The matter I raise today relates to the importance of the horticultural peat industry to the Irish economy and the threat arising from unprecedented legal and planning problems facing the industry. As we know, peat is used in horticulture, particularly as a growing medium by both amateur and professional gardeners, professional growers and the mushroom, forestry and soft fruit industry. At one point my family was in the mushroom farming business so I certainly have experience of the importance of peat and the impac…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. It is good to know the horticulture sector is researching alternatives for peat. While we are waiting for the alternatives to be developed, I ask that people would be able to continue to harvest the peat necessary. It is a concern that the working group has not yet met and a chair of it has not been appointed, but I assume it will start work in 2021, given that the current peat reserves will run out in July. We need to act more quickly and a solution needs to be found…

I fully endorse and support amendment No. 3 in the name of Senator Casey. I ask the Minister to take on board the issues the Senators have raised. I had the opportunity to raise this matter with the Minister of State myself. This is the wrong way to go. At this late stage, I call on the Government to reconsider this measure. Covid-19 has had a hugely negative impact on our retail industry. Many of our shops are struggling. They have only had the opportunity to reopen for Christmas this week. The last several weeks …

I fully endorse the call from my colleague, Senator Dooley, for a debate on community employment schemes. Many of them are the heartbeat of our communities, particularly rural communities. They do a great deal such as organising Tidy Towns, Meals on Wheels, etc. We also need to look at the conditions for scheme supervisors. There has been a long-standing call for a pension scheme for them. The horticultural industry makes a significant contribution to the economy. It adds €497 million per year to the economy with i…

I thank the Minister for being present during this important week. We have discussed and debated Brexit for four years and finally we are almost at that point. Four weeks from Friday, the UK will be outside the EU Single Market and customs union. From 1 January next, how we, as a country, trade with the UK will be dramatically different. Considering all the valuable work the Minister, Department and EU are doing, I hope that the circumstances after Brexit, while different, will not be as negative as could be the ca…

I completely endorse the idea of green Friday. The amount of money that is leaving this country day after day is frightening, particularly as we are heading into Black Friday and Cyber Monday, when we will see courier vans going around every town, village and estate. We have to send a strong message to everybody to support our local businesses and shops that support our local communities. They are the businesses to which we turn, time after time, to support community events. Now is the time that they need our suppo…

There is no doubt that the past few months have been the most difficult that we have ever seen, with difficult political decisions that had to be made regarding Covid. They had to be made quickly while not knowing what was coming down the line but we had a sense of what had happened before and what we had seen in China and Italy. There was an effort to save our citizens and give everybody the best opportunity to be healthy. It was all difficult, particularly with regard to the Department of Health. We have to thank…

I would like to address a number of issues to the Leader and to the House, the first of which relates to Tusla. There is a very disturbing report in this morning's newspapers in regard to Tusla and the problems within that agency. The specific issues mentioned are a lack of consistency in how Tusla operates and the retention of staff, which is a particular concern. There are many fine people working in Tusla and doing an excellent job but it is difficult for them within what is described as "an over-centralised out…

I congratulate the GAA and Croke Park on the wonderfully emotive and moving ceremony held over the weekend to commemorate those who died on Bloody Sunday. It was also very moving to see Tipperary winning its provincial title match, for the first time since 1935, and Cavan winning its match as well. All in all it was a great weekend for sport. It raises the hairs on the back of one's neck to think that the four counties that were in the 1920 semi-finals are in this year's semi-finals. I wish the very best of luck to…

Fianna Fáil Senators will be supporting the Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill, which is akin to the Finance Bill or the Social Welfare Bill in that it arrives every November. As the Minister of State has outlined, the measures in it are designed to support risk equalisation and to sustain community rating in our health insurance market so that older citizens and people with illnesses can afford health insurance and are not discriminated against in favour of younger, healthier people. There is no increase in the ris…

I support Senator Craughwell's call for a debate in the House on the terms of reference of the commission on the future of the Defence Forces. I was very pleased, along with Deputy Chambers, to ensure that in the programme for Government there really were strong commitments on the Defence Forces. I was pleased to hear yesterday's announcement by the Department of Education that all new primary and secondary school buildings will have an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, unit going forward. This is important in terms o…

I support the Debenhams workers on day 222 of their campaign and I will be proud to stand with them outside the Dáil later. I raise the issue of the report that the HSE national safeguarding office published last week, which makes for grim reading. As we all know, adults are at risk of different types of abuse or neglect in their family homes and residential settings around the country. Many such adults are older or dependent and may have disabilities or mental health issues. There has been no targeted national mes…

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. I am delighted that my Commencement matter is being taken but it is interesting that I have come here from a meeting of the Joint Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, where both the Minister for Education and the Minister of State at the Department of Education are appearing. I asked whether this Commencement matter could be deferred but that was not possible. I appreciate that the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, is…

I thank the Minister of State. At least I have the sense that this proposed new school has moved to stage 2 in respect of site assessment and that following that, it will be moving to architectural planning stage. I certainly welcome that. I again emphasise the significant issues relating to timelines to which we need to try to adhere. We could very well reach a situation where within two years' time, there could be between 250 to 300 children without a place at second level. I am talking about mainstream education…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am delighted to bring this important Bill before the Seanad this evening. It represents an important step forward in the pursuit of equality and justice for all our citizens. As a constitutional republican party, Fianna Fáil has always been committed to fighting discrimination in all its forms. The Bill seeks to tackle hate crimes in an effective and robust manner. Only yesterday, The Irish Times reported the fact that the UN rapporteur on the elimination of disc…

On a procedural point, do I have the opportunity to respond to some of the comments made next time?

I wish to speak about the Safe Ireland report published yesterday. I am conscious it was mentioned earlier. The research is traumatic. It is deeply upsetting to see how many people are suffering from domestic violence. The number of women and children who contacted services for the very first time during the first six months of the Covid pandemic is eye watering. Some 3,450 women and 589 children contacted domestic violence services for the very first time. That is the equivalent of 19 women and three children ever…

It is fitting that we have this debate today on the 102nd anniversary of the end of the First World War and in commemoration of the 49,000 Irish soldiers who lost their lives during that war. Having the opportunity to address our war heroes who were at Jadotville is significant. On a personal level, I wish to mention Sergeant John Lynch who died in Lebanon in 1997. I was teaching his daughter, Christine, at the time, and I will never forget the loss, tragedy and trauma visited to Christine, her mum, and her little …

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to discuss the reopening of day services in the disability sector. I believe people with disabilities and their families have arguably been one of the sectors most disadvantaged by Covid. The closure of disability services in March took away a lifeline for many people and families. There have been very disturbing repercussions for users and their families. I refer to the survey carried out by Inclusion Ireland. I pay tribute to its outgoing chairperson, Lorraine…

I raise the issue of student nurses in the context of what is happening in Naas General Hospital at the moment. In that hospital, which is my county hospital, 35 nurses and ten healthcare staff are not present due to Covid restrictions, so the existing staff are under huge pressure. Many concerns have been raised about the situation within the hospital itself, for example, within a block of toilets in the hospital where some are labelled "Covid" and others are labelled "non-Covid". The fact that people may be going…