I thank the Minister of State and it is great to have the opportunity to have him in the Chamber to discuss this issue. Kinsale is a thriving town and is the second biggest town in Cork South-West. It has a population of nearly 6,000 people and the population increased quite significantly in the last census. There has been a 13% increase in population in Kinsale since 2016. It is the start of the Wild Atlantic Way and has wonderful things going for it. The hand of history and the hand of geography have been really …

I thank the Minister of State for that very comprehensive response. Moving forward together is the key to making sure we find a suitable solution to traffic congestion in Kinsale. Part of this involves making sure parts of Kinsale are pedestrian only, which would be really positive for the town. Potentially, there could be a one-way system, which would really work, but the bypass is the key to ensuring we get 70% of the cars out of the town. The cars are choking the town at the moment. We have seen the increase in …

I acknowledge the passing of former Deputy, Bernard Allen, who I believe is being laid to rest today. He was a great parliamentarian who served his constituency of Cork North-Central with great pride and distinction over a very long period. He was a former Minister for sport and was very well-renowned in his community. I acknowledge his passing and want to put that on the record of the House. I know that he was a good friend of the Cathaoirleach and it is sad to see that Bernard passed away so quickly. I want to br…

Before the ambassador of Luxembourg leaves, I acknowledge her presence in the Chamber. It is wonderful to have her here. I know the national day of Luxembourg is next Sunday and it is great to have the ambassador here in the Chamber this morning. I will follow on the theme raised by another Senator regarding presentations made yesterday in the audiovisual room by principals on the issues they face. Primary school principals are a really important part of our society. As a father of schoolgoing kids, I know there is…

I welcome my colleague from County Cork, Deputy Burke, and thank him for taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for Education. Will the Minister for Education make a statement on the ongoing review regarding reasonable accommodations being available to leaving certificate and junior certificate examination students? This has been a significant issue for many people and I have been chasing it for a long time. There is a significant petition of 30,000 people from the Dyslexia Association of Ireland…

The reason I tabled this matter is because of a statement made on Thursday, 16 May in a committee hearing here. The lady in charge of the commission said it would take two or three years for the review to take place. My issue here is the two to three years. We are looking at trying to get additional time for the students, which time is already in place in third level institutions. It is the same thing that has happened for the leaving certificate and junior certificate and that happens also across the entirety of E…

I would like to draw the attention of the House to a seminar that is happening tomorrow. Female participation in agriculture is a key theme we need to start talking about to make sure we have a focus on trying to ensure females get involved in agriculture. They are involved in agriculture to a significant extent but, unfortunately, only 13% of land holdings are in female ownership, which is a significant issue. Tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. a seminar will take place in the Timoleague Hall. Both Barryroe Co-operat…

I acknowledge the presence of members of the Irish Cancer Society. It is very important they should be here for this debate. I also welcome the Minister of State. I acknowledge especially the work of Senator Kyne in the preparation of the motion, which is a very appropriate one, especially given the day that is in it. We must examine the key structures of the cancer strategy to make sure they are funded so that it can be a key plank of our approach going forward. I wish to raise two issues. One is about new drugs a…

The Minister is bounding in with joy.

The Minister is more than welcome. It is great to have him in the Chamber. I realise it is a very busy morning and there was a Cabinet meeting. This Commencement matter relates to the increased cost of business, ICOB, scheme, which is a welcome scheme announced in the budget last year. It meant we were going to put €250 million into small business throughout Ireland. It was a significant package and meant that we were going to give rebates of up to €5,000 to the majority of small businesses. It was really welcomed …

I am absolutely shocked by the figures the Minister has presented. If I am reading them correctly, 1,029 grants have actually been paid, to the value of roughly €2 million, and there are potentially 5,000 grants remaining to be paid. If we are dealing with a scenario that they have only paid 1,000 of the potential 6,000 grants and we gave a commitment as a Government that this would be paid by the end of April or start of May, that is absolutely shocking. The accountability here is frightening for me. Small busines…

That is all right. Carry on.

I call for a debate with the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, about how the GAA is viewed by the RTÉ network. I am deeply concerned that the GAA is considered to be a third-class entity by RTÉ. There were 14 matches last weekend, but none was shown by the national broadcaster on Saturday and only two were shown on Sunday. Of 14 matches, only two were shown by the national broadcaster. We have the bizarre situation where "The Sunday Game" has been moved to a late night slot around 10.15 p.m. It is nearly X-rated. …

The public wants to have answers. The Minister needs to come to the Chamber to discuss these issues.

Do they get homework off?

I agree with Senator Craughwell. I acknowledge also his contribution on the "RTÉ Investigates" programme last night. It was a shocking affair. It really was terrible to see the treatment of the animals. It brought into question how that entire industry works. It was terrible viewing for anyone who had the opportunity to watch it. It is important the Minister comes out, and I acknowledge his statement this morning, but we need to ascertain how regulation failed here and how this operation happened. I do not want to …

I thank the Chair and acknowledge his kind words to Maebh Doyle. I would like the Minister for local government and heritage to make a statement regarding the plans for a directly elected mayor for Cork city and county. I am trying to start a debate about where we are with local government and what the national plan will be. On 7 June, a few days from now, Limerick will go to the polls to choose a directly elected mayor, which will be a unique statement for democracy in Ireland in so many ways. He or she will have …

I welcome the response, which gave us the Department's view on the policy, but I would argue there is a political element here that will be looked at when the new Government is put in place in the next 12 months. When it is formed, that Government will have to have a vision for local government and will have to acknowledge what Limerick has done is potentially the way forward and that we need to move into a different space to make sure this will happen at a national level in all our cities. If that were to happen a…

That is no problem, and I thank the Chair. I want to raise the issue of beaches and where we are with our beach environment at the moment. Cork County Council, from this weekend, will roll out 40 lifeguards over, I think, 12 beaches around County Cork. It is a really important and valuable asset that we are going to have lifeguards out from now until the second week of September. However, I would argue the point quite clearly that we have 1,200 km of coastline in County Cork. We have literally hundreds of beaches. …

I thank the Acting Chair. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is more than welcome. It is always a pleasure to have her before us. Her Cork roots always come out in the responses. In that context, I am looking forward to her response. There is a need for the Minister for Health to review the recent changes that have been made with regard to home support services in Cork county. In April, a number of significant changes to those services were introduced. Under the traditional model, home support was given to a fam…