The Order of Business is No. 1, Private Members' business, Health (Scoliosis Treatment Services) Bill 2024 - Committee Stage, to be taken at 5.15 p.m. for two hours, if not previously concluded.
An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
I accept and support the Order of Business, as outlined.
I hope that everybody had a good and enjoyable St. Patrick's Day, wherever they celebrated it. I thank all of the amazing volunteers around the country who put so much time and effort into ensuring that towns and communities had their own parades. It is important to note the very many missions across the world that celebrated St. Patrick's Day. It is truly incredible for us as a small country to have our country and Irishness celebrated across the globe and that our Ministers went abroad. While we were all in trepidation prior to the Taoiseach's visit to the White House, he carried it off with aplomb and great diplomacy.
I must speak about the toxic masculinity that we, sadly, see being celebrated around the world. I was appalled to see the way Conor McGregor was feted in the White House. He is somebody who has a civil court ruling against him. It sent a very poor message, and it was very poor judgment to invite him to represent Ireland, as such, on St. Patrick's Day. We have no control over who the President of America invites, but I stand with Nikita Hand and with victims. The Government of Ireland has a zero-tolerance approach to sexual and gender-based violence. It is important to note that here.
It was refreshing to hear the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, on the 1 o’clock news talking about the number of recruits we have in the Garda. Some 201 have gone into Templemore, which is the highest intake in over a decade, and almost 7,000 people have filled in expression of interest forms to become gardaí because it is a job worth doing and worth having. It is not just about gardaí, however. They are hugely important, and their presence is hugely important, but we need to look at other areas. Youth crime and juvenile crime is something I am very concerned about, and not just me. A survey that was carried out recently showed that juvenile crime is a concern for 76% of people. The Garda youth diversion programmes is hugely important. We obviously need to look at education and how we link in with that. There has been an increase, however. In 2024, there was an increase of 29% in sexual offences by juveniles compared to the year before. It is important that we have a debate regarding juvenile crime for which I would like the Minister to come before the House.
I wish to ask the Leader when the renewal of the accommodation recognition payment for beneficiaries of temporary protection will come before the House. As he knows, this temporary measure is up on 31 March. It has been renewed twice over the past four years. There are many Ukrainians in this country - approximately 36,000 at the moment - who are benefiting from host families looking after them over recent years. This has always been a temporary measure, but it obviously needs to be renewed. We currently have more than 20,000 active payment claims in respect of hosting in excess of 36,000 Ukrainians. This is beneficial for us as a State because it saves the State money in terms of having to find alternative accommodation. In fact, it saves the State €1 million or €2 million per day in costs. Many of the families and people who host Ukrainians have never been members of the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB. They have not been involved in renting accommodation or been landlords before. They have done it out of goodwill. This is really important. It has been brought up to me in Tipperary a number of times by host families who are concerned about what to do for the people they are looking after and by the Ukrainians themselves. Obviously, talks are happening at the moment in terms of a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine, but I do not think anyone thinks for a second that everyone is going to go back to that country safe and sound in the next couple of weeks. Over the next number of days, we need to make a decision on what we are doing on this scheme. As the Leader knows, this has to be passed by both Houses by 31 March. When are we going to discuss this and hopefully pass it in the next couple of days?
I remind the House that the Shannon report into serial and systematic sexual abuse of young men and boys in St. John Ambulance was published two years ago, in March 2023. We hear from reports in the media that there is no plan on the part of the Minister, Deputy Foley, to have a public inquiry into what happened at St. John Ambulance. I would be concerned about what is happening in St. John Ambulance as we speak. During the preparation of Dr. Shannon’s report, he engaged with more than 100 young men and boys who had been sexually abused and raped while under the care of St. John Ambulance. We might think about the parents who handed their children over to an organisation like St. John Ambulance in loco parentis, in good faith, only to find that their children had been sexually abused and raped. I have been contacted by some of the survivors who have told me that the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, has not decided to proceed with any prosecution based on the evidence and testimony given by seven survivors. This is absolutely devastating for those survivors. As Senator O’Loughlin mentioned, we all condemn toxic masculinity in this House. On St. Patrick's Day, we had the spectacle of two rapists grinning, smirking and laughing from the Oval Office, with one of them purporting to represent the people of Ireland.
We really need to stand firm and I praise the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste on their condemnation and rebuttal of that individual, whose name I will not mention here. However, if we are serious about sex offenders, sexual abuse and toxic masculinity, it is really important we ensure that the voices of boys and men who are survivors of sexual abuse are listened to, because it is the same toxic dynamic.
