Like other Senators, I wish to raise Israel's barbaric actions in Gaza. We have seen war crimes being committed daily for the past 19 months, with men, women and children being killed or horrifically injured. Hospitals are being bombed, medical personnel are being targeted and journalists are being killed. Tom Fletcher of the UN has said that 14,000 babies could die in the next 48 hours if vital aid supplies are not let into Gaza. There has been an 11-week blockade by Israel of essential supplies of food and medici…

We wish to share time.

As already mentioned, the waiting times for driver tests are totally unacceptable, with over 83,000 people now waiting. The number has ballooned since the beginning of the year. At the beginning of January, it stood at 72,000 and it is now over 83,000. In some centres, the number of people waiting has doubled or tripled in the last year. The RSA has stated the waiting time should be between ten and 12 weeks, so it is in breach of its own service level agreement. In 2019, the average wait time was six weeks. It is n…

Senator O'Loughlin has mentioned the murder of Clodagh Hawe and her three sons. Being from Cavan, I remember hearing about it on the day and it sent shock waves through the whole country. I commend Clodagh's sister, Jacqueline Connolly, on speaking out on a previous occasion and for writing a book about this. At the time, some of the media reports and others described the perpetrator as a pillar of society and how this was a tragic event. To me, a tragedy suggests something accidental or that could not be helped. T…

The Minister of State is welcome. She will be aware that I come from Cavan, which has had one of the highest rates of suicide in the past few years. It has twice the national average. It is distressing that so many, especially young men, are taking their own lives, but it extends to men and women of all ages, unfortunately. I commend the staff in mental health units in the community and hospitals as well as those who work in SOSAD, Pieta and many of our family resource centres, FRCs, which also provide counselling …

Okay. It has been identified as a problem in Cavan General Hospital. They do not know what they are supposed to do with children in that age bracket. It is a group that needs to be looked at.

I want to raise an issue that affects home care workers employed directly by the HSE. Up to recently, the practice was to submit claims for travel expenses on a paper form. However, the HSE has changed this and there is now an online system. One carer submitted a paper form and had it returned to her. She was told to use the online system. The online system requires the use of a tablet or laptop but not all carers have one. This is causing a lot of stress and worry because the carers do not know how they are going …

I second the amendment.

Many of our young people, who are skilled and highly qualified, are leaving our shores to work abroad. For those who do wish to return, we should make the transition back into society as easy as possible. I know a couple who spent two years in Australia, have returned home and are trying to switch their Australian driving licence back to an Irish driving licence. They have been told this will take three to five months. In the meantime, they cannot get insurance and cannot drive. Living in rural Ireland, they theref…

I welcome the Minister. I am delighted to have this opportunity to discuss a number of issues mentioned in this comprehensive motion, the first being apprenticeships. We know there is a huge need for apprenticeships, particularly in the construction sector. People tell me they cannot get a plumber for love nor money. Another woman told me her roof was damaged during Storm Éowyn and it was only two weeks ago she was able to get someone to come to repair it. We need to do everything we can to encourage as many people…

We encourage people to shop around for their utility bills, insurance or whatever it might be, to get the best price. I have been in contact with someone recently who had issues with an energy utility company which I will not name and he claims he was given false information in order to sign a contract. He made a complaint to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. This is where the problem is. The commission has come back to him to say there will be a resolution in 12 months' time. That is not sufficient. The …

I refer to the publication during the recess of the Grace report. It is shocking that after eight years of an investigation no one has been held to account. Grace was a young girl, who became a young women, with complex and profound intellectual disabilities left in a foster home for 20 years without oversight of her care. Even when, in 1996, there were allegations of sexual abuse, physical abuse and neglect, and there was talk of moving her, Grace was left in that home for another nine years. It is not credible fo…

The percentage of land that is under afforestation in Ireland compared with the EU average has already been mentioned. Ireland is way below where it should be, at below 12% when the average is 39%. We know how important afforestation is as part of the solution to climate change and in addressing carbon emissions. The previous programme for Government set a target of 8,000 ha per year to be afforested. We fell way below that, with not even a quarter of the target reached. This means we are playing catch-up on those …

I have just come from the launch of a report by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre on public perceptions of sexual violence. It is research that was carried out in recent months. Some of the indications are positive. People believe that sexual violence is extremely common and are very concerned about it. The report pointed out that 85% of men say they feel safe while only 48% of women do. Most still believe that sexual violence is common for women. In reality, one in two women and one in four men will experience sexual …

I am sharing my time with Senators McCormack and Andrews.

Statements on disabilities can focus on the negative experiences and the barriers faced by disabled people in their daily reality. I commend the many disabled people who are role models and ambassadors in our country. I pay particular tribute to our athletes who took part in the Paralympic Games last summer and the athletes who took part in the Special Olympics Winter Games last month. We have many other disabled artists, musicians and so forth, who are great ambassadors for our country. Unfortunately, when it come…

Today is World Autism Awareness Day. I have just come from the launch of the Same Chance report 2025, prepared by AsIAm, and there are some startling statistics within the report. Of the people surveyed, 91% feel that being autistic is a barrier to being accepted in our society. More than 50% of them were diagnosed privately as there is still no public pathway to diagnosis for children or adults, especially adults. Some 48% of those people surveyed said they did not feel safe and 44% had experienced discrimination …

We will take six minutes and four minutes.

The Minister is welcome. Some of my points have already been raised but I will raise them again anyway. The first relates to capacity in the system, which is an ongoing problem, as we hear from parents and childcare providers. Many parents contact me because they cannot find somewhere to leave their newborn child when they need to go back to work. A childcare provider I talked to yesterday said her waiting list at the moment is between 230 and 240 children, 58 of whom are under the age of one. She has the capacity …

No problem. I thank the Acting Chair. I want to focus initially on low-income earners because they frequently fall between two stools, as it is. I will give an example of what I mean by this. Recently I was contacted by a constituent. She, her husband and their four children have been living in a rental property for the past 11 to 12 years and paying a reasonable rent. Now, however, the landlord requires the house for his son, who is returning from abroad. The family completely understands the situation. However, t…