I wish to raise two matters. This morning, the Joint Committee on Disability Matters heard from the mother of a man with an acquired brain injury and from a woman who was 33 years of age when she had a stroke. The latter stated:

Not one medical expert came to our house following my discharge. Members need to realise that, at this time, there were a large number of everyday tasks that I could not do for myself. There were no follow-up services for me once I was discharged. There was no one to check on me. The first time I needed to wash myself, I stood in front of the shower for a full five minutes trying to figure out how to turn it on. I only had to press one button but I had absolutely no idea what to do.

The Irish Heart Foundation also appeared before the committee. It spoke about the national stroke strategy, which was commissioned by the then Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, in 2017 but remains unpublished. Might the House write to ask when the strategy will be published and for a comment? I will follow up with a Commencement matter, which I hope the Cathaoirleach will oblige on top of the other three Commencement matters on my list. I ask that the Seanad write to find out where the national stroke strategy is. The Irish Heart Foundation does extraordinary work. Just 3% of its funding comes from the State, with 90% coming from donations. It provides support groups, nurses and advice. We need a stroke strategy to be implemented.

Shamefully, the Irish Sun published an article yesterday that induced people to gamble on a match. I believe there is a big match tonight. Is there? I do not know - I am not really a soccer girl. According to the article, if people bet a certain amount, they would be guaranteed to get money back even if they lost. Induced gambling like that is the sort of thing that brings people back into addiction, costs people their homes, families and livelihoods, and makes children go hungry. The Bill has been published, so we need to bring its gambling regulations in as a matter of urgency in order to stop the scourge of actions like this, which are appalling and undermine families and people.

I support Senator Seery Kearney's comments. I was also at the meeting of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters this morning. I wish to highlight the words of the lady who had a stroke when she was in her 30s about the inflexibility of our public system in terms of providing employment.

If there is one area in which we should be able to meet targets in terms of the employment of people with disabilities, it is the public sector. It should be a welcoming employer, but it is so inflexible in terms of supporting people with disabilities. I was shocked to hear this morning that the Department of Education is putting up barriers to this lady being able to get back into work and teaching our children. She is the type of person I would want teaching my children because she has empathy, experience and the best qualifications a teacher could have.

I want to raise another issue, which is a local issue with regard to disabilities. This matter was highlighted last week by an individual, Darragh Ó Heiligh, from Drogheda. This gentleman is visually impaired. There are very welcome roadworks taking place in the Drogheda area but as a result, access to the town of Drogheda is completely blocked off. This is happening repeatedly. There are guidelines in place. Last year, the Department of Transport put in place temporary traffic measures and a signs for roadworks guide. However, the requirement is only that "they should allow for access". This needs to be changed to "must allow for access". As I said this gentleman is visually impaired and he had to walk in the middle of a road to get around safely. Thankfully, he did manage to get around safely. This needs to change. When local authorities employ companies to do roadworks they must ensure that they provide safe access for our citizens.

I thank the Senator for raising that issue. In my own county, the Ring of Kerry road is blocked off completely for access for hours each day. In the event of an emergency an ambulance would not be able to get through to people who might need its services.