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Seanad Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 4 Oct 2022

Vol. 288 No. 9

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the Planning and Development Act 2000 (Exempted Development) (No. 3) Regulations 2022 and the Planning and Development (Solar Safeguarding Zone) Regulations 2022 back from joint committee, to be taken without debate on conclusion of the Order of Business; No. 2, statements on the high level action plan for the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, to be taken at 4.45 p.m. and to conclude at 6.45 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the opening contribution of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, those of group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes, and those of all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, with the Minister to be given not fewer than ten minutes to reply to the debate; and No. 3, Bretton Woods Agreements (Amendment) Bill 2022 - Committee Stage, to be taken at 7 p.m.

I concur with the Order of Business as outlined.

Like other colleagues, a few minutes ago I participated in a photograph that was taken outside the gates of Leinster House to promote breast cancer awareness month. The campaign is very aptly entitled Care for Your Pair, which is a message for both men and women because men can also develop breast cancer.

There is a much lower incidence of breast cancer in men but it is important that we all become breast aware. The photograph was followed by an informative briefing in the audiovisual room, which was given by cancer nurses from the Irish Cancer Society who gave a practical demonstration on what to look out for in terms of changes in breast tissue, the obvious signs and when to seek help. Obviously, we still have a way to go with tackling cancer. We have the fantastic BreastCheck screening programme that commences examining people at the age of 50. There is an idea to lower the age at which the screening programme commences because 25% of women develop breast cancer when they are under the age of 50. So there a gap in coverage in terms of the national screening programme.

At the briefing, another matter was brought to our attention and it is something on which we must work. If a woman receives a cancer diagnosis following the birth of her baby, she cannot defer her maternity leave. One of the key requests of the Irish Cancer Society is that we introduce the option to defer maternity leave while receiving treatment and dealing with a cancer diagnosis and all that goes with it. I fully support that request. My colleagues and I will do everything that we can to deliver that.

I welcome that Ireland has finalised its new Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, strategic plan and that it has now been approved by Cabinet. I commend and congratulate the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, and his other Cabinet colleagues on getting the plan over the line. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has described the plan as being farmer-friendly, fair and well-funded. The plan will give Irish farmers nearly €9.8 billion over five years and represents an increase in funding for the sector, which is welcome.

I will begin by welcoming the support shown by the Oireachtas for the Irish Cancer Society and breast cancer awareness month. I support its Care for Your Pair campaign, which applies, as the Deputy Leader said, to men and women. It is important that we support that campaign. I commend all of those involved with BreastCheck and the Irish Cancer Society on the major work they do. I commend those in BreastCheck on the extraordinary work that has been carried out on behalf of the women of Ireland. I support Senator Chambers regarding the campaign relating to maternity leave.

I ask the Leader to bring the Minister for Health before the House to discuss the crisis in our emergency departments. In Cork University Hospital in September, there were 1,260 patients on trolleys. This is the worst figure in the 16 years of trolley watch by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation. Last Wednesday, 88 people were on trolleys. Why is this happening? Is it just a result of bed capacity? Is it down to mismanagement by hospital authorities regarding emergency departments? Is it because of the volume of people coming into emergency departments? Is it to do with work practices within our hospitals? Is it to do with free GP care in the community, or with the fact that the GPs are no longer as accessible as they were, and now more people are coming in?

There is something fundamentally wrong when 1,260 people in the month of September were on trolleys in Cork University Hospital. I support my colleague, Deputy Colm Burke, who expressed the need for the matter of an elective hospital for Cork to be expedited. A new elective hospital has been promised. The work around its decision-making process has almost concluded, but, we still have no site. I believe it should be on the western side of the city, by Curraheen, adjacent to Marymount University Hospital and Hospice in Cork. The Deputy is of a different viewpoint. However, what we do share is a joint belief that this new elective hospital must be fast-tracked in order to alleviate the issues relating to capacity in Cork. I hope that the Minister for Health will come to the House to discuss the two important issues of emergency departments and bed capacity. I look forward to that debate.

Last week, I raised the issue of devolving or transferring more powers from central government to local government. That is a theme I want to revisit today. The Dublin Citizens’ Assembly voted overwhelmingly in its recommendation - and it is a recommendation - that all four Dublin authorities, namely, Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council, South Dublin County Council and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council should be retained. That was important to note in the context of the debate I was seeking last week. Also, the assembly proposed that a plebiscite on the option - and the keyword here is “option” - of a directly elected mayor for Dublin should be put to the people. It is clear that this is not a top-down situation. It is the people of Dublin city and county who will decide on that. I look forward to that report.

I want to thank the members of the assembly for their work, but I particularly want to take this opportunity to thank the 12 city and county councillors from all parties and none who collaborated strongly and robustly and who made a good case for local government and the four local authorities. They advocated for the enormous work they do. That was great collaboration. I have heard favourable reports in respect of it.

Of course, there is a larger debate to be had about what the assembly discussed. We will hopefully have another opportunity to look at that some time. It wants to see greater powers in housing, homelessness, community, healthcare, transport, the environment and a whole range of other areas. It referred to a ten-year period. In that context, the debate on this matter will be long. At some point, the chairman of the assembly will submit a report to the Oireachtas. Hopefully, we could tee up a focused debate on that within the House.

I welcome that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, published an action plan to reform An Bord Pleanála earlier today. The plan is impressive and was approved by the Government this morning. It is in now in circulation. Key to the entire thing is that there are 24 actions. There has been much debate among Senators on all sides regarding An Bord Pleanála.

We rightly had to hold back until we saw firm concrete recommendations. Today, the Government approved a report. The 24 actions listed in the report should be the basis of some form of debate within this House. It is positive and timely. I thank the Minister and his officials for expediting that. It came to this stage quite quickly. It would be helpful if we had a debate in the House on that report, if possible.

I thank the cross-party joint committee on cancer for the excellent presentation today. I thank the Irish Cancer Association. It was informative. It was great that we were all together on a cross-party basis. This is breast cancer awareness month. One in seven women in this country will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lives. It is a serious issue and it is important that we as a Government take it seriously. The Irish Cancer Association had a request about maternity leave. It is important that people do not lose their benefits. It was interesting that men do not lose their paternity leave when things happen in their lives. There is real inequality in this situation. A quarter of women are diagnosed with breast cancer when under the age of 50, yet our screening programme is for women over the age of 50. The bare numbers of people who are being diagnosed have to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

I raise the issue of green hydrogen. I was in Scotland over the weekend with some of my colleagues from the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action. We visited a hydrogen service station. We are delighted that we have a pilot programme ready to go in Galway. Many service users are on board with the programme, such as Bus Éireann and SSE. They are looking for a way to deal with curtailment of the wind farm in Galway. It is significant that the Port of Galway said it can allocate space in the centre of Galway. Green hydrogen is not a solution for everything but one only has to look at the sectoral ceilings which have been announced to see that it is a significant part of the solution to security of supply. Our offshore and onshore renewable energy can be converted into green hydrogen for storage purposes. Many services across the country, including long bus journeys and hauliers, can use green hydrogen. I encourage everybody to get behind this project and a number of other pilot projects, such as at Mount Lucas. It is only by doing that we will learn. Pilot projects are the way to go with regard to green hydrogen.

The Cathaoirleach may remember that just two weeks ago, I raised the shocking increase in homelessness in the State based on the July figures. Unfortunately, we saw the August figures on Friday and they are truly shocking, with 10,805 people who are homeless. That is an increase of 237 on the previous month. That number includes 3,220 children, which is an increase of 83, and 1,483 families, which is an increase of 60. Each month, the figures get worse. We are now heading for an official homeless figure of 11,000 people across the State. That does not include thousands of people who are effectively homeless, sleeping on couches, surfing across various apartments and so on. It does not include people in direct provision who cannot leave because of the state of the housing emergency.

