I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Before I call Senator Byrne, I welcome Ciara Bree to the Seanad Chamber. She is a transition year student from St. Dominic's College in Cabra and is contributing to work in the office of Senator Patricia Stephenson.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, for coming to answer my question. Last Monday, the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Deputy Moran, attended Limerick for the redevelopment of Opera Square and the rejuvenation of the city centre. We had the signing of the contract for the new OPW building and the opening of the second building to do with Opera Square, which was a really positive day, because businesses are looking to move into the city centre and to operate there.

The one thing we are lacking is that when this redevelopment started, our library, which was in the city centre, was closed down. I know there is an application with the Department for the provision of a new library for Limerick. Around the country are libraries which are at such a high standard, whereas we had the traditional type of library in the city centre. Libraries are all about learning and education. So much use is made of them now, including audiobooks and lectures. I am determined that we will deliver a new library for Limerick. I would like an update about it.

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue, which I know is dear to her heart. She has raised it on a number of occasions. As she is aware, the provision of library services, including buildings, is primarily a matter for local authorities in their capacity as library authorities under the Local Government Act. Limerick City and County Council initially applied for funding of €5 million from the former Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government's libraries capital programme, which ran from 2016 to 2022. A maximum of €2 million in funding towards the proposed library development was approved by that Department in 2016.

A condition of funding for projects approved under the libraries capital programme is that all library development projects, including the proposed Limerick city library, must comply with the Department's four-stage capital management process. This process, as I know the Senator is aware, seeks to incorporate both the infrastructure guidelines and capital works management framework requirements. In April 2024, the Department issued stage 2 pre-statutory approval for the design and cost plan for the project and in June 2025, Limerick City and County Council completed the tender process, which aligns with stage 3 pre-tender approval. The final stage 4 approval to award the contract application is currently undergoing technical assessment by the housing advisory unit in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and by the libraries development section in the Local Government Management Agency. Following receipt of the relevant technical reports, officials in the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht will review all documentation from a policy perspective, and a stage 4 decision letter will be issued to Limerick City and County Council.

In August 2018, the cost of the library was initially estimated to be €27 million. In June 2023, Limerick City and County Council applied for funding for the Limerick city library under the libraries capital programme. That application was unsuccessful as the maximum grant available at that time was €3 million per library project approved. The application sought funding support from the Exchequer of €37 million, with the council proposing to provide matching funds of €12.4 million. The Senator will appreciate that Limerick City and County Council is fully cognisant of the €2 million funding allocation for Limerick city library under the library capital programme throughout all project stages, and it would not be possible to provide any further funding capital in respect of this project due to the limited funds in the library project. I am advised the project was included in the multi-sectoral submission from Limerick City and County Council to the national development plan review process in May 2025, where the council sought funding of €50 million for the library element of the Opera Square development, which the Senator mentioned in her contribution. However, I note that there is no specific reference to the project in the national development plan review published by Government in July 2025.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has confirmed that urban regeneration and development funding of €41.9 million has been allocated to the overall Opera Square site development project, with €5.9 million being allocated to project 4, which includes the library. However, there is obviously still a significant shortfall of funding to ensure completion of the project. The current libraries capital programme for 2023 to 2027 is investing €22.6 million in 11 state-of-the-art infrastructure projects and a further €2.6 million in 12 next-generation mobile library vehicles. The programme is fully committed and there is no scope to provide any additional further capital commitment in respect of the project.

I realise and understand where the Department is coming from but I am disappointed because I think libraries are about our future and the future of our children. They are about education. The city is going through redevelopment. There was so much dereliction and so many closed-up buildings. Seeing that part of the city being rejuvenated, I really believed that the Department may have looked at delivering the future education of our children.

I know that funding sometimes comes from the Department of rural development, so possibly that is where I need to go next. If the Department has any guidelines as to where we can go next in relation to this, the Minister of State might come back to me with that.

