I suggest that he go to the Garda.

I acknowledge the fantastic work An Garda Síochána does, in particular community gardaí. I also acknowledge the recent departure of Superintendent Dermot McKenna from Pearse Street Garda station. He was very committed, helpful and engaged with the local community. The residents appreciated the hard work and commitment he put in and his engagement with them. I also wish the new superintendent in Pearse Street Garda station, Mick O'Keeffe, well. He has big shoes to fill but he has already hit the ground running on so…

There is a vote in the Dáil so the Minister of State might want to scoot over there. I do not know whether the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, who is taking the next Commencement matter has a pair. Will the Senator check whether he can come in because we will have to suspend otherwise? He is coming in.

I thank the Minister of State. Next is up Senator Nelson Murray. We are just swapping Ministers of State. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, obviously has a fondness for the Seanad. He is here nearly as much as I am.

Before we move on to our next Commencement matter, I welcome New York Congressman Tim Kennedy's son, Connor, who is in the Gallery along with some of his friends: Lucy Doherty, Jacob Cappuccilli and Esameldeen Hammouda. They are all very welcome. They are guests of Deputy Cormac Devlin.

The Minister of State is very welcome. I thank him for his remarks. I also welcome Caitlín Ní Chaoindealbháin and Aoife Butler, who are guests of Deputy Maurice Quinlivan. They are very welcome, too. I have no doubt that they have all been well looked after. I hope and expect they will be brought to the dining room later.

The Minister of State is very welcome. Senator Gallagher was waiting in anticipation.

Indeed. He was backing the Minister of State.

I welcome students from Coláiste Dún Iascaigh in Cahir, County Tipperary. They are guests of Deputy Mattie McGrath, whose daughter is here somewhere hiding in the back. They are all very welcome. As is tradition, they do not have homework for the rest of the week when they visit the Seanad. That is according to Deputy McGrath.

I was thinking Senator Gallagher should have declared a self-interest in that debate given he is closing in on 65, the magic age, like the rest of us. I thank the Minister of State.

I know animal welfare is close to the Deputy Leader's heart. I was at the petitions committee earlier and a petition was looked at from My Lovely Horse Animal Rescue. It highlighted the concerns all rescues probably have. Last week a pregnant horse was found dying, tied up and neglected in a field in Rathcoole, County Dublin. She was abandoned by her owners to give birth and die in the field. When she was found, her two-day-old foal was already lying dead next to her. The images are distressing. The treatment is ba…

Late last year, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights wrote to the Government to urge it to recognise socio-economic status as a legal ground for discrimination. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have delayed this change for the past decade and refused to support legislation I introduced in the Dáil and Seanad that would finally have included socio-economic disadvantage as a ground of discrimination. People are being denied jobs or services on the basis of their accent or the community they come fro…

When will the memorandum be brought to Government? It really is urgent. There are any number of reports, studies and definitions and any amount of research but the time for research, studies and definitions is long past. The Government knows what needs to be done and it needs to do it. We have a situation where discrimination on grounds of race, religion and gender, among others, has been made illegal, which is very welcome, but we need to ensure discrimination on socio-economic grounds is introduced as a matter of…

Yesterday, there was a Private Members' motion in the Dáil Chamber around regeneration of flat complexes. It was also the day when the Government pulled the funding for the regeneration of the Oliver Bond flat complex. That is devastating for residents there. They have faced decades of neglect and the conditions they are expected to live in are substandard. They do not even meet the standards that the council sets for private rental accommodation. It is not new to residents in the inner city. Pearse House residents…

I thank the Minister of State for coming in. I appreciate it. It is disappointing that yesterday the Minister for foreign affairs and today the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs seemed to disappear after the first two or three contributions.

Yes, but it is not the first time. I am saying it is a pattern. That is no slight on the Minister of State.

I appreciate him taking the time to come in. There is a pattern, however, and I take this opportunity to flag that.

He absolutely did.

I absolutely acknowledge that. I appreciate the Minister of State making the effort. He was here early this morning. What I am saying is not intended as a slight on him. It is just a pattern that needs to be addressed. On the EMI EU poll, Senator Lynch, who is a supporter of the European concept, highlighted some worrying trends. Along with the worrying figures that the Senator pointed out, the number of people who say that the EU is heading in the right direction has fallen from 58% in 2023 to 45% this year, with …

Is there going to be security screening of-----