The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding Planning and Development (Exempted Development) Regulations 2023, back from committee, to be taken on conclusion of the Order of Business without debate; No. 2, motion regarding Planning and Development (Section 181) Regulations 2023, back from committee, to be taken on conclusion of No. 1 without debate; No. 3, motion re Planning and Development (Exempted Development) (No. X) Regulations 2023, back form committee, to be taken on conclusion of No.2 without debate; No. 4, motion re Planning and Development (Street Furniture Fees) Regulations 2023, back from committee, to be taken on conclusion of No. 3 without debate; No. 5, Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022 - Committee Stage, to be taken at 3.15 p.m. and to adjourn at 6.15 p.m., if not previously concluded; and No. 6, Private Members' business, Climate Action and Biodiversity (Mandates of Certain Organisations) Bill 2023 - Second Stage, to be taken at 6.30 p.m., with the time allocated to the debate not to exceed two hours.
An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Last week, there was a significant announcement by EirGrid regarding the successful bidders in the auction for projects under the offshore renewable electricity support scheme, ORESS. There were four successful applicants, with the projects set to generate more than 3 GW of power and feed into nearly 2.5 million homes in Ireland.
It was a mixed day for Wicklow. We had a successful bid in respect of Codling, which will deliver 1.3 GW of power and will be located from Wicklow town all the way up to Bray. The disappointment was that SSE Renewables was unsuccessful in its bid relating to the Arklow Bank, which is interesting because that was the first offshore wind project in the country almost 20 years ago. It has taken us 20 years to get to the stage we are at now, even though we saw the potential at that time.
My concern is how we move forward from here. Is An Bord Pleanála fit for purpose to deal with four significant applications, if not more? From my conversation with SSE Renewables, I am aware that it is not going away. Thankfully, it is committed to Arklow and to finding an alternative route to market. There will be a huge amount of documentation. The Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, is being set up. MARA will filter it first, and it will then go to the board. We know that the board is going through a rebuilding process. On top of that, there is EirGrid. The critical lack of grid infrastructure across Ireland is a major problem.
I have some concerns. While auction day was significant, we still have a long way to go. Is the State prepared for this? Will we be able to deal with these applications effectively and efficiently? If we are to meet our targets by 2028 and 2029, this has to be streamlined as fast as possible. I have some issues regarding State bodies I have mentioned.
We need a more holistic approach to the whole offshore renewables sector. It is, as somebody said, Ireland's Saudi Arabia moment. This could be our cash cow for the next 20 or 30 years. We should put in the investment that is needed in order to ensure that these applications are successful and go through the system in an efficient way. This will allow people to have confidence in the system as we move towards projects on the west coast, which will be a little more complicated with the technology relating to floating offshore wind generation. It is disappointing that it has taken us since 2003, when the first seven turbines were erected off Arklow, to only now, 20 years later, starting the planning process relating to realising Ireland’s true potential.
The embarrassment suffered by The Irish Times after publishing a hoax opinion piece about the evils of cultural appropriation involved in using fake tan suggests that the more debate we engage in on truth and falsehood in the mainstream media and on social media, the better. Where do we get the truth from and who do we trust to tell us the truth? Three months ago, I challenged the new disinformation strategy group set up by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to show maximum transparency and openness in its work. I said we did not need a new ministry of truth and that citizens should be able to think and express free thoughts freely. Such openness and transparency is vital given the potential for a strong influence of social media companies on Irish policy. It is also important since the Future of Media Commission, which recommended setting up the strategy group, wants the group to be an early shaper of the code of practice for the European Digital Services Act.
How has the disinformation group fared? It has published only procedural minutes and those for just two of at least three meetings held up to 24 March. I challenge people to find those minutes, by the way. Much more transparency is needed in respect of the group's discussions. Its original terms of reference are hard to find anywhere. The published revised terms make no mention of addressing falsehood – only undefined disinformation. Without a clear declaration that truth is the focus of the group’s work, many people will be rightly suspicious of its agenda, focus and priorities.
