I join in the condolences to the family of former Minister, Deputy and Senator, Brendan Daly, and his in-laws. We recognise his life of public service. It is important we do that. I have another issue to raise but I would like to second Senator Wall's remarks on a ban on gambling advertising. I support that entirely and recommend that the Leader should see it is promulgated. Will the Leader speak with the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Deputy James Browne, or indeed the Minister for Justice, Deputy…

I want to make one or two points at the outset, before making further comments. I congratulate my colleague, Senator Clonan, for bringing the legislation. I know how heartfelt his position is. It is a reasonable proposition. I do not know any Member of this House who is not with Senator Clonan on it and for whom it is not a very real issue. In fact, I know of no family, including my own and every family in the country, that is not affected by this issue. It is not something abstract, and we congratulate the Senator…

I join Senator O'Loughlin in expressing our heartfelt sympathies to the families of the two young men who died so tragically in Greece. It seems to be a feature of this time of year that this type of thing happens. It is a great tragedy for the families and for the entire school community. It is just awful. I want to turn to several issues relating to housing. When I came into local government in 1985, we used to build rural cottages. They were dotted throughout rural Ireland. They came within the category of socia…

The Cathaoirleach has spoken eloquently for us all in the remarks he has made. I will not repeat them. He has expressed the view of everyone here. I welcome to the House my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell. Having sat on these benches with him, it is a great pleasure to see him back here as a Minister of State to answer this question. I have more than a passing interest-----

This is a great exemplar of what Tip O'Neill spoke about, all right. I thank the Cathaoirleach. I have more than a passing interest in this question as I am a very proud past pupil of the school in question. It is one of the wonderful schools in our area. If I may make a quick aside, during the Troubles, the violence and conflict in Northern Ireland, over the years, this school, which was mixed with regard to religion, social class and geographical spread, was a very significant factor in maintaining good community…

There are 620 now. It had 400 in 1998. It started with fewer than 50.

With all due respect to my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, who is answering for the Minister for Education, I am very dissatisfied with this answer because the case of St. Aidan's is unique and it needs an announcement now. Children are sitting on the floor so it is not the same as a request for a gymnasium in other schools. The area currently being used to provide very restricted PE to very limited numbers needs to be converted into an area for students to sit around, eat and chat at lunchtime.…

I am sure the Cathaoirleach will join me in these sentiments shortly. It is my great privilege and pleasure to welcome to the Gallery Mr. Frank Allen, playwright and film scriptwriter, and his niece, Ms Roberts. I had the privilege of teaching at the City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee, VEC, with Mr. Allen many years ago. It is now the education and training board, ETB. Mr. Allen since wrote Twelve Days in May , a play about the life of James Connolly and his execution and that of the other leaders of the…

I second the Government amendment. The great scandal and tragedy of our age and the horror in human terms has been the treatment of migrants, whether it is the ultimate, which is people who drowned for wanton neglect, misadventure, too many people on boats etc., people who are trafficked for sexual purposes or people who are enslaved in various ways. It is the scandal of our time. I salute the Civil Engagement Group for tabling this motion. It is an excellent and timely discussion. The horror in all our minds at th…

I identify with the words around Tara Mines, without necessarily repeating all the arguments. I express my heartfelt sympathy to the workers. I am delighted that my colleagues, Deputy English, and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Coveney, are on the case and actively trying to deal with it. The matter was well discussed by a number of colleagues. I will leave it at that but it is a very important issue. It affects my locality as, strangely enough, quite a number of people commute from the a…

Ms Demetriou, céad míle fáilte romhat. Literally, that means “a hundred thousand welcomes to you”. It emphasises the degree to which you are welcome and how happy we are to have you here. As the Cathaoirleach did, I salute Ms Demetriou’s personal success, after a relatively short period in Parliament from 2016, in becoming the first woman to emerge as President of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus. It is a huge personal achievement. She is an important role model for women and makes an importan…

I welcome the Minister back and wish her well. It is apt that we have this important debate and it is well-attended and participative. That is important. The legislation comes in a very interesting context, in that we now live in a very diverse society which is multiracial and multi-ethnic and in a pluralist society in a number of respects. In that context, the legislation has a particular significance. I will reference an experience I had in the past few weeks. I attended, with my party colleague, the Minister of …

I agree with the words of the Cathaoirleach in welcoming the Italian ambassador. The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the agreement establishing the EU-Latin American and Caribbean, LAC, international foundation back from committee, to be taken on conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; and No. 2, statements on capital investment in the health service, to be taken at 11.45 a.m. and to conclude no later than 1.15 p.m., with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exc…

Senator Ward gave his compliments and commendations to the emergency personnel involved in the airlift at Killiney yesterday. He progressed from that to make a valid point. The summer weather is beautiful and enchanting. I listened to Evelyn Cusack this morning. She is retiring from RTÉ and we should take this occasion to wish her well. She is one of the great personalities and the great human face of the Met Office. The point was made on the radio today that we can expect a good weekend, and good weather into the …

It was Pat Larkin. He said that €1 billion should be invested here. Thankfully, and without getting into the politics of it, through prudent management of our economy and incentivisation of FDI over the years, we are in the happy position that we have the kind of money to do this. It is necessary expenditure. I agree with Senator Craughwell. We need to be very avant-garde and proactive in the area and to take the necessary steps. As the Senator has said, the cybercrime industry is a cleaner issue than the drug indu…

The Cathaoirleach has just asked me, very appropriately, to welcome the young people from Lucan, who are students at Scoil Áine Naofa. I welcome them and their teachers.

It is wonderful to have them here in the Houses of the Oireachtas.

I would support the Cathaoirleach in that. With a bank holiday pending, and the weather that we have at the moment, the teachers will have to listen to that suggestion.

Certainly, that should be the case.

To move on, Senator Boyhan raised the matter of rural housing. I had the privilege of sitting on Cavan County Council for 20 years. Not a week went by without me hearing the issue being raised. It is a case of back to the future for me to be here in the Seanad Chamber and for it to be raised again. It is no less relevant. In fact, it is becoming more relevant every day. The Senator is right. We need clear rural housing guidelines and we need to build rural houses. I believe we should go back to the practice of buil…