The Order of Business is No. 1, Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022 - Report and Final Stages, to be taken at 12.45 p.m. and to adjourn at 5.30 p.m., if not previously concluded, and business will be interrupted at 2.45 p.m. for a sos of 30 minutes; and No. 2, Gradam an Uachtaráin Bill 2023 – Order for Second Stage and Second Stage, to be taken at 6 p.m., with the time allocated to this debate not to exceed two hours.
An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
With great pleasure, I welcome the students from St. Pius X primary school in Terenure. They are part of the student council and on a stepping stone to a political career in some cases. I thank the girls for all their work in the school. They are doing a power of great work. I thank them for their volunteerism. As a token of our appreciation to their teachers, I offer them homework off for the rest of the week. In fairness, the teachers do great work but I know the student council is making a huge difference in the school, so the girls can take a bow and I thank them.
The Cathaoirleach is becoming very popular with all of the young people in the schools. I do not know about the teachers-----
He has gone a bit mad. It used to be one night off homework. Now it is-----
There are no interruptions. Senator Murphy, please.
It is always good to see young people from the schools. I have a school in from my own region, in Dangan, Kilmore, County Roscommon, today. The ushers of this House do a wonderful job with all our schools, giving fantastic tours with enthusiasm. They are lovely people who go out of their way to help everybody. I know all the schools feel the same because they tell me. I say “Well done” to them and all of their colleagues for the way they treat all of the people coming in and the schools. I appreciate the way they do it.
I will digress a bit and perhaps people will understand. Yesterday was a sad day. As somebody who was involved in the radio business for 20 years and the music business, I was saddened by the passing of Christy Dignam. I followed Christy Dignam’s life very closely all along. I met him once or twice. His music was fascinating and his way with words was outstanding. Christy Dignam was a caring person. He fought hard to survive in this world when he was struck down with cancer. If one listens to his interviews, he did not want to leave his wife, daughter and immediate friends. He fought so hard to survive and, sadly for him, it has come to an end. However, he left a wonderful legacy. I ask everybody, even the younger people, to at some time, at this stage of their life or when they get older, to look up Christy Dignam and his music and look at the words. There is one song in particular that will be as popular in 200 years’ time as it is today, namely, “Crazy World”. That song will be used over and over again. It will be used because it is a crazy world now and probably will be into the future as well. We lost a lovely human being who was very open about the ups and downs of his life. We all have our ups and downs in life. His drug addiction was a huge issue for him but he managed to take himself out of it. He spoke openly about it and tried to talk to people who had the addiction to try to help them along them the road. We lost a wonderful human being and wonderful musician. We lost a man who had a wonderful way with words and, most of all, a man who cared for his community and his people. I met some people who work in the House who were neighbours of his. He was fondly got with all of his neighbours. He was an ordinary person. He was a man who had beliefs. He believed there was something else beyond this world. He was a man who brought happiness not alone to many Irish people but to people across the world. I wish Christy a fond farewell. May he rest in peace. And yes, Christy, it will always be a crazy world.
The song Senator Murphy spoke about is one that I always remember because it says “I have fallen down so many times”. I wish to be associated with the Senator’s remarks to the family and to Aslan on the death of Christy Dignam. He was a fabulous musician.
To our girls in the Gallery, thank you very much indeed.
I wish to raise an issue about the vacant property scheme and the grant towards it. It is an issue that Senator Paddy Burke has previously raised and something that I have come up against this week.
I will give some context. Obviously, this grant is exceptionally important. It is very good. It is a great way to give young, first-time buyers access into the property market to refurbish vacant, derelict properties. However, there is a discrepancy between different banks when it comes to the mortgage. There is an issue. A couple came to me in Dundalk who has successfully got the full grant. They are ready to buy and in a good financial situation. However, the bank they are dealing with has paused their mortgage application because it wants a first charge on the property, whereas at this point in time, the local authority has a first charge on it because they are availing of the grant. The same bank is telling people that the legal agreement needs to be changed so that the bank has the first charge on the property. If the property were ever to be repossessed, the bank would get its money back first.
