I thought I was going to have a quiet afternoon. That was not to be, but I thank the 19 Senators who contributed this afternoon.

We started with Senator Ní Chuilinn, who spoke about St. Audoen's. I think the children who go to school there are across Dublin 6 and Dublin 8. She spoke about a very pleasant morning spent with the children talking about the importance of democracy and about issues and concerns they had. Many of us have spoken in the past about our engagements with young people. Every time I have that within a school I come away enthused by what they are thinking about and talking about. It is just wonderful to see how engaged they are. Obviously, there are concerns such as those Senator Ní Chuilinn spoke about in relation to Dublin's south-west inner city and the report that was launched last week stating that only about four in ten primary school pupils in the area go on to secondary schools in the area. Some, obviously, go to secondary schools outside of the area, but that statistic is quite alarming. Only about 36% go on to further education. There is a huge lack of sporting and education facilities. That leads to poor health and social outcomes. It is clear from what the Senator said that clear recommendations have been given and that a task force and ring-fenced funding have been requested for the area. Every child, no matter where they are, whether they are in a deprived urban setting or a deprived rural setting, deserves access to good-quality facilities. It seems, certainly from what Senator Ní Chuilinn said, that we need to have a task force set up for that particular area. We will look for a debate with the Minister about that.

Senator Comyn spoke about Workers' Memorial Day, as did Senator Murphy and Senator Cosgrove. It is important that we look back with sadness on those who died in workplace accidents. The fact that 63 people died last year, which was a 75% increase on the year before, was quite shocking.

I knew one of them: John Maher, who was very fine man. When you know the individual, the family and the community, you see the impact on them. There is also the impact on their work colleagues and those who own the workplace. It has such a shocking impact. Sadly another person - Lukasz Prusik - from the same village of Rathangan died in another workplace accident just last month. I know only too well the impact of these incidents. We need to put a lot of focus on ensuring our workplaces are very safe places. I sometimes hear from local authorities that it can be frustrating when a third of all costs go on making a place safe, particularly when workers are out on the roads, but that is the way it has to be. We need to protect people's lives no matter what. We need to renew our focus on workplace safety. We will look for a debate on that.

Senator Comyn also welcomed the practical supports for farmers, hauliers and fishermen. I know there will be debates throughout the week about that. It is incredibly important.

I am sorry to hear from Senator Comyn about the decision that LMFM has made. I can appreciate how it will affect people who live not just in rural areas but maybe in urban areas as well who are unable to go to mass for mobility reasons. I understand the connectivity they have with their peers and with their brethren when they are able to listen to mass. I know the Senator will be doing her best to persuade LMFM to change its mind on that.

Senator Keogan spoke about funds paid by the HSE in the area of autism that are going to private companies in the UK, according to a particular report. She sought a debate on how funding for public infrastructure is allocated and spent. It is about looking for value for money but it is also about making sure it is the right decision for that individual. When it comes to people, particularly those who are vulnerable and have challenging needs, we have to find a system that is going to work best for the individual. We will ask the Minister to come in for a debate on that.

Senator Conor Murphy spoke about work safety. He said that this is trade union week on both sides of the Border. He mentioned a presentation that was given by ICTU in the audiovisual room earlier about quality employment and good jobs. It is important that we support our workers. Collective bargaining, which has always had success, is something we certainly want to see. The Senator asked for an update on commitments that were made in the programme for Government. We will look for that. We also offer our solidarity to workers. Where would any of us be without the workers who facilitate every part of our lives?

Senator Murphy O'Mahony spoke about the sad news of Councillor Joe Carroll's very sudden demise. He received a diagnosis four or five days before he passed away. He was an absolutely wonderful character who came into his own as mayor of Cork, a position in which he took huge pride. His death is an incredible blow not just to the community but to all the public representatives in the area, particularly those from Fianna Fáil who have lost Joe Carroll, Patrick Gerard Murphy and Brian Crowley in recent times. It is a very difficult time. We offer our very deepest sympathy to Joe's family, his many friends and all of the Fianna Fáil family in west Cork.

Senator Duffy spoke about DEIS status. The recent announcements with regard to DEIS plus status were certainly very welcome. All the DEIS plus schools seem to be in the cities, particularly Dublin. I do not doubt that those schools need it, but DEIS is needed in the country as well. There are schools that have missed out. We are talking about disadvantage from a rural basis and disadvantage from an urban basis.

I certainly agree that the biggest disadvantage a school has if it does not have DEIS status is not having a home school liaison service. Last year, measures were put in place so that a school would not have to have DEIS status to have a home-school liaison service. It is incredibly important.

The Senator mentioned Ballycastle, where a third of the children are non-English speaking. I can appreciate that there are difficulties. We need to liaise with families to ensure everybody is on the same page.

Senator Craughwell noted defence expenditure is still at 0.2%. Although welcoming the fact that the Garda has received an additional budget of €165 million, he stated we are not seeing such an increase for defence. The Senator asked how we can take on the EU Presidency. I would say we are taking it on extremely well. The Minister of State responsible for European affairs, Deputy Thomas Byrne, has liaised on an ongoing basis with the EU affairs committee. We have had statements and debates in this House on the Presidency. The EU affairs committee had a debate with the Minister of State only two weeks ago. I thank all the staff in the Department of foreign affairs, but also staff cross-departmentally, for their preparations to showcase Ireland and to ensure the lives of people going about their daily business will not be impeded unnecessarily. We can certainly ask the Minister of State responsible for EU affairs to come back, but just because we do not necessarily see the preparations does not mean that they are not happening. On security, obviously much of the work has to be kept under wraps and will not be made public; however, we will ask the Minister for Defence to come to the House to speak about it.