The Future of Media Commission’s report expressed a view that Ireland should be a leader in public policy and innovation to enhance online trust and safety while protecting freedom of speech, and I emphasis those words. While it is true that the strategy group terms of reference acknowledge the importance of free, independent and high-quality journalism, the same freedom of speech for ordinary citizens is not mentioned anywhere. Omitting this wider context from the terms is worrying, given that freedom of expression is a basic building block of democratic society, whereas countering disinformation is an optional subordinate role of Government. People want to source accurate and true information, not viewpoints funnelled through State-sponsored channels, which are inevitably politicised.
In that regard I urge the strategy group to question the narrative that fact checkers, often politicised, necessarily lead us to the truth. Citizens should be vigilant about the work of this strategy group and monitor its output.
However, to go back briefly to The Irish Times, we heard a good deal about the need for source checking, identification checking and the dangers of AI-generated content and images. We do not know whether The Irish Times saw this article as controversial clickbait or whether it was trying to open up a new front in identity politics. However, we do know that the piece was not presented in jest, and that fact alone suggests an editorial office in perhaps the State’s most influential newspaper that is sufficiently infected by the woke virus-----
Go raibh maith agat.
-----that it cannot tell the difference anymore between a stateable argument and a piece of ideological insanity. That should certainly concern us.
I wish to speak about agricultural shows. They offer a wonderful family day out and are taking place in every corner of Ireland in the coming weeks and months. I urge anyone who has never been to an agricultural show to go to the Irish Shows Association website at irishshows.org where he or she will find a full list of upcoming events. There is sure to be something in the local area over the summer months. I strongly urge people to go along and see what the talk is all about.
I am lucky that in my constituency of County Offaly the Tullamore Show and FBD National Livestock Show is held each year. It is the largest agricultural show in Ireland and offers an eclectic mix of the expected and the unexpected, which enthralls the thousands who flock to Tullamore and come back year after year. As its own literature says:
For those who think it is just cows and tractors then what can we say. Be prepared for an unexpected experience like no other. We guarantee that if you come you will be back, year after year.
I have certainly been going for many years now and, definitely, people will not be disappointed if they go. Bring the family too, because my own kids from age 11 to 19 always enjoy it. It is held on Sunday, 13 August.
Yesterday I was delighted to launch the sustainable livestock village which will be on site in Tullamore this year. This is such a wonderful opportunity to bring agricultural sustainability to an audience in excess of 60,000, many of whom play a central role in farming Irish land in an environmentally sustainable manner.
Speaking of sustainability and farming, I also want to speak briefly about organic farming. It is for me the definition of the sustainable farming system. I was delighted to be at the Salesian Agricultural College in Pallaskenry in Limerick last week to launch the conversion of its dry stock enterprise to organic. This is a wonderful example of leadership from Pallaskenry which will now be able to offer its students hands-on experience in this fast-growing sector which delivers for farmers, sustainability and nature. I was also delighted to meet Mary Fitzgerald in the nearby Fitzgeralds Woodlands House Hotel who established an organic garden on the grounds of the family hotel in memory of her late husband, Dick. It is a fantastic example of how a sustainable mind can be teamed with a business acumen to bring benefits to a family enterprise and the wider public. The food produced in the garden is served daily in the hotel and has inspired the business to appoint a sustainability manager. An organic garden for any hotel with space to do it is a wonderful idea and brings fresh produce to the public in a direct example of farm to fork.
I wish to raise the very disappointing news that yet again Ireland's emissions are on the rise when they should be going in the other direction. It is deeply concerning that once again we have the worst record in Europe. It needs to be said that more and more of our carbon budget is being consumed by ever more demand for electricity. The Government agreed at an EU level in November 2022 to set a target of 10% electricity demand reduction, of which 5% was mandatory. When asked about the measures by which Ireland would meet this 10% reduction, the Minister, Deputy Ryan, said with a straight face that the Reduce Your Use information campaign was part of it, as was the ESB’s Beat the Peak pilot scheme, and a public sector energy efficiency scheme. We know these measures are never going to reach a target of 10%. In fact, the public sector energy reduction scheme basically amounted to asking us all as civil servants to turn off our lights, not to use the kettle and to reduce the amount of heating.
That was hardly the radical action that was up to the task.
Equally, the Reduce Your Use campaign information was effectively gaslighting people who live in apartment blocks because, any time they turned on their radio or TV, they were told that now was a good time to hang their washing out and not to use their dryer. Most people who live in apartments and flats, however, are not allowed to hang their clothes out as it is prohibited under their tenancy agreements. They had to listen to this and yet are forced to use clothes dryers.
