Tá fáilte roimh an Aire, an Teachta Foley, chuig an Seanad.

The debate will follow our normal pattern. Each Senator will have six minutes. We will begin with Senator Margaret Murphy O’Mahony who, as the proposer, has 16 minutes. As I understand it, she wishes to share time.

Senator Margaret Murphy O’Mahony will have ten minutes, while Senators Fiona O’Loughlin and Anne Rabbitte will have three minutes each. Is that agreed? Agreed.

I welcome to the Public Gallery the members of the European Committee of the Regions. We hope they have been enjoying their visit to Leinster House. This group is an advisory body to the EU and they are guests of the Department of housing. They have joined us for a debate on a motion relating to childcare. The Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Deputy Foley, has also joined us for the debate.

Before I call the Minister to speak, I take this opportunity to welcome to the Chamber the UCD political science undergraduates from Spain and South Africa, who are guests of Deputy James O'Connor this evening. They are very welcome. They have joined us for an important debate on a motion on childcare, and the Minister for children is about to speak.

Before we move to our next Seanadóir, I welcome the guests of Senator Joanne Collins to the Chamber: Karen Ronan, CEO of Galway Chamber; Cáit Noone, president of Galway Chamber; and Marilyn Gaughan Reddan of the board of the Chambers Ireland. They are very welcome to this important debate on childcare. I am sure they appreciate the promise the Minister was just making.

I too would like to echo the comments of Senator Comyn and many of the comments made across the House during the debate. I wish to thank the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, for their time and all the work they are doing in this area. We have heard a comprehensive address this evening from the Minister of the ongoing investment into the sector and the significant and ongoing work in the Department. I wanted to acknowledge that work and to wish them well with the continued work. I would like to re…

I thank the Minister of State for coming in to take my question. She is very welcome. I am standing here to ask her if she can, and I really hope she will be able to, clarify for the people of Limerick what is going on with Limerick BusConnects. To give the Minister of State the background, BusConnects was first mooted more than a decade ago. The public in Limerick, including employers, members of pedestrian and cycling organisations, traders, all the different city centre stakeholders and councillors, would have b…

Having heard my account of what is going on the ground in Limerick, the Minister of State will understand why I am really disappointed with that response. The NTA will be publishing an implementation plan by the end of this year. Is she joking me? What in the name of God is going on in the NTA? Clearly, it has no interest in Limerick. It has no interest in delivering the public transport needs we have and serving our needs in Limerick. What happens in there when they are faced with a tough question and asked why th…

It has been a six-year process so far and it sounds like the process is being delayed even further. It is unacceptable.

I appreciate that.

I thank the Minister of State.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ardagh, to the Chamber. I believe this is my first time addressing her since she got her new role. I congratulate her. We look forward to working with her over her term. I have no doubt she will do great things in her new role. I thank the Minister of State for the opportunity to raise this important Commencement matter and for coming in to take it. I seek an update on electronic monitoring. What progress had been made? We have a commitment to it in the programme for Governme…

I thank the Minister of State for that excellent update. It is great to hear that the Department envisages that the pilot will be live before the end of this year. That is a testimony to the commitment of the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, and the Minister of State to modernising our justice system, and all of the other measures that she mentioned, including the high-visibility policing in Limerick, which has been hugely successful. We are very pleased with it. It gets commented on by people when I call to their doo…

Today I highlight a protest that happened in Limerick on Tuesday of this week. Nurses and midwives staged a lunchtime protest over what their union said are unsafe staffing levels at University Maternity Hospital Limerick. The INMO said between 30 and 35 front-line posts were cut at UMHL with the implementation of the pay and numbers strategy in 2023. That has left the hospital, which was already under significant pressure, in what they describe as a catastrophic state. Those are their words. They have told us the …

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. I thank her for giving the time today to discuss and introduce the Bill into the House. As a member of the AI committee and with a background in business, I am very appreciative of the regulatory infrastructure the Bill now provides. I am aware of the huge amount of work the Minister of State and her officials have put into creating this regulatory framework. It will allow us not only to ensure that the citizens of Ireland are served with the safe use of artificial in…

When is it proposed to take Committee Stage?

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I welcome the Aire Stáit and thank him for giving us the opportunity to discuss this important issue. I rise today feeling conflicted. I am a Limerick woman from the mid-west. I spent the six years before I came into this House advocating on behalf of the business community in the mid-west. A key pillar of that was pushing increased investment in the region and promoting balanced regional development. A key component of that balanced regional potential for us is Shannon Airport. It is very difficult as a mid-west w…

I reiterate a call I made in the House last month for a dental tax credit to be made available in this year's budget to parents of primary school children. I propose a €200 dental tax credit for parents to help to cover the cost of routine dental treatment, because delays in the school dental screening programme are causing additional cost-of-living pressures for families. The report by colleagues on the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health laid bare that just over half of eligible children nationwide received scho…