This is an issue that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, has already fixed. The Minister already resolved this issue. There is only one bank in question, which I will not name, that has not got this information to local branches in a sufficient way. Senator Burke, other Senators and I have to go directly to the Minister after he fixed this situation to give examples of where a particular bank is still not implementing the decision that he fixed. This is a good example of where in legislation, when introducing good grants and good policy, a grey area emerges. A Minister can see what that grey area is and fix it at a ministerial level, get the word out to banks across the country that it is fixed and tell them what they need to do and yet that message still has not filtered down throughout one specific bank. That is unfair and down to the potluck of who decides to go to what bank for what mortgage.
I commend the Minister. He was made aware of this. Senator Burke brought it up as far back as two or three months ago. I ask that the Department absolutely ensure that the message is sent very clearly to all banks once again in Ireland so these vacancy grants can get through, people can start living in the homes and that it is not down to the interpretation of a bank reading it incorrectly or to a bank not informing all of its branches about what a Government Minister has done to fix the situation in the first instance.
Before I call Senator Clonan, I welcome the guests of Senator Craughwell in the Gallery, Denis and Teresa Ryder, from Tuam in County Galway. Denis has been for a long time a trade unionist and active in the labour movement. They are very welcome and I thank them for being here today.
I welcome my assistant Noelle today. I thank her for coming along.
We welcome Noelle as well. Sorry, I did not know she was here. She is very welcome indeed. I thank her for being with us.
I welcome all our guests.
I echo the sentiments about Christy Dignam. As a Finglas man myself, I lament his passing. I knew members of Aslan growing up; Alan Downey on drums was a neighbour of mine.
Finglas has made a huge contribution to the arts and music over the decades, for example Bono, the much maligned Paul Hewson is also a Finglas man from Cedarwood. While some people claim that is Glasnevin North, I do not think that Glasnevin North exists but it absolutely is Finglas. There have been other great musicians from Finglas, such as Séamus Ennis for example. Finglas has contributed disproportionately to the arts and to music over the decades. There is a great energy in Finglas and it is a great community with great people and we should celebrate it. I think of Christy Dignam's family today and 63 years of age is very young to lose someone. I will also mention that Samantha Libreri of RTÉ, who is also a great Finglas woman, published a number of books celebrating people of note from Finglas and I hope to feature in the next one. That is a little plug for myself.
I wish to raise two issues. First is the Ombudsman's report that highlights the deficiencies in the scheme for disabled drivers. It is very disheartening to note that disabled drivers have been in limbo for ten years and excluded from participation in the full economic, sporting and cultural life of the State by being denied access to their own private transport. The Ombudsman pointed out in the concluding remarks of his report that there is a lack of leadership there. In other words, we have not as yet identified the Minister responsible. I know there is huge goodwill on the part of Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, for example and the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, or whoever might be responsible for this. Perhaps it is the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. I ask the Acting Leader if as a House we could identify who that person is and show that leadership and get them to come to the House and have a robust investigation into how we can rectify this matter. These are most vulnerable and precious citizens and we should celebrate them and not put obstacles in their pathway.
Finally, I will raise the issue of the military special medical education scheme, which is not functioning as it ought to. Having medical officers rotate on a medical training scheme through the Defence Forces is a very good idea. It started in 2017 but as yet none of our medical officers have qualified and a number of them who have delayed final assessments are faced with what actually consists of compulsory military service. I think of one young female doctor in particular who cannot make very important life decisions about how to proceed professionally, and regarding family. That will have a very negative effect on other doctors. It will put them off from joining the scheme. Is it possible to ask the Minister for Defence to come to the House to resolve this issue? I have asked for meetings and have got no response.
Before I call Senator Gavan, I welcome the students from the Navan Educate Together National School, County Meath. The boys and girls are very welcome to Leinster House and we hope they have a very pleasant visit. I thank them for their patience. As a token of our appreciation, I hope they will be given homework off for the rest of the week. Given the fine weather that is upon us and the summer holidays are coming, their teachers also need a break.
I wish to raise two issues regarding prisoners I know the Acting Leader will be very familiar that we regularly bring up the issue of prisoners and justice in the Council of Europe. I am particularly concerned about what is happening in Türkiye and have been for some considerable time. The rule of law has come under severe attack in Türkiye in recent years. Thousands of academics, opposition party members, and journalists have been detained or arrested arbitrarily. They are mainly those who show support for peace or for the release of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan through peaceful protests and signing petitions. They were arrested and called terrorists. Ironically, if you call for peace in Türkiye, you are now actually deemed to be a terrorist. Academics have been arrested for simply signing a petition.