I remind the House that last year, we had a debate on the publication of the Shannon report. It was unanimously agreed the report should be published, and it was, but it was also unanimously agreed here across parties that there should be a full public inquiry into what has happened in St. John Ambulance. I am very concerned that it is using its money and core funding to pay solicitors and barristers to forensically and adversarially examine survivors and expose them to hostile scrutiny. The organisation is also spending hundreds of thousands multi-annually on a PR contract. Why is this money being spent in that way? We need accountability from St. John Ambulance and, as a House, we should again demand that full public inquiry. I ask the Leader if we could have another opportunity to ask the Minister, Deputy Foley, to reflect and consider what is reported in the media about there being no plans for an inquiry. There really needs to be one.
I echo the comments made by Senators O'Loughlin and Clonan about Conor McGregor. We have many wonderful ambassadors from the worlds of sport, theatre and music and from other fields who could have represented our values in the White House, and he is not one of them. I am loath to mention his name but he does not represent the vast majority of the people of Ireland and should never have got the platform he did.
I raise with the Ceannaire a report in the Irish Independent yesterday stating that almost one quarter of Garda stations countrywide, which is more than 500 stations, had fewer gardaí at the end of 2024 than they had at the beginning. In particular, Cavan town's Garda station saw a reduction of almost one third of its force, from 94 gardaí to 63, which is hugely concerning. I note the number of gardaí in Dublin city has increased. That is welcome and needed, given it is a centre of population, but this should not happen at the cost of rural Garda stations throughout our counties. Cavan Garda Station is one of only two Garda stations in the country that are open 24-7. We need more than 90 gardaí in that station. This is putting huge pressure on the remaining gardaí there, whose complement has been reduced by one third. I am asking for the Minister for Justice, Deputy O'Callaghan, to comment on the reduction in Garda numbers and what he is doing to address that in Cavan town and other areas. Whether we get a debate or just a response from the Minister, I would really appreciate it.
I have two environmental issues to raise. One is the call today by Professor Peter Thorne, chair of the adaptation committee of the Climate Change Advisory Council, for a national climate damage register. We have had extensive debate here on Storm Éowyn and this call by the Climate Change Advisory Council is something we in the House should support. In its ask, the council stated:
Proactive action can and must improve our preparedness for and response to rapidly emerging climate risks, to protect and support people, and future proof our communities. This must be underpinned by robust climate data and services.
This is a really important ask. Peter Thorne spoke of procrastination. I was a member of the previous Government and the charge of not following up on this extends out to that Government. It is something we should be united in calling for.
The second issue is an Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, report on early insights into nitrogen levels of 2024. There are some very good indications of reductions in nitrogen going into 20 watercourses that were surveyed. Dr. Eimear Cotter speaks very positively of the progress that has been made but, obviously, there are parts of the country, such as my area of the south east, where nitrogen is still a pervasive problem.
As far as I am concerned, the only game in town is the water action plan which I launched last year in Kilkenny. I do not think we need another Cabinet committee to oversee this but it is important that the committee, if it is going to convene, does so with urgency. I do not think it is the answer, however. The water action plan gives us a way forward to meet the objectives of the water framework directive. All of us in this House are united on the need for the retention of the nitrates derogation. The loss of the derogation would be devastating to rural Ireland and rural economies. The only solution to it is to ensure the water action plan is implemented in full.
The Government needs to sign off on the climate and nature fund. The measures and details of the fund still have not been brought forward. This will give certainty to farmers. We have a farming for water European Innovation Partnership which farmers are signing up to, including derogation farmers, many of whom are doing great work in catchments and are working collaboratively with other organisations such as LAWPRO.
It is really important that certainty is given to farmers. Certainty, funding and the right path forward will help us achieve our objectives. I welcome this report. It is important the Government continues on the trajectory we started in the last Government.
Yesterday morning I woke up to the devastating news of what is happening again in Gaza. Innocent people are being murdered. Men, women and children are being blown to bits again by Netanyahu and his army. These are people who are already starving and have no healthcare. Some of the videos are absolutely harrowing, devastating and outrageous. The world is watching. We are all standing here saying "Oh my goodness, isn't it terrible and isn't it awful?" My god, nobody is doing anything. There are absolutely no consequences for the ethnic cleansing in both Gaza and the West Bank. We see an apartheid regime in the West Bank and illegal settlements growing on a daily basis, where Israel is breaking international law. How many times have I said this? No action has been taken. We are only asking for one small thing, namely, to pass the occupied territories Bill. It is not even that big a deal; it is about banning goods from the illegal settlements. That is the only consequence we have and yet nothing has been done.
