I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that non-Government motion No. 9 be taken ahead of non-Government motion No. 1. I will read that into the record. It may be useful to do so for colleagues. The motion reads: "That Seanad Éireann calls on the Rehab Group/Enterprises to implement the recent Labour Court recommendation which called on Rehab to honour the long-standing redundancy agreement with SIPTU, with particular reference to the 38 staff made redundant by Rehab Enterprises in Limerick in 2021." I wish to acknowledge the support offered on several occasions by our Deputy Leader and put on record my appreciation of that support. I ask that all of us unite today regarding this motion.

Yesterday was not such a pleasant day in Limerick. The rain was lashing down for most of the day and for an hour between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., I and my colleague, Deputy Quinlivan, stood with these Rehab Group workers who were laid off two years ago and have been denied their proper redundancy payments. They stood in the rain outside the Rehab Group building and got to hand in a letter. I spoke to many of them. They are vulnerable workers. Some of them suffer from visual impairments, some of them have learning difficulties and some have Down's syndrome. Each of them were at a complete loss as to how their employer, which they have given decades of service to, in many cases, has left them effectively locked out for the last two years from the redundancy package they are entitled to.

This organisation received millions of euro in State funding and is supposed to value inclusion, respect and integrity. It has disregarded a Labour Court recommendation. The disturbing part is the Labour Court took a lot of time on this issue and appointed an independent financial analyst to examine whether Rehab Group could afford to pay these workers the redundancy agreement they had through their union, SIPTU. The independent analyst found that Rehab Group had €20 million in cash or cash equivalents, as well as €54 million in assets and could well afford to honour this agreement. Interestingly, the same analysis also highlighted expenditure of €813,000 in packages paid to senior management in 2018 and 2019. In other words, if you are one of the top bosses in Rehab Group, there is no problem putting together a very sweet package of tens of thousands of euro - more than that, frankly. If you are an ordinary worker who has given decades of service or if you are a vulnerable worker, then you have literally been left to twist in the wind for the last two years.

I salute the SIPTU union, which is absolutely determined to ensure these workers receive justice. Its members were there in force yesterday as well. I ask colleagues from all parties and none to unite today to send a clear message to Rehab Group management that their behaviour is entirely unacceptable and it is time they did the right thing, stood by these workers and paid them the money they are owed.

Will Senator Gavan clarify that he is moving No. 133, motion 9?

Yes. No. 133, motion 9.

The death penalty for aggravated homosexuality is set to be introduced in Uganda. The country passed a Bill through its Parliament which would make it a crime to identify as LGBT, with severe penalties including life in prison for having, as it said, "gay sex". In my understanding, this is one of the harshest laws in the world targeting the LGBT community, in a country where LGBT people already face legal discrimination and, very often, mob violence. If signed into law by the President - the international understanding is that he has expressed that he will sign it into law - the Bill will violate multiple fundamental rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and association, privacy, equality and non-discrimination.

One of the most extreme features of this new Bill is it criminalises people simply for being who they are, as well as further infringing on their rights to privacy and freedoms of expression and association, which are already compromised in Uganda. Uganda is one of the countries listed as a partner country for Irish Aid on the Irish Aid website. The programme in place has been very much focused on gender equality, but there has been nothing about equality in terms of sexual orientation.

Given the state of play in Uganda, the Irish Government should commit to including equality on the grounds of sexual orientation in any future programmes. I hope other EU donor countries may consider doing the same. We should be using our international influence to resist this law due to the grave implications it will have for the lives of LGBT people in Uganda and may result in some of them losing their lives. I will be writing to the Taoiseach to convey to the President of Uganda that if he signs this Bill into law, it will be a backwards step for Uganda. It also signals, even from a basic business perspective, that it is not an open space for multinationals to do business and it is not a welcome place for people to visit. There will be people fleeing Uganda due to fear of literal death due to their sexual orientation. Ireland should be a country that is a safe haven for them. I ask that we condemn this law in this House and that we send international solidarity to members of the Ugandan LGBT community.

I wish to briefly mention, as it happened during recess, the conviction and sentencing last week of Polish activist Justyna. She was sentenced to eight months of community service for helping a pregnant woman to access abortion pills. This conviction marks a depressing low in the repression of reproductive rights in Poland and a rowback for women, girls and pregnant people. Those who defend their rights are paying an extremely high price. This case sets a dangerous precedent in Poland, where abortion is almost completely banned and offers a chilling snapshot of the consequences of these restrictive laws.

Justyna should never have been put on trial in the first place because what she did should not be a crime. She was simply supporting a woman asking for help. She was showing compassion. By defending the right to safe abortion in Poland, she has shown courage. I wish to send solidarity to Polish activists and the women and pregnant people who are going to be dreadfully impacted by those draconian laws and remind us that we have hard-fought and hard-won laws in Ireland, yet people are still travelling. We need to not only look to the activists in Poland but also to our own country.

