In a bombshell allegation made by a senior Tory MP, he has accused No. 10 government sources of blackmailing elected members of parliament. That would potentially strike at the very heart of democracy. It is a timely reminder to never take things for granted and to never become complacent. Maybe it is a time to cherish and celebrate the lack of such allegations in this celebrated democracy but to do so with our eyes wide open, always being prepared to take the steps necessary and to report it to our Government leader, the Cathaoirleach and the forces of law and order to make sure that never ever could even the allegation be made in the Houses of the Oireachtas.

I am conscious also of county councillors who have that huge power of zoning, one of their few powers, and the pressure they must be under in that regard. RTÉ did a documentary some years ago called “The Pressure Zone”. I ask that we keep that in mind and that there is support and access for elected members of local government and central government.

As the Russians seem to be on the cusp of invasion, as is reported, I would question where is the voice of the great EU. We are told it is a celebrated project of peace between former foes who have united people, and that is its greatest achievement. If that voice is effective at the moment, I cannot hear it. It is not loud. The Ukrainian ambassador came to address the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence and said that Ukraine would love to join the family of EU states. I find it disappointing. I am open to correction and maybe there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes, but I have not heard the voice of the EU standing against such threatened aggression, which must be faced head-on.

I call the Leader to respond to the Order of Business.

I thank colleagues for raising a wide variety of topics. Senator Martin is right. We are lucky that we do not have, or have not yet had, in this House or in the Dáil the kind of allegations that have been made against our UK colleagues, so we will thank our lucky stars if it remains that way. The Senator highlighted a specific concern that we had over a number of years with regard to the zoning responsibilities of our county council colleagues, and the Office of the Planning Regulator was a direct response to that. To my mind, although this might be out of step, assisting and helping our councillors to make sure the correct zonings are happening as opposed to the actual activities of the planning regulators of minutely dissecting all of our county development plans, which is going on at the moment, might be more of its business.

Senator Craughwell raised the topic he has raised most often in my time in the Seanad: the search and rescue contract. I am very pleased that he has finally found an outlet between our Houses and our committee structure to have his concerns listened to, given I know he encountered closed door after closed door in the past couple of years. I look forward to the Oireachtas committee seeing that business case because maybe the Senator's fears will then be allayed or, indeed, his fears might be realised. I wish him well in his deliberations and thank him again for bringing it to our intention because some of us were not aware of the powers of the Oireachtas committee. I thank him for being so tenacious.

Senator McGahon raised this morning, as Senator Keogan has done in the past, the absolutely heartbreaking visual impact of the loss of the life of Eden Heaslip only four months ago. It was genuinely heartbreaking to watch. Any parent who has ever had any fear with regard to their child could see the broken family and the reality of the lived experience of his mam, his dad, his brother and his sister. They are absolutely a broken family and it is heartbreaking to see people grieving in public, in effect, which it was the other night.

Senator McGahon might be right. I have spoken in this House previously of my own circumstances of bullying with my daughter. I have said previously, including to Senator Keogan, that I do not believe that children - in this case, they were young adults - really get the consequences of their actions. We have talked a lot this week of the culture and society that we have, particularly against women, but bullying, harassment and violence do not just happen to women, and it happens to a tremendous number of our children and to some of our vulnerable men. Unless we have a real conversation about how society treats other people, how we treat each other, how there are real consequences to the actions of our ten-year-olds, 15-year-olds, 20-year-olds and every other person in society, and the impact those actions have, then, if it is not quite that talk is cheap, it is that we are not taking the responsibility ourselves for the outcomes of what is the lived experience of the Heaslip family in the north east. It is heartbreaking. Maybe to see that programme in some of our schools might hit home in the way I know it hit home to most of us to watch it the other night.

I want to put on the record that the family will continue to need the support of the entire community. Every family that has ever been impacted by suicide or by self-harm needs support and I do not think we do enough in this country, by a long shot.

Senators Conway and Boyhan talked about the agreement by the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, to meet the survivors of thalidomide and the Irish Thalidomide Association, which is really welcome. For the last two years we have been consumed by Covid and the public response to same, and rightly so. That did not mean that all the other issues we have been talking about here for time immemorial ever went away. It is important that we get back to dealing with the relevant issues that affect smaller numbers of people in our communities but that massively impact their lives.

Senator Joe O’Reilly mentioned the CAMHS waiting list, the gambling regulation Bill and the elective surgeries that have been postponed and cancelled in recent years. I do not have answers to those three questions he has asked but I will come back to him within the next couple of days. He also raised the €1,000 bonus that is being awarded and the decision that was made by Cabinet, which has been welcomed by everybody today.

Senators Ahearn and Carrigy talked about the national development plan and how certain roads have suddenly and miraculously disappeared from the plan for the coming years. It is timely at the beginning of the year for us to have a debate and conversation with the Minister about the plans. It could be something as simple as only €1 billion is available in the coming years because we are spending money on other items such as housing and that the €4 billion is being back ended. We should have that conversation with the Minister so I will try to arrange it as soon as his diary allows.

Senator Seery Kearney normally comes in on a Thursday morning and talks about the Committee on Disability Matters but I am so pleased she did not do so this morning because I know the issue she raised is particularly personal and incredibly important to her and to all the friends and colleagues she has made over the years because of her personal journey and story. The Senator paid particular tribute to Deputy McEntee and to the other Ministers but she should take some of the credit. I do not say that lightly because one can be talking to Ministers until one is blue in the face and if they do not listen it does not work. However, the Senator has a personal story and a passion and commitment to make sure the reality she lives is understood. I do not know if that has been understood because I have said to her before that I have been listening to Ministers for justice talk about that for ten years without us ever moving on. I want to pay tribute to the Senator. She should take a bow because we would not be where we are without her.

