I welcome the ambassador to the Chamber and wish him well with the opening of the embassy in December.

The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Building Control (Amendment) Bill 2022, instruction to committee, to be taken without debate on the conclusion of the Order of Business; No. 2, Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Building Control (Amendment) Bill 2022 - Committee Stage, to be taken at 2.15 p.m. and to adjourn at 4 p.m., if not previously concluded; No. 3, Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2022 - Committee Stage, to be taken at 4 p.m. and to adjourn at 5.30 p.m., if not previously concluded; and No. 4, Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022 - Committee Stage (resumed), to be taken at 6 p.m. and to adjourn at 9 p.m., if not previously concluded.

I welcome the ambassador to the Chamber and wish him well on the reopening of the embassy.

We saw the images from Dublin Airport over the weekend. My sister and her partner were going home to the UK yesterday and were extremely worried about what faced them. They left at around 7 o'clock. Thankfully, yesterday was not as bad but the images on Sunday put the frighteners on them and on hundreds and thousands of people who took fright and left a couple of hours earlier than planned. This is not good enough for an international airport. We have to look at the image this creates of our country and capital city and at the facilities we have in other airports. We talk about regionally balanced development and all of that. We have three fine international airports on the west coast, namely, Ireland West Airport Knock, Shannon and Cork. They have had difficulties in the past but anybody who has used those facilities knows how handy and quick they are. There is pre-clearance at Shannon as well. There is a wonderful opportunity for people across the country to re-engage with those airports. We do not always have to look to Dublin for international travel. The more people that use the facilities and the more throughput and engagement they have, the more airlines that will provide services from them.

I ask for a debate on the area of air travel and tourism. The potential for the use of Ireland West Airport Knock, Shannon and Cork can be seen now, as well as their importance and the need for them. As the numbers of tourists grow in this country and the population increases, we need to look at all our assets regarding international travel. It would be hugely beneficial to have a fuller debate on this issue.

I acknowledge the ministerial engagement over recent days and weeks on capacity in Dublin Airport but it is not good enough to have people queueing on the street. Thankfully the weather was good but, on the law of averages, we will have a wet day soon and it will be even less pleasant than it is now. I cannot imagine bringing my mother to the airport and expecting her to queue outside for an hour before getting inside to continue queueing. There needs to be a thorough shake-up of the DAA and its actions and inaction regarding Dublin Airport. I look forward to a debate in the near future.

I welcome the ambassador of Sweden on behalf of the Fianna Fáil group. Sweden is a most beautiful country. I have managed to complete the Stockholm marathon twice-----

No boasting now, Senator.

I have also taken part in a unique Swedish political event, Almedalen Week, which takes place every summer and brings all the political parties in Sweden together to try to reach consensus around political issues. Some of the debate in Sweden around foreign policy and human rights is something useful that we could share. In this House, we have talked about how we should work more closely with non-aligned countries who are members of the European Union. I look forward to the reopening of the embassy.

With regard to our partnership in the European Union, I welcome the decision of the EU Council last night to impose further sanctions, particularly a ban on all seaborne oil from Russia. However, I am concerned by the continued approach of Hungary and Viktor Orbán. His actions are facilitating the ongoing war in Ukraine and his relationship with Vladimir Putin should be of serious concern. The EU must be based around values and there has to be responsibility on the part of EU leaders.

When those leaders do not exercise responsibility to defend EU values, we need to take action.

This is blockchain awareness week. Blockchain is a technology that could transform public administration in many ways. For example, an Irish company, AID:Tech, is transforming how we look at the development of overseas development aid and ensuring that it is done in a very efficient way. I call again for a debate about how technology is changing our lives and how we all need to upskill and reskill for those challenges. We are going to see the introduction of a digital euro within a few years. We are going to see blockchain underpinning a lot more of the technologies that we use. It is important that we debate those issues in this House.