I acknowledge what I know is the Senator's tremendous contribution to Limerick and to the redevelopment project within it. It is a city we both know. Her work as a public representative in the area is vitally important and is fully acknowledged. It is also important to acknowledge, as she mentioned, the funding that has gone in from the Office of Public Works for the regeneration work that is taking place right across the board within Limerick. Obviously, there are additional areas I am sure the Senator will explore on behalf of her constituents to try to seek additional funding in this regard. I will convey the strength of her feeling and remarks to the Minister in relation to this.

I welcome some very special guests to our Gallery; the students of Glenart College in Arklow. They are very welcome. I believe they are guests of Deputy Malcolm Byrne. I hope they have a very enjoyable trip today. I am sure they will get some very interesting tours. As is customary for anybody who visits the Seanad, there will be no homework for the rest of the day. I like to push it out to the rest of the week, but I will leave that one to the discretion of their teachers. They are very welcome and I hope they enjoy their stay.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, to the House. My Commencement matter is on the need for the Minister for Finance to specify what plans are in place to support our citizens returning to Ireland to live and work, specifically in relation to mortgage approval, car insurance, health insurance and all the other issues they face. It is genuinely great news for Ireland, and for families and communities across the country, that emigrants are returning home to live and work. Over 61,500 people have returned to Ireland over the last two years. That tells a powerful story. It shows that Ireland is flying and we have full employment, opportunity and confidence in our future. It also reflects something deeper - people want to come home. They want to raise families here, contribute to their communities and put their skills and experience back into the Irish economy. We do need them.

Returning emigrants are filling vital roles across everyday working life in Ireland, and more are coming even this week, in healthcare, construction, education, hospitality, trades, agriculture and our small businesses. They bring international experience, a strong work ethic and huge value to local economies, especially in rural Ireland. This should be a national success story but, too often, people who do everything right are hitting unnecessary and frustrating blockages when they come home. The biggest issue is housing. Returning emigrants struggle to get immediate mortgage approval, even when they have strong incomes, solid savings and long work histories. Banks are slow to recognise overseas employment and probation periods. They delay decisions and people who have worked abroad for years are treated as if they are starting from scratch. At the same time, the rental market is creating new barriers. People are being asked for references from Irish landlords, even when they have lived abroad for decades. That makes no sense. If people rented in another country or owned their home abroad, that experience should count.

Another major issue is car insurance, which is absolutely essential, especially where I come from in rural Ireland. People are returning with years and sometimes decades of safe driving experience only to be told that their no-claims bonus has expired. Insurance companies then charge inflated premiums, effectively penalising people for having worked abroad. This is not just unfair. It feels like people are being ripped off for coming home. One person was charged up to €4,000 to take out car insurance, so they could claim back their no-claims bonus over a two-year term. It would then reduce, but a charge of €4,000 is just not on. There is also the issue of health insurance. Some returning emigrants are being told that they face waiting periods of up to five years for pre-existing conditions or 12 months before cover even begins. That creates anxiety for families and undermines the sense that Ireland is welcoming its own people home.

None of these problems are unsolvable. They are not about lack of goodwill but systems that have not kept pace with our reality. If we are serious about encouraging more people to return, mortgage providers, insurers and policymakers must work together to recognise overseas work, overseas driving and insurance histories, reduce unnecessary delays and remove barriers that simply do not need to exist. It is a great news story that people are coming home but let us make it worth their while. Let us make Ireland not just a place people want to return to but a place that actively welcomes them back, supports them and values what they bring home. If we get this right, everyone benefits; families, communities, employers and the country as a whole.

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. The Government is committed to supporting Irish people when they return from abroad to work. In relation to the specific issues raised by the Senator about access to mortgage and insurance products, it is important that fair and reasonable access to financial services and products is available for all. However, there are also important consumer protection and prudential requirements associated with the provision of such financial products to consumers. These measures are in place to protect both consumers and the financial system. It is important they are applied in a manner that is fair and consistent for all consumers.

