Anois, a chairde, I call on the Acting Leader to outline the Order of Business.

The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the proposed approval by Seanad Éireann of the Data Protection Act 2018, section 60(6) and section 51(3) regulations 2026, to be taken on conclusion of the Order of Business without debate; No. 2, motion regarding the proposed approval by Seanad Éireann for an amending EU directive to combat firearms trafficking and other firearms' related offences, to be taken at 12.45 p.m. and to conclude no later than 1.45 p.m., with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed five minutes, those of all Senators not to exceed five minutes and the Minister to be given no less than five minutes to reply to the debate; No. 3, Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill, 2026 - Report and Final Stages, to be taken on conclusion of No. 2 and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion no later than 4.45 p.m. by the putting of one question from the Chair, which shall, in relation to amendments include only those set down or accepted by Government; No. 4, statements to mark Irish Aids Day 2026, to be taken at 5 p.m. and to conclude no later than 6.15 p.m., with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed eight minutes, those of all Senators not to exceed five minutes and the Minister to be given no less than five minutes to reply to the debate; and No. 5, Private Members' business, Prohibition of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems Bill 2026 - Second Stage, to be taken at 6.15 p.m., with the time allocated to the debate not to exceed two hours.

Before I call the first Senator I welcome, as guest of an Seanadóir Mary Fitzpatrick, Sonya Lennon of Lennon Courtney and Dublin Chamber of Commerce. She is most welcome to Seanad Éireann. Thanks for visiting here today.

The first worrying report I will talk about is one I saw on the RTÉ website this morning. Forty-one people are due in court on shoplifting offences. That is 41 people in one court alone in Dún Laoghaire. It warrants a wider conversation on retail crime. There are 15 children included in those 41 people. For the first time, it is being highlighted that meat, at a very high cost, is being shoplifted en masse. As a journalist, I have sat in many courtrooms over the years. There used to be petty crime and usually it was quite an unfortunate occasion that somebody would have to shoplift. This is now being done en masse and it is costing retailers €1.62 billion every year, which is a phenomenal amount of money. This is organised crime. My colleague, Senator Mary Fitzpatrick, has brought the Protection of Retail Workers Bill, which is vital. The fact that we have the highest rate of shoplifting in Europe warrants a wider debate in the House on how we can help our retailers in keeping their businesses afloat.

On another note, I will also mention that two counties, Sligo and my own county of Louth, are representing Ireland in the Entente Florale, which is a fantastic competition held every year. Congratulations to Riverstown in Sligo and Blackrock in County Louth. These are two wonderful areas. The work done by Tidy Towns is phenomenal. It is the first time that Sligo has been entered into that and I wish it luck, although I hope that Louth wins the award. The judging will take place on 9 July. The competition is being hosted in Ireland this year, in Carlow, which is fantastic. Good luck to everybody involved in that.

I have another congratulations from my parish to Tullyallen Men's Shed which is celebrating a decade in existence. It started all those years back. Daithi Cusack is one of the founding members and is still the chair of the shed. We all know what incredible work the men's sheds organisation does for men across the country. It is fantastic that it has got funding from the Department of rural and community development over the years. It keeps them afloat. It is one of those cases where it is not just the work the organisation does but the effect it has on the members. It is fantastic for men's mental health. It gets them to talk and to gather together. I also have to mention that the women's sheds, or hens' sheds as they are sometimes known, are doing incredible work as well but they are not receiving the funding. We are working on that. They need to be in an umbrella organisation for that to happen. All of us should be working towards that and making sure that the women are also getting the funding that the men get. Another hearty congratulations to Tullyallen Men's Shed.

I welcome guests of Senator Sharon Keogan. I also welcome Councillor Gráinne Maguire, her intern, Noel Monahan, and his mother and grandmother, who are in a supervisory capacity for his time in Leinster House. I also welcome Nessa and Angie Teehan.

Last January, we heard an awful lot of fairly shocking evidence at the Oireachtas joint committee on sport in both public and private sessions, in relation to Rowing Ireland and the practices of the high-performance programme over the past five years in Cork and around the country. Off the back of those hearings, both public and private, the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, announced that an independent inquiry would be launched into what transpired and how to prevent athletes from going through similar circumstances when they are representing Ireland and training for that.

I welcome the news this week that an independent inquiry will begin. It has been set in motion. Amanda Bennett will chair the inquiry. It will begin immediately and a report will be published at the end of this calendar year. This is really encouraging because these athletes have been waiting for movement on this. There was a bit of momentum at the beginning of the year but this inquiry will begin. Amanda Bennett will not be known to a lot of people in Ireland, which is probably a good thing because it needs to be an independent inquiry. She is a governance expert. She is the former head of governance at UK Sport. She has literally written the book on sport governance. I would be the first person to be giving out if we had not picked the right person but this is a very positive moment for Irish sport, its integrity and the safeguarding of our athletes, which is what I will always go back to. I encourage all of the rowers, former rowers, parents and family members of rowers who have been emailing me in their droves, to now get in touch with the investigation and Amanda Bennett.

This is the avenue to be heard, first, but also to be spoken to. There will be interviews happening all summer and then the chair of the inquiry, Amanda Bennett, will report back to the Minister. I have asked that the terms of reference of the inquiry be wide enough that the findings of the report will be applicable to the wider landscape in sport because we have work to do on the safeguarding of our athletes elsewhere. Rowing, rather than being an isolated problem, is probably the tip of the iceberg, and we need to be aware of that. As I keep saying in the House, we need a sport integrity unit. I hope that will come out of the findings of this report.

I welcome the inquiry and investigation launched this week by the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, which went to Cabinet yesterday. I look forward to our rowers and former rowers engaging with the process and accepting the findings of the report.

I note the Order of Business proposed by the Leader. In the weeks coming up to the summer recess, we are going to be busy. If there is a lot of additional legislation coming down the tracks, I ask the Leader to consider extending the sitting times, either to start earlier or finish later.

The Seanad is a revising Chamber. We have important legislative work to do. The Ministers and Members on all sides of the House need time. Let us work together constructively to see if we can start an hour or two earlier. I understand rural Senators have families but so do urban Senators. There are Senators falling out of here at 10 o'clock at night, with work to do, under pressure and with commitments. We need to bear all that in mind. Let us together look imaginatively and constructively at getting that business done between now and the summer.

I welcome the housing infrastructure investment fund, HIIF, announced by the Government yesterday. It is exciting, imaginative, bold and courageous. I hope the local authorities and all those providing housing are ready to avail of the funding that has been set aside. I thank the Government and the Minister for that. Well done to them.

I acknowledge and thank the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for its statement of strategy for 2026 to 2028. It is mandatory reading for every Member who is interested in local government because it clearly sets out the strategy of the Government. There are some repeat objectives in this document. I commend the Minister and Ministