I welcome the Minister of State. Road fatalities are of course devastating, and we have heard Senator Flynn's own account. It is a devastating event for families who lose loved ones and for people who are left with life-changing injuries. Yesterday, there was an incredible announcement from Cabinet, which was the approval of more than €462 million for the N5 bypass in County Roscommon. That will save lives. I know how crucial it isfor all of us representatives, including the Acting Chairperson. So many public repre…

Is it okay to have ten seconds?

I thank the Acting Chairperson. I will highlight very clearly that estates do not have access. When will the safe routes to school programme open again? It opened before and there was a deluge of applications. That programme is all about people, families and parents being able to have ways to drop off or pick up their kids. As for the school bus transport review, how is Bus Éireann working with the Department of Education on this? How will we cut down the number of parents who are travelling in their cars by provid…

It is great to be able to speak about crime in debating this Fianna Fáil motion. It is also great to be able to welcome the Fianna Fáil Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, who is working for the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee.

I am so sorry. It is good to clarify the target for recruits and the figures that have been mentioned. Roughly 450 recruits are in active training and there is a target of achieving 700 to 800 recruits by the end of the year. There will be two extra classes towards the end of the year. There are 470 in active training and 100 new gardaí have attested. That is already 570 new gardaí. We appear to be on target to reach the figure of between 700 and 800 new gardaí by the end of the year. The points raised by previous …

I welcome everyone back. A lot of families have had bereavements in the past while, so I thank everyone for their sympathies in that regard. I highlight the investment that has happened in my local area and the importance of doubling the bed capacity in Portiuncula University Hospital. It has been crucial. Almost 12 beds have been opened in the hospital. The single capacity is being doubled, which is especially important coming into the winter months. About two years ago, the management team in the hospital fought …

The Minister is very welcome to the House to speak on the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022. I am a member of the joint policing committee in Roscommon, which covers the brand-new division of counties Roscommon, Longford and Mayo. It is a huge geographic area. While the population is different from that of urban centres, fleet numbers and vehicles for Garda divisions are really important in rural areas. We had a meeting recently and I am aware of the Minister's concerns. She is very focused on safety in …

Today we have a fantastic announcement from the higher Education Authority, HEA, on the extension of third level courses. A number of university courses have been shortlisted to progress to the next stage both in healthcare and in veterinary. We know that recruitment is a challenge particularly in regional areas. Recruiting GPs and experts in regional and rural areas has always been a challenge. We are seeing it more and more now. With these courses, graduate medical entry into the University of Galway, potentially…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, for being here today. I also thank Senator Garvey for tabling this motion on youth mental health and guidance services in secondary schools. I am a member of the Joint Sub-Committee on Mental Health. We need to speak more about mental health, and I think we have been in the past year or two years. Of course, we should never underestimate the stigma around speaking about this. It can be difficult for young people, particularly in schools, to talk about it. We need to be r…

It is an honour that Maura Healey, the Governor of Massachusetts, will be visiting Ireland and will speak in Seanad Éireann next Tuesday. She is the first woman to hold that position in Massachusetts. She is one of the first openly gay candidates to run for and to be elected to office. Ireland has incredible ties to Boston, Massachusetts. So many Irish people feel that it is a home away from home. Maura Healey has strong connections with the west of Ireland and many other areas, but particularly Ballinasloe. I am a…

I welcome the Minister. I thank him for bringing forward this Bill. It is great to see how his Department is embracing the digital side of things. It would be great to see that across a number of other Departments. Antimicrobial resistance is a crucial issue. We see the regulations pharmacists and chemists have to look at in order to try to manage antimicrobial resistance, especially in hospitals and other health settings. This is looking at our food chain. If he has time, the Minister might comment on how he sees …

I would like to raise two issues this morning. The first is the retained fire service and the challenges for retained firefighters. I know that colleagues have raised this during the week. We have had people presenting on the issue as well, and people who have travelled to stand outside the gates of Leinster House. In my local area, retained firefighters provide an essential service, in particular in the likes of Ballinasloe, where there is a retained team on the ground. They are the ones who are called out. They a…

I welcome the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, to the Chamber to speak about this fantastic legislation. Ireland is world-class in delivering on food and farming, with grass-fed farms. This is the next step to bring us up and ensure there is transparency at all stages. I welcome this new Bill. As the Minister mentioned, 9% of exports come from the farming sector. Nearly 170,000 people work in the sector. That is probably not even counting the number of retailers and processors. It is incredible to think that 170,000 p…

I welcome the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and congratulate her and her family. It is great to have her here. She is present to discuss the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022. The Minister is aware – we can also see that here today - words have power. As the Minister has noted very clearly, hate crimes are on the increase. The Garda stated very clearly that there has been an increase of 29%. The Minister even highlighted that the most common of those crimes were against rac…

Thank you, a Leas-Chathaoirligh. It cannot be the case that we live in a society that does not allow people to live without that fear. As the Minister outlined, there has been public consultation on the Bill she has brought before us, which started in 2019. I know that she has engaged with different stakeholders and officials in her Department on the Bill. The Minister has compared the legislation that we have in place with international norms and looked at what would work best within our system, jurisdiction and s…

May I continue?

Will the Minister get a chance to respond?

I look forward to the Minister's response when she comes back to the Chamber. I understand that people want to give more time to the process, but it has been ongoing since 2019. We must put the legislation in place. We need to have something in place as soon as possible. The Minister is giving the Bill time. She will come back to the Chamber and will engage on amendments. It is very important that we see this legislation enacted and that it is put in place in this country as soon as possible.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach. I thank the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, for being with us today to debate the HSE capital plan. Is the figure of more than €1 billion for infrastructure across the country incredible? The Minister is looking at it not only in the hospital environment but in the primary care network. I am delighted to see the investment across Roscommon and Galway, particularly in Ballinasloe for Portiuncula University Hospital to which €20 million has been allocated. I visited the h…

Investment in Portiuncula University Hospital is a major priority for me. I was delighted and honoured to bring the Taoiseach to meet the assistant general manager, Ms Marguerite Dooley, the director of nursing, Ms Mary Mahon, and the senior clinical management team in the hospital when he visited Ballinasloe last February. The Taoiseach had an opportunity to open a new CT scan facility and meet the radiology team and healthcare teams all over the hospital. It is incredible to see there are nearly 200 more staff wo…