I acknowledge and welcome the Laois camogie players today from Camross, O'Moore's and The Harps clubs. It is great to see young people and young athletes being interested, engaged and concerned about what is effectively an equality issue. The issue at the weekend has highlighted the demand for women to wear skorts playing elite sports. As a father of two daughters who play and love camogie with Ballinteer St. John's, it is positive to see female athletes engaging in what is an equality issue. This is about equality…

The crisis in dog welfare continues daily and is obviously having an impact on dogs. I know the Minister has been very supportive of dog and animal welfare. This is also having a hugely damaging impact on those working in rescue centres. It is devastating for those who work tirelessly in this area to pick up the tab for Government failure on dog welfare. I highlight the many measures the Government could take to improve dog welfare. They are simple measures to encourage responsible ownership. One example that Anima…

I forgot to acknowledge Senator O'Loughlin's fantastic work on Alzheimer's disease and her ongoing advocacy. I should have mentioned that because it is excellent and very important.

I thank the Minister of State for coming in for this important debate. We cannot categorise people as scaremongering when they have a different point of view.

People are entitled to different points of view. It does not mean they are disrespectful or scaremongering. We are happy to debate with anyone at any time.

I am not misleading. We are happy to have a respectful debate. We do not necessarily agree with the Government, but that does not mean we cannot discuss issues and have differing opinions. In the more than 50 years since Ireland joined what would eventually become the European Union, we have experienced rapid and welcome change. Membership of the EU has served as a catalyst for so much good in Ireland, advancing civil rights, economic growth and investment, environmental protection and social equality. I do not thi…

There has been a lot of discussion in the media about Kneecap and what its members said or did not say. It is important to note that they did issue an apology. I find it incredible that the Taoiseach would take time out to criticise Kneecap, yet I have not once heard him criticise Benjamin Netanyahu. Benjamin Netanyahu is overseeing the slaughter and genocide in Gaza - the killing of tens of thousands of people. While the Taoiseach may have been critical of Israel, his actions show that he is complicit in the slaug…

They did apologise for that.

I thank Senator Fitzpatrick for introducing the Bill. It is important that retailers and retail staff are protected. The suggestion that it would be extended to hospitality workers should be considered. Having worked in bars and restaurants and having been a retailer myself at one stage, I know quite well the challenges that retailers are facing. I do not think there is anything in this Bill that people will argue about or that is contentious because my understanding is that, if someone is assaulted, it is an offen…

The Senator cannot pretend it was not Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael who oversaw the issues.

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. As outlined by the previous speakers, this is an important issue. Speaking for my constituency, there is a real demand and need for gardaí right across the inner city because in nearly every aspect it has been neglected for years - the south inner city in particular. The Dublin city task force report did not include the south inner city. That has led to disparity relating to funding and supports for community groups. One issue that is currently causing resident…

I, too, extend my good wishes to Martin Groves on his retirement. He obviously knew something we did not and picked his moment when the weather was good. He has always had a good sense of judgment. Over Easter, news came out that an International Protection Accommodation Services, IPAS, centre was not going ahead. All we hear from the Government is that communities do not have a veto. It seems, however, that the wealthy and affluent in Donnybrook and other affluent areas do have a veto. If you live in the inner cit…

Yesterday, I put a specific question to the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, as to why Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael had proposed in their manifestos a betting tax levy increase of 1%, from 2% to 3%, yet when they got into government, it was abandoned. There is no sign of it in the programme for Government. I got absolutely zero answers as to why it has been abandoned. It is not good enough that Ministers come in and avoid answering any question whatsoever. It is all just non-answers. Will the Government include the 1% …

Deputy Harris.

Prior to the last election, both the Minister of State's party and its coalition partners made firm commitments in their manifestos to increase the betting tax from 2% to 3% and to use this funding for investment in sport. This commitment strangely vanished from the programme for Government with no mention of the betting tax or additional capital investment in sport infrastructure and academies for Irish football. A 1% increase in this levy would have raised approximately €50 million in desperately needed funding f…

It seems that the Government has bowed at the altar of the gambling industry, while sport and Irish football have to pick up the tab. I find it hard to take that the discredited and abusive greyhound industry gets €19 million a year, and Irish football and other sports get hardly a fraction of that figure. Governments will talk about sports capital and individual funding projects, as the Minister of State has done, but what is needed is sustained and reliable long-term funding, not once-off payments. That would be …

Last week, a young zebra was brought into a bar in County Clare. Colleagues might imagine I am about to tell a joke but this is actually true. Many people thought it was an April Fool's Day joke. Bizarrely, this is not against the law and it highlights the lack of legislation and enforcement relating to animal welfare. My Lovely Horse Animal Rescue recently called for urgent reform of legislation on dog breeding and enforcement of control of horses. When we consider the various incidents involving horses around the…

I welcome the Minister of State and congratulate her on her new role. I hope she is successful. It is important for many people that she is. The Minister of State may have heard of Involve Autism, an advocacy group based in Dublin 6. It is very constructive, positive, detailed and solution focused. One of the things it has highlighted is the cost of transporting children with special educational needs and children with disabilities to school just in south Dublin. I have raised this here before. In south Dublin, fro…

I extend my condolences to Mick O'Dwyer's family on his passing this morning. He was an icon of Irish sport and football. His loss is a huge loss. On the issue of genocide in Gaza, I would like to know why this Government has accepted the normalisation of genocide. Israel continues with a colonial settlement project and there are absolutely no sanctions for it. Those colonial settlements continue today without sanction. There are no sanctions for the starving of Gazans. There is no sanction for cutting off electric…

I raise the issue of animal welfare, particularly dog welfare. Last week, three dogs were shot and dumped in a bog in Westmeath. This Government's attitude to dog welfare, and animal welfare generally, is lamentable. We see images of horses around the country that are emaciated, have open wounds and are without water. Dogs are in pounds or are being shot and dumped. The Government needs to invest in pounds and rescues to help these especially vulnerable dogs. There needs to be an improvement in microchipping so abu…