I ask the Leader to contact the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, on the issue of puberty blockers that are given to children under the age of 16.

I also wish to talk about environmental protection. We can all agree that environmental policy and legislation are vital to protect the environment not just for the sake of the 7 billion to 8 billion people inhabiting this miraculous blue planet of ours, but also for our children and for generations to come. Rigorous implementation of environmental policy and legislation is certainly good and is arguably an ethical and a moral obligation. A clean environment promotes and maintains the health and well-being of commu…

I would like to raise an issue that is very important. This year has been tough for many people. Next weekend, and two weeks after that, many men and women around the country will get to play in Croke Park for the first time. Will the Deputy Leader ask the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if it is possible that their parents and family members be allowed to attend those games? It is not often that people get a chance to play in Croke Park and, when it happens, it should be celebrated …

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I hope he will take into consideration the amendment tabled by the Independent Senators. None of us are here purely because we walked in the door. We had to get elected to get in here. We all started off as community activists in one form or another. Part of this involved getting engaged in our communities, going to public meetings and seeing what was happening. In my community that was how I got involved. I realised the bishop wanted to rezone a community space in our …

I welcome the Minister of State. I support Senator Boyhan. Indeed, I signed the amendment as well. I am astonished that the former county councillors in the Chamber - I presume there are three - would support getting rid of the mandatory public meeting from the democratic process. The people of Ireland do not have much say anymore. The Covid health legislation and regulations that the Houses have introduced have proven that. Here we are once again attacking the little bit of power they have in the democratic proces…

While I am only an Independent, I would like to think I would provide some opposition to the Government parties today.

The Minister of State is very welcome to the Chamber to give us an update on how we are going to move forward. Covid is not the problem; the living with Covid plan of the Government is the issue. It is killing business and society. The silent lie of this Government to those flip-flopping in and out of business is crippling entrepreneurs. There is plenty of money and there are plenty of ideas but the brain drain is sitting at the Government table with no ideas or plans. The Government has little or no respect for th…

I thank the Acting Chairman. It is great to see a Meath man in the Chair today.

I thank the Minister for coming to the House. Public meetings are the cornerstone of local government and are central to the participation of all citizens and members of the public in local democracy. This has been the way since the birth of western democracy. Some 2,500 years ago people would gather in the agora in ancient Athens for political, judicial, commercial, social and religious activity. Section 11(3)( b ) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 reads, "a planning authority shall hold public meetings and…

I welcome the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, to the House as it is the first time we have had the opportunity to address him. I wish him every success in his ministerial post. I welcome the opportunity to speak in favour of this motion to provide State funding to Horse Racing Ireland and Greyhound Racing Ireland in 2021. Horse racing, the thoroughbred industry and greyhound racing are vibrant and important parts of the culture and economy of this country, particularly the rural economy and rural life. We have a long…

I did not interrupt Senator Boylan and it is very unfair of her to do it to me. I find astonishing these Members support such measures. I am really astonished by that. Not only are some Members of this House trying to depopulate us with abortion but they also want to target breeders by curtailing how many pups they can breed. At the same time as supporting any reasonable measure to guarantee animal welfare, it is important to acknowledge the fact that the overwhelming majority of farmers, horse and dog breeders lov…

Article 40.6.1° of the Constitution refers to the media as the "organs of public opinion". RTÉ, as the national broadcaster, enjoys a privileged position among these organs of public opinion, and not least because it receives almost €200 million annually from the licence fee payer who is compelled by law to pay. The licence fee payers and members of the public listen to the news and headlines as framed by those working in the top echelons of RTÉ. All year long, the public has watched and listened as RTÉ put Covid c…

I hope the Leader will forgive me for being parochial - I do not normally adopt this approach in the Chamber - but I wish to raise the issue of a secondary school for Duleek. There are 12 feeder schools in the Duleek area. We have the land, a 23-acre site that was allocated for the provision of a school by the bishop in County Meath. I have brought this matter to the attention of the Minister for Education, but I would appreciate it if the Leader did whatever she could to accelerate the process. This week, a number…

I thank the Minister for coming in. The Bill is flawed in its purpose of creating an offence of hate crime. It is also flawed in its principle and substance. It imports identity politics into criminal law, which will prove unworkable, profoundly arbitrary and divisive. The Bill is flawed beyond redemption. It is not capable of being amended. This Bill seems like a desperate attempt to garner popular support and media attention on the part of Fianna Fáil.

"Go woke or go broke" appears to have been the strategy of Fianna Fáil in recent years. This is another example of that pathetic strategy. Devoid of any true guiding principles, languishing on an historic low of 11% in the opinion polls and registering a paltry 8% support from under 35s, it looks as if Fianna Fáil is going broke. It is being devoured by Sinn Féin on its left and by its new partners, Fine Gael, on its right-hand side. I will turn back to this fundamentally flawed Bill, the purpose of which is to cre…

I thank the Minister for coming to the House to answer this question. I raised it with him at the Joint Committee on Children, Disability, Equality and Integration last week. It is very important that we acknowledge the sacrifices the youth have made at this time. The Minister has allocated moneys for youth services, but that does not deal with the many young people who have suffered as a result of the Covid restrictions on their lives. It stands in contrast to other areas that the Government has allocated moneys t…

I thank the Minister. I am not aware of any youth services that are open at level 5, certainly not in my area. I think the voucher scheme is a really good idea. I honestly believe it is achievable. If the stay and spend initiative is achievable, so too is investment in youth services or recreational vouchers that can be used with certain providers. I am a little bit disappointed to hear that the Minister may not have considered this as being a good investment. It is really important to invest in our youth, encourag…

I wish to raise an issue that I have raised a number of times previously, namely, the Moorhead report and the total disrespect shown to this House by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the Minister of State at the same Department, Deputy Burke, in not coming here to discuss it with us. It should not be forgotten that 49 of the Senators in this House are here because of the 949 locally elected councillors in this country. There was a debate in this House yesterday on…

That language is not called for.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and congratulate her on her elevation. I am sure she will do this sector proud. I will begin by acknowledging the sterling work of parents and carers of people with disabilities. It truly is a labour of love and devotion. To contribute to the life of someone with special needs and to help them to achieve at least some of their potential is a thing of beauty. It is also invaluable to the individuals themselves, their communities and the State. In my own county of Meath, t…