The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding proposed approval by Seanad Éireann of a proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing minimum standards on the rights, supports and protections of victims of crime, to be taken on conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; and No. 2 the Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) (Cap on Market Revenues) Bill 2023 - Second Stage to be taken at noon and to conclude after 90 minutes, if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes and all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, and the Minister to be given an opportunity of no less than ten minutes to reply.
An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
I congratulate the Ministers, Deputies Harris and Darragh O'Brien, on the announcement we are expecting around now on support for accommodation for higher level students. Every year we hear of students not being able to get accommodation. The €434 million partnership that will see 2,700 beds across the country is welcome news.
I welcome to the House the members of Network Ireland, an incredible group of women who come together collectively to support one another in a collaborative way. I am absolutely delighted that we are joined by members from 17 different networks around the country and the Kildare president Emma Early Murphy is very welcome. I had the privilege of being at the awards ceremony the weekend before last. It was great to see the very positive collaboration, support and empowerment. I also welcome Anita Meenehan is the president-elect of the Kildare group, along with all the ladies who are here. Network Ireland has about 1,000 members involving women from different professions, SMEs, entrepreneurs working in larger companies.
The organisation was founded back in 1983 and I have had the pleasure of seeing it grow and develop. This year it announced a partnership under Ms Early Murphy's leadership with women in business in Northern Ireland. They have set up an academy to support one another. It is about that element of networking, collaboration and support. We are very pleased to host them today. They will be holding their executive meeting in Leinster House and later will be having lunch in the Members' restaurant. Any Members who would like to join would be very welcome.
We are making great progress in closing the gender gap and the power gap. The number of female CEOs has grown hugely. As chairperson of the Irish Women's Parliamentary Caucus here in the Oireachtas, I recognise it is important that we support measures being put in place to advance female empowerment. I know that the network operates with tiny State funding and that should change. We need to put measures in place. I have had a conversation with the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, and I have no doubt that the Deputy Leader will bring this up with the Minister, Deputy Coveney, to support the great work they are doing.
The evening before last I chaired a Stop the Stigma event in the audiovisual room. Eight of the biggest and strongest unions in Ireland came together to support women in the workplace in stopping the stigma about the menopause and menstruation. In Leinster House there is no policy for female workers. Loretta Dignam from the Menopause Hub had an awards ceremony the week before last. There were 27 finalists recognising those who have put in strong workplace practices. We need to do it in Leinster house. I will be calling on all Senators to offer their support on that.
I join the Senator in welcoming the national executive of Network Ireland including its president, Emma Early Murphy. I thank them for coming to Leinster House and for holding their executive meeting here. It shows that this Parliament is open to all its citizens and making sure that all voices are heard. I thank them for being here today.
I wish to talk about, and put on the record of the House, the situation that confronts the people of Gaza this morning. The Israel Defense Forces, IDF, has assembled a force of 300,000 troops on the border with Gaza and Gaza is 360 sq. km. To put that in context, the United States invaded Iraq, a country the size of France, with just over 120,000 troops. Israel is proposing to saturate the Gaza Strip with 300,000 troops. That is 1,000 troops per sq. km. The consequences of this are clear to everybody. We have seen the consequences of their air strikes, which are not consistent with the laws of armed conflict and are contrary to the Geneva Conventions in that the Israeli military and air force have targeted civilian objects and civilian areas. They have not allowed for a safe evacuation corridor towards Rafah and Khan Younis. They have not provided the necessary reliefs as set out under the Geneva Conventions for pregnant women, the elderly and the disabled. We are also aware that since the bombardment of the Gaza Strip began, more than 100 children have been killed every day, including today.
