The Order of Business is No. 1, Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill 2026 - Committee Stage, to be taken at 11.45 a.m. and to adjourn after three hours, if not previously concluded.

Last week, I had the privilege of leading a delegation from the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Drugs Use to a conference in Reykjavík, Iceland, that was organised by Planet Youth. At the conference, we heard from dozens of expert speakers, policymakers and practitioners from more than 20 countries on five continents. The theme of the conference was building sustainable communities and using prevention to protect young people and ensure they reach their full potential. It was held in Iceland, which, back in the 1990s, had among the highest substance abuse rates among adolescents. Today, it ranks among the lowest in Europe. It achieved this by developing what is called the Icelandic prevention model, which is based on real-time data, strong parental engagement and investment in youth services, but most importantly, a shared social commitment that childhood is worth protecting.

Prevention does work, as has been proven in Iceland and other communities, if it is early, sustained, evidence-led and rooted in communities. We need to recognise in Ireland that we have some real red flags. It is not just about alcohol and weed anymore. When we look at what is going on with our young people, there are issues around vaping, nitrous oxide, digital exposure, porn, gambling, excessive screen time and sleep deprivation. Youth mental health in Ireland ranks quite low. One in three 15-year-olds in Ireland reports low life satisfaction, and youth suicide in Ireland is among the highest. We have a lot of red flags.

We have also done a lot of great work. I have been involved in youth services for almost 20 years as the founding director of a youth service and a justice diversion programme. Prevention does work. I believe we need the Minister of State with responsibility for young people and education to come to the House. This is not just a drugs issue; this is a public health and a child protection issue. We need the Government to respond to that, to support teachers, youth workers, parents and communities and to provide them with the tools to ensure that every young person reaches their full potential and lives a healthy life.

By a strong majority, in the Dáil last night, the Social Democrats Bill to remove the three-day waiting period for abortion was solidly defeated. That is something worth noting in this House. It is a very welcome development. It was the journalist, Brenda Power, who pointed out that in 2024, 2,000 women who had an initial consultation for an abortion did not go ahead with it. Brenda Power pointed out that even if one allows that 1,000 of those were cases where pregnancies sadly ended in miscarriage, the fact remains that many women have been enabled and given the space to change their minds about abortion because of the three-day waiting period. Given that human life, human dignity and human happiness are at stake in this crisis situation, whatever view you take of abortion and its legality, it beggars belief that any politician would want to remove a provision in law that gives women the space to consider their situation, given what we know about what some of them do when they are given that space. To turn this into a cold-hearted issue of rights when, in fact, there has been a beneficial impact of this three-day waiting period, is simply wrong.

It seems to be a strategy of the left, in particular, in politics to keep pushing to widen access to abortion, perhaps as a tactic to prevent us from considering the situation that exists and whether it should be adjusted. The sad fact is that one in six pregnancies in Ireland now ends in abortion. Our figures have gone up hugely since abortion was legalised. Even if there is no sign of any change in the law about whether abortion should be permissible, can we please get back to a situation where the centre ground of politics agrees that abortion is regrettable and that we should work to prevent abortions? That means encouraging people to give life, putting the supports in place and consciously referencing the humanity of the unborn child. That is not to put anybody in a difficult position, but to try, in the way that we try with so many other issues of public health, from smoking to other issues, to encourage positive behaviours.

We should all regard it as a tragedy when an abortion takes place. It is the ending of a life. In many cases, although not in every case, there is also regret, and sometimes long-term regret. That is why the three-day waiting period is so important. It is also why we need to consider our current abortion situation. It was also horrendous that that legislation would have effectively sought to widen the grounds for abortion based on disability in the context of severe foetal anomaly. Thanks be to God, that Bill failed. Can we rediscover our enthusiasm for talking about how we might reduce abortions, and work together to do that, regardless of our different perspectives on whether abortion should be legal?

RTÉ recently highlighted that new housing developments are being built with limited car parking spaces and no additional transportation routes. What is happening is that the new residents are parking on existing housing estates close by, which leads to a lot of tension among residents.

An example is the Glass Bottle site in Ringsend, where 3,500 new homes are going in, but a limited number of car parking spaces are being allocated. Residents at the Glass Bottle site will be moving into their new homes very soon, which is long overdue but also welcome. The difficulty is that almost no parking spaces have been allocated to the new homes. This will have a huge impact on the wider community. The previous Government limited the number of spaces that could be put in the new development. That Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael Government also postponed the new Luas connection to the area for at least ten years, so not only will there be no parking, there will be no Luas and less public transport.