I want to make a clear call that the Government must act. It must do what the Scottish Government did. It banned evictions for the winter. We know what happened when the ban on evictions was lifted. There was a significant increase in homelessness. The situation is getting worse each month. The winter ahead will be disastrous unless there a fundamental change in Government policy happens now. I call for an urgent debate on this issue. Life is about choices. If we do not take action now, these figures will continue to increase even more rapidly than they are at the moment.

I know that because more people who have been handed eviction notices are presenting to my office in Limerick every day. We can either pretend it is not happening or we can recognise that it is and take urgent action to protect families and children, and finally begin to get to grips with the housing crisis. I call for an urgent debate on that matter.

I also wish to raise the plight of the Shannon Heritage workers. I worked on this issue with SIPTU a couple of years ago. I thought we had fixed the issue. They were, effectively, going to be transferred to Clare County Council. They need between €4 million and €5 million in funding because there has been no investment in key sites, such as Bunratty Castle and the Cliffs of Moher, for several years. Unbelievably, those workers were forgotten about in last week's budget. Even the people in Clare County Council were expecting an announcement and, frankly, I am flabbergasted. The Government has completely dropped the ball on this matter. Workers are now facing into another uncertain winter, and an uncertain future, in respect of their livelihoods. This matter should have been resolved a couple of years ago. SIPTU members have stood defiantly, trying to find a secure future for these important tourist attractions. The Government has dropped the ball. It is not acceptable and even now, I am calling on the Government to act to secure the future for those workers and important tourism sites.

There has been a lot of talk about the commuting measures in the budget over the past week or so. I welcome the extension of the 20% discount to public transport fares and the extension of reduced fares for young adults to the end of 2023. It was great to receive confirmation that the youth travel card will be extended to those aged 16, 17 and 18 years of age, which we learned through a Commencement matter in this House last Tuesday. Senator Gallagher and I had the pleasure of learning that good news.

I have had a number of queries as to how students can avail of the scheme but we have been told it will take a number of weeks until the National Transport Authority, NTA, has the process ready. It is good news. I have also asked the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, who was with us last Tuesday morning, to ensure that the maximum number of private and commercial operators are encouraged to take up the scheme. The Leader will know that particularly in rural areas, commercial operators run most of the transport and it is important that they avail of the scheme.

I have a question that might have to be answered in a debate with the Minister for Transport. What are the Minister and Irish Rail going to do about train stations and commuter stations in Kildare? In Newbridge, for example, the public toilet continues to be locked for those who need it most. Roofs are leaking. I am told that will be fixed in a couple of weeks' time but commuters are still left standing outside in the rain at a time we are encouraging them to avail of public transport. Anybody who was in the N7 car park this morning trying to get to Dublin will know that to be the case. It is time we encouraged more people to use our train stations. I call for a debate in this House on public transport, rural transport and commuting. That cannot come quickly enough. Given the good news that is there, we need to get people off the roads and out of those car parks. I ask the Leader to ask the Minister to come to the House to debate those issues.

I also wish to ask the Leader about the legislation around gambling. I welcome the appointment of a regulator. The Leader will know that I and colleagues in this House have raised the issue of gambling a number of times. I continue to get representations from families and individuals on a weekly, almost a daily, basis. They are at the end of their tether at the moment. They are asking how the Government and the State can help. The Minister of State, Deputy Browne, has done great work to date. I ask that we get a date for the introduction of that legislation as quickly as possible. It is badly needed for many people. We have seen recent reports on television and in the media that this problem is not going away.

I wish finally to pay tribute to one of my heroes. Eight years ago today, my mother passed away after an initial diagnosis of breast cancer. I am delighted that colleagues are here today supporting the Irish Cancer Society and all the great work it does. Irish cancer nurses have been mentioned. I cannot thank them enough for what they did for my family at the time of my mother's illness. As has been said, I encourage everybody to get involved and ask, as others have, both men and women to check their breasts. I remember my mother today.

