Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle. Is mór an onóir dom labhairt anseo inniu mar Theachta Dála do Dáilcheantar Lú. Is é seo mo chéad chaint sa Teach seo agus ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil le mo theaghlach, le mo chairde, le mo lucht tacaíochta agus leis na baill d’Fhianna Fáil i gContae Lú a d’oibrigh chomh dian ar mo shon. Táim fíorbhuíoch díobh as a n-iarrachtaí. It is a huge honour to be standing here as a TD for the constituency of Louth. It is my first proper opportunity to speak in the House. I th…

The Deputy has another two minutes, or four minutes in total.

I thank the Deputy.

I ask for a debate on the Irish horticultural sector. It is the fourth largest agricultural sector in the country. In 2021, it had a turnover of more than €500 million and it directly employs over 6,000 people in the country. A KPMG report in 2022 on an overall strategy identified the issues and challenges for that industry. I would very much like the Minister to come to the House to outline what steps will be taken to support that sector and the industry to allow it to grow and not be at a standstill. Senator Murp…

The Minister of State is very welcome here today. I tabled this Commencement matter because of the importance of the accident and emergency department at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. As we all know, it is a necessary resource for many people in counties Louth and Meath. In 2016, the last works to expand and improve the accident and emergency department were completed. Since then, as the Minister of State will know, there has been a huge increase in population, not only in the north east but also all ov…

The hospital has seen huge investment. There has been an increase in staff. When a person gets into the hospital, they are looked after. I know that from personal experience. We have seen some changes in the accident and emergency department. The waiting room has been expanded. I am very familiar with the accident and emergency department in Drogheda, having spent time in it and having spent time in it with family members. We have to look at what is provided there. There is one toilet in the accident and emergency …

Like other speakers, I send my thoughts and prayers to all our troops in Lebanon and the Middle East and all the UNIFIL troops. I thank the soldiers for their service. I thank their families, who spend every day worrying about and praying for their loved ones. I support the calls to have a civic reception for our peacekeepers if they return home. I ask for a debate on the deteriorating situation in the Middle East. I very much welcome that the Attorney General will be providing new legal advice on the Control of Ec…

This morning, I am asking the Departments of Transport and Housing, Local Government and Heritage to come together to potentially consider providing our county councils, particularly Louth County Council, for increased or emergency funding for flooding, for audits on and cleaning of storm drains and for storm pumps. Yesterday, we had a colossal amount of rain in north Louth and Dundalk. We have seen areas of Dundalk flooded and traffic interrupted. In the rural areas around Dundalk, a huge amount of rainfall came o…

I will share time with Senator O'Loughlin if everyone is in agreement. We will take five minutes each.

The Minister is very welcome to the House. It is really positive that we are bringing this Bill forward. I congratulate the representatives from the Irish Cancer Society who are in the Gallery. They have pushed and advocated for this along with the women whose lives this has affected. Now, we are here today. I congratulate them and all the women who told their stories. I also want to congratulate my Fianna Fáil colleagues, Senator Ardagh, as chair of the cross-party cancer group and Deputy Jim O'Callaghan who broug…

The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. I congratulate all my colleagues who worked incredibly hard on this report. Many other colleagues who will speak after me will congratulate Senator Micheál Carrigy on his work. He led the way, which is something he should be very proud of. As someone who was on the sidelines looking in, I am proud that this Oireachtas, in this term, has done such a report. Congratulations to Senator Carrigy. I welcome the opportunity to speak in this discussion. Action on autism w…

I too offer my condolences to the Naughten family on the loss of John. May he rest in peace. I also offer my condolences to the family of Mary O’Rourke, who lost their mam, their granny and a friend. We buried her yesterday. Mary was a mighty woman and an unapologetic Fianna Fáiler. She supported an awful lot of young women and girls in Fianna Fáil. I was very much supported by her. She took me, as a 15-year-old girl, under her wing at an Ard-Fheis when I travelled on my own to the RDS. She sat with me. She was a M…

I welcome the Minister to the House. I thank Senator Currie and the Fine Gael Senators for tabling the motion. It is very important that we all speak in here on childcare. The Government is the first Government to have a real focus on childcare and it is very welcome. It has provided one of the largest budgets ever. We have seen a lot of positive changes over the past four years. The Minister has stuck to his word. I remember speaking to him in the first year of the Government and over the years. We are right to be…

The Minister is very welcome to the House. As one of the cosignatories of the Bill, I thank her for not opposing it. I would have been very surprised if it had been opposed. Yes, it is imperfect, and the Minister outlined various issues with it, including legal issues, technical things and the fact that it does not mention the landmark legislation that these Houses and this Government put through, namely, the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act on Coimisiún na Meán. My rationale for supporting the Bill, however,…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I acknowledge that my colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, has apologised that he could not be here, nor was a Minister of State in the Department available to discuss this issue. I ask that the Minister make a statement on the access to cancer drugs and treatment for private and public patients. I want to shine a light on important issues that require immediate attention. It is a hugely concerning matter that within our healthcare system, there exists a…

I reiterate my plea. I do not disagree with anything the Minister of State said but we must have an early-access pathway. We must pool bids with other countries and look at what they are doing. We must also look at ourselves as a State, country and Government. There is a moral and ethical issue here. Will we be able to stand over a situation where people with money can get treatment while people who do not have money cannot get treatment? I do not think the Government or State wants to stand over some poor family s…

The Minister is very welcome. I congratulate him on his election as leader of the Green Party and wish him the best of health and success. We are speaking about migration. I agree with what Senator McDowell said about migration, which is very different from people seeking international protection and asylum. They are two very different things. However, when someone sees a person who is different from them on the street and feels hate, such people are bundled together. When the Government deals with such people, it …

I have received confirmation from my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, that he is in a position to support farmers in north Louth with funding to bring their lands back to the pre-flooding position. Last October, as we all know, there was serious flooding in north Louth and many other areas of the country. Severe damage was caused to fields, fodder and fencing and there were landslides. Since then, I have been engaging with officials to try to get a funding package in…

Following on from Senator Clonan, my Commencement matter deals with a similar theme, namely the inaccessibility of education for people who are visually impaired. I am really glad of the opportunity to highlight issues relating to the rights of people with disabilities, particularly their right to live life on their own terms. I want to extend a really warm welcome to Ms Niamh Kilcawley and her mother, Sinéad, who have travelled here today to hear this Commencement debate. This Commencement matter was inspired by N…

It is laughable that we are piloting accessible and inclusive education. The Minister of State said things have changed and there are digital papers. We need papers in Braille. We need to consider all of our students. The current system is restrictive and there is no flexibility. Students with disabilities are not a homogenous group. Reasonable accommodations for one are completely irrelevant for another. There needs to be an individualisation of accommodation for students. That would allow students to thrive, not …