The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on Housing for All, to be taken at 5 p.m. and to conclude after two hours, if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes, all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, time can be shared and the Minister to be given no less than eight minutes to reply to the debate; and No. 2, Private Members' business, Protection of the Native Irish Honey Bee Bill 2021…

I thank all Senators for their contributions. There was a wide variety of topics. Senator Murphy spoke about the flooding at Lough Funshinagh. I have great sympathy for all those who have been impacted by the floodwaters there. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, who is responsible for the Office of Public Works, OPW, has been passionate about his concerns about the planning process as well as about objections to projects, including in Lough Funshinagh. The CEO of Roscommon County Council did much work to try …

The Minister of State is welcome to this important debate. I acknowledge all the contributions. There has been a lot of talk although I am not sure there have been a lot of solutions from the Opposition. We can all name and describe the problem, but solutions are in short supply. In response to Senator Gavan's point, and I have said this before in this House in response to others, but I will say it now in response to him, in 2011, when we entered Government and I was a Member of the other House, if we had a debate …

That is the legacy we inherited in 2011 and had to deal with.

We inherited it. The Senator knows from whom.

It was not from yourselves, and I did not say it was, but please appreciate the legacy we had to deal with at that stage with unemployment at whatever rate it was at - 15%, 16% or 17%. The challenges we faced were immense. Did we get everything right? I am not saying we did, but certainly we are not responsible for everything that is wrong or has been wrong in housing in recent years. We had a lot to deal with. In the four and a half years between the time the Rebuilding Ireland plan was launched in the summer of 2…

I put my neck on the line in 2019 and 2020 to support social housing, so I will not take any rubbish from anyone regarding ideological issues. I fully support people. I have said on numerous occasions that all communities should have an element of social housing for people. There are thousands of people across this country who will never be able to afford their own home. I do not believe in long-term renting. It would be okay if there was secure long-term renting but I have come across people in their 60s, coming i…

I welcome the Minister of State. I thank the Cathaoirleach's office for choosing this Commencement matter. As the Minister of State will know, the school meals programme provides funding towards provision of food services for disadvantaged schoolchildren. The programme is approved and funded by the Department of Social Protection, and funding is based on a rate of payment per meal per child, per day. I recently met with Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board, GRETB, which very much values this scheme and…

I thank the Minister of State for the reply on behalf of the Department. I welcome the fact that the Department is looking at the rates and that decisions will be made by the end of the year, but I am afraid that that will be too late. As I said, there are currently schools not receiving tenders to provide school meals. I am gravely concerned that there is no fast-tracking of the issue of rates of pay for the meals. It is a concern. As I said, I welcome the fact that there is a review due to be completed by the end…

Senator Ahearn will not be here as far as I know. The Minister is welcome to the Chamber. I acknowledge, as I have previously, that this was a cost-of-living measure and the right thing to do. I will read for the Minister an email I received this morning: I desperately need a ticket please. I find it unacceptable that children in desperate need of a ticket in order to access education are finding it so difficult to get them. Thank you so much for your attention. I look forward to hearing from you. I cannot stress e…

Ar dtús báire, gabhaim buíochas le hoifig an Chathaoirligh as ucht an deis a fháil labhairt ar an ábhar tábhachtach seo. É sin ráite, is mór is trua nach bhfuil aon duine de cheathrar Airí ón Roinn Sláinte i láthair inniu. Tá an t-eolas is déanaí á lorg agam ar stádas an togra ar son rannóg éigeandála nua d'Ospidéal Choláiste na hOllscoile, Gaillimh. Is dea-scéal é go bhfuil an rannóg éigeandála sealadach ag feidhmiú faoi láthair, ach an faitíos atá orm ná go mbeidh an rannóg sealadach mar ionad buan mar gheall ar …

I thank the Minister of State for reading the reply from the Department of Health. I appreciate that the new temporary emergency department has opened. One could be cynical and suggest that all of this is a delaying tactic by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the Department of Health and permanent Government to ensure moneys are not spent. There are also delays with larger projects. Initially, this project included maternity and paediatrics but was only what is called a "shell and core". It did not i…

I thank the Deputy Leader. I welcome the Government's decision to re-designate four voluntary hospice providers from section 39 organisations to section 38 organisations. This will be hugely important for these centres, including Galway Hospice, St. Francis Hospice, Milford Care Centre, and Marymount Care Centre. The section 38 designation will now provide a defined level of service on behalf of the HSE for these hospices. Hospices do such tremendous work. The hospice in Galway certainly has been supported by the f…

I welcome the Minister. I acknowledge the range of supports the Government has provided for the hospitality sector, going back to 2020, as the Minister outlined, but back in 2011 as well, when this VAT rate was first reduced to give a kick-start to the tourism and hospitality sector. This is an area that was identified as being prime for growth, and the incentive we are discussing protected existing jobs, increased employment and helped businesses expand at a time of deep recession in 2011. The tax base is extremel…

I am a great believer in process and allowing processes to run their course. It was a great disappointment that last Friday in Galway, while at a very positive event with Genesys opening its new office at Bonham Quay in the heart of the city, word began to filter through that An Bord Pleanála had decided not to defend the legal action being taken against the Galway city ring road. There are questions on a range of issues here, but particularly our planning laws and An Bord Pleanála itself. As Senators will have rea…

I thank the Cathaoirleach's office for choosing this Commencement debate. I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. As the Minister of State is aware, the education and training boards, ETBs, came into being in 2013 and will celebrate ten years in existence on 1 July 2023. They follow on from the vocational educational committees, VECs. In total they have about 32,000 staff throughout the country, with a spend in excess of €2 billion. I take this opportunity to congratulate a colleague in County Galway, Counc…

I thank the Minister of State for the response from the Department. The Department states in the response that in the period since 2015, it has increased the number of approved posts in head offices by 29% across the sector. Of course that is because of the lifting of the moratorium so they are getting back to where they were. The point is that the ETBs had this autonomy and independence in the past. It was taken away from them during the financial crisis and the moratorium, and they wish to see it relaxed and to g…

That is not what we are being told.

I welcome the Acting Leader and the Smith family, who are here on behalf of their son, Stephen, to the Chamber. I congratulate the Leader, Senator Doherty, and Senator Seery Kearney on the Bill they have proposed. I look forward to supporting it. Today, I remember a colleague, the former city councillor, John Mulholland, from Galway city. He was mayor of Galway city twice, from 1986 to 1987 and from 1996 to 1997. He was elected as a councillor for Fine Gael in 1985 and served until 2009, some 24 years. He was a bus…

I join with the Leader and others in the tributes to the tragedy last week in Creeslough, Donegal. It puts everything else into perspective. Our thoughts and prayers go to all of the families involved who are bereaved. The Leader is very familiar with the school meals programme and the hot school meals that are provided. Indeed, in her former life, she was involved in that programme, which has gone from success to success, from about 30 schools to about 300 and some €65 million spent. We met recently with the Galwa…