I want to speak about a wonderful group of students I met in my community yesterday. I visited St. Audoen's National School in Dublin 8 and sat down with the children from the older classes in the school. We had a great chat and spoke about life, politics, sport, writing and journalism. We chatted about the importance of democracy and the changes they brought about in their school as a result of their student council. I was delighted to spend my morning with the best and the brightest of us and I am grateful to Principal Geoff and his teachers for inviting me in for a chat.

Unfortunately, we are failing those children and their families and teachers because people who live in the south-west inner city of Dublin are dealing with some of the most alarming socio-economic realities. A report launched last week by Sporting Liberties told us the crime rates in the area are double those of the national average, as are drug-related deaths. The research for the report, produced independently by Barra Roantree of Trinity College, told us that four in ten of the children I met will go on to secondary school in the area. Some will leave the area to go to secondary school, but unfortunately many leave school altogether. The progression rate to third level is 36%.

Education opportunities are curtailed; health provision, both physical and mental, are negatively affected; and we are back to a postcode lottery. Being born in Dublin 6 does not make you any more worthy of a vibrant community, a local education, a football pitch or a swimming pool. Yet, the children of the south-west inner city have nowhere to run around and emulate their heroes. The girls' football team at St. Audeon's has won multiple trophies and they look up to our women's national football team but they have no chance of honing their skills on the postage stamp of a yard I saw at the school yesterday. In fact, half of the primary school students in the area never participate in organised sport outside of the school. That is because there are no facilities in their area. This in turn leads to poor health outcomes and poor social outcomes.

Luckily for us here in the corridors in the power, we have an independent report with a set of recommendations. I put on record my support for those recommendations. We need a south-west inner city task force, not dissimilar to the north-east inner city task force. We need ring-fenced funding of €8 million per year and a programme implementation board with an independent chairperson. Former Taoiseach Enda Kenny set in motion the wheels of the very successful north-east inner city, NEIC, task force, which has seen €61 million of well-spent public money. I call on this Government to do the same for the south-west inner city. This is not party political, nor should it be. I know this will be supported by all reps in the area, most of whom attended last week's launch in Griffith College. Our children in Dublin 8 deserve the same access to health, education, community and sport facilities as much as the children in Raheny, Rathgar or Ranelagh.

I thank the Deputy Leader. I want a debate on this issue in the Seanad and I intend to bring this request directly to our Cabinet Ministers.

I begin by marking Workers' Memorial Day today and remembering all those who lost their lives or were seriously injured through going to work. A ceremony was held today in the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin, which was a really important reminder that workplace safety can never be taken for granted. The figures are quite stark. Last year, 63 people lost their lives in workplace incidents, which was a 75% increase on the previous year. Thankfully, fatalities are lower so far this year but even one death is one too many. Behind every statistic is a devastated family and a community left grieving. Many of these incidents, as we know, happen in sectors that are hugely important to rural Ireland, including farming, fishing, transport and construction. Today should also be about renewing our focus on workplace safety and awareness.

I also welcome the fuel support measures announced today by the Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, for farmers, hauliers, contractors and fishers. These sectors have been under enormous pressure recently, as we all know, due to rising fuel costs. Practical supports like this are very important. Up to 120,000 farmers and 1,500 agricultural contractors will benefit and, combined with previous excise reductions, the measures amount to a reduction of €274 on every 1,000 litres of green diesel purchased.

In my remaining time, I will briefly raise the decision by my own local radio station, LMFM, which is based in Drogheda but broadcasts right across the north east, to discontinue its Sunday morning mass broadcast. I have received a huge number of messages from listeners, particularly older and more vulnerable people who are sometimes those who are taking care of somebody else or have mobility issues themselves. They are deeply upset by this decision. For so many people, especially those living alone or unable to attend church, this was not just a radio programme. They actually set their clocks to it. It was at nine o'clock on a Sunday morning and they wanted to hear their own local priest. It was part of their weekly routine and a really important source not just of communication and connection but of comfort. We have been told that online services are available but I know many elderly listeners to the radio station simply do not have the technology to try and stream something online. They were panicking looking for email addresses and everything. Turning on that radio station on a Sunday morning was a simple, familiar and accessible way for people to stay connected. As somebody who started their broadcasting career - dare I say it - almost 40 years ago in what was called Boyneside Radio at the time, it provides an amazing service with incredible current affairs, community services, etc. I would hate to see this one go by the wayside. I hope that some alternative arrangement could possibly be made, particularly for those people right across the north east because this service really was a lifeline.

A story reported this morning in the Irish Examiner relates to the announcement that the HSE has launched an investigation into the alleged transfer by the charity Autism Initiatives Ireland of over €1.5 million to the UK.