You would think the Government would have learned from past mistakes but seemingly not. For new residents, this means they are going to find parking in the areas closest. What is known as the new houses off Sean Moore Road are going to be inundated with cars parking there and it is going to lead to tensions. Whether planners want that or not, that is what is going to happen. Bremen Road, Kerlogue Road, Cymric Road and many other roads like them are going to be inundated with traffic. This is unfair on the residents in the older housing units and homes there who will have to pay the price for poor planning once again. Residents are going to have to pick up the tab for failure in proper planning and delivery of infrastructure.

No doubt we will hear local Fine Gael councillors and Senators complaining about this even though their party introduced the limits on parking spaces and kicked out the plans for the Luas down to Poolbeg. Residents were recently saying to me that they saw there was to be a public meeting by a Government TD calling for the Luas delivery to be fast-tracked in the area even though it was his party that cancelled the delivery of the Luas into the area. Residents see it as cynical. They want solutions, not just the constant withdrawal of transportation services.

I thank Senator Andrews for raising the issue of car parking. Hopefully he will speak to his colleagues in Tallaght where they are supporting the removal of on-street car parking spaces that have been in situ for 50 years in the area. That is actually a concern. It would be great if Senator Andrews could pass that message on.

Senator Costello, without interruption, please.

I was asked. I just wanted to say that I will speak to my colleagues in Tallaght if Senator Costello speaks to hers in Ringsend. That would be great.

That is absolutely no problem.

A fair trade.

Senator Costello, without interruption.

I want to update Senators on the status of what is happening with givinostat because people care and I know Senators all care about this. I am told the company has submitted all required documentation and a final offer is on the table. Most importantly, this drug will now come before the drugs group at its June meeting. For those unfamiliar with the drugs group, it is the body that reviews medicines and makes recommendations to the HSE on whether treatments should proceed towards reimbursement and access for patients.

The group's decision matters so much because it directly impacts whether families get the drug or face more delays. I have to apologise as I am feeling really emotional about this today. Givinostat is an effective treatment that will end up saving the State money retrospectively given how it stops the progression of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, DMD. More importantly it will save the children their dignity. The evidence is there. The need for the drug is there. The families are waiting. I have witnessed first hand the suffering of these children and their families. I can tell Senators that time is not on their side. My fear is that instead of approval being given at the drugs group, this will be kicked further down the line and referred on again to the rare disease technology review committee. For families living with Duchenne, delay is not a option. It means muscle loss that cannot be recovered. It means opportunities for these children that will be lost forever.

Last Friday, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, NICE, approved givinostat for boys in Northern Ireland and across the UK. Boys in Belfast could have access to this drug within a matter of weeks. Let us think about that. If we were a couple of hours up the road, we would be celebrating. Children on this island a couple of hour's drive down here could be facing a completely different future. Speaking of celebrations, my little friend Archie Ennis will make his Communion tomorrow. One of the most special milestones in all of our lives but Archie's family have a cloud hanging over their heads of fear and worry of what the future holds for him. For Ireland to refuse or endlessly delay access to the innovative, life-changing treatment is nothing short of unforgivable. Families have waited long enough. I want to see action on this now.

I want to return to the situation in Stamullen. In response to serious concerns about the quiet purchase of private residential homes for international protection applicants, the Government's position has been that communities must be kept in the dark for the safety and well-being of asylum seekers. That claim deserves scrutiny. It claims that Government secrecy and failure in community engagement is somehow necessary.

It is important to clear this community's name. Stamullen is a generous and decent town, as is every person in it. Its generosity is beyond question. It already hosts homeless families in Stadalt House. It has housed over 300 Ukrainians in Gormanston Park. It is one mile from Mosney, which houses almost 700 international protection applicants. It has provided care accommodations through Nua Healthcare and Redwood. It has a long record of supporting vulnerable people without complaint. That matters. The people of that area matter and their reputation matters. The Government's implication that communities like this are hostile and unreasonable is simply not borne out of facts.

What people object to is not compassion but secrecy. That is also why it is so galling to hear about this and other secretive house purchases across the country described as "in-community" accommodation when the communities in question are being kept entirely in the dark. Now we are told that this secrecy is necessary to protect the privacy, safety and well-being of residents and staff. It must be said plainly that it is not transparency that creates danger; it is the lack of it and it is chaos. It is total absence of engagement, information and planning that fuels fear, rumours and tension. That is what puts everyone at risk; IPAs and locals alike. Let me be clear: criminal attacks on accommodation centres are wrong, indefensible and must be condemned without reservation but pointing to those risks as a justification for secrecy is backwards. The Government is citing the consequences of its secrecy to justify its continued secrecy. Transparency must come before the headlines, not after them. In Deputy McEntee's previous role as Minister for justice, she allowed all this to happen so she is to blame.

