I will start by thanking the Cathaoirleach for facilitating today's visit by Athy Sing and Sign. He has been to the fore as regards the Irish Sign Language, ISL. Athy Sing and Sign has always put it first. It is a great group led by Ms Maggie Owens along with Ms Linda Dobbyn, Ms Mary Byrne, Ms Breda Moore Flynn and Ms Majella Harris. Of course, who could forget Mr. Aiden McHugh? The group promotes ISL at every opportunity and it was great to meet it today. The Cathaoirleach and the group discussed a number of inter…

I want to raise today the current cost of student travel. I ask the Acting Leader to schedule a debate again with an emphasis on rural transport and commuting costs. There can be no doubt that the 20% reduction in transport fares, as recently announced, is welcome, but I have received a number of worrying emails and messages informing me that prices have gone up recently. This means that the 20% reduction will only cover the cost of the rise in student travel charges. The increase means that a young student from Ne…

I welcome the Minister of State. It is important that I say a few words on this Bill. I also welcome Community First Responders Ireland to the House. As the Cathaoirleach will be aware I have continuously raised the importance of AEDs in all our communities since I was first elected to this House. I am glad that today we are also including lifebuoys as part of this Bill. I congratulate my Fianna Fáil colleagues for bringing this important legislation before us because coming from a town with a canal and a river, th…

I welcome the Minister of State. I will not take up too much time as I am anticipating his reply, which we all await. I thank my Green Party colleagues for bringing forward this important Bill. My colleague, Senator Moynihan, spoke at length about our support of the Bill on Second Stage. Senator Pauline O'Reilly spoke about the comments of the former President, Ms Mary Robinson. They were important comments and are apt for this debate today and the fact that we are on Committee Stage. We have heard the words "actio…

I welcome the long-awaited report by the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces, which was published yesterday. I welcome the emphasis on personnel. It is vital that the Minister for Defence immediately agrees with the recommendation in the report that the representative associations be allowed affiliate with ICTU, an outcome that I, on behalf of the Labour Party, have been calling for in this House over the past number of years. This should be the first important step in delivering the outcomes of this rep…

I congratulate my colleague Senator Chambers on bringing forward this vital legislation, which we are all proud to support. There have been a number of television programmes in recent weeks on the treatment of women in Ireland. It is unacceptable and it just cannot continue. This Bill is a valid and good attempt by Senator Chambers to address some of what is going on. As I have said previously, we need to quickly come together as a House to address what is going on. Every day when I pick up the newspaper, there see…

I too welcome the Minister of State to the House this evening and thank Senator Mullen for bringing this important Bill, which we support, before us tonight. As colleagues have said throughout their contributions tonight, it is very hard to believe that the Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act, as amended, does not provide for any penalties for giving false or misleading information to the board in the course of an application for an assessment of a claim for personal injuries but we are told that is currently th…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this important matter for discussion. St. Vincent's Hospital in Athy can trace its history back to the opening of the Athy workhouse on 9 January 1844, an event that came just in time to relieve some of the harshest effects of the Famine in and around that area of south Kildare. The Sisters of Mercy arrived there as nursing sisters in 1873. In 1898, it became a county home. St. Vincent's Hospital has a proud history in the care…

I thank the Minister of State very much for his reply. It is heart-warming to hear his words of support for the hospital in St. Vincent's, Athy. Since his recent visit, I am sure his words are most heartfelt. I was very happy with the start of his reply, which stated that the HSE would apply for planning permission in quarter 1 of 2022. It then deteriorated a little when he said that the Department would look at this project as it proceeded through the various planning and construction phases. What the people of At…

I thank the Minister of State.

I would like to be associated with the comments of my colleague from Kildare in congratulating Leona Maguire on her historic win on Saturday night in the Ladies Professional Golf Association, LPGA, event. I was fortunate enough to watch the final couple of holes she played. What struck me most was her response in an interview immediately after the event. She said her success would encourage other lady sportspersons to follow in her footsteps. That she was in a position to say that immediately after winning her firs…

I welcome the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, to the House.

I, too, welcome the Minister of State to the House today. I will start by congratulating Senator Flynn on the introduction of her first Bill. As a fellow new Senator, I know of the honour it is to introduce and discuss one’s first Bill. Today, I am sure, is a day on which Senator Flynn can be justifiably proud. In introducing her first Bill, Senator Flynn addresses serious outdated terminology in our Statute Books that have become associated with a dreadful and awful crime. As a parent, and there are many parents i…

I congratulate the Acting Leader on taking the Chair today. I join with her and colleagues in wishing everybody a happy St. Brigid's Day, Lá Fhéile Bríde. We are all very proud of our association with St. Brigid where I live in County Kildare. We recently learned, following a very successful campaign by so many in this House and, indeed, the Lower House, that we will celebrate a public holiday from next year. It is, therefore, timely to send out an invitation to one and all to come to County Kildare next year for t…

There is no doubt that we need to invest in the different capital and equipment projects that have been mentioned over the past number of days. However, we must never forget that we must first invest in and provide security to those who serve us so loyally, and those who may wish to consider a future in the Defence Forces. We must allow their representative bodies to affiliate with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions in order that the voices of Defence Families families, through their representatives, can be heard a…

I welcome the Minister to the House. It is good to see her back. Like other Members, including Senator Gallagher, it is important to express my gratitude, and that of the communities I represent, to An Garda Síochána. It is important to pay tribute to those who put on the uniform and go out to protect our communities. They do so in the knowledge that they may not return home. Unfortunately, this has happened in the State over many years. It is important when talking about individual gardaí and the Garda that we all…

I congratulate Senator Chambers on the vital legislation she has brought before us. I thank the Minister for her co-operation and work on the Bill. This sends out the message to Una and Eve that their voices were listened to through the work of Senator Chambers, which we are here to support. Unfortunately, due to circumstances, I cannot be around for statements on violence against women. I will, however, repeat what I said last week on the reproductive health Bill, namely, that this is the type of legislation we ma…

I wish to raise, once again, our community first responders and the wonderful work that they do throughout all of our communities. I am sure the Deputy Leader is well aware of the work that they do in her own community. I raised this matter previously in the House through a Commencement matter, namely, the need for a national register of automated external defibrillators, AEDs in this country. At the time, the Minister reported that such a register would be carried out through the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest str…

I, too, welcome the Minister of State to the House today. There are a couple of points I want to raise with him. The first is the issue of broadband connections that has been raised by colleagues in the House. In County Kildare, we have five at present, at Bigstone community hall, Crookstown education centre, Lullymore nature park, Rathmore National School and St. David's National School. These are very good and they are well used. The query I have is on whether that is the end of it. I have been trying to seek mor…

Is that agreed? Agreed.