I commend Senator McDowell on bringing forward this legislation so soon after it was pointed out that it was needed. I acknowledge also the contribution of my colleague, Deputy O'Callaghan, in bringing forward legislation. It is very welcome that this legislation has been produced and that the Government is supporting it because it has been very clear that there is a need to address the Court of Appeal ruling that has prevented parents from speaking publicly about their deceased child in cases where the child was u…

When is it proposed to take Committee Stage?

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I welcome the opportunity to say a few words on this motion, which I welcome. I congratulate Senator Currie on her very hard work on it. I have heard her speak about the benefits of remote working on numerous occasions. I completely support her in that regard. Last week, I had the opportunity to raise on the Order of Business our need to reimagine our lives, look at things differently and work differently. We must also examine our connections and connectivity. Regarding the development plans being produced right ar…

I am glad I am sitting in this chair and not running over to-----

I thank the Acting Chairperson and I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, for being here to discuss the Curragh of Kildare, which is a unique and special place, both to those of us from Kildare who live close to the Curragh and people throughout the country. Many people pass it on a daily and a weekly basis and have the opportunity to see our lovely lands. The Curragh needs very little introduction because it is very much part of our Irish psyche and is featured prominently in our history and culture. There …

I am glad to hear that there is a little bit of lily white in the Minister of State. I look forward to bringing him down and giving him a full tour of the Curragh when the Covid pandemic is over. I had thought that the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW would be here today, but I accept that this matter crosses over between the Minister of State's Department, the OPW and the Department of Defence. It is disappointing that the Curragh is not being considered at this point for NHA designation. Given th…

I thank the Cathaoirleach and the Leader. I have to start today's proceedings by talking about education and some of the statistics that have emerged. When we see that calls to Childline went up by 26% during this lockdown, there are 20% fewer referrals to our social workers, and top paediatricians are saying children are at risk of suffering in terms of physical health and lack of socialisation, we have to have a pathway back to reopening schools. That has to be a priority and we should send a strong message. I th…

The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. I acknowledge her hard work in this area and on older people. I commend her on it. There is no doubt but that we are bombarded with news about Covid from early morning until we go to bed at night. There is a constant stream of information about death tolls, infection rates and the R number. We need to know what is happening so this is necessary, but in recent months it seems everybody has become an expert on public health. Covid is present in every conversation wi…

I raise the matter of how we reimagine how we will live post Covid. We have all learned many lessons over the last 12 months about how we live our lives, including within our own 5 km. Our priorities have changed. The closeness of family is acutely important. There is an ongoing process in many of our counties, not least my own county, Kildare, regarding county development plans. We are now looking at issues papers and asking people to define what is important to them in how their communities and towns should grow …

We are discussing 18,552 students with complex needs who attend 124 special schools. I know two of these schools, St. Anne's School in the Curragh and St. Mark's School in Newbridge, very well. We are also discussing 1,836 special classes in 964 schools across the country. When we refer to that number of students, we are talking about individuals, families, parents and siblings. Those tight family units are very much part of their child's struggle to achieve their potential within an educational setting. There is n…

I am very proud and honoured to second the Bill brought forward by my colleague, Senator Clifford-Lee. I thank her for all of the work and consultation that she has undertaken to bring the Bill before us tonight. I say that both as a Fianna Fáil colleague and as chair of the women's caucus. It is almost two years since the women's caucus decided to put a cross-party motion on period poverty to the Dáil. That motion was subsequently debated in the Seanad. It is great that less than two years later, the report is pub…

I thank the Cathaoirleach for his kind words. I call Senator Boylan to speak.

I call Senator Dolan.

When is it proposed to take Committee Stage?

Is that agreed? Agreed.

When is it proposed to sit again?

I thank my colleague, Senator Ardagh, for introducing this matter and we intend to work together on a Bill to address the present failings. I wish everybody a very happy St. Brigid's Day. It is very fitting that today is her day because she was the saint of fertility. In her time she helped women who could not conceive and that is almost 1,500 years ago. The World Health Organization is very clear that infertility is a disease and should be treated as such with absolute support. We all know people who have gone thr…

I am really pleased that this is a priority for the Government and have no doubt that many others are as well. I agree with the Minister 100%: this is about equality and equity of access to the support which some need to start their own families. Money should not dictate whether people have access to this treatment or not, as it currently does. We all know many who have remortgaged homes or indeed put off buying their own homes because they need to pay costs related to IVF. The Minister rightly said the service sho…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to respond to this particularly difficult and challenging issue. The equine industry, as we all know, is synonymous with County Kildare. It has incredibly positive socioeconomic benefits for our county, which is known as a thoroughbred county not just in Ireland but throughout the world. There are three racetracks, Goffs, Horse Racing Ireland, HRI, 78 trainers and numerous breeders in Kildare. The impact of that in terms of hospitality, restaurants, people worki…