In relation to mortgages, the Central Bank of Ireland has put in place macroprudential measures for residential mortgage lending. These measures apply proportionate loan-to-value and loan-to-income limits for mortgage lending by regulated financial service providers. The key objective of these measures is to increase the resilience of the banking and household sectors to the property market and to reduce the risk of credit issues developing in the future. Mortgage lenders are also subject to requirements to ensure customers have the capacity to repay credit advanced to them. From an affordability perspective, before providing a mortgage, lenders are required to undertake a creditworthiness assessment to ensure a borrower will be able to repay the mortgage. This assessment takes into account the individual circumstances of the borrower.

In addition, the Central Bank of Ireland’s consumer protection code requires lenders to assess affordability of credit and the suitability of a product or service based on the individual circumstances of each borrower. The code specifies that the affordability assessment must include consideration of the information gathered on the borrower’s personal circumstances and financial situation. Given that mortgage lending constitutes a very large part of the overall credit and banking system, it is important that these consumer protection and macroprudential measures are applied in a fair and comparable way across the system. It is important to note that mortgage and car insurance providers determine their commercial underwriting criteria for accepting applications. How risk factors are applied to insurance policies is a matter for each insurer. Neither the Government nor the Central Bank of Ireland has any role in these matters.

Insurance Ireland, the industry body for insurers in Ireland, has confirmed that its members will take overseas driving experience into account as long as the driver can provide proof of claims-free driving experience abroad. I understand that motor insurers will take a no-claims history into account from the EEA, the UK, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, South Africa and the USA. Regarding health insurance, the rules governing open enrolment, community rating, lifetime cover and waiting periods are set down and overseen by the Health Insurance Authority under the health insurance Acts. The Health Insurance Authority also administers provisions relating to those who have lived abroad, such as credits that can reduce lifetime community rating loadings upon return. I hope this information is of use to the Senator.

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. On paper, it sounds good. There are checks and balances in every business, especially among banks and insurance providers, relating to the history of people who are returning. Like anything, it is a paper trail. It is about looking deep into a person's history, whether they have been away for five or ten years, or six months. It is not working with these institutions. Applicants are providing a lot of payslips and so on but some people cannot go back five years or whatever to get mortgage approval. They are moving back to rural Ireland, to County Kerry or wherever, and they cannot put a bid on a house because they cannot get mortgage approval. They can show some history of work and credit from the country they were in and they paid taxes in that country as well. They are finding it extremely hard. They wait and they are pushed out, missing the opportunity to buy the house they want in the area they want to work and live in. I welcome the point about car insurers but a lot of them not accepting emigrants as well and they are paying extreme volumes of money for car insurance. I ask the Minister of State to keep on top of this and make sure easy access is available to these people to meet these requirements when they return home.

The Senator has made a very strong point on behalf of returning emigrants . It is a sign of a good, successful economy that people want to return home. However, with that, some problems arise. There are regulatory frameworks governing the provision of mortgages and car insurance for consumers, which are designed to protect consumers and overall financial stability. Within that overall framework, it is a business decision for mortgage and insurance providers to decide whether to provide a mortgage, loan or car insurance. In considering an application, regulated entities must act in a fair and reasonable manner and seek to serve the best interests of the individual consumer. I will take on board what the Senator said today, and I make a commitment that I will engage with Brokers Ireland, Insurance Ireland and representatives of the banking bodies to make sure that they are dealing with returning emigrants in a fair, proportionate and transparent manner.

If a consumer is not satisfied with how a regulated firm is dealing with them in relation to a mortgage or car insurance, they can make a complaint directly to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman. Nobody wants to go down that route. The Senator has made a valid point. Someone who has worked abroad, accumulated savings and had a good track record should be able to transfer that to Ireland. I will raise that point directly on foot of the Senator’s representations with the representative bodies for the bank, Brokers Ireland and Insurance Ireland.

We have a very busy Chamber. Before our next speaker, I welcome students from, Scoil Mhuire, Navan, County Meath. They are all guests of our wonderful County Meath TD, Aisling Dempsey. They are very welcome to the Chamber. I hope they enjoy their visit here.

