Gabhaim buíochas leis na Seanadóirí go léir as ucht a gcuid tuairimí agus moltaí ar maidin. Senator O'Loughlin, supported by Senator Craughwell, raised the situation in the Middle East regarding the charter flights and acknowledged the work of the Government, including the Minister, Deputy McEntee, on this. I certainly hope it will be the first of many such charter flights to bring vulnerable people out of possible harm's way.

Senator O'Loughlin also raised the issue of price gouging at the pumps, as did Senator Brady and others. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, has been contacted by the Minister, Deputy Burke, and by the Taoiseach and Tánaiste. We can all see with our own eyes what is happening. We have heard from consumers and it is important to call out what I called yesterday war profiteering and price gouging. Loyal customers paid their bills over the winter period for kerosene and are now being hit with unjustifiable increases. The CCPC is looking into this.

Senator O'Loughlin acknowledged Special Olympics Ireland, the thousands of volunteers and the launch this Thursday of the games, which will take place from 18 to 21 June in Dublin. She also wished Newbridge well in its autism-friendly town initiative and there is a meeting there tonight.

Senator Kennelly acknowledged the investment in terms of access to childcare places, particularly for children aged one to three years, in the early learning sector, the building blocks programme and the initial roll-out of investment to eight buildings. It is important to acknowledge that there are situations where there are no places or a lack of places in certain communities. There is a need for this public investment. I welcome it.

Senator McCarthy raised an initiative between Tiglin and the Simon Community with Safetynet Primary Care. It is a wonderful initiative with regard to assisting those who are homeless or living on the margins and delivering medical interventions. I welcome the important work that he has highlighted today.

Senator Andrews requested a debate with the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, in the House regarding the Israeli football match and called for visitors and guests to be security screened at the game if it goes ahead. He declared that he wished it not to go ahead. He acknowledged the views of the FAI and congress. As I understand it, this is a UEFA-organised tournament and it has sanctioned it. I do not believe there is any evidence of the FAI being pressurised by the Government. I have not seen it. However, this is something Senator Andrews could raise in a Commencement debate with the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan.

Senator Stephenson, due to her unavailability later on for statements on International Women's Day, listed a number of statistics and issues of concern regarding women's rights and women's healthcare. I look forward to the debate later on. There is always more that can be done and I know legislation was passed by the former Minister, Phil Hogan, on gender quotas linked to financial penalties on parties as a way to encourage, or perhaps should I say "force", parties to put more women on Dáil election tickets. We have seen some results of this. Of course there is a need to try to elect more women in local politics in particular. I suppose there is an issue there, in that we have a lot of incumbents and until such time as those incumbents retire at local level, there is not always an opportunity for women to get elected. All parties are trying to encourage more women, and rightly so, in this regard.

Senator Flynn raised the issue of 100% redress and how it was forgetting the necessity to support our crèches and childcare facilities. She stated that there were 25 buildings in Donegal that did not have remediation plans. I am not sure whether they are all privately or publicly owned, and maybe they may be a mixture. I will request a debate on the issue. Perhaps Senator Flynn may wish to table a Commencement debate with the Minister, Deputy Foley, on it. She is the Minister involved in childcare and may be able to put pressure on the Minister, Deputy Browne, to develop a scheme for childcare facilities in Donegal and elsewhere.

Senator Costello raised the issue of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, DMD, and the fact that proposals were now with the HSE drugs decision-making entity in terms of progressing the availability of a drug that could impact and assist those - mainly boys - who are suffering with DMD.

I look forward to engaging with that debate. The Senator may wish to table a Commencement matter in order to receive an update on the progress on that, or any timelines.

Senator Boyle called for a debate with Irish Water on a reservoir in a locality where there are up to 600 homes and the reservoir was not built for that. He may wish to put down a Commencement matter with the Minister for housing. It may or may not be accepted under the rules but I know he will continue to engage with Irish Water on the ground. There were similar situations previously whereby we were able to build a new reservoir beside the existing one and double the capacity. By the sounds of it more than that would be needed and there would have to be a significantly larger reservoir built. I am sure Senator Boyle will continue his advocacy with Uisce Éireann on that issue.

