I fully support amendment No. 12. When we look at the Bill as it is, and the powers and functions of the commission, it states the commission "shall endeavour to ensure ... that the interests of the public, and in particular the interests of children, are protected". This is an online safety Bill so it is important that we consider that word "safety". It is about the interests and safety of children.

I move amendment No. 26: In page 19, between lines 33 and 34, to insert the following: “(fa) engage with the Federation of Irish Sport and its membership to promote online safety and compliance with this Act,”. I want to point out that I asked the Bills Office to add Senator Cassells' name to amendment No. 26 but, unfortunately, it has not made its way onto the Order Paper.

At a recent GAA congress, Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael, Mr. Larry McCarthy, made comments about the amount of abuse directed at amateur referees, players, etc., within the association and the need for that to be tackled. My reason for putting forward this amendment is that we would engage with the Federation of Irish Sport. For clarity, the Federation of Irish Sport comprises 110 national governing bodies and sporting organisations across the country that have possibly more than 1 million members. By engaging …

I thank my fellow Senators for the support. I compliment the GAA on tackling this matter head-on and on starting work in respect of it prior to this legislation being put in place.

I will withdraw and reserve the right to reintroduce.

The Minister of State is welcome. Based on statistics from the Central Statistics Office, CSO, in 2016, some 143,178 people were renting in Ireland. There will most likely be an increase in this number after the current census figures come out some time next year. The number of people renting is rising, with more apartment complex developments and build-to-rent schemes. These people, however, need to be protected during any disputes that may arise. Landlords also need support if they have any difficulties with tena…

It is easy to say these positions have been sanctioned but the reality on the ground is different. It is frustrating for landlords, tenants and neighbours that when they engage they are looking at a two-year process, which is not acceptable. Is it possible to get a review of the figures that have been sanctioned and to find out what the current position is? Have these principal officer and staff level positions been filled? Can we get a report on where we are with regard to the number of disputes that have been log…

I second the proposal from Fianna Fáil. I am taking this slot on behalf of Senator Joe O'Reilly, who is unavailable. Perhaps Senator O'Loughlin wishes to make her contribution before me?

I welcome the Minister. I welcome the commitment of the Government to support the Bill and to ensure it is robust and legal. I pay tribute also to Senators Malcolm Byrne and O’Loughlin for bringing it forward. When I think of Óglaigh na hÉireann, I think of General Seán Mac Eoin. I am from Ballinalee in County Longford. The blacksmith of Ballinalee served in the War of Independence and went on to become Chief of Staff in the Irish Defence Forces. I think of all the men and women who served in Seán Connolly Barracks…

Yes, indeed, and I will meet the Minister there. I proudly say that I think of Captain Marie Carrigy, my cousin, who read the Proclamation on Easter Sunday outside the GPO last year. As a family we were extremely proud of her serving in our Defence Forces and of the role she plays. I think of all our soldiers overseas, the 352 troops of the 119th Infantry Battalion who went to serve in the Lebanon last October, those who served in Israel, Syria, Mali, Congo, Bosnia, Kosovo and in various other military representati…

I, too, want to be associated with the welcome for Senator Clonan. I welcome the announcement today by the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media of the basic income scheme for artists. Members of the relevant Oireachtas joint committee prioritised this for the arts scene. Last Thursday, I attended the opening of the co:worx working hub in Edgeworthstown, County Longford. I pay tribute to the committee involved. Four years ago, the Ulster Bank branch closed, leav…

The Minister is very welcome. I compliment her on the work she has done in her Department. It is probably the busiest Government Department, but I compliment her on the way her Department has reacted and provided supports for the industry. I am chairman of County Longford tourism committee and have been since I went into local government ten years ago. I compliment the Hidden Heartlands team within Fáilte Ireland. I was involved in pushing for a dedicated brand for the midlands. The local Hidden Heartlands team, in…

I refer to a proposal I put forward approximately six weeks ago in respect of having a silent street for St. Patrick's Day parades. I know the Leader's office wrote to local authorities around the country to ask them to take part in that initiative. Several parades did so this year. I attended the parades in Longford and Athlone. I commend the organisers of the festival for taking this proposal on board. Very positive feedback was received on it. We will keep going with the campaign to ensure every parade does it n…

The Minister of State is very welcome. I fully support the motion. What we see unfolding on our television screens every night is something to behold. When, please God, all this is over, we will see that worse atrocities were carried out than those we are seeing on our television screens. In my county, Longford, we are willing to play our part in the national effort. A significant number of households have made their homes available. Last week I met a group of 40 people from Ukraine in the Longford Arms Hotel. The …

Last weekend, I visited the Longford Arms Hotel to meet with a large group of more than 40 refugees from Ukraine who have come to our county in recent days. I compliment Orla Reynolds, another staff member, Aisling, and all the staff on the way they have looked after the group for the past week and a half. The people seeking refuge were very complimentary and appreciative of the staff for all that has been done for them. I thank the Government for the significant funding that has gone into capital funding for educa…

The Minister of State is welcome. I compliment him on the work he has done and I compliment the Labour Party and Senator Wall on bringing this forward. Senator Wall is extremely passionate about this issue and has been over the past 18 months that I have been a Member of this House. We are just after the Cheltenham Festival and we saw all the pictures in the newspaper and the great results for Irish trainers who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup etc. However, we have to think that some houses and families are probably no…

I wish to raise a couple of issues, the first of which is July provision. In recent weeks, there has been a lot of discussion of the issue and a focus group including the Department, various parents' groups and so on has discussed the potential for a new programme of July provision. Looking at the figures from 2021, it can be seen that we set aside more than €40 million but not all of this funding was used because a significant number of schools did not take part in July provision. The reality is that a significant…

I concur with Senator Keogan's comments on the announcement yesterday, which was very welcome. The media is not covering the fact that there are a lot of severe EU constraints on taxation policy and that the Government went as far as it could go. We do need to go further, however, in particular with the haulage industry, the bus industry and agricultural contractors. We need to look at expanding the rebate scheme already in place, extending it to agricultural contractors. We are looking to the farming community to …

I also welcome the extra hours. One of the figures I took from yesterday's discussion was that 40% of dementia is preventable. That translates in current terms to 30,000 people or 30,000 families today. By 2045, that could be 60,000 families unless we put the investment in now. It was proven by yesterday's discussion that dementia is treatable and if steps are taken, we can reduce the numbers of people. As Senators will know, I spoke before about the issue of home care. It is something about which I am extremely pa…

I wish to raise an issue which is linked to the situation in Ukraine and the knock-on effect that is going to have on our economy over the next 12 months. I would like the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to come in to discuss the effects it is going to have on food, fuel and fertiliser. This is going to have a significant impact on our agriculture sector in particular going forward. Much of the fertiliser we import comes from Ukraine, as well as grain, barley and wheat. All of those are grown in that …