I welcome to the Gallery guests of Deputy Newsome Drennan from St. Kieran's College, Kilkenny, in the Carlow-Kilkenny constituency . They are most welcome to Seanad Éireann. As the Deputy will have told them, there will be no homework for the rest of the day. Given the rate we are handing out no homework for the rest of the day, no school in Ireland will be doing homework by the end of today.

I call the Leader to respond on the Order of Business.

I thank all Senators for their contributions. Senator O'Loughlin acknowledged the killing of ten people and the injuries to 29 people in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. Our thoughts go out to the families of all those involved. We have had many visits to the country by taoisigh for St. Patrick's Day and other such business. Relations between our two countries are very important. Our thoughts go out to all involved.

The Senator also raised the new school in Monasterevin, which is an asset to the community. She raised concerns about the old school building, which has been sold to Lidl. She called for the funding from that sale to be made available to the community. She also raised the fact that Moore Abbey is up for sale. A Commencement matter might get a more direct response.

Senator Clonan raised violence against persons with disabilities and a disturbing report from congregated and community settings regarding safeguarding. Some 71% of complaints regarding safeguarding are in situations where the victims are disabled citizens. We will bring safeguarding legislation before these Houses, which I look forward to.

The Senator also raised the issue of peacekeeping, peace enforcement and the triple lock.

The Minister, Deputy McEntee, will be in the House on Wednesday, 25 February, to discuss defence issues and Senator Clonan will have an opportunity to raise the issue then.

Senator Nelson Murray raised Clann Mór disability service in Navan, which is under financial pressure. She asked me to speak to the Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, which I will do. She may wish to table a Commencement debate to get a more direct response on this matter.

Senator Nicole Ryan raised the importance of special needs assistants in mainstream classes and stated that they were being stripped away. She said that principals were afraid to enact appeals because they could risk losing more SNAs. We have approximately 23,000 SNAs, who do very important work. I agree with her on principals feeling threatened and it is not good enough. She may wish to table a Commencement matter and discuss this directly with the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, to get a full response.

Senator Noonan raised the issue of modern methods of construction, including industrial hemp, and called for a debate on energy poverty with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. I advise him that the construction technology centre in the University of Galway is the centre for new methods of construction and he may wish to engage with it on its role. I will certainly request a debate with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on energy poverty.

Senator Flynn is working with the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers on a Bill regarding sexual images and fake AI. She called for it to be a clear crime to make fake sexual images of individuals. She is working on a Bill and we look forward to her presenting it and for the Second Stage debate and engagement in the Houses on it. I wish her well with it.

Senator Davitt, supported by Senator Scahill, raised the issues of men's health and the importance of check-ups for men aged 40 onwards. They said that every man needed to have checks for his health and I certainly concur with this. Sometimes, it is the spouse or other family members who might encourage a man to get a check-up. It is certainly a worthy issue and perhaps Senator Davitt may wish to table a Commencement debate or a motion in the House to discuss men's health.

Senator Boyle raised the issue of the Letterkenny emergency department. He said that it was under pressure and he spoke about the possibility of industrial action. That would be regrettable. It is important that these issues are highlighted, as he is doing here today. Perhaps he may wish to raise this directly with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, or table a Commencement debate on pressures in Letterkenny and what the medium-term plan is to resolve them.

He also mentioned Donegal Airport's PSO contract and said that it was working well and that there would be a review in three months. He may wish to table a Commencement debate with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. It is ironic that this is on the day that legislation to remove the cap in Dublin Airport is being announced. Not that I have any issue with that, but here we have something positive being done in terms of Dublin Airport and the national economy while, at the same time, there are contract changes that will impact Donegal Airport.

Senator Craughwell condemned the Taoiseach's comments about negative noise on defence and security for the EU Presidency. He stated that the Taoiseach had questions to answer. The Taoiseach cannot answer questions directly in the House, although he does come in from time to time. The Minister for Defence will come to the House soon and Senator Craughwell may wish to raise these issues then. The Taoiseach, when Minister for Defence, did engage on the renewal of the Defence Forces and put in place plans and recommendations. We have seen budgetary increases in recent years also. I acknowledge his leadership on these matters.

Senator Gallagher raised the issue of local and regional roads funding in Cavan and Monaghan. Local and regional roads funding is due in the coming week. I certainly hope there is additional funding. There is never sufficient funding for roads, certainly with the weather we are having and the issues of drainage and the pooling of water. I certainly look forward to this.

Senator Duffy called for supports or grants for columbarium walls for those who are cremated. It is wonderful idea. There is a move towards cremations now and a grant for local and community groups to build attractive walls and settings in graveyards and cemeteries would be welcome. Perhaps Senator Duffy might wish to table a Commencement matter with the Department and the Minister for the environment on this matter.

