In any event, I will request a debate with the Minister. It will provide an opportunity to debate those issues. However, I wish to defend Deputy Foley. She has been a very good Minister for Education. Her recent work on trying to tackle smartphone use shows that she is thinking about children’s welfare and mental health.
Senator Malcolm Byrne acknowledged that we were celebrating the centenary of bilateral diplomatic relations with the US. It is an important relationship for Ireland and the US. The Senator put on the record an interesting fact that people may not have been aware of, namely, that Ireland was actually the seventh largest investor in the US. It is a two-way street and an important relationship both ways.
The Senator also made an impassioned contribution on rejecting Putin’s Russia and that our values in Ireland and the EU are those of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
Senator Maria Byrne welcomed World Mental Health Day and congratulated the Limerick Mental Health Association on its fantastic work, including the 54 projects it is running. I commend all of those involved in the important work of highlighting how mental health is an important part of our overall health and affects everyone, how issues can often be hidden and how everyone has his or her own challenges. As such, an awareness week is important.
Senator Cassells discussed the launch at 11.30 a.m. of the Seanad Public Consultation Committee’s report on the future of local democracy. That committee was chaired by the Leas-Chathaoirleach and it was a pleasure to be a member of it with many others. It has done fantastic work and, as the Leas-Chathaoirleach pointed out, it is important that there be follow-through and that the report’s recommendations be implemented. That will probably be a job for the next Seanad and Dáil. A large volume of work was done and there was a great deal of engagement. It was great to see this room being used to see members of our local governments, North and South, coming together with different stakeholders. It was a fantastic exercise in gathering information and getting all views. It was difficult to distil all of that down into the key elements, but the Leas-Chathaoirleach and the rapporteur, Senator Cassells, have done a fantastic job with the report in that regard.
Senator McGahon called for funding to be made available for a running track in Dundalk. He stated that there had been delays and that the many fantastic athletics clubs in the town were going without this important facility. I support the Senator in his call. There has been considerable investment in sport, for example, through the recent sports capital programme announcements, so there is always a commitment from the Government to fund sports facilities in recognition of how important they are for local communities.
Senator Victor Boyhan spoke about women in agriculture. The term "agri-politics" is new to me; I had not heard it before. It is interesting. The Senator also referred to agribusiness. I can attest to the fact that, in my county, Mayo, there is much agri-industry, many agribusinesses and fantastic entrepreneurs, women and men, leading the way and doing very innovative things. The Senator is right that there could certainly be greater balance on the agriculture committee. There was one woman. Lynn Boylan was a member but she has now vacated her position, so balance is certainly lacking. There is certainly a greater responsibility on the larger parties to ensure that, where they have more than one space on a committee, they try to ensure more balance. There are certainly many women in the Oireachtas with a great interest in rural affairs and agriculture, particularly those from where agriculture is a major part of the local economy. The Senator made a very good point. He used the interesting term "stand in the gap". I stood in the gap many times myself when I was younger-----