I thank the Senator. Before I call the Leader, I will make a couple of points. I welcome Deputy Sherlock to the Seanad. He is joined by a good friend of all of ours, Mr. Ronan Farren, and Mr. Art O'Neill. They are very welcome. Deputy Brady is also here with a guest. They are all welcome to Leinster House today. Go raibh maith agaibh.

The issue of this morning's Commencement matters was addressed during the Order of Business. I will outline to the Members that I, as Cathaoirleach, selected the issue raised by Senator Clonan to be taken as a Commencement matter. I understand the Department of Health contacted Senator Clonan late last night with a view to the withdrawal of the matter so that it could be taken on another day. The scheduling of Commencement matters for any particular day is not determined by a Department or, indeed, Senators. It is the prerogative of the Cathaoirleach of the day. In my case, it is my responsibility to pick and select four matters. Yesterday, 12 matters were submitted by Members for today. I selected the Commencement matter of Senator Clonan because it was a matter of importance to me. I ruled that my selection should stand so that it could proceed. I am disappointed that the matter was not responded to and I will, as I have done in the past, write to the Minister and the Department to express my concerns. More generally, I would like to add that the withdrawal of a Commencement matter leaves vacant a slot that could be used by another Senator.

Well said.

As the Cathaoirleach has dealt with the question of Commencement matters, I do not propose to. It is not a matter for the Leader of the House but one for the Cathaoirleach's office.

I thank all Members for their contributions on the Order of Business today. First up was Senator O'Loughlin. She spoke first about the survey released this morning that said Castlebar was the best town in Ireland for work-life balance and quality of life, which I was obviously delighted to see. We will take the good news when it comes. A second Mayo town, Ballina, came second. As Senator Carrigy pointed out, Longford came third and Newbridge in County Kildare was cited as Ireland's safest town. That is some good news. It is nice to see some of the smaller rural towns across the country get the recognition they deserve. Well done to those towns. That probably links into what happened during the pandemic and flexible working. People are looking to smaller towns. That is just part of the new way of doing things. When the different towns across the country were being assessed, issues like access to primary school places, broadband, amenities, leisure centres and house prices were considered. These are all the different things we value and that contribute to a good quality of life. Well done to those towns.

Senator O'Loughlin also spoke about the Cycle Right training that is available to children across the country. There is a cost associated with that but she would like to see it rolled out across all schools in the country to encourage students to cycle to and from school. She also raised an issue around waterways and a particular issue regarding a pedestrian bridge and signage along the blueway in Rathangan that will require €3.5 million to deliver. I would like to see that delivered.

Senator Boyhan spoke about the family carers debate that will happen later on. He welcomed the debate and thanked Fine Gael for using its Private Members' slot to facilitate such an important debate. He also congratulated the newly elected president of the Veterinary Council of Ireland, Rachel Brown, who is from Ballina in County Mayo. I wish her well in her term. The Senator also called for a new veterinary school in the country to facilitate more people training and for more opportunities for farm technicians to train. I support those calls. We would love to see more people getting an opportunity to study and work in Ireland.

Quite a number of Members raised the issue of this morning's Commencement matter. The Cathaoirleach has adequately dealt with that issue.

Senator Seery Kearney has asked for an update on the safe access zones legislation. We had contact from the Department of Health just last week with a view to scheduling it. It will be scheduled in the month of February. I am sorry; the Senator is sitting there. I thought she had left the Chamber. The reason the Bill was not scheduled towards the end of the last term is that we had the Bills on vaping and human tissue. There was a lot of legislation coming from the Department. It was just a question of scheduling and timing. This House has had no issue with scheduling the legislation. When time is requested, such requests are facilitated. We will have that debate pretty soon in the coming weeks.

Senators Hoey and Murphy raised the issue of some countries' withdrawal of funding for the UNRWA. That is really regrettable. I am delighted and proud that Ireland's position on this was very strong. The Tánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin, was very clear that, while he wanted to see those who were potentially involved in the 7 October attacks brought to justice and while sanctions would be imposed, Ireland would not be withdrawing funding and would continue to fund that vital aid service that supports so many Palestinians in Gaza at an extraordinarily difficult time. Words do not really cover what is happening there. We all accept that.

I take on board the point Senator Hoey made about the referendums. The date for the local elections has not been set yet but we are obviously looking at those days. I take on board the points the Senator has raised in that regard.

Senator Warfield spoke about the breakthrough in Northern Ireland, as did Senator McDowell. It is really welcome to see that, after two years of not having a functioning Assembly or Executive in the North, we have finally had a breakthrough and that the parties, particularly the DUP and Sinn Féin, are coming together and going back to power-sharing. That is really important. I take on board that Senator Dooley raised, along with Senator McDowell, the need to avoid being too triumphant and to be sensitive of the views and emotions of other people and other communities as we try to get things back up and running. We need to see politics functioning in the North. I recently visited the Northern Ireland Executive's office in Brussels. That was a big gap as regards services as there are no ministers in Northern Ireland, which is really impacting on the people on the ground. I wish those involved well. It is great to see that breakthrough.

Senator Ardagh spoke about children with disabilities and their need for services. She also asked for a debate on scoliosis, which we will request from the Department of Health. She also raised the issue of the use of AI. She pointed to the story of Georgie Purcell that broke in Australia recently in particular. It was really shocking to see that a Member of Parliament had her image altered by AI to make her breasts bigger and to reduce the size of her clothing to expose more skin. It is quite shocking that something like that would happen in a developed democracy in this day and age. I commend Ms Purcell on her very dignified response.