I thank Senator Wall for raising that important issue. Of course, we sympathise with him on his loss. Even though it was eight years ago, it still hurts.

Last week, yet again, a local representative, a county councillor, was racist towards Travellers on local radio.

This was around Traveller accommodation. Some of my Fianna Fáil colleagues have come to speak to me about it and about how disappointed they were to see this kind of behaviour. I know the Taoiseach has also expressed his disappointment in this behaviour.

It is important for all local county councillors to not come out publicly with racist comments. You cannot be racist any more in this country; it is not acceptable and should not be acceptable. When I talk about being publicly racist, what I mean is that we are all prejudiced and we are all human beings who can be prejudiced but when you come out and target one group of people, perhaps based on their sexuality, identity or background, what you are then is racist. I do not need to educate people in this room because over the past two years, we have educated each other. We are changing, including in our political system, and we are changing as a society.

My ask today is that we see where we are with good hate crime legislation that also stands for local authorities, county and city councillors, Deputies and Senators etc. I am not asking for this right now but I would appreciate it if even in the next month or two, the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, would come in and tell us where the hate crime legislation is. There is a great level of racism and hatred in this country, including online and especially towards the Traveller community. Unfortunately the racism towards our community has been normalised and there is a sense that it is okay because they are just the Travellers. I thank my Fianna Fáil colleagues because five or six years ago, we would not have had that media attention and that shows me our relationships are changing and we are changing. I would appreciate it if we could have that debate and I am again calling on the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, to come into the House and give us an update on ending direct provision. Where are we on that?

I thank the Senator for bringing up that important topic in the Seanad.

I welcome the announcement in the budget of an initial €30 million for school transport. As the Cathaoirleach knows it has been discussed on many occasions in this Chamber, at the Oireachtas joint committee, within parliamentary party rooms and on media in recent weeks and months. As we know, there are annual issues but it has been exacerbated by the welcome decision to remove the charge on bus tickets, which has increased the demand, as would be anticipated, and has led to difficulties for students accessing school transport. I welcome the allocation in the budget but from talking to CIÉ representatives on the ground, they say it could be months before this issue is fully dealt with because they cannot get buses or drivers and they would still have to go out to tender for additional services. The impact is that it could be months before students finally get their tickets.

While I welcome the budget allocation, a lot more engagement with CIÉ on the ground by the Department is needed to ensure all options are pursued when it comes to providing services. What we have is a welcome cost-of-living decision made by the Government and the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley. However, the impact is still being felt on the ground and there needs to be a positive and speedy engagement with CIÉ to ensure that adequate services are provided because there is great stress on families and parents who may still have to go out and drive their children to school, where they would have expected them to get the bus. This can have a huge impact on their quality of life, on timing and on everything else within their day-to-day work and lives. I ask the Leader to contact the Minister, Deputy Foley, on the plans to engage with CIÉ on this.

Amid last week's budget business, I found myself some time to think and I thought about how important labels are, not on food or fragile boxes, but on people. I remember a brief time around eight years ago when western society's attitude towards labels was that they were not for people, that the fullness of human expression and complexity could not be placed into neat boxes and that swathes of people could not be tarred with the same brush.

That lasted up until 2016, when the one-two punch of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump upset the ruling progressive elite to such an extent that they changed tactics. The message of individual empowerment and self-determination had yielded dissatisfying results. People were deciding to think the wrong thoughts so the powers that be arranged for a return to cultural tribalism. No longer would they be individuals, varied and unique. There would only be the labels placed upon them, based on what they supported or chose not to support unquestioningly and unreservedly. Someone who has concerns about Black Lives Matter is just a racist. Someone who questions uncontrolled migration is a xenophobe. Someone who thinks life in the womb is vulnerable and worthy of protection obviously just hates women.

