Including HSE-funded lobby groups. That is the point.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I wish the Minister and the Government well as they lead the national response to this terrible crisis. There is a lot to give us hope when we see the generous response of the Irish people. Many of the Government's measures taken so far will also have people's full support. I will make a number of points. Some may appear to be critical. Some will be more in the vein of praising and urging more of certain things. What I have to say is an attempt to contribute to the discussions we all ne…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I said here on a number of occasions that in good times and bad, even in a town which is struggling economically, you can always expect to see a thriving betting shop on the main street. I observed something late last year that caused me to modify that view. On a busy street in a provincial town that I sometimes pass through, I spotted that where there had been two betting shops which were once thriving for many years, they seemed to have closed at some point over the past 18 mont…

You could have gone each way.

Circumstances require me to leave the Chamber but I will try to be back to hear the Leader's response to what I want to raise. In any event, I will pay attention to it. I want to raise a difficult issue that I do not like bringing up, to be frank, but which has to be spoken about. That is the plight of women in Ukraine who have been engaged to act as surrogates by Irish couples. These women are the birth mothers of Irish citizens and of children resident in Ireland. I think we should all agree that we need to exten…

I was intrigued by the exchange between my colleagues, Senators Gavan and Malcolm Byrne, on the subject of education. It should not be a matter of either pride or shame to have not gone or sent one's children to a fee-paying school. It seems that the difference between fee-paying schools and non-fee-paying schools is that fee-paying schools get less of a subvention from the State because those who pay fees are presumed to be able to pay more. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with the idea that parents should su…

For giving us a mental image none of us wanted to have.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. The Minister of State is very welcome. I apologise in advance for the fact that I will not be able to stay to hear her response, but I will certainly read it later, because this is an important debate. I compliment all who have been responsible for bringing it to the floor today, including Senator O'Loughlin and her committee, which I commend for its important work, and the organisations and people who advocate on the issue of brain health for people with dementia, in particular, …

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus an Aire Stáit. Tá áthas orainn go bhfuil an bheirt acu anseo. Mar a dúirt siad féin, léiríonn sé sin an meas atá acu ar an teanga agus ar thábhacht a ról maidir le cur chun cinn agus caomhnú na teanga. Is seachtain an-tábhachtach í Seachtain na Gaeilge. Ní hamháin Seachtain na Gaeilge atá i gceist ach seachtain an Ghaelachais. Is bliain chinniúnach do chearta teanga in Éirinn atá ann agus Acht teanga nua rite i dTithe an Oireachtais agus sínithe ag an Uachtarán. Déanaim comhghairdea…

An bhfuil cead agam mo chuid ama a roinnt le mo chomhghleacaí, an Seanadóir McDowell?

Cuirim fáilte ó chroí romhat agus gabhaim buíochas leat, Linda, thar ceann gach duine, as ucht na ceannaireachta cultúrtha atá tú ag tabhairt dúinn ar fad. I thank you for the cultural leadership you give that is so important, at this time. When I think about the Irish language, I think about something that is very fragile in many ways, especially in this generation. Great steps have been taken, in both jurisdictions, to promote the importance of Irish and the rights of people. Plenty of ground still has to be cove…

Because of the still constrained nature of the various groups in the Seanad making contributions I did not have a chance yesterday to pay tribute to the former Independent NUI Senator, John A. Murphy. I look forward to the tributes to him in the full course of time. He was a man who was unafraid of telling the truth as he saw it, challenging orthodoxies to enlighten minds. His contributions in these days would have been very valuable. He was unafraid to speak the truth about things and he kept doing it into advance…

He can take my matter if he wishes. On past performance it does not matter who does. It is not the Minister of State's fault.

There should be a penalty for bad art as well. With rights go responsibilities.

I welcome the Minister of State. He has just missed a very interesting Commencement matter on the subject of a basic income for artists. I was going to say that I hoped that the proposal I had not too long ago, that the loophole or the abuse of the artist's tax exemption, might help pay for such a basic income. However, that is not my matter here today. There should also be penalties for bad art. If we consider Agriculture House and what was there before it, it would make one wonder what some of our creative people…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. It is very comprehensive except to the extent that it does not specify what the Government's view is on what is happening. It is quite clear that non-acceptance of cash should only be in exceptional circumstances if the retailer has no change available. It cannot be the case that one could be in compliance with the recommendation if one never has any change available. The Minister of State has rightly set out the contractual position but the question is: ought it to be t…

Would the Minister of State take a suggestion back to the Government that it might use its ample amount of Government time to legislate in this area?

I thank the Minister of State for that.

Please do.

I too welcome the Lithuanian ambassador and commend his country on its stand in allowing Taiwan to establish an embassy. Many of us support Lithuania in its dealings with China. It has set an example for other small countries. As we say around here, "keep her lit". Last week, I highlighted the Sinn Féin legislation on so-called safe access zones and how it would ludicrously criminalise somebody for expressing comments in private conversation that are critical of abortion simply if they happen to be made within 100 …