I ask the Acting Leader to outline the Order of Business for today.

At the outset, I compliment the Cathaoirleach on the two special events we have had since we met yesterday, namely, the address of Governor Healey from Massachusetts and the breakfast with Stephen Kennedy Smith this morning. I thank the Cathaoirleach for his leadership in organising the two events.

The Order of Business is No. 1, Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 - Committee Stage, to be taken at 12.45 p.m. and to adjourn at 2.15 p.m., if not previously concluded; No. 2, statements on local government matters, to be taken at 2.30 p.m. and to conclude at 4.00 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, all Senators not to exceed five minutes, and with the Minister to be given not less than ten minutes to reply to the debate; No. 3, Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertilisers Regulation Bill 2023 - Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 4 p.m., and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion at 5 p.m. by the putting of one question from the Chair which shall, with regard to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Government; No. 4., Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022 - Report and Final Stages, resumed, to be taken at 5 p.m. or on the conclusion of No. 3, whichever is the later, and to adjourn at 9 p.m., if not previously concluded.

First, I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on the two events we had recently. Unfortunately, I was not here for Governor Healey's address yesterday, even though she has south Roscommon and east Galway connections. I had asked for a speaking slot, but something arose and I did not get here. It was nice to see the Governor address the Seanad. I support the Order of Business, as laid out by the Acting Leader.

I want to reflect briefly on a national movement that has made us all sit up and see what can be done, namely, the men's shed movement. Of course, after men's sheds became a reality, the women's sheds movement emerged. We should never underestimate the level of involvement of the movement in local communities, whether it is in Roscommon, Galway, Dublin, Cork, Kildare or wherever. We could not leave out the lilywhites. It is phenomenal. The movement is a very special one. It has been recognised by Government in recent years, with the awarding of funding to these groups. In my own part of the country, I see the interaction they have with all the groups and the good they do for society. Of course, there is a well-being issue as well. Some of these men were sitting at home doing nothing, suffering from depression - let us be honest and open about it. It is a new phenomenon and thing that is happening. It also takes pressure, to a degree, off our health system when people become involved in movements like this. As I said, the women's shed movement is now beginning to do great work as well.

There are some issues and difficulties up and down the country. For example, there is an issue with rates. It is sometimes hard for groups to get permanent buildings. A business that has closed down or a business person who has a shed might give over that building to the movement. That is happening in several parts of the country, but not on a permanent basis. In some counties the local authorities are seeking the payment of rates by those groups. It is not happening in all of the counties, but it is happening in some of them. It is an issue we might discuss. Maybe some day we will have a short discussion with the relevant Minister in relation to all that goes on with all the women's and men's sheds movements. We might also seek to remove the threat that is happening to some of them, whereby they are being pushed to pay commercial rates because they are going into what was previously a commercial building. Some local authorities are not doing it, but others are. There should be an agreement nationally that those type of voluntary groups are not charged rates. It is in place for most other groups. I would like to see that happening for the movement.

I want to raise the issue of active travel funding. I ask for a debate in the House on funding for local authorities through the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. Last year, I received a letter from members of Mayo County Council. Indeed, I was also contacted by members of other local authorities. They are looking for further funding for active travel and they feel they are not getting what they require. The Mayo allocation for 2023 is €4.5 million, and in 2022, it was €5 million, amounting to a reduction in funding of 10% this year over last year. I think it is the same in some other local authorities. The local authority applies to the Minister's Department for the funding. I think there is a duplication of work in relation to it. If the Minister makes an allocation, the council should spend it where it sees fit to spend it. Perhaps the local authorities propose schemes and the Minister's Department selects the schemes that will be funded. If that is the case, there is a duplication of work. The Minister should give X amount of money to a local authority and let the local authority members, along with the executive, decide on the works to be done and carried out in the most efficient manner. I suppose this is the way to go. Active travel is going to become a bigger issue in smaller towns, bigger towns and villages. We will have to see local buses operating within towns such as Castlebar, Westport and Ballina. There are quite a number of similar towns throughout the country. They will have to have a bus service. If they have a bus service, there will need to be bus stops within the town. As a result, the streets will become smaller, so there will be a need for more active travel funding. I would welcome a debate on this issue. It is a debate into which this House could have a big input. Our electorate, the local authority members, are very active in this area. It is a debate that would be warmly welcomed by Members of the House.

I welcome the students from Le Chéile Educate Together National School in Drogheda, County Louth. They are very welcome. I know there is no point in giving them time off from homework because they are in the last day of school, but perhaps when they come back on the first day of the next term their new teacher might let them off some homework.

From the United States of America, I also welcome the guests of Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh. They are very welcome. I have not got their names but they are here on an auspicious day as we celebrate the visit of President Kennedy 60 years ago.

