I wish to raise the topic of local radio stations around the country. It has been brought up here previously. I cannot express the importance of having a radio station like LMFM in our community enough. The staff call themselves the voice of the north-east. They reach up to 300,000 people on a daily basis. What has happened with local radio stations over the past month is that we have learnt that there are going to be lots of job losses and directors of different stations, like LMFM, will not be there in the future…

I want to bring up two issues. One is about the agricultural shows we are seeing now across our counties. I would like to say a big thank you to the Department of rural and community affairs for the money that is provided to these shows. I think approximately €1 million is dished out to about 126 different agricultural shows around the country, and they get between €4,200 and €11,400 each. I was at Ballivor Horse Show at the weekend. It was my second year going to it. I went to it last year as well. It really is va…

I commend my hometown of Navan, which for a good few years never really did very well when it came to the Anti-Litter League. A very progressive new Tidy Towns committee has been set up in Navan. I cannot take any credit for it. I have not even been out with them. I hope to get out with them in the future. We have moved from being No. 30 in the anti-litter league table last year up to No. 18 this year. It is the first round and then they go back and look at it again. I want to commend Navan because we have another …

Hear, hear.

In recent weeks, I have raised the subject of bringing back the holiday hunger pilot programme, which was run in 2025, this year. This follows on from the large amount of debate and discussion we have all had on the hot school meals programme. We learned at the joint committee on education, as I mentioned here the week before last, that the Society of St. Vincent de Paul had 112,000 requests for food assistance last year. Food poverty is still a massive issue among our children. Therefore, I was absolutely delighte…

I thank the Minister of State for coming in this morning. I have put in a couple of Commencement matters that involved his Department and he has been very gracious. I appreciate him coming in to answer this today. I met a lady two weeks ago who was looking for some help with her daughter, who is ten years of age and has been diagnosed with dyslexia. The psychologist recommended that she get a laptop for school but she was refused by the special educational needs organiser, SENO. When I asked why, I was told that ap…

I thank the Minister of State for his response and for outlining the fact that 3,600 assistive technology supports have come out this year. I am a little disappointed that we do not have the date for it. I appreciate that the Department is at the final stages of the report. I really was hoping to get a date this morning but I hope and I think the Minister of State probably can guarantee me that we will have it for the start of the school year in September. Maybe we can get it out in July or August in order that sch…

That is much appreciated.

I propose a suspension of the House until 10.55 a.m.

I thank the MEPs for coming. My focus is on small businesses and always has been. I would like when we take over the European Presidency that we have a focus on Irish business. When it comes to insurance, for example, we have not had a new entrant into the Irish market for 11 years to provide public liability insurance. I would like to know what the MEPs can do on that issue to help small businesses. The issue of counterfeit and fake branded goods entering the Irish market is becoming a major consumer safety proble…

Can Mr. Mullooly prove that Brazilian beef is going into Irish schools via the hot school meals programme?

I am so sorry, but the amount of businesses that will be affected by this-----

But he is not answering it, with the greatest of respect.

Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a dhéanamh leis an TD nua, Seán Kyne. I just thought I would say that in Seán's language as he had such good Irish. I hope I pronounced it well. There is no such thing as a hopeless cause. I definitely learned that yesterday when I went to the Joshua Community's centre in Navan. It was my first time visiting. I ended up spending about two and a half hours in the centre. I am probably a little bit ignorant of everything that is going on with people who are vulnerable and homeless and it …

I met a lady last week who was looking for some help for her daughter, who is ten years of age and has been diagnosed with dyslexia. The psychologist recommended that she get a laptop for school but she was refused by the special educational needs organiser, SENO. When I asked why, I was told that apparently you need an IQ of 90 to get a laptop for school and she had an IQ of 89. I could not believe what I was hearing and this actually is the case. I thought surely we cannot be getting things this wrong. I had a lo…

Like my colleague Senator Ní Chuilinn, I congratulate Senator Nicole Ryan. We are on a cross-party group about pregnancy and infant loss together and she has been amazing to work with. I can only imagine the joy this morning in her little family. It is absolutely amazing news. I was standing on a sideline, as people with children do, a few weeks ago and ended up talking to someone about solar panels. The person was not talking to me from a political perspective. The person mentioned that they are a teacher, as is t…

Hear, hear.

I am sharing time with Senator Ní Chuilinn. I sometime feel I am like a broken record when it comes to talking about insurance. I have spoken a lot about it to the Minister of State. The message coming from businesses, community groups and voluntary organisations across Ireland is now impossible to ignore. Despite years of reform, too many people are still not seeing fairness in the insurance market. A recent report found that 62% of respondents have seen increases in their public and employer liability premiums. A…

I concur with my colleague Senator Ahearn on the relocation issue. I have been trying to help a couple of gardaí in that way as well. Again, they are looking at leaving because they just cannot get closer to home, and especially for women who might have had a baby or are planning a family and do not want to be too far away. I am proud to support this Fine Gael motion. I thank Senators Kelleher and Noel O'Donovan. The motion includes proposals around the online harassment of gardaí, Garda pursuit driving rules, a de…

I sincerely thank the Minister of State for coming in to discuss the Navan rail project, a project that has become almost mythical for the people of County Meath. When I mention the Navan rail line to people in my home town of Navan, they sigh. They do not believe it is happening. For 25 years, the people of Navan and Meath have heard promises, announcements, timelines and commitments. Generation after generation has listened to politicians say the railway is coming. Now I hear things like, "I'll be retired before …