The conditions in Turkish jails are a cause for huge concern to me. Türkiye now has a policy of imprisoning people until their deaths. In other words, any opportunity for parole or release at a later time has been ruled out. This has been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights regarding Abdullah Öcalan himself because it gives him no hope of release. Türkiye has also designed new prisons specifically to put three prisoners in a cell because it knows when three prisoners are put in a cell and kept in isolation, two prisoners will go against one. It is designed for cruelty. Imagine that. That is official state policy in Türkiye and has been for some time. There is the position of isolation in particular. Abdullah Öcalan has now been in jail for 24 years having been kidnapped in Kenya by Türkiye in 1999. No one has been able to visit him for years. The last phone call was with his brother more than two years ago and it was cut off. He is not allowed to see his lawyers. He is not allowed to see his family. This policy of preventing family visits and legal visits is state policy now in Türkiye. It is a horrendous situation in a state that really should be better. In the most recent election, hundreds of people were arrested prior to the election. These were people who were effectively with the opposition. I call for an urgent debate on this issue. It is time that this Parliament brought attention to the plight of prisoners in Türkiye.
In the few seconds I have left, I also want to call for support once again for the release of Julian Assange. I am glad that Dublin City Council voted the other evening to call for his release. He faces up to 175 years in prison. As we know, his only crime is to have called out war crimes perpetrated by US forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places. What is happening to him is absolutely appalling. This is happening because the US want to make an example of him. The US wants to send a warning to journalists across the world that if they tell the truth about what the US has done and if they expose the US's war crimes, they can expect this level of punishment. As it is truly outrageous, I call for the Seanad Chamber to have a debate about the release of Julian Assange.
The issue I wish to raise today which I know is of concern to a lot of people is the closure of Tara Mines, albeit perhaps temporarily. I have been contacted by a number of people, both people who work there and have worked there. Councillor Paddy Meade has spoken to me about it. There is very much a direct connection with the impacted workers. These things are happening not just in Ireland but across the globe but the fact Tara Mines cannot say how long these 650 workers will be out of work is very worrying. There were discussions on "Morning Ireland" earlier about unsustainable losses tied to changes in the prices of zinc and electricity, inflation, and operational issues. The mine will be put under care and maintenance over the next four weeks but the reasons for that are of course little comfort to the 650 workers who have been temporarily laid off. One of the people I spoke to said they did not know whether they should start looking for work. By the way, they have worked in Tara Mines for a considerable amount of time. They liked working there. They liked their colleagues and their job and do not particularly want to go somewhere else but there is a state of uncertainty for them. People have families to provide for and mortgages to pay. People have their own inflation and cost-of-living crisis that they must deal with. This level of uncertainty, albeit perhaps unavoidable, and the shock of it has been remarkable for the people I spoke to who currently work there and have worked there, and others. I am not sure whether we need to have a debate on this but perhaps a call to Government. I understand the Government has offered whatever assistance it can. It is that certainty piece that is the most important. Will this really just be a temporary situation or will half or some of the 650 workers be permanently laid off? While it may be difficult for the company, this kind of swift operational thinking is of vital importance to the workers. It is a company of people who have worked there for decades of their lives and who have spent a considerable amount of time there. As Tara Mines is a big employer in County Meath, I hope it is only a short-term crisis and that it will not be a permanent closure. I wish to put on record that whatever needs to be done, be that through the Minister, Deputy Coveney, or others, that the Government tries to find a resolution to this and give those workers certainty as to what will happen whether they will go back into the workforce or if they need to begin to search for other work.
As with the Senator, Councillor Paddy Meade got in touch with me this morning and I am sure that, along with other members of the House, our thoughts are with the workers in Tara Mines. The Senator is right that it is the job uncertainty about how long the future lay-offs will be for.
I am sure Members will raise the matter. Councillor Meade was in touch with me this morning regarding it. Our thoughts are with the families, staff and workers of Tara Mines.
I express the same sentiments as my fellow Seanadóirí who have spoken on this. Tara Mines is weighing heavily on the minds of everybody at present, especially in the area where I live in north-west County Meath, including towards Athboy and that catchment area around Navan. It is a serious concern that such a vast swathe of jobs is to be put on hold at once. We had that experience previously and it was not nice when it happened. I am curious, in that while the price of zincs, coppers and many associated metals has dropped and halved recently, it had been on some run for quite an extended time. Tara Mines made quite a lot of money over the past number of years. You cannot just take the good with the bad; you have to have a long-term plan. The management is not being fully honest in the way it is looking at its figures and running its operation. Senator Gavan also has made a couple of similar points in that regard. I press the Acting Leader to bring the issue of Tara Mines to the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, including what extra things can be done to get it up and functioning again.
