An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-26
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Fiona O'Loughlin (FF), Administrative Panel

I hope the paper cuts will not last too long. If he wants to come to any of our offices, we will find similar work for him.
I thank all of the Senators for their contributions. Senator Fitzpatrick greeted us with very positive news this morning, and it is always good to get positive news about positive affirmative actions that are making a difference in the lives of people. She spoke about the Taoiseach launching the ninth annual report of the north inner city task force in St. Agatha's Hall yesterday. This task force sits in the Taoiseach's office and co-ordinates and make sure the voices of people who live in the north inner city, be they students in schools, businesses or residents associations work together to try to make the inner city a good place to live. One of the highlights was the expansion of the City Connects programme, which encourages children in school to excel in their own way. Currently, ten primary schools are involved. It really seems like a wonderful programme and something we would love to see every child in the country being able to get. We could not because of the time element. Every child has a plan for themselves in terms of centring what is going and what they want to achieve in their own lives. It is expanding to secondary schools, and through the P-TECH programme 80 students graduated secondary school with technical skills up to level 6. It is really good news.
There is also the commitment to move to construction for the monument on Moore Street.
It is not just the commemoration of the birth place of our Republic, it is also home to the Moore Street traders, and we need to make sure they are all remembered in the appropriate way. It is a significant announcement, which we welcome.
Senator Boyhan spoke about ongoing issues regarding mental health in prisons. He is correct. It is something about which we are all concerned. We were all shocked by the "Prime Time Investigates" programme. Some 50 beds are not being used and the Senator made the point they should be used incrementally if it is not feasible to open all 50 at one point in time. We will ask the Minister for justice to address the matter. While we need a cross-departmental approach, it is appropriate that we ask the Minister to respond. The Senator also referred to rural housing. We are awaiting a new strategy. There are things we can do. Serviced sites and small clusters are a way forward. There is a huge benefit to rural communities not just in terms of schools, sporting groups, etc., but also intergenerational living where children grow up beside their grandparents and help one another.
Senator Joe O'Reilly spoke about a recent gathering in Cavan addressed by Jackie Fox in respect of Coco's Law. Jackie has been an incredible advocate and her work directly led to Coco's Law, which is the criminalisation of the sharing of intimate images without consent and sending harmful, threatening and offensive communications. We have to appreciate what she has done in turning her incredible tragedy and grief into something that, we hope, will help others. I am sure the Senator realises that Fianna Fáil has tabled a Private Member's motion on online safety, something which concerns all of us, to be debated later today. I want to acknowledge the work of the Senator on the Council of Europe in regard to same.
Senator Collins spoke about students, farmers and SNAs. Regarding student fees, it is important to note that for the first time ever, we have had a permanent cut of €500. While post Covid there was a reduction, it was always on a year to year basis. It is important to state that a reduction was introduced by the Minister, Deputy Lawless.
Senator Tully also spoke about the meeting held with farmers in Cavan last night. I have attended a number of such meetings and met farmers in Kildare who are travelling to support those in Bord Bia. I understand where farmers are coming from because they are subject to many different inspections and are very proud of the reputation of Irish meat. I understand the concerns. I will continue to meet them. We need highly experienced and wise people to head our boards. It is not easy to get them. It is important to say that the chair in this case has done nothing illegal. Everybody agrees with that. At a meeting of the European affairs committee yesterday, I said that we are coming up to the Presidency and a period in which CAP is being negotiated. As we all know, there currently is a proposed 20% cut, which would be a crisis for Irish farmers. We all need to concentrate all of our energies on ensuring that we get to negotiate a better deal.
Senator Murphy O'Mahony spoke about the inadequate postal service. She correctly referred to the need for a good service. We have all met postmasters at different stages and support them in getting more Government funding, etc. Unfortunately, the price of a stamp has gone up. The role postmasters and the postal service play in all of our communities, urban or rural, is important. To leave a community without post for two weeks because somebody is on well-deserved leave is not good enough. We will ask the Minister to come to the House to address the issue and take any questions people have.
Senator Boyle spoke about the new maritime strategy and said for once Donegal is in the right place. I think Donegal has always been in the right place. It is a beautiful county to visit. There is always wonderful hospitality and it has beautiful beaches. It just needs better weather. He made a fair request about considering Killybegs as a base. That is something I will pass on to the Minister. I have no doubt he will use his good services to do the same.
Senator Andrews spoke about Dartry gym, which sounds incredible. It is almost a community centre, providing a hub to not just those who use it but organisations which need a place to meet. It is important that we have places that serve every single age. As he said, it acts as a generous sponsor. He referred to a canopy where people can gather for outdoor activities. People have the right to object, and that is something we have to stand over. It would be relatively unusual that decisions are made on the basis of one individual. Having said that, when I became a Deputy I opened an office with a lovely canopy. There was a canopy on the building before because it was a blind shop, and I assumed I could install a new canopy on which I spent a lot of money. One person made an objection under a false name and permission was refused. The whole thing cost me an incredible amount of money. I adhered to the rules, but it was an incredibly frustrating experience. I hope Dartry gym does not have to take down the canopy, but obviously we cannot interfere with planning decisions.
Senator Sarah O'Reilly spoke about the Department of Education and Youth giving half a million euro to the LGBT group Belong To. It is important that the group gets funding. When I was mayor of Kildare in 2014, one of the first things I did was hold a meeting with our youth parliament. By far the strongest message that I received from those young people was that they wanted more support for those within their peer group who belonged to the LGBT community. That was something that resonated with me. During the marriage equality referendum, people felt very strongly that those in the LGBT community have the right to marry on an equal basis to anybody else. I support it, along with its advice to for young people to speak to trusted adults because we need them in our lives, be they teachers, parents or others. I have spoken to parents and young people. As we all know, that time of life can be fraught with difficulty. We will have to agree to differ. My opinion is that it is the right thing to do and I will support it. I accept that the Senator does not agree.
Senator McCarthy spoke about Alcohol Action Ireland. He referred to the fact that at some of the large rugby matches to which many people tune in, there is alcohol branding once every eight seconds. That is concerning. He is correct about backdoor advertising, whereby a loophole is being used to advertise non-alcoholic beer. I noted that research. I understand why people cannot tell the difference. It is like low calorie chocolate or whatever. I accept what the Senator has said. It is concerning that youth drinking has increased by 12% over the past decade. What is more concerning is that it is not happening in social gatherings.
I often think that within the pub setting, there are people who can keep an eye out when young people are gathering together. When it is happening at home or behind closed doors, it is more concerning in terms of the volume that can be drunk and, sadly, behaviours that can take place. We need a joined-up Government response and I will ask the Minister for Health to come to the House to address that.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:42+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-26