I thank the Minister of State for his reply, which is the one I expected. In his response, he said that the focus is on areas of greatest environmental priority and of course that is very important but the problem is that we are only taking action when the horse bolts. Prevention is better than cure. If we have defective septic tanks and homeowners willing to improve and upgrade them, surely the Department should respond responsibly, particularly given how we are failing to improve our water quality. If homeowners …

I raise the issue of regional roads and their ability to safely deal with the volume of traffic travelling on them. Specifically, I highlight the route along R173, the R175 and onto the R176 and right on to the Border in north County Louth. This road is the main access road to the Cooley Peninsula. There are several primary schools located on it and one secondary school. It is a regional route but it has the traffic volumes found on a national route. I, too, would like to get the Minister for Transport to come into…

The Minister of State is very welcome. I am very glad the Minister of State responsible for this area is here. It is crucial that we address head-on the issue that no one should feel helpless and alone in circumstances where they have a mental health crisis. I ask the Minister of State to outline the supports available to an individual going through the trauma and also to family members who are trying to support that individual during that time. We all know that people do not plan to get sick. They do not expect it…

I thank the Minister of State for her genuine and thoughtful answer. Our basic requirement for patients when they have these crisis moments is to trust the system and to feel safe. That is a step to recovery and to being able to trust that system. A key point, particularly when the Minister of State's Department is doing so much in the area, is that it needs to filter down to the accident and emergency department. When I googled what to do in an accident and emergency department and what the best advice for me is, …

The Minister of State is very welcome to the Seanad this evening. I thank him for coming to County Louth a few weeks ago when he met with more than 90 award recipients on the first annual Louth local sports partnership volunteer awards. To me, that is why we are all here and why this whole debate is so important. It is about the volunteers and the people. Approximately 90 people were nominated by their clubs. They go in day in, day out and get very little thanks and very little glory. It is usually the clubs and th…

The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. I am seeking departmental support on this issue of recognition and acknowledgement for teachers who graduated prior to 1974, most of whom have now retired. These individuals played an invaluable role in shaping the minds of countless students and dedicated their lives to imparting knowledge and wisdom. I was recently approached by a wonderful Louth woman, Angela Rankin. A retired teacher, she spoke to me about her life dedicated to education and the pupils she tau…

I accept the institutions are autonomous bodies and the universities are autonomous in the awarding of honorary degrees. However, what I am asking the Minister of State to bring back to the Minister, Deputy Foley, and I, too, will bring back to her, is that this is not a normal situation. As a teacher, the Minister, Deputy Foley, knows teachers who trained prior to 1974. It is within her ability to support this call and to write to the universities to invite them to consider this at their discretion. It is not a no…

We all hope it will happen in a couple of weeks. I thank the Minister of State.

Before I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, to the House, I welcome a young lady, Áine O'Reilly, who is in the Visitors' Gallery. She is in Leinster House this week on work experience and is very welcome.

I welcome the Minister to the House. I am glad to be here on the day this Bill has been brought to Seanad Éireann. This is a really important Bill. Many people have been calling for an agency like this for a long time. I am very familiar with Safe Ireland as a member of Women's Aid Dundalk, which is affiliated under Safe Ireland. The policy direction, advice and support we get from Safe Ireland is vital for us. It is good that there will be a statutory organisation so that Women's Aid Dundalk and Drogheda Women's a…

I welcome this morning's news that more than 1,300 medical professionals and graduates have applied for 350 GP places. There are now more than 1,000 trainee GPs in the training programme. We absolutely recognise that there are not enough at the moment but this compares with 700 in 2019. It is positive news for a lot of people. Locally, in County Louth, there are not enough GPs. People are struggling to find GPs and GPs are struggling to see their patients. I know a GP who is working nearly every hour of the day to …

I want to speak again about the flooding in north Louth. The work continues around the peninsula and the Border to try to get the land and houses back to something resembling normal. There is a sense of fear and anxiety around the place because we are looking at grey clouds and we are afraid more rain is going to come. I spoke to a lady this morning who told me her house had been flooded four times over the past week. It is devastating to have to deal with this over and over again. As we go on with the clean-up ope…

I want to discuss the devastation caused by flooding in north County Louth last week. It has been a tough week for everybody in my home area. I commend those who went days without rest in order to try to save their homes, businesses and farms. Some, unfortunately, did not get to save them. There are buildings and fields that are still flooded. One week on, people are still not able to access homes and roads. I thank the council workers who worked tirelessly all week, but there were not enough of them. We did not ha…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after “That” and substitute the following: “the Bill be read a second time on 1st July, 2024, to allow for further consideration of the Bill.” I welcome the Minister of State. I congratulate my colleague, Senator Malcolm Byrne, on his work on it. It is important to have a conversation about how we engage our young people in civic society. I remember waiting to register my vote. I did my leaving certificate when I was 16 years old, so it was over a year later before I even…

The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is very welcome to the Seanad this morning. Unfortunately, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, cannot be with us because he is at a press conference. Given Waterford's very fertile agricultural land, I know the Minister of State will have an interest in this matter. I seek a statement from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on the audit and calculation of the current carbon sequestration of agricultural land and farm holdings, …

I thank the Minister of State for her response. A lot of work has been done and I know the Department is behind me on this. I know it can be done because Devenish has done it. It has done incredible research in Dowth in County Meath just across the border from County Louth. By accurately measuring on-farm carbon emissions, we can capture and understand carbon sequestration and the power of our land. In Northern Ireland, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs is doing this. It is putting money …

I thank the Minister of State and did not want to stop her with all of her previews. I congratulate her on her work on the budget for 2024. The House stands suspended until 12 noon.

I too welcome the announcement of the free travel for those who are medically unfit. Since I came into this House I have raised several Commencement matters on this issue on behalf of people with epilepsy or other conditions. Many people have worked on this issue over the past years. It is a real difference and will make a real change for a lot of people. It will help a lot of people. I have had very positive text messages from people who will now be able to get access to that free travel. I stood here last week an…

I asked for it be changed-----

-----because a meeting of the Committee on Disability Matters was on at the same time. I apologise. I requested that, if possible, the time be changed because I did not want to miss a meeting of the Committee on Disability Matters.