The Order of Business is No. 52, motion 1, Private Members' business, motion regarding health procurement, to be taken on conclusion of the Order of Business and to conclude at 12 noon, and notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders the proposer and seconder should be given no more than eight minutes, the contribution from the Minister shall not exceed 15 minutes, all other Senators shall not exceed five minutes and the proposer shall be given three minutes to reply to the debate; and No. 1, Mental Health Bill 2024 - Committee Stage (resumed), to be taken at 12 noon, and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after two and a half hours by the putting of one question from the Chair which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Government.

As we stand here today protected by the wonderful surroundings of Seanad Éireann, our island is being battered. Mother Nature is certainly putting us all to the test with the wind and the rain. My thoughts are with everyone who is being affected by the extreme weather we experiencing as an island. In my own part of the city, the north side of the city, there was chaos. There was a burst watermain in Fairview. The road had to be closed and homes in Drumcondra, Fairview, North Strand and East Wall out to Clontarf, Bayside and beyond have been without water. I want to acknowledge the work being done on the ground by the local authorities and Uisce Éireann. In particular, I express my sympathy to homeowners and businesses whose homes have been damaged, with some flooded. There is support there for homeowners and businesses. Both the Department of Social Protection and the Department of enterprise have funds and resources available. I encourage people, in these challenging weather conditions, to be cautious, stay safe and look out for and help each other, and then to engage with the authorities on the ground who are available, able and equipped to help, from the local authorities and the emergency services to Uisce Éireann and, as I said, the Departments of Social Protection and enterprise and their local offices. Indeed, I commend the local councillors and TDs who are the ones who often get the first call and those calls can be very distressing. We want to be able to respond in a positive way and I believe everybody is doing their best.

Later today, the Central Statistics Office will release the housing figures for 2025. We all know the key to solving our housing needs and meeting our country's housing needs is increased supply. I look forward to the release of those numbers but, more importantly, I welcome the official opening this week of the latest phase of new homes in the capital city at O'Devaney Gardens. I know other politicians have dedicated their careers to objecting to the building of these homes but I cannot figure out or understand the mentality of objecting to homes being built, particularly in a housing crisis. It seems a bizarre and, I would say, perverse activity. The good news is that 1,046 new social, affordable and private homes are being delivered at O'Devaney Gardens. Good luck to the new residents who will live there. I know there will be a happy, healthy community there and I wish them all well.

I raise today the issue of Ireland's emergency response capacity. Every household in the Republic received a booklet a number of years ago entitled Preparing for Major Emergencies. On the opening page of it, the Government gives us a definition of what constitutes an emergency:

A major emergency is an event which, usually with little or no warning, causes or threatens injury or death, or serious disruption of essential services. It may also cause damage to property, the environment or infrastructure beyond the normal capabilities of the principal emergency services...

In the booklet, the first example the Government gives us of an emergency is flooding. After the big snow of 2010, the then Minister for the environment, John Gormley, set up the National Emergency Co-ordination Centre, which is located in Agriculture House just down the road. This was set up so that once all of the authorities - the Departments of the environment, justice and Health which, in turn, oversee the activities of the HSE, An Garda Síochána and the local authorities - are mobilised in the event of an emergency, they can release all of their assets and personnel to assist people. For example, the demarcation between private and public property no longer applies so that meaningful assistance can be given to people, as has happened in Rathfarnham, Nutgrove and Enniscorthy.

There is also the capacity for the State to mobilise the Defence Forces in aid of the civil authority. We have barracks around the country, including Cathal Brugha Barracks not far from Rathfarnham, where there are dozens of high-axle and four-wheel-drive vehicles and hundreds of Defence Forces personnel who would give their eye teeth to be allowed to go out and provide assistance in events such as those that took place, with a family with a small baby being lifted out of the window of an apartment and placed in a boat. We actually have the tools and the instruments to deal with major emergencies. I note that the definition referred to an event that "usually with little or no warning, causes or threatens" this damage. The flood damage that took place on Tuesday was foreseeable and predictable. What is going to happen later on today and tomorrow - hopefully it can be mitigated in some way - is also foreseeable and predictable, so I would ask that the relevant Ministers be a little bit more proactive in declaring the emergency and mobilising the assets to help citizens, instead of blaming other agencies and, in effect, shooting the messenger. It would be great to have a debate here with the relevant Ministers to talk about our emergency response capacity and how we can assist. We have a duty of care to assist our citizens.