I call for a debate on how sustainable energy projects are planned and the need to involve local communities much earlier in the process. People understand that we need more renewable energy, we need cleaner energy, lower emissions and greater energy independence so that Ireland can reduce its reliance on imported energy and bring down energy costs in the long run but too often communities only hear about major projects when plans are already far advanced. At that stage people feel that decisions already been made and that their concerns are not being heard. When that happens, trust breaks down and communities feel they have no choice but to fight projects in their area. This is something we are hearing of more and more in every community across the country. It is not right and it is something we need to have a discussion about.

If we want the public to support renewable energy projects, people must be included from the very start. Communities should be given clear information about what is being planned, how it could affect their area and what benefits there may be for local people. An important aspect is bringing communities to see similar projects in other areas because half of the problem is misinformation and scaremongering, rather than actually seeing the positive impact of some of these facilities on communities.

We need to improve access and funding for solar grants for both domestic houses and businesses because that is the easiest thing we have. Rather than waiting for the expansion of the national grid and some of the big infrastructural projects we need, the low-hanging fruit is doing that on domestic houses and businesses and giving our households and businesses the opportunity to reduce their own energy bills at the moment. It would be a topical and timely debate and I would welcome the opportunity to have it as soon as possible.

Today I wish to discuss medical records. I know a new scheme is being introduced that will automate them. Could we invite the Minister to the House to discuss what is happening and why it is taking so long? Is it just financial, or are there other reasons? I would like to ask her to come in to discuss where it is at and how long she thinks it will take. It is a no-brainer in that at least everything will be together. It will cut out a lot of addiction. There is nothing stopping me from going to three or four doctors tomorrow and getting prescriptions from different pharmacies. All of that kind of thing would be cut out. The patient would have access to their own medical records, which I think is essential. We should be able to look up and see what is happening in our personal medical history. I am hoping we can have that soon. I am afraid that this is going to go on and on and not happen. It would be great if the Minister could update us.

I welcome the pupils from Naas CBS in County Kildare. They are guests of the Minister, Deputy Lawless. They are very welcome. I hope they enjoy their visit here today. As is customary here in the Seanad, there is no homework for the rest of the week. I call Senator Victor Boyhan.

Today, I want to take some time to thank Fórsa trade union and its members. I wish its members well. It is now in its second day of its three-day annual conference. I also wish the Taoiseach well as he addresses the conference today and engages, hopefully, in a two-way, respectful dialogue with the members of the trade union. Many Members will see Fórsa magazines in the corridors of Leinster House. I go and get them. I engage with them. I think it is a very credible organisation, and I want to support them.

It is important to say that Fórsa is the trade union of choice for over 25,000 civil servants working as clerical, administrative, technical and professional staff and service officers. Fórsa represents 30,000 health and welfare workers, including health and social care professionals and clerical, administrative, management and technical staff. Fórsa is the trade union of choice for over 10,000 local government and service workers, including clerical, administrative, management, technical and professional staff. Fórsa is the education trade union for more than 18,000 staff in our schools and early education, as well as clerical, administrative and management staff in the institutions of technology and our ETBs that we would be very familiar with. Fórsa is also the trade union for municipal workers, supporting general operatives and manual workers in local councils and in educational institutions. Fórsa is the trade union for over 7,000 workers of services and enterprises, including commercial and non-commercial semi-State organisations and private companies in aviation and communication.

It is a critical body that represents a very important workforce in ways that interplay with our work as parliamentarians and the work of those who work in local government, the Civil Service and the public service. Public service is well served by that collaboration. I know all of us want to wish their conference well. I wish the Taoiseach well. It is a collaboration that is going to make this country go forward. It is working together. It is compromising when necessary, but also being fair to our employees and our public services. Today I thank Fórsa for its advocacy work and its collaboration with politics and policymakers and wish the members of Fórsa and all public servants who work in the Houses of the Oireachtas every success and continued happiness in this workspace.

I welcome Daniel Malone, guest of Senator Aubrey McCarthy. With that, I call Senator McCarthy.

I welcome Daniel Malone. I raise an issue this morning that is often behind closed doors, namely, women facing addiction in our community. These are women who are trying to hold their families together. Too often, when we speak about addiction, we picture a man sleeping rough or somebody who is visibly in crisis. There are many women, many of them mothers, who are suffering quietly behind curtains, terrified to ask for help because, in doing so, they put their children at risk of being taken into care. That means they will lose their family or be judged by society. Therefore, they try not to seek help.