Last night, the Israelis began their ground incursion into the Gaza Strip. It was an exercise in what is called reconnaissance by fire. If they persist with this they will bring Merkava tanks that have a main armament 120 mm, 155 mm artillery, and infantry carrying weapons that are designed for the conventional battlefield, with targets out to 800 m. They are going to use those weapons systems in and among a densely populated civilian environment of 2.2 million people. The consequences are predictable. They will result in mass civilian casualties and a humanitarian catastrophe that is beyond comprehension at this stage.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has issued a warning today that all Irish citizens should leave Lebanon immediately. I assume that is because the Department anticipates Hezbollah's involvement in this war and that if and when Israel goes in on the ground Hezbollah will join this war. I have seen some analysis of Hezbollah in the Irish media which is completely incorrect. Hezbollah is more than able to take on the Israeli military in northern Israel. Hezbollah has had ten or 15 years since the collapse of Iraq and the rise of Tehran's influence through Baghdad, Damascus and right over to Sheik Nasrallah in Beirut. They have armed and equipped Hezbollah with tens of thousands of very sophisticated missiles and endless amounts of equipment. There is now a land corridor from Iran to Lebanon and they can support, resupply and reinforce Hezbollah without any interruption. That is why the Americans have placed aircraft carrier battle groups in the eastern Mediterranean to send a warning to Iran. We are on the precipice of a regional escalation and the potential for a global conflict.
Hamas is a salafist, fundamentalist, radicalist Sunni organisation. They are Islamist extremists. What they had designed in their genocidal attack on Israel is now taking place. They provoked this reaction from Israel which plays into their playbook. What Israel is about to do is a human catastrophe for Palestinians that is beyond comprehension but will also sow the seeds for the destruction of Israel itself. I ask the Government to please use our neutral, independent voice to try to bring about a ceasefire as soon as we can to pre-empt this catastrophe.
Finally, what is the plan for the hundreds of Irish troops who are serving in Lebanon, Syria and in Israel, with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization and the United Nationals Disengagement Observer Force in Syria? If this conflict escalates, as the Department of Foreign Affairs anticipates, the mandates for those missions will become completely and utterly meaningless and we must have a discussion here in this House. I ask that we invite the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs to talk to us about the plans for the hundreds of Irish troops who will find themselves in the eye of this storm and above all make a plea to stop the killing in Gaza. Stop the killing of innocent men, women and children.
I commend Senator Clonan on his contribution. I ask the Deputy Leader to invite the Tánaiste primarily to the report from the forum on neutrality. I know that a further report will be published by the forum.
Yesterday, in the Dáil, the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence reiterated his concern about the triple lock, which ensures that any deployment of more than 12 Defence Forces personnel would require a UN mandate, approval by Government and a resolution of the Dáil. He also said "we cannot ignore the deep and systemic challenges facing the UN Security Council," which leads me to wonder why the Security Council is only now an excuse to question the triple lock. The triple lock policy was developed when the Security Council was just as deadlocked, if not more, than it is now. What about the Cold War? What about the fact that only 13 peacekeeping missions were set up by the UN between 1948 and 1978, and none at all between 1979 and 1987? I know that the Tánaiste is not writing off UN peacekeeping and I know that the challenges are real in terms of escalating tensions among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. As Associate Professor, Katharina P. Coleman, and Professor Paul D. Williams point out in an article on peacekeeping that I read yesterday:
Peace operations are a highly resilient international institution for managing armed conflict. Their resilience derives from ... collective intentionality ... Peacekeeping will only become extinct if international actors decide that peacekeeping should no longer exist.
Uncertainly does surround the future of UN peacekeeping but it is precisely for that reason we need the triple lock. We give a huge legitimacy to UN peacekeeping missions and it gives our neutrality legitimacy as well as Ireland's independent foreign policy. Therefore, we must continue to advocate for a reform of the UN, including, as the Tánaiste said yesterday, the abolition of a veto of the five permanent members. If we remove the UN from the triple lock we will end up participating in EU-led or NATO-led missions and as such any mission would lack international legitimacy.
Again I quote from the article by Katharina P. Coleman, and Professor Paul D. Williams:
Peace operations have endured through considerable variation in terms of interest shown by states and they have resounded after periods of relative disinterest. The current period of challenge is not unprecedented. Indeed, the history of UN peace operations can be depicted as a series of retreats, reflections and renaissances. The current contraction is no more likely to be permanent than the previous one.
