I appreciate the Minister of State turning up. I also appreciate that this issue is not within his remit. He is the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, OPW, whereas I am trying to progress a matter of special education. The Minister of State has a great knowledge of west Cork, though, given he has family in Bandon and other parts of west Cork, so he will understand what I am about to discuss, namely, a special school for the west Cork catchment area. A special school for autistic c…

We are looking at more than 60 kids who could potentially go to a special school in west Cork. Unfortunately, the majority of them are travelling more than two hours in a car or bus. Some of them are travelling more than four hours in a car or bus. It just does not work for these families, these kids and these communities. The need for the geography element to be taken into consideration is huge. If we just consider population, it is always going to work against us. Geographical impediments are our biggest issue. I…

I listened to a very interesting debate on radio yesterday about the State Examinations Commission, SEC, and how it is dealing with dyslexic children and adults, in particular those going through State exams. This is about having additional time for exams. In most jurisdictions, if people are dyslexic, they get additional time to do the State exams, whether the equivalent of the junior certificate or leaving certificate. Unfortunately, the SEC has ruled against that idea. Some 10% of the population and, therefore, …

I welcome the debate. It is interesting legislation to say the very least and it is very positive. The entire debate is important. It is an issue that affects couples and affects males and females, as Senator Clifford-Lee rightly pointed out. It affects different people throughout their lives. The primary issue is with regard to trying to get pregnant for the first time. Secondary infertility is also a big issue but it is probably not mentioned by many people. It is a big issue for couples. It is amazing how our ge…

I welcome the Minister of State. I have raised the issue of the Bandon relief road on a continuous basis in this Chamber. We have a major issue in west Cork with regard to infrastructure. We must acknowledge that an amazing amount of money has been spent in Bandon town in the past ten years. We have had a flood relief scheme. We have had a sewerage scheme. We have had many millions of euro spent on a plethora of projects that have really benefited the town. The job now is about trying to get the traffic out of the …

I thank the Minister of State for the response. There was probably nothing in it that I do not know. The only issue is the timelines. It is about making sure that TII and Cork County Council do not slip on these timelines. They announced them quite clearly last July. At that stage, they gave a commitment that stage 2 would be announced by quarter 2 of 2023. That was in the consultation documents that they published in July 2022. It is very important that we stick to these timelines and that is the key point of my a…

I will raise an issue the majority of households with kids who have gone back to school are dealing with at present. Kids are detoxing themselves from technology. They have been off school for the past two weeks, and have been on phones, PlayStations and so on for the past two and a half weeks. A significant debate is required by society and both Houses regarding where we are going with technology when it comes to kids. When is the right time to get a mobile phone for your child? Is it at the Confirmation stage or …

This is a really important debate. We are talking about an amazing industry that has many strong links to every parish in rural Ireland. There are nearly 50,000 sheep farmers in Ireland, which means that 50,000 families are involved in the sector. It is a massive entity and a huge industry, with many layers that need to be considered. I acknowledge the work of the Minister and the IFA and the ICSA, members of which are in the Chamber to listen to the debate. The latter shows the interest among the farming public in…

I thank the Minister of State, who is more than welcome to the Chamber. I am raising this issue about the vulture funds and the regulation in place to ensure appropriate dialogue is in place between both the client and the vulture fund itself. I raised this issue on the back of meeting several people in west Cork in the past two to three weeks. O'Donovan's Hotel in Clonakilty is probably the one that is being well-talked about at the moment. This is a family hotel of seven generation standing being hounded out of b…

Absolutely, Chair, and I thank you. To clarify, the vulture fund epidemic in west Cork needs to be addressed. The funds have moved into town and are appointing receivers on a weekly basis on to properties. They are also suppressing information. We are dealing with a scenario where when it comes to legal documentation, these funds will only provide limited information, which means that clients must go to the High Court to get documentation regarding the loans they have taken out. The clients will not get this docume…

The policy among banks previously was all about communication. It was about having the conversation, whereas the role of bank manager is now defunct. They are like the parish priest; they do not exist any more. There are no bank managers. If you want one, you should call a phone line, and that is the first issue we have. The problem with vulture funds is that even if you call them, you will not get a response or acknowledgement. The Minister of State made an interesting point when she stated that if a client did no…

First, I acknowledge those contributions that wished Noel Murphy the very best of luck. Retirement is probably an unusual word, because he will be moving on to a different phase in his life. I wish him the very best of luck. We should have a significant debate with the Minister for Justice about the recruitment policy for An Garda Síochána. An Garda Síochána is going through a recruitment process at the moment and the closing date for the current process is 14 April. We need to encourage people to get involved in b…

Before making my main contribution, I formally second the proposal from Senator Ward. We need to have a real debate about how we are going to deal with our vulnerable adults and how they can access the services they have. We have had a very significant debate in the past number of years about school transportation. Rightly or wrongly, there have been changes there. There is a lack of actual transportation to get vulnerable adults to their five-day a week services whether it is the Cope Foundation or CoAction. This …

I second the proposal.

The Minister of State is more than welcome. I am delighted to see her here because this Commencement matter was directed to the Department of Health. There ensued a series of emails informing me that this function moved to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on 1 March 2023. Lo and behold, we were told this morning that the issue is going to the Department of Finance. It has definitely been around the houses. It is great to have the Minister of State here to discuss this importan…

I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive response. It is clear the scheme is not fit for purpose, as she acknowledged. It is about making sure we get a scheme in place to meet the needs of the people I represent, such as the man in Bandon to whom I referred, who are housebound other than when the community steps in out of goodwill, as well as those who lost limbs in an accident or were born without limbs. Such a scheme must be put in place. I compliment the work of the Minister of State on the report tha…

I just want to follow on from Senator Dooley's statement. It is a very interesting point. There is a cohort of Irish women in Irish society who are, unfortunately, on non-contributory pensions because of the way society acted. It is logical that this matter should be looked at. I could mention many people who came into my office who never met the criteria and do not have the ability to meet them. The issue I wish to raise this morning is where we are with Covid. It is an unusual statement, I know. It has been said …

It is always a pleasure to have the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, here. However, I am disappointed that the senior Minister with direct responsibility for this issue is not present. It is the second time in the last two years that I have raised the issue of abandoned vessels in Irish waters and the Government's policy for dealing with the issue. The Minister of State is probably very much aware of the abandoned vessel in Ballycotton in east Cork. It ran ashore on 16 February 2020. Cork County Council becam…

With the deepest respect, that reply does not do anything for us. Literally, we have no pathway and no ability to remove these wrecks that are littering our coastline. There is one at Ballycotton that is there since 2020. It is split in two at this stage and will probably be in four by the time I put down my next Commencement matter, and we will still be going nowhere. There is one in Kinsale that is one of many that has been tied against a pier wall for over a decade. There is no pathway from the local authority o…

I welcome the Minister of State. It is wonderful to have the opportunity to discuss the issues regarding North American tourism and the marketing opportunities we have at the moment. I spent last weekend in Kinsale, and it quickly became very obvious from talking to people involved in the hotel industry and the restaurant industry that the feedback they are getting from their American customers is unique. We have been enjoying a really good interaction with the American customers over the last few years. One of the…