Well said.

I welcome the details of the groundbreaking new scheme announced by the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, this morning. There was information previously in the budget but not the finer details of the scheme, which will provide free schoolbooks in primary schools and special schools.

More than 558,000 pupils are enrolled in approximately 3,230 primary schools, including over 130 special schools, which will benefit from the new scheme. This initiative will provide not only free schoolbooks but also workbooks and copybooks, easing the financial burdens facing families during back-to-school time. The cost of living is currently a significant challenge. I know from talking to families across County Galway that this measure will make a significant difference and be of significant help to people. When Fianna Fáil decided to go into government, education was a key area in which we wanted to introduce significant reforms, which have long been a hallmark of the Fianna Fáil party. I am delighted to see the tradition is continuing under the Minister, Deputy Foley.

The investment of over €50 million significantly increases the funding for schoolbooks currently provided to all recognised primary schools in the country and delivers on the commitment in the programme for Government to extend the free schoolbook pilot scheme currently in more than 100 primary schools in the DEIS programme. This scheme will ensure that parents and guardians will not be asked to buy or rent any schoolbooks, workbooks or copy books from September 2023. There are still significant challenges facing the country and areas where we must do more but it is important that the programme for Government commitments are honoured. This is another one which will now be welcomed by all.

I want to raise the issue of the summer programme. I know considerable work was carried out by the Department regarding special education. New recommendations were put in place but we are still hearing stories of a significant number of special schools deciding not to provide a school-based summer programme this year. I would strongly urge those schools to reconsider. The reality of not carrying out such a programme in schools is that thousands of kids with the greatest needs will not get that consistency through the summer months. I appeal to those schools that have decided not to implement a summer programme despite the significant changes being put forward, to change their minds. We should all be putting extreme pressure if at all possible on schools in our local areas to make sure that happens.

Yesterday, I was honoured to attend the student enterprise awards in my home county of Longford. I want to compliment the local enterprise office and Longford County Council. It was a fantastic day. A number of schools were involved: Mercy Secondary, Ballymahon; Ballymahon Vocational School; Ardscoil Phádraig, Granard; Cnoc Mhuire, Granard; Moyne Community School; Meán Scoil Mhuire, Longford; and St. Mel's College. All bar one of the post-primary schools took part in the awards. The standard of the projects was amazing. These are the future entrepreneurs in our communities. It was brilliant to see the work they have put forward.

The first year group from Moyne Community School won an award. It is appropriate given that we have been talking a lot about education recently. The winning project was entitled Big Move to Big School. It consisted of a booklet that could be given to children in fifth or sixth class in national schools throughout the country to help them decide what secondary school to choose. It is a fantastic project where kids can tick off what they like when they go to the various schools' open days. I would like this taken on board. I will give a copy to the Minister for Education. It is a brilliant idea. It has been designed by first-year students stating what they would have liked to have had when they were making a decision as to which secondary school to go to.

A Chathaoirligh, you and I and other Members of this House and the Dáil attended the Interparliamentary Union last week where historic outcomes in peaceful coexistence and cybercrime were agreed. We frequently have a crack at one another in this House because of different political ideology, etc. Along with the Cathaoirleach, Senator Clifford-Lee of Fianna Fáil, a member of the Green Party, Senator Róisín Garvey, and Deputy Denis Naughten attended. I want to place on record the pride I have in the people I travelled with. I was never more proud to be Irish and to be with wonderful people at the gathering of 143 parliaments in Bahrain. I hope it is not embarrassing to the Cathaoirleach, but his speech to the assembly was outstanding. People were speaking about him long after he sat down, sad to say.

I remind my colleague this is the Order of Business.

Senator Garvey's chairmanship of the committee on climate was so impressive that people have demanded that she be brought back to the next assembly to chair a committee. Senator Clifford-Lee's chairmanship of a committee got a similar warm welcome. It is wonderful to travel with colleagues and to see Ireland, a tiny little country, held in such high esteem. I want to compliment the officials on the work that was done there. Nothing was left to chance. Everything was well prepared, we knew where we were going, we knew what we were doing. I spent three days on cybersecurity and the reaction we got was amazing. The downside of where we were was Bahrain itself. There are 1,400 political prisoners of whom 60 are in a yard refusing to go back to their cells because of a lack of healthcare. Perhaps we could have a debate on human rights in Bahrain and Iran.

Time is up. I do not make the rules. It is the Order of Business but I concur with Senator Craughwell that the output of the members of our delegation and the officials was commendable, as was the Senator's work on cybersecurity. Go raibh maith agaibh.