I am delighted to stand and speak on this motion today. I welcome the motion by my colleagues. While I knew there was a huge problem with dentistry in Ireland, I had no clue how severe it was until I began my research. Analysis from the Irish Dental Association shows that we need an extra 500-----

I second the motion. The analysis from the Irish Dental Association shows that we need an extra 500 dentists across the private and public sector immediately. The number of dentists with a dental treatment services scheme, DTSS, contract is down 642 nationally in 12 years. A total of 7,711 children were seen by dentists in the school dental screening service in Meath in quarter 4 of 2017, compared with just more than 1,000 in quarter 4 of 2023. Those are baffling figures. In the public dental service, the lack of d…

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this important debate on the personalised budgets Bill on behalf of Senator Nikki Bradley and Fine Gael. I commend those who introduced this Bill. I admire Senator Clonan's passionate advocacy. The idea that people with disabilities should have more control over the supports they receive is not radical; it is common sense and a reflection of what we have heard time and again. For people living with additional needs, choice, independence and dignity matter, just as …

I want to speak about the SME test that was introduced by the Government as part of a series of measures in May 2024. This is a no-brainer because it means that any major new measure from the Government will be assessed for its impact on small businesses through an enhanced SME test. In all cases, they must include a completed SME test or provide an explanation as to why it is considered to not be required. It is important that policy makers employ the principle of "think small first" and consider how the measure w…

I second the motion.

I welcome the Minister of State. I support the motion by my Fianna Fáil colleagues on enterprise today. It is always hard to figure out what part of enterprise one wants to talk about, because there is so much in it. I am very passionate about enterprise. I have always said that behind every small business is a dream. It begins with a dream or vision. A business plan is drafted. Perhaps a loan is taken out or money is invested by the founder. Soon that dream becomes a reality. In many cases, however, this is only f…

Will I be able to get an answer? I thank the Minister of State for coming in. I wish to raise the issue of apprenticeships in the furniture industry. Some say that the great wind of 1839 was the start of the furniture industry in Navan, County Meath. The big wind occurred on the afternoon of 6 January and swept across Europe, causing major damage and resulting in several hundred deaths. We had a plentiful supply of trees, the tools were there on the ground and we were ready to go. Fast forward to the 1960s and 1990…

I thank the Minister of State.

I raise the issue of being able to watch our beautiful sport of GAA either on streaming devices or television. At the weekend, we saw a titanic victory for Meath, who became the first team since Tyrone in 2008 to beat Kerry and Dublin in the same All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. It was a fantastic win and great for our county - come on the Royals - but unless you went to Tullamore, you had no way to see that match. It was not on GAA+ or the television. You had to wait for the highlights. It is grand for so…

As discussed during the Commencement debate just a few minutes ago, Wellman International Ireland filed a petition to place its operation in Mullagh into examinership. I thank the Minister of State, Niamh Smyth. She came across as very passionate about the situation there, but it would be remiss of me not to raise it again, being from County Meath, because it obviously affects counties Cavan and Meath and, in fact, counties like Kildare and Louth, from where people travel to Wellman International to work. Unfortuna…

Self-examination is key. If anyone takes anything from my speech today, I plead with them to hear the words "self-examination". The Minister is very passionate about health. I welcome the opportunity to speak to her today about BreastCheck and breast cancer. As we are all aware, breast cancer is the commonest invasive cancer among women. It touches the lives of thousands of individuals and families in Ireland and leaves a lasting impact. I know that only too well from my own family. Almost every person in Ireland k…

I move: That Seanad Éireann: acknowledges: - the publication, in 2020, of an Action Plan For Insurance Reform; - that there have been four Action Plan Implementation Reports to date; - the establishment of the Office to Promote Competition in the Insurance Market; - the introduction of new personal injuries guidelines in April 2021, which set reduced levels for personal injury compensation and changed the amounts of General Damages to be awarded by the courts and by the Injuries Resolution Board; - the reform of th…

The increase in the personal injury guidelines, as recommended by the Judicial Council, of 16.7% is excessive. As I was preparing for this over the past couple of days, I reflected on the first time I spoke about horrendous insurance difficulties facing businesses, which was on 24 January 2019. There I was, sitting in a ball pool in my soft-play centre, full of hope and enthusiasm that we could do all we could when it came to insurance reform to save businesses like mine. An article in the Irish Examiner reads: "Li…

I thank the Minister of State for everything he highlighted. I really appreciate it. Since 2020, we have put a great deal of work into everything relating to insurance reform. One of the first things was the establishment of a Cabinet subcommittee. I do not think we had seen anything like that over the previous 15 years, so it was important. I would like the subcommittee to meet regularly and deal with the issues that have been raised here today. A few of my colleagues raised issues that the Minister of State might…

I thank the Minister for coming to the Seanad today. It is his first time here and it is great to see him. I find him incredibly approachable and ready to listen and engage. Let us have a good conversation on competitiveness today. Ireland is currently experiencing its highest employment levels on record. The number of people employed reached approximately 2.8 million in the first quarter of 2025. This is across all ages. The employment rate for individuals aged 15 to 64 reached 75.3% in the third quarter of 2024, …

Does he win the competition?

Today, we have seen a report from the Injuries Resolution Board that shows motor claims have fallen by a massive 30% since 2019. Motorists must justifiably be a bit fed up with high insurance costs. I will add another point that I raised two weeks ago, namely, that a Central Bank report showed that motor insurance premiums increased by 9% in the first half of last year. I have no doubt that we will see they will have increased for the second half of last year as well. Motor claims have dropped by 30% since 2019 des…

There were 83,000 applicants awaiting a driving test in April, which was the highest number recorded since the pandemic. Navan in County Meath, my hometown, has the longest waiting times of all the test centres in the State, with applicants waiting an estimated 43 weeks. That is, of course, alongside Tallaght, the hometown of my colleague Senator Teresa Costello. Across the border in Cavan, applicants only have to wait for 22 weeks. In April 2024, Navan had a wait time of 16 weeks. In 2025, that wait time has jumpe…

I am here today to talk about women's well-being and sexual health well-being. I am looking for a clinic for County Meath. County Meath has a growing population of about 240,000 people, and we can take it that 120,000 of them are women. Would the Minister of State believe that Meath has only half the number of GPs recommended by the World Health Organization for a county of its size? The county has the lowest number of GPs per head of population in the country at 54 doctors per 100,000 according to recent figures f…

I thank the Minister of State for his response but I knew all of the answers in the response. First, I do not know why the strategy took so long to come to the time where it is nearly launched. I welcome that is to be launched and I hope it identifies that there is a major gap in County Meath. As the Minister of State rightly said himself, maybe some people do not want to be popping into an STI clinic. A women's well-being clinic is definitely what we need. Perhaps people would have to get a bus. That said, young p…