As I said to the previous visitors, it is customary if a school visits the Seanad that there is no homework for the rest of the day. I always like to extend it for the rest of the week, but I will leave that to the discretion of the students' teacher who is with them. I hope they enjoy the rest of their day here.

I thank the Minister of State for coming in. The programme to develop family resource centres is very welcome, as is the increase in core funding for the various resource centres across the country. They do immense work.

In 2025, Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre applied to be designated a family resource centre, and submitted a very strong application. It was unsuccessful at the time, but was told that its application will remain under active consideration should further funding be secured. Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre does everything that a family resource centre does. It has an incredible multiplicity of projects and services. The doors are open to everyone in the community, and it provides extensive education and training for everybody in the community and anybody else who asks. The community centre offers practical assistance to individuals and groups at whatever stage in life they are at, all the way from young children to older members of the community and even those with dementia. Because other funders have changed the models they work with, the community centre has found itself with a funding shortfall, and being redesignated a family resource centre would make the world of difference. This is the result of vital special funding for the after-school and breakfast club being pulled without notice, and the increase in staffing costs ever body faces these days. Securing core funding is an urgent requirement for the community centre to continue providing key services like breakfast and after-school programmes, and operating normal services and activities into the near future.

The Ringsend community centre is already a family resource centre in all but name. The community centre is a truly warm, welcoming and caring space that works for everybody. I ask that if there is more money available to fund family resource centres, the Minister of State be aware of the amazing work it does, and consider funding for designation of the community centre as a family resource centre. This funding model would be vital for the sustainability of the community centre, and I urge it be given real consideration for inclusion in this programme in 2026. I would be grateful if the Minister of State would indicate if it is anticipated that this programme will be expanded to include the likes of Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre because the centre is a vital part of social infrastructure in Ringsend. It is warm and welcoming and the number of volunteers it has is incredible. The variety of projects is incredible. It hosts groups, from after-school clubs to a project for people with dementia, which is proving to be really successful. The centre's staff are innovative and professional and again, with that professionalism, they are also warm and welcoming. In the future, with the development of the glass bottle site, there are going to be 3,500 new homes and up to 10,000 new residents coming in to that area. A community centre and a family resource centre will be even more vital to the area to ensure that the community has the services it will need over the coming years. I ask that consideration be given to Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre to be designated a family resource centre.

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue and giving me an opportunity to respond on behalf of the Minister. The forthcoming expansion of the family resource centre programme is the latest in a number of very positive developments for the programme over the past few years. There is a programme for a Government commitment to work to increase funding and expand the capacity and network of family resource centres. Budget 2026 honours the commitment, with funding secured for a further ten family resource centres. This will bring the family resource centre programme membership up to 136. While I cannot comment on any specific organisation, I understand that these ten additional family resource centres are due to be announced in the very near future. The expansion follows the increase in the membership of the programme in 2025 by five members, where funding was secured as part of budget 2025 measures. This was the first such expansion since 2018. A further equalisation scheme for the family resource centre programme was initiated by the Department in 2024. The scheme ensured that all family resource centre programme members received minimum core funding of at least €160,000 from 2025 onwards. In addition to budget 2026 measures providing for ten additional members, the measures have also enabled an increase in the minimum core funding for all programme members to €180,000 from 2026 onwards.

The ten new members of the family resource centre programme will also receive this core funding component. It is important to note that many of the Tusla-funded family support counselling services providers are family resource centres. The centres offer valuable counselling and therapeutic services at no to low cost in their communities. Many family resource centres also benefit from additional funding that has been secured by the Department over the last few years, which was formally allocated as part of the dormant funds. This funding is for counselling, psychotherapy and therapeutic services for children and young people. It helps to address unmet need and reduce waiting lists for community-based counselling services.

A comprehensive national application and assessment process was undertaken to determine the new family resource centre programme members. This process was led by Tusla and independently chaired by a representative at the University of Limerick. All applications were reviewed and scored against clearly defined and published criteria. The process was outlined in the Tusla outcome letters that issued to all applicants. A total of 49 applications were received, demonstrating that there is a strong interest in the programme membership from a wide range of community-based organisations.

