The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the report of the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action under Seanad Standing Order 116 on legislative proposals of the EU Fit for 55 package - COM (2021) 551, 554, 555, 557, 558 and 568, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; No. 2, the Child and Family Agency (Amendment) Bill 2021 - Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 5 p.m. and to adjourn no later than 6 p.m. if not previously concluded; No. 2a on the Supplementary Order Paper, motion regarding the report of the Committee of Selection, to be taken at 6.15 p.m., without debate; No. 3, statements on Belarus, to be taken on the conclusion of No. 2a and to conclude after 90 minutes, if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the Minister's opening speech 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, and the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate; and No. 4, the Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020 - Committee Stage, to be taken at 8 p.m. or 15 minutes after the conclusion of No. 3, whichever is the later, and to adjourn at 9 p.m. if not previously concluded.

I compliment the Cathaoirleach on his pink tie. Many of us are wearing pink today because it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is important that we commemorate those who sadly died with cancer, celebrate with those who survived and thrived, support those undergoing treatment and, most important, encourage women and men to get checked, including through BreastCheck when they are called for it, and to look after themselves.

No matter where we were at the weekend, our minds were consumed with thoughts of two fine women, namely, Sarah Everard and Nadine Lott, their beautiful smiles and the grief and horror they went through in their last few hours of life. Of course, we were also mindful of the grief and sorrow of their families and throughout their communities. These were two women living in different communities in different countries who died in similar circumstances, one at the hands of a stranger who should have been a pillar of the community and protected and supported her, and one at the hands of a former boyfriend. Such crimes horrify and shock us all. We have to do what we can to empower women to be able to walk safely through the streets and to look for help when they need it. It is important to acknowledge the really good organisations such as Women's Aid, Rape Crisis Network Ireland and Safe Ireland and ensure that every county has a refuge such as Teach Tearmainn in County Kildare, which does such wonderful work. We also need to send a strong message to men that they should call out other men if they see certain tendencies within them. We need to do more to ensure that men do not carry out these acts of violence.

I wish to add my voice to the call for St. Brigid's Day to be a new national bank holiday. St. Brigid's Day falls on 1 February, which is also the day on which the pagan festival of Imbolc is celebrated. A conversation I had last night caused me to reflect that it should be referred to as Brigid's Day, rather than St. Brigid's Day, because the name Brigid is also associated with paganism. St. Brigid was the Greta Thunberg for our generation. She was a keen environmentalist who nurtured the land and physicians. She was an incredible role model. She was really the first feminist we had. The messages of peace and justice that she brought forward 1,500 years ago are every bit as relevant today. As a proud Lilywhite, I know that Kildare people will join me in making that rallying cry for 1 February to be the new bank holiday.

I thank the Senator for her suggestion. Leading off for the Fine Gael grouping is Senator Ahearn.

I welcome the announcement this morning by the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, that the community employment scheme and Tús participants who were due to leave their schemes in November will now have their contracts funded until 4 February 2022. There are approximately 13,500 people working on those schemes across the country, including many good people working in Tipperary who support Tidy Towns groups and day care centres. I know that the Leader played a significant role in increasing the number of people who could go through that scheme while she was Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection. It is very welcome and there are many people who use it and it is vital for those communities, so I welcome the announcement.

There is a serious issue relating to work permits for many sectors that need them. The application process has changed in recent years and become more difficult. It has been quite successful, with approximately 14,000 of 17,000 applicants this year being successful and there has been an increase of approximately 41,000. However, some sectors, particularly hospitality and agriculture, are just not getting workers as quickly as needed. Some of the reasons for refusal are very frustrating. A constituent of mine applied for a work permit for an employee. He ran an advertisement for 28 days but when he submitted it he had to amend it slightly as there was a misspelling of the person's name. He edited it and showed proof that he had done so but his application was refused because the name was misspelled at the start. If there is an error in an application, there should be a process for informing the person of that error before a decision is made. These people are waiting three, four or possibly six months but the application is then refused and they have to start the process all over again. The most frustrating thing for these businesses is that the cost of applying for a work permit is on them.

That is a cost of approximately €1,000 on the business, and four or five months later it could find the application has been refused and the process must be started again. There is also the question of the individual who expects to come to Ireland to work and create a life over here. The hospitality, agriculture and transport sectors have faced real challenges over the years, and if we could speed up that process as much as possible, it would be very much welcomed.

I thank the Cathaoirleach and everybody else when I see the number of people wearing pink both inside this Chamber and outside, where staff are also wearing pink. A picture was taken outside on the plinth earlier and it is really welcome to see people of all parties supporting Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I have some understanding of the devastation of losing a mother at a very young age. Senator McGreehan has spoken about encouraging a change so women of a younger age or who are healthy get checked. My mother died at 49, which is very young, and we would not wish that on anyone. It is very important that we, as a group, highlight this effort. It is very welcome to see so many people wearing the colour pink. If we can do anything to promote it and encourage people to get checked, especially when healthy, it would be very much appreciated. I thank the Cathaoirleach for facilitating this.

I thank the Senator and all those involved with this very important initiative.