At the outset, I welcome the Minister to the House and thank her for her leadership in this area and commitment in her opening remarks to go on pushing at European level to get a consensus on real action on the trade agreement and individual sanctions. As someone who has had a consistent and special interest in this question over years, I applaud Senator Frances Black for her role and pioneering work in this area. That goes without saying. I come at this myself as a special rapporteur for Palestinian women and chil…

I am happy that the previous speaker remembered to mention his nominating base in his speech. I was afraid he might forget. He did it extremely well, to be fair. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I thank him for his opening remarks. A number of the general things he said at the end of his contribution are extremely important. It is not unnecessarily or unreasonably partisan for a Government speaker to say that we can be very proud of the way the economy was managed over recent years to create budget sur…

I join in Senator Casey's recognition of the patriotism of the former Minister, Brian Lenihan, God rest him, who died so young. It was so sad that he passed away as such a young man. Undoubtedly, the stresses he operated under could not have been a help to him. His patriotism is unquestionable and I am very happy to associate myself with the remarks. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the National Treasury Management Agency (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 and I am pleased to support the Bill on Second …

I welcome the Minister of State and acknowledge the good work he has been doing in the Department. I raise an issue of enormous importance to rural communities across County Cavan, which is the future of our small primary schools and the need for greater investment in teaching posts and reduced class sizes. As a former primary school teacher, INTO branch chair and a regular delegate to INTO congress, this is an issue close to my heart. I first entered Seanad Éireann in 1989 with an INTO nomination on the cultural a…

I thank the Minister of State. I acknowledge and appreciate both his presence and the very positive nature of his response. I also acknowledge the progress made. Let me make a little human aside. I spoke about my attendance at INTO congresses down the years. An excellent delegate attending those conferences with me on many a day was the dad of Senator Nessa Cosgrove, who will be speaking later.

He was a very distinguished Irish National Teachers Organisation member and delegate. That emphasises how young Senator Cosgrove still is. To go back to the point, I acknowledge progress but we need more. What I am asking is that we have a commitment to, and practical implementation in the next budget in respect of, a further reduction in class sizes, with an emphasis on the training and recruitment of teachers to fill vacant posts, because there is a real lacuna in the number of available teachers. We should not h…

I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach for the warm welcome earlier for my wonderful colleague Camila. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell. He is a very apt person to address this question as he comes from a distinguished medical family himself, in the present generation and in past generations. I wish to raise an issue concerning people living with Addison's disease. Could the Minister for Health consider whether this condition should be included under the long-term illness, LTI, scheme? It is my conten…

While I appreciate the support that is available, Addison's disease a particular challenge because the medication involved is not simply therapeutic. It replaces hormones that are essential for life. The question before us is not how many people are affected; the question is whether people whose health depends entirely on lifelong hormone replacement therapy are receiving adequate support from the State. People living with Addison's disease do not have the option of stopping treatment. Their medication is required …

I join Senator O'Loughlin in welcoming our MEPs to the Chamber. I am particularly personally proud that when I was Leas-Chathaoirleach of the Seanad I initiated this process and chaired initial meetings with the MEPs here, working alongside our Cathaoirleach at that time. It was a great initiative and it is clearly bearing fruit and today is another example of that. I want to say very unpatronisingly and genuinely that we are extremely well served by all five of them representing our region. They are doing that wit…

On a point of order-----

-----we need clarification for parents sending children to school. We do not want to instill fear. This matter needs clarity. On a point of order, this has to be sorted.

Hungry children going to school depend on these meals. That is why we need this clarity.

This is actually not-----

I welcome to the House my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon. He is speaking on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. He will convey my sentiments to her, which I also propose to do in other forums. It is never inappropriate to thank the healthcare workers of this country for their valiant, courageous and selfless service during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is never inappropriate and should be done on any occasion. Phil Ní Sheaghdha, the general secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midw…

I appreciate the Minister of State’s last remarks. I am a natural optimist and believe in a half-full glass rather than one that is half empty so I will interpret some of the coded language as suggesting that something may be done about this. In case I am wrongly interpreting it, it would be shocking if it is not. I want to make that clear. I have no ambiguity about this. It is our duty as public representatives to say what should be said. The truth is that anyone still genuinely suffering long Covid should not be …

One of the greatest successes of our independent Irish State has been An Garda Síochána, an unarmed force that has won the respect of the communities it serves and that polices by moral authority. However, that is not to suggest that we do not have to take cognisance of recent developments in this country, such as recent riots, and to protect and support our gardaí in very difficult situations. That is why body cameras are to be welcomed and the point regard driving licences is very pertinent. I would like the Mini…

I welcome our distinguished alumnus from the Seanad here, the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, who we thought very well of. He is one our best products and doing extremely well in his Ministry. I am delighted to welcome him back and we are proud of his achievements. I will start by reiterating for a moment the obvious benefits of the EU. I happen to be of the vintage that lived before and after our membership - for a short part of my life I hasten to add, but it was before we joined. In terms of physical infrast…

I cite two challenges for Europe. There is an obvious challenge with the war of aggression from Russia to Ukraine and the problems on our eastern flank. It presents problems for Europe, and it presents fundamental questions for Ireland. We are a neutral country. We are proud of that neutrality and want to maintain it. We have to use our moral force as a neutral country to achieve peace and proper values, etc. There is no escaping that we will have to be part of peacekeeping forces. We will have to be part of an eff…

At the outset, I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this matter. I welcome the Minister. His presence here, as the senior Minister, to deal with this issue is an indication of his commitment to the whole area of dealing with domestic violence. I am very heartened by that, irrespective of how we get on debating the matter. I want to highlight an urgent gap in essential services for women and children in County Cavan. Despite national commitments to expand refuge capacity and strengthen support for those fleeing d…

I again thank the Minister for being here and for his overall proactive approach. I am delighted with this response in that he has clearly, publicly and on the record of the House - and he does not do that lightly - committed to delivering this project to Cavan, and that he has put processes in place to so do, including being in touch with the Minister, Deputy Browne, on the issue. I am extremely happy that this will be the case. There is no need to repeat the argument only to say that it is so important for those …