I join in the tributes to our colleague, Tom Hickey, who is retiring today. In my 13 years as a Member of this House I found that Tom had an inability to say "No" to any request which is a testament to him. I would often come at the last minute for that tour I had forgotten to book and he would always accommodate it. One day David Blunkett was in Dublin and he called in to visit me in the House. It caused a bit of a diplomatic incident, but Tom took control of the situation. The former Home Secretary of the United …

I welcome the Minister to the House. I can see how upset Senator Clifford-Lee is. These situations are real, they do happen and they do affect people. Whatever one's view is on the termination of pregnancy and what was decided in the referendum, once the law of the land is in place, it needs to be respected. People need to be able to access what are legal services, without being harassed. People are going into hospitals as a result of miscarriages, stillbirths and having to have a termination. They should be able t…

The Minister is very welcome to the House. I commend Senators Pauline O'Reilly, Garvey and Hackett for introducing a very practical Private Members' motion. This could be achieved for a small cost. This evening the Minister can confirm to the House that the Department will fund the acquisition of this necessary equipment for hospitals in Ireland. There is no reason we cannot do it and I am very confident the Minister will do so. All I can say is that this makes sense. A lady in the Gallery has benefited enormously …

I am delighted colleagues are recognising the great work of our friend and colleague, Senator Mary Seery Kearney, on this legislation, which we would not have today but for the leadership she showed. It sometimes is down to having a person to knit everything together and show leadership. I commend the Senator. Hopefully, the legislation will pass through the Houses without many blips. That would be important. I also welcome the news that Lisdoonvarna in County Clare is to have its GP service continued. It was a big…

I am delighted to hear today that the Cabinet has approved the minor sewerage schemes in County Clare that we have spoken about so often in this House. I refer to Broadford and Cooraclare. It has been 12 months since I put down a Commencement matter on this issue. The reply to that query stated this work would be sanctioned in the first three months of this year. We are now in the last days of the year and it has been sanctioned. This must be welcomed. I also raise the issue of the tragic death of Catríona Lucas se…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to take what I consider to be a very important matter. There are hundreds and thousands of people in this country who are suffering from type 1 and type 2 diabetes, yet we have no record, no statistics and no understanding of how many have either condition. There are many other countries that have national registers for people with diabetes. I am calling for the establishment of a national register to inform policymaking in terms of ascertaining the number of pe…

I thank the Minister of State for what I describe as a very positive reply. At least there is an acknowledgement by the Minister that this is necessary, and he is putting the infrastructure in place to develop a specialist register for the people in this country who have diabetes. Is there is a specific timeline for delivering this? Could we say that, by 2025, this register will be established? This register would inform healthcare for diabetes and all associated matters.

I thank the Minister of State. I also thank Senator O'Reilly for tabling this Commencement matter which we all find very frustrating.

I thank the Minister of State for taking the four matters. I know how busy she is. It is appreciated by us all in the Seanad. I also thank Senator Cummins.

I welcome the Minister of State back to the House again today. As Senator Clifford-Lee and the Minister of State pointed out, this Bill comes before us every year, usually about two weeks before Christmas. It is technical but important. In our country, health insurance is affordable and does not discriminate in terms of age. When we look at what happens in America and other countries when it comes to health insurance, we are lucky our system is affordable. Ideally, we would have a public health system whereby healt…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke. We know how busy he is and we thank him for his time. As Senator Lombard has been delayed, we will begin with Senator Gallagher.

I thank the Minister of State and I thank Senator Gallagher. This is a very important Commencement matter. Coming from a large rural county myself I fully understand the challenges. It is extremely important we maintain our roads because if we do not continually invest in our roads they will just disintegrate and become a much bigger problem going forward. It is important that the investment at least keeps up with inflation and it really should be much better because we are catching up after the years of recession …

I thank the Minister of State for his time. Everyone is busy coming up to Christmas, and that is very much the case for Ministers of State.

I was concerned yesterday to hear that a survey from Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind seems to show an increase in guide dog users being refused entrance to pubs, restaurants and, which is even more concerning, medical facilities. It is the law that somebody who uses a guide dog must have access to all public and private buildings. Unfortunately, that seems to be an issue. I ask the Leader to write to the Minister for Justice to see whether there is any way of strengthening the laws by increasing the fines or at leas…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. While the Bill is short, it is extremely important. Vaping is a new scourge among young people. We often say that drugs are the new drink. To a large extent, our society suffered for many decades from people abusing alcohol and now the problem seems to be with drugs. Vapes are the new cigarettes for young people. It is shocking that more than 20% of young people vape on a regular basis, including people under 18 years of age. As a result of the good work of the Minister…

I said it for the Acting Chair.

Hear, hear.

I echo the words of the Leas-Chathaoirleach on Romania's national day. I know the ambassador is no longer here but I am sure he will read the Official Report. I commend Ilinca and the tens of thousands of Romanians who contribute so much to our country. I also commend the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, who no doubt has had a difficult week as a result of the outrageous violence that took place in Dublin city centre this day last week. The Minister is handling it very well. The proposals for body cameras, fac…

I thank the Minister of State for taking all four Commencement matters this morning. We know he is very busy.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Chathaoirleach. Like others, I would like to pay tribute to the late Tras Honan, the first female Cathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann. She was a great Clare woman, politician and lady. She had a great life and as a result of the great work the Leas-Chathaoirleach did last year with Seanad 100, we had the opportunity to meet Tras, say "Hello" to her and learn a lot from her about what happened in the House in the 1980s when she was Cathaoirleach. It is a sad day for her family but, at the s…