I thank the Minister of State for being so forthright. She stated that the HSE "has also advised that the application remains under consideration and it cannot make any comment on possible outcomes from the ongoing process", so timelines are still questionable there. I fully accept assessments exist and procedures matter but, unfortunately, Duchenne muscular dystrophy does not wait for process and these children's illness does not pause while we are dealing with the paperwork. We are 18 months on from the initial a…

I want to talk about two events I was at over the weekend. One of them was run by the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association, ITBA. I was brought up on a farm in County Kildare with point-to-point horses. Horse racing, horse breeding and the half-bred industry, all of that is a fascinating industry and it really impressed me. Last weekend I really enjoyed it because I saw ordinary people from farms all over Ireland attending this event, with some of the people who would be well known in the media and get a lot of …

I move: “That Seanad Éireann: acknowledges that: - the Seller’s Legal Pack for Property Buyers Bill 2021 was originally introduced by the then Independent TD, Marc MacSharry; - the Bill was designed to front-load the property conveyancing process and reduce transaction times for property purchases, reduce wasted costs associated with delays or sales falling through, and to allow for more certain and transparent transactions for both the consumer and the seller when a property is being bought and sold; - the Institu…

I thank the Minister of State for being here. I also acknowledge former Senator, Lorraine Higgins and the members of the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers, IPAV, including its CEO, Ms Genevieve McGuirk. The reason I am bringing this up is, as many Members will know, I am involved in housing and homelessness and I see blockages. I am a member of the housing committee and I am involved in an approved housing body, AHB. Day to day, I constantly see people queuing to try to buy houses and there are bloc…

I have listened to colleagues and enjoyed the debate. I also listened carefully to the amendment. I thank the Minister of State for his response. I thank Senators for contributing. It is helpful to realise that we are all on the same page. Point-scoring was mentioned but that is certainly not what I am about. Senator Cathal Byrne summed it up lovely when he said that we are all seeing that there are issues in this process. Perhaps, further work needs to be done, but we definitely see there are issues. I forgot to m…

I wish to raise the topic of how our justice system responds to fatal assaults, including what are often called one-punch attacks. Too often, we are confronted with the devastating reality of a single unprovoked act of violence that can cause catastrophic brain injury or even death, as we have seen recently. For the families left behind, such as children and other relatives, it changes everything that comes afterwards . These are not minor offences; they are acts of serious violence that have permanent consequences…

I want to mention something that has impacted the homeless community in the past week. I know it is wearing on me, and it should be wearing on us all. I refer to the reality of homelessness on the streets and the passing of Natasha Smith last Friday. Since Christmas, we have lost three clients of the Lighthouse homeless café. Those numbers are bad but what makes it worse is that too easily those involved can become statistics and then you forget to think about who is behind the numbers. On Pearse Street on Thursday…

I thank the Minister of State for being here. My purpose today is to raise the issue of the very real and deeply disturbing impact of drug-related intimidation and violence on families right across Ireland. I spoke on the matter in this House recently and, since then, I have been contacted by a number of people. Many people wrongly see drug-related intimidation as something that only affects those involved in drugs or who use drugs. However, I have found that is simply not true. It is increasingly the case that int…

When I tabled the Commencement matter, I asked for the Department of justice because I felt this is more a justice issue, in order to get prosecutions before the courts.

It is joint. It is definitely interagency. I notice the Minister of State’s statement says it usually affects drug users or their family members. The example I gave was one of people who have nothing to do with drugs. They are pulled into a world by thugs and criminals, which is totally unfair. The problem is that they feel that when they stand up to these people, their whole lives go into chaos. The test of the DRIVE initiative is when you bring together the Department of justice and the Department of Health and m…

I will take the Senator up on that advice. I certainly need the exercise. Recently, "Prime Time" featured a senior garda from the National Cyber Crime Bureau. He issued a stark warning about young people and children in Ireland who are being groomed on online gaming platforms. He went on record saying that it is happening at an alarming scale. The issue here is that parents assume the everyday games that children play in Ireland are safe, as they are in the safety of their own rooms. However, these cartoon avatars …

