Before we move on to the next speaker, I welcome on behalf of Senator Michael Kennelly students from the Presentation Secondary School in Listowel, County Kerry, and their teachers Norma Dowling and Louise McAuliffe. They are all very welcome today and I hope they have a wonderful day in Leinster House.

Thank you, Deputy. Your time is up, even though I agree with you. I call on Deputy Mythen.

Apologies, but is the Deputy moving his amendment?

Thank you Deputy. I call Deputy Farrelly.

Before I move on to the next speaker, I welcome the students of St. Kieran's College in Kilkenny. They are very welcome to Leinster House.

It is positive to have these statements in the House. The publication of the final Operation Kenova report forces us all to confront some of the darkest and most painful chapters in our history. It is an extensive, detailed and deeply disturbing examination of violence, collusion, institutional failure and, above all, a prolonged denial of truth for victims and their families. This report lays bare the brutal reality of the Provisional IRA's campaign of terror. It documents in stark detail the abduction, torture an…

Will the committee specifically address the high number of child protection and welfare cases awaiting the allocation of a social worker in the Louth and Meath areas? Tusla's multi-service performance data continuously outlines that these are some of the worst areas of the country in terms of children not being allocated a social worker. I ask the Government to take action to reduce the numbers of unallocated cases, improve timely intervention and support the most vulnerable children in County Louth.

I ask for an update on how the Department is developing links with Canada and I request that it provide support for the Thomas D'Arcy McGee summer school in Louth as a way to support this important link

The Minister of State was very welcome to Carlingford on that fateful day in late August a couple of years ago. I wish to highlight the extraordinary cultural and historical bridge that is between Ireland and Canada through the legacy of Thomas D'Arcy McGee. He was born in Carlingford, County Louth in 1825. He was later the father of the Canadian Confederation. His life embodies those shared democratic values, and the people-to-people links between our nations. The annual Thomas D'Arcy McGee event is very well supp…

We should have a debate about Thomas D'Arcy McGee in this House. As the Minister of State said, there are a lot of learnings to be taken from the complexities of his life from leaving Ireland as a Fenian to being shot on the steps of the Canadian House of Commons by the Fenians. There is a huge circle there. His legacy is hugely celebrated in Canada. As a son of Carlingford, it is important that we celebrate him too. He created the modern Canada. His spirit and legacy can also help create the future united Ireland …

I appreciate that.

Can I be indulged as I am supposed to be chairing a committee?

I appreciate the collegiality from my constituency colleague, Deputy Ó Murchú.

Louth and proud.

We have a real opportunity here. Louth could lead on this. The use of AI to develop a national carbon map for farmland could be a game-changer, not just for our climate targets but for fairness, accuracy and farm viability. Farmers deserve clear, credible data that recognises the carbon they are already sequestering through hedgerows, grasslands, wetland and soil management. I see the potential in Louth. I live in a rural area. I see the biodiversity highway we have in our hedgerows and what it is producing. We are…

I am really glad to hear there is a lot of work going on. AI can make it collaborative, bring the work together and make that carbon map. For the weekend that is in it, we will think of our nature and heritage and what our plants and trees mean to us. St. Brigid's tree was the birch. It is about fertility, new life and rebirth. If you slap the arse of a cow, you would have a fertile cow and a healthy calf. Trees and nature are entwined with our history and our carbon future. Protecting that history and native Irish…

Like my colleague, Deputy Wall, I raise the issue of carers. They recently received correspondence from Revenue outlining tax liabilities on their carer's payments. For many families, that did not land as a clarification but as a complete shock. We know and all accept that it is not a new policy but for us it demands action. The Tánaiste knows carers are not casual contributors to our health and social care system. They are an integral part of it. They provide round-the-clock care, often at the expense of their own…

All of us in this room are in agreement that the infrastructure plan has to deliver. We have to be absolutely unapologetic about getting our critical infrastructure across the line and delivered for our people. We have to be honest about increasing housing delivery, which is a huge concern for everyone in this House, no more than for the Minister. What is honesty holding it back? In reality it is our infrastructure deficits. It is not lack of ambition. It is about constraints on housing and community development. F…

Drug-related intimidation is one of the most cruel and controlling crimes operating in all our communities. It does not just target the person with an addiction. It terrorises families. Parents and children are being threatened, coerced and forced into constant fears. We have heard victims say that fear never leaves them. Over the past five years, as the Minister knows, 2,500 cases have been recorded with 150 arson attacks due to drug intimidation. In Dundalk, the Family Addiction Support Network, FASN, is doing cr…

Other Members in the House have articulated the huge pressures people with disabilities and their families are under in relation to paying their bills and surviving. Like the Minister, I have heard from many disabled activists of their devastation. They are feeling very let down about the cost-of-disability payment. I understand all the arguments. Those arguments and the practical reasons there was not a cost-of-living payment or support for disabled people in this year's budget is understandable and logical but pr…