I agree with Senator Malcolm Byrne's call for an invitation to be given to President Zelenskyy to come here to speak to us. That would be an important move of solidarity and in accordance with everything we have said about the crisis, war and invasion to date. Today, I wish to raise water sports and the importance of the State granting supports to it. In Dún Laoghaire we are very lucky to have excellent facilities. We also have an elite training unit for Olympic athletes. Sailing is a sport that is very often pract…

I thank the Minister of State for attending the Chamber. This is an issue for many people around the country. As he will be aware, hair loss is not an uncommon thing in men and women. It can be caused by a variety of medical conditions, including cancer treatments that result in hair loss, alopecia and so on. Thankfully, the State has in place measures to help the many people who want to obtain wigs or hairpieces to cover their hair loss, make themselves feel more comfortable or whatever it might be. We had progres…

I appreciate that the Minister of State acknowledged there is inequity of provision on a geographic basis. To my mind, there should not be. We have made progress in respect of alopecia sufferers, who previously had no relief, but it is important people who are suffering from hair loss for whatever reason have the option to obtain a hairpiece or wig that will help them deal with the issues they have to deal with. I appreciate also what the Minister of State said about the need for the implementation of the new natio…

I also extend my welcome and good regards to Ambassador Karadjova. I had the pleasure of visiting Bulgaria and the Rila Monastery about 16 years ago, but I was informed by her of the fact that Mr. Bourchier was buried there. I was not there with a group of Irish people, so I was not aware of it. It is a beautiful country. We are delighted to see the ambassador, although the times are very challenging for any neighbour of Ukraine at the moment. We wish them well. This morning I want to talk about the resignation of …

I want to raise the issue of fees for barristers in criminal defence cases. I recognise that when people hear this there is little enough sympathy for barristers. There is a misperception abroad that barristers are all very well paid. This is true of some of them. Those who engage in criminal defence work are paid through the legal aid scheme at the very bottom of the scale. To give people the context of what this means, a young barrister can travel across the country to appear at a sitting of the District Court an…

I want to briefly mention an issue I have raised in the House previously relating to the Irish Thalidomide Association. I want to put on record my thanks to the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, for agreeing to meet the association. While it was somewhat delayed, that meeting took place yesterday. Having spoken to Ms Finola Cassidy this morning, I believe there are the green shoots of a new plan for addressing the terrible unfairness suffered by the survivors of thalidomide, who are decreasing in number…

I join other Senators in expressing my abhorrence at what is happening in Ukraine. It is obvious to see. I am tremendously proud of Ireland's reaction. I would say we are hamstrung on one level because of our military neutrality and non-alignment. That is actually appropriate. I do not want Ireland to shed its military non-alignment. It is a tremendously important part of our polity. Looking at what Ireland has done to respond to this and the tangible actions taken, for starters, sending a very clear message to peo…

In response to what the Minister of State said, I join him in acknowledging the considerable funding that has been made available this year in the form of sports capital grants. Every one of us sees the impact that this kind of funding can have on local organisations, clubs and associations in our areas. It is very plain to see. I am thinking of places in my area such as Kilbogget Park, where an enormous amount of work could be done on foot of the funding to provide floodlighting, drainage, etc. That is just one as…

I wish to make a few points. Senator Carrigy has highlighted that there are other lottery products offered that cost less. I acknowledge that there are people who use this facility through bookmakers and book with much smaller stakes. I am not sure that they are such a massive proportion of the market that it is a significant disadvantage of this legislation, but it is a fair point. At the same time, there is a suggestion that somehow, bookmakers are going to be at a huge loss as a result of the legislation. I do n…

It has been invested in Irish advertising firms.

I do not want to make this into a back and forth all day and I have probably had more than my fair say. I do not want to interrupt the Minister of State if he has comments on what has been said.

I thank Senator Currie for sharing her time. I welcome the motion. I believe in the concept of a directly elected mayor. That idea of subsidiarity and democratic accountability at local level is tremendously important. In that regard, there is a big gap in the motion. Nothing in the motion will actually empower councillors to any greater extent than they are currently empowered. I have for a long time and on many occasions in this House complained about the fact that in the past two decades or more, successive Gove…

Like others, I join in welcoming Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress, to Ireland. Some of us had a chance to meet him today and to acknowledge what he said. It is important to speak to people like him and to hear what they have to say. The European directive for transparent and predictable working conditions, which is due to be transposed in this jurisdiction by 1 August, according to article 21 of the directive. It is a very important piece of employment legislation that will particularly protect pe…

In the first instance, I want to be associated with remarks by other Senators in relation to the rumours about Cariban, the drug that treats hyperemesis. I hope they are more than rumours. It is about time we dealt with this issue. I raised it in the House before and welcome any move the Department might make on this to make life easier for women who suffer from a debilitating condition that often requires hospitalisation. We also read reports today that certain types of payments are soaring, particularly contactle…

I also welcome the Bill. It is an important recognition of the distinct and singular purpose of life-saving equipment. I join with the Fianna Fáil Senators in acknowledging that is an important aspect that merits a different offence apart from an offence of criminal damage or theft. It is right and proper that section 2 acknowledges the two different types of life-saving equipment, that is, the AED and other life-saving equipment like lifebuoys. Coming from a coastal area, Dún Laoghaire, Dalkey and Sandycove have h…

In the first instance, I congratulate Liath restaurant in Blackrock which was today awarded a second Michelin star. A very small number of restaurants in this country are operating at that level. In fact, there are only four, three of which are in Dublin. Liath is in the suburbs of Dublin, in Blackrock. On the face of it, it is a modest restaurant. It is certainly a small one, with approximately 20 covers. However, it operates at a level of excellence that is remarkable. As we see, Michael's restaurant is opening i…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. The issue I raise relates to driver licensing. Until 2006, it was standard in this country that the B category licence people hold, that is, an ordinary car licence, also included other categories, namely, the W category for work vehicles and the AM category for mopeds. On the back of the driving licence the categories people are qualified to drive in are listed, and AM and W were automatically added when people passed a driving test and received their licence to drive …

I thank the Minister of State and appreciate his remarks. I am sorry the Minister does not have plans to change this rule. I hope we will be able to convince him otherwise. There are still inconsistencies. I acknowledge the road safety imperative involved and that being on two or three wheels is different from being cocooned in a car, and we can see that in the way the respective drivers behave. However, the W category for work vehicles and tractors is still included in category B licences. We know there are freque…

I want to raise the issue of hyperemesis. Morning sickness is an unfortunate and unpleasant part of pregnancy for many women but hyperemesis is much more serious. It is a condition that results in very severe sickness and renders women malnourished and dehydrated at times. One in 100 pregnancies will result in hospitalisation of the expectant mother because of hyperemesis. There are drugs available to treat it. People may be aware of the media having covered high-profile cases of celebrities suffering from this con…

I have raised a number of times in the House the issue of water quality, not just around our coasts and in our rivers but in particular where people swim. During lockdown, many people availed of the opportunity to swim in the sea, rivers and lakes, and they do so sometimes at their peril. They do so sometimes at their peril. I am coming from Dún Laoghaire where Dublin Bay creates its own problems. We have had unfortunate incidents of water pollution in the past. The councils carry out regular water testing but it i…