Yes, it was only to acknowledge the community safety innovation fund initiative, which will ensure more than €3 million will come back into communities. That is phenomenal. I have spoken before on that fund, which is coming from CAB out of the proceeds of crime and coming back into towns and villages. I again want to highlight the cross-departmental agency and in particular bringing in the Department of Health, especially for addiction centres. That is really where we want to see the impact of the fund. Perhaps not…

I join Senator Murphy in paying tribute to Tom Hussey. He gave many years of service in many different Departments, including the Departments of agriculture and Health. I wish to acknowledge his family because we all know how much families give when a family member is involved in public service. I am sure the people of Glenamaddy are also of great support. I wish to expand on what Senator Casey said about hospitality. It is really important that we acknowledge the workers' rights. In previous years, the Taoiseach h…

Will there be one for everyone in the audience? Senator Norris, it has been an absolute honour to share this Chamber with you. Today, I can only acknowledge the tributes that have been paid to you and add my voice to them. You have left Ireland a better country and there is no better tribute someone can pay than that. You have done that for the people of Ireland and people who fought battles. When you stood, and you stood alone at times, there were so many who stood in silence in support. Today, their voices ring s…

I wish to share two minutes of my time with Senator Conway.

I thank the Minister for being here today. As my colleague, Senator Seery Kearney said, it is an absolute privilege to be speaking on a constitutional amendment. It is an honour to be able to stand here and have our voices heard on this debate along with so many people across the country. The Irish Constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann, dates back to 1937. As we all know it covers the fundamental law of the State. It is also about the rights of all of us as citizens of this country. Consent is needed and this is why …

Like my colleagues, I wish the staff in the Seanad Office a happy Christmas, and wish Tom Hickey well in this retirement. I thank my colleagues, including Caroline, Mikayala and my team in Roscommon and Galway, for all their support this year. It has been a difficult year. People are preparing for Christmas. I encourage them to shop local, where they can, when they are buying presents. It is crucial that we support jobs in our towns. I ask people, where possible, to shop in and think about the small shops in our lo…

I welcome the Minister for public expenditure to the Chamber. This Bill will ensure payments, particularly social welfare payments and I want to comment on the social welfare side. The budget this year provided the largest ever package for social projection. I do not want to underestimate that. People will be able to access increased pension payments and carers will be able to claim back stamps in order to apply for pensions. We have seen a lot of positive changes by the Government. The Bill, in its own way over Ch…

To follow on from what Senator Cummins said regarding the reasons we are bringing in the vacant homes tax, it is intended to incentivise the use of properties that have been put out of use, especially when we are doing everything as a Government to provide as much housing as possible. My county of Galway is one of the counties with the highest number of applications for the Croí Cónaithe scheme. On the Minister of State's role in the Department of Finance, particularly with regard to credit unions, we need to look …

I welcome the Minister. Her focus is particularly on carers, as has been highlighted in the amendment. It has been absolutely crucial. As she will be aware, in rural areas it is family carers who are doing a lot of the work. It is very difficult to access carers in rural areas for many different reasons. Access for people living in city centres is a bit easier because there are more people available to do the work. In rural areas, that is just not the case, so it falls to families and family members to do the work.…

I thank the Cathaoirleach and Senators for being kind enough. I acknowledge that we have the Roscommon branch of the Parkinson's Association of Ireland here today. So many of our families know what it is like to engage with the Parkinson's Association of Ireland and the supports it offers. I was very lucky during the year to attend an event with my family at Oran GAA Club in Oran, County Roscommon. They did a walk in Roscommon to promote, engage and fundraise for the Parkinson's Association of Ireland. I welcome th…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth. This Commencement matter is for the attention of the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, and it relates to providing an update on school capacity reviews in County Galway, including Ballinasloe. It is crucial that we provide an update on school capacity across the country because this is the data the Department of Education uses to identify whether school places are needed for children or whether we need new schools or new classrooms. That is the system that is used,…

I thank the Minister of State for his response but it does not answer the question around when the school capacity review will be completed. The school returns are one aspect of the information that is gathered by the Department of Education. A school capacity review is a separate review and that is the information, along with other data sources, that we use when we are trying to identify school places and school capacity. It is frustrating. We are going to have more than 100 new families moving into Ballinasloe. T…

Hear, hear.

It was an absolutely horrendous attack on Parnell Square for a young girl, the other victims, the family and the school. It was down to the bravery of those who intervened, who acted on instinct. Both people who have been here for generations and people who moved to this country were involved in intervening and trying to save young people on Parnell Square. Afterwards, thugs made an attack on our capital city, our gardaí and people in our transport services on the Luas and the buses. This was an attack on our democ…

Yes, the definition. I will keep it very short. The Government is paying attention to this matter. I thank colleagues in the House for all the work done on it. It is literally about considering how we support paid leave upon a loss, particularly a pregnancy loss. The Government is looking into this. Senator Sherlock has mentioned all the work done by the Department of Health on supports for women. This is so long overdue. The Government is really stepping up and ensuring good access for women across the whole count…

This is a landmark day because we will now have a domestic, sexual and gender-based violence agency. There will be a chief executive who will speak on the airwaves, engage in national debate and advocate for what is needed. The Minister knows that we have advocated in all of our areas for what is needed, but this agency is going to fight for that too. The Minister is providing the funding for this through the Department of Justice. I know that the Istanbul Convention is about zero tolerance but the actions of this …

This morning, we heard funding announced by the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, in respect of outdoor recreation feasibility grants. That is really crucial for developing projects in rural areas over the next number of years. More than €100,000 has been allocated for two projects in Roscommon - in Castlerea and Athleague - to build a boardwalk in Castlerea that will connect with the demesne there. In Athleague we are looking at a project to deliver a walkway to connect with the Suck Valley Way. In Galway, there is clos…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, here for statements on sports and sports funding. Only last week we had the people of the year awards in Ballinasloe. They acknowledged representatives across many areas, such as volunteer work and community groups. In a town of about 7,000 people, with a catchment area population of 14,000 or so, we have 19 international athletes. They are representing Ireland, if not Connacht, in modern pentathlon, golf, rugby, soccer, equestrian, karate, Futsal soccer and tug-of-war…

It is good to have the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, here in the Chamber. I know it is absolutely crucial for the Minister that we have zero tolerance when it comes to violence, aggression and abuse against women in the home. This is the challenge we have because more than likely, it is people we know to whom this is happening. It is people that women know. It is trusted partners. It can sometimes be in relationships that are breaking down. It is extremely difficult. I am so supportive of the Minister's dri…

Next Tuesday.