Today, I also raise the worrying inclusion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, IHRA, definition of anti-Semitism in the programme for Government. I highlight the 5,000 signatures on the Uplift petition calling for its immediate removal. We should all be deeply concerned by the worrying growth of antisemitism, particularly antisemitic violence around the world. It must be condemned in all its forms. The IHRA definition of antisemitism adopted by the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Harris, in his statement on 16 January, however, takes the deeply concerning and problematic step of equating antisemitism with criticism of the actions of the state of Israel. This is a regressive step which must be reversed as a matter of urgency. In April 2023, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and more than 104 civil society groups signed a letter opposing this definition, warning that it has been used to wrongly label criticism of Israel as antisemitic. The letter states:
The IHRA definition has often been used to wrongly label criticism of Israel as antisemitic, and thus chill and sometimes suppress, non-violent protest, activism and speech critical of Israel and/or Zionism, including in the US and Europe.
I spoke this morning with Jews for Palestine Ireland, which told me it strongly opposes the Irish Government's adoption of the IHRA definition. It stated that the IHRA definition suppresses meaningful criticism of Israel while failing to protect Jewish people from antisemitism. I call for a debate on this issue. It is a very important one and I ask the Leader to organise a debate with the Minister for Foreign Affairs on this issue as a matter of urgency.
I raise the hassle caused by the lack of a driving licence exchange agreement with America. People moving from America and, more importantly, the returning Irish must go through the ordeal of doing either six or 12 driving lessons and resitting their test, even if they have been driving around New York and Boston for years.
If they prove they passed the test in America, they get away with only six lessons. Otherwise, 12 lessons are required. Unfortunately, the relevant authority in America will only write to an American address to confirm that a test has been passed. If people have left their addresses behind them, which many of them have, it is an impossible situation. People are left facing the ordeal of a test. All of us remember our driving test. It is not something you would want to resit. This is causing hassle at a time when we are trying to welcome people back to Ireland, enhance investment and attract people from America to work here. It is an ordeal to expect people to go through their driving tests again. I would like the Minister to come to the House to debate the issue.
I concur with my colleagues. No abuser or rapist should ever be given any platform whatsoever. That is a matter we need to debate in a more thorough manner in the future.
I raise a local issue that is relevant to every village and town in the country, that is, the dangerous issue of the speed of traffic and the potential for fatalities. There is a particular issue in Kilmessan village in County Meath. I will refer to a message I received while I was having a lovely St. Patrick's Day. The message stated that at 8.15 p.m. on St. Patrick's Day, my correspondent noticed a vehicle acting erratically. It sped through the village and was on both sides of the road, swerving from one side to the other. The driver conducted three handbrake manoeuvres through the village, leaving tyre marks on the road. There were ten people, including children, on the paths at the time. I cannot imagine what might have happened if the car had lost control and hit some of the people who were on the paths.
For three years, residents in this particular village have been asking Meath County Council to put speed control measures into the village. I cannot blame Meath County Council for not doing so. This village has a population of 1,000 people. To put speed control measures into villages, you need to pass traffic surveys, which are generally done during the day when it is nice and bright. Drivers can see the people who are doing the surveys and slow down. The surveys are not done at weekends, on Sundays or at night time. In order for the council to get the money to put in speed control measures, it needs to pass a survey. We need to ask the Minister for Transport to consider other ways to provide more funding for better speed control measures in small villages, as we see in the rest of the country, to prevent fatalities. It is becoming a serious issue. For a village to be asking for this for three years is too much. The residents can see the issues and somebody will suffer a big accident.
Last year, the Department of agriculture confirmed it had suspended the operations of the Shannonside Foods plant in County Kildare. There was much discussion in this House, as there was at the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, of which I was a member. There was also a lot of discussion and debate about this issue in the Dáil. I acknowledge the amazing work of "RTÉ Investigates", which initially investigated the issue and highlighted it in the national media. The allegations concerned animal welfare abuses and cruelty in the treatment of horses that were being sent for the slaughter at Ireland's only licensed equine abattoir. I am concerned about the delay in the publication of the final report into all of the issues surrounding the Shannonside operation. I expect that the role of the Department of agriculture in overseeing all regulatory aspects of the operation will also be covered. That is one of my concerns. It is all very well to investigate the Shannonside Foods plant but it is also important that we look at the regulatory obligations bestowed on the Department of agriculture and its veterinary inspectors, who were present at the site on many occasions. It is, therefore, important that we have all of the facts.
I confirm that last week, I received correspondence from the Minister confirming that his Department continues to work in collaboration with An Garda Síochána in undertaking an extensive investigation into the serious matters at the Shannonside Foods plant that were highlighted by the "RTÉ Investigates" programme to ensure there is accountability for those responsible.
I ask for the report's publication. It is a long time coming. I want the publication of this report, I want it put into the public domain and I want a further debate when the report is fully published.
First, I thank the people in Donegal for the parades they put on. They were first class all over County Donegal this year - everybody from marching bands and so on. It is something we should support in this House because it engages the local community. I travelled most of Donegal last week and it was great weather. It was beautiful, and it is Ireland’s most beautiful county, as we all know.
That is a very strong statement.
