Senator Mary Fitzpatrick commenced proceedings this morning by speaking about the Dublin-Monaghan bombings on 17 May, some 50 years ago, and the families who are still grieving and seeking justice. She has renewed the call that justice be given to them. I certainly echo and support that. The Senator also spoke about the match between Bohemians women's soccer team and the Palestinian team that will take place tonight. If anybody is free, it would be a worthy cause to support. The Senator gave us the good news about …

The Minister of State is having a busy morning here with us. I thank him for taking the time to come here today for what is an important matter for many parents of children with additional needs in my area of south Kildare. I want to speak to the Minister of State today about St. Anne's special school on the Curragh in County Kildare. The school was established in 1967 by the visionary Elizabeth Birmingham and her husband, Michael, and it moved to its present location on the edge of the Curragh in 1974. It is a co-…

I thank the Minister of State for confirming that the major building project for St. Anne's is included in the Department's construction programme. As he said, when completed, the school will have 16 general classrooms, specialist rooms including woodwork, art, daily living skills and computer, outdoor spaces, and all ancillary accommodation that is needed. We have much to look forward to. The Minister of State is saying that the design team anticipates submitting the stage 2B to the Department early in quarter 3. …

The Order of Business is No. 1, Gambling Regulation Bill 2022 - Second Stage, to be taken at 3.15 p.m., with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed 15 minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed 12 minutes each, all other Senators not to exceed six minutes each, and the Minister to be given no less than 15 minutes to reply to the debate.

And one topic.

A significant number of Senators have contributed today and I will do my best to respond to them. I add my voice of welcome to the transition year students, particularly those from Athy in Kildare - my own county. They are very welcome. I hope to get to say hello to them later. Senator Dooley started proceedings by speaking about a topic on which many Senators contributed, namely, GAAGO. Senator Dooley made the observation that the president of the GAA was going into political grounds in terms of the interview he d…

Okay. Two Senators said he had been invited. I take that correction on board. He has not been invited but will be invited.

We need to have a frank and open discussion on the matter. Senator Clonan spoke about the issue of conflict. It is horrific that every day when we open our phones, screens or newspapers, we see children and women dying. The numbers are horrific. Ireland and Spain have been very much to the fore in terms of doing what they can and trying to bring other European leaders and the UN with us as well. It is absolutely shocking. We should be hugely concerned and should do everything we can. Senator Clonan also spoke about…

As we begin the Order of Business, a coffee morning is starting in the Coffee Dock to support and spread awareness of the work of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, ASI. It does incredible work throughout the country. What it is aiming to do is create a dementia-inclusive generation. It is doing this by working with transition year students. Apparently one in three young people knows somebody with dementia so it is important that young people understand it and recognise it and support those with dementia. The ASI is…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. I support the Order of Business. May I also, on behalf of the Fianna Fáil group, extend our deepest sympathies to the D'Arcy family on the passing of Mr. Michael D'Arcy Snr. First, I wish to do a shout-out to fellow hay fever sufferers. It always creeps up and, nearly unexpectedly, catches. At the moment, I am taking every antihistamine known to man. I stopped off this morning to get a herbal concoction from Paul O'Connor from the herb shop in Eyre Street, Newbridge. If that…

May I say how relieved we all are in Kildare with the news yesterday evening that the one objector to the proposed Diageo plant, which would be an investment of €200 million and would provide 1,000 jobs during the construction, has withdrawn his objection to the High Court? This means the Diageo brewery, which will be the biggest in Europe, if not the world, will go ahead. Two weeks ago we had a robust meeting with a respectful exchange of views at a meeting in Athy with the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, David Owen…

I thank the Cathaoirleach for choosing this Commencement matter and I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, for taking the time to come to the Chamber for this important Commencement matter. I wish to begin by acknowledging the unprecedented challenges the Department has faced in recent times in respect of housing and supporting asylum seekers and beneficiaries of temporary protection. I am disappointed that neither the Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, nor the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, was available to take this m…

I agree that we need to have a humane approach. None of us wishes to see people sleeping on the street. I thank the Minister of State for clarifying and saying that the private commercial market, and not the private residential market, is used to house those who are coming to our land looking for accommodation. I take it from what the Minister of State has said that the contract that was signed for two years for this house in Pairc Mhuire is null and void because that most certainly is private residential. He clear…

This morning on the way to the House I took the opportunity to call in to Punchestown, which is gearing up for a tremendous festival. The festival is worth €60 million in the local economy so it is very important. I wish the team there, including the chair David Mongey and the racecourse manager Conor O'Neill, all the best for the week ahead. I was there for the launch of the HRI strategic plan for 2024 to 2028. It is a very important and ambitious plan. When we look at the figures we see that more than 30,000 peop…

I extend a welcome to the ambassador and the guests in the Gallery. I have tried to raise a Commencement matter relating to Garda matters for the second time. I accept that the Cathaoirleach has guidelines that he has to abide by but it is regrettable that we have a situation where we cannot have the Minister for Justice to come to the House to discuss, in any way, policy on policing in this country. The last time that my Commencement matter was not taken I called on the Minister for Justice to come to the House fo…

I thank the Minister for being here and for all the work she has done in this area, both in terms of the recent legislation which was one of the first in Europe, certainly, and in relation to her previous work in the education committee where we dealt a lot both with bullying and the need to revamp the RSE education, part of which issue was, of course, around being able to view pornography, etc., online. This is something that the Minister herself feels strongly about and is willing to help. There is no doubt about…

At the outset, Members are aware that the apology to the Stardust victims is ongoing in the Dáil and in many ways, the Stardust tragedy has been the backdrop and soundtrack of our lives. We feel great solidarity with all of those impacted. To the families and on the stories which we heard yet again over the weekend, we admire their tenacity and that of all of those who fought for the victims. Every one of us is conscious of the housing situation and of how difficult it is to rent or buy a house. Kildare is certainl…

We need our gardaí to keep us safe and secure. We need to have them patrolling our streets and roads and we must support them. The Minister for Justice should be in Westport listening to the concerns-----

-----of the gardaí who protect her and us.

I move: “That Seanad Éireann: recognises that: - the system put in place by the Department of Education has been a largely successful model for planning school places up until recently; - the Department of Education is aware of enrolment pressures and is engaging with second-level schools in the affected areas to share application data to determine the full extent of the crisis; - the Department and the Minister for Education are working tirelessly to ensure that all young people have an offering of a school place …