The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding business items on the Seanad Order Paper, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business without debate; and No. 2, Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) (Cap on Market Revenues) Bill 2023 – Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 11.30 a.m. or on the conclusion of No. 1, whichever is the later.
An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
I thank the Deputy Leader for outlining the Order of Business.
I want to speak about the conflict in the Middle East. Yesterday, I had a brief engagement with the Israeli ambassador but I had a much more detailed engagement with the Palestinian representative here in Ireland along with the Deputy Leader. When one hears the stories in great detail, it is quite horrific. I do not know what we can do as a nation, but we are known as peacekeepers. We are good at diplomacy. We had our own conflict on the island of Ireland and we at least found a working resolution to it. We have helped and supported and done peacekeeping in many parts of the world where there was serious conflict. Surely our skilled diplomats can do something to help to bring some sort of an end to this appalling situation. I am particularly concerned about persons with disabilities. Whether they are Israeli or Palestinian, they are the most vulnerable. We saw in the war in Ukraine the difficulties and challenges people with disabilities had in getting to safety. It is even worse in Gaza. Common sense will have to prevail. Something will have to be done to try to bring this to a conclusion because there are too many people losing their lives. There are too many children losing their lives. Of course, as happens in all conflicts, it is the most vulnerable who are least likely to get out with their lives.
I know that the Leader is deeply committed in whatever she can do. I know how powerless we all feel but I certainly urge the Government to redouble its efforts. Perhaps, as Deputy Leader of the Seanad, Senator Doherty could write to the Government to encourage it to do so. Whatever can be done by our skilled diplomats, who have succeeded in so many different ways, to try to help to come to some negotiated stopping of this bloodshed would be very welcome.
Bearing in mind what my esteemed colleague has said, right across both Houses and cross-party we are all utterly heartbroken with the scenes we are seeing. There is a sense of helplessness. We are all calling for a humanitarian ceasefire, for aid into Gaza and for the hostages to be released. I have written to the Leader to ask if it would be appropriate that we in this House would organise our own vigil. It would be important to show solidarity. I am waiting for a response on that but it would be something that we would all agree, that would be appropriate and that we could do.
Our thoughts are also with Sarah and Jack Corbett this morning. Justice has been somewhat served. We have all been following it and we could not comment, but I was struck by the dignity of those two young people in the face of everything they have lost. We wish them well in life and in their journey ahead.
This month is Bereaved Siblings Month. It is a time dedicated to acknowledging the unique pain and sorrow experienced by siblings who lose a brother or a sister prematurely. Losing a brother or a sister is a challenging and difficult time. This month aims to create awareness, support and resources for bereaved siblings to cope with their grief. We all know people who are in this situation. When one knows somebody from birth, he or she is part of one's life and part of one's story. It is difficult. We are thinking of all of those who have lost a sibling today.
As Chair of the all-party Oireachtas group on dementia, I want to focus on Mahon Point in Cork. It has just introduced the first dementia-friendly shopping centre in Ireland. All of the staff have gone through training. It is important so that those with dementia and their families can have a positive shopping experience. We will be having a meeting next Tuesday morning at 11 a.m. in relation to this experience. To show all of the Oireachtas Members how we can make our own towns and communities dementia friendly, I am doing it in Newbridge. I am aware many others are doing it. I would like to extend that invitation to everybody to come.
The last issue I want to raise is the use of CCTV cameras to combat illegal dumping. It also can be used to combat antisocial behaviour. On Hallowe'en night, I was shocked to see some of the videos emerging from my own home town of Rathangan. There was really scary and shocking behaviour. I understand that the Act, which was passed last year, requires the Local Government Management Agency, LGMA, to draw up and submit a code of practice for the use of CCTV by local authorities. However, a year and a half after the Act became law, we still have no code of practice. It is important that we write to the LGMA to say we need this. Our local authorities need it.