D'ardaigh an Seanadóir Joe Conway an ghéarchéim sa Mheánoirthear agus cogadh na Stát Aontaithe agus Iosrael in aghaidh na hIaráine. Luaigh sé freisin na fadhbanna le hiompar ola tríd an Hormuz Strait agus an ceantar sin agus na himpleachtaí a bheidh aige sin ar thalmhaíocht agus bia. D'iarr an Seanadóir orm díospóireacht a eagrú leis an Aire talmhaíochta. Déanfaidh mé mo dhícheall é sin a eagrú.

Senator Scahill, supported by Senator McCormack, raised the National Ambulance Service. This is a vital issue. Representatives of the service attended a meeting of the Joint Committee on Health during the previous term and I was present. We have seen some progress. The western part of the country has the slowest response times because we are the most scattered but we are absolutely no less deserving of care and assistance than any other part of the country. I know in the past there was investment in new bases in the west, in Tuam and Mulranny for example, to try to assist. We have seen new bases in Galway. I do not have the figures for County Roscommon but clearly there is an issue. To see the level of achievement of the 19-minute target reduce over the winter period is worrying. I will request a debate with the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, on this issue. We have seen investment.

Senator McCormack raised the issue of paramedics. I met with the paramedics yesterday and I know they have always had full-time jobs, as I understand it. I will request a debate on this matter as well. I know there are roles available to the class of 2026 where retirements and promotions have taken place or new service development but they always had certainty and now with the change it seems they are being treated the same as everyone else in the HSE rather than having a distinctive promotion or guarantee of a permanent job. I will request a debate with the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, on the National Ambulance Service. I thank the Senators for raising this important issue.

Senator Craughwell welcomed the flight being chartered. He also stated that the troops in Lebanon are professionals and are safe and that if they were in danger they would be removed from harm's way.

Senator Sarah O’Reilly has raised the issue of the VAT rate charged on HVO. Perhaps she could table a Commencement matter. The Minister for Finance is in charge of VAT but the Minister for Transport would have the input as to whether the reduced VAT rate can be accessed. She may wish to put down a Commencement debate with either Minister to see if we could make progress on that in advance of the next Finance Bill.

D'ardaigh an Seanadóir Kelleher an stair maidir le tabac agus an obair reachtaíochta a rinne iar-Rialtais chun an dlí maidir leis a athrú. Tá a fhios ag chuile dhuine an ról atá ag tabac i ndrochshláinte agus fadhbanna sláinte sa tír seo. D'ardaigh an Seanadóir freisin ceist maidir le alcohol sponsorship agus deochanna 0.0. It is a real issue. We know that drinks advertising is banned but if the brand name and 0.0 is put on the drink, that is a way of getting around it. It is quite evident for all to see but is within the law and a change would be needed. If drinks companies are not changing there will have to be a tightening of the law on this.

Senator Martin Conway raised a public health issue regarding vaping and welcomed a memo to Cabinet yesterday from the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I hope to see progress on that issue. I do not have the details of how much work was done in terms of the pre-legislative scrutiny of the health committee on this. Both he and I are former members of that committee but I am not sure what additional work was done on that issue over the past year and what proposals are contained in the memo. I look forward to the Bill being published and debated in these Houses. I am sure the Senator will be raising his concerns on Second Stage regarding what additionality could be included in that Bill.

Senator Harmon mentioned the "Prime Time" programme that was aired last night. I did not see it but I read about it the day before. There was an anonymous interview and images of a girl in a vulnerable state being circulated. It has become so easy now for images to go viral and it is not good enough. The Senator has written to the Chair of the further and higher education committee regarding policies we can put in place. There has been legislation in relation to revenge porn and things like that. I am not sure of the specifics of this case but where someone is clearly identifiable and in a state where she has been assaulted or in other cases where a person might be in a state of undress or something like that, the legislation needs to be strengthened.