I will speak on the importance of just transition for the counties in the midlands impacted by the change in employment and industry, particularly that relating to Bord na Móna, which has changed the sector and industry in which it is involved. We have seen this at Shannonbridge and Lanesborough. Shannonbridge is only ten miles from my home town. Today, there is a just transition webinar on the funding available for businesses or communities - or maybe for a farm, to provide additional income coming into a home. Wi…

There is nothing.

I thank the Minister of State for attending. I am here to speak about the investment in Portiuncula University Hospital and Roscommon University Hospital, and the reason I am here is that our Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, nominated me to represent my region, Roscommon-Galway. As somebody who is quite new to public life, I have had the opportunity to fight for our region and make sure it is represented and stands out when it is fighting for balanced regional investment. That is the mark of the man who nominated me to be …

I thank the Minister of State. That is indeed welcome news. It is fantastic that we will see the 50-bed ward block open by September of this year, I hope. It will be fantastic for the teams, managers, patients and families who rely on that hospital. As the Minister of State mentioned, access to additional space in the ED is particularly crucial. We are seeing the expansion of the ED. This will involve the provision of additional bays that will allow more space for paediatrics. We are seeing more families coming to …

It is indeed a day of change, shock and surprise to so many of us here in Leinster House. I am a Taoiseach's nominee and a person who is new to public life. I say new but it is now four or five years; I am not so new anymore. The leadership of the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, has been something that has been inspirational. At close quarters, working together in a coalition on the programme for Government and with different parties, I have seen things getting done. That has been a mark of this Government and of the Taoi…

-----to make this country a better place.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, today to speak on this. It has been a day of much change, and this is a major change as well. Taighde Éireann is going to be the brand-new funding agency for research and innovation at third level. It brings together funding agencies we already have, such as Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council, which are statutory funding agencies. It is important that this new landmark funding agency funds all activities and disciplines across all fields …

I thank the Minister for attending to celebrate International Women’s Day. We are always delighted to welcome him to the Seanad, 40% of whose Members are women. We need to see the level of representation move upwards in the Dáil. As the Minister mentioned, we are supporting women in participating in public life, but there are many reasons women may not wish to get involved. Sometimes, it is due to the difficult and challenging behaviours we see across various media that can be targeted towards women. It is great th…

I am renting, and I have had to rent pretty much all my life. I have rented in Dublin and Galway. As a tenant, I have had the challenges, particularly in difficult times, of having to move many times and find accommodation. I am renting in Ballinasloe now. People have a choice. They obviously want to have a home and invest long-term and, please God, that will happen for me too. Availability - demand and supply - is key here. The availability of homes, houses and places people can rent to manage the demand is crucia…

It is very clear that the Seanad is calling for a humanitarian ceasefire and for the unconditional release of hostages. The Minister of State is here and the Tánaiste spoke earlier. All the contributions we have heard have been shocking. It is hard to take in the scale of the absolute disaster unfolding before us. It is very clear that the funding for UNRWA is crucial. The €20 million that has been allocated directly from the Government to that agency is crucial. The Government will continue to work within the EU t…

Yesterday, we received a public update from Saolta on developments within our hospitals. Roscommon University Hospital is really well known and renowned in our area for plastic and reconstructive surgery. At the moment, it is doing photo triage, whereby patient referrals can be made using photos of areas of concern, particularly in relation to skin cancer, which is a huge concern in the west of Ireland. We have also seen a 17% increase in attendance at the minor injuries unit, which is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., s…

Saolta has today provided an update on the hospitals in its area. General manager James Keane of Portiuncula University Hospital gave an update and spoke to the fact we are seeing reductions in waiting lists for outpatients and inpatients. In the cardiology area alone, there were massive reductions. There is a new consultant, advanced nurse practitioners and cardiophysiologists who work in the community 50% of the time and on-site in the hospital 50% of the time. There have been reductions to waiting lists of up to…

I welcome the Minister to the House. The point I take home is that when we look at the Pobal deprivation index, over and over again the group that are the most vulnerable is single mothers. That has been the case over and over again when one reviews any of the statistics and looks at the data. What the Minister is bringing forward in this Bill is going to make a considerable change. She said it is going to impact more than 16,000 single parents at a cost of €10 million to the Exchequer. This is going to support fam…

I want to speak about a flood relief project that was planned for Ballinasloe. Of course, the Office of Public Works, OPW, recognised high levels of existing flood risk and conducted a catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, study as part of the CFRAM Programme. That was finalised in May 2018. This was due to incredible flooding twice in Ballinasloe town involving millions of euro worth of damage. It brought expert teams together - OPW, Arup group engineers, Ryan Handley environmental engineers and G…

It is an honour to speak about and pay tribute to John Bruton. I first remember his family. We all know what it is like to make sacrifices as public representatives and I am sure it was true for John as well. He gave hours for the country, for us in the Dáil and in this House. Those were hours he was not with his family and we must remember at times like these the sacrifice that he made. Many people have paid tribute here. I knew John as a citizen. I knew him from seeing him as our Taoiseach on the television. I wa…

I thank Senator Murphy for sharing this Commencement matter with me. It is a big issue. We had a meeting with over 12 councillors in Roscommon town only a few days ago. It is frustrating. This is a service and a crucial amenity. I understand that the model has to be looked at, that there is an impact from Brexit and Covid and that we are seeing a lot more in terms of e-commerce, online shopping and retail, but we need to maintain our An Post services, including for financial transactions and money banking. The bill…

I know the Minister of State is taking this debate on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Jack Chambers. My colleague Senator Murphy is going to be working with the Minister of State and me. I have raised this issue with our parliamentary party and with the Taoiseach's office. It is crucial that we look at our long-term strategy. I know €10 million a year is being allocated from An Post, but is that just for the postmasters? What happens to services directly employed by An Post? How do we maintain them? What is…

I thank Senator Murphy for his comments in respect of John Connor. I wish to raise the issue of flooding. In Roscommon, there is a particular issue relating to the rising waters of Lough Funshinagh. We need to discuss flood measures and flood alleviation projects and how we can accelerate them, as well as what can be done in respect of areas within a special area of conservation, SAC. That will require different Departments speaking to each other. Under Natura 2000, there are 75 recognised turloughs in the European…

I thank the Cathaoirleach for his words. I might use this time to pay tribute to John Connor. The thoughts of Senators are with his friends and his family, and the many Oireachtas colleagues, Deputies, Senators and councillors across County Roscommon who knew him well. His passing is shocking and sudden. I spoke to him on Monday last. He attended the Fine Gael conference that took place in Maynooth before Christmas. He travelled from Frenchpark to the conference where he met many friends and colleagues. His death i…

I want to continue the congratulations for Senator Burke, who is an amazing man from Mayo in the west. It is an honour because his is an amount of experience that we are fortunate to have in the House. We are very lucky to have Senator Burke with us today. I congratulate Senator Carrigy on his work on the autism-friendly Parliament. I know that each of us partook of training and it is training that we should be doing in many sectors. I admit that to do that training gave a great insight into how we can engage, how …