I was not here yesterday, unfortunately, as I had other business. Today I want to remember the people of the Niemba massacre who lost their lives in Niemba in the Congo in 1960. Forever etched in my mind are the dates of 8 November and, in particular, 22 November when the bodies were returned to Ireland and brought down O'Connell Street in Dublin. Lieutenant Gleeson and his men, all but two, were lost. I think two survived. One is still missing. That is dating back to those days.
On Tuesday, I raised the issue of the appointment of the next head of intelligence for Ireland. At that time, I expressed my concern that an article had appeared in The Sunday Times that suggested the next head of intelligence for Ireland would be a foreigner. I was immediately challenged in this House by a Member of this House who asked me to give way and said that "we have something called employment equality, which also covers race" and that we "cannot adjudicate on someone on the basis of race and exclude him or her from applying for a job". The Senator went on to accuse me of racism. I have been contacted by dozens of members of the public. Apparently, there were people laughing behind my back while I was talking about this most serious issue.
There is a grave error of understanding, and it unfortunately brings this House into disrepute when people do not understand the difference between nationalism and racism. You must be a national, an Irish citizen, to run for President in this country. Is that racist? You must be an Irish citizen or have Irish heritage to play football for this country. Is that racist? The Cathaoirleach was not here. He was representing the country the way he does best at the House of Lords. I congratulate him on that. I believe he was the first speaker from this country to do that. I demand a formal apology from all in this House who took issue with what I said. I am extremely concerned about this country and its international reputation when it comes to security and intelligence. The thought that we would bring a foreigner into this country and have him or her head up our intelligence service, giving him or her access to the most sensitive information on all of us, is totally and utterly unacceptable. That must not be mistaken for racism. I ask those who decided to take the mick out of me and laugh behind my back to come here and apologise first to me and second to the House itself for what they said.
I will use my time to speak on the barbaric incidents happening every day in Palestine. I have not spoken before now because I have been too upset to keep it together. I will try to keep it together for the next three minutes. We had a great briefing yesterday, organised by Senator Black and Deputy Costello. We heard first-hand stories from people in Palestine and from Israeli Jews. There is no debate here; what is happening at the moment is absolutely and completely illegal, barbaric and dehumanising. I disassociate myself completely from Ursula von der Leyen's comments. They do not represent me, as a national politician, and I am sure they do not represent the many people in our Government who have been very strong in asking for a ceasefire. I do not know who she thinks she is representing in just supporting Israel but I will be very clear that I do not agree with her and I call on her to retract her statements because she is completely ignoring what is happening to the Palestinian people.
We have had 33 days of consistent bombardment. More than 6,000 children are dead. More children have been killed in Palestine in the past 33 days than were killed in the entire world in the past three years. That is worth crying over and I do not apologise for doing so. It is a disgrace. Some 120 schools, 32 health centres and five hospitals have been bombed, 56 journalists and 180 doctors and nurses have been killed and 1,010 entire family units have been wiped out. Families of between 30 and 50 members have been completely erased from Palestine forever. Some 2,300 people are still under the rubble and have yet to be found. It is said that another child is killed every four to seven minutes. By the time two of us have finished speaking this morning, two more children will have been killed in Palestine.
I do not know what else I can do other than use my platform, as a national politician, to demand an immediate ceasefire. We have to call out President Joe Biden and the American Government for supporting Israel. They have to see sense on this complete insanity. It is a total genocide. We never expected something so barbaric to happen again after the Second World War and yet here we are. Although we are in modern times and everyone can see it on their phones, it is still continuing. We need to call for an immediate ceasefire. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, the Red Cross and all of the first aid organisations are saying that 16,000 trucks are needed. So far, only 630 trucks have been allowed to come in, none of which has carried fuel, which is why hospitals are closing.
We need a two-state solution. That has always been the case. To be very clear, what Hamas did was absolutely insane and barbaric. We need to have an intelligent debate about this. People cannot be accused of supporting Hamas just because they call out what Israel is now doing every day. The first day or two of revenge for what Hamas did to the Israelis could nearly be justified but this continuing bombardment and killing of innocent people is completely wrong. There is no debate about that. It is always wrong to keep people as hostages but this is just murder and it has to stop.