Senators Carrigy, Gavan and other colleagues raised the issue of the leaving certificate. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to have a Commencement matter yesterday which the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, attended, and I was incredibly grateful for that. The first thing that needs to be said is we are all on the same page and the same side, including teachers, the TUI and the ASTI, although I know they are getting a bit of stick for their opposition to the hybrid model. I have no doubt in my head and heart that the compassionate thing to do is to offer the hybrid model to our leaving certificate students this year, not just because I have one at home but I do have one at home. That young man went through an incredibly different two years than his older sister did when she got a hybrid model leaving certificate a couple of years ago. They have had an incredibly abnormal 22 months and there is nothing normal about the educational experience they have had.

I wish the steering committee well and I hope the voices of the students, parents, the Ombudsman for Children, Dr. Niall Muldoon, and everybody are heard as to the extent of their experiences in recent months. It is very difficult to understand how teachers' unions were looking for extended closures before Christmas because of Covid, the lack of teachers and the impact Covid was having on their lives and that they are now turning around and saying we should discount the 22 months of learning experience our young students have had towards what are life changing exams this year. I thank the Senators who raised that issue.

As a former teacher I might say I admire the Leader’s leadership on this particular issue. She is to be complimented for it.

It is personal so it is probably easy for me to say that but I thank the Senators who raised that issue. Senator Mullen raised an important topic. I have said to him before that sometimes when one stands one can see people’s eyes rolling in this House because of the topic that one raised.

I have never seen that.

I 100% agree with the Senator. It is not that we agree on the final outcome but if we do not listen to people’s concerns and voices we can never learn. The respect that needs to be afforded this process and the absolute independence that is required should not be feared by anybody, including people who are pro-choice or pro-life. The spectrum of people who are in the middle of those two polarised positions is probably somewhere the rest of the country lies. If there are frailties in the laws that have been passed in recent years we should not be afraid to admit that and change them. If they also need to be strengthened then we should not be afraid to admit that and change them. Closing down an independent review and a hearing of all voices will serve nobody well.

I go straight to Senator Keogan’s contribution. If the reality is highlighted by what the research of the students showed last week then we should hang our heads in shame because giving people support and the space to explore all their options is what the State is supposed to do. It is not supposed to funnel anybody into a particular category, opportunity or option available to them. If what the Senator has learned turns out to be true then we have a serious issue and I ask her to continue to investigate and bring back those issues, not only just to the Joint Committee on Health but also to the new Joint Committee on Gender Equality that has been established just before Christmas. I thank the Senator for raising that.

Senator Dolan talked about the High Court win in Ballinasloe and it is an example of how communities work together to say they will stand up for what is right for them. I congratulate her and I wish continued success to Ballinasloe. Senator Fitzpatrick talked about the leaving certificate, which I have already spoken about. Senator Buttimer asked if we could invite the newly appointed US ambassador to Ireland, Claire Cronin, to the House, which is a great idea. He also requested a debate on aviation, which I will sort out in the coming weeks because it is timely. Senator Ardagh spoke about sub judice and making sure we are all incredibly careful because we all want to see justice for Ashling Murphy and solace for her family. She spoke about the probate office delays in the HSE and I will go and find out what is going on because I do not have an answer to that.

Senator Lombard spoke about the new agriculture correspondent who was appointed by RTÉ this morning. It is a real pity that the only way RTÉ could appoint somebody was by making it a double job between consumer affairs and agriculture. It reflects what our national broadcaster, which is looking for an increase in its licence fee, thinks about rural Ireland and farming. The Senator has asked for a debate on rural economies and how they thrive. I will organise that debate. Senator O’Loughlin spoke about the €1,000 bonus and how some sectors that did well from Covid might like to give a tax-free payment to their employees. That is a good example of something we could ask of the Minister for Finance and we will follow up on that.

Senator Wall talked about the gambling control Bill and the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, which I will organise a debate on once I get a date. He also spoke about the leaving certificate. Senators Wall and Gavan asked for a debate on housing and I will organise that as soon as I can. What Senator Gavan described this morning is particularly outrageous. No HAP payment should continue if the person has failed the HAP standards inspection seven times. It is a disgrace and I commend him for bringing it up. The Senator also brought up the leaving certificate because like me he has a son who is doing it this year.

As I said, Senator Boyhan brought up the acquiescence of the Minister for Health to meet the Irish Thalidomide Association. The Cabinet meeting on Friday on the easing of restrictions was brought up by Senator Kyne. There is nearly a galloping pace for all of us to say that is done and dusted and let us get back to normal but all of us probably need to caution that reopening will bring its own set of idiosyncrasies. We all have to genuinely be careful. Senator Malcolm Byrne opened today’s proceedings by talking about the influence and impact of the European Union and our membership thereof. He spoke about all the positives that come from it, of which there are many. We need to have another debate on the future of Europe and it would be nice to have Roberta Metsola, who is a young woman with major ambition, over for a conversation. The Cathaoirleach might send the invitation because such a debate would be nice. I also want to say to the Senator that there are some delays in the Passport Office and I will write to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, to see what is going on.

I thank the Cathaoirleach; I rambled on a bit.