I would like to be associated with yesterday's expressions of sympathy regarding our former colleague and Leas-Chathaoirleach, Mr. Paul Coghlan. We will have another day for proper expressions of sympathy for the late Senator.
I support Senator McGahon on the issue he raised regarding the €70,000 grant for first-time buyers. That issue could nearly be resolved now. I compliment the Minister on being on top of it but the grant's hold-up has caused some hardship to some people. Issues with it should probably have been ironed out before the scheme was launched. It is a great scheme. The banks are looking for their pound of flesh to get protection in case anything goes wrong and the taxpayer comes in at the end of the day as well. The issue may well be resolved.
I also support what Senator Clonan said about the Ombudsman's report this morning regarding disability grants for disabled drivers. We have to do more on that issue. That report warrants a debate in the House. I ask the Acting Leader to arrange a debate on the report at some stage. There are so many different forms of transport out there, from disability scooters to cars, which can help disabled drivers. Every effort should be made to make life easier for them because they experience a lot of hardship. Whatever we can do, we should be doing it. As the Ombudsman said this morning, some of those grants were there for 40 years but have not been in place for the past ten years. It is an issue we should look at and on which the Government should intervene straight away. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is doing a lot of work in this area. I have no doubt she is a very competent person and will deal with the issue but the report warrants a debate in the House. I would welcome such a debate in future.
What I am about to say will be of great interest to the Acting Leader because of her connection with the Defence Forces. There was a lot of discussion of the independent review group, which, incidentally, concerned a series of allegations. Nothing has been proven as yet and we are waiting for a sworn inquiry into that. However, revelations over the past day or two in The Journal revealed correspondence between the Chief of Staff and the Secretary General of the Department of Defence. That Department pulled or ceased to allow the independent monitoring group, IMG, that had been set up following Senator Clonan's thesis on bullying and harassment in the Defence Forces. For no understandable reason, the IMG, which the Acting Leader has spoken to me about in the past, was stood down in 2018, when it was achieving some very good results.
The correspondence released under freedom of information, FOI, in the past few days shows there was a serious division between the Secretary General of the Department and the Chief of Staff of the day. The Chief of Staff was 100% committed to the IMG but the Secretary General stood that group down with no plan. There was no plan to move to the independent review group, which was subsequently set up following the complaints made by Women of Honour. As the Acting Leader will agree, the important thing is the IMG should have continued. The Chief of Staff is the person on the ground in uniform who knows what is going on and he should have been listened to at the time. It was outrageous that this was pulled. For that reason, the Acting Leader will agree that the Department of Defence must be part of the oversight. We cannot have members of that Department who are acting as both gatekeeper and rogue. We need nobody from the Department of Defence on the oversight group that is being put together. I ask the Acting Leader to relay that to the Taoiseach and Tánaiste.
Like many Members I am sure, I attended a briefing by the Irish National Teachers Organisation, INTO, held across the street this morning. If anyone has not gone there yet, I recommend they do. A very large turnout of teachers from all over the country was present. Among the many valid points raised, one particularly stood out, which was that in 2009, a great number of posts of responsibility in primary and special schools were suppressed due to the banking crisis. This meant a lot of extra work fell upon the shoulders of principals and deputy principals. At a time when unprecedented change is going on in primary teaching circles and a whole new raft of challenges are being put in front of teachers, it is important they are able to field a full team.
For instance, in March 2009, there were 1,605 assistant principal, AP 1, and 8,593 AP 2 positions. Today, that is down to 1,228 AP 1 posts and 6,655 AP 2 posts. Most of the cutbacks imposed at that particular sad period have been rectified and the financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, have been wound down. Clearly, however, there is a lacuna that needs to be looked into. The INTO has costed this. In the current year, it would cost €4 million and in a full budget year €12 million. I understand INTO representatives have met the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley. She has engaged with them and has been very positive. I ask the Acting Leader to further relay the concern from this Chamber to her.
