I second the motion.

I wish to raise a similar disability issue which relates to the DART line. A lot of public money was spent installing bridges over the DART line at stations like Blackrock and Booterstown. They are very effective and easy to use except when the lifts are not working. It seems that, from time to time, lifts go out of order and there is no urgency to fix them, which means people with mobility issues, in particular wheelchair users, are stuck when they get to the DART station and find they cannot get to the platform o…

The Minister of State is welcome and I thank him for taking this. I know the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, is indisposed this morning, but he is aware of this issue. In 2014, as the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, will also be aware, the Local Government Reform Act was passed. It abolished town councils throughout Ireland. That is probably a debate for another day, but when the town councils were abolished, they were replaced with a different decision-making structure, which was done through municipal dist…

I regret that the Minister of State has been given an answer to read out that substantially does not address the issue I have raised. Not only do area committees operate in a similar manner to municipal districts, they do exactly the same work. They do it without recognition for the status of that committee, without recognition for the chair of that committee and without the power to make decisions. It is desperately wasteful. All the chat about directly elected mayors is fine but it is entirely separate to the iss…

Yesterday I put down a Commencement matter in relation to the operation of accessibility services in DART stations in my area. It was ruled out of order and I understand the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, may not have direct responsibility for Iarnród Éireann and or other transport services but the reality is they are public realm services. It is absolutely unacceptable and unreasonable that a wheelchair user or a person with other mobility issues should arrive at a train station and find that they cann…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Ar dtús báire ba mhaith liom mo chomhghairdeas a dhéanamh leis as an méid oibre atá déanta aige agus ag a Roinn ar an ábhar seo. It is extraordinary, in all the circumstances we have, to have achieved what we have achieved in accommodating those coming into the State looking for assistance, protection, asylum or whatever word one wants to put on it. Obviously, the ordinary person seeking international protection is different from a Ukrainian. The numbers of Ukrainians who have come here…

It will be filled by people who want to breed nothing but hatred, contempt, xenophobia and racism, to be honest about it. These are statements about international protection applicants, but we must of course distinguish that there are Irish people in this country who look different. I know I have said this previously in this Chamber, but there are Irish people of ethnic variety who get told that they do not belong here. They are Irish. They are as Irish as the Minister or me, or anybody else in this Chamber. They a…

This is a difficult motion in many respects. I have great sympathy for the issues that are raised in it. They are serious issues and at a time when recruitment in our health service is such a massive issue for the Department of Health and for hospitals throughout the country, they are vital. I heard what Senator Sherlock said about the two-tier system, and I agree with her, but I see two different tiers. On the one hand, I see front-line workers and on the other hand, I see management and administration. One of the…

I agree with what Senator Horkan has said. It is important to note that even though this is a very technical Bill and a lengthy one, it is important legislation. It is past time it was put through. I welcome its passing and congratulate the Minister of State on getting it through.

The higher education access route, HEAR, is a fund that has been put in place by the Government to help people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Six criteria are applied that relate to income, in addition to family size and where people come from etc. It is a very important resource that allows people from certain backgrounds to get into college. Each of the third-level institutions throughout the country reserves places for people from the HEAR programme to make sure we have equality of access to third-level educati…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit agus roimh an mBille. Ábhar an-tábhachtach ar fad atá i gceist anseo. I welcome the Bill on behalf of the Fine Gael group. I congratulate Senator Martin and his colleagues for bringing forward this Private Members' Bill. It is an issue we have discussed in this House on a number of occasions. I need hardly go into the detail of how destructive, damaging and insidious domestic violence is, and the effect that it has not just on the direct victim, but on the family, the wider family …

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit agus roimh an mBille um Cheartas Coiriúil (Aitheantas Frithpháirteach do Phianbhreitheanna Coimeádta), 2021 freisin. Mar a dúirt an tAire Stáit, is Bille an-teicniúil é seo agus ba cheart dúinn léamh tríd. Ag an am céanna, mar a dúirt mé cheana féin faoi Bhillí eile, tá fadhb againn leis an tslí inar chuir an Roinn an Bille le chéile. I have spoken previously of a difficulty I have with complex legislation and the Minister of State has acknowledged that this is technical and comple…

Cuirim fáilte riomh an Aire Stáit. It is always nice to see my Dún Laoghaire colleague in the Seanad. The issue I am raising is one I know the Minister of State is very well aware of, given he has responsibility for it and he launched a public consultation on these regulations last October, as I understand it. The difficulty I have with what is happening is that those who actually use these cups in their businesses do not really know what is happening. If you look online at the proposal that is involved here, going…

I thank the Minister of State and I appreciate what he has done. I do not want to take away from the laudability of the idea behind this scheme but I want to ask three questions. Did the public consultation substantially raise the issues I have raised? I am sure others have raised these issues, particularly the discrepancy between hot and cold drinks, and I respectfully do not think it is enough to say that the cold drink levy will come in due course. Why is it not coming now? Why are we pitching one type of busine…

At the outset, can I say in respect of discussions about the embassy reopening in Iran that if we decided to never have diplomatic relations with countries we did not agree with or had issues with, we would have to close embassies in many countries. It is important that the reopening of diplomatic relations or of an embassy is not an endorsement of behaviour or practices in Iran but is an opportunity for us to engage more directly with Iran to show them why what is happening there is reprehensible. I want to addres…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire freisin. I welcome what the Minister has outlined. I know there was more to come in that speech but time constraints are such that we could not hear it all. The strategy the Government has to deal with domestic and gender-based violence is tremendously important. I welcome, for example, the suggestion that there will be a dedicated agency in this regard and I welcome all of the other matters, which I will not go through again. The difficulty for me, as justice spokesperson for Fine Gael,…

I thank the Cathaoirleach for his remarks about Niamh Bhreathnach at the outset of today's session. I was a ward colleague of Niamh in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council when I first ran for the council in 2009. She was one of the people with whom I was elected at that time. She was incredibly unpretentious and a wonderful doer. She got things done in a way that I suppose having experience at Cabinet allowed one to do. I certainly remember a local issue where I asked for something to be done and the answer was "…

I am grateful to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for coming personally to deal with this matter because it is one of tremendous importance, and we know how topical it is in light of recent demonstrations. "Demonstration" is a very soft word for what has been happening in places such as Ashtown, where there have been attacks on people from different national, ethnic or racial groups. There is a significant risk that as a country we are allowing ourselves to go down a road where…

I appreciate what the Minister said. I acknowledge the work his Department has done in integration and in accommodating people who have come here fleeing situations. I also recognise what he said about funds. He also said that it is not any one Department's responsibility. This is, of course, true. As I look at the students from the Loreto school in Dalkey sitting in the Public Gallery here, though, I wonder what we are doing to educate children in this regard? What are we doing in terms of the national anti-racism…

We have a vibrant sailing scene in Ireland. As an island nation, we are lucky enough to have a number of sailing hubs around the country. Dún Laoghaire is obviously primary among these, but Cork could be included on the list. Within the sailing communities in question are vibrant para sailing communities. People who, for one reason or another, have physical disabilities are in a position to get involved in sailing. There are vibrant para sailing communities in Ireland and internationally. Unfortunately, the Interna…