A recent piece by the Tabor Group highlighted that one of the biggest barriers for mothers accessing addiction treatment is the fear that social services will intervene and become involved if they admit that they have a problem. Therefore the problem gets worse and they do not seek help. If you can imagine a woman that reaches a point where she realises she needs help, perhaps through intervention from her family or whatever, but instead of reaching out for support, she feels fear - fear of stigma, shame and being labelled a bad mother. Many of these women are already carrying burdens of trauma, domestic violence and poverty.

A recent Trinity study showed that women experience addiction differently and often face deeper stigma than men in seeking treatment. That is from Trinity College Dublin. As we have found in the likes of Tiglin, Cuan Mhuire, Coolmine and the Tabor Group, when recovery happens it changes lives. When trauma-informed services are involved, it means that family care and family support can be provided and the women who seek help can be given all the supports necessary. No woman should ever feel that asking for help should cost her everything, including her children. We need a system that lets people with a problem come forward and be supported and does not deepen the silence. More importantly, we need more compassion in how we talk about addiction in this country. Behind all of the statistics that I have mentioned, there is a human being and a mother who is trying her best to bring up her kids and now wants to face her addiction.

I thank all the Senators who have made contributions this morning.

Senator Fitzpatrick spoke about her recent visit with the drugs committee to Iceland. A lot of the stuff learned in Iceland was learned in the 1990s. They had the highest rate of drugs use in the 1990s and implemented what was called an Icelandic prevention model that has now led to the lowest rate. It is obviously a model that we should be looking at and seeing if we can implement here. In particular, she spoke about the youth, mental health and the red flags that we can see in our country at the moment. It is right across the country. Young adults are vulnerable to this, and we need to do more to support them. It is not in one particular area in the country, but rather we can see it in every single area. We can see it in sports clubs nowadays, which was never the case 15 or 20 years ago. There is almost a normalisation of it. We have children who are in vulnerable or potentially vulnerable situations who need to be protected. Anything we can do as legislators, we need to do. It is a good opportunity to bring the Minister of State with responsibility for drugs and young people in here to have a debate about that and what we can do to make decisions, not reacting to the situation but actually being proactive in what possibly could be a very serious situation for our young people.

Senator Rónán Mullen spoke about the vote last night in the Lower House on the Social Democrats Bill regarding the three-day wait. There was more to that Bill. That Bill was not passed. My understanding is that another type of Bill like that might be coming next week from Sinn Féin. Everyone in that House has a free vote or a free decision to make themselves. That is right and proper. Everyone has different reasons for voting different ways. Just as Senator Mullen said in a very constructive way, it is about prevention, encouraging and looking to do what we can to support people who are in situations like that. There are different ways we can support them. People have different views on how we can support them. In relation to the vote itself on the three-day wait, the Senator was talking about having the three-day period. There are different views on it, but from my own perspective, we have to acknowledge that a lot of people supported the referendum at the time, myself included, knowing that these provisions would be put in place.

Members and supporters of my own party who were very nervous about it at the time felt more comfortable because that provision was in place. That needs to be considered when decisions are made with regard to changing it. As I said from the start, it is a moral issue for everyone. Everyone has different views. I do not think we should tell people they are right or wrong. People should be able to go into that Chamber and vote whichever way they feel is right. As always, democracy will make the decision, whatever that decision is.

Senator Chris Andrews spoke about housing developments being built without car parking spaces. He used the Glass Bottle site in his constituency as an example. There are numerous such developments around the county. I know of a building being built in Cork city where the pub the Sextant used to be. They will be the biggest apartment blocks in the city. One will be twice the height of any other building in Cork. There are no car parking spaces at all for the people who will be living there. As the Senator has said, we need public transport if people are to manage this. However, a lot of people who live in Dublin and Cork are actually from Tipperary, Galway or somewhere else and still have cars to get home. It is not credible for every single person living in a large apartment block or large housing development not to have a car. From a planning point of view, I can understand why we are trying to reduce the number of cars, particularly in city centres, but we need to be more realistic. I think we are going to see the problems Senator Andrews is seeing in his area in Cork as well once this big apartment development is completed. This is obviously also a matter for members of Dublin City Council as well.

Senator Costello spoke very passionately about the drug givinostat. She said that the body that makes the recommendations to the HSE needs to make a decision and not pull back and let someone else make that decision. As the Senator said, there are children who are struggling and who cannot have any quality of life unless this drug is approved and can get to children. It can be incredibly frustrating for parents who are very worried about their children to know a drug is available that would make them better but that they cannot get it although it has been approved and can be got in Belfast. Decisions need to be made as quickly as possible. I suggest that tabling a Commencement matter with the Minister would be the best approach. I hope that can be achieved. I know the Senator is very passionate about the issue.