We can all stand over our own county, so I will claim mine as the best.
We have our problems in Donegal, for example, housing, mica, health and fishing. One that I want to address today is the local improvement scheme, LIS. When the local improvement announcements come out, councillors are inundated with people ringing them and wanting their lane done, this and that done, drainage and the whole lot. I started out in the local elections in March and when I finished on 9 June, I had 75 requests for people in the Donegal municipal district, MD, looking to get their lanes done, and that is just in the Donegal MD. On the first day I met the senior roads engineer, I went in all happy, going into the council and asking how many roads I would get done. He turned around and said, “Manus, you might be lucky to get one”. There is €12 million in the budget for the whole of Ireland. We could spend the €12 million in the Donegal area because the roads are that bad.
I met a woman in early June and went back to visit her this week. She is afraid. She is 80 years of age and she cannot walk down the road because the road is so bad. I ask the Department of Rural and Community Development to do something with the LIS. The scheme as it is currently set up is not working. It is taking too long. One man told me today that he has been 12 years on the waiting list. Some kind of a change needs to be made. I ask the Minister to come and see if we can try to change it, and get more funding for rural areas.
When you think the horror in the Gaza Strip cannot get any worse, it does. It gets worse on a daily basis. First, we had the genocide, the destruction of hospitals, the murder and the slaughter. Then we have the starvation, the killing, the terror, the blocking of food, the blocking of medicines and the turning off of electrical power, which impacts the desalination systems and water so there is little drinking water. Starvation is still genocide. It is still against international law. Now we have 1,000 Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip in two days. This represents an acceleration of genocide and it is an acceleration of ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
There is, as far as I can see, no crime that Israel has not committed in the West Bank and in Gaza. It has killed women and children. It has tortured women and children. It has turned sports fields into killing fields. There are no laws that will stop Israel terrorising Gaza and the West Bank.
All the Irish Government is doing is wagging its finger at Israel. It still refuses to sanction Israel. It still refuses to ensure there are consequences for the terror that Israel is imposing on Palestinians.
Apartheid Israel is laughing at international law, and Ireland, the EU and the rest of the world are standing there, watching.
The Minister must come in and explain why apartheid Israel is not facing sanctions. Not only is Israel not facing sanctions, but this Government is watering down the occupied territories Bill. It is completely insane to think that the Government would be allowed to water down what is very modest legislation. We need to see justice in Palestine for the Palestinians. Peace will then follow.
Before I call on the next speaker, I welcome to the Gallery Deputy Cahill and two students who are working with him in Leinster House this week: Stella Tongour, a third-year university student from Boston, and Lucy Dunne from Portlaoise, a third-year student at UCC. They are most welcome to Seanad Éireann today. I hope they learn a lot.
I also welcome Deputy Cahill, Ms Tongour and Ms Dunne to the Upper House today. I will speak on a project down in Kerry that Deputy Cahill has supported. I welcome the recent granting of planning permission for the Shannon LNG 600 MW power plant on the Shannon Estuary at the 630-acre land bank at Tarbert-Ballylongford. This marks a milestone for the national energy sector and the local community. This development brings with it a range of socioeconomic benefits including the creation of hundreds of jobs during the construction and operational phases, providing long-term employment opportunities for local people who want to live, work and raise a family in north Kerry. It will also stimulate local businesses through increased demand for services and goods, fostering economic growth in the surrounding areas. It is a new dawn for north Kerry.
On another issue, we need to take a serious look at the provision of CCTV surveillance across the country. This has become increasingly important in addressing safety concerns following serious community incidents and events. CCTV systems act as a visible deterrent to potential criminals, individuals or groups considering illegal activities. When they know they will be monitored, CCTV discourages such behaviour and will prevent crimes including antisocial behaviour, theft, vandalism, assault and illegal dumping. On Hallowe'en night 2024, at Tarbert, a village I just mentioned that is next to Ballylongford in north Kerry, villagers experienced significant disturbances that deeply affected the local community. Groups of young individuals wearing balaclavas and hoodies roamed the streets, setting off fireworks, leaving residents terrorised and under siege. In response to these events, gardaí conducted interviews and made five arrests relating to antisocial behaviour. CCTV can help provide real-time monitoring of public spaces, increasing feelings of public safety and providing valuable evidence for any investigations. I ask that the Minister for Justice address the House on this matter.
I will speak about something that has already come from this side of the Chamber today. It relates to what we saw this week. On Monday night, when we were all out enjoying St. Patrick's Day or returning from our celebrations, we heard that Israel had broken the fragile ceasefire in Gaza. Once again, we saw images of the complete horror of these bombings on our social media and newsfeeds. We saw the carpet bombing of men, women and children. As of this morning, the Palestinian Embassy was talking about 104, but we heard earlier that 1,000 civilians have been killed. Many others have been injured and people are still trapped under rubble.
