The Order of Business is No. 1, address to Seanad Éireann by Mr. Kazumi Matsui, Mayor of Hiroshima, to be taken at 1 p.m. in accordance with the arrangements agreed by the House on Thursday, 17 October 2024; No. 2, motion regarding approval by Seanad Éireann of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2024, back from committee, to be taken at 2.15 p.m. and to conclude at 3.15 p.m. if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks by the Minister not to exceed five minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed seven minutes and time may be shared, and the Minister to be given no less than five minutes to reply to the debate; No. 3, Agriculture Appeals (Amendment) Bill 2024 - Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 3.15 p.m. or on the conclusion of No. 2, whichever is later, 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, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by Government; No. 4, Statute Law Revision Bill 2024 - Order for Second Stage and Second Stage, to be taken at 5 p.m. and to conclude at 6.30 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks by the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed ten minutes and time may be shared, and all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, with the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate; and No. 161(2), Private Members' business, motion regarding amendments to Standing Orders, proposal for the election of the Cathaoirleach and Leas-Chathaoirleach by secret ballot, to be taken at 6.30 p.m. with the time allocated to this debate not to exceed two hours.

I support the Order of Business as outlined by the Leader.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet Michael Ryan from Templemore, County Tipperary. In fact, his son, Shane, was an intern in my office last year. He is a very fine young man and it was lovely to meet his dad. Michael Ryan came here because yesterday was International Stuttering Awareness Day. The day was marked by the Irish Stammering Association and its slogan, "Go with the Flow". It is important that we have a global observance that is dedicated to raising awareness about stammering. Michael told me about the time he met President Biden in respect of this important issue. We must promote understanding and support for individuals who stammer. The aim of the international day is to destigmatise stammering, provide resources for those impacted, and promote speech therapy and communication skills. It is important that all of us in this House support the initiative.

During the week I saw that Newbridge St. Brigid's Community Games is 50 years old this year. The national organisation started in 1967. It is a wonderful organisation, as we all know, as it supports young people to get involved in various types of sports, entertainment and art activities. Some very well known people have come through the community games system such as Sonia O'Sullivan and Eamonn Coghlan, my cousin, Tommy Bowe, and Ronan O'Gara and, indeed, actors like Saoirse Ronan and Colin Farrell.

In Newbridge, the volunteers who started the community games there 50 years ago are still the volunteers today. I refer to people like Teresa Harrison, Michael Donohue, Peter O'Neill and Rita Timmons. They are incredible people. Newbridge St. Brigid's Community Games is still going strong. It is really important that we give a big shout out to them as they celebrate 50 years and, indeed, a big shout out to all of the wonderful community games volunteers around the country who have given so much to generations of people.

Yesterday, I was delighted to meet a delegation from the Riverbank Arts Centre. Paul Davis is the chair and Donnchadh O'Neill is a member of the board. The Riverbank Arts Centre is County Kildare's arts theatre and arts centre, which is based in Newbridge. Thirty years ago there was no county arts centre and no arts centre in Newbridge, so a group of us got together to lobby for one. Mary Lenihan, Peter Hussey and I were the main people involved and we were absolutely thrilled when we got this centre. A lot of work now needs to be done to make it more accessible. The Riverbank Arts Centre did get a small grant two years ago. It is going through the Part 8 process now but we really need to get national funding, as well as support from Kildare County Council and the Arts Council. I honestly believe that facilities such as these need to be able to access grants similar to the sports capital grants and that is what I call for today.

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that No. 12 be taken before No. 1. I also wish to speak on a number of issues.

This morning on my way here, I spoke to a young man, James Cawley, who has worked in the disability sector for a long number of years. He is very well known to all of us in my area who are activists and fighting for supports. There is no full-time occupational therapist in Longford at present and nor has there been for a significant number of years. The roles have been covered on a part-time and temporary basis for many years. When we get an occupational therapist, he or she is gone within six months. I do not understand why the position is not being advertised as a full-time position, which we have, say, for people over 65 years and those within the children's disability network teams, CDNTs, where we also have difficulties. It would be an awful lot easier to recruit an occupational therapist if the position was full-time. I ask that this matter is highlighted with the Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities.

I want to raise an issue concerning bus escorts around the country. It has been brought to my attention that in recent years, the rate of pay for bus escorts has not increased, particularly for bus escorts who accompany young children who have disabilities. We struggle to get people to be bus escorts. They are not paid throughout the summer months or holiday months. The rate of pay has not been increased in a long number of years despite the fact that the minimum wage has been increased on a regular basis, and particularly in the past three to four years.

However, a number are struggling and find themselves in a position whereby they are not able to continue for financial reasons. I ask that the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, look at this issue. I know there was a discussion on school secretaries in recent times, and I welcome the changes made because we are struggling to get people into those roles. I am of the view that this matter could be looked at in the same light in the context of providing an increase. In order to get children to school, especially those with special needs, we need to have people who can escort them and look after any needs they might have along the way.

Yesterday, I had the honour of addressing the space industry in Ireland. I was shocked to learn there are 109 companies operating in that industry, some of which have products in space as part of various scientific projects. That is wonderful. Every now and then, I get an opportunity to congratulate the Government on something. It is great that we have Skillnet, which provides training in respect of future technology in space. There is a whole programme of events and courses in this regard that people can undertake through Skillnet.

I must also congratulate the Government on cybersecurity. This is an interest of mine and has been for some time. The Government, through Enterprise Ireland, has made available grants of up to €63,000 for SMEs to improve their cybersecurity. In that context, in the dying days of this Government we should acknowledge some good things have happened over the past four years. It is extremely important that companies that qualify for the Enterprise Ireland grant scheme start to prepare for the network and information systems 2, NIS2, directive which is coming down the road. There is a bad side to this in that we have missed the date for NIS2. It will probably take a year before we catch up, but NIS2 is going to place responsibility for cyber directly in the boardroom. People will no longer be in a position to say that the IT department is looking after something. Boards of directors and senior management within companies could be struck off if they fail to implement the cybersecurity rules coming from Europe. I urge people to make use of the grants that are available through Enterprise Ireland and get themselves up and running.

We are living in dangerous times. People like to think cyberattacks come from Russia, Iran and China. Cyberattacks come from Waterford, Cork, Galway and anywhere else people care to think of. It is not always bad actor countries that are involved, although they are the main antagonists. Every now and then it is individuals who are responsible. It is vitally important that companies get up to speed on cybersecurity.

I spoke to some people in the Defence Forces earlier who are serving in Lebanon. I congratulated them on their overall level of morale. It was fantastic to see people who are still on top of their game and doing the job they were sent out to do. We must be proud of them.

And so say all of us.