Yesterday at Wexford County Council, the Minister of State, Deputy Mary Butler, launched Wexford's second age-friendly strategy. It is a comprehensive strategy to ensure that as we get older, we live in age-friendly communities. Some 22% of our population will be over the age of 65 within the next decade. We have to ensure that our communities are as age-friendly as possible. I pay tribute to the team in Wexford County Council, Ann Marie Laffan, Ger Mackey and also the volunteers led by Kevin Molloy, who brought about the production of this age-friendly strategy. I wish them well in the implementation of the strategy.

Before I call on the next speaker, I welcome to the Gallery Councillor Gilroy from County Meath. He is most welcome and I thank him for being with us in the Chamber today.

I welcome the ambassador on behalf of the Independent non-aligned group and wish him a wonderful day.

Greater love hath no one than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. On this day 23 years ago at 5.30 a.m., the 85th Infantry Battalion came under fire at post 642. Private Billy Kedian was awoken by the sound of mortars going off. In order that the people who were on duty could take care of the urgent work that needed to be done, Kedian ran from place to place waking colleagues to get them to go under cover to protect their lives. In the end, Billy Kedian was subjected to a mortar blast some 6 ft. away from him. As Billy lay dying, Lieutenant Morgan, Sergeant Spellman, Private Carr and Private Clarke went to his aid. Clarke himself was injured. Billy lost his life. The five names I have mentioned of Billy Kedian, Morgan, Spellman, Carr and Clarke have all been cited for military medals for gallantry and damn me to hell but we still have not got medals. We talk here about Jadotville. We talk about the saving of Sergeant Major John "Twenty" O'Connor. We talk about Billy Kedian. Not one bloody medal has been issued.

Every chance there is for a photo opportunity, our Minister and our Taoiseach head off and talk about the great service of our men in the Lebanon. This is not good enough. It goes back to the Congo, as the Cathaoirleach knows. Our men and women leave this country to keep people safe in peacekeeping. Many of them have lost their lives. Many UN peacekeepers, including from the ambassador's country have lost their lives in an effort to bring peace to the world. A lot of people wonder what the hell a medal means and think it is just a bit of tin. It is the only bit of recognition we have for a brave soldier. We give every Chief of Staff a distinguished service medal for doing his job. Not one of the soldiers of Jadotville, 34 of them, received a medal. Not one of the guys who saved "Twenty" O'Connor, four of them, received a medal. Indeed one of them was a Swede who saved "Twenty" O'Connor. Not one of the five I mentioned today has received a medal.

This is not a political matter; this is a matter for the Defence Forces. The Garda Commissioner has taken it upon himself to engage in a period of restorative justice to issue Scott medals for bravery going back decades. It is time that we stopped hiding behind regulations and charades. It is time to start to honour the men and women of our country who have given their lives and those who have risked their lives.

I am asking all Members to ask the Minister and to make contact with the Chief of Staff on this matter. It is a decision for the Chief of Staff, not for anybody else. We must ask him to take action.

There are rules and regulations in this House, so it is probably inappropriate to ask for a minute's silence at the end of the Order of Business, but Billy Kedian, a Mayo man, has been forgotten. If we can have a minute's silence for him, it would mean so much to my former colleagues in Galway. They have assembled for mass this morning. I have been contacted by many of them and I cannot begin to express how distressing I find this situation. I will leave it at that.

We will have a minute of silence as it is important that we acknowledge the sacrifice of our UN peacekeepers. This morning, I discussed with the ambassador the importance of peacekeepers and that there can never be enough peacekeepers in the world. We will have that minute of silence.

As regards the issue of the medals, am I correct in understanding that they were awarded the medals and were supposed to receive them but have not physically received them?

No. My apologies. The citations have been written up but a medals board has not sat.

It may be a subject suitable for a Commencement matter. If the Senator tables a request in that regard, I will pick it to be dealt with tomorrow. I thank him for raising that important matter. We think of Billy Kedian and his family on this occasion of his anniversary.