The year 2016 gave us the worn to death catch-all phrase for when people did not like something and had to slap a label on it to deplatform, discredit, cancel and silence, namely, "far right". Wanting houses for your own citizens - far right. Wanting Irish girls and women to feel safe and have their identity as women protected and respected - far right. Asking for robust mental health assessments by professionals prior to subjecting children to irreversible medical intervention - far right. Wanting to protect communities from crime - far right. Supporting women in politics, not just those with the right ideas - far right. Not supporting gender quotas and believing the right woman or man should get the job based on merit - far right. Opposing the commodification, buying or selling of children via contract - far right. Allowing each man and woman to have their own national and religious identity and to be proud of it - far right. It is a cheap trick. It is political and intellectual laziness and it is a crying shame that this low level of discourse has infiltrated Irish politics through social media. At the end of the day, when someone is sitting on the far left and has zero perspective, everything looks far right.

There are a couple of issues I wish to raise. I concur with the comments of Senator Kyne with regard to school transport. It is all well and fine to allocate the money but we need to see buses on the ground. From talking to people in the industry, that is not going to happen simply. The reality is we still do not have enough drivers. Unless we change the system that is in place at present, which is a Bus Éireann union matter, where no person over 70 years of age can drive a bus, that is not going to happen. We need to look at the situation whereby bus companies that have 53-seater contracts to bring children to school, even though they might have a 59-seater at home, cannot bring the 59-seater, which could bring an extra six students. There are some simple measures that could be put in place that would help alleviate the issue and I would like that to be taken on board.

I welcome the funding that was announced in the budget specifically for sports clubs to take into account the increased costs they will have. It is a very significant amount of money and I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, for putting that in place.

We had a meeting this morning of the Joint Committee on Autism where we met with a number of the teachers' unions and Fórsa. We were speaking about the lack of services and school places. Something that came to my mind was the fact that there is no regulatory oversight involved. We need to look at having an ombudsman for health. When someone makes a complaint about services, generally the person who answers that complaint is the person being complaining about. The answer back is that they are doing their best. In any other business or walk of life, if people are not doing their job, there are consequences. The consequences of these people's job not being done and positions not being filled is children not having access to services. That is not acceptable. We need a health ombudsman, independent of the HSE, to get some oversight for us as public representatives and on behalf of the public.

I rise to acknowledge the fantastic work done by carers. I do not know if any other Senators heard "Drivetime" on RTÉ Radio 1 yesterday, where they interviewed a number of carers. We have to remember that one in every four carers is in receipt of carer's allowance or benefit. All the rest receive nothing. There are so many carers within the home who do not receive any payment.

I think of the resilience carers had during the Covid-19 pandemic and how they kept their loved ones and more vulnerable people in society safe and looked after them extremely well. A carer appeared on the programme and their story really moved me. They moved from Cork to Clare. When they were in Cork, they had support coming into the house for five days a week, as well as access to transport, but when they moved to Clare they got two and a half days a week. Recently they were told it would go up to three days a week in November but they went from full service to half service. There should be parity across the system. It should not matter where you live. If you are entitled to five days of support, you should be getting five days. I note Family Carers Ireland has acknowledged the wonderful work the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, has done. She certainly has listened a lot in terms of the pension allowance and the extension of the fuel allowance. There have been so many extensions. However, it all goes back to the fact that three carers out of every four are in receipt of nothing. It should nearly be about an assessment of need, rather than an assessment based on how much money a person has or whatever his or her savings are. I really believe we need to move to that way of thinking because carers do wonderful work in keeping our vulnerable people save and they deserve to get the respect and help they need.

I welcome the item on the Order Paper regarding the solar regulations. This was discussed at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage last Thursday and I pay tribute to everyone who has had any part in bringing this forward. I thank in particular my Fine Gael colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, for all his work and determination in seeing these regulations brought into being. There are many people who have been looking for these exemptions from the requirement of planning for solar panels for quite some time. These new regulations will allow a homeowner to install solar panels on their roof without the requirement to go for planning. They also will expand the restrictions on businesses from 50 sq. m. to 300 sq. m., with only a small percentage of the area of this country - 2% - being restricted in terms of safeguarding zones around aviation. It is important to state it is not that solar panels cannot be installed in these areas; it is just that homeowners need to seek planning permission for it. In 98% of areas in the country, people will no longer have to seek planning permission. That is good for individuals, communities, businesses and farms. The Government is considering a maximum grant of up to €90,000 and 60% of the cost of installing solar panels on farms buildings in the new targeted agriculture modernisation scheme, TAMS, which will be introduced in the new year. What I want to see and what we need to include in that is battery storage. Without the battery storage, there are farms that will not get the benefit of having this significant increase in solar panels on their buildings. I ask the Leader for a debate in the House on this matter because it is a right and opportune time for it.

