I have received notice from the following Senators that they propose to raise the following matters:
Senator Paddy Burke - The need for the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to make a statement on the funding available to car recycling businesses.
Senator Malcolm Byrne - The need for the Minister for Health to make a statement on the costs to date of the cyberattack on the HSE in May 2021 and the measures put in place to prevent future cyberattacks or technology failures.
Senator Róisín Garvey - The need for the Minister for Health to make a statement on the number of MRI scanners in use in University Hospital Limerick.
Senator Sharon Keogan - The need for the Minister for Justice to publish the legal advice received from the Attorney General on the EU asylum and migration pact.
Senator Robbie Gallagher - The need for the Minister for Justice to make a statement on the provision of a refuge centre for domestic abuse victims in the Cavan-Monaghan area in light of the establishment of Cuan, which is tasked with increasing the number of available refuge spaces.
Senator Aisling Dolan - The need for the Minister for Transport to provide an update on the Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan for Roscommon, Galway and the Athlone to Ballinasloe area.
Senator Micheál Carrigy - The need for the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to allocate increased funding for the sports capital programme.
Senator Tim Lombard - The need for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to apply an exemption from commercial rates to community swimming pools.
Senator Barry Ward - The need for the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to make a statement on the steps he is taking to ensure that companies that have laid fibre-optic cable have put the facility into operation.
The matters raised by the Senators are suitable for discussion and I have selected Senators Burke, Byrne, Garvey, Keogan, Gallagher and Dolan and they will be taken now. All other Senators may give notice on another day of the matters that they wish to raise.
I welcome the rang a sé students from Donore, County Meath. They are very welcome to Leinster House. I hope they have a good visit and I thank them for being here. To commemorate their visit, I offer them homework off tonight to celebrate being in our national Parliament. They have joined us at the beginning of the day, which is called the commencement, where Members of the Seanad – today six Members – can raise a matter of local, national or international importance. The first person who will raise a matter is Senator Paddy Burke. To the young boys and girls in the Public Gallery, Senator Burke is what is known as the father of the House. He is the longest-standing Member of the House, continuously since, I think, 1992 – or perhaps before.