I am lost for words. The horror is endless. What do we do, as an international community and as a country, when this is happening repeatedly? What do you say to your children when they ask why this is happening? Do we consider ourselves to live in an equal society? Are we all equal in this room and across this world? Are we human beings? Do we have humanity? How can we continue to see this and yet do nothing?
The Irish Government has used good words but there has not been enough action. We have the occupied territories Bill but it has been at Cabinet level since 2020. There is no reason we should not be passing it. This is the bare minimum.
I also support Senator Black when she spoke about the IHRA definition. We need a debate on that. We cannot accept that as fact in the Government programme. That is not the way we should be leading human rights dialogue as a country.
Humanitarian aid has been blocked from hundreds of thousands of people. They cannot eat, they do not have safe drinking water and they have nowhere to rest their heads at night. This is going to cause decades of intergenerational trauma in the Middle East and more broadly. We cannot accept this and we have to have a debate about what more we can actually do as a country. We need to take action. We need more than just words.
I wish to address an issue that has come to my attention regarding the Stena Line route being suspended from Rosslare to Cherbourg. As everybody knows, cattle prices in Ireland are now at a level they should have been at for the past ten years and we have seen live exports rise about 70%. We are now in the middle of calving season, where we depend on our exports to cater for the weanling trade as well as the calf trade into Spain and France.
Irish Ferries now only travels on a Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The Stena Line route, as I say, has been suspended. Irish Ferries has put on an extra date, which is on a Saturday. It is catering for ten loads on a Tuesday, 18 livestock lorries on a Thursday, nine on a Friday, and eight maximum on a Saturday. There is a shortfall of about ten loads in a week because we are in the middle of peak season. If this continues in the middle of the season we are in, we are going to end up with a serious welfare issue in this country, with exporters holding weanlings for an extra month in their lairage. This is going to affect marts, with farmers not getting paid for their stock because exporters depend on this trade to get their livestock out to feedlots abroad to get paid for them. I am asking for an intervention by the Minister for agriculture, along with the ferries, to see if something can be done to alleviate this problem. There is huge concern as we have 2,500 cattle in lairage throughout Ireland that need to be exported out of the country.
I raise the total scandal of Eir and the lack of customer support being afforded to customers throughout the country, but in particular in my constituency of County Mayo. We have examples of customers of Eir who are out of connection since Storm Darragh on 12 December last. We also have numerous elderly customers of Eir who still have not been reconnected since the damage of the storm. It is a total scandal that this is allowed to continue in this day and age and that customers are left without any Internet connection. It needs to be addressed. We need to have strong oversight and implementation of customer care to ensure customers are not left without connectivity. We have one example of an elderly lady living alone in Belmullet. She is 93 years of age and is still without a connection. It is the same in other parts of Erris and right across County Mayo, and this issue was raised with me by local councillor Gerry Coyle. It goes back to the whole lack of connectivity we have in the area across roadways and along our train lines and bus routes, where there is still substandard and lack of cellular connection and Internet connection. There needs to be a commission set up to address this.
To go back to the individual cases, it is totally scandalous that this is allowed to continue and to be dragged on for months, where elderly and vulnerable people are being neglected. I ask that the Minister for communications would address the Seanad to talk about ways we can strongly and forcefully ensure customers of all communications providers and utility services have proper and adequate standards of connectivity throughout the country.
I join with my colleagues who spoke about the man who was invited to the White House on St. Patrick's Day. What an insult to the Irish people to bring somebody over there who had been forced to pay a young woman €250,000 for the horrific way he treated her, and to watch a female in the White House introduce him and say how delighted, proud and fitting it was for this thug to speak to the American people. It was outrageous.
The Leader will recall in the last session of the previous Dáil that we debated the local community safety partnership Bill. It had quite a fractious passage through this House. The joint policing committees were in place until that Bill was passed but the Minister, Deputy McEntee, on 20 March assured Deputy Dillon that the JPCs would remain in place until the local partnerships have been set up. Drogheda Councillor Paddy McQuillan contacted me this morning. It is over a year since they had a meeting with the police in Drogheda. We all know Drogheda had its own problems and the Garda did a fantastic job of shutting down the criminal activity there. Councillor McQuillan is somewhat concerned that without JPC meetings and pending the local community safety partnership being set up, there is a rise in criminality and no way to bring that to the attention of the Garda and find out what the Garda is doing about it. I ask that we find out exactly what is the situation, whether the JPCs can meet and, if they can, how soon they can meet.