I, too, welcome the ladies to the Gallery and totally endorse the comments ofmy colleague, Senator O'Loughlin. It is great to have them here and we all want to see women more involved. The women with whom I am involved through politics and the people who work for me are absolutely fantastic people. They have lots of brains, lots of ideas and are twice as good as I am. I hope that our visitors enjoy their day.
I thoroughly agree with the comments made by Senator Clonan. We are all saddened again today by the pictures of Israeli and Palestinian children bloodied, maimed, crying and holding on to one another. The violence is sinful and the world of adults seems unable to act. It is a very dangerous situation from every aspect. As I said here last week, when you talk about the appalling attack by Hamas, the involvement of Hezbollah and then you look outside that, we now know, different from before, that Iran and Russia are right at the back of this. As Senator Clonan will understand better than most, when we were back in the days of Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Mr. Sharon when they were so close to power, we did not have involvement by dangerous people outside of that so I think we are now in a very difficult situation.
I also welcome this morning the announcement by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine on farmers who have restricted herds due to TB on their farms. They will now be able to avail of online-only farm livestock options and the marts will be able to facilitate that. The reason that is so important to people with restricted herds is that before now they could sell only into certain private lots. Now they will have the online options and the marts will take that on. Farmers had thought that under the old system their livestock was undervalued, and they were probably right. This will probably give them a better price for their livestock and I think it will be very much welcomed by the farming community.
Finally, I am sure the Deputy Leader will join me in welcoming the fact that the Government seems to be moving very quickly to ban mobile phones in our schools, particularly our primary schools. Thanks be to God for clear, precise action on that. Adults should move ahead with it very quickly.
Yesterday, in the audiovisual room, NewsBrands Ireland and Local Ireland gave a presentation on their key asks in respect of the Defamation Act and issues around advertising. It was a packed room. There were perhaps more journalists than politicians in the room. That was a missed opportunity for the organisers in that, clearly, the target audience for their message was the politicians yet the room was full of journalists. It was good to meet them, however. I am very much a supporter of the local press and local media.
One example I will share with the House is that these two organisations had reviewed all the local papers - they monitor advertising in the national press and in the regionals, provincials and locals - and they could clearly demonstrate that the Constituency Commission's advertisements for the constituency boundary reviews for European and general elections did not feature in any of those local papers. They asked why that was the case. It is very important we engage with local people.
What I liked about the little leaflet the organisations provided was the section on their asks from us, the politicians, specifically a fair share of government advertising, a fair share of government supports, a fair deal for the big tech platforms and, finally, a fair regime for defamation. I might have a different view on defamation from theirs but I will make one ask of the Seanad through the Deputy Leader. I ask that we schedule a report on the pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the defamation (amendment) Bill. The committee has completed that. At a time when we may have some time on the Seanad schedule, we should be discussing relevant legislation.
I am supportive in general of the asks of these two organisations. I believe in supporting the national press and the local, provincial and regional press and, therefore, my ask is that we schedule, as early as possible, a report on the pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the defamation (amendment) Bill and have a broad discussion and debate on these issues in this House.
I support Senator Boyhan's comments on the presentation in the audiovisual room yesterday. It was a very important presentation, and the Senator has made a very important intervention today.
I seek a debate with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I know we will have one next week, but the issue I wish to raise today is the housing adaptation, housing aid and disability grants through the local authorities. It is an issue I have raised numerous times in this House. I have had a number of Commencement matters on it. I have been told that a report has been completed and is with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform at the moment, but that report has now been with the Department for two years, in my understanding. My problem is that yesterday I visited a number of homes in Kildare in which the people are over 66 and therefore qualify for the grants. Their windows are falling out to the extent that they need replacement very quickly. The excellent staff we have in the local authorities, particularly in Kildare County Council, whom I deal with almost daily, tell me their money has run out. They have made an application and I believe some additional funding is on the way. If, however, we are to be serious about climate change and the challenges facing us, the Government must grasp as quickly as possible that this is a grant that has worked. It has worked for people to replace the windows and doors in their homes and to ensure their houses are insulated. It cannot take two years to get a report ready. It cannot take two years to ensure that the maximum number of homes are insured and insulated.