The transfers are alleged to have taken place as far back as 2019. Rather than dwell on the specific details of the case, which are to be investigated, I want to address what this story reveals about the wider state of public infrastructure and support in this country, or more accurately the alarming absence of it. A cursory glance at the autism service landscape reveals a system defined by fragmentation and disorder. Dozens of NGOs and charities operate in this space, many almost entirely funded by the taxpayer. They often deliver overlapping services with little evidence of co-ordination, strategic planning or enforced efficiency. This is just one area - autism - and we could also touch on homelessness, disability, mental health and other marginalised groups more broadly.

What we are seeing is a State that has offloaded the delivery of core public services to NGOs without building the institutional architecture required to govern such a model properly. Responsibility has been blindly outsourced. We had that responsibility when Benefacts was there but they got rid of it back in 2023. Oversight exists largely on paper. Service level agreements measure activity rather than outcomes. Audits occur after money has been spent. Regulators are focused on compliance rather than value for money. There is no single authority tasked with ensuring the basics of governance. This creates a system where inefficiency is tolerated, waste goes unchallenged and risk accumulates quietly until it emerges as a headline like the one we read today. The problem here is not charity and it is not goodwill; the problem is a hollowed-out State that no longer designs, manages or disciplines the system it funds. Until we rebuild real public institutions capable of doing that work, controversies like this will not be the exception; they will be inevitable. We would like a debate on this matter.

I join my Seanad colleague in acknowledging the events for workers this week. This is trade union week, leading up to the May Day celebrations. We acknowledge the workers who have lost their lives in very dangerous circumstances. As she says, such instances have thankfully lessened over the years. Yesterday, there was a similar ceremony at Stormont which I had the privilege of speaking at over a number of years. It is important on both sides of the Border to acknowledge that and to acknowledge the sacrifices workers have had to make at times to pledge to ensure conditions continue to improve for workers right across the island.

Earlier, there was a presentation in the audiovisual room from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions about its quality employment and good jobs document and the promotion of a new economic model. It made the case that good jobs should be at the heart of the economy. It is not simply about pay; it is about conditions and having a supported and fulfilled workforce, which is a key component for any successful business. The quality jobs argument includes a legal right to collective bargaining, a legal right for trade unions to access workplaces and greater supports for workplace representatives. As I said, that not only improves the conditions of those in the workplace but has been proven in many studies to give a much more effective, motivated and collaborative workforce. It is of benefit to public sector or private sector businesses to ensure workers are treated correctly in the correct fashion. The ask of the Government is to fully implement the EU adequate minimum wages directive. The programme for Government committed the Government to publish an action plan for collective bargaining in 2025 as part of the fulfilment of the EU directive. That remains outstanding. We are midway through 2026 so I would appreciate it if the Leader would raise a query as to where we are with that with the relevant Government Ministers and what the cause of that delay might be.

The trade union leaders from ICTU also made reference to the fact that even though we often lag behind on a number of things on the Northern side of Border, in this case my colleague, Caoimhe Archibald, is beginning to bring the good jobs Bill through the Assembly to put it into legislation.

It will put the rights of workers and unions in the workplace at a much more advanced stage than is the case across the rest of Ireland. There are some lessons that could be learned from that legislation. It moves things in advance of anything that obtains in Britain as well. There are good measures that can be brought in. ICTU is an all-Ireland body and it wants to see standards collectively raised across Ireland for all workers. I ask the Leader to specifically check those points and to offer our support and solidarity for all workers in this trade union week.

It is with deep sadness that I stand here today to pay tribute to my good friend and former colleague Councillor Joe Carroll from the Skibbereen local electoral area, who we laid to rest yesterday. Anyone who knew Joe or ever met him would have known he was a larger-than-life character. Joe played hard and worked hard. You always knew where you stood with Joe. Sometimes that was good and sometimes it was not so good, but it always came from a good place. He was full of advice, friendship and fun. It is so sad and so ironic that he went so close to our other colleague, Councillor Patrick Gerard Murphy. They travelled the length and breadth of the world, not to mind the country, so it is nice that they are back together again. No doubt "The Old Dungarvan Oak" is getting a good rendition up in heaven.

Joe was elected to Skibbereen Town Council in 1999. He was elected to Cork County Council in 2004. His greatest political honour was to be elected mayor of our great county, County Cork, in 2024. He did this with great honour and prestige and he did an excellent job. He really made it his own. I would like to pay tribute to my good friend today.

I join with Senator Murphy O'Mahony and all colleagues in expressing our sympathies to the family and huge number of friends of Joe Carroll. He was a character in every sense of the word, but he was also a great servant to all the people down in west Cork. Obviously, it was a great honour for him and his family that he was the mayor of the county, and as the Senator pointed out, he did so with distinction. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.