The meeting organised by Deputy Costello and Senator Black yesterday was really powerful. It is astonishing to see what we are continuing to witness each day. We are witnessing genocide. Like the previous speaker, I entirely endorse the Government's call for a ceasefire, but we have to do more because, as I pointed out yesterday, there are no consequences for Israel. How can that possibly be? If we can support sanctions against Russia, why can we not call for sanctions against Israel when it is engaged in the genocide of a population? Let no one doubt that is what is happening. I also make the point that there is not an equality of blame across Palestine and Israel because, as everyone here knows, Israel is an occupying power. As everyone here also knows, Israel is an apartheid state. It is not important whether that is my opinion or not but it is the opinion of the UN special rapporteur, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and 450 separate NGOs. For the life of me, I cannot accept it when the Tánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin, says that it is not helpful to use the term "apartheid". It is factual to use the term "apartheid". If there is one thing that all of us can do, it is to always refer to Israel as the apartheid state of Israel because that is now beyond doubt unless all of those 450 NGOs are wrong. I really hope that we do not just support the Government's call for an immediate ceasefire, which I acknowledge is a very good call to make, but that we also good further. We have the means to go further, particularly through Senator Black's Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018.
I will raise a few other things in the minute and 20 seconds I have left. I thank the Deputy Leader. I raised the issue of FitzMac, a company that was in severe debt because of the Department of Education's refusal to pay a debt of €700,000. That debt has come to down to €250,000 and I have no doubt the office of the Leader was instrumental in that. I thank her very much. That is a company that will continue in business and we are very grateful for that.
What I want to talk about today is the shocking issue of a business in Cork, which I will not name, although I suspect people may know which business it is, that had its normal loan transferred from AIB to one of the vulture funds, at which point a demand for payment of €2 million issued. Senator Lombard knows exactly what I am talking about. I met the owner at the weekend and he told me a tale of absolute horror. There was no communication from the vulture fund concerned. When the owner kept asking for representatives to come down to meet him, they came down bringing an auctioneer and legal people with them. As he was trying to negotiate the debt, the auctioneer was talking about changing rooms and doing this, that and the other. That was an incredible level of intimidation. I beg the Cathaoirleach for 30 seconds' indulgence while I say that this has all happened because these loans were allowed to be sold off to vulture funds. The most worrying thing is that the owner has told me that a host of businesses have contacted him to say they are in exactly the same position. Vulture funds are being let get away with murder and are putting good people out of business. This all goes back to when the vulture funds were let into the country after the great crash. It is a fundamental issue for small businesses and we need a debate on the matter.
I welcome this morning's news that more than 1,300 medical professionals and graduates have applied for 350 GP places. There are now more than 1,000 trainee GPs in the training programme. We absolutely recognise that there are not enough at the moment but this compares with 700 in 2019. It is positive news for a lot of people. Locally, in County Louth, there are not enough GPs. People are struggling to find GPs and GPs are struggling to see their patients. I know a GP who is working nearly every hour of the day to try to get through her patients. GPs do incredible work and are very important.
I highlight the fact that there is currently no prescribed ratio between GPs and patients in communities. The HSE regulates and gives out contracts under the general medical services, GMS, scheme but we know the communities where a great proportion of people are struggling. I suggest that the HSE look at those struggling areas in which there are no GPs and that it work actively to get a GMS scheme GP into those areas because there are people in communities across County Louth who are waiting weeks to see a GP, which puts pressure on our hospitals. As we all know, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital cannot take people who just want to see a GP.
Last year, I myself had the experience of being a mother who could not get a GP and who brought her child to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Drogheda for a serious throat infection. We should not have to a child to our accident and emergency department, which puts pressure on it. I commend the fact there is an increase in the number of GP training places, but there is a lot more work to do.
I welcome the students and staff from the Holy Trinity National School Dublin to Leinster House today. I hope they have a great visit and it is good to have them here. They might learn a few things from some of our colleagues. I offer them homework off tonight as a celebration of their visit to Leinster House.