There is also a serious dearth in the support required to take the necessary steps to retrofit homes. The Savills Ireland report which came out last night showed that one in three households cannot finance the measures required to retrofit their homes. They continue to be left behind by the Government schemes which prioritise wealthy households. Sinn Féin has proposed a very fair retrofitting plan which completely flips the current system and would help meet our climate targets, but it ensures low-income households, rather than the very restricted cohort of people who are eligible for 100% grants, would actually be eligible for retrofitting schemes. Unless we are addressing energy poverty and our carbon emissions, then all we are doing is transferring wealth to some sectors of our community when other people are being left behind. We are seeing that even in the warmer homes scheme where fossil fuel boilers are being installed into people’s homes, thus locking them into a fossil fuel future while those wealthy households who can subsidise the grant are having heat pumps installed. We need to address this imbalance so that we are not leaving people behind.
Equally, we need to address electricity demand and, once again, the elephant in the room is the data centres and the insatiable desire for setting these up in this country. We will never meet their targets if our electricity demand continues to grow at an exponential rate.
It is an absolute shame for our country that those seeking asylum and refuge in our country were subjected to appalling acts of hate over the weekend in Sandwith Street. Indeed, we see very disturbing scenes again today with the blockade in Clare. There is responsibility on us all to call out the hate and the bile which is being directed towards very vulnerable persons right now. We must also call out some within Government who, I believe, are inflaming matters. We had the Taoiseach this morning blaming a lack of gardaí for the events which took place on Sandwith Street. I believe that is a disingenuous deflection.
We know the reason the events took place on Sandwith Street was because of the number of tents which are there. They are there because of the sheer failure of Government policy to provide basic accommodation for those coming to our country seeking refuge. We have a Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth who is being effectively isolated in all of his calls for help in a whole-of-government approach towards helping those who come to this country seeking refuge. We have also had Fianna Fáil spokesperson on justice, Deputy Jim O’Callaghan, saying earlier this year that people who come to the airports without passports needed to be turned back. This is completely in contravention of any of the international norms in the treatment of those who come to any country seeking asylum. We are at a very dangerous time and it is incumbent on us all to ensure hate and racism do not take a deeper root than is already the case. It is particularly incumbent on the Government that it does not play into the hands of those who are looking to pick a fight, to stir up division and to breed hate.
The other issue I wish to raise, about which I have previously spoken, is the very severe shortage of preschool places in Dublin's north inner city. In the past week we had the loss of yet another 44 places in one small area in Stoneybatter. That brings us to a total of 105 preschool places lost between June of last year and June of this year. That, of course, causes enormous stress to parents who are already very aware of the major shortages that exist. What is worse, however, is that this loss and major shortage is entirely predictable, was entirely foreseen, and has effectively been driven by the actions and the lack of joined-up thinking between the Department of Education and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The Department of Education's expansion of special needs education, which is fantastic and badly needed, has meant these preschools have had to leave the primary school building which they operated from. The reality now is these preschools have simply nowhere to go.
We have pleaded with the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, to put funding in place. It will be next year before there is any capital expenditure. We already know there will be a very small pot and huge demand for it. I reiterate the urgent need to support preschools in Dublin's north inner city and the call to put money in place to ensure new facilities can be built.
I want to raise the question of graduate-entry medicine. It is said to be the case that University College Dublin is going to increase once again its fees for first-year graduate-entry medicine. At present, those who enter the graduate-entry medicine programme pay €16,219 per year. That is not dissimilar to what is paid by those in the University of Limerick and, indeed, the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland. There is a State subsidy provided on top of that. Over a four-year programme, more than €60,000 is paid in fees. Indeed, by the time it finishes, nearly €70,000 is paid. In the past, Bank of Ireland made loans available to students who wanted to enter the programme, but they are not available now. Increasingly, the programme is becoming out of the range of many students.
Consideration needs to be given to the proposal that if somebody enters a graduate education programme and is provided with support by the State, he or she should be required, in return, to continue to work in the public hospital system after graduating. There is a lot of sense to that proposal but I really worry that if we are to continue to see fees increase in this area and there is no access to commercial loans, at the very least, or some other supports for students, the socio-economic profile of those on the course in question will not reflect wider society. We know we need more medical staff and that more undergraduate places are being provided but we need to address the question of funding. I would like the Leader to raise our concerns regarding any proposal to increase the fees for those entering graduate-level medicine.