I identify with the words around Tara Mines, without necessarily repeating all the arguments. I express my heartfelt sympathy to the workers. I am delighted that my colleagues, Deputy English, and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Coveney, are on the case and actively trying to deal with it. The matter was well discussed by a number of colleagues. I will leave it at that but it is a very important issue. It affects my locality as, strangely enough, quite a number of people commute from the area where I live to work in Tara Mines.
It is very appropriate that I raise the following matter, as the Acting Leader, Senator O'Loughlin, is a distinguished former member of the INTO and I am a former chair in that organisation. Senator O'Sullivan, also a former INTO man, raised the question of promotions but I will focus on two other issues the INTO representatives put to me this morning. One is the need to further reduce class size. We have done well in doing so over the past three years. It should happen again because the complexity of society now, including the multiracial dimension and all the challenges of contemporary society, make it necessary to have smaller classes. We are not at OECD level.
I will finish on the very important question of psychological services for pupils.
So many children now, including the Ukrainian children here, for a complex myriad of reasons, need psychological support and €20 per pupil would do it. It would cost €3.7 million this year, or €11 million for a full year. The INTO is a wonderful organisation and I believe it does a lot. I ask that the Acting Leader would convey those points to the Minister. I also ask for a debate on primary education in this Chamber soon. It is a very relevant area. It is a formative stage for our young people.
I am aware that the Cathaoirleach and the Acting Leader are very committed to matters around disability. This is the subject of my conversation this morning, and Senator Clonan has already spoken on it. The continuing denial of access to personal transport supports for people with disabilities is nothing short of shameful. This is the view of the Ombudsman, which we heard on "Morning Ireland" this morning, and which is included in the preface of the Ombudsman's official annual report. The Ombudsman, Mr. Ger Deering, said that he and his predecessors have been demanding reforms from the Government in this area for the past 12 years. He said "Despite this, I find myself having to once again highlight the current unfair and unacceptable situation" around disability matters. I understand that we may have a disability slot next Tuesday in the Seanad. This may yet have to be finalised but there is some possibility it might happen. If so, as part of that debate I ask that we would have a response specifically in respect of the Ombudsman and these matters that he raises. I was the Acting Chairman during the Commencement matters this morning and Senator O'Loughlin raised the issues of disabilities and supports. We need to do more. It is really important.
As Senator Joe O'Reilly has done, I would also like to draw attention to the INTO. It is an amazing organisation. I was at its briefing this morning. I join with Senator O'Reilly in asking for a debate on education. The area of education is so broad, however, that even the primary education sector and the four key asks from the INTO that were discussed this morning, could become the subject of a very focused debate if we could have it this side of the recess.
The Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, released a report today that found there has been no significant improvement in the biological quality of our rivers or lakes in 2022. Ireland relies heavily on its clean and green image, both for its food production and for its tourism industry. Increasingly, however, the reality is the very opposite and all of our biological and environmental indicators are going in the wrong direction.
In its report today, the EPA has pointed to agriculture as the primary cause for the pollution of our water sources with fertilisers and manure causing increased nitrogen and phosphorus levels. It is important that this House would have a debate around the future of agriculture in Ireland, about a just transition for farmers, and a sustainable future. I am conscious that farmers feel demonised at the moment and that they are constantly in the news with the negative stories about agriculture when there are incredible farmers out there during really incredible work around environmental high-nature value farming and organic farmers. What we need to see from our politicians and from some of the organisations that represent farmers is real leadership around how we are going to reverse the turn of environmental decline and bring those indicators down. We need water and we need our lakes and rivers to be healthy and vibrant. More importantly, for the interests of maintaining our reputation as a food producing nation that also relies heavily on tourism, we all need to show leadership now and start to reverse the trends in our environment.
I thank the Cathaoirleach and the Acting Leader. I want to talk about Tara Mines. I had two of my councillors in Navan, Councillor Alan Lawes and Councillor Francis Deane - we all had a text this morning from Councillor Paddy Meade - expressing concern over the loss of the 650 jobs. Tara Mines is a massive employer to County Meath. I am aware that when the incident happened in November 2021, a specialist crew was brought in from the UK to plug that hole, as such, where water was gushing out. I wonder if that issue has been resolved. Is that maybe the reason we are where we are today? At the time, the Government was very active with regard to getting that mine reopened, and that the cheque book was there to get it done. Is that an issue as to why it is closed today? I understand it was a foreign company in from the UK perhaps three to four months ago, and they were back in there trying to do some work there. I wonder what the real story is.