Like my colleagues, I acknowledge all of the community groups nationwide that put on such wonderful parades over the weekend to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and also the public representatives who travelled internationally representing us and promoting our country and our culture. I also wish to raise the issue of the passenger number cap at Dublin Airport and how we are limiting the potential of our country at present by inhibiting people visiting it. Dublin Airport is an outlier among other European countries at present, as our figures for 2025 visiting are stagnant while every other capital city in Europe is seeing an increase in visitor numbers through their airports. It is not acceptable. It is something that we have to address. I am asking that the Minister for Transport address the House and to have a discussion on this particular issue. I spoke with a hospitality business only yesterday and while it had an exceptionally good weekend in terms of trade, it was 25% down on trade this time last year. The business owner is solely placing the blame for that on the passenger numbers coming into Dublin Airport at present.
While I have a moment, I would like to acknowledge two female boxers, Lisa and Aoife O'Rourke, from Castlerea in Roscommon, who achieved silver medals in the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships over the weekend, and recognise their achievement.
Before I call the next speaker, we have guests of the Minister, Deputy Lawless, and Deputy Barry Ward with us in the Gallery. Thank you for being here today.
Only a fortnight ago, I spoke about the serious failures of the Children's Rights Alliance to review Tusla's performance and I highlighted concerns that there were serious gaps appearing in the Tusla system, leaving hundreds of children vulnerable. Considering the news released in the past week, it deeply saddens me to say that these fears have been validated. The recent inquiry by Judge Conor Fottrell found that at least 250 children had not been assigned a social worker as the State agency had failed to comply with court orders to do so. The judge also informed that Tusla had failed to comply with over 660 additional court orders.
What beggars belief is that the chief executive of Tusla, Kate Duggan, confirmed that she was aware of the issue and that absolutely no action had been taken. A recent HIQA report has only echoed many of these concerns. In addition to the shortage of social workers and the delays in allocating them to vulnerable children, other serious problems include inadequate planning and monitoring. The report said that there was a significant lack of oversight in those areas, as well as gaps in the review of safety plans. The report also identified the poor governance of the oversight of the child protection notification system as a serious issue. In any sane country, scandals like this would result in inquiries, resignations and the overhaul of the system. We have yet to see anything of the sort. Therefore, I renew my call for the Minister for children to appear before this Chamber post haste to answer for this growing list of concerns and disasters.
I wish to raise the issue of the school bus scheme. While it may seem too early to be raising this, I am already being overwhelmed with communications from stressed-out parents. Under the current criteria, a primary school pupil must live at least 3.2 km from their nearest school to qualify for a bus place. In 2024, it was mooted that this will be reduced to 2 km and then eventually to 1 km for primary pupils. One of my constituents lives on a road where there are 12 students who do not meet the criteria and are not eligible for the bus. This means there are six parents and six cars driving in and out the road twice a day and leaving work early to do collections. The Government talks about wanting to reduce carbon emissions, but its words are not backed up by clear actions. Our young people and parents deserve better than having to deal with this avoidable stress by missing out on an unfair lottery system. The pick-up zone restrictions particularly penalise those in rural areas. We cannot be so strict with the distance rule when many children who live in a rural area have no option except to travel by car. Due to the clever use of language by this Government, many parents believed this new distance rule had already been introduced, but now these families are stuck not knowing what to believe. I call on the Minister for Education to provide a clear roadmap on how this is going to be phased in over the next few years.
I commend the outstanding work of our embassy staff across the world. I know it has been mentioned by many of my colleagues. These dedicated men and women are the face of Ireland abroad. They work tirelessly to promote our culture, our economy and, of course, our global influence. I recently had the honour of meeting the team at the embassy in London when they celebrated St. Patrick’s Day. I was deeply impressed by their professionalism and commitment. They are absolutely instrumental in strengthening our ties with our partners and in supporting Irish businesses and ensuring Ireland Inc. continues to thrive on our world stage. With St. Patrick’s Day just behind us, we have again seen the vital role our embassies play in showcasing Ireland at the highest levels.
I also take the opportunity to compliment An Taoiseach, Deputy Martin, on his recent visit to Washington and on meeting with President Trump. We were all on tenterhooks as we wondered how it was going to go, but his leadership and diplomacy in representing Ireland on such a significant occasion is to be applauded. These engagements reaffirm our strong and enduring relationship with the United States, which remains critical for trade, for investment and for our diaspora. I acknowledge and celebrate, as I think we should in this House, the immense contribution of our embassy staff and also Tourism Ireland for what they do on a world stage.
I wish to add to some of the earlier discussion about the concern around the resumption of extraordinary bombing in Gaza, which is being layered on top of starvation, the denial of water and, in particular, a form of systemic violence which has been highlighted in a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
I refer to the systemic use of sexual, reproductive and other forms of gender-based violence. The report has highlighted the genocidal nature of some of the actions. The attacks on sexual and reproductive healthcare services have impacted on 540,000 women and girls and resulted in the extraordinary loss of life of many pregnant women. There was a deliberate attack, reported in mid-November 2023, on a women's rights centre that worked with survivors of gender-based violence in Gaza city. This attack had a clear gender dimension, with sexualised and gendered insults directed against Palestinian women graffitied on the centre. Of course, there have been the attacks on IVF clinics, on the most basic thing of life. As well as that, we have all seen pictures from last night's bombing of the children, some very young, killed and injured there.