I had a conversation recently with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, on accommodation and am aware that he is working hard on it, but I want to draw it to the attention of the Leader of the House. I suggest that we have a debate on it, or that, at a minimum, the Leader bring us an up-to-date report on it and expresses the urgency of the matter and our concern. I ask that purpose-built student accommodation be provided on every campus, including the campuses of all the new universities, and indeed some of the post-leaving certificate, PLC, colleges, albeit to a lesser degree. People go to other towns to study in PLC colleges so there should be accommodation in them. If we could have student accommodation on every campus in the country – it should not be beyond doing – it would ease the pressure on housing. It would have a lot of merit from education, university and community points of view that I do not need to go into now. Importantly, it would ease the pressure on housing. It should be possible as a joint venture involving the colleges and the State. The accommodation would pay for itself. The rents should be a lot less than they are now.
There should be accommodation for the nursing staff of hospitals, particularly those who commute from the country to stay a few nights in Dublin to nurse in the major hospitals. There are many old buildings, such as convents, attached to hospitals and these could be converted very reasonably. If we could have accommodation for nurses and students on campus, it would do a considerable amount. It should be made happen with urgency. I urge the Leader to get us a report on this and, better still, invite the Minister in to discuss it.
This House must acknowledge and debate the happenings on Pearse Street, Sandwith Street and Mount Street in the past week. In recent weeks, these locations have been home to what may be described as makeshift camps populated by international protection applicants. First, it must be said that any acts of violence or aggression towards another are to be condemned in the strongest terms. No person should have to suffer fear of assault or destruction of their property in this country.
As such, anything that leads to the increasing likelihood of this eventuality is to be condemned in equally strong terms. As much as the blame for the blaze ultimately lies with he who struck the match, it must be acknowledged that incidents like this do not occur in a vacuum. In the first instance, that means this is not the fault of the communities in question but of the Government that refused to make the difficult decision to implement a realistic Ukrainian refugee programme and is in denial of the realities of the housing capacity, facilities and infrastructure available to accommodate such people. We now have zero capacity to hold those present at our border petitioning for international protection, whom we are legally obliged to process. While we rightly condemn any antagonism towards the people who find themselves cast out on our streets, we must also condemn the policies and decisions of the Government that put them there. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, stated yesterday that we are now accommodating 84,000 people, between Ukrainians, displaced persons and the international protection applicants. At the start of last year, we were accommodating 8,500 people. What EU country could be expected to handle a more than 1,000% increase in refugees in the space of 12 months? The Cabinet does not get to pin the blame on the bogeyman of the ever-present, faceless and insidious far right. This is a problem of its own making, and Ministers must own up, step up and make the difficult decisions necessary to solve it.
We now have a system that treats European refugees better than others. We should help as many refugees as possible but that does not mean taking in more people than we can physically provide for. Can we please have a debate about how we can sensibly manage our refugee and integration programme, considering the civil unrest seen during the weekend, which is also happening right now in County Clare?
I want to highlight the recent funding for community groups in County Roscommon. More than 152 groups received almost €280,000. They are small amounts of funding but they mean so much to so many groups - be it €500 or €1,000. We were very fortunate to have the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Heather Humphreys, in Roscommon last week to make the announcement. It shows the impact of funding coming into rural areas and what a difference it makes to quality of life. It is about showing there are people living and working in our towns, villages and rural areas across counties Roscommon and Galway. This crucial funding plays a big part in creating a better quality of life. That might mean doing up the community centre, the sports club or the hall, or just helping out in an association or club. That type of funding makes a big difference to those groups.
I draw the House's attention to the wonderful festival that took place last weekend in Phibsborough. Phizzfest leads the way when it comes to urban festivals. There was everything from Joyce to gospel choir, folk music and bluegrass. There was great quack at the duck race. There was clothes swapping and a fabulous flea market. Truly, Phibsborough was fizzing, as they would say themselves. It was a fantastic community achievement. I congratulate everybody who was involved in it. It would not happen without volunteers. There was enormous voluntary effort on display. It showed the best of Dublin city. I congratulate and thank everybody who gave their time to provide both the city and everybody in Phibsborough with such a fantastic festival.
