I apologise to the Cathaoirleach and the House for the word.

I welcome the Minister to the House. I want to express my empathy and heartfelt compassion for any mother or child who suffered in any institution. I say that, not only as a Senator, but also as a mother and foster parent. I want to put on the record of the House that I appreciate the important work of the commission in investigating the matters within its terms of reference and drafting a final report with its findings of fact. The records and reports of the commission will, I expect, be an extremely valuable reso…

The Minister is very welcome to the Chamber. I wish him good luck in his portfolio. I welcome the budget. It reminds me of Fianna Fáil budgets of the past. It is a budget that Fianna Fáil can be proud of and it certainly shows the boys are back in town.

I am sorry but credit for this budget must go to the people of Ireland because this is their budget. They have sacrificed so much in carrying the burden they have carried for the past 12 years, or since the crisis in 2008. This budget is one they have made themselves. Without them, we could not have borrowed money to invest in our future. Great credit must be given to the working men and women and the businessmen and businesswomen of our country. There are a couple of measures I really welcome, the first being the …

Senator Cassells referred to those of us who go to church weekly. There is certainly less risk involved in going to mass than there is in going to a public house, a football match or down to the hotel to get dinner on a Sunday. Most churches are very well policed as regards Covid-19 regulations. There is much less risk involved in attending church and it is a shame that those of faith cannot now participate in mass. Today is 7 October, the second anniversary of the sad passing of Emma Mhic Mhathúna, who died of cer…

I believe that is wrong.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Last week, I addressed a number of issues concerning the flu vaccine and I welcome the measures that were brought in then. The winter plan is a step in the right direction but the journey is far from complete. In its current form the HSE's winter plan is deficient in certain respects. I refer to the gross under-utilisation of the 1,800 community pharmacists who serve communities across the country and never closed their doors to people in need during lockdown. The Gover…

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber and thank her for attending to address my question. My Commencement matter relates to the lack of provision to administer the flu vaccine in locations other than general practice surgeries and community pharmacies. The reason I raise this issue is related, in part, to the provision by the HSE that children aged between two and 12 years would be able to receive a free flu vaccine from mid-October, which is new in 2020-21. This welcome development comes on the tail end o…

I thank the Minister of State and I welcome this initiative, as well as the support given by the Irish Pharmacy Union in rolling out the programme nationwide and providing these outreach services. There are 1,800 community pharmacists in this country so we need to consider how we can work with them in rolling out the HSE winter plan and how best we can serve our communities. These are an untapped resource for the HSE and Department. I am delighted to see the pharmacists are welcoming this initiative for administeri…

I was very disappointed this week to see the change in the schedule for today. I was looking forward to hearing what the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, was going to tell us about the Moorhead report and how he felt about it. He is just not here. I certainly hope a visit will be scheduled quite soon so we can hear his thoughts on the report. Senator Cassells spoke about the value of journalism. I recognise the value of journalists in this country but they certainly did not do the councillors any favours over…

I welcome the Deputy Leader to her new position. The last few speakers referred to our disability services. I want to talk about the lack of adult day services. This morning, two people I will call "Mary" and "Paddy" got in touch with me. Mary is 79 years of age and Paddy is 78. They have a son who is 49 years of age who has not been able to access day services since 11 March. That is wrong and it shows neglect by us, as elected representatives, and by the HSE that elderly people have been left without any resource…

I thank the Minister for the leadership he showed this country in the early days of Covid. He provided a lot of calmness to the situation that we faced as a nation, and while we did not get everything right, I thank him for the work he put in during that time. I will address the Minister on the important matter of apprenticeship schemes. Apprenticeships can provide employment to people and skills to the economy which is of the utmost importance now more than ever with the challenges of rising unemployment due to th…

I will not take too long.

I thank the Minister for coming to the House today and I am glad I get to speak to her. I compliment her on the wonderful job she has done to date. She has been an excellent communicator and I look forward to seeing how she will take on the role as Minister for Education and Skills. I do not normally come in here with a parochial hat on but this time I have done so. This morning when I arrived in my office I had 35 letters from children in St. Patrick's national school in Ardcath. The 36 pupils in fifth and sixth c…

I welcome the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, to the House today. I am delighted to be here in the Seanad Chamber for the first time. The Bill is, ultimately, about jobs and I will support it. It might not be too welcome to the Green Party but it will certainly get support from the Minister of State's Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Green Party colleagues. That is the price one must pay when in government as a smaller party. This industry provides 12,000 jobs throughout rural communities, including those in my part …

Like the leaders of Fianna Fáil, Labour and the Green Party, I welcome the announcement yesterday by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs that Ireland will be taking in four children from Lesbos. It is a pathetic number to take as a nation but I know the constraints and the pressure that Tusla is under at this time. I arrived late to the House because I am a foster parent and I had a meeting this morning with Tusla about someone in my care. We could all do much more. We all have to look at ourselves. There a…

I am delighted to support Senator Joe O'Reilly today. I am from County Cavan as well. There was always a division in our house between my mother and my father. My father used to say he was Fine Gael and my mother was a staunch Fianna Fáil woman so there were always rows in our home. Senator O'Reilly was the local councillor in our area. He served on the council with my uncle, the late Danny Brady and my late aunt, Veronica Sharkey. They would want me to support the Senator today. I am also supporting him because he…

I welcome the Minister, Deputy McEntee, to the House. I was taken aback by the Minister's remarks in regard to private homes. This is not hysteria. I read in today's The Irish Times that a couple in my county was fined €2,000 because two gardaí had looked in the window of their house and seen a considerable number of people inside. I thought the private home was off limits. We need clarification on that today. To my mind, the private home is off limits to An Garda Síochána. There is legislation in place in the form…

Apologies.

Hear, hear.