Senator Keogan spoke about IPAS accommodation and the lack of communication in that regard. We always seem to have a problem with communication in respect of houses, hotels or other buildings across the country being used as temporary accommodation for international protection applicants. As the Senator herself said, the area she spoke about has played its part with provision of accommodation at Mosney and other locations. Right across the country, we see communities and counties that have really played their part. In an ideal world, the load would be shared right across the country but, at a time when we have a challenge in terms of housing and accommodation, it is about finding places that are available. It is almost impossible to get the right numbers in the right areas. In fairness to the Senator, she has condemned any attacks on these facilities. That is welcome because it is not right, it is not proper and it is not who we are as a country. The Senator also mentioned the Minister, Deputy McEntee. Deputy McEntee has not been Minister for justice for 18 months. I presume the Senator mentioned her because she is local. I know the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, has made a lot of changes and has been very productive in the last 18 months as Minister for justice. I am sure he would be open to discussing this issue with the Senator.

Senator Scahill spoke about energy projects. Again, there is a lack of communication. Regardless of the Department involved, there often seems to be a lack of communication when big projects are being developed. It creates fear very quickly. It is amazing that, when you hear about a project being done in Roscommon or some other area in the country, within a week people are talking about it as something that is five times bigger than it is and that creates way more damage. That creates a level of fear and resentment about the project coming to the area and locals not being told about it. A lot of the time, it is private businesses but communication is key here. We cannot have a situation where that does not happen. Communities rally together and hold public meetings and protests to try to block something being developed by a private company or another body, but they may not have had the opportunity to see whether it could benefit their area or the wider area. As a country, we need to do more on renewable energy. We can only do that if communities come on board and the only way to get communities on board is to be upfront and open, tell people what is being done and ask them what they think, whether they are on board and what can be done. A debate with the Minister on the matter would be timely. We will do that.

The Senator also spoke about solar panels, as did Senator Nelson Murray yesterday. I am very hopeful. The Minister for Finance has spoken a number of times in the last month about decisions that will be made in the budget. They have not been made yet but, in debates in the Lower House, he has spoken about giving more support to people who want to retrofit their houses. He has also spoken about solar panels and making it more financially viable for people to put solar panels on their houses. That is very important considering we are unfortunately going to see energy costs increase even more after the summer months.

Senator Murphy O'Mahony spoke about medical records. It is amazing that, in a country that is so progressive, we still have not automated our medical records. It is very important for those working in the health sector. It is also important for patients' confidence for them to be able to see their own records and know exactly what is in them. If they are going from one place to another, to a different GP or to a hospital that is not their usual one for an emergency, their medical records should be easily found. GPs and nurses should be able to know their blood type straight away. Everything that needs to be known should be known. We have been talking about this for quite some time but we have not had a debate in this House on it. An opportunity to have such a debate with the Minister for Health would be helpful.

Senator Boyhan spoke about the Fórsa conference that is happening at the moment. It is on its second day of three. Fórsa represents thousands and thousands of public sector workers right across the country. It is a valuable and, as the Senator has said, very credible organisation that has served for years to make sure that public sector workers are protected. It has done a very good job through good times and bad times to make sure that jobs, salaries and pay and conditions are protected as well as possible. There is obviously going to be a new public pay deal very soon. I know Fórsa will play its part to make sure its members are protected. We all have family members who work in the public sector and who are members of Fórsa so we all have a keen interest in the work it does. We wish it well with its conference.

Senator McCarthy spoke about women in addiction, an issue that is not spoken about much. As a result of his involvement in Tiglin, he has a keen knowledge of the area. There is a stigma with women in addiction. Everyone can understand the fear. There is nothing scarier than losing your kids. If you are expected to voluntarily tell someone that you have a problem with drinking, drugs or gambling and you fear that you are going to lose your young children, it is very hard to do that. We need to change that stigma. We need to do an awful lot more. There is a wonderful women's refuge facility in Clonmel called Cuan Saor. It was opened by Michael D. Higgins in 2000. It does phenomenal work but this goes beyond addiction. Domestic violence is another issue. There is more to it. When people create stigma about people who are looking for help, they do not fully understand why that person is in that situation. It behoves all of us to try to change that stigma, to try to help and to support people to recover. In his own line of work, the Senator sees the amazing achievement of people recovering from addictions like that and the benefits this has for their young children.

I acknowledge that Deputy Gary Gannon and Mums Hub were in the Gallery while Senator Ahearn was addressing the House.