Míle buíochas. I welcome to the Public Gallery the students from Johnstown National School, Glenageary. I think they are from rang a sé. They are guests of Senator Barry Ward. They are very welcome to Leinster House and I am glad to see them here. Maybe their teachers will give them homework off as a token of our appreciation of their visit to the Houses of Parliament.

I also acknowledge the presence of a very good friend of many of us in the House, Mary Danagher from Limerick. It is good to see Mary here this morning. Anois, glaoim ar an Seanadóir Mark Wall.

I, too, welcome our guests to the Gallery today. As a member of the autism committee, I am proud of the achievement of getting autism-friendly accreditation for the Houses of the Oireachtas. It is a really important day for us all. I give particular credit to the chair of the committee, which I know Senator Ardagh has already done. Senator Carrigy has driven this through the Houses over the last year or so. He has been an excellent and exemplary chair in doing so. He deserves great credit for what has been achieved in this House and for what he has done to raise the profile of autistic people in this country through the autism committee.

The committee has already linked in with the Scottish Parliament. There is an open conversation taking place with it and it is looking at what we have done here in Ireland. I am sure it will be one of the next parliaments to follow the lead of Leinster House.

I also thank Róisín Deery for her considerable work. Róisín was the one who was pushing this accreditation in the background and, as Senator Carrigy said, making the phone calls. It is a proud day for us all. I thank Senator Carrigy for being a wonderful chair in pushing that forward.

I also raise the National Transport Authority's announcement within the last hour and a half of its national fares determination. The Cathaoirleach will be familiar with the fact that commuting is one of the biggest issues I raise in this House. Today is a good day for what the NTA is now referring to as the Dublin commuter zone. It will mean reductions in single adult fares of 45% from the train station in Newbridge and 37% from Kildare town. That is what we have learned so far. This document has only been published in the last hour and a half. It is 90 page long, so we want to walk through it. I ask that the Leader request the Minister for Transport to come back to the House to discuss commuting, rail fares and this document. When we discussed the matter in February last year the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, told me that towns were being treated unfairly with regard to rail fares. As a result of that, and a campaign by the Newbridge Labour Party on fares determination that has run for six years and collected 8,000 signatures, we are where we are today. I also give great credit to Jennifer Caffrey and Newbridge Community Development for the organisation's campaign. It has dealt with 1,800 families in Newbridge, Kildare town and Kilcullen who are affected on their daily commute.

The Cathaoirleach will be aware that the last time we spoke on this issue, I mentioned that the N7 and M7 are a car park. Reducing rail fares is a way of ensuring that fares do not constitute a reason for anybody not using public transport or having to get into their car to travel, in the case of Newbridge, to Sallins train station. It is a good news day and we will need to work through this. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate with the Minister, so we can move forward again.

I join others in congratulating those who worked to achieve autism-friendly status for this building.

Today marks 700 days since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Yesterday, 18 people were killed and more than 130 wounded as a result of Russian air strikes on Ukraine. It is essential that we continue to stand with the people of Ukraine as a country and in multilateral institutions. It is important that, even though there are conflicts in other parts of the world, we do not forget about this horrific conflict and Russia's barbaric actions. I ask that we have a debate on Ukraine and further actions that Ireland may be able to take.

Related to that, I am concerned about what I read today in my local newspapers in Wexford. I disagree with him on many issues but Aontú councillor Jim Codd, who is a very good secondary school teacher, has rightly expressed concern that refugee pupils no longer feel as safe as they once did here. This is a concern I have heard from other teachers but Councillor Codd is raising it and putting it on the public agenda. We have to be very conscious, in the debates we have in these Houses and in other public debates, that language matters. When children and young people hear some of the hateful rhetoric that is being used to describe refugees and asylum seekers, it impacts on them to a far greater extent than it does on others.

In the context of any debates that happen in these Houses or in public, we need to remember that. I ask that in facilitating a debate around immigration, the question of language features as part of that.

I join others in congratulating Senators Carrigy, Ardagh, Wall and other members of the autism committee on their leadership and advocacy in regard to these Houses becoming an autism-friendly Parliament. I concur with the suggestion that this should be rolled out to all local authorities and Government buildings.

It becomes a cliché to talk about balanced regional development. I have to say that it is not a cliché if we look at what happened in Galway last Friday with the sod-turning of the Dexcom facility in Athenry, which will be providing 1,000 full-time jobs in the west, which is not just for Galway but the broader region. These things do not happen by accident. The foundations were put in place a long time back, nearly 15 years ago, when the Athenry-Oranmore economic corridor was identified in the Galway county development plan by councillors and officials as a driver for the Galway area. Because of that and because of the intersection of two motorways, the Galway-Dublin motorway and the Limerick-Tuam motorway, it is a perfect vantage point for the new development of Dexcom. It is important to also acknowledge the rail infrastructure that is present on the Galway-Dublin line and the proposed facility running from Athenry to Claremorris and, hopefully, onwards. I acknowledge the partnership between Dexcom and Connacht Rugby, with Dexcom Stadium now the new name for the sports ground. I also acknowledge the €20 million Government investment in providing the new facility for Dexcom Park.

It is important to note the positives in regard to balanced regional development, not just for Galway but for the whole region. I am sure plenty of people across Mayo and elsewhere will be working in the Dexcom facility in Athenry and travelling there by car, rail or bus.