I ask the Deputy Leader to write to the Minister for an update on this matter. My colleague, Senator Conway, raised it as a Commencement matter last week. It has also been raised in the Dáil and, as I said, I have raised it a number of times through Commencement matters. It is necessary that we encourage people to avail of this grant and ensure they can insulate their homes. It has now got to the stage where Kildare County Council, the council with which I am most familiar, has put in qualification restrictions for the grant and those with double-glazed windows will have to wait an additional year to make an application. It is just not acceptable.
As I said, I visited a number of homes yesterday. There are people crying out for this. I ask the Deputy Leader, as I said, to write to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage about this. Maybe we could get him before the House specifically to discuss the grants available through his Department. The criteria make no sense but the grant could make such a difference to so many people. I ask that the Government act on this straight away.
I would like the House to join me in wishing the Holy Family School, Cootehill, a very special 50th birthday, which it celebrates today. Celebrations are kicking off around now, at 11 o'clock. The Holy Family School is a special school for children aged between four and 18 years and its origins date back to 1966 in Carrickmacross. It then moved to Cootehill in 1973. The Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, was there last year opening the brand-new, state-of-the-art facility - and it really is state-of-the-art. The school caters currently for about 182 children, so it is very successful. I congratulate Rachel Moynagh, the principal, and the entire team at Holy Family School on the professionalism and warmth they bring to the school. When that care is combined with the pupils who attend, you have a very special place. I have visited it on a number of occasions and have always come out of it feeling its very warm glow. It is a very special place and it has a very special birthday today. I am sure they will have a fantastic day and I am sure all Senators will join me in wishing the school a very happy and special 50th birthday and many more years of success.
I wish to raise an issue around small businesses. I think one thing on which we all agree across this Chamber is the importance of small business to our economic life. I have a shocking tale of a company called FitzMac, which supplies modular buildings for schools. It has done some fantastic work across the country, including on St. Vincent's special school, Lisnagry; St. Brendan's girls' national school, the Glen, Cork; St. John's Senior National School, Kilkenny; and Emo National School, to name just a few. It has a manufacturing facility in Newcastle West, County Limerick, and right now it is about to go out of business. The reason is that the Department of Education owes it over €700,000. I have spoken to the manager and he is completely exasperated because there is a blame game between the schools and the Department, but all the work has been completed and certified. He had to lay off five employees last week and expects to close down the business in two weeks. This is a manufacturing facility providing essential services to our schools. We all know the pressure our schools are under. What I cannot get my head around is how incredibly unhelpful the Department of Education has been in not being proactive to ensure these debts are paid. This is a small business. It cannot afford €700,000-odd in debt. It broke my heart when I spoke to the manager of FitzMac because he set up his business in 2021 and is passionate about building the business and about the quality of work it delivers, and the quality of work has been certified, yet it is the State, the Department of Education in particular, that is failing him.
Is there anything the Deputy Leader can do? She has been helpful in the past in this regard. We all support small businesses in this Chamber. This one is about to go out of business. I have had a parliamentary question submitted by my colleague, Deputy Maurice Quinlivan, in the Dáil. We are waiting for a response to that. My fear is that if urgent action is not taken, we will have more job losses and a good business will close down. If there is anything we can do here, I think everyone would appreciate it.
I raise legislation we passed here recently on the powers of gardaí. I hosted a meeting with small businesses in Limerick recently with the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, when she was in Limerick.
One of the major issues raised was the use of scrambler bikes for crime and intimidation. I compliment An Garda Síochána because, yesterday, 39 gardaí and some of the armed response unit seized more than 44 scrambler bikes and number of arrests were made. The bikes were not being used in a safe way. People were being intimidated. People riding them were wearing balaclavas and whatever else. We often pass legislation and wonder where it goes. Legislation that was passed recently was used successfully yesterday. I compliment An Garda Síochána on the thorough work carried out. We often criticise it. The Garda listened when the matter was raised as being of concern to small businesses. It is important that we support and listen to small business owners. The right decision was made yesterday.