I wish to bring to attention this morning the requirement that is put upon school bus drivers to cease their work or retire at the age of 70, despite whatever ability they may have to continue to do the job perfectly well. In fact, the same school bus drivers who are forced to stop driving the school buses once they reach their 70th birthday are, in many cases, deemed perfectly fine to drive the same schoolkids from the school to a hurling or camogie match during the school day and bring them back to school but, then, they are not deemed eligible to drive the school bus to bring them home that evening.

That is a crazy situation in which we find ourselves, especially given that many of the companies that operate these school bus services find getting drivers to be the biggest challenge they have in providing the service. This is something we need to look at as a matter of urgency. The operators of these school bus services are facing a major challenge. We are preventing a lot of people who would love to be working morning and evening from doing so. It suits a lot of people to do that morning and evening school run and have their day free in between, but we are preventing them from doing so just because they have hit the 70-year milestone. I hope we can look at an annual medical test that would be signed off on by the GPs of drivers who have reached their 70th birthday to allow them to continue. It could be revisited on an annual basis thereafter. Go raibh maith agaibh.

Yesterday, many Senators stood up and welcomed the publication by the Minister, Deputy Naughton, of the national development sectoral investment plan for the 2026 to 2030 period. However, looking in detail at the document, the figures outlined have a striking lack of ambition for youth services. Of the €7.5 billion allocated to the Department of Education and Youth, only €20 million, which is 0.265%, is designated for youth affairs. This means youth services will receive well under 1% of the overall national development plan allocation. Given the Government's stated commitment to developing youth services and spaces, this level of investment is deeply disappointing and it raises significant questions about the priority being afforded to young people and the services that support them. In November last, communities across Ireland came together for Oíche na hÓige. I attended an excellent event in Cavan and I am sure many Senators attended events in their own areas where youth clubs and services opened their doors to showcase the incredible work that youth workers, volunteers and especially the young people themselves are doing. That initiative was developed in partnership with the Department of Education and Youth, the ETBs and the National Youth Council of Ireland representing the youth work sector. It was a celebration of what youth work achieves every day. It was both creating the demand for and creating the awareness of youth services but it seems the level of ambition is not matched by what was announced by the Minister, Deputy Naughton, yesterday. We need to put much more investment in youth services. We need capital funding to provide spaces for young people to congregate safely and we need investment in youth workers so that we can ensure there are people willing to do that work. I request a debate on youth services to look at the sectoral plan but also to look at where the implementation plan for the national youth strategy is. A national youth strategy for 2024 to 2028 was published in the autumn of 2024. We are now into 2026 and the implementation plan has never been published. It was promised before Christmas, as was another sectoral group meeting to discuss it, but that has not happened either. I would like a discussion on all of those issues around youth services.

I welcome students from the Schwab International School of Dublin who are guests of Deputy Bacik. I hope they enjoy their visit. As customary, there will be no homework for the rest of the day.

Communities across the south and east coasts have been left devastated with the fallout from Storm Chandra. Tá an talamh sáite tar éis seachtainí de bháisteach. We are most grateful to emergency services, local authorities and communities who have rallied to help the vulnerable. For the first time I can recall, I heard a non-Green Party Cabinet Minister use the words "climate crisis" in relation to a weather event. It was welcome, because we all know the first part of addressing a problem is admitting there is one. He also bizarrely pointed the finger of blame at Met Éireann. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, yesterday on national radio spoke about another M50 and putting in extra culverts. He spoke about the ring road in Galway but did not once mention the causation of these weather events and how facilitating more growth in car travel is contributing to the problem and the congestion. The Minister blaming environmental law, EU regulation and Met Éireann smacks of a Government in a tailspin. He talks of adaptation and mitigation. He does that a lot now since he has abandoned Ireland's commitment towards meeting our climate targets, but we cannot do that.

