Senator Malcolm Byrne also has my support on the matter.

Senators Seán Kyne and Barry Ward are sharing time. I call Senator Kyne.

Our third matter is from Senator Ahearn. I am very interested to hear the reply to this one. I thank the Senator for raising it.

I will add my tuppence worth in respect of the Cooley Mountains and the Cooley uplands farmers association, about which I have spoken to the Minister of State. We need an upland management programme that deals with invasive species, the protection of the heathers and the beauty of the biodiversity that exists. We have a great resource and we are not managing it correctly. I welcome this Commencement matter. The answer to it was great.

The Minister is very welcome to the House. It is now international women's week. We are celebrating it for an entire week these days. It is another week of repetition and asking for the same things again - demanding and hoping for equal rights, better healthcare, safer streets and homes, improved childcare and asking to be listened to in this male-dominated world. It often feels overbearing. There are so many issues to work on and there have been many setbacks. I can say with confidence, however, that we are moving…

It was.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House today for this very positive and timely debate on how best to move forward in this country in looking after people with dementia and on the wider topic of brain health. Senator Hoey referred to the briefing we attended yesterday which was so positive and enlightening. I learned so much from it and got a different view of how to care for my own health and that of my parents and my partner. It was really enlightening and I thank those who organised it. I want to acknowledg…

I believe the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, has a prior engagement so the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is very welcome in her stead. I tabled this Commencement matter to get some clarity on the record regarding what is happening with Sruthán House. The Minister of State and I know so many families affected by closures of adult day services and adult respite services over the course of the pandemic. As we all know, it was a really difficult time for so many people. I wanted to ensure accurate information …

I thank the Minister of State. It is very positive news. I congratulate and thank the Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities, Deputy Rabbitte, and the officials for pulling out all the stops to ensure we have an adult respite service in County Louth. However, it would be remiss of me not to ask for more while I have the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, in front of me. We have this facility in north Louth. I ask the Minister of State to bring back to her colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabb…

I welcome the Estonian ambassador. We are all standing with Ukraine. When we woke up this morning there was a dark shadow over all of us. I listened to the Ukrainian ambassador who was in tears on "Morning Ireland". Her voice was shaking because she was talking about her family. We are all standing strong for Ukraine today. We must remember how we got here. History will only reflect on how we got to this point. Have we sleepwalked into this situation just so we can be a little richer in the West? There are trade de…

The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. I congratulate her on the great work she has done on a difficult system since her appointment. As Senator Currie has highlighted, there is a lot of positive work being done in the Department. The Minister of State succeeded in securing one of the biggest ever budgets for mental health. She is well aware of the "buts", which are always a factor when a new Minister and a new Government are trying to fix everything. It is very difficult. As a parent and citizen, I wa…

I thank the Minister of State for joining us for this important debate on energy poverty. It is a matter that we all understand and the Minister of State shares my passion for doing all that we can to tackle it. We are in the midst of an energy crisis. Families are suffering from energy poverty, as outlined as recently as last week by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. We are also in the midst of a climate crisis, but we have ambitious plans underpinned by the climate action plan and our commitments under COP26. T…

The Minister of State quite rightly outlined that an incredible amount of work has been done by the Government so far, and we welcome that. However, as I mentioned, €305 million worth of retail value is being dumped annually. The redeployment of renewable energy to heat hot water in homes could also displace significant volumes of CO2 and avoid millions of euro in carbon penalties to Ireland. Crucially, that can be done now as that technology is in place. We just need the Commission for Regulation of Utilities to w…

I have very distinguished members with me today. I have three of my sons, Conor, Dónal Óg and Eoin. It is great pleasure to be here as a Senator and to have three of my boys here with me today. It is lovely to see their faces.

It is appropriate that we are talking about children. The Certain Institutional Burials (Authorised Interventions) Bill was published today. It is a really important Bill. It is critical that we get this through our Houses, passed, put into legislation, enacted and put into place as quickly as possible. If I was born, and if those boys over there were born in a different time, I would be in a mother and baby home. I am an unmarried mother. When I look at those wee faces, I think of the burials in Tuam. It is very e…

I welcome the publication of the review of the accommodation for victims of domestic violence. Across all parties, Members have been pushing for more refuge spaces and more improvements in domestic violence supports at all levels. I really welcome the publication of that review this morning, which highlights that there will be a new agency to support victims of domestic violence, with priority areas for refuges. More than 50 new family spaces have been announced to be prioritised in Sligo, Cavan, Cork, Longford, Ba…

It was International Epilepsy Day yesterday. I have soft spot for it because I know so many people with this condition. Epilepsy Ireland had a very catchy campaign saying to time the seizure, keep them safe and stay with them. Therefore, it is "Time, Safe, Stay". We are all about to be empowered to know how to look after a person who is having a seizure. There are 40,000 people in Ireland who have epilepsy, so the chances are we could come across someone going through a seizure. It is most important that we all emp…

I did not get a chance to speak in the debate on the matter on Tuesday, but I wish to highlight and congratulate the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine on the new scheme permitting the planting of up to 1 ha of native Irish trees without a licence. Anyone who knows me is aware of my absolute grá for native Irish trees. This is the month of the rowan tree - the mountain ash - which provides protection for one's home, so I recommend that all Senators one. It is a beautiful tree that protects your home. Tha…

The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is very welcome to the Seanad. I am looking for an update on the work and actions of the transport working group under the national disability inclusion strategy. How is the group working? How is the Minister of State bringing together all the relevant Departments and stakeholders in order to make real changes, including making disability proofing of transport policy the default rather than the afterthought? I congratulate the Minister of State on her absolute and complete bi…

It is refreshing to see and hear about the work that is going on and the positive actions being taken. It is also refreshing to hear that it is a case of nothing about us without us, and that the people at the table know what they are talking about as it is their lived experience and they know the barriers because they face them day in, day out. Another issue is the report from the Department of Social Protection, which has come up. I refer to a review of the free travel scheme. There is a barrier in terms of how d…