The Cathaoirleach is a favourite with the kids. I would like to raise an issue that the Cathaoirleach is very much aware of. I was talking to Councillor Marie O'Sullivan in Kinsale this morning about the issue of Desmond Castle in Kinsale. It is a unique structure that is a really important and significant part of our tourism trade in Kinsale. It has been closed since 2018. It is a part of our tourism legacy. It is a castle that dates back to the 1500s. It was a former prison and, at one stage, it was a wine museum. We firmly believe it is a unique spot that could be used as an exhibition for the Battle of Kinsale, which is another part of the tourism trade we have in Kinsale.
Unfortunately, however, this castle has been closed to the public since 2018. It is in the full ownership of the State and is an Office of Public Works, OPW, property. The property had been run and managed by the OPW previously. I firmly believe we need a significant debate about these assets we have throughout the State. These are really significant assets that have such potential to be a part of our tourism industry. The Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan, and the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, should come before the Seanad to give us their strategy for making sure that all our assets, whether those are in Meath, Dublin or Cork, can be used as part of our tourism trade.
In particular, work should be done to make sure that Desmond Castle in Kinsale, which has now been closed since 2018, can be reopened and can be a part of that. We have a significant heritage, we just need to make sure we utilise it. That is what I am calling for this morning.
On Tuesday, I hosted a presentation in the audiovisual, AV, room on human trafficking in Ireland. It came a day after the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, published her third action plan on the prevention and combating of this crime and human rights abuses. We heard from Kevin Hyland, a former police officer who headed up Scotland Yard’s anti-human trafficking unit. He was appointed as the UK’s first independent anti-slavery commissioner and he co-founded the Santa Marta Group, an anti-trafficking charity that works with civil bodies and Governments across the world to strengthen protections for vulnerable persons. We also heard from Shawn Kohl, who is the director of International Justice Mission’s anti-human trafficking unit in eastern Europe and who has secured dozens of convictions for traffickers across the EU.
While we welcome action plans, these two experts who have decades of experience pointed out the following areas where Ireland needs to change. First, on the prosecuting of trafficking for labour, when a person is trafficked for labour exploitation, this must be prosecuted as a trafficking offence, and not as a labour law violation. Where a child is groomed for the purpose of engaging in criminal enterprise, the court must recognise the child as a victim of active grooming where it has occurred and must factor this into prosecution. Where the State deports victims of human trafficking back to their home countries, it must do so in co-operation and communication with the government of that state and ensure a continuation of care. Too often, these people are sent back into the environment or networks in which exploitation and trafficking started in the first place. The State must examine the legal status of victims of trafficking who come forward and report the crime of their exploiter. This breaks the hold of fear of deportation over them from reporting the crime. Finally, the State must recognise victims of human trafficking automatically and as a duty. It cannot be an opt-in system where victims must make an application to be viewed as victims. We need a debate with the Minister for Justice because we are failing on this front in this country.
This morning I welcome the announcement from yesterday of the opening of the 2024 scheme of investment for the horticulture industry. It was announced by our own Minister of State, Senator Hackett. I have been a long advocate, as I know Senator Boyhan has, for the horticultural sector and its importance. We all acknowledge and realise that the sector has been falling behind colossally in some situations. Energy costs are a huge issue in the production of commercial horticultural products and therefore this €10 million scheme is very important. I would like to see this going further. Even though I knew there was a deficit, recently, I was shocked to realise that last year this country spent €80 million to import apples. We have the best climate in the world for growing apples, but we are importing €80 million worth of apples. It is nearly impossible to get an Irish tomato, and I think they are the nicest tomatoes in the world. North County Dublin was really famous for them. However, the cost of running glasshouses is now extremely difficult for people who used to grow them.
For years Bord na Móna ran trials on growing blueberries, which grow perfectly in Irish bogs yet we spent more than €30 million to import them last year. If you look at the labels in the supermarket this afternoon, you will see that they are from Peru, Brazil and all parts of South America. We are importing them here, but we can grow them perfectly.