The benefits of community-based services such as family resource centres cannot be overstated. The Senator clearly made that case himself in his own contribution. Many of us will witness at first hand the impacts that the resource centres have on communities that they serve. They engage with vulnerable families and offer services to individuals across the whole life cycle from early years to senior citizens. Crucially, they foster a positive and inclusive community spirit. The range of services they provide can be extensive and determined by the needs of the relevant communities they serve. It is particularly important to note that many services are delivered at that point at no cost or very low cost to families who would otherwise not be able to avail of them.

I thank the Minister of State. We all agree that the family resource centre model is fantastic. For the Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre, it would secure the centre's footprint in the community. It would allow and enable the centre to develop and expand services to meet the needs of a community that is developing and will develop over the next ten years. The Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre is an important hub. It has a youth group as well, namely, the RICCYS youth centre. It has multiple schemes and projects and is welcoming to everybody. I request that the Minister of State go down and have a look to see for himself what a fantastic project it is. It is vital. The centre has challenges, like every community project across the country. Being designated and getting that core funding would make a huge difference to the community centre in Ringsend and to the people of Ringsend. I ask that this be considered.

The Senator made the point very elegantly about the benefits it would bring to a community. I reaffirm on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, her absolute commitment in terms of providing supports in this area. An announcement is coming soon in relation to the new centres, which was part of the independent process of evaluation of all applicants. I wish all of the people the best of luck in that announcement process.

Before we hear our next matter, we have some special guests whom I welcome to our Distinguished Visitors Gallery. They are guests of Deputy Mark Ward. I believe they are visiting from the St. John of God Community Services Centre. It does incredible work. I hope they enjoy their visit to Seanad Éireann and Leinster House today. I thank everybody for the remarkable work that they carry out.

I thank the Minister of State for being here this morning to take this important Commencement matter on Toghermore House. Toghermore is a HSE site in County Galway. It used to provide valuable mental health support services, but it has now moved into a more community setting within the town of Tuam. The site is still under the ownership of the HSE. Proposals have been made to transform the site into a centre of excellence for equine therapy, combined with putting in football pitches for the local ladies and incorporating a cross-country running track for the local athletic club. All of this would be combined in a centre of excellence with a disability-led model for equine therapy. We have seen the wonderful work that has gone on in Liskennett on the Limerick-Cork border. We see the work that is going on in Kanturk and in Stewarts Care. What you see when you look at the map of Ireland with the delivery of HSE equine therapy is a complete gap from Limerick to Donegal all the way over to the banks of the Shannon.

My advocacy relates to how, on 7 November 2024, the consultant engineer sent feedback and site layout drawings to the HSE estates section. I am wondering what progress we have achieved at this stage. We know that, in 2025, there was €27 million in funding for disability capital projects. I am trying to understand where we are with developing the regional centre of excellence for equine therapy.

To explain to people who are watching the value of equine therapy, equine therapy is where a child has a sensory need met from rubbing the horse. A child can also have an occupational therapist like what we see out in Clondalkin. The Clondalkin site can have one occupational therapist and five children on a horse. They will get the same value from the movements in their hips by being on the horse as having a one-to-one with that occupational therapist. We have finite resources when it comes to physio, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy. The Liskennett site on the Limerick-Cork border delivered 6,500 respite interventions last year alone. That was with 20 horses.

I am advocating that we prioritise in the capital plan the development of the Toghermore site, ensuring that we have the horses. The land is there. The development should also encompass the pitches and the running track so that people can have a dual experience. It is not just all about equine. Rather, they can actually mainstream. If the people with additional needs who are attending would like to watch the girls play or to participate in sport themselves, we should have an open and inclusive environment. What we have in Toghermore is the opportunity to develop a centre of excellence that would set us apart in the west by ensuring that we have intervention and the people of Galway, Mayo and Roscommon have access to alternative respite and intervention and, at the same time, meeting the strategy of inclusion when it comes to the national disability strategy, with children and adults with additional needs enjoying sports and the environment.

