I thank all 18 Senators who made contributions. Senator Fiona O'Loughlin spoke about the use of the Irish language in school and acknowledged the awards that a number of schools had won, which are obviously very important. That is welcomed and should be continued. She also spoke about the very sad case of Maxine Maguire who died by suicide after bravely reaching out to look for help, which she unfortunately did not receive from the HSE. I cannot imagine how distressing what happened is for Maxine's parents, Robbie and Kathy. Maxine was suffering from depression and had the bravery to seek help but was turned away. Her parents had to wait nine years for the HSE to admit it was wrong. In fairness to the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, Deputy Butler, she has done an awful lot on this, particularly with regard to the Mental Health Act. She is very passionate about the issue. However, more needs to be done, particularly in cases like this.

Senator Scahill spoke about drug treatment. The number of people receiving treatment at the moment is over 15,000. The Senator said we needed to have a debate on drugs. That is a very important debate we could have. He spoke about how this can happen right across the country. It is not just confined to cities like Dublin, Cork or Galway. It is in every local community, every local area and every parish. We need to take it more seriously. We need to do more with regard to education. We need to recognise that it is a disease and that further issues arise when people get involved in drugs, such as debt or crime. It all stems from getting into drugs in the first place. We have not had a debate on the issue for quite some time, so I think it would be timely.

Senator Clonan spoke about Caleb's House in Donegal. This is a healthcare facility that the HSE is not willing to fund at the moment. I suggest that the Senator table a Commencement matter on the issue. I am not familiar with the facility. It seems strange that there would be a healthcare facility in Donegal that is ready to go but is not being funded by the HSE. Perhaps tabling a Commencement matter with the Minister for Health would be the most appropriate thing to do.

The Senator also spoke about the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. The Minister for foreign affairs and for Defence is due to come to the House shortly. That will be a good opportunity to speak about defence and national security.

Senator Joanne Collins spoke about nursing home care, how her own family cares for her mother, who has dementia, and the cost associated with that. It would be good to have a debate on the pressures put on families when someone goes into a nursing home. We obviously have the fair deal scheme but the extra costs on top of that can be very impactful for families who cannot afford them. I will talk to the Minister's office to see if a debate is possible.

Senator Frances Black spoke about the 11 Irish citizens who are still detained, having been captured illegally in international waters. This has been condemned by the Irish Government, including the Taoiseach and the Minister for foreign affairs. This is an incredibly stressful time for those people and their parents. Members of this House and the Lower House have experienced the kind of aggressive abuse that can happen when you are captured. It is not acceptable. It goes against every law. It needs to be called out and it has been and will be. The only comfort I can give those families is to say that we have had this situation before and were able to bring home all of the Irish citizens captured by Israel. The Department of foreign affairs and our embassy are working very hard to make sure that is done as quickly as possible.

The Senator also asked for an outline of the occupied territories Bill. That is on the priority list at the moment. A number of days ago, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, spoke about trying to get some sort of consensus within the EU to make decisions collectively. That is very difficult. A year or a year and a half ago, only two members of the EU, Ireland and Spain, wanted to review the EU-Israel association agreement. That would have a very severe impact on Israel from a trade perspective. There are now 17 or 18 countries that are willing to review that agreement but we need all countries to agree. If the EU does not agree on what to do about Israel, Ireland will still follow through on the occupied territories Bill. It is on the priority list. The Senator knows my own personal views on this. I hope that will be done as quickly as possible and certainly within this year.

Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee spoke about the former garda, Paul Moody, who was convicted yesterday. She spoke about complaints that were made back in 2017. It is amazing that nothing was done about those complaints. There was a massive delay. He still remained a member of An Garda Síochána. The Senator's colleague, Senator Comyn, spoke only yesterday about the number of people who contacted the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre last year. It was 24,000, an increase of one third in two years. These things need to be called out. It is not acceptable that, as far as we can see, nothing was done in the space of six years about the complaint that was made prior to the complaint people will know about from yesterday's news.

Senator Boyle spoke about wheelchair accessible vehicles. That is obviously a very important issue in his area because, in rural areas in Donegal and across the country, a taxi is often the only form of transport people can get, especially people with disabilities and wheelchair users. The Senator has asked for a debate about changing the qualifying criteria so that people who can provide this service are prioritised for funding.

Senator Keogan spoke about the Slane concerts, which are now to be held over two days instead of one. I was at one or two concerts up there. They put on a great show but it has a massive impact on the community. The community has been supportive of these concerts for more than 30 years, although they always have an impact. The increase from one to two days will have a massive impact on that small town. People who host events, whether gigs, sporting events or anything else, should have good consultation with the community. The community is used to dealing with these big events. In fairness, I do not think they are asking for very much. They just want an ambulance in the town centre in case anything happens there. I do not know the price of tickets but, if the concerts are running over two days, I suspect that it would not be much to ask for €5 out of that price. That was an important thing for the Senator to raise and I hope the organisers will take it on board.

Senator Andrews spoke about the rising cost of rents. That is a challenge for people. It always comes back to the need for more housing. We need more housing. We can be thankful that the figures for the first quarter of 2026 are good, with an increase of almost a third in the number of houses being built across the country. That is obviously not enough, though. I know the Senator's party tabled a Private Members' motion in the Lower House yesterday that proposed rent freezes and eviction bans. The Government just does not agree with that. We have seen that happen in other countries. There were rent freezes in Berlin and, within 12 months, 50% of landlords had left the market. That law was then ruled out of order by the German court of justice. It just does not work.

