I congratulate the Minister, Deputy Norma Foley, the boards of management, principals, teachers and all the parents who successfully returned the first cohort of children to school this morning. There was a very happy little girl in our house today who literally skipped in the door to school. I appeal to everybody to be mindful of what we have achieved in getting our children back to school and to make sure we all adhere to the rules, so those children who have returned today can stay in school and children who have yet to return can do so, and that we have no play dates or gatherings of people outside of what is permitted.

I raise an issue already raised by the leader of the Fianna Fáil group, namely, endometriosis awareness month in March. Senator Chambers very eloquently outlined the situation in this country and worldwide with endometriosis. It affects one in ten women which is a phenomenal figure. If we had any other condition affecting one in ten men or women, we would deal with it a lot better. Many women suffer in silence for years and their pain is fobbed off by medical professionals, and that is even when they go to seek help. Due to the stigma and silence around female reproductive health many women wait for years before they get any medical attention. We need to have awareness around what a normal period is. I raised this during the Second Stage debate on my free period products Bill a number of weeks ago. Menstrual education is of paramount importance in this country. We also have to invest in female reproductive health medicine which has been sorely lacking over a number of years.

I will touch on Seachtain na Gaeilge as raised by my friends and colleagues, Senators Ó Donnghaile and Garvey. I commend Conradh na Gaeilge on its fantastic ard-fheis at the weekend. I also commend the Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Jack Chambers, on moving so quickly on the Irish language Bill when he assumed office. It had been sitting there for a number of years and now we have made significant progress on it. There is a serious issue in relation to the provision of second level Irish-medium education in this country. Only 6.7% of schools are Irish-medium secondary schools. I ask the Leader to facilitate a debate in the Chamber on Irish-medium second level education at some stage.

I condemn the protests and attacks on gardaí in the city centre at the weekend. As my colleagues said, it is devastating for front-line workers everywhere. I understand debate around approaches to Covid-19, which we have in this House. However, I do not understand how anyone can justify an erosion of trust in democracy or attack the media and gardaí as part of that. We need to call out this behaviour when we see it, including those who engage in double speak on it or are gaining from it.

I very much look forward to getting back to canvassing. I miss that one-to-one, door-to-door engagement with people. When we are not as visible in our communities and when people are so withdrawn, things fester. That one-on-one connection with people will help allay their fears.

As Senator Clifford-Lee mentioned, it is a happy day in that children are getting back to school. I dropped my two little ones off to school this morning and the special schools are 100% open. I know people will do their best to follow the guidelines. It will be tricky for the first few days, especially since first class finishes an hour later than junior and senior infants which means one is hanging around with children. People will have to get used to that but it will be tricky.

People will watch the positivity rates very closely but a cross-party message needs to go out that special schools and special classes will not close again. We have to find a way to work with special schools and special classes.

The Bank of Ireland closures are very upsetting for rural areas.

If any of those 103 branches are in areas marked for growth within Project Ireland 2040, we should consider them for use as buildings for co-working hubs.