Given that the Minister of State is a west of Ireland man, he will have great emphasis on regional development. Atlantic Technological University has been one of the most outstanding successes in the north west in recent times in tying together the campuses of Sligo, Mayo and Donegal. This has created a truly world-class university in the heart of the north west. This achievement must be followed by infrastructure that will reverse the decline experienced by the north west in recent years. I know many other Senator…

I am sorry that I have to raise this very concerning matter today. I had hoped that common sense and the inherent human decency of officials at the Department of justice would have resolved this quietly. I, along with Deputies Martin Kenny and Eamon Scanlon and Leitrim councillor, Eddie Mitchell, have raised this issue with the Department. Deputies Marian Harkin and Frankie Feighan have also raised the matter on behalf of this family. Olesegun Ifade and his family, originally from Nigeria, moved into an IPAS centre…

I do not need to list and detail the crimes committed in the residential institutions operated chiefly by religious orders on behalf of the State. We are unanimous in our condemnation of this abuse, and I am sure in our belief that those abusers who are still alive should be punished to the full extent of the law. The others who facilitated, covered up and denied the abuse should have to acknowledge their complicity and pay reparations to the victims and survivors of that abuse. A number of organisations whose memb…

The Minister is very welcome. I thank everyone for raising the issue of breast density. I particularly thank Senator Costello. She is such a strong advocate for those with breast cancer. We really thank her for that. I have learned a great deal just from listening to her. I am delighted Deputy Carroll MacNeill is the Minister for Health. She is very proactive. I am delighted that we can make statements on breast cancer today. Exactly two weeks ago, I hosted an event in the audiovisual room addressing the topic of d…

I, too, welcome the Minister of State and this debate. The Labour Party, in our submission on the new action plan on insurance reform, highlighted a number of areas of reform, including transparency, high premiums which do not match up with the reduced number of claimants, competitiveness, tackling fraud and investment in innovation and skills. The areas I will focus on today are affordability and availability. In cities, towns and villages throughout the country, including my area of counties Sligo and Leitrim, ma…

The Minister of State is welcome. It is very hard for me to come after that. All of us here know what needs to be done. I also disagree with the idea that the Opposition really does believe we are doing enough. We do not believe we are doing enough. The world has changed and is never going to go back to the way it was. We have been really brave over recent years. We know what it is like to live under a state-enabled famine and a colonial genocide. We can do more. We have nothing to lose now. We are seen as a pariah…

The minimum wage was established just over a quarter of a century ago, in April 2000, two years before the first euro notes and coins were circulated in Ireland. Just like the euro, the minimum wage has become an accepted and crucial element of our economy. At the time of its introduction, no political party represented in the Oireachtas opposed it. It was recognised as an essential tool in the ongoing battle against social exclusion. It is hard to recall those times now, but 25 years ago in Ireland the wages for t…

I thank the Minister of State for her response. It is great to hear her referring to the EU directive on the minimum wage. I will be continuing to try to bring forward the Bills I mentioned. Particularly in the construction sector at the moment, we need apprentices but it is very difficult for people to work on less than the minimum wage rate. It is true that the sub-minimum rates do increase when the minimum wage rises, but a lot of young people are trying to work and pay rent. I will continue to push this. I than…

I follow my colleagues in saying that the Government’s continued lack of urgency in dealing with the housing disaster - our most serious and seemingly intractable challenge - has been exposed again by the introduction by Fine Gael of this amendment. This Bill, which addresses dereliction and vacancy, should not be allowed to be delayed any longer. Dereliction and vacancy are twin scourges that blight our cities, towns and villages and, without exaggeration, are leading to the deaths of communities. Vacancy and dere…

I welcome the Minister of State. I would also welcome the establishment of a task force. As other Senators have said, recent research into the role of a 21st-century councillor carried out by the AILG revealed, as any of us who have had the privileged position of being an elected county councillor, as I was for a short time on Sligo County Council, will know, that the role is multifaceted. Councillors work on the front line and have many roles, including advocating for local communities, trying to solve problems, t…

The Minister is very welcome. I am delighted to support the Bill introduced by my Sinn Féin colleagues. The idea that socioeconomic disadvantage is inherited is not a new or radical idea. A 2022 report from the ESRI indicates, "Past research strongly indicates that individuals who experience poverty in childhood face an increased risk of experiencing poverty as adults." To state the absolute obvious, poverty is never the fault of a child born into poverty and it is not the choice made by a child. Socioeconomic disa…

I, too, commend my colleague Senator Stephenson on bringing this forward. I wish to speak about healthcare workers and read out the names of just five nurses who have been killed: Omar Khorsheed, Mohammed Lubbad, Mohammed Al Azzaiza, Ahmed Moshtaha and Somaya Temeraz. We have all said that the people of Gaza are at very risk of extermination. The UN said two hours ago that 14,000 babies, which was referenced earlier, are going to die of starvation in the next 48 hours. Other Senators have stated that we as a countr…

I second the amendment.

As all previous speakers said, the current waiting times for driving tests are unacceptably long. This is having a very real impact on the lives of young people. I will not repeat what other Senators have said. Young people in rural constituencies like mine are unable to leave home, whether to go to college or work, because of the scarcity of town centre housing and its cost. The expansion of Local Link services has helped immensely but the reality is that most people in rural Ireland still need a car to get around…

I thank the Minister for taking this Commencement matter this week as it is a matter of urgency. As the Minister knows, farmers are required to sign and submit their basic income support scheme forms by tomorrow, Thursday, 15 May, to be entitled to receive their annual payments from the Department of agriculture. Part of this submission is a declaration that the farmer is compliant with GAEC practices on the farm. Just over a week ago, I met with representatives from the IFA in Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon. These f…

I thank the Minister for his reply. I knew there was a lot of progress on it since 30 April. I am delighted. However, there is still uncertainty among the farmers I represent. If the deadline for submissions is tomorrow, can something be addressed tonight? I know the Minister has only recently taken over his brief. Is there some way there will be a guarantee so people do not feel they are going into something and they cannot reverse? The concern was about the appeals process. There is no guarantee or clarity around…

I will not even need five minutes. The Minister of State is very welcome. I take this opportunity to give praise to my colleague Senator Noonan. I am delighted he is part of our group because, as Minister of State, he placed biodiversity and the threat of biodiversity loss firmly on the agenda within policies. His legacy will always be there and I thank him for that. Other speakers referred to the impact of having not only biodiversity officers but heritage officers as well. The roles are all intertwined. It is rea…

The Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, is very welcome. Imagine going to the GP for a routine check-up, the equivalent of a national car test, NCT, when you reach a milestone birthday. The GP measures and weighs you, takes your blood pressure and temperature and listens to your pulse. It is, I assume, a thorough examination. The GP reassures you. Everything is clear and you appear to be perfectly healthy. If you keep living an active and balanced lifestyle, you can expect to live to a healthy old age. Six …

The Minister of State's final comment on expanding the age range for mammograms and the introduction of a breast density check was good news, but this is a matter of urgency. As I outlined in those stories, six months for a diagnosis can make a significant difference. I know that there is a review. I invite the Minister of State and the Minister for Health to a briefing we are having in the AV room on 27 May at 1 p.m. We will be joined by Professor William Gallagher from UCD, and Martha and Siobhán will be there to…

Last Friday I met with representatives from the Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon IFA. These farmers wanted to draw attention to a number of serious matters that are potentially impacting on their ability to continue farming. The most pressing issue of all, and the reason I need to raise this today, is that farmers are required to sign and submit their basic income support scheme payment forms by the 15 May in order to be entitled to receive their annual payments from the Department of agriculture. Part of this submissi…