When budget 2024 was released, there was a lot in it. Education funding is part of what was outlined. It probably did not make much of a splash by way of headlines because the announcement of free school books up to junior certificate level was the headline but buried within the budget are a number of concerning issues. For example, funding for the capitation fee was €90 million last year and it has been reduced to €81 million for 2024. That is approximately a 3% cut in funding for the capitation fee. When the capitation fee is cut, the funding has be replaced by someone. Who will it be? It will be parents. The voluntary contribution, as it is known, is no more voluntary than the dogs in the street. Cutting capitation fees has left principals with a massive job to do in trying to cover costs in their schools.
We also saw funding for 205 special education teacher posts. It sounds great, but there are 4,000 schools. How can 205 teachers be divided across them? Funding for 260 special needs assistants was announced, but that is 260 across 4,000 schools. Again, it is hard to see how that will have an impact on the education system. There were announcements with respect to newly qualified teachers. They will get an additional €2,000. The schools hiring them in Dubai and various other parts of the world will quite happily give them the €2,000 towards their airfare to get out of here. It is a paltry sum and does not indicate we value education as we should. We are one of the richest countries in Europe. We are running a massive surplus at the moment. Surely we should be looking at the services we are providing for the adults of tomorrow and ensuring they have the best possible education and supports. I see the Deputy Leader nodding. I know she agrees with everything I say because I know her well. We need to go back to the Minister and say where the budget is concerned the report for this year is "must try harder".
I know the Senator thinks I think that.
I welcome to the Gallery students from Scoil Mhuire, Trim, County Meath. They are most welcome. I do not see their teachers. I am sure they are around somewhere. The reason I ask to see the teacher is to make sure the students do not get any homework for the weekend.
Or next week.
Or next week. I thank Senator Craughwell for his generous contribution in giving no homework on a week off.
The honorary consul of Ireland based in Antwerp is also most welcome to Seanad Éireann. I thank him for coming and for all the work he does on behalf of Ireland in Belgium.
There have been several contributions this morning regarding yesterday's debate in respect of Local Ireland and the presence of representatives of various local newspapers in Leinster House yesterday. It is important we have that debate. Local Ireland's focus yesterday and when it was here last year was on revenue. Last year, it looked for a reduction of VAT to 0%, which the Government acceded to and put in the budget. Yesterday it spoke about a fair share of Government advertising. It should have acknowledged that some of the biggest contributors in advertising to every local newspaper every week are the county councils. They do a significant amount of advertising in all local papers. As media spokesperson for Fianna Fáil in the Seanad and a member of the National Union of Journalists, I think the debate needs to be about circulation and readership, including by young people such as those in the Gallery. Local Ireland admitted that circulation of local newspapers has dropped by 50% since 2010 and is dropping 6.5% year on year. The statistics for national newspapers are not a whole lot better. We need to see initiatives such as the one suggested by the editor of the Irish Farmers' Journal yesterday, whereby free subscriptions are given to a targeted number of young people to try to get them used to reading newspapers. If they are being accessed online, so be it. There is a disconnect between the written word and a whole generation of people. That is what is fuelling the decline in circulation year on year. A media fund was established to allow for the pooling of court reporters and council reporters to aid young journalists and give them opportunities. That pool has not yet been established and it must be pressed with the Minister and the Department. If, as has been indicated, other Members are interested in this sphere we should have a debate with the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in this House on the future of local and national media. Yesterday, it was clear that the focus of how we will save this ailing industry is not clear.
The weekend is approaching. We will have the bizarre scenario, which happens every year, when we will change the time. It is an issue that frustrates me on a continuous basis. We are going back to a law about changing the time that was passed in 1918. The world has moved on but we have not with regard to summer time. It beggars belief when we look at mental health issues and people wanting to get out and be active in the evening, that an hour will be taken away. We all get up early in the morning. Having an extra hour in the morning is of no benefit to anyone in my household whatsoever. It is all chaos anyway. We are dealing with something that was enacted in a different time, century and millennium and it makes no sense.