What can we do right now? These weather events are now part of our everyday lives and we will have to adapt. I have heard the frustration of the people of Enniscorthy regarding the delays in the flood relief scheme. These hard-engineering solutions are complex, take a lot of time and have a lot of environmental regulation attached. There is, however, much we could be doing that could at least help and certainly would do no harm. Nature-based solutions are nothing new. Many cities globally have been implementing them for decades. The basic concept of working with nature to slow down water, attenuate it and allow it out to sea in a controlled way is something we should be moving from small pilot schemes through the local authority water programme, LAWPRO, towards scalable solutions in catchments and in our urban areas. In Dublin, communities like Stoneybatter are piloting schemes. Dublin City Council is retrofitting streets with landscaping and plants to help to slow down and filter water run-off. I visited an amazing project in Cobh where something similar is being done. We have seen the beginnings of a riparian planting scheme in the upper reaches of the Dodder. River trusts are looking at how best to use natural flood plains. There are a lot of great small schemes out there, often led by local communities. What we need from the Government is a nature-based solutions plan. We need a fully funded nature restoration plan that recognises the co-benefits of restoring peatlands, uplands and nature in cities. We need county development plans to be changed. We need a well-resourced NPWS, nature-based solution teams in local authorities, and more funding for LAWPRO. We need to put permeable paving in all new projects and include nature-based solutions in all new developments. Most of all, we need a land-use plan. Where is it? Come to think of it, where is the urgency on any of this? While many of the communities have been waiting on OPW hard-engineering schemes, we could have been working with landowners, local authorities and communities to work with nature to help. Rather than blaming others, Government should be leading.

Yesterday, I mentioned the White Paper on direct provision. This contribution follows on from that. Yesterday afternoon, I met with representatives of the Abolish Direct Provision Ireland campaign. I was unaware when I spoke yesterday that three men are currently hunger striking outside for the right to work. It is very sad symbolically where they are. When I went to figure out where the men were, to see about their health and what stage they are at on day 16 on just water, I found they have not had any health checks. When we have had hunger strikes outside in the past, the HSE has acted and sent those in charge of health equity, etc., to come to do health checks. Today, I have raised the alarm from a health perspective as the men are now quite confused. They are experiencing lots of nausea and sickness and it is obviously becoming a risk factor at this time. Historically, people have protested directly outside the gates of Leinster House but these men are in the alcove or square on Kildare Street just before Agriculture House. I thought there was something quite striking about the fact that the men felt they could not sit outside Leinster House. There is something about being a migrant and an asylum seeker - you want to name what your needs are and ask for the right to work, but then there is also the fear of being too visible. I wonder what the thinking was in relation to where they placed themselves as they sought the right to work.

As we know, people need to have a stamp 4 to have the right to work in Ireland. There has been lots of conversation over recent years about how much asylum, direct provision, IPAS and all of these things are costing us. There is lots of misinformation and disinformation purposely aimed at migrants about what they are getting and not getting from the State. Yet, we have thousands of people who require a stamp 4 to go out to work and want to go out to work. It is a complete lie to paint so many people with the same brush in terms of what people demand, need and want. This campaign group, along with these men, is saying they need a stamp 4. They are saying that they need to be able to work and that they cannot leave direct provision unless they know they can affordably pay rent to a landlord. They are caught in a complete trap as soon as their right to work is removed from them for whatever reason. They are all at different stages of the system and the process. I want to raise the alarm that there are three men currently on day 16 of hunger strike outside these buildings and it has gone relatively unnoticed. I encourage people to check in with them and to alert the appropriate Departments of this so that we can have some sort of negotiation to end this and make sure these men do not do irreparable damage to their health.

The level of flooding we are seeing in Cavan and Monaghan is really sad. The reason it is sad is because it is preventable in the main. Homes are being flooded, businesses are being damaged and, in some cases, roads have been badly affected and are impassable.

Basic routine maintenance is one of the easiest ways to help prevent flooding. Keeping drains and gullies clear should be a top priority. If we know bad weather is coming, these jobs should be stepped up, not scaled back. Running water causes damage to roads and the simplest way to limit that damage is to keep water off the roads in the first place. Does the council have the funding to keep up basic maintenance? By that, I mean the cleaning of gullies, drains and scheuchs and the filling of potholes. In 2021, Cavan County Council received €508,000 for ordinary maintenance. In 2025, that figure fell to €463,000, a cut of €45,000. I simply cannot see any logic in that decision. Anyone who uses the roads knows they are not being improved. If anything, the condition is worsening and the roads are under extreme pressure.

Then there is the Cavan flood relief scheme. This scheme was introduced in 2018 and eight years later, there have been no real deliverables on it. There have been workshops, plans and surveys, but nothing that will actually protect our roads, homes and businesses from flooding. Eight years on, we are still only at the development stage. This stage involves the review of all potential flood relief measures to identify a list of potential viable measures that could be implemented for flood protection. What is going on in the county? Eight years of funding just to get to the stage where they can begin to review the relief measures.