Hear, hear.

She called it out. Senator Kyne welcomed the double payment for pensioners, lone parents and people accessing disability payments that is coming through this month. This is in line with the cost-of-living measures introduced by the Government in the last budget to support people with continuing cost-of-living pressures.

As I said, Senator McDowell spoke about the Northern Ireland institutions and the need to acknowledge that any suggestion that a united Ireland is within touching distance upsets many people in the North. While I assume everybody in this House wants to see a united Ireland, it has to be done in the right way. Communities must be brought together. It is important that we are uniting people as opposed to uniting the landmass.

Senator Dooley asked for a debate on the crisis in the SME sector. Senator Maria Byrne also raised that particular issue. There is no doubt but that those in the tourism and hospitality sector are under pressure, as are those in the retail sector. There has been a lot of change for business, all of it for the right reasons, but it has come together at the same time and it is putting pressure on small businesses. On top of that, bed nights have been taken out as a result of beds being used to accommodate refugees. That is putting great pressure on rural businesses that rely on that footfall. I will request a debate with the Minister for enterprise at the earliest opportunity.

Senator Cummins asked for a debate on housing and housing adaptation grants in light of inflation in that sector. I will request that debate.

Senator Keogan spoke about Ann Lovett's anniversary, which is today. The date was 31 January 1984. I take on board the points that she and Senators Murphy and Carrigy have raised as to the need to be respectful and mindful of the family members connected to the issue. I will say no more on that but I note the Senators' comments.

Senator Murphy spoke about the passing of John Connor, a former Fine Gael politician in Roscommon, as did Senators Dolan and Ahearn. I concur with all Senators' remarks in that regard and offer my condolences to his family, community, friends and political party. He led a life of service to the public. He clearly left a strong mark on his colleagues and his community. May he rest in peace.

Senator Carrigy drew our attention to Longford coming third in the Switcher.ie survey. I agree with the Senator's remarks.

Senator Flynn asked for an update on the hate crime legislation. It is the prerogative of Departments to request time for debates on legislation. As it stands, I have not yet been requested to schedule debate on that legislation. We will certainly schedule it when the request comes from the Department.

Senator McGreehan spoke about the issue of GP shortages and requested a debate on the matter, which I will request.

Senator Gavan spoke about aviation policy and the 85% of flights that go out of Dublin Airport. I disagree with his statement that no effort has been made as regards regional balance and our regional airports. There is annual funding for regional airports. Knock Airport has got approximately €6 million in the last 12 months. That is significant funding for the airport. The likes of Shannon and Knock are doing a very good job in attracting customers to their airports and people want to take flights out of those airports. Dublin is the capital so airlines often look to it first. That is not a result of Government policy. It is just that it is where airlines tend to go first. However, I would love to see more flights out of Knock, Shannon and other airports across the country.

The Leader might include Cork as well.

Of course, Cork is our second biggest airport. People are voting with their feet. We have seen an increase in passenger numbers out of all of those airports, Cork, Shannon and Knock, because people like flying out of them. Demand drives where airlines look to schedule flights. It is a little bit of a chicken-and-egg scenario.

The airports in question are doing such a good job that they are attracting additional business. Government funding to the regional airports, including Cork and Shannon, has been really welcome. It is part of the Government's ongoing commitment to have better regional balance in aviation policy. I will request a debate with the transport Minister on that.

Senator Craughwell spoke about how Castlebar fared in the survey but he also about the referendums on 8 March. We had a quite lengthy debate on these when discussing the related Bills. I concur with the Senator that clear, factual, impartial information is needed. The Electoral Commission will be delivering literature to every house in the country, providing the facts and information to every voter. At the end of the day, it will be a matter for the Irish people to decide which way to vote in the referendums. That is part of our democracy.

Senator Dolan spoke about flooding in Roscommon and the designation of SACs. It might be worth submitting a Commencement matter on this matter because it is quite topical. I do not know how we would redesignate SACs. I assume it is not a straightforward process, but I take on board the points on how a reassessment can be carried out if the situation on the ground changes. I suggest a Commencement matter. If further information is needed, let me know.

Senator Malcolm Byrne requested again that we have a select committee on AI. I absolutely support his request because the work of such a committee could do would be very valuable. The AI Act we have seen at EU level is the first of its kind. We are moving in that direction. I have requested a debate in the House with the relevant Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, so we can go through more of this.

I support the Senator's call for more focus on the unified patent system referendum. Hopefully, there will be more focus on it once we deal with the referendums that are to be held first, in March. At least, it will be held along with local and European elections, so there should at least be a good turnout for it.

Senator Maria Byrne has asked for a debate on hospitality, which we will request.

Senator Clonan has called for the disabled drivers tax relief scheme to be updated. He made a point on the situation of David Digan. It seems a little ridiculous at this stage, so I support the call for an extension.

Senator Garrett Ahern has asked for a debate on Irish Water, including water pressure in Grange and a particular area of Knocklofty. I suggest that the Senator submit a Commencement matter as it is a specific question related to a local area issue.

I welcome the lady members of Malahide Golf Club to Leinster House. I hope they have a pleasant visit and adjourn to the 19th green here in Leinster House.