I recently saw that €330 million was allocated in the budget to the hot school meals programme. That is a huge amount of expenditure and it is a new item of expenditure in the budget. Yet, across Cavan and Monaghan, it is now becoming clear that the new bureaucracy surrounding the serving of these meals is pushing providers out of the scheme altogether. In recent weeks, I have been contacted by teachers who have been formally instructed by their unions not to place pre-prepared meals in school ovens. This follows a…

I raise an issue that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand when I saw it last week on Facebook. It was a Government-backed campaign on the dangers of burning solid fuel like coal, turf and sticks, the very things that have kept people in rural Ireland alive for centuries. The ad goes on to state, "Lighting an open fire or stove causes harmful emissions that linger in the air, harming your health and the health of your family, neighbours and community." The leaflet goes on to ask: Who is most at risk? Burning…

What about the rules of the House?

I raise the urgent matter of the mass abduction of children from St. Mary's School in the village of Papiri in northern Nigeria. More than 300 pupils, both primary and secondary school children, were taken by armed groups, who spent hours ransacking the school compound before forcing the children into the bush. Families in Papiri had repeatedly appealed to the Nigerian security forces for protection but no meaningful response was provided. This does not seem to be a conflict between Christians and Muslims. Rather, …

I will follow on from something Senator Kennelly touched on. I read in my local paper, The Anglo-Celt , a story about a man fined for giving people lifts home in a rural part of County Monaghan. He was brought to court for it. Two undercover guards took a lift with him. Is this really the biggest issue facing us? The real crime is the desolation of our rural areas. Two pubs are closing for good each week in this country. In many parishes, particularly the very rural parish I come from in County Cavan, the social li…

I thank the Minister for coming in to debate this. I have serious concerns regarding the motions. The second motion asks the House to endorse a framework that has not yet been defined. We are effectively being asked to give consent for funding mechanisms that will only be agreed later for the 2028 to 2034 budget cycle. The Government is essentially asking us to vote blindly. EU Commissioner Magnus Brunner has stated that all EU states are under pressure from current migration demands, but there are 12 countries con…

I endorse the motion and thank the Fine Gael Senators for bringing such an important motion to the floor of the Upper House. I also thank the Minister of State for attending. However, I fear the motion does not go far enough. I support the Sinn Féin motions as well. My amendment speaks to the concerns consistently raised by fishers regarding the operational approach, transparency and consistency of enforcement by the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority. Fishermen across the country feel like they are standing on the…

I move amendment No. 4: After the the last paragraph under “That Seanad Éireann:”, to insert the following paragraph: - “the concerns consistently raised by fishers regarding the operational approach, transparency and consistency of enforcement by the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority;”

I move amendment No. 5: After the last paragraph under “calls on the Government to:”, to insert the following paragraph: - “review the governance, operational practices, and accountability structures of the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, and bring forward proposals to strengthen independent oversight and improve transparency and engagement with the fishing sector.”

I raise the issue of the North-South interconnector being delayed again until 2031. The real problem is this project does not have the support of the locals affected because of the continued refusal by the Government to even review the possibility of undergrounding this project. The Government could have saved an awful lot of hassle, annoyance and money by working with the people and listening to them. We can see from previous storms how vulnerable our infrastructure is. We should be future-proofing infrastructure …

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

Small and medium-sized businesses and enterprises are the lifeblood of our of our towns, villages and parishes and the beating heart of community life. I have been contacted, rather sadly, by a few recently. We hear great talk in here about tackling dereliction and preventing the demise of rural communities, but when it comes to supporting the very businesses that keep those communities alive, there are few attainable and tangible supports. These are the family businesses passed down from one generation to the next…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. Once again, I want to raise the issue of the forgotten farmers scheme, which closed for applications on 13 August. The scheme was intended to right a long-standing wrong by finally recognising a cohort of farmers who missed out on key supports during a gap between CAP reforms. This scheme was years in the making yet the Department opened applications for only a fortnight in August when many farmers were at their busiest. I have been contacted by constituents wh…

I appreciate the Minister of State's reply but it simply is not good enough for the farmers who have once again found themselves excluded. It is a double rejection. The Minister of State has confirmed 1,254 applications were received and I acknowledge that is a start but we both know the estimated number of those eligible was about 3,000. That leaves close to 1,700 farmers with no recourse. If the Government is serious about fairness and paying what is genuinely owed, there must be a second chance, whether through …

According to a recent survey, 80% of childminders are considering leaving the sector ahead of the draft regulations coming into place. This would cause a total collapse of childcare services. Parents are already at their wits' end trying to find a crèche or playschool place for their children. Childminders provide a fantastic and much-needed service in their communities and yet the Government seems set on over-regulating them out of the sector. If home-based providers disappear, where are those children to go? What…

Last month, 17-year-old Vadym Davydenko, who was in State care, died after a serious attack in Donaghmede. It is now believed the suspect in the attack was not a juvenile but was over 18 at the time of the attack. This is what we mean when we talk about a chaotic migration system. This vulnerable young man was in State care. We have a responsibility to ensure international protection applicants, particularly children, are safeguarded. It should set off alarm bells that an adult was allegedly housed in an apartment …

I will speak on the Department of Education and Youth's new school survey for parents. Consultation and parental choice are important for our education system but this survey is wholly inadequate. It consists of just seven short questions and it is not necessary even to be a parent to fill it out. We absolutely support multidenominational schools. However, it must be said that there is a constant ideological push against Catholic schools. In reality, the Department's attempts to divest schools from Catholic patrona…

I would like to be associated with the votes of congratulations to former Deputy Catherine Connolly on her winning the presidential election, and in offering commiserations to my colleague and neighbour, Heather Humphreys. I wish her well in the next chapter of her life. My condolences on the passing of Sr. Stan. I also support what Senator O'Loughlin said earlier about the hunger strikers. That really needs to be addressed and I hope it is sorted out in the next 24 hours or so. Over 2,000 people gathered in Fermoy…

I thank the Minister of State for coming in today. I welcome that the national human rights strategy for disability focuses heavily on the point of independence for people with disabilities as well as the need for them to choose their own supports and care plans. However, like many disability advocates, I feel let down by the lack of targeted, tangible long-term initiatives. I also express my disappointment that representatives such as my colleagues Senator Clonan and Deputy Ardagh, whose children have direct lived…