I welcome the Minister to the House. The motion is an extremely important one. Joint investigation teams are extremely important and have been recommended and proposed for some time. I have spent several years on the Joint Committee on Justice. As part of that brief, I represented the justice committee on the Europol scrutiny committee. The latter committee is the first time there was political oversight of Europol. It comprises two representatives from each of the 27 member states, along with representatives of th…

I want to be associated with the welcome to Senator Tom Clonan. It is great to have another voice articulating the needs and the many challenges that people with disabilities in this country face. I wish him well and look forward to working with him. In terms of the Ukrainian crisis, I am very concerned about people with disabilities trying to escape Ukraine. We should have statements in the House with the Minister of State with responsibility for disability, Deputy Rabbitte, on what the Government's response speci…

I wish to make a few points and ask some quick questions of the Minister. As she is aware, I come from County Clare. There is a skills shortage, as previous speakers articulated. While I believe our Ukrainian visitors may actually help to alleviate the pressure in the short term, in the long term, we will need to get our act together when it comes to bringing back training for those in the hospitality sector, including chefs, and so on. At this stage, the 9% VAT rate for the hospitality industry needs to be permane…

Hear, hear.

Good man.

I am very much looking forward to the debate on the Ukrainian situation in Fine Gael's Private Members' time this evening. There are many questions and unintended situations presenting themselves. I thank the Ukrainian ambassador to Ireland for accepting my invitation last Saturday when she visited Lisdoonvarna and Ballyvaughan in County Clare, where there is now a significant number of Ukrainian citizens living among us. It was an extremely emotional and very powerful visit. Everybody there was quite moved, with m…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, to the House and commend my colleague, Senator Seery Kearney, for preparing and leading on this motion, which is extremely important. I also acknowledge the work she has done for surrogate mothers and for Irish citizens born in Ukraine and their mothers. A lot has been done but a lot more can, and should, be done. This motion is very timely and very important. In Clare, we have not far off 2,000 Ukrainian residents. Of the 13,500 who are in the country, nearly 2,000 a…

Yesterday, I spoke about the Ukrainian refugees who are being accommodated in this country. They are all extremely welcome. In my area of north County Clare there are almost 1,000 refugees and in Lisdoonvarna alone there are over 500 refugees. It was heartening to see some normality, with 66 pupils having started in the secondary school in Lisdoonvarna and 27 young people having started in primary school. We need to urgently ensure the necessary resources are made available. I believe there are now 60 doctors from …

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I agree with Senator Davitt and thank him. His interest in this area is very practical and focused. It is a do-good approach. Since getting to know him in the House nearly five years ago I see his approach in action. The respect he has for people and the manner in which he goes about his business, in a quiet and unassuming way but very focused in terms of delivery, is something I have come to admire and respect greatly. Since the Minister of State came into the Department two year…

I know the Minister of State would. What is the reason? Are we that inefficient? We expect the public service to be efficient, get out there, do a job and deliver, and yet the Oireachtas takes two years to pass a largely technical Bill. Nonetheless, the Bill is welcome. Significant progress has been made on the more important issue of delivery of services for people with disabilities. We have seen the bringing together of services and the engagement the Minister of State has had with the NGO sector. We have seen in…

The Minister of State was right.

I wish to give half of my time to Senator Maria Byrne.

Can Senator Byrne comment straight after I finish talking?

Is that okay with Senator Byrne? I do not know who arranges these things but the situation is unsatisfactory.

It is not the fault of the Acting Chairperson. I welcome the Minister to the House. For good or bad he is now the lead Minister who is dealing with the Government's response and I think the matter is in very capable hands. Over the last number of days I have engaged extensively with people from Ukraine who have sought refuge in this country and I have a number of questions. The Minister is in charge of what I would describe as a whole-of-government response. He may not have answers to all of my questions which, eve…

What of the refugees getting insurance to drive the cars they have driven over in? Has the Minister any thoughts on that?

I thank the Minister.

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear. Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach agus leis an Aire Stáit, who is very welcome to the House. I agree with the sentiments of my colleague, Senator Byrne, who, like me, has been inundated with people’s views on what is happening in Limerick. It is not at all attractive and is not something we can stand over. In spite of the great work being done by the nurses, clinicians and consultants on the ground, a problem remains and I cannot really work it out. Some €40 million was spent on building…

Over the past decade, anything the senior management team in Limerick Hospital has looked for, it has got. The Government has stood up to the plate on each and every occasion when a request has gone in, even to the stage of committing to build a new 96-bed unit, which I believe has gone out for tender and which will in real terms create 48 beds. That is happening. Everything the team has looked for, it has got, so I want to know where the problem is. The only way we are going to find that out is by somebody going i…