A discussion in this House is very long overdue, not just with the Minister for Foreign Affairs on the many issues but explicitly about what Ireland is doing to actually speak and take action in respect of human rights and international law. The Taoiseach has indicated that he is going to be raising these issues at the Council meeting this week. On his return from the European Council, I would like him to come in and explicitly talk to the Seanad. Getting through meetings alone is not actually a triumph. A triumph is managing to actually say something of significance or giving leadership by actions. I would like the Taoiseach to talk to us about what he is actually saying and doing in a meaningful way to act on the human rights breaches in Gaza, next week if possible.
I thank all the Senators for their contributions. Senator O'Loughlin started off and referred to St. Patrick's Day, as did Senator McCarthy. A number of Senators referred to volunteerism in their local parades as well. I compliment the Taoiseach on the visit in Washington and on dealing with President Trump as he did. Senator O'Loughlin also spoke about a visitor that President Trump had on St. Patrick's Day. Obviously, that is his own business but, as Senator Tully said, there are lots of other people who would be more worthy of an audience in the White House on St. Patrick's Day than said individual. I join Senator O'Loughlin in standing with victims of sexual violence. She also spoke about the number of recruits to An Garda Síochána and called for a debate on juvenile crime. I will raise this with the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan.
Senator Ahearn talked about the temporary accommodation measures and host families of Ukrainians. I know he has a keen interest in matters concerning Ukraine, having visited there and having raised this on numerous occasions over recent years. I am pleased that there will be a motion before the House next Thursday, 27 March, in respect of the extension of the temporary accommodation measures, which run out on 31 March.
Senator Clonan talked about the Shannon report and the need for voices of survivors to be heard. He called for a public inquiry. I will ask the Minister if he will come into the House. The Senator may wish to put down a Commencement matter on that specific issue, as he will receive a direct response.
Senator Tully referred to some Garda stations having fewer gardaí at the end of 2024 than at the start and highlighted Cavan Garda station. Changes have been made to the recruitment process, although we lost some time with the closure of Templemore. The Minister at the time, Deputy McEntee, made changes that have increased the numbers applying for An Garda Síochána, so we will see increased roll-out. Obviously, where gardaí are deployed is a matter for the Garda Commissioner. They are put in areas where there is most need, not just where there is a growing population but where there are threats to public safety and so on. We will keep an eye on that in terms of a debate in the future.
Senator Noonan has called for a debate on the Climate Change Advisory Council's report.
I have put in a request to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on that matter. I will see what can be done. There is good news in the EPA report on water quality in some of our rivers. We have seen, over recent years, a reduction in fertiliser use, better management of fertilisers and a reduction in the national herd, which has helped in that regard. The Senator is correct; there is a particular issue in the south east, which is more intensive in terms of tillage, and we want to see improvement in water courses across all parts of our country.
Senators Black, Andrews, Stephenson and Higgins raised the ongoing tragedy in Gaza. I have made a number of requests of the Tánaiste to come to the House for a debate. I spoke to him at lunchtime. He will be in Lebanon next week, but we hope to have him before the House the week after that to talk about the ongoing situation in Gaza.
My words will not mean a lot, but I know the Government condemns Israel's overnight air strike on Gaza and other actions which have resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths over the past couple of days. I call on all parties to respect the ceasefire and hostage release deal, for an immediate end to hostilities and a return to talks aimed at implementing the second phase of the deal. All parties should implement their commitments in full. The remaining hostages should be released. There needs to be an immediate resumption of humanitarian aid at scale to the people of Gaza. We as a nation are extremely concerned about the situation in the West Bank, where Israel has conducted the single longest operation over 20 years. More than 40,000 people have been displaced as a result, combined with unprecedented levels of violence and record levels of settlement construction. There is a huge risk of destabilisation. A lot of very important contributions have been made about people starving, genocide and human rights abuses. As I said, I have made a request to the Tánaiste in person to come to the House. He is obviously very willing to do so, subject to getting the diary sorted on that.
Senator Murphy O'Mahony referred to returning emigrants and American people coming here for work and business. She made a valid point regarding reciprocal driving tests. I advise her to submit a request for a Commencement debate on the matter to get a formal response. I will raise the matter with the Department.