The Government has spun a web of bureaucracy and cannot seem to get out of it. The people in Cavan and Monaghan want to know why funding has been cut and if they will have to wait eight more years before flood relief measures are put in place.

For more than 60 years, the Cuban people have been the victims of an unjust and malicious economic blockade by the United States, which intends to punish Cuba for not bowing down to the US Government. This blockade has been thoroughly condemned by the UN General Assembly, which essentially votes every year to mandate the United States to end its blockade. It is just another example of the dismantling of international law and institutions.

More than three decades after the first resolution of the United Nations General Assembly against the embargo, the United States Government persists in ignoring the virtually unanimous demand of the international community to end, without conditions, its unilateral and criminal policy again Cuba. This blockade constitutes a huge obstacle to the country's economic and social development, and the constant threats against Cuba are a clear violation of its sovereignty. This past year, the United States Government continued to strengthen its extremely aggressive policy towards Cuba. The Trump Administration published a presidential memorandum on 30 June 2025 that further strengthened the economic, commercial and financial siege against Cuba.

Since the illegal and criminal US military actions in Venezuela, the US has ramped up its aggression towards Cuba, threatening regime change and extreme economic sanctions. There is a very real risk that Cuba is next on the list for Trump and Marco Rubio. This aggression is driven solely by the far-right American Government's hatred of Cuba and Trump's attempt to destroy the last remnants of the rules-based international order.

The Irish Government and the EU have been far too weak in criticising the US attacks in Venezuela and it would be a disgrace if they allowed the Trump regime to walk all over them again when it comes to Cuba. If we believe in national sovereignty and human rights, US aggression against Cuba or any other country has to be opposed at every turn. I urge the Irish Government to not sit quietly by while Trump threatens the independence of Cuba, because I believe Cuba and the Cuban people will win at the end of the day.

I will raise the issue of Bord Bia without touching on the current controversies in Bord Bia, given that they are well rehearsed and well documented, both in these Houses and the media.

Currently, our Minister of State, Deputy Grealish, is on a trade mission and may be due back today or tomorrow. The Minister for agriculture, Deputy Heydon, is as well. This is important. The Seanad had a very good session yesterday regarding the nitrates directive. We touched on all the positive things going on in agriculture.

Yesterday, the CSO published some figures, and figures do not lie. It is always important we look at the data when we are examining policy. The CSO told us yesterday, in the published report, that there had been an annual decrease of 17.2% in the number of sheep slaughtered in 2025 and a drop of 12% in cattle slaughtering. That is profound. That is an impact that is measured by the CSO and was published yesterday. It clearly sets out an area where we have to have concerns. It is important that we keep as many of our jobs in slaughtering and processing on the island of Ireland as possible, as opposed to the live export of cattle. I have a strong view on that, but the report is an indication of the ongoing challenges in promoting Irish agrifood and the Irish agrifood sector.

I commend Bord Bia on its work. Its remit and responsibility are to promote agriculture, food and the drinks industry. We have a reputation all over the world. It is an amazing organisation. Yes, it is an expensive organisation to run and it may face some setbacks currently, but we have to get beyond that. It is in the interest of Irish farmers, producers and, ultimately, suppliers and the continuous food chain that we have a good, professional and working relationship with Bord Bia. I hope that common sense will prevail in the coming days and we can iron out the difficulties with Bord Bia. I just want to flag here today that we have issues and concerns. The CSO has confirmed the drop in the processing and slaughtering of animals, which has to be of concern. I ask that we continue to monitor the situation.

I have just come from the audiovisual room where we launched the report on the pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the apartment and duplex defects remediation Bill. It is an important step for many householders who have been living with structural, fire safety and water ingress defects through no fault of their own. It represents a huge step forward and a necessary commitment by the State. It is equally important that we confront a gap, which I have raised in point No. 4.7 in the report. We are urging the Minister to go for the developers, the certifiers and insurers to make sure there is recovery and accountability so that there is responsibility and the taxpayer does not fund all of the remediation, where possible. Given that the scale of the scheme is potentially up to €2.5 billion, it is essential that the State clarify how recovery from responsible parties will be pursued. Taxpayers cannot be left once again carrying an open-ended liability for failures in design, workmanship or oversight. My point No. 4.7 seeks to ensure remediation is delivered swiftly and fairly.

On another note, at our homeless cafe last night, namely, the Lighthouse on Pearse Street, we had five Members of Leinster House and both past and present employees playing wonderful Irish music to our homeless guests. The previous Clerk of the Seanad, Martin Groves, led the band and they were fantastic. I have high hopes for Martin Hughes in the future, when he retires.