Equine therapy is not just good for children with additional needs; it is really good in addressing domestic violence. Women with trauma who can access equine therapy make fantastic recoveries, as studies in the UK have shown us.

I thank Senator Rabbitte on behalf of myself and the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, for raising this issue. I know it is an issue the Senator is committed to and she has made a clear and strong advocacy there.

The Minister of State is fully committed to providing the necessary supports for people with disabilities throughout the country, including those in Galway. She wishes to advise the Deputy that the Toghermore House site in Tuam, which is owned and operated by the HSE, is under review. The Senator was asking for an update, so I hope this covers it for her. In 2024, a HSE feasibility study was conducted and, following on from this work, a more in-depth health planning study was devised to provide greater detail. The HSE has additionally advised the Minister of State that it aims to have a specialist appointed in February 2026 to commence the study and will encompass the entire campus, including the building. Development of infrastructural proposals, which the Senator talked about so elegantly, cannot be progressed until this review has concluded.

The HSE is engaging with Galway County Council. A meeting was held between Ms Ann Cosgrove, the integrated healthcare area manager, and Mr. Liam Hanrahan, CEO of Galway County Council, on 4 June 2025. I am informed that a follow-up meeting was held between the HSE and the county council and that another meeting is planned by the parties in the coming days before the end of this month.

At present, the HSE continues to utilise facilities on the grounds of Toghermore House for a number of services.

These are: national counselling services, mental health services, quality and risk, paediatric outpatients, HR and administration support.

In addition, a building at Toghermore campus has been temporarily licensed by the HSE to the Office of Public Works for the use of the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam. The Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam, is a time-bound agency under the auspices of the Department overseeing the excavation, recovery, analysis, identification and dignified reburial of remains located at the former mother and baby institution in Tuam.

The OPW is currently undertaking refurbishment works to fit out the building on the HSE Toghermore campus to meet the requirements of the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention. The works are also addressing essential structural issues, for example, works on the roof, and upgrades to mechanical and electrical installations.

I welcome the commitment of the Ministers of State, Deputies Higgins and Brophy, and all colleagues within government to the Toghermore site.

It is important for me, in the few seconds that I have to lay this out, to say that I totally understand the mental health services and supports that are being delivered within Toghermore House. I totally understand the commitment that has been made in relation to the excavation works that are going on in Tuam at the mother and baby home. They are all within the buildings. I am looking to use the grass. I am looking to use the land surrounding the buildings. The horses are needed outside. The stables that we would put up would be outside. The running track is outside. The two pitches are outside. The gardens are outside and there is a coffee area that would be fantastic for training and developing people with additional needs to get them into employment. That is totally not utilised by any manner or means.

As for my ask, I not want to disturb any of the inhabitants within the building. Over time no doubt the HSE will have a plan to have the more integrated mental health services mainstreamed within the town's sphere of Tuam. While it is currently working through that process, I am only looking for access to construct, for anybody with farming terminology, a "lean-to" to put the horses into so that we have access to running water to give water to the horses. There are outdoor toilets there already.

From an infrastructural point of view, I would welcome the Minister visiting the site. I would like her to see this first hand because she is very much a Minister, from what I can see, with boots on the ground, who says, "Let her see. Let me understand it." She will understand clearly, when she sees it, that everything I am looking for is actually outside.

I am delighted that Galway County Council is engaging in the whole conversation but the opportunity is there for us to deliver upon.

I will convey directly to the Minister and the Minister of State - I know the Senator will because she engaged with the Minister on this - that invitation to go and see at first hand. As the Senator said, she is a Minister who likes to engage on this.

The HSE is reviewing the site. That is subject to that study being completed. The study will include considerations for the equine therapy centre, as the Senator mentioned. That is a very important thing that they do.

I will convey the Senator's remarks to the Minister. I thank her.