I join with the Cathaoirleach in welcoming the guests. This is a special day because we are celebrating the anniversary, as the Cathaoirleach said, of the visit of John F. Kennedy, as President of the United States of America, to Ireland. I thank the Cathaoirleach for his leadership as well and especially for hosting the breakfast this morning that we shared with many people at the celebration. It was a nice but simple opportunity to come together and listen to some inspirational speeches. I again thank the Cathaoirleach for organising all that.

If one looks at the Oireachtas archive, it will be seen that President Kennedy's speech is there in full. Indeed, I have sent it around to people here today. One of the things that was interesting in the President's speech in 1963 was that he quoted from several Irishmen who had played key roles in American history. These included James Hoban, whom we discussed earlier, who was the architect of the White House; John Barry, the father of the US navy; John Boyle O'Reilly, a noted Fenian leader, poet and journalist; and of course Thomas Francis Meagher, the leader of the Irish Brigade in the Union Army during the American Civil War and later acting governor of the Montana Territory.

One of the most moving aspects of President Kennedy's speech that day to the Oireachtas was his presentation of a flag from the 69th Regiment, the Fighting 69th, to the Irish people. I played back the old footage from the RTÉ archive before I came in here. It was very moving. At the end of his address, President Kennedy presented that flag and called for action by the Irish people. He announced that Ireland's hour had come and that our role on the global stage was to ensure peace with freedom. After that, I went up to the room where our battle flag now is. I saw it for the first time since it had been taken down for conservation. I take this opportunity to congratulate the conservator and all the people who made this possible. After all these years, it was most interesting to see on the flag's return to the Houses, having been restored in the last few days, the strong symbols into which Meagher had clearly had some input. I refer to the Irish harp, the Tricolour and the shamrock, all embedded, embodied and woven into that flag and the detail and sense of Irishness. This was all very clear and moving. I am particularly pleased that it is back here in these Houses. It is one of the most iconic and emblematic symbols we have here and I thank everyone involved in this work.

I finish by referring to what President Kennedy said in his speech. The President said our two countries have supported each other in times of trial and in times of triumph. How true those words are. I again thank the people involved in this endeavour and the Cathaoirleach in particular. I also thank the people involved in the restoration of this battle flag and I urge everyone to see it as soon as possible. It is great that we can now bring Irish citizens on tours around these Houses again and show them the gift that President Kennedy and the American people gave the Oireachtas.

I again raise the issue of University Hospital Limerick, UHL, in respect of the HIQA report published just last week. I agree with the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, that it makes for bleak reading. I will summarise it as quickly as I can. In the 15 subcategories of the report listed, UHL was found to be fully compliant in just one area, substantially compliant in seven areas, partially compliant in five areas and, very worryingly, non-compliant in two areas. The report found that on the first day of the inspection, on 21 February 2023, the accident and emergency department was overcrowded by three times the recommended number of patients that could be treated safely. These additional 72 people were accommodated on trolleys and chairs in that department, which, of course, comes as no surprise to anyone living in Limerick because this has, unfortunately, been the daily reality for the best part of a decade now. The report noted like the March 2022 report, the normal means of facilitating patient flow were just not working at the hospital. At 11 a.m. on the day of the inspection, the hospital was not compliant with any of the national key performance indicators, KPIs, set out by the HSE for accident and emergency departments.

I could go on, but I should also mention the fact that right now we are on track to beat even the awful figures from last year in respect of patients on trolleys. Last year, 18,012 patients were on trolleys, but so far this year we have already had 9,615 patients who have had to suffer the indignity of being on chairs and trolleys when they have got to UHL. We know new beds are in the pipeline but, frankly, these will not be half enough to meet the number required. What we have not had from the Minister at any stage are solutions to deal with this crisis in the interim. I say this because we are at least 18 months and perhaps two years away from these additional beds being delivered.

Moving to two related points, I was stunned to learn after I raised the issue some weeks back that the contract cleaning staff in the hospital finally got the bonus payment. This is welcome. The security staff at the hospital, however, have still not got this payment. It is inexplicable. We must not forget these are the same security staff this Government has completely forgotten about in respect of the employment regulation order, ERO. An injunction has been issued to challenge that order and successive Ministers of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment have done nothing to deal with this injunction. This means the security staff are languishing on €11.65 an hour. This is a disgrace for some of our best and most essential front-line workers.

A related point in this regard is that several doctors and nurses have raised another issue. These are foreign nationals who keep our health service going and right now they must wait five years to get citizenship. This has significant implications for them. For example, if their children are going to university, they will be counted as non-European students. At a time when we are desperately trying to hire doctors and nurses, how can it make sense to require these people to wait five years for citizenship? Is this not an issue that should be dealt with quickly as a means of expediting addressing this situation and encouraging doctors and nurses, those foreign nationals who keep our health service going, to choose Ireland and to choose a life here?