This day last week when the Leas-Chathaoirleach was in the Chair, and prior to Christmas, I called for a debate on extreme weather and our response to it. I am disappointed and sad to say that I am making the same call again, not because the debate has not been organised, but because we have had extreme weather since this day last week, which I do not think any of us expected.

We need to review the protocols that exist between the national emergency co-ordination group, local authorities, Met Éireann, the various voluntary organisations, An Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces and so on. We also need to examine the communications methods and the timing of communications. As Members of the Oireachtas and leaders in our various communities, we need to be up to standard and up to scratch when it comes to this. We need to have more granular detail on what is expected.

I note the comments of the Minister, Deputy Browne, on Met Éireann. I do not know who is right or wrong in this regard and do not believe anyone does; however, if we had more information on the protocols and processes involved, we would be better informed and better able to show the type of leadership expected of us by our communities.

In 2014, when a mini tsunami destroyed the promenade in Lahinch in my county, did damage at Salthill in the Leader's constituency and badly affected Connemara, the response of the OPW and local authorities was very good, to be fair. At the time, we got €17 million. The product in Lahinch now compared with that before 2014 is much advanced.

I wish the people of Wexford well. I hope they get the supports they need. I have no doubt they will. We have work to do. Statements or a debate on this in the next few weeks would be welcome.

I would like the relevant Minister to come to the Chamber to provide a clear and comprehensive update on the implementation of the pension increase due to retired An Post workers and to explain the continued application of the 2% cap on the pension increase under the 2013 pension accord. Two core issues now require urgent attention. The first is the 7% increase owed to An Post pensioners, comprising 6% from 1 January 2025 and a further 1% from 1 June 2025. The second is the rationale for maintaining the restrictive 2% cap on the pension increase, a cap that is increasingly out of step with the realities faced by pensioners today.

Like so many older and retired people across the country, An Post pensioners are living longer, managing higher fuel costs and struggling with persistent increases in the cost of living. A 7% increase is not a luxury; it is a necessary adjustment that would make a genuine and immediate difference to the pensioners' daily lives. Despite being fully entitled to this increase, they still have no clarity on when it will be paid.

When An Post was established in 1984, pensioners were given a firm commitment that their pension entitlements would not be less favourable than those of civil servants. This was not a vague aspiration; it was a statutory guarantee under the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act 1983. That promise must carry weight. It must be honoured in practice, not merely acknowledged in theory. An Post began the internal process to implement the increases in October 2025. Pensioners cannot understand why, months later, there is still no indication of when the increases will be applied or when arrears will be issued. They have waited long enough and deserve certainty.

I want to speak about a village in my area, namely, Enfield, County Meath. It has a population of over 4,000 people. Before Christmas, I met a representative of the Enfield community development group to discuss its sheer irritation at the fact that, four years after Enfield was identified as one of the towns nationally to be awarded funding to develop a town centre first plan, none of the projects has begun because of a lack of funding or will. A town team, comprising representatives from all over the community of Enfield, came together and developed ideas for the town. The objective of the Government's scheme is to create town centres that function as viable, vibrant and attractive locations in which to live, work and visit while also functioning as services, social, cultural and recreational hubs for the local communities.

Enfield has a rail line and many bus services but it needs to develop a local-level plan to bring it into 2026. The community is so frustrated. As the Leader will appreciate, it was very excited to be able to work on the plan years ago. It has coped with an increase in population, and that population likely to reach over 5,000. For nothing to have started is devastating for the community.

The scheme does so much for communities. We have seen this in other towns across Ireland. I ask the relevant Minister, Deputy Calleary, what there is to back up the initial town centre first funding so towns can actually make themselves bespoke and ready for the future.

County Galway needs a stand-alone minor injuries unit. It has a population of 362,000. Limerick, Dundalk and Cork all have stand-alone minor injuries units. There are only nine of them in the country. Our nearest one is in Roscommon. While I appreciate the valuable work done in Roscommon, I have no doubt the staff are serving the population of their own county while also trying to support Galway, Mayo and Offaly. In a county the size of Galway, with its population of 362,000, a stand-alone minor injuries unit would meet a great need.

Our pathways for accessing primary care for injuries at the moment are Westdoc, which is our local GP service, and the accident and emergency unit, for which one must queue. Tremendous work is being done in the accident and emergency department. It has a pathway for minor injuries but people must go through the same front door as those with emergencies. If we had a stand-alone minor injuries unit, it would treat not only those who have had trips and falls, of which I have had experience in the past week, but also those with burns. Many can be catered for through a minor injuries unit, so there is a great need for one.