Senator Stephenson raised issues regarding the high evidential threshold for consent and stated that the level of sexual offences in this country versus that in the EU was much higher. She mentioned that a sexual offences Bill was being worked on. I look forward to the Bill coming through the House. I am sure she will be proactive in her engagement on it.

D’ardaigh an Seanadóir Kelleher na gardaí i gCorcaigh agus dúirt sé nach bhfuil a ndóthain gardaí ar fáil ann. I acknowledge his raising of the issue of Garda numbers in Cork. He said that while 167 gardaí attested, there were disproportionately higher levels in Dublin, and that if the same proportion were to be allocated to Cork, there should be 18 to 19 gardaí allocated there. As I have said previously, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for Garda allocations, but there is likely to be engagement with the Minister as well, so the Senator may wish to raise directly with him the issue of Garda numbers in Cork.

Senator Scahill raised the issue of women's menstrual and reproductive health, particularly of school-going teenagers. This follows surveys done at the Young Scientist exhibition by a number of teenage girls. He has called for education on this and support. I suspect this starts in the home but it is also in the educational setting through social, personal and health education, SPHE, in schools. Senator Scahill may wish to reference this directly with the Ministers, Deputies Naughton and Carroll MacNeill.

Senator Keoghan expressed her outrage at EU interference in elections and spoke about ideological policing. If there are concerns about election interference in this country, she may wish to engage with the Electoral Commission, which is now charged with running elections in this country. She may also wish to engage with the committee on local government.

Senator Cathal Byrne called for one-off emergency funding for Enniscorthy and Wexford following the deluge in recent weeks. He spoke about five bridges being washed away previously and how funding had been provided. I concur with this. Once the package is received in the Department, I am sure he will engage with it on additional funding and some sort of stimulus package or one-off funding.

Senator Andrews raised the noble request to Dublin City Council for Dublin to become an autism-friendly city and the work of Councillor Kourtney Kenny on behalf of neurodiverse communities and child diagnosis of disability. Senator Andrews also spoke about the delay for 16-year-olds who applied for progression to disability payments and called for the Minister to come to the House. I will request an update from the Minister on this.

Senator McCarthy raised concerns regarding familicide, co-parenting rights and the protection of children where information is not provided to both partners, especially where there is suicidal ideation. He may wish to table a Commencement debate on this particular issue. I know he has mentioned a particular family and the issue was also raised in the other House. He may wish to pursue this with the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan.

Senator Brady called on the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, to visit Longford town and County Longford in general due to recent incidents of people in their 20s and 30s who have been stabbed in Longford town. I send my sympathies to them and their families. The Senator may wish to raise the matter of Garda numbers in Longford. He may also wish to write directly to the Minister to invite him to visit Longford to meet gardaí.

Senator Sarah O'Reilly called for an emergency payment for those with a disability. The Taoiseach has indicated a permanent payment will be looked at in the 2027 budget and that an announcement on how a cost-of-disability payment might look will be made in the first half of this year. The Government is looking at something to ensure there is a permanent basis for this rather than the one-off payments that have been made, as the removal of one-off payments causes concern. I acknowledge the change regarding the increases in the fuel allowance and the maintenance of the reduced VAT rate for gas and electricity.

Senator McDowell defended the chair of the Bord Bia, Larry Murrin, and said he had the confidence of the board of Bord Bia. The Senator spoke about his appearance at the meeting of the agriculture committee last week and the rolling occupation of the Bord Bia offices.

There is a vote in the other House on Private Members' business today. I hope that motion will be defeated. The Minister, Deputy Heydon, has invited all farming stakeholders to discussions on this matter on Friday. This can only be resolved with dialogue. I concur with the comment on the occupation of the Bord Bia offices. I do not believe this is productive or helpful if we want to encourage people to take up positions as chairs of boards. I have seen reports that Mr. Murrin is in charge of Bord Bia. He is not; he is the chair of the board. There is a CEO and whatever else in Bord Bia. As I said, he agreed to come before the committee. It was a grilling and he answered questions. It is now important that the vote is defeated, which I am sure it will be, and that there is dialogue and engagement. The IFA has genuine issues with Bord Bia, which is separate to the matter about which people are protesting.

Senator Mullen raised the case of Seamus Culleton and the tough new rules applying to deportations by ICE in the United States. Mr. Culleton is married to a US citizen but was still taken in and is being held by ICE. The Taoiseach has stated that he will raise the matter with Donald Trump. I am sure there are ongoing diplomatic efforts by the embassies and consulates in Texas and elsewhere to see that he is released. I certainly hope that happens soon.