I saw what happened to a new proposal regarding penalty points, road safety, pedestrians, cyclists and so on. There is a safety issue in moving the hour back in the evening when it comes to people on the roads. Whether they are walking or cycling, they could have an extra hour of light, which is bound to be of benefit in those key issues of road safety which the Deputy Leader correctly mentioned in the Oireachtas yesterday. We need to have a real debate. We have been going around in circles on this for years and we are scared to deal with the issue. For the upcoming year, it is one of the issues we should start talking about to make sure we move away from a system that was put in place in 1918 and that we are lined up for a modern society that has a totally different outlook and regime as regards light. We will have a bizarre weekend again. It will do nothing for my house and will create chaos. We need to look at it logically.
I rise today to speak about the new gambling legislation that has been before the House and is due to come back again. I certainly welcome many of the measures in it, especially around hand-held devices and ease of access without a lot of proof. It is important legislation, particularly for problem gamblers. However, one part I disagree with is that someone who looks at racing on a paid-for subscription racing channel will not be able to see advertising for gambling companies.
That is really a bridge too far. Our economy, as we are all aware, is quite reliant on our horse breeding and racing industry. I cannot see why, when people who are old enough are looking at a television channel and paying for a subscription to see horses and whatever else, they could not see advertisements from these companies. I think it is a little bit Irish. I would not have a problem with gambling advertisements being banned on general terrestrial television but banning it on paid-for channels is nanny-State stuff.
Last night, I spoke to Bernie Quinn from Dundalk. She has done tremendous work with Dundalk Outcomers over the past three decades in County Louth. Dundalk Outcomers provides a service that stretches from Skerries right up into County Monaghan and throughout all of County Meath. It is a very serious issue that funding for an outreach officer was not approved by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. This was funding providing to support LGBTI+ community organisations in the delivery of services and initiatives under scheme A. This has been a scheme which has got funding in the past two years. An outreach officer was appointed in June of this year, and who, between June and today, has organised 47 different community outreaches from north Fingal, represented by the Deputy Leader, through counties Meath and Monaghan and all of County Louth. Another 19 outreach events have been organised between now and Christmas. In total, that is 67 outreach events between June and Christmas. Now that person will lose their job and will no longer be able to continue in that role because the Minister's Department has not provided funding on this occasion. I accept this may be more acceptable as a Commencement debate but considering we are off next week, I wanted to get the opportunity to raise it in the House today. This is a really important service for that community right across the north east. It is invaluable funding and it goes towards so much work. While I only have a few seconds here, I will forward the details to Members of the huge amount of outreach the person in this position has been able to do. Without this funding, these events will not take place. I would appreciate a debate with the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, at some stage in the future about how we can ensure the continuation of this funding over two- to three-year periods in order that it is not provided in one year and taken away the following year.
This is timely, as Dublin Airport is providing us with an economic briefing this afternoon. Based on where the Deputy Leader is situated, I am sure she will probably be attending it herself as a fellow member of the transport committee. I mentioned it briefly yesterday but at this time of the year, Dublin Airport is very close to approaching its cap on numbers as we head towards Christmas. I know the Deputy Leader has family abroad and may want to travel to them or them to her. There was an article in the The Irish Times last week about Dublin Airport working with airlines to manage the cap but what does this actually mean? It is important that we invite in the Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan, if possible, to discuss where we are going with the future longer-term development of Dublin Airport. It is very clear that there has been a huge bounce-back in aviation traffic, which is very positive in lots of ways but equally presents challenges for the airport cap, setting aside the complications with the runway. In the longer term, we are looking at things like sustainable aviation fuel and hydrogen and so on, to power aircraft. The projections are very strong and may be pass the 32 million figure shortly. We need to look at what the story is vis-à-vis extra capacity in the airport buildings whether that be a third terminal or an expansion of terminals 1 and 2. I seek a debate in this House sooner rather than later because none of us want to see airlines starting to cut services and depriving people of the opportunity to travel based on the cap. Regardless of our views on whether aviation is as sustainable as other modes of travel in terms of climate change, it is very important we would all be able to get on and off the island. I would like to have that debate as soon as we can after the recess.