I welcome my good friend, Gillian McCutcheon, into the House today. Gillian has worked with people from an addiction background for many years, is a trained psychologist and has given her life to it. I salute her for that while she is in the House today. I want to draw attention to the crisis that is facing FASD Ireland, which deals with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Despite delivering all agreed KPIs over the years, and in many cases exceeding them, FASD has been chronically underfunded. In 2024, the organisat…

Last week, I spoke about the drug-related intimidation and violence engagement, DRIVE, initiative. In the few days since then, I have been contacted by a number of families. Even on the way in this morning, I was contacted by a family whose son has got into addiction, which has brought chaos on the family. They have already paid out €60,000 to criminals who are putting them under pressure. I spoke about the DRIVE programme, which I know it must be appropriate, cost-effective and realistic but it definitely needs be…

Today I raise the urgent need to support the full implementation of the drug-related intimidation and violence engagement, DRIVE, programme. It is put together by our task forces, one of which I am the chairperson of. Last weekend's horrific events in Edenderry where a grand-aunt, Mary Holt, and a four-year-old boy, Tadhg Farrell, were killed have shocked the entire country. The possibility that this is connected to drug-related intimidation is shocking and deeply disturbing. It also reflects what is going on in th…

I will raise something that I mentioned when I was first elected at the start of the year, the An Saol Foundation in Ballymun. It was led by Reinhard Schäler, who the Leader will remember being in the House. This cause has been championed tirelessly by Councillor Gayle Ralph, who is with us in the Gallery today. It does amazing and life-changing work. It is for people with acquired brain injuries and their families, allowing them to find dignity, hope and support through the service. The foundation has planned for …

I wish to mention a former neighbour of mine, Trevor Deely, who has been missing for 25 years. He was a young man of 22 when he went missing. He was last seen in the Haddington Road area of Ballsbridge. I lived in Woodlands right opposite his house. Trevor's family includes his brother Mark, who used to play football on the green, and his father, Michael, who spent 24 years looking for his son. We must remember Trevor, not only for the mystery surrounding his disappearance but also for the guy we remember him to be…

I thank the Cathaoirleach and Ceann Comhairle for their leadership during yesterday's historic address by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It was an extraordinary moment for us parliamentarians and also for our country. Huge kudos goes to H.E. Larysa Gerasko, the Ukrainian ambassador, and our ambassador to Ukraine, H.E. Jonathan Conlon. An amazing job was done by all. I was absolutely honoured to be asked to chaperone the First Lady, Mrs. Olena Zelenska. Seeing at first hand President Zelenskyy's address to the joint…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, for being in the House this morning. I want to highlight the disturbing kidnapping of 315 children from St. Mary's primary and secondary schools in Papiri in Nigeria. It is a school run by a religious order. The superior in the school is a lady called Sr. Mary Barron. She has been seen speaking on the news in recent days. It is horrendous. It is what every parent fears: children taken from their dormitories at night and families left helpless. We know in Ireland that sch…

I accept the Minister of State's assurance regarding our embassy getting involved over there. The Minister of State also mentioned in her statement about the other school in the Kebbi state. It shows a pattern that is not welcome. Certainly it should be stated to the Nigerian ambassador here. In other areas of human rights, I was attending a protest recently at the Nigerian embassy regarding students who had been arrested and imprisoned for their homosexuality. It is 2025 and it is unacceptable. I thank the Ministe…

I am raising an urgent matter regarding ESB, Electric Ireland, connections to houses across the country. I am on the housing committee. In recent weeks the Government rightly agreed to reforms with regard to Uisce Éireann, allowing developers to carry out certain works directly, thereby reducing delays and costs. The same principle now needs to be put in place and applied to the electricity infrastructure in our country. Housing projects across the country are being stalled as developers are forced to wait, in many…