The pathway in Galway should be a minor injuries unit. It should be trialled. The emergency department pathway is working, but it should be stand-alone. I would welcome comment from the Minister for Health on this. Maybe this is a matter for a Commencement debate. There is a genuine need.

I thank all the Senators for their contributions this morning. Senators Fitzpatrick, Clonan, Noonan, Sarah O'Reilly and Martin Conway raised issues relating to storm damage and the response to it. Reference was made to the merits of engineering solutions and nature-based solutions, as referred to by Senator Noonan. I will request a debate on this matter.

Senator Fitzpatrick commended the work of the ground crews, the councils and Uisce Éireann and referred to the supports that exist. Senator Clonan spoke about preparing for major emergencies and requested a debate. Senator Noonan commented on the possibilities associated with nature-based solutions. In Scotland, there are such things as leaky dams to slow the rate of water flow. Flood-plains, which were once seen as negative in the context of the enhancement of agriculture, clearly existed for a purpose. They were nature's way of regulating water flow. There can be a combination of hard engineering, which is necessary to protect homes, and nature-based solutions to reduce the flow of water. I will request a debate on this matter. I suggested a nature-based solution for a Clifden plan but it was deemed not to be feasible or practical for the river there.

Senator Fitzpatrick also mentioned the CSO figures on housing that are due and commented on the positive views on the homes that will be available at O'Devaney Gardens.

Senator Murphy raised the issue of over-70s driving buses and what he said made a lot of sense. The issue has been brought to the House in the past and we hope there will be progress. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, initiated a review of this when she was Minister for education and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, is also dealing with it on the Department of Transport side. I am hopeful there can be a solution for this because it is crazy and daft, as the Senator said, and a matter of urgency. I will keep up the pressure on that matter and I hope we can make progress on it.

Senator Tully requested a debate on the sectoral plan for education and youth, with particular regard to the youth component, and spoke of a lack of ambition. I will request a debate with the Minister, Deputy Naughton, on that matter.

Senator Ruane talked about the White Paper on direct provision, the campaign to abolish direct provision and three men who have been on hunger strike for 16 days seeking the right to work. The right to work is available after six months of waiting for the first decision on your application for asylum and I certainly hope the three men can come off their hunger strike and allow processes to continue. I hope they stay safe and well, especially on these nights.

Senator Andrews talked about the Cuban people, the economic blockade by the US and the possible threats. One thing about the Trump Administration is that it is upfront about what it is going to do, so I expect there will be something happening in Cuba and certainly the Secretary of State has a long-term ambition in relation to that area. The Senator might put down a Commencement debate on the matter or raise it with the foreign affairs committee through his party.

Senator Boyhan raised Bord Bia and the importance of trade missions, which we all agree on. He talked about the drop-off in the number of cattle and sheep slaughtered in the country. It is partly the drop in the numbers of calves and lambs being born but also the increase in the live trade, especially in cattle. It is obviously something that has to be monitored. However, there is a direct correlation between the supply of livestock and the prices farmers receive. Farmers, or at least cattle farmers, have been receiving good prices for the last year, partly due to the reduced supply.

Senator McCarthy talked about the general scheme of the apartment defects Bill and an amendment he has in relation to the report to ensure taxpayers will not bear the full burden and that those who were involved in the construction of defective apartments will at least bear some of the responsibility. We will have further discussion on the matter in the coming months as that Bill goes through drafting, publication and debate in these Houses.

Senator Nelson Murray talked of the town centre first plans for Enfield and has requested that the Minister, Deputy Calleary, come in. She might put down a Commencement matter on exactly where these plans are at. The Minister might be able to engage with Meath County Council to see what can be progressed and if there is something his Department can initiate.

Senator Murphy O'Mahony raised the pensions issue within An Post. It is quite a specific issue so perhaps she should put down a Commencement matter initially and see if she can get a direct response from the Minister in question on what the plan is, what the rationale is, what can be done and whether there is more the Government needs to do that would require financing.

Senator Rabbitte raised the need for a minor injuries unit in Galway to serve our large population. She might put down a Commencement debate as well on what plans there are. There are plans for an elective treatment centre in Merlin Park and the surgical hub there is nearing completion. Perhaps that can be encompassed in that process.