I concur with my colleague, Senator Byrne, in wishing the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas and the entire parliamentary community in Leinster House a very enjoyable summer. Thankfully, it will be a normal summer or at least as normal as it can be despite the rise in the number of Covid cases. I ask the officials in the Department of Health to clarify details about the winter programme, specifically regarding vaccinations. I ask for that because some vulnerable people have not received their fourth vaccine and …

Earlier I could not speak as the Leas-Chathaoirleach was having a full flowing conversation so I shall finish making my point. I ask that a debate on all elements of the vaccination programme is arranged for the first week of the next term.

I agree with my colleague, Senator Ahearn, on two issues. The first is what is being done for the Defence Forces, which is long overdue. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, has done an outstanding job in setting up the review and then acting on its recommendations and securing delivery at Cabinet, which is significant, through a substantial financial package over a number of years that will bring our Defence Forces up to standard. I pay tribute to the work Deputy Kehoe did to keep the show on the road in very difficult c…

-----that the motion of no confidence taking place in the Dáil Chamber this evening is a waste of time when other issues of more importance could be debated.

I very much welcome the Minister to the House. I also very much welcome this legislation. It is groundbreaking and is fulfilling a clear commitment in the programme for Government. It is the right thing to do. It is a terrible situation when a child gets sick, and a mother or father must debate whether to bring the child to hospital for financial reasons. I do not think too many parents do that, but no parent should ever have to do it. The proposal contained in this Bill to eliminate inpatient hospital charges for …

When she goes to her GP, she should be able to avail of whatever he or she recommends as the best form of contraception. Not being able to do so because she does not have the resources should not be an option. It is very welcome that this measure has been introduced up to the age of 25. Perhaps we could look at increasing the age in future budgets. The initiative is very welcome. It is a vote of confidence in the women of Ireland. It is creating the type of equality that we all strive for, namely, equality of acces…

Hear, hear.

Can I ask about the hospital charges for 16- to 18-year-olds?

Okay.

Good.

Now.

Now.

Now.

I welcome the Minister of State. This legislation is very important and needs to be passed before the end of term. I fully support her decision to name schools. Words matter, but actions matter more, and when there is inaction, words need to be used to create action. As somebody who fell under the category of a young person who needed and would have benefitted from special education, I just wish back in the 1980s and 1990s there was a Minister with responsibility for special education in the first place, and one wh…

And so it should.

I welcome the Minister to the House. I have visited people in County Clare whose homes are affected by pyrite. They are decent, honest and hard-working people. Some of them do not have their homes that long. Others have had their homes for quite some time and are on the verge of retirement. They have found themselves in a situation in which their homes are disintegrating around them. They are not in the middle of this crisis and media storm by choice. They are ordinary, decent people who just want to get on with th…

I, too, I agree with Senator Flynn in that anybody who can attend the debate next Tuesday to voice support should do so. It is what we should be doing here in Seanad Éireann. I look forward to the debate very much. It would be a good idea to have, at some stage in the autumn, an extensive debate on dementia. Like some of my colleagues, I attended the briefing held across the road by the Alzheimer Society of Ireland. We are dealing with a population that is increasingly elderly. People are living longer and, as such…

Today is International Day of Parliamentarism. Our House is more reflective of society than Dáil Éireann. Many initiatives have happened along the way in regard to the gender quota. However, we need a far more diverse Chamber. We need more people with disabilities and more people from ethnic backgrounds in Dáil Éireann.

That is necessary. This House can shine a light in that regard because of its composition. We have much to be proud of but there is also much that we can achieve. We should also strive to do far better. Earlier this month, the Cathaoirleach kindly accepted a Commencement matter that I put down on the pandemic bonus payment to healthcare workers. I am still getting calls from people working in hospitals who are and were on the front line right through the pandemic but who still have not got their payments. The good …

We need a standardised fare structure across the board. I would go so far as to say that students should get free public transport. It would encourage them. It would create a culture of using public transport that would benefit the environment and be better for our communities. We need to have a structured debate on equality of transport, both urban and rural.