Senator Kennelly spoke about the operation of TAMS and the fact that it is causing concern among farmers owing to a lack of simplification and a lack of clarity over what is covered. We absolutely need to address this. It is a difficult year for farmers, no matter what sector they are in. The nature of farming is such that you can have a good year one year and a bad one the next. Given what is happening in the world, not just in terms of the affordability of fertiliser but also its availability, as well as in terms of energy costs and so on, this is a very difficult time. We need to have absolute clarity on the barriers in place under TAMS and on what is covered in respect of refunds. This affects farmers right across the country. We need to have a debate on this with the Minister for agriculture and I will certainly look for it.

Senator Andrews spoke about housing and the impact of the lack of rental housing, particularly in the city centre. I appreciate that this is difficult. For 2026, there has been a total of €11.3 billion in funding to directly support housing with about €9 billion of that going towards capital housing. We have approximately €2.9 billion going into social housing. There was a 20% increase in starter home supports delivered in 2025. In quarter 1 of 2026, there has been an increase of 184% compared with quarter 1 of 2025. By any standard, that is a huge jump. There was an increase of 293% in respect of new homes commenced in March 2026 by comparison with March 2025. As we have said repeatedly, the only way to have enough houses to rent and to try to bring prices down is by having homes available. Under the relevant Minister, Deputy Browne, we have seen a huge increase in this regard.

Senator Tully spoke about the rent thresholds available through local authorities and the three different bands that apply. For Dublin and the commuter belt, the threshold is around €40,000. The threshold for the second band is €35,000. I appreciate that in Cavan the amount is at the lower end of the scale, at €30,000. I am aware that the Minister is examining this and engaging with local authorities on the barriers and challenges people face in accessing supports. I expect the thresholds to go up significantly.

Of course when the bands go up, that takes away from the available amount of money as well, so there is a difficulty either way.

Senator Pauline O'Reilly spoke about overcrowding in prisons, inconsistency in sentencing and the revolving door system. Obviously, we cannot speak about specific offences, but it is very frustrating to see repeat offenders. Any one of us who has been inside listening to cases in the court will have heard of people being up for their 50th or 60th time. It is really difficult. I have no doubt it is very difficult for the gardaí who are dealing with the same offenders as well. It absolutely needs to be dealt with, both in terms of the protocols that are there and in terms of the Judiciary.

Senator Curley spoke about good news and bad news. The good news is that two Gaelscoileanna in the Loughrea area have been issued with letters of intent. The bad news is that Carrabane National School, in the same area, is at stage 3 but still does not have the letter of intent after 20 years. I would suggest that Senator Curley put in a specific Commencement matter about that.

Senator Cosgrove spoke about workers and the cost-of-living crisis and the impact on PAYE workers. That is true, but we also have to remember that the same cost-of-living crisis has an impact on those working in the private sector. It is also a difficult time for employers in the private sector in terms of paying into the pension scheme and the increase in wages. There are certainly issues around the cost of living, but I would say it applies to PAYE workers and those working in the private sector and business and enterprise too.

Senator Maria Byrne spoke about the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan's, recent announcement about dedicated family provision in the courts and put a very strong case forward for Limerick to be considered as one of those areas. Any of us who has been to the family courts will know how difficult it can be. I remember being in Dolphin House one time. It is difficult. We need to have those family court situations when we see the increase in domestic violence alone, to take that as just one statistic. Obviously, those cases all have to go through the courts too, as well as so many other very civilised sets of arrangements, which can cause trauma to all of those involved. We need to see a good geographical location. I have no doubt the Senator will make that excellent case to the Minister and that he will take it on board.

Senator Mullen spoke about the British Government having committed to looking at social media measures for under-16s and having a consultation. Certainly, it is to be welcomed. The House of Lords had a lot to do with bringing that about. The Senator mentioned what is happening in other jurisdictions, particularly Australia. The Government has agreed to keep a watching brief on this as it is one of the huge issues of our time. The anti-bullying unit in DCU has done incredible work and research on bullying through social media among those under 16. I was fortunate enough through the education committee to get to see a lot of the unit's statistics and what it is doing. It would be no harm if we looked for another debate, particularly on what is happening in other jurisdictions because that is important to inform what we do here. It is a cross-departmental issue. It does not lie with just one Minister, which is the way it should be. There has to be accountability across government and across the Cabinet. We will look for a debate on that.

Senator Martin Conway called for a debate on the long-term strategy for the regional airports. It is not all about Dublin and the cap being lifted, and he is correct about that. He praised the excellent teams at Shannon and Knock. I will add Farranfore in Kerry because the team there does great work too. I have never flown into Knock but I have flown into and out of Shannon and Farranfore as well. The Senator is right when he says that for tourism, business and connectivity between families it is hugely important, so we will look for that debate.