I congratulate the Kildare under-20s all-Ireland winning team. It was a tremendous day for any lilywhite who was in Cavan last Saturday and for all of those involved. I thank the team and management for creating such an atmosphere. Obviously, I offer my commiserations to Sligo but it was a great day to be a lilywhite.
I want to talk about retained firefighters. There was a breakdown in negotiations last week between the National Retained Firefighters Association and Government agencies. Those of us who have retained firefighters and stations serving our communities are distinctly aware of the magnificent job they do. Retained firefighters were first established in the 1940s and early 1950s. A number of reports have recommended improvements in the life of retained firefighters over past years, including a significant report in 2002.
Retained firefighters must be on call 24 hours a day for a minimum of 48 hours for 48 weeks of the year. This shows the commitment these men and women are giving to their local communities. To be a retained firefighter in any county, a person must live within 2.5 km of the fire station. That brings so many problems for the people involved in this work. I am dealing with a number of them in relation to housing and traffic jams. It is huge issue for anyone who is a retained firefighter.
Another issue is that a retained firefighter cannot take up employment outside that 2.5 km zone. This leads to other issues, one of the biggest being obtaining a mortgage. I mentioned housing. I am dealing with a number of people who cannot afford a mortgage. The average wage for a retained firefighter is around €13,000 which is not sufficient to obtain a mortgage. I ask Government to get back around the table on this issue. These people have embedded in our communities. They need all our support in this House and in the Lower House. I ask the Leader to contact the Government on it as a matter of urgency.
I thank all Members who contributed to the Order of Business today. Senator Casey spoke about the recent auction for offshore wind, which was considered a success and will provide energy for 2.5 million homes. The Senator is correct to say that we had the opportunity a decade ago to be a global leader in this but we lagged behind. However, we are getting going now and we are open for business, which is a great thing to be able to say. It is great to see the likes of Wicklow getting a successful project with more to come. I look on with jealousy because we did not get the same level of interest or support for the west coast just yet. Apparently it is too windy for wind turbines at the moment and the technology is not quite there. I would disagree but it will come eventually. We now have the opportunity to be a net exporter of wind energy and it will be fantastic for Ireland when we manage to get the technology and the scale up to where we need it to be. It is good news. I wish those communities well. There is great community support for these initiatives, which is really important. The situation is nothing like it was with the onshore wind turbines. This has received great support. It is important to ensure fishing and coastal communities are properly compensated if and when there is some disruption to their jobs and livelihoods. The Senator is also correct to point to the potential restrictions on planning and on the Marine Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, that is newly set up and the board of which is being configured. Moving forward, the Minister should provide clarity to ensure the planning process can deal with this now, because it is significant.
Senator Mullen spoke about the now infamous article in The Irish Times on fake tan being a form of cultural appropriation. It was a ridiculous article anyway. Many Irish people wear fake tan, and each to their own. However, it does raise wider concerns that have been raised by other Members. Senator Malcolm Byrne has been raising the issue for quite some time now around artificial intelligence.
Not about fake tan.
Not about fake tan. You are all natural.
He has got a great colour.
You are all natural, Malcolm. It is fine. On a more serious note, it raises wider concerns. The Irish Times is the newspaper of record. We need to be able to trust what it prints, both online and in hard copy. To be fair to the editor concerned, they were unlucky. It was only a matter of time before it happened. Maybe it has happened previously and we have simply not been aware of it. They dealt with it in the right way and acknowledged that it was a mistake on their part. They are improving their editorial processes to try to ensure this does not happen again. We need to be more vigilant as citizens and consumers of information that we question what we read to ensure it is valid and accurate. That will be a challenge for younger generations, in particular, to make sure we critically analyse information we are given.
The Minister of State, Senator Hackett, spoke about agricultural shows. She encouraged us to look at the website irishshows.org to see what shows are happening in our local areas over the summer months and to visit them and support them. She acknowledged the work of Ms Mary Fitzgerald of Fitzgeralds Woodlands House Hotel on the organic garden they use to provide produce for the hotel and encouraged other hotels to do the same if they can and where they have the space.
