I thank the Minister of State for his response. I welcome the investment in this infrastructure and I know what we are trying to do. However, there is the reality on the ground. As I drive around the Roscommon-Galway constituency, I see areas in Fairymount where 500 m of cable are hanging down at the side of the road. I drive to Lisalway, heading out to Castleplunkett, and see the same thing. I have been up in County Donegal and when one drives to places such as Carndonagh, one is not oblivious to these cables hang…

The Minister of State is very welcome. When I think of volunteers, I refer to Churchill when he said, "Never ... was so much owed by so many to so few". He was speaking about something different at the time. Volunteering is something very special in our country and it is not written into law, as the Minister of State mentioned. Rather, it is written into who we are and what we do in this country. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Minister of State and his Department, along with the Minister, Deputy…

It takes a lot of effort.

Today, the families of more than 300 children in north Kerry have received details of the findings of a review into the care their children received. This comes on the back of the south Kerry CAMHS review earlier this year which found that 227 children were exposed to risks of serious harm and 46 suffered significant harm. Behind those families are children and families who trusted the system for help. The review showed that long-term vacant consultant posts and weak governance played a major role in how those fail…

It is also about how the NCSE engages.

I welcome the Minister once again to this Chamber. I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Education (Leave for Injuries) Bill 2025. I acknowledge Senator Harmon and her colleagues for their work and the care and commitment that has clearly gone into bringing this legislation forward. It is evident that this Bill is rooted in real experiences and genuine engagement with those working on the front line of our education system. I also want to recognise Sophie Cole and her husband Shane O'Brien for their advocacy an…

I welcome and recognise the decision of the Minister, Deputy Naughton, today to pause the review of the SNA allocation. The decision sends an important and reassuring message to children with special educational needs, their families and the school communities that their voices have been heard and their concerns are taken seriously. It is right that time has now been taken to listen carefully to parents and schools and to ensure SNAs are supporting the children who most need their care. I also welcome the continued…

I thank the Minister of State once again. When it comes to road safety, I always try to mention the safe routes to school scheme and the large number of primary schools applying for that particular scheme. I think of places such as Trien and Lisacul in Roscommon, to name two, where there are main roads in front of the schools and vehicles speeding by at high speed, but they are not even being considered for that particular programme, never mind having applied for it. Vehicles have become an awful lot safer in recen…

Senator Davitt raised men's health earlier. I support the call for awareness campaign on that. At the recent young scientist of the year exhibition, I met two exceptional ladies from Coláiste Mhuire, Ballygar, Zofia and Emma. I committed to raising their project with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. A discussion is also needed in this House. It relates to women's health, particularly their menstrual and reproductive health. It remains one of the most underdiscussed areas of healthcare despite its clear impact…

I have never been shy in this House to profess how wonderful a county I come from in Roscommon is, how safe it is with our low crime rate and how a recent report came out and said it was one of the safest counties in the country to raise a family. Last Friday, however, for the third allocation in a row, we unfortunately were not allocated any additional Garda resources. This was disappointing after raising this issue on numerous occasions. I spoke to someone last weekend and in 2023 and 2024 there was a campaign ac…

The Minister of State is very welcome to the House this evening. I had been looking for this debate for some time so I welcome the opportunity. Senator Daly mentioned his baptism of fire in metalwork. I have to compare that to my introduction to the Seanad. Two weeks ago, I was at the launch of a showcase for an electric vehicle maintenance skills course and a wind turbine trainee programme, which has been running in Roscommon, funded by the EU just transition fund. That is exactly what that fund was created to do,…

I will have two minutes and Senator Byrne will have three, if that is okay.

I welcome the Minister. As previous speakers have said, these are no longer one-off events. This is becoming an annual occurrence for us all. My sympathies go out to the people of the south east and the south, and in the north, in Donegal, who were affected by the floods last week. We are less than a year on from 760,000 people being without power and water across the west after Storm Éowyn affected homes, businesses and farms. While great strides have been made and a lot of initiatives have been brought on in rela…

The Minister of State is very welcome today. I think it is important that I briefly explain what Rathcroghan is and what the Farming Rathcroghan model project is. Rathcroghan - the fort of Cruachan - is an ancient capital of Connacht and is one of the most important archaeological landscapes in Ireland and in Europe. Rathcroghan is recognised as the oldest and largest unexcavated royal site in Europe, a landscape where history, mythology, farming and community life have existed side by side for thousands of years. …

I thank the Minister of State for his response. He mentioned the National Monuments Service intends to establish in the coming years a support scheme for landowners across world heritage properties in Ireland. The blueprint for that idea is the Farming Rathcroghan project because over eight years it has demonstrated its ability. It has gone above and beyond accessing European funding. As the Minister of State mentioned, between the just transition fund and the European Innovation Partnership, 88% of its funding has…

In April, last year, I highlighted water outages in the village of Cloonfad in west Roscommon. I had a Commencement matter that month. I also highlighted a hospitality business that contacted me unable to open on Good Friday last year because of the loss of its water supply. On Monday last, I was copied on a message by the same hospitality business titled "Enough is enough" highlighting that it was now looking at another high-footfall day on which they would not be able to open due to the fact that it had no water …

I reiterate Senator O'Loughlin's welcoming of the national development plan sectoral plan for education of the Minister, Deputy Naughton, this morning. The plan published this morning outlines €7.55 billion in investment from 2026 to 2030. The big news for education this morning is that 105 projects are to progress to tender or construction phase between 2026 and 2027, totalling over €1.6 billion in investment, as part of the first tranche of the NDP roll-out. This will deliver 27,000 additional and modernised scho…

Last month, the Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence published an interim report that argued that the framing of AI in terms of regulation versus innovation is misplaced and that the two can co-exist. We all know AI is here. It is real. It is already shaping how businesses design products, serve customers, manage supply chains and compete internationally. For Irish businesses, from family-run SMEs to our global multinationals, AI is one of the most powerful productive tools of our generation. It can help manu…

I, too, would like to be associated with the condolences to the family of Brian Crowley and to the Cathaoirleach. I will not go over what Senators Ryan, Comyn and Fitzpatrick have said, but I will raise the passing of Grace Lynch as well. Like so many in this House, I have got a lot of correspondence in relation to this matter. One item of correspondence which hit home stated that Grace Lynch is not just a number, a statistic or a headline, but a young girl so full of life and energy who always had a smile on her f…

I also welcome the measures this week announced for active travel. A total of €360 million will be available for schemes like the safe routes to schools, SRTS, programme which is an area on which I worked closely with a lot of councillors in County Roscommon, including councillors in north Roscommon such as Councillor Liam Callaghan and councillors in south Roscommon such as Councillor Valerie Duffy. Thankfully, their advocacy for schemes for particular schools that were quite dangerous have been accepted. I cannot…