I will not speak on the budget; we will speak about that issue later. I acknowledge there has been major investment in sports. Sport capital grants were announced last week and they are really helpful. There needs to be, however, a special emphasis on swimming and the ability of people to actually get into the water, particularly with regard to swimming pools and even access to beaches. I came across two examples of this issue over the weekend. Parents are waiting 18 months to get swimming lessons. They are really …

The Minister of State is more than welcome. It is great to have him in the House. I would like to acknowledge the budget proposed in the other House this afternoon. It is an important document and I want to acknowledge the amount of work that has gone into making sure it has been put before the Houses. It is a significant document and it is to be hoped it will do what it is required. The budget is about trying to make sure that we put more money into the basic things that are required, namely building more homes, i…

I raise an issue I have raised frequently over recent years, namely, school transport, and the bizarre scenario that is happening in Cork. I am dealing with two cases, one of which relates to Laragh National School, where we eventually got movement and an agreement that it would go to Bus Éireann to get a bigger bus. Bus Éireann's response now is that the roads are too narrow for a bigger bus, so even though the Department of Education has asked it to look for a solution to the problem in order that 22 children can…

The Minister of State is more than welcome. It is great to see him here to discuss this issue. Laragh National School is a thriving school in west Cork. It was founded in 1967 and I would say at that time there were two teachers and 29 students. It has mushroomed into a really thriving school with seven teachers and more than 193 pupils. The principal’s name is John Lordan. The issue is the emergency works application that has been made. The application is for the pedestrian entrance, which also incorporates the em…

I have the deepest respect for the Minister of State and I have known him a long time, but that answer just beggars belief. We are dealing with a scenario where the local authority has come on board to make sure the outside of the school is made safe by putting in footpaths, lines and a new road, and now the Department will not come halfway to meet the actual people. It is the second time Department of Education has washed its hands of the safety issues here. The local authority came on board and there was even a c…

No.

I acknowledge what is on the Order of Business this morning. It is really important that we have a debate this afternoon about gambling. That is necessary legislation and I look forward to contributing to it. Every time you go out to the pub, you meet people who talk about the addictions they have. It is wonderful that we are making good progress with this legislation. I also wish to acknowledge the amount of money given out in sports capital grants. It is quite a significant sum of money. A total of €5 million was…

This is the second time I have spoken on this Bill. I hate to disagree with Senator McDowell but I think it is good legislation. When I read it, I thought it was a step forward. The major changes in legislation in this area have not been taken into consideration in the past 20, 30 or 40 years, and we are bringing forward legislation that will change matters for the better. This entire world has moved quickly and I am deeply concerned about where it is going. The issue I raise relates to digital adverts, how that wi…

I wish to raise the issue of where we are currently in our tuberculosis allocation. This is a really significant issue in my part of the world. In the past six months, the tuberculosis reactor rate has increased by 22%. The current levels of tuberculosis in Cork in a bovine herd have gone through the roof. This is causing terrible stress and hardship for the families. As I was walking to the Chamber, I received a phone call from a neighbour who had a TB test done on his farm today. He lost ten cows. I met another m…

I will start by thanking the Chair and the Leader of the House for their support over the last term. I thank the staff of the Seanad for their ability to work with this House in such a wonderful way. This afternoon, we heard significant debate on whether or not we should have the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, brought before the House to discuss issues of law and order and the justice system itself. A debate of that nature might be appropriate if we take into consideration where we are in making sure that ce…

I will add to what my colleagues have already said. My experience in dealing with county development plans and councillors tells me that they regularly find that despite their intimate knowledge of communities and various growth patterns, they are restricted because the national development plan sets out certain strategic development criteria that talk about numbers based on censuses. Projections are often wholly out of date with the practical situation, based on various events that might have taken place, job crea…

I acknowledge our new Senator and I wish her the very best of luck. I acknowledge her family. It is a wonderful day and a wonderful occasion. I hope she enjoys the experience. It is wonderful to be here. Senator Bradley will do very well. It is great to have a new colleague on these benches. I raise the issue of school transportation. Two school transportation pilot schemes have been announced by the Department of Education, one in Limerick-Shannon and one in Roscommon-Athlone. In 52 days' time, approximately 160,0…

The Minister of State is more than welcome. It is great to have an opportunity to have the Minister of State responsible for sport deal with this issue. The issue that I am asking the Minister of State to make a statement about is the national swimming strategy. The national swimming strategy was based on a document published and the title was about everyone in Ireland having the opportunity to swim. That strategy is a key document and proposal to make sure that everyone has the opportunity and the ability to swim.…

I was not aware that the strategy was approved by the Government yesterday. I thank the Minister of State for bringing that information to the House. It is very important that we have the publication of this document-----

It is very important that once it is published we have the opportunity for the Minister of State to come to the House. He might give us some time to discuss this very important strategy. It is very important that everyone be given the opportunity and ability to swim. Lessons are also very important. The Minister of State referred to the issue of swimming pool stock being insufficient. That is very obvious. The real key in that regard is to have a capital project to make sure that local authorities or private entiti…

I want to make sure we have an age-friendly public transport service. There has been significant investment in public transport in the past four years and I acknowledge the Government's commitment to it. It has made the lives of many people much easier in terms of getting around. We have issues where bus shelters have been provided, which are appropriate, but a timetable has not been provided in them. A man called to my office in Bandon yesterday. A brand new bus shelter has been provided in the town but this man c…

First, I acknowledge the contribution made by the Cathaoirleach regarding the great John O'Mahony. I got to know John in 2016. On my first day in the Seanad, John's wife sat beside my wife in the Public Gallery and they had a wonderful conversation and chat. Catherine was pregnant with twins at the time and John and his wife told us they had twins and the whole lot. It was an amazing affair. Over that period, between 2016 to 2020, John became a very close friend of mine. My office was on floor 3 in Leinster House a…

I wish to raise the five-year strategic plan brought forward by RTÉ and how it proposes to move the organisation forward. On reading it I found very little reference to the GAAGO issue, where the GAA is tied into RTÉ. There is a significant issue that needs to be addressed around what is the long-term strategic plan for RTÉ working with the likes of GAAGO, which is just broadcasting a certain number of games on a paywall system. This is creating great fury at the moment. I believe the Minister, Deputy Catherine Mar…

Absolutely.

I start by acknowledging the new role of Senator Kyne. I wish him the best of luck. I am sure he will be excellent in that role. He brings great experience to it. I raise the issue on the front page of the Irish Examiner today, which is an amazing story about skin cancer and the issue of sunbed use. I was shocked to read that 40% of people using sunbeds do so despite knowing the risks. There are 13,000 cases of melanoma every year. It is the most common cancer we have. For sunbeds to still be being used by people w…