In the first instance, I welcome the documentary that will be broadcast on RTÉ 1 this evening at 7 p.m. about thalidomide and the unfortunate history our country has with the survivors of that drug and how important it is that we recognise, even at this late stage, the ordeal they went through.

I also want to use my time today to call for a debate on the Special Criminal Court. It is something we debate every year in the context of whether we approve its extension, but it is not really a proper debate from the point of view of exposing where each party stands on this issue. In the week when Jonathan Dowdall, a former Sinn Féin councillor, pleaded guilty to quite serious matters, on top of the waterboarding he had committed previously, it is appropriate that we would ask where parties stand on this issue. We should give each party an opportunity to say where they stand because Sinn Féin's leader has praised Jonathan Dowdall and described his resignation from the council as a great loss on the one hand, while Sinn Féin absents itself from debates on the Special Criminal Court on the other.

The Labour Party has also criticised aspects of the Special Criminal Court. It is not perfect and I would be critical of aspects of it myself but I have been here and have voted in favour of extending it. That is not true of all parties in this House. It would be absolutely appropriate to have a debate here to allow those parties to put on the record where they actually stand on this court, which is not perfect by any stretch but which has important uses when you are dealing with the kinds of people who continue to infringe on the judicial process including the security of juries during criminal trials. It may not be perfect but it is a necessary evil. Is that something that every party believes? Does Sinn Féin believe that it is necessary? It appears to have changed its position on it but a debate would allow it to put on the record, once and for all, how it actually feels about the Special Criminal Court.

I wish to start or continue a debate on where we are in respect of the issue of fuel and our fuel security. I note the UK energy regulator came out with a warning in recent days about energy supplies in the UK where natural gas will be affected. It is a grim warning and has highly significant knock-on implications for Ireland. If we have a situation where there is rationing of natural gas in the UK, the knock-on implications are direct for this country. We are dependent on the UK for 70% of the natural gas coming to this country. How we manage it in the next weeks, months, and years will be a huge issue for our society and economy. We need to talk about a realistic approach of what we need between now and 2030 and 2050. Hydrogen is part of the solution. It will be looked at in the future but it will not deliver what we need in the coming weeks and months. That must be said. We need to look at our own resources, such as those off Corrib and off Barryroe, Cork, which have the potential to fill the gap and make sure that the transition fuel, which is natural gas, can be cultivated in our own shores. If we do not do that, we are depending on an outside entity which is outside the European Union to actually supply natural gas for us. That will be a major issue for our society in the next few years. We need to have a real debate about where these licences are, what we are going to do and whether we are going to have a realistic approach or an ideological one around making sure that we can keep the lights on in our country.

I wish to acknowledge that today launches breast cancer awareness month. We are all pretty in pink as a consequence. I commend the work of the Irish Cancer Society on highlighting the issue. I have lost a family member, my cousin's wife, through breast cancer at a very young age. She left behind young children. It is really important that people check their breasts, that they are thorough and regular on that and that those of a certain age go for their breast screening. It is a vital service. That is really important.

