I rise today to concur with the comments of Senator Malcolm Byrne yesterday on the Irish Athletic Boxing Association, IABA. We need an independent review into that organisation. This issue has been brought to this floor on numerous occasions and has been spoken about at committees. A review was conducted by the same person who did the previous review a number of years ago. It was asked for at short notice by the IABA because it was being brought before the Oireachtas joint committee to query its governance. Despite…

I want to touch on one area mentioned in the motion, which, naturally enough, is turbary rights and turf. I come from Longford where we had Lough Ree power station and Mount Dillon, which supplied the power station at Shannonbridge. Objections to planning permission for an extension of that caused both of those stations to close and, indeed, the turf production that was supplying them. As a locality, we bought into the just transition. This was due to close down in 2027 and that was accepted by the people. We were …

Those are the figures that are out there.

The power stations shut down because of planning-----

I concur with the comments of Senator Lombard in respect of Airbnb. It is an issue we have been skirting around for some time and it needs to be dealt with. A large number of hotels will struggle with occupancy levels as a result of the large number of Airbnbs. There is also the knock-on effect on the private rental market. It is an issue that needs to be addressed immediately. The issue of the N4 was to the fore earlier in the year when we found out that funding to continue the consultation process was not put in …

I thank the Minister of State for taking this Commencement matter. I know it is a situation of which he is very well aware. In the Athlone area and its environs, there are eight parents who do not have a school place for their children within the Athlone school area for next September. These eight children have been in autism spectrum disorder, ASD, classes within primary school settings. We now have a situation where there is no school available within Athlone or within 55 km of the town for them to get an educati…

I thank the Minister of State and I compliment the Government on the work that it has done and, in particular, the work that has been done by the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, and the senior Minister, Deputy Foley, in providing a significant number of places, especially at primary level. We have a tsunami ahead of us because we have not created the places at post-primary level. The reply refers to the fact that there were 30 places in Athlone and in Moate. The reality is that there are, in fact, 30 places but …

I fully concur with the views of everyone here. I personally believe gambling should be banned but on the way this is stated, I note Senator Malcolm Byrne mentioned the national lottery, for which an exception must be made. It is regulated separately and is not a for-profit business. It is for good causes. We may have to look at the €160 million that was announced a number of months ago from that. I am not in favour of that amendment.

Following on from the earlier contribution by Senator Pippa Hackett, I do not accept the comments made by her that turf burning days are numbered. Coming from a county where more than 20% of households use turf as fuel to keep people warm, and particularly people of the older generation, I do not believe it is acceptable to make a comment like that. As a county, the same as other midland counties, we bought into a just transition up to 2027. Unfortunately, objections from green-supporting organisations led to the c…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, to the Chamber. This Commencement matter is on the provision of a new fire station in Ballymahon, County Longford, an area with which the Minister of State is very familiar. It is an issue I raised on the Order of Business in February. At present the fire station in Ballymahon is located in a hired out industrial estate in the middle of a housing estate. It is not suitable for a town of its size. It is more than two and a half years since Longford County Council …

I thank the Minister of State. Like him, I compliment all the staff of the fire services, not just in Longford but throughout the country, on all the good work they do and, in particular, the extra work they did in communities during the Covid pandemic. I thank the Minister of State for ensuring Ballymahon fire station has been included in the list for review. That is extremely positive from a County Longford point of view and I thank him for supporting the move. I would be very hopeful this would be positive when …

I support the proposal. The proposed section 19A(2) states: The Panel shall advise the Commission on issues of interest to children and young people, on online safety, and on any other matters as the Commission may determine. That is the priority of this legislation. It is about safeguarding our youth. The best people to tell us where the problems lie are our young people. They are very forceful in doing that. Along with the Minister, Deputy McEntee, I recently met representatives of Comhairle na nÓg in my county a…

I want to briefly speak in support of my colleagues. I will also support them on Report Stage, if needs be. This is a soft amendment, as it has been said. It is there to enhance the legislation. We should not be in a situation whereby we hope that a commission that has not been appointed yet, and the members of which we do not know, might set up a committee that would take the views of young people on board. It needs to be put into the legislation now.

I note amendments Nos. 65 and 67 specifically reference reports and discussions with the Oireachtas joint committee. That is very important. Senators Malcolm Byrne and Warfield and I were on that committee. We spent a significant number of months discussing this with all of these companies. There is an expertise within the committee. There is merit in going back to the committee when these discussions are taking place rather than meetings taking place with any of these big companies at the commission. The Oireachta…

I support the comments of my colleagues. It is extremely important that we have an online safety commissioner. That was one of the main recommendations that came from the Oireachtas joint committee which looked at the Australian model which is very successful and working well. We need to follow best practice. I agree with the comment from Senator Higgins that we need people to buy into this legislation. If we proceed with this legislation and enact it but do not have a specific online safety commissioner, which is …

I support the amendment. It would be good housekeeping to inform the Chair of the Oireachtas joint committee that a letter would be forwarded to it.

I support the comments of Senators Malcolm Byrne and Ward. As was said, we have a vast amount of experience within our local authorities. However, the legislation states that the person will cease to become a member if they are elected. They have the experience to be appointed a member of the commission, which is what we are looking for. If they are elected to public office, and, as was said, we are struggling to get people to put themselves forward for public life at that level, they would have to give up that job…

I will raise an issue I have raised before both at an Oireachtas joint committee and in this House, that of the Irish Athletic Boxing Association, IABA. An Oireachtas committee met this organisation. The then CEO of Sport Ireland, Mr. John Treacy, indicated to us that a governance review of the organisation was taking place following our queries. No report has been forthcoming to date despite it having been due at Christmas. As a committee, we looked for specific answers to a number of questions and the organisatio…

I welcome the Minister. I support the amendment proposed by my colleagues, Senators Cassells and Malcolm Byrne. It is disappointing that we have not seen the Future of Media Commission's report yet. This negatively affects us in considering and tabling amendments. The report should be out in the public domain. I have no issue with any political advertising as long as there is a level playing field. That is what the commission will be there to monitor.

I am quite supportive of amendment No. 172. It looks after, in particular, the instances that involve children. I look to the recommendations of the Oireachtas joint committee that we made. Recommendation No. 24 proposed an actual ban on advertising, at the very minimum for junk food, alcohol, high-fat foods and gambling. It is important that this commitment is there within the Bill. It is not there at present. I support amendment No. 172.