The issue of our carbon count comes in here, as does the environment. We need to bring in financial supports to pay the people who produce these crops. They cannot produce them because of their costs. I will finish on this point. It would make perfect sense to pay them increased subsidies in order to produce those crops here at home. Can you imagine those cargos coming from South America when we are all speaking about our carbon count? Given all the damage that is being done bringing those from South America, it would make perfect sense to bring in extra grants here for those crops, so that we can grow them at home, where we can grow them perfectly well.
I welcome Deputy Grealish and his guests to the Gallery. I hope they have a very good visit. The little baby is behaving well and seems to be very settled and comfortable in Leinster House. Maybe she might return some day as a Member of the House.
First, I would like to say to the Corbett family in America that they are in my thoughts. I know the Corbetts well. The way the two young people, Jack and Sarah, conducted themselves over quite a long while is to be commended. I also commend Tracey Corbett Lynch, who is their aunt and stepmother, for all she has done for them over the last number of years. I am thinking of them during what has been a traumatic time.
I rise today because next week, on 14 November, it will be World Diabetes Day. We should have a debate on diabetes and related services, because it is something that so many people suffer from. Many people do not get the chance to get themselves tested. There needs to be more awareness about encouraging people to go and get tested and about the services that are available. I am a member of the cross-party diabetes group here in the Oireachtas. At our last briefing, people came from all over the country, and there is a discrepancy between services in different parts of the country. What might be working well in Dublin may not be happening in, for example, in Munster or what is happening in Munster might not be happening up in Connacht. There therefore needs to be a levelling and continuity of services and everybody deserves to get the same level of service. There is so much out there to help people. People can connect to their phone which will tell them when their blood levels are dropping. Not everybody is aware of those services. Other people have a pump, etc. I do think we should have a debate on this. It is a matter of awareness and encouraging people to come forward and be tested.
I welcome Deputy Grealish and his friends and colleagues to the Gallery. My colleague, Senator Crowe, who is from the same constituency, has already spoken; he will hardly get an opportunity to welcome them so I will do so on his behalf.
The reintroduced tenant purchase scheme is long overdue, but I have encountered a problem. Perhaps some of the clerical officers dealing with it are not fully aware of the implications or of the relevant legislation, or perhaps I have it wrong. My understanding is that someone buys a property and there is a clawback. There always had been a clawback, but now it will be over 30 years at 2%. If a 60-year-old bought a house and, God forbid, died at 70 years of age or had to sell it for some particular reason, there would be a 20-year clawback. At 2% per year, that would amount to 40% of the house’s value when the person bought it. This is a serious issue and seems to be an impediment to the scheme. We should look into it. Perhaps we could invite the Minister to the House for a debate on the tenant purchase scheme, which was shelved for a long time. Every Senator has dealt with people who are on the waiting list to buy their own homes. The scheme has only been reintroduced and there are already a couple of glitches in it. If possible, inviting the Minister to discuss the scheme and thrash the points out a bit more would be worthwhile.
Secondly, I read something in the newspaper today that surprised me. Dublin County Council-----
There are no seconds.
It is on the same matter. Dublin County Council does not have enough money to complete the refurbishment of vacant houses and give them to new tenants. The same is happening in some other counties, which is evident to anyone travelling through the countryside. Why do councils not give first-time buyers an opportunity to buy those houses? People could fit them out to their own standards, spend whatever money they wanted and refurbish them gradually, as all of us did when starting out. To leave houses idle during a housing crisis is not good enough. Sell them to people, even if those people are on the councils’ housing lists. That is well worth doing. The Deputy Leader might speak to the Minister and revert to me.
Like Senator Murphy, I wish to discuss horticulture. The Deputy Leader is an active advocate for the industry in north County Dublin. I know from Bord na Móna and others in the horticultural sector that they appreciate her hands-on connection and that she has visited them in the field. I wish to convey that feedback to her.