I particularly rise to ask for the Leader's support in writing to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. I have done so in the past week. There is some confusion around the national childcare scheme with those who get their subsidy which is income-assessed and whether that is included in the 25% reduction to families. It would particularly affect lone parents and working mothers if they are not included. My understanding is that they are included and I am looking for that in writing to reassure groups of lone parent mothers. One wrote to me that she is the only one who is paying full-time childcare and soaring energy bills, is feeding and clothing her family and is putting petrol in to the car. She was the only one paying her mortgage and management fees. She is unable to claim GP or medical cards or one-parent or working-parent benefits. Here is a woman who is typical of a number of those who have contacted me who are looking for the reassurance that they are included. Our particular perspective and emphasis, which the Leader and I have echoed, is that this is about putting money back in people's pockets and making it more affordable. That is certainly the Fine Gael approach to this. I need that clarification from the Minister as a matter of urgency and I ask the Leader to write a letter to the Minister supporting my request for that.

I, too, welcome breast cancer awareness month. It is something that is very close to my heart. My colleague, Councillor Teresa Costello, and I had a breast cancer awareness stand last weekend at the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis. It is incredible the number of people who came over to share their stories and knowledge and they asked questions about how to self-check. We had a nurse and a breast cancer gene, BRCA, specialist there on the day to answer questions. The amount of interest is spectacular, as is the amount of heartache. I, too, lost aunts to breast cancer, so it is something that is close to my heart. I thank everyone for showing up today. I also ask everyone to do the check. Men and women should learn how to check themselves and to empower themselves and family members to check themselves because there is no need to die from breast cancer.

I also raise the issue of thalidomide. I met with the Irish Thalidomide Association on several occasions. I would like to think I have developed friendships with some of the survivors, who are incredible people. It is also incredible it is 60 years on and we still have not had a proper resolution to the care and needs of people who have suffered and who are survivors of thalidomide. There are 40 such people left on this island and they are all over 60. It is time the State apologised. It is time for a resolution in order that people can rest and get on with their own specialised healthcare and that the State will look after them as best it can.

I congratulate everybody involved in the breast cancer awareness campaign for the month of October. I also congratulate everybody who has survived breast cancer or cared for those with breast cancer. I encourage everybody to care for their pair and to be breast aware.

I also raise the issue of crime in the capital, in particular crime in communities like mine in Dublin Central, as well as safety and people's sense of safety in our capital city. The Minister for Justice has a pilot running in the north inner city, the community safety partnership. In Cabra, we have a community policing forum, of which I am a founding member going back more than 11 years. Dublin City Council operates a joint policing committee. There are structures and processes in place for the community to engage with the Garda and the local authority. Despite that, there is still a sense in the capital that crime has taken hold. I am talking about the type of crime that has a very negative effect on people's daily lives. I refer to sometimes small, incidental, opportunistic but very insidious crime such as antisocial behaviour in public spaces or on public transport. What I ask is that the Leader would organise a debate in the House to discuss with the Minister for Justice the approach to tackling crime in the capital.

It is important to note the Minister has committed 1,000 extra gardaí, but people living in communities in the capital want to know where those gardaí are going to be deployed and, most important, how they are going to operate in our communities. People want to see gardaí on their roads and streets and by their local shops. They want to see them on bikes and on foot in the community. I appeal to the Leader to invite the Minister for Justice to come to the House to debate this important issue.

Will the Leader arrange a debate on the cost of energy in the country and how we might be able to educate the public on how to change from one energy supplier to another? Significant advantage is being taken of some customers. One would have to wonder if deregulation has done anything for the market and whether we would have been much better off if we had stayed with the one supplier, the ESB, as it was known. I do not think deregulation has done anything to bring down the price of electricity. It is very complicated at the moment if a person wants to change from one supplier to another. It might be easy to change but it is very difficult for most people to understand when and how to get the best deal. Some companies are paying perhaps up to 30% more for microgeneration than others. How come they are not all on the same wavelength and not all paying the same?

I understand that some of them are not going to pay for any microgeneration until next year, at which point they will do so annually, even though we are in the era of the smart meter when companies know much electricity is being used and how many units will need to be paid for.

I am not sure deregulation has been the best decision for the market, and we need to educate the public on how they can go about getting the best deal and where they can get information on that. It is okay for people who are smart with smartphones and so on, but in the vast majority of cases, people are not getting the best deal and we have an obligation to educate the public in that regard.