It is very unfortunate for the workers to be told yesterday. John Regan from SIPTU was on the radio this morning. They are going to be out of work, they say, for ten months and that it is temporary but is it really temporary? Now they must sign on and they will get some €200 per week. These are families with mortgages and €200 per week is not going to go very far. We need the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Coveney, and Deputy English, who is on the ground in Navan as well. I believe an investigation is needed. This company made €235 million last year in profits. The workers must be treated right and I do not believe the company has done so, especially with how the workers were told about this.
This morning I want to give a shout out to everybody sitting the leaving certificate exams. They are about halfway through what is, by any standard, a testing process. I believe Ireland is unique in our leaving certificate. It is a rite of passage here. In these circumstances, in this weather, it is extremely trying for anyone sitting the exams.
There was a very significant upset last week with maths paper 1. The Minister for Education needs to give a strong direction to the State examinations board and to all of those involved with setting the leaving certificate examinations to emphasise to them that the leaving certificate should be an opportunity for students to show all they know and all of they have learned, and show the investment that their teachers, their schools and their parents have made in their education. It should not be set up for them to fail. It should not be set up to test them on what they do not know. It should not be something that ends in a very significantly damaging process. I am really hopeful that when those exam papers are examined, there will be a correction and an acknowledgement that the maths paper 1 was exceptionally difficult and was not set up to prepare the students to succeed. The students who sat that exam, and those who sit all of the exams this summer, will know that this exam is only one step on their journey and that they will all go on to do much greater things in their lives. I wish them all well. I congratulate them, their parents and their teachers in getting them this far.
I thank the Senators and invite the Acting Leader, Senator O'Loughlin, to respond to the Order of Business.
I thank the Cathaoirleach. We started this morning with Senator Murphy, who quite rightly complimented all the ushers on how they deal with our school tours and all of the visitors who come to this House. This is the Parliament of the people. It is wonderful when everybody acknowledges when we have schools in. We have had four groups in already this morning. I thank Senator Murphy for reminding us to thank those who facilitate that. It is very important.
Senator Murphy also spoke about the sad loss of Christy Dignam. We all share in that. I was listening to recorded interviews with Christy on the radio this morning. It would bring a tear to anybody's eye. He spoke of his love for his family, his love for his wife Kathryn, his daughter, Kiera, and his three grandchildren, Cian, Jake and Ava. We extend our full sympathies to them.
The very first time I saw Christy playing was at the Kildare Derby Festival. I was about 21 years old. I will never forget the energy he showed on stage. He was just wonderful. In the week that my father was diagnosed with lung cancer, Christy was diagnosed with lung cancer. That was just over ten years ago and I have sadly since lost my dad. But every time I saw or heard Christy, I thought "You are beating this". It meant something very personal to me. He lived so much life in those 63 years. Senator Murphy outlined Christy's struggles with addiction, about which he himself was open. We have all learned so much from him and I extend our deepest sympathy to his family and his friends.
Senator McGahon spoke about the vacant property scheme and the grants.
I assume he is talking about the Croí Cónaithe scheme. He spoke about an anomaly whereby one bank has not passed on the proper communications to branches regarding the first call on a mortgage and the dichotomy between banks and councils. He acknowledged that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has fixed this problem. It is a pity he did not mention the bank because I would rather call out a bank that is not giving the correct information to branches. There seems to be poor communication, despite the fact the Minister has fixed this. The Senator sought an assurance that the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has given a clear indication of the position. I will ask the Minister for the information. I have no doubt that has happened.
Senator Clonan spoke about Christy being from Finglas and other relevant and notable musicians from the area. His key issue was the Ombudsman report on deficiencies for disabled drivers. That was brought up late in the day. We should look for a debate on this. It falls between the Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities and the Minister for Transport, as indeed so many things do. I will have a meeting with both later about a different issue because it falls between two stools. We will certainly look for that.
Senator Gavan spoke about the situation in Turkey, a country that still aspires to become a member of the EU. The way it treats its prisoners is absolutely shocking. Academics, journalists and peaceful people who call out the bad things that are happening under the regime are deemed as terrorists and put into jail with no parole, hope of early release or family visits. It is really wrong. He also spoke about the release of Julian Assange. Across Europe we are, sadly, seeing situations whereby people are being put into jail for no apparent reason. This may be something we can have a debate about further down the line.
