The Order of Business is No. 1, motion re arrangements for the sitting of the House on Tuesday, 21 June, Wednesday, 22 June and Thursday, 23 June 2022, without debate; No. 2, Garda Síochána (Amendment) Bill 2022 – all Stages to be taken at 1.15 p.m. and to conclude at 3.15 p.m. and the proceedings on Second Stage shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 58 minutes with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed eight minutes, all Senators not to exceed six minutes and the Minister to be given no less than eight minutes to reply to the debate, Committee and Remaining Stages to be taken immediately thereafter and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion at 3.15 p.m. by the putting of one question from the Chair which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by Government; No. 3, motion regarding the Earlier Signature of the Garda Síochána (Amendment) Bill 2022, to be taken on the conclusion of No. 2 without debate; No. 4, Planning and Development (Built Heritage Protection) Bill 2022 - Second Stage, to be taken at 3.15 p.m. or on the conclusion of No. 3, whichever is the latter, with the time allocated to this debate not to exceed two hours.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. At this time of the year we are regularly approached and briefed by non-governmental organisations, unions and so forth. Two very important engagements took place yesterday. One was with the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, INTO. We all know the sacrifices teachers and young people made during the pandemic. One of the legacies of the pandemic should not only be a properly funded health system but also a properly funded education system. The INTO made a number of very solid proposals on class sizes and on the restoration of posts of responsibility. A moratorium was introduced in 2010 in respect of posts of responsibility and the appointment of new such posts within schools. We all know how important administration work is these days because it takes up so much of all of our time. It is high time that moratorium was lifted and that a proper restoration takes place of the necessary supports that schools need. The INTO also has some very interesting proposals in the whole area of mental health. I call, therefore, for a debate on education at some stage, if possible this side of the summer recess.

There was also a very important briefing in the audiovisual room which many colleagues attended yesterday afternoon given by the Neurological Alliance of Ireland on the need for nurses, whether that is for multiple sclerosis, MS, or Parkinson's disease, and for those nurses to be available to advise people on living as full and as healthy a life as possible. There is a very significant deficit in respect of the number of nurses in those areas that are available on the ground to visit people at home, to take phone calls and so on. A very powerful presentation was made by a 22-year-old girl who suffers from epilepsy on how such a resource would make a very significant difference to her being able to live a proper, independent life. Some 30 nurses are being asked for but more than 100 are needed.

We need to make a significant dent in that and in the upcoming budget I sincerely hope we see specific funding for neurology nurses so they can carry out their jobs.

As a final point, it is great news University Hospital Limerick is going to have a proper diabetic clinic with properly-trained staff to carry out the necessary work. A campaign by diabetes activists in the mid-west has been taking place for some time to have appropriate staff appointed. That has happened and it is great news.

I wish everybody a happy Bloomsday. It is a very important day in Dublin, Ireland and indeed across the world now. The final life-affirming words are not "... yes I said yes I will Yes" but in fact "Trieste-Zurich-Paris 1914-1921". The most Dublin of Dublin novels was actually written on the Continent and as we know Joyce was very deliberately European and a very proud European. He lived on mainland Europe for most of his life and was very much influenced by European writers and indeed European politics.

The question of what it means to be European is a theme that is going to be explored during the Irish presidency of the Council of Europe. On that note, it was great to see the bureau of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, CLARA, meeting in Tralee in the Cathaoirleach's home county earlier this week at the invitation of Councillor Jimmy Moloney, Mayor of Kerry County Council and head of the Irish delegation to the CLARA. I had the opportunity to join the attendees on Tuesday night and can attest to both the hospitality and the organisational skills of Kerry County Council and the Association of Irish Local Government, AILG. Well done to all involved. The 24 international visitors went back with a very positive view of Ireland, and of course, of Kerry.

I wish to raise an issue relating to J1 visas. I never had the opportunity to avail of one myself but younger brothers and sisters did and I have always been jealous of that fact. It is the chance of a lifetime for young students. They are able to go to America to work, live, experience another culture, have fun and of course to explore and travel there. There are different ways of getting the J1 visa but many students opt to go through USIT. A quote on its website says: "It can be difficult trying to get all the paperwork before you go, but USIT take all the hassle out and keep things smooth". That is absolutely not happening this year. It is a disgrace to hear what young people are being subjected to. One young person I know has changed flights four times, has paid accommodation and still does not have that because when they had their appointment with the US Embassy, USIT had not sent on the paperwork. The visa was subsequently refused. I am not blaming the American Embassy for that because obviously that is completely outside our jurisdiction but there are many hundreds of young people who have been completely let down by USIT. We need to call it out and we need to be in contact with the company. Maybe that is something the Deputy Leader can do because at this stage summer has started for the students.

I have a brief point to make on the short hop zones for commuter areas such as Newbridge. I have raised this before. It concerns the price differential between Newbridge and Sallins. The price is €3.60 from Sallins and €10.60 from Newbridge just to go in to Heuston Station. When we are talking about euro per kilometre or indeed the amount of minutes spent it is obviously ridiculous. It costs the same to go to Mullingar or Carlow as it does to go to Newbridge. We need to have a Leap cap, a fare cap and we also need a situation where the short hop zone is extended, or indeed a medium hop zone.