I am concerned about the charges imposed by local authorities on voluntary organisations, especially sports clubs, in developing new facilities. Where a club seeks planning permission for the development of playing pitches or a clubhouse, charges are imposed on it. Local authorities now seem to be requiring sports clubs to complete roadworks on the public road. In a pre-planning meeting one club recently had with a local authority it was told that it would have to complete the footpath from the village to the sports facility. The estimated cost of the work is €100,000. I am shocked that local authorities are collecting charges from developers to provide backup supports which include playing and recreational facilities. It is wrong that money raised by a sports club from the local community is being used to put in place infrastructure the local authority should be putting in place. We need to consider this issue and change the legislation to the effect that if a voluntary organisation, whether it be a GAA club or a soccer club, is providing facilities for a community, it should not have to pay planning charges as now required. The local authority is requiring such organisations to carry out infrastructural works which are its responsibility.

I am asking that this matter be debated and that the Minister would come here. I was recently at a playground opening where the local community put in €100,000, a lot of it raised voluntarily, and a lot of it through the LEADER programme. The total sum paid by the local authority for that playground facility was €8,000 out of €100,000. I do not think that is good enough. It is wrong that facilities like this are being built 15 or 20 years after the housing development rather than at the same time, and then the local authorities are penalising the people who work voluntarily to provide these facilities. We should have a debate on this matter in the House.

I commend Deputy Hildegarde Naughton and the Joint Committee on Climate Action. They published a very robust response and a report in respect of the Citizens' Assembly and climate change. It is a very effective report which shows that the Oireachtas is listening to the many young people who have protested in recent times about climate change. This has been an ongoing issue. The Oireachtas has responded to that. As an Oireachtas, we can collaborate well and prove to the citizens that we are responsive and we do listen. This committee has done amazing work and needs to be congratulated across the board. I particularly acknowledge the work in chapter 8, which deals with agriculture, forestry and the peatlands. It makes some very strong recommendations, especially on the issue of incentivising farmers, who are in the main custodians of our environment, through financial incentives under the Common Agricultural Policy. That is a very welcome move. I ask every Senator to pick up a copy of the report. I was there at the launch.

I wish to raise the issue of the Taoiseach coming to the House this Thursday. I welcome him and respect that he is the Taoiseach and Leader of the Government. It is always a good opportunity to listen to what he has to say. Having done some preparatory work in anticipation of his visit, I want to address a number of the issues he touched on and the commitments and promises he made to this House. It appears that there will be a shortage of time in terms of the allocation for Members to speak. People can share but it is very tight. The motion proposes that the Taoiseach will address the House, as is right and proper. It also proposes that he will have 15 minutes to conclude. One does not need to be a mathematician to deduce the time remaining for a 60 Member Seanad. It is important that we have an opportunity to listen to what the Taoiseach has to say, but I also know him to be a man who likes to listen and hear back. We may be constrained in this House today by Standing Orders, and I respect those too. I appeal to the Taoiseach that he may listen in and he himself may use an opportunity to seek to extend his period of engagement on Thursday. It is my intention this afternoon, as leader of the Independent Seanad group, to write to him to this effect. I respectfully ask the Deputy Leader to use her good office to have discussions with the Taoiseach's office to see if it is practically possible to extend his engagement by one hour. That is a matter for him, the Deputy Leader and the House, and I respect that. It is also a matter for the Clerk of the Seanad. It is important that we have a positive engagement with the Taoiseach and that he is open and receptive to listening to and engaging with us.

Last week, to mark World Parkinson's Day, a demonstration was held outside the gates of Leinster House. The people there were calling for more support and a right to access specialist care. Research clearly shows that there should be one Parkinson's nurse specialist for every 300 patients, yet in Ireland in 2019, there are only five specialist nurses for 12,000 people. Parkinson's patients are expected to travel abroad for deep brain stimulation surgery, a life-changing procedure that should be available in this country but, sadly, is not. Despite the fact that there is no cure for these people, they are not automatically eligible for the long-term illness scheme. The association itself is not in receipt of any core funding from the State.

It shows that more needs to be done to assist these people suffering from this life-changing disease. The Minister for Health should be asked to look at this issue so that funding can be provided for these people.