I request a debate with the Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Byrne, on the sports capital grant, the timelines and when clubs will know more about whether they have been successful. This is obviously an important year and the Government has been very good to support sports clubs during the past three years but for obvious reasons, councillors in particular, who have worked very hard alongside their local clubs, want to make sure these clubs are supported and funded and that this is done before June. Now that the Minister of State has taken over his role, it is important we have a discussion in the Chamber with him about the role he plays.
I met representatives of one of my local clubs recently: St. Mary's hurling and camogie club in Clonmel. It is looking to redevelop a whole new pitch at the back of Raheen College in Clonmel. This is all going towards female participation and all the female teams will be playing on this pitch. It costs a lot of money to do but it is really important. We are in the position in Clonmel where we have too many teams but not enough pitches; normally it is the other way around. It is a really important project to support, along with a lot of others. In the context of where we are going over the next number of months, a debate with the Minister of State with responsibility for sport would be very beneficial.
I thank Senator Ahearn for asking for the debate on sports capital grants because it is something that is very important to all of us and to our local councillors up and down the country. We all know the value of our local sporting organisations. I suggest the problem the Senator has in Clonmel is probably replicated in various parts of the country. In my neck of the woods, we have an awful lot more teams than we have pitches for. We have one of the fastest growing populations, which is great to see but the resources need to follow the people. I will certainly organise that debate as soon as I can.
Senator Horkan seeks a debate with the Minister for Transport on aviation. Hell will have no fury like that to be known if a mother's son cannot get home for Christmas because we reach a cap in the middle of November.
Or daughter for that matter.
It is true of everybody. It is actually quite worrying to hear the Dublin Airport Authority, DAA, talking about managing the cap in the middle of October as if we are going to somehow ration travel in the next eight or ten weeks before Christmas. That debate certainly will be welcome and I will request it as quickly as I can.
Senator McGahon raised the very important work that Outcomers does, not just in his home area of Dundalk but all the way across north Dublin, County Meath and most of County Louth. For anybody who does not know Outcomers, it provides safe, social, relaxed environments for people who are discovering or struggling with their sexuality and provides a chance for them to be able to talk in a very comfortable environment and seek advice and friendship. It is really important. If anybody thinks we have done that work and it is all right for anybody to come out any day of the week these days, I think we all know that is not true. We can all see the rise in opinions against people in communities and we certainly need to be mindful of financially supporting outreach support workers in all our towns and villages. I will speak to the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, to see if there is anything that could be done on that.
Senator Davitt spoke about some of the concerns he has regarding the gambling legislation. Senator Davitt will be able to have those debates on Committee Stage which will happen in the next few weeks.
On the matter raised by Senator Lombard, I do not know if it is my age but I look forward to the extra hour in bed now. I never did when my kids were small as his are, because there was mayhem. It is an odd thing and we have this recurring debate every single year. The thing which, I will not say impacts me but which is a realisation, and again is probably something to do with my age, is that the reduced hours of daylight we have in the wintertime have an impact on people's mood. I say that not in a light-hearted way because some people see a desperate change to their mood in the wintertime. It is probably something we should look at but perhaps we should do it in advance of the week before we are about to change the clocks. It does seem a bit odd that we are still doing something 100 years after it was decided it was a good idea.
Both Senators Cassells and Boyhan spoke about the presentations we received yesterday from our local newspapers. They all raised different concerns regarding national advertising on behalf of Government agencies. We need a debate on the circulation, which is drastically reducing. Senator Cassells is right in that all our local authorities spend money with their local press people but our national Government agencies do not. For argument's sake, when we look at the profile of the people who buy the Meath Chronicle and deem it not to be the right medium in which to advertise the fuel allowance, there is something wrong there. We are not putting the fuel allowance in IMAGE Magazine for our young ones. There definitely is something wrong with the way in which media buyers are buying.