Senator Hoey spoke about the shocking situation with Tara Mines. Our first thoughts have to be with the families of those impacted. Senator Cassells had a Commencement Matter earlier on this. I understand from what I hear that the Government is working very closely with the management of Tara Mines. We should ask for a briefing, something which was echoed by other Senators. We do not need to have a debate, but there should be an opportunity for the Ministers, Deputies Coveney and Humphreys, in particular, to come before the House. We should look for a briefing tomorrow, if we can. It is certainly something we will request. Apart from the 650 people employed by the mine, many businesses are connected to it and rely on the business they have been given from it. It is crucially important for the people of Meath and the surrounding areas, as Senator O'Reilly mentioned. Councillor Paddy Meade was very busy on the phones this morning. He contacted me. Fair play to him.
He canvassed the whole of the Seanad.
He is absolutely on the ball. Senator Davitt spoke about the impact of Tara Mines on Westmeath.
Senator Paddy Burke expressed his sympathies on the death of former colleague, Paul Coghlan. I would like to be associated with that, as I know everybody else in the House would be. He spoke about the disability grants report. It is a priority that we have a debate on that.
Senator Craughwell spoke about the independent review group. Under a freedom of information request, correspondence between the then chief of staff and the Department of Defence was released. He referred to the unfortunate situation whereby the independent monitoring group was disbanded and became an independent review group. We take note of his comments.
Senator Ned O'Sullivan spoke about the briefing with the INTO. I have not yet attended, but I hope to do so after the Order of Business. He is correct about the middle management situation. Schools are dealing with more than they have ever dealt with. I take my hat off to teachers, principals and all of those involved in the school community. They are doing an incredible job in all of our communities and they need to have middle management restored. The Minister for Education has gone quite a distance in terms of starting to restore middle management, we need it fully restored. We will bring that message back to her very strongly.
Senator O'Reilly spoke about Tara Mines and the INTO, and the need for a further reduction in class sizes. She is correct. It is important to point out that we have the lowest ever pupil-teacher ratio right now. Since the Minister for Education took up office the number has decreased by one every year. We hope to continue that progress. We need to acknowledge the schoolbook scheme that has been introduced and will be in place in September for primary schools means parents will not have to pay for books. It is important to acknowledge the many positive developments that the Minister has put in place for education, in terms of a reduction in class sizes and supporting those who are vulnerable and have extra needs, as the Senator pointed out.
Senator Boyhan also raised disability matters and the INTO, and supported them.
Senator Boylan spoke about the EPA report, which I have not seen. She said there has been no significant improvement in water quality. It is regrettable because it is hugely important. She is correct that farmers feel demonised; they do. I was on the farm of Stephen Byrne in Monasterevin, County Kildare, recently. He showed me the measures he has put in place to improve water quality. Farmers understand the situation and know what they need to do. They are doing the work but they not getting the results quickly enough. The Senator asked for a debate on just transition and to counteract the negative stories were hearing about agriculture. The majority of our farmers are taking very positive steps in terms of climate action. We will look for a debate on that.
Senator Keoghan raised the issue of Tara Mines. As I said, we will certainly look for a briefing. It is urgent. If we do not have one today, we need to have one tomorrow. We will contact the two Ministers straightaway.
Senator Fitzpatrick is right. We all talk about the leaving certificate before it starts. It is important to acknowledge that students have reached the halfway mark. We have typical exam weather. Everybody is with the students. I saw quite a bit of coverage of the fallout regarding the maths paper. I have no doubt that will be taken into consideration in marking because most often that is the case. In terms of the direction she feels the Minister should take on the State exams board, I agree that we want young people to flourish and to be given the opportunity to show what they know and have learned, assimilated and understand, rather than rote learning. To be fair, in general we are starting to see a move from being able to assimilate and rote learning.
I welcome the young people and older people that are here. It is lovely to see you all and we hope you enjoy the day.
Order of Business agreed to.
I welcome our guests to the Gallery. The young people are very welcome. I hope they have no homework for the rest of the week. Our non-young people who are not students are very welcome as well. Enjoy your visit.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 12.09 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 12.45 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 12.09 p.m. and resumed at 12.45 p.m.