I welcome the announcement yesterday by the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, about the horticultural crisis fund. I believe it was the third announcement of the scheme. I welcome the heavy emphasis on organics, but there are two anomalies. What are commonly called white mushrooms in the trade – they are the mushrooms we usually buy, although there are others in the system – are excluded from the scheme. To quote from the Irish Farmers’ Journal: “Exclusion of mushroom sector from crisis fund is ‘beyond belief’ – IFA”. I have looked through the agricultural journals in the Library downstairs today. They are full of questions asking why the Government is singling out mushrooms and excluding them from the horticultural crisis fund. I will tell the House why. It is because they are linked to peat, which is the subject of controversy. Mushrooms should not be penalised. Irish mushrooms are a fantastic crop. Indeed, three or four aeroplanes leave Dublin Airport every week to fly mushrooms into London and Paris. Those mushrooms are also on our shelves. Is that not a great thing to be able to say about horticulture, including Irish mushrooms? Let us support them.
Strawberries are also excluded. Growing them in season is easy, but if you want early or late strawberries, you will use cloches, polytunnels or glasshouses. You need to heat them and, more importantly, you also need to ventilate them, both of which require energy. Strawberries are now being disadvantaged because they have also been excluded. It is wrong that strawberries and white mushrooms are excluded from the scheme. There are underlying reasons for them being singled out, which we need to address.
I ask the Deputy Leader – she will be supportive of it – to arrange a comprehensive debate and statements on the horticultural industry at some point in the near future.
I thank my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy O’Donnell, for securing an additional €1.3 million for Longford County Council in 2024 to cover the loss in rates following the closure of Lough Ree power station. It means that we will not have to cut services. In future, though, I ask that the Department agree multi-annual funding for Longford County Council so that we do not have to look for money at the last minute every year. Multi-annual funding was proposed by the just transition commission a number of years ago. I ask that it be implemented.
On a slightly related matter, one that Senator Murphy will be well aware of, the stones of Inis Cloithreann in Lough Ree were stolen from the island and brought to America before being retrieved, but they have been in storage ever since. If I am not mistaken, they have been in a facility in Roscommon for the past 30 to 40 years and have not been seen by anyone in that time. I ask that they be put on display in the Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre in Keenagh, County Longford, which is owned by the Office of Public Works and is open all year round, and we let people see this part of our history. I believe they date back to 800 AD or maybe the time of St. Diarmaid. We need to preserve our past, but we also need people to be able to see it. I ask that correspondence be sent to the Minister of State with responsibility for heritage. I will table a Commencement matter calling for the people of Longford and the rest of the country to be able to see these famous stones and that they should not be locked away in a box.
I thank colleagues for raising a wide-ranging set of topics. The best thing I can do for Senator Carrigy is to write to the Minister of State. It seems bizarre that we would have a national treasure, one that is particularly important to the Senator’s part of the woods, in storage somewhere. I thought we only stored e-voting machines-----
And furniture.
-----and other stuff we wanted to hide away, not a national treasure. I will send a letter today. I acknowledge the Senator’s welcome of the increased funding for Longford County Council.
Regarding the matter raised by Senators Boyhan and Murphy, I welcome yesterday’s announcement of €10 million. Any money that goes into the horticultural industry is welcome. The conditions being applied to it are outrageous, though. I say that with respect to Senator Hackett as a Green Party Minister of State who wants to encourage and incentivise people towards organics. While that is a good thing, it should not exclude the few remaining growers we have. I raised this matter with my party leader a number of weeks ago. We used to have 400 growers in this country. Today, we have 60. I am not just referring to strawberry, mushroom or cucumber growers – what we call “horticultural growers” – but to the entirety of our growing community. If this decrease does not show the serious crisis and the disregard of people we have taken for granted for so long, I do not know what does.
