The Leader will remember that I brought forward legislation on the effective use of CCTV to combat illegal dumping in our communities. Senator Wall brought forward similar legislation. I was very happy at the time that many of the recommendations in the Bill I brought forward were folded into the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill brought through the Houses by the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and enacted. As part of this process it was agreed there would be engagement between the Data Protection Com…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I would also-----

Yes. I will simply endorse the earlier comments of colleagues. Senator Fitzpatrick has been so enthusiastic about this issue and in educating the rest of us about it. I pay tribute to her for her work in this space. Colleagues have asked what this is about. It is not just about the naming of a hospital. It is about recognising the role of women in Irish medicine and healthcare and, more widely, in Irish society. In many ways, history has always been about establishment men. That is who wrote the history and that ha…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I thank the NUI Senators for putting forward this motion. I agree with the broad premise of the points being made. We should be working towards having the best higher education system in the world, and one that meets quite a number of purposes. The only way we can do that is by having top-class lecturers and researchers. The two concepts are not mutually exclusive, as long as we have the necessary supports in place. I would be quite happy to have a debate with Senator McDowell on …

At 9.30 a.m. tomorrow.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I thank him for taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin. We are looking at the future funding of public sector broadcasting. This has been one of the proverbial cans that has been kicked down the road. In November 2017, there was a report on the future funding of public service broadcasting by the Oireachtas committee on communications. That, in turn, led to the Government setting up the working g…

I always worry when I read the phrase, "as soon as practicable", in a response, because it is frequently used when reports have been kicked down the road for a long period. The difficulty is that the issue is not new. We have known this for a long time and yet, we have seen how RTÉ and other broadcasters and media have performed a very good public sector function, not just during the Covid pandemic, but at other times as well. We need certainty. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Tourism Culture, Arts, Sport and Med…

Yesterday evening, my Wicklow-based colleague, Senator Casey, and I took the 8.05 p.m. train from Dublin Connolly to Gorey. It is the first time a late evening train has served the Rosslare route. It is very welcome and I hope Irish Rail will continue to provide later services not just on the Rosslare line, but right around the country. Today, I will praise Michelle O'Neill. The Michelle O'Neill of whom I speak has just been announced as the assistant referee for the Women's Champions League final. She is an extrao…

I raise an issue I have raised here before, namely, concern around section 39 organisations. As we know, a lot of health services, in particular disability services and services for older people, are provided by section 39 organisations. There is a difference between section 38 and 39 organisations in terms of pay levels. Somebody who is a nurse is financially better off working in the HSE system than in a section 39 organisation. This is an issue the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, has raised regularly. I ask …

I welcome our visitors and I thank the Minister for coming to the House. She has always been willing to make herself available for debates relating to the Department. She has shown a passion and an interest in all of the areas of her very extensive brief. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media, which my colleagues have mentioned, works in a very collaborative way. We are appreciative of the Minister's understanding of our work and of the input of the Department. It is important th…

I start by echoing the comments of Senator Hoey on the disgraceful attack on that student. It should not have taken place anyway but the fact that it seems to be motivated by homophobia, makes it even worse. I certainly hope the school concerned and An Garda Síochána will take strong action. This Government has a very proud record with regard to support for the arts. We have seen a significant increase in Arts Council funding and the introduction of the basic income scheme for artists. There are commitments towards…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Like others, I thank the Sinn Féin group, in particular my friend and colleague, Senator Warfield, for bringing forward this motion. I am a gay man. I am proud of that fact. It shapes who I am. It is not my entire personality but it is an important part of who I am. Thirty years ago, however, when homosexuality was being decriminalised I was very unsure of my identity. As a teenager, I was a criminal simply because I chose to express my love or feelings for somebody else. It is im…

I want to raise the question of graduate-entry medicine. It is said to be the case that University College Dublin is going to increase once again its fees for first-year graduate-entry medicine. At present, those who enter the graduate-entry medicine programme pay €16,219 per year. That is not dissimilar to what is paid by those in the University of Limerick and, indeed, the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland. There is a State subsidy provided on top of that. Over a four-year programme, more than €60,000 is paid …

Not about fake tan.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. The Minister of State will be aware that modern Irish economic policy has been based on two things, namely, tax and talent. The emphasis on tax has become less important in recent times. Ireland is a talent-driven economy and society. We know the key economic and social driver for this country into the future is investment in talent. In fact the reason we set up the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science was a recognition that this was not jus…

I thank the Minister of State for his answer. In his EU affairs brief, he will be aware of the importance of European Research Council, ERC, grants, how competitive they are, and how wonderful it is when researchers in Ireland are able to access them. If our researchers do not have the basic equipment with which to work, they can move with those ERC grants to anywhere within the EU. For us to continue to be competitive on the research space, in Europe and globally, we must have the basic equipment. It is about prov…

I wish to congratulate Ms Eileen Morrissey, the Wexford county librarian, on her election as president of the Library Association of Ireland. We all know the importance of libraries in our community and how they operate to support learning and all sorts of new activities. I wish Eileen and the team the very best of luck. I am very conscious that we have raised previously in this House the question of the shortage of tourism accommodation in rural communities. We have discussed this in detail at the Joint Committee …

I thank the Minister of State for taking this debate and for his to date on this report. As colleagues have mentioned, we have worked in a highly collegial way in producing this report and its 11 recommendations. They were built on discussions we had with the sporting bodies, referees and representatives of players. They are intended to be constructive and I acknowledge the Minister of State has taken them on board and has met the sporting organisations this week. Sport is inclusive; it is meant to be fun. When we …

Next Tuesday at 1 p.m.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. This weekend marks the second anniversary of the largest ever cyberattack on a State institution or agency. As far as we know, it is the largest cyberattack ever in the State. The attack in question was, of course, on the HSE and resulted in up to 7,000 patient appointments being delayed or cancelled. As we now know, up to 100,000 letters have been sent to patients, with a significant number of them being informed of potential data breaches. When I raised in November 2021 a simila…