do it. We are absolutely focused on making sure our education system is inclusive for all children.

That brings me on to the comments, the statement and the speech this morning by Senator Eileen Flynn around education for Traveller children. I am disgusted that a child of 15 or 16 would be given something to colour in at the back of the classroom. That is absolutely outrageous and should not happen. Whatever school that is, and I do not have the details, the principal should be informed of that. If that needs to be escalated to the Minister, then that should happen. That should not be let go. While we will not get into naming schools here in the Chamber, that should not be let slide and there should be consequences.

If that is happening, it needs to be communicated to the principal and, if that is not successful, it should go straight to the Minister's office because that should be dealt with. While I am sure it is only a small number, shame on any teacher who would do that, or that any child would be left at the back of the classroom and not treated the same as every other child in the school.

I note the Senator has received support this morning for that debate and I have requested a debate at the earliest opportunity. It is unlikely to happen before the summer recess as the schedule is so jammed for the next two and a half weeks, but we will come back to the Senator to get that debate organised as quickly as possible. The Senator has had support this morning from Senators Ned O’Sullivan, Victor Boyhan, Paul Gavan, Frances Black and many others who have supported that call. We will try to get the debate as quickly as possible.

Senator Buttimer responded to the comments of Senator Craughwell. We will leave that issue as it is and take on board the Senator's comments. He also welcomed the community employment, CE, and Tús changes.

Senator Gerry Horkan spoke about the Dublin Airport Authority. He has requested a debate with the Minister for Transport around the future of Dublin Airport, its capacity and whether it has gone beyond what it was granted planning for. Senator Maria Byrne also requested a debate on transport and airports in general. That debate request has gone to the Minister and we are looking for a date. We will likely have a debate on aviation in general for the country which can facilitate all members having their say.

It is unlikely to happen before the summer. We are at the mercy of Minister's office to try to get a date from him or from the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton. We will try to get that as early as possible.

Senator Boyhan spoke this morning about the Social, Economic, Environmental Forestry Association of Ireland, SEEFA, and the briefing that was organised by Deputy Jackie Cahill this morning in the AV room. There are ongoing issues with forestry. We will certainly request a debate with our Minister of State, Senator Hackett, in the Chamber at the earliest opportunity. Senator Boyhan is right that there are ongoing issues and this has been going on for a number of years, with particular difficulties in getting a licence to fell trees. As licences have been given to people to plant, they have a reasonable expectation that they would be able to fell those trees at a certain point, given they have invested in doing that. It is unfair to give a licence to go in and not come out, and that needs to be dealt with.

Senator O'Sullivan acknowledged that yesterday marked 100 years since the beginning of the Civil War, which he was right to say was a very dark day in Irish history, and what came out of that. He also welcomed the archives project at the Four Courts and commended those who have worked very hard to pull that together.

Senator Paddy Burke welcomed the funding from the Connecting Europe Facility, CEF, the EU fund around transport, in particular the €2.5 million for Irish Rail. He has specifically requested a debate on the reopening of the Athenry to Claremorris railway line - the western rail corridor - for freight purposes.

Senator Black acknowledged the fantastic Pride parade that took place in Dublin and spoke specifically about the LGBTQI+ community and the inclusion strategy, and trans healthcare. We will certainly request a debate with the Minister for Health.

Senator Maria Byrne congratulated Kitty Hickey, who is retiring from the local post office, and she also alerted Members to the Pride march taking place in Limerick on 9 July. She also requested that debate on transport and aviation, in particular in regard to Shannon Airport.

Senator Gavan spoke this morning about the housing emergency that has been acknowledged by Limerick Council and he referred to those countermotions. I have dealt with the housing issue in response to Senator Boylan. There are issues with housing and we know that. However, we have a Housing for All plan, we have record levels of investment, we have commencements going up and we have several schemes in place to try to assist people, in particular first-time buyers and first-start individuals and couples, so there is a lot of work ongoing. We acknowledge there are particular difficulties in the rental market and we know that a lack of supply is the big issue. With commencements going in the right direction, more homes are being built and coming on stream, and we are seeing affordable and cost-rental homes come on stream as well. The Minister is doing a good job in that regard. We also acknowledge that there are, of course, still challenges and we need to do more. That is why we are putting record levels of funding behind the housing policy.