I will cite an example. Senator Murphy spoke about how we could incentivise people and give them extra aid. On behalf of the horticultural industry last year, I tabled an amendment to the Finance Bill 2022 to give those growers who used glasshouses and sequestered carbon extra money and tax rebates. I was genuinely surprised when the then Minister for Finance very kindly accepted my amendment. It was included in the Act, but we are still waiting on the Revenue Commissioners 12 months later to come up with a way for growers to apply for a tax rebate. That is 12 months during a crisis when our number of growers has decreased from 400 to 60. The State can act, yet we are not doing so. I will ask for a debate. Please God, all of the Senators will join me in highlighting the things that are wrong and those that we could do to save what is a vital industry for Ireland.
Senator Davitt asked for a debate on the tenant purchase scheme, particularly the anomalies preventing people from availing of it. We will certainly do that.
Senator Maria Byrne and, prior to her, our Fianna Fáil leader for today spoke about the Corbett family. I listened to the victim impact statements on RTÉ this morning. You could not help but have stinging tears in your eyes listening to the dignity and composure of those young people. Thankfully, the lives they had lived and their experiences were taken on board by the judge yesterday. I acknowledge Senator Maria Byrne’s experience with the Corbett family locally in Limerick. The Irish people’s hearts are broken for those two young people today and we send them every good wish.
Senator Keogan suggested making changes to the law to reduce human trafficking in Ireland and asked for a debate on the matter. We will ask for one.
Senator Lombard spoke about the castle in Kinsale this morning and sought a debate on Ireland’s natural resources that could be contributing to our tourism industry but are not.
This morning, Senator McGreehan welcomed the increase of 35% in GP training places that have been made available through the Irish College of General Practitioners, ICGP next year, which is really welcome.
Senators Paul Gavan and Róisín Garvey both spoke about Gaza this morning. I know it is something that is on everybody's minds all day, every day at the moment because it is very hard to escape the awful atrocities and the images of suffering that we are seeing on our screens every single day. I would say to Senator Garvey, who was very emotional this morning, that she has absolutely no need to make any apology for being a human being and reacting in such a normal way to the devastation that we all see. I acknowledge that and commend her on it. There have been various requests to say that we should be doing something. I want to let people know that we actually are calling for a ceasefire. This is not necessarily just a humanitarian ceasefire, as I know that language is being used by some international leaders who would be supportive of Israel. We all should be supportive of Israel's right to defend itself but by the same token we are all well able to see the reality of what is going on. I want to let colleagues know that we are working daily at the EU. The Taoiseach is in Paris today meeting EU leaders. We are also working at the UN to make sure that inch by inch, we live up to what is our international reputation as peacemakers and peacekeepers. I wanted to acknowledge that and let people know.
Senator Gavan also spoke about a Cork business, and I will take it up with the Leader's office to make sure that we follow up in seeing if there is any way we can help that.
Senator Fiona O'Loughlin spoke this morning about Bereaved Siblings Month, the dementia initiative down in Mahon Point, which I really think is a great initiative. She also spoke about the use of CCTV cameras and the code of practice we await from the LGMA. We might write to the LGMA to see if there is anything we can do to help it along.
I want to speak about Senator Craughwell's intervention here this morning. Clearly, I was not in the Chamber on Tuesday but I think what the Senator can best do is write to the Commission, or the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight, if there is a grievance he has and that he feels needs to aired with regard to the exchanges that happened here on Tuesday. That would be the best course of action. One thing I will say is that in this Chamber, we respect each other. We do not always agree with each other but the very least we expect from each other is respect. For the record, I completely concur with Senator Craughwell. It is inconceivable that we would think of appointing a person who is not Irish and who does not have long experience in An Garda Síochána to be the head of our security and intelligence services. I completely concur with him, and that certainly is not a racist comment.
Finally, Senator Martin Conway acknowledged that the various political parties, including ourselves, have met with both Dr. Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, the beautiful and lovely representative from Palestine, and HE Dana Erlich, the ambassador from Israel, who is meeting nearly all of us. Those of us she has not met, she will meet in the coming weeks. We need to keep the pressure up at every level to make sure that our voices our heard, and that the innocent people who are being so damaged on a daily basis know that the world is watching, hoping and wishing for their better outcomes.
Order of Business agreed to.