A wide range of topics were raised. Senator Burke talked about his views on the deregulation of the energy market. While I am not sure I fully agree with him, the fact several companies are competing against one another is certainly not giving the consumer better choice. The mind boggles at some of the reports in recent weeks that are an attempt to educate us as to how we could save money. One article says something is a good idea and another says it is bad. It is a minefield, and we probably need a State-sponsored website that would allow consumers to know what is the best offer and when are the best or worst times to be using energy, in simplified language in order that we can learn and do better. At the end of the day, despite the views of some countries and some political parties, putting a cap on energy prices will not make anybody more aware that we are in a security crisis with regard to supply and that we all need to reduce our usage in some way, rather than just change the times of use, although that is important too.

Senator Fitzpatrick asked for a debate on crime in the capital city and particularly on the Government's approach to tackling crime, which I will certainly organise in the coming weeks.

Senators McGreehan and Ward raised the "Scannal" programme that will air tonight on RTÉ regarding the 40 survivors of thalidomide and, as I said last week, the unacceptable response from numerous Governments. We all come in different shapes and colours but we have not covered ourselves in glory in how we have responded as Governments to the 40 survivors, and it is absolutely beyond time we did something.

Senator Seery Kearney asked me to write a letter to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth with regard to clarification on the 25% reduction in childcare fees for those parenting in a single-income household, which I will do.

Senator Lombard sought a debate on the security of fuel, our reliance on the UK for gas and the effect the shortages might have, not least given that country has put a cap on its bills without necessarily having a programme to encourage people to use less.

Senator Ward asked for a debate on the Special Criminal Court, which I will arrange.

Senator Cummins raised the welcome announcement, among many good announcements last week, of the new regulations with regard to solar panels on our houses, buildings, schools and farm outhouses. It is a fine example of Ireland getting out of its own way to do something we desperately need to do, which is great.

Senator Maria Byrne spoke about carers. We do a lot in the Houses but it is only when we hear such emotive testimony, as was broadcast on the radio in recent days, that we realise how deeply this issue seeps into people's minds. I was mindful when I was listening to the radio the other day that it would take a very brave Minister for Health to take the carer's allowance out of the Department of Social Protection, which gives income support and money only when people do not have any other money, and move it to the Department of Health and value the care they give. Rather than say they will be grand and that we will give it to them if they do not have any money, we should reflect the significant financial value and social contribution that our tens of thousands of carers give in every town, village, city and county. That would be incredibly brave.

Senator Carrigy spoke about school transport, as did Senator Kyne. We have the money now, which is great, but what we need are buses and drivers. Hundreds of people are still waiting for school places.

He also welcomed the funding for our sports clubs to help with their increased electricity bills. Senator Keogan made a contribution this morning that to my mind shows how lucky we are have free speech in this country. We need, however, to be really mindful of how we use that freedom and that speech.

Not everything is a label and while I appreciate the examples she gave us today are labels, "Traveller" is not a label. Travellers are a race of people who have a rich history, language and traditions. I think we need to be careful.

Senator Kyne spoke about school transport. Senator Flynn spoke about her real disappointment at some of the language that was used in the past week. I think she is right to continuously bring it up. Senator Wall spoke about the 20% discount on public transport for students and sought a debate on that, which I will sort out. Senator Gavan again sought a debate on homelessness. I have put in a request and I will renew it today and come back to the Senator. Senator Pauline O'Reilly spoke about the hydrogen pilot in Galway, which is the way to go. Senator Boyhan renewed his call for a debate on devolvement of powers to local government, which I will raise. Senator Buttimer sought a debate on emergency departments, particularly around the people on trolleys in Cork. Senator Chambers and nearly everybody else today spoke about the amazing campaign that is breast cancer awareness month. We are all wearing our pink but it extends much further and effectively than that so I wish to lend my support.

Order of Business agreed to.
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