That is just a different perspective on it, but we agree that more houses need to be built and more priority needs to be given to the matter. It is certainly not a case of a lack of funding invested in the area.

Senator Eileen Lynch spoke about a solar farm in her area in Aglish. It can be very upsetting for locals when, after their concerns about a project are taken on board by Cork County Council and planning is refused, An Bord Pleanála, which does not have the same understanding of their area, agrees on appeal that it can go ahead. We are aware of the importance of solar farms and of reducing our energy dependency, but it is fair to say we need to have an open discussion about where these go. They cannot be put in every second field all over the place. There needs to be some sort of national plan. Senator Scahill raised this last week, so there could be a good opportunity to have a debate on it.

Senator Maria Byrne spoke about BusConnects in Limerick and the delay in moving forward on this. A delay can be very frustrating. There was a postponement from 2025 to 2027 and now the date has been pushed back to 2028. This has a massive impact on a city like Limerick, where people, businesses and communities are dependent on public transport. The Senator gave the example of Annacotty, a business area with more than 3,000 people working and absolutely no buses to collect them. This means everyone has to drive, which is just not the way we should be moving. It is not just in Limerick that this is happening. I experienced it in Galway last weekend when I was there. People were talking about the lack of the public transport that they would want to use. People want to change their ways but we need to make sure we are investing in that as much as we can. I will contact the Minister for Transport, Deputy O’Brien, on this.

Senator Lynn Ruane spoke about early-onset Parkinson's disease. It is not talked about enough. People just assume Parkinson's comes when a person is 60, 65 or 70, but it can happen much earlier. Someone quite close to me has it and it has a massive impact on him. The disease is different for everyone but people's capabilities can decline very considerably and quickly. It is not just a question of the impact on the individuals with the condition because there is also an impact on their dependants, families, husbands, wives and children. There is an impact on the wider family. As the Senator said herself, I am not sure this has been discussed very much. We could have statements or a debate on it in this House. This would be important because most of us know someone - the Senator spoke about her father - who has suffered from the condition and know the impact it has. The Senator spoke about donating the brain. Donating organs was raised yesterday. We need to circulate more widely the message on how impactful donating your organs or brain can be for others with the same disease. A discussion on Parkinson's as part of a discussion on organ donation would be timely, so I will see if it is possible in the coming weeks.

Senator Garret Kelleher spoke about the VAT charged to people who must use medical wigs owing to various conditions, whether alopecia or cancer. I am quite familiar with this as my mother had cancer years ago and had to buy and wear a wig. I am aware of the impact it can have to go into a shop and explain why a wig is needed. The prices of medical wigs are very high and it is important that people are not charged VAT on such products. It is also important that they do not have to go through hoops to buy a medical wig. It should be quite simple to buy something without having to pay VAT. The Senator is right that we must align ourselves with other EU countries in this regard, which is important.

Senator Cathal Byrne spoke about school transport and bus passes. He gave the perfectly good example of where children who, through no fault of their own, cannot go to their closest school, which they are trying to go to, because it is full meaning they have to go to the next closest or an alternative. The Senator mentioned New Ross in this regard. It makes absolutely no sense that children should have to pay for school transport when the circumstances they are in are not their fault. We have introduced many measures in the area of education, including free meals, free books and free travel in most cases, but when something is not your fault it does not seem fair that you should be charged for it.

Senator Tully raised the same issue last week in relation to people on medical cards. Through no fault of their own, they are having to pay. This should be addressed and clarified in the budget, perhaps. Actually, this should be done before the budget because the school term starts in September. I urge the Senator to talk to the Minister about that to see if it is possible. It seems fairly obvious to me that it should be done.

Senator Aubrey McCarthy spoke about St. Patrick's school and Rachel Harper. It is great to see young children taking a leadership role on smartphones because much of the time people in this building talk about the matter but really do not have a full understanding of the impact of smartphones on children. I often worry about the impact that smartphones will have on my two children, who have just started school or are in crèche. I am aware that the media committee is doing a lot of work on this. Hopefully, the Minister will bring through legislation, but it is wonderful to see children taking a proactive role.

Senator Mark Duffy spoke about the team from Mayo who climbed Mount Everest. The Senator looks like he was climbing it himself and fell. It is amazing what the team has achieved and it is also amazing to think it has not been done for 20 years by an Irish team. I wish them well. I know nothing about Everest other than what I have seen from documentaries. The most dangerous part is the descent, so we wish the team as safe a descent from the summit as possible. It is a wonderful achievement and, as the Senator said, for a really good cause, namely, Mayo Mental Health Association.

Senator Eileen Flynn reminded us today that it is Traveller Pride Week, which is very important. It is another good opportunity to talk about inclusivity, equality and giving people opportunities to be who they want to be. The Senator herself is a prime example of someone who can achieve great things regardless of her background. It is important that the Oireachtas Traveller committee work with her and those behind Pride Week to promote it as much as possible.

Senator Craughwell spoke about being over in Westminster with Mr. Liam Conlon, MP, for an event concerning the Untold Museum in Belfast, which explores 350 years of Irish military history. This is very important and I am aware that it is very close to the Senator's heart because of his time served in the Irish Defence Forces. He has encouraged everyone to visit the museum in Belfast. It is important for people to visit, given the great history. There are great stories of people who served their country well. The more we can promote that, the better.