We need to look at that. There is also something wrong with the transition from our local newspapers to the digital world. Our kids read the sports news in the Meath Chronicle but they are not paying for it. They get it through Facebook, joe.ie or Twitter. They do not even realise they are not paying for it. They get the news but the Meath Chronicle does not get the revenue for it. There are a couple of things we need to do but the media fund is hugely important.
Senator Craughwell said I was nodding in agreement as he spoke. I certainly agree 205 extra special education teachers are welcome to our schools, as are 260 extra SNAs. I am not sure he is right about the capitation fee because €420 million of core funding was increased to our schools this year. That does not add up. I will check and come back to him directly. We now have a €10.4 billion education fund which excludes third level; we have never had anything like it. The Senator mentioned free schoolbooks, which is great.
Particularly close to my heart is the expansion the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, has been able to do in respect of free school meals. I started it as a pilot a number of years ago and had to fight for the miserable few bob I got to start it but am glad I fought because she has managed to explode that scheme. Every child born today will have a free school meal in primary school. That is a welcome effect.
Senator Maria Byrne spoke about the win of the gardaí in controlling the 44 scramblers and taking them off our streets. These people obviously know they are not doing right because you do not go around on a scrambler with a bloody balaclava on you if you are not trying to hide your activities. That win is well deserved.
I did not hear the name of the company Senator Gavan mentioned.
I will send it on.
If the Senator texts me, I will talk to the Minister for Education and the Secretary General in the Department to see if there is anything. These things are never as clear as they seem but, whatever is wrong, it would be a shame to see a company that is only new in the last couple of years and doing well to be in trouble because the State will not pay its bills. I will come back to the Senator.
Thank you.
Senator Gallagher spoke of his joy at the 50-year celebration today of the Holy Family School, Cootehill, which caters for 182 kids. The school has gone from strength to strength and is in a brand new state-of-the-art building, which is nothing less than they deserve. We send them our good wishes.
Senator Wall asked for statements on housing, particularly the housing adaptation grants and the delay in new funding from the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. We have housing scheduled for 7 November, the week after next. I suggest we put a motion on the Order Paper for that day to try to sieve through whatever the delay in the funding is and see if we can get it sorted.
Senator Boyhan spoke about local newspapers, particularly the defamation aspects their representatives raised yesterday. He is looking for a debate which we will try to organise as quickly as we can.
Senators Murphy and O’Loughlin welcomed Network Ireland, the female support group for women in business. Senator Murphy commented on Gaza, as did Senator Clonan, but welcomed what looks like will be a ban on mobile phones for children in primary schools. As parents, we wonder why anyone would buy their kid younger than 12 a mobile phone to give them access to a world of adulthood but it happens. That might be very welcome.
Senators Warfield and Clonan spoke about the events that are, unfortunately, ongoing in Gaza. Senator Clonan has previous expertise in this area so, when he speaks, people actually listen. I was criticised the other day for speaking about Israel’s right to defend itself while blaming and giving out about the actions of Hamas, which are not in the name of the people its members live among. I do not really understand the rules of war because I am not sure how they came about. However, while countries have a right to defend themselves, when you listen to words like “bombardment”, “offensive” and “incursion” and see the awful pictures we see, there is something seriously wrong with people trying to say that is defending themselves. I cannot for the life of me understand how it is. EU Council members are meeting today and tomorrow and I am sure this will be the vast majority of what they speak about. The Irish voice at the Council has always been moderate. Sometimes we have been criticised for being meek and not loud enough but we are on the right side of this, particularly the Tánaiste and Taoiseach. I hope the Taoiseach uses his voice in the coming days to get something we all want, namely, a road to peace and a cessation of the horrible atrocities perpetrated by all of them. It is not good.
Today, our Fianna Fáil leader opened with a welcoming announcement, the speed of which is great. We give out about it when we make announcements and they do not happen forever. Funding was announced today by the Minister, Deputy Harris, for 2,700 new beds to be delivered within the next 12 months to our universities. Hopefully, we will see something like that every year so we do not have the continuous conversations we have every September about young people not being able to find a bed close to their university.