Senator Boylan spoke about Ireland's emissions figures going in the wrong direction. It is a particular challenge. We have challenges to reduce emissions, not just from electricity consumption but from agriculture as well, and the demands are significant. We are going to have to find the right balance.
Ireland is home to some of the biggest tech companies in the world. Their headquarters are here and there is a demand for data centres. We need to strike the correct balance between ensuring we are open for business and can facilitate companies that invest in this country because they provide a lot of jobs that are valuable to our economy and meeting our emissions targets. The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications is keenly aware of that.
I take on board the point the Senator made about the retrofitting scheme. The one-stop shop scheme has not been the success we hoped it would be. There are significant problems in accessing the scheme, under which beneficiaries only pay the net balance of what is owed. However, the costs being quoted are astronomical. I saw one quote for a heat pump that was slightly less than €20,000. I know for a fact that heat pumps can be installed for €7,000 or €8,000. Why is there such a gap? One plumber said that is what people are charging. There are huge problems with how the scheme is being run. It needs to be opened up. It is not competitive enough. There are not enough suppliers acting as one-stop shops. Competition will fix that. It is currently too restrictive. Most people could never afford the bills being charged for a full retrofit and the grant cannot be accessed piece by piece, for windows and doors. It makes no sense. The grant is less if the work is done piece by piece, which is what most households can afford to do. The scheme needs to be examined. I have spoken directly with the Minister about this issue. He and his Department are working on how the scheme can be amended and improved to ensure it is accessible and affordable for all citizens. It is important to point out that green loans are available to assist people who want to do more work upfront and pay it off over time. They will make savings by reducing their energy demand in the house.
Senator Sherlock and other Senators spoke about the appalling attack on vulnerable people, migrants, who were in a camp on Upper Sandwith Street. It is regrettable that it got to that point. It is acknowledged that there are huge capacity issues in the system. However, it is also important to acknowledge that in the space of one year, we have taken in 84,000 people seeking refuge, including Ukrainians and international protection applicants. We can be proud of how we have handled that overall. The vast majority of communities have been welcoming. We have found beds in places we did not think we had beds. Everyone has done a lot to get us to where we are and to keep the show on the road, especially the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, who is doing a fantastic job. It is not perfect and it never will be. The demands being made of us are extraordinary. Other EU member states are facing the same challenges we are facing. It is important that we, as public representatives, do not do anything to fuel the issue and that we do whatever we can to assist the Minister and the Government to try to provide accommodation for these people and to deal with an extraordinary situation. There is a war in Europe. A year and a half ago, we did not know we would have this situation. We are doing our best to try to help people. The Minister has acknowledged that every effort is being made to get accommodation as quickly as possible for those who were not provided with accommodation when they first arrived in Ireland. However, it is simply not possible at every moment of the day. It will be an ongoing challenge for some time. We will have to keep a watching brief on that.
Senator Malcolm Byrne spoke about the increase in medical school fees. I agree with his remarks. Perhaps a system could be put in place under which the cost to the system is recouped through the person staying on to work in the Irish system. I think that would be acceptable to all citizens. It is much more expensive to run a medical course than to run an arts or business course and the State foots most of the bill. That must be acknowledged. Those availing of that significant support with fees need to give it back. They should be required to stay in the system. The colleges will have to look at something like that. The Senator made an important point about the socioeconomic profile of doctors finishing medicine courses. We want to make sure medicine is open to all those who would be the right person for the job. That should be the overarching policy.
Senator Joe O'Reilly spoke about on-campus student accommodation and has asked for a debate on the matter. I will request that from the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.
Senator Keogan spoke about the same issue Senator Sherlock raised, the violence perpetrated against vulnerable migrants. I take the point the Senator made that it is easy to blame communities but the pressures that are there also need to be addressed. However, it will be an ongoing challenge and it is correct to utterly condemn that kind of violence. It is simply unacceptable. There is no excuse for that type of behaviour, but we need to do our best to try to avoid those situations if we can.
Senator Fitzpatrick spoke about Phizzfest in Phibsborough and the fantastic volunteerism that made the event happen. It was a huge success.
Senator Wall congratulated the lilywhites, and I congratulate the Kildare team on a great job, and raised an issue related to retained firefighters.
I am not familiar with the issue around the negotiations but it may be worth tabling a Commencement matter on that issue because quite a specific matter has been raised.