You can. Please second the motion.

I welcome all those from CoAction, Clonakilty, County Cork who are with us today as guests of Deputy Christopher O’Sullivan. They are welcome to Seanad Éireann. I hope they enjoy their stay.

I thank Senator Clonan and others for bringing forward this important motion. As Senator Black has done, I pay particular tribute to Senator Clonan. I know this matter is close to his heart, given his direct experience of challenges faced by people with disabilities and their families and of trying to navigate the dysfunctional support systems we have. He is a tremendous advocate for people with disabilities. I welcome the Minister to the House. I always welcome the opportunity to talk about disability services and…

It is always important to start with the proud history of St. Vincent’s Hospital in Athy. It can be traced back to the opening of the Athy workhouse on 9 January 1844. This came just in time to relieve some of the hardships and effects of the Famine in and around the area of south Kildare. The next big event was the arrival of the Sisters of Mercy in 1873 and in 1898 it became a county home. As I have said here before, St. Vincent's Hospital, Athy has a proud history in the care of older persons that is unrivalled …

I agree this is good news for the people of Athy and south Kildare. There is always concern when mention is made concerning value for money, such as at the end of the Minister of State's response. I assure the Government and the HSE, however, that the people of Athy will stand over the value for money provided, day in and day out, by the staff and management of St. Vincent's Hospital, Athy. As the Minister of State will know, and as I said in my introduction, there is a need now, as our population gets older, to en…

I, too, support calls for a debate in this Chamber on what has been ongoing since the weekend. As has been said, it is important that the international community come together and that we debate this matter in the House to determine where we can go. We have all seen the horrific videos and photographs online of innocents being destroyed in this conflict. I totally support what has been said to the effect that a debate in this House is warranted at this stage. I wish to refer to the important ESRI report of last wee…

I second the motion. I too welcome the Minister to the House today. I thank my Labour Party colleagues for proposing the motion. As my colleague, Senator Sherlock, has said, we are dealing with 500,000 family carers. I have spoken previously to the Minister at the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands about the carer's allowance. We have had a number of debates on it. The simple fact is that we have many people in this country who do not qualify for carer's allowance …

I want to be associated with Senator Carrigy's remarks and the work he has done with the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Autism. I am a member of that committee, which has done terrific work. We look forward to the implementation of the 109 recommendations set out in our report. I encourage all Members to do the training, which I hope to avail of next week at the next session. At 4 p.m. today, the Select Committee on Justice of the Dáil will debate the Gambling Regulation Bill 2022. It is not the first time that I ha…

First, I thank Senator Clonan. I am proud to be one of the sponsors of this Bill because it is important. I welcome Senator Clonan's family and especially Eoghan to the Gallery. I thank the Minister of State for the commitment on assessment of needs she gave recently during a debate on a Labour Party motion in the Dáil. It is important in the context of our debate this evening because it is the starting point for what Senator Clonan has spoken about. We are debating, as Senator Clonan said in his contribution, what…

I thank Senator McDowell and ask the Minister of State to respond to the debate.

I, too, want to talk about childcare. Along with Senator Keogan, I attended the briefing by the Federation of Early Childhood Providers yesterday in the audiovisual room. As the Deputy Leader will be aware, I have been raising their concerns over a period. Yesterday, it was brought home to me once again the deep trouble that many of those providers are in. All the Oireachtas Members were left in no doubt that we have a deepening crisis in childcare. One of the issues that came out yesterday is the choice that paren…

I was very proud to attend the State reception the other night. What struck me was how young these girls are. Maybe it is just that I am getting older, but they are ambassadors we should all be proud of. They were absolutely brilliant the other night in what they did, the way they showed themselves, the way they spoke, the way they came up and the way they gave time to politicians. That is not always something that we get. However, when they came up they were representative of all that is good in sport in this coun…

I apologise for coming late to the debate. I welcome this Bill and thank our Sinn Féin colleagues for introducing what is an important piece of legislation. The Labour Party is glad to support it. I acknowledge what the Minister of State said about European law, but we have to make a stand in Ireland as well. I am sure that is what colleagues have told him already. When we hear a company like Burberry incinerated €90 million worth of product in the five years preceding 2018 it shows the urgent need for a Bill like …

I, too, welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank her for joining us. I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this matter for discussion. Willow Community Counselling Services was founded by Sharon Malloy in 2018. It is managed by a dedicated board of directors. I wish to again put on record that I am one of those directors. I am seeking additional funding because I was told at a board meeting I attended last Thursday night that money is running out. If the service does not get additional funding, it wil…

I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate that she is not with the relevant Department. I also appreciate the response she gave. She hit on one point I would like to take up, namely, the families affected. This is one of the areas that Willow would like to explore more. One of the reasons we went to a new premises was to accommodate families and bring them in for the care that is needed at this time, and rightly so, as the Minister of State said. The Minister of State indicated that the board of Willow needs to g…

We are resuming our consideration of the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill on amendment No. 12 b , in the names of Senators McDowell, Boyhan, Clonan, Craughwell, Keogan and Mullen. It arises out of Committee proceedings and has already been discussed with amendment No. 12 a . Is there a seconder for the amendment?

It cannot be moved, then.

Amendment No. 12 d , in the names of Senators McDowell, Boyhan, Clonan, Craughwell, Keogan and Mullen, is on the second additional list of amendments, dated 16 May 2023, and arises out of Committee proceedings. Amendments Nos. 12 d and 13 are related and may be discussed together, by agreement.

Do we have a seconder?

I welcome the Minister of State. I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this important matter. We are here again to discuss the ongoing issues with housing aid and housing adaptation grants, and the report that is due into the review of same. Not a day goes by that I do not get calls or queries from the good people of Kildare and Laois in respect of these grants. The problems have not gone away since I raised this matter last November. It is safe to say the problem has increased for many public representatives dea…