Senator Conway spoke about the fishing industry and has requested a debate on that. He also acknowledged and welcomed the pre-budget briefings we have all been facilitated to attend by different groups, in particular this morning by Family Carers Ireland and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, which were in Buswells Hotel. I attended both briefings. I would agree with Senator Conway's remarks that some of the statistics and figures presented to us were stark. When we look at Family Carers Ireland, for example, 69% of family carers say they are in financial distress and one quarter of family carers are cutting back on heating their homes and on food, so there are some very stark statistics.

I agree with what Family Carers Ireland said this morning, that is, that its asks are ambitious but not unreasonable. I have no doubt but that Ministers with responsibility across all areas, in particular the Minister for Social Protection and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, will look closely at those pre-budget submissions.

Senator Mullen spoke about Roe v. Wade. It will not surprise him to hear that I take a different view from that expressed in his comments, although I respect his right to articulate those comments in this House. He made points about the debate not being over and about the kind of media coverage we have here in comparison with that in the United States. The debate is never over and there will always be conflicting views. Yes, the media landscape in the US is diverse, but it is ugly, and the reports are very often not factually correct. I am not sure we want to go down that road in respect of the media. For the most part, our media do their very best to be balanced and fair. Senator Mullen may disagree with me on that, but I think we have a better standard of reporting in this country than there is in the United States.

As for the Senator's final point about abortions being regrettable and the need to reduce their number, we both sat on the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, which made some strong recommendations on trying to reduce the number of crisis pregnancies. We have a long way to go yet to successfully implement those recommendations. As a country, we have a long way to go to get rid of the stigma still attached to being a single parent, particularly for single mothers. We know that single mothers are more likely to live in poverty and to drop below the poverty line, their children likewise. We are still trying to implement and to roll out the recommendation to have free contraception for 17- to 25-year-olds. There will be money in the upcoming budget to that end. It is quite perverse to think that it is free to get an abortion but not free to get contraception. It does not make sense. Abortions are decisions that people do not take lightly. Making abortion illegal does not stop abortions; it just drives them underground. We know that from the evidence Senator Mullen and I heard at meetings of the committee.

There is no evidence to suggest that is the case, and others would disagree with the Senator. We will not rehash the debate. My point is that making abortion illegal does not stop abortions happening and that there is a reason we make them legal, namely, that it makes them safer and that we know that women need access to that care for a variety of reasons. What we have not done in this country, however, is enough work to make the choice to go through with a crisis pregnancy a bit easier for some women who may feel they cannot do so because this country does not care for women properly in that regard as single parents are more likely to be in poverty, and then there is childcare, housing and so on. We have consensus on that for the most part. I am of the view that all sides could work together on that aspect, and we could have a better society for it. For some reason we just do not seem to be getting to grips with that element. In any event, I take on board the points Senator Mullen made. I know that he articulates views that are shared by some members of our society. I also know that this is not a consensus issue.

Senator Dolan spoke about the meeting held in Raheen Woods, Galway, in advance of the announcements today on the RSS, Tús and CE. She made the point that in all our communities they do vital work not just for the GAA clubs, parish councils and Tidy Towns but also for charities and many other organisations. They are a valuable resource. They do so much good work that just would not get done otherwise by local authorities. They provide a great service. The changes announced today will be greatly welcomed right across the board.

I note the issue Senator Boylan raised about the introduction of amendments by the Government that are not consequential to Bills. Standing Order 154 requires amendments on Committee Stage of a Bill to be relevant to the subject matter of the Bill. Amendments which do not meet that requirement are ruled out of order by the Cathaoirleach. In the case in question, I ruled the amendments out of order. Amendments tabled on Committee Stage to the Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022 are not relevant to the subject matter of the Bill but, according to the motion before the House, if the House agrees to set aside the requirement in respect of Government amendments for the purpose of Committee Stage of the Bill, that would be a clear way for the amendments to be moved. It will, of course, be entirely up to the House to agree whether or not it should proceed with those amendments. At my request, the review of the practice of the setting aside of Standing Orders to facilitate amendments which are not relevant to the subject matter of a Bill is to be considered by the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight. Any changes recommended by the committee will be tabled before the House.

I share Members' concerns about the tabling of amendments that are not relevant to the subject matter of the Bill. The issue has grown during the term of this Seanad; it did not arise in previous Seanaid. Like the Dáil, we believe that all elements of a Bill should receive scrutiny on all Stages and that loopholes such as this, which is the best way I can describe it, should be shut down. That is my view because legislation is there to be scrutinised. Mechanisms are being used to add what can often be quite big changes to other legislation. Those loopholes need to be shut down. They have been shut down in the Dáil and it is to be hoped they will be shut down here.