Senator Linda Nelson Murray referred to the important issue of speed. When we knock on someone's door, whether canvassing outside of an election period or otherwise, it is one of the main issues people raise. They refer to the speed of cars, speed going through villages, speed outside people's houses and red lights being broken. Once upon a time, people were advised that if the light was amber and they could not stop safely, they could proceed, but it now seems to be the case that when a light turns red, two or three cars pass. That seems to be a common occurrence. Obviously, there are costs for any of these things, but what cost for a life or somebody being maimed and hospitalised or suffering an amputation following an accident? As the Senator, who is a former councillor, knows, low-cost accident schemes have been in place. There is always an issue in terms of funding, but it is money very well spent. I will again request a debate with the Minister for Transport on these matters.
Senator Boyhan spoke about the Shannonside Foods plant. The Minister, Deputy Heydon, will come before the House tomorrow to discuss related issues and there may be an opportunity for the Senator to raise the matter. He may also raise the matter in a Commencement debate.
Senator Manus Boyle spoke about the local improvement scheme. It is an issue in every county. There is no doubt that the €12 million concerned could be spent in Donegal, Connemara or different parts of the county. The scheme is always oversubscribed. Funding has increased. Issues were raised by Councillor Tommy Griffin in Kerry last year regarding the value for money of some schemes and whether some counties are able to get more done than others for the same money. There are a lot of issues with the scheme. It is a worthy scheme. Since the former Minister, Michael Ring, reopened the scheme, funding has increased every year. We need to see that funding increase continue. It is an important issue and I will request that the Minister, Dara Calleary, come to the House to discuss the matter.
Senator Kennelly welcomed the LNG planning permission in Tarbert. This 600 MW power plant is something that has been discussed for a long time. There is significant employment potential in the area when it proceeds. He also talked about CCTV and antisocial behaviour. There were stumbling blocks to the use of CCTV for many years but those have been rectified. We hope to see the roll-out of CCTV in many areas and that the data collected can be used. As far as I know, that has been sorted.
Senator Brady raised the suspension of the Stena Line and its importance to the live export trade. It is important in ensuring we have a proper baseline for beef prices in this country. We have seen the strength of the live trade in recent years. It has contributed to reductions in the herd and to an improvement in prices at marts and factories, as can be seen weekly. It is an important issue. Calves are now valuable, which is a good thing. A valuable calf is one that is well treated. It is important to make that point. The Minister, Deputy Heydon, will be in the House tomorrow to discuss matters and there will be an opportunity to raise it with him. I will flag it in advance with him as well.
Senator Duffy rightly talked about Eir and issues pertaining to it. Eir has gone through a lot of changes in the past 20 years or so. I cannot say that things have improved. I do not think Eir has the necessary staff. It has good staff on the ground who are doing their best but I do not think the numbers are sufficient. Eir did not do what the ESB did, which was to bring back retired staff, including recently retired staff, following the damage evident after the storms. There are still trees down on lines. Even in Galway city, a tree was still down on a line in Bushy Park in Ballagh. There are ongoing issues. People have still to get their phones back seven or eight weeks later. The work is ongoing. There are Oireachtas lines available to assist people in getting answers. Staff are doing the best they can but there are not enough of them. That is the crux of this important issue. I will seek a debate with the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, whom I think is now in charge of that area.
Senator Craughwell inquired about the local community safety partnerships. I do not have an answer for him on that issue. There were pilot schemes in Longford, Waterford and Dublin's inner city. Appointments were made to the office of safety partnerships. The Senator is correct that there has been an absence of a structure since the JPCs ended. I will try to get an update on when they will be up and running across the country.
Senator Scahill raised the cap on Dublin Airport. I do not have an answer on that. I suggest he raises the matter in a Commencement debate. We would like to see continued growth in the other airports, not just in Dublin. There are wonderful airports in Shannon, Ireland West Airport Knock, Cork and Kerry that have international flights. There are many airports along the west coast. We want to see Dublin grow but we want other areas to grow as well. It is a real issue. If we reduce the number of visitors it will have an impact across the country. I also congratulate Lisa and Aoife O'Rourke on their successes.
Senator Keogan called for a debate with the Minister for children on Tusla and child protection. I will follow that up again.
Senator O'Reilly raised school bus criteria. It is a real issue. Either everybody is eligible or there are criteria and a cut-off point. The cut-off point must be a specific distance in kilometres. I will seek a debate on the issue. There was always concern about what used to be known as concessionary tickets. There may be a different name for them now. Some children did not have a place available on a school bus. The Senator correctly referred to quality of life and a reduced carbon footprint due to a reduction in car use. It is a no-brainer that additional places would be provided on school buses. The provision is subject to having enough bus drivers and buses, which are ongoing issues. We debated the issue in the last term, including increasing the retirement age for bus drivers by a couple of years, which might be of assistance. They are all the matters that were raised here today. I thank Senators.
Order of Business agreed to.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 5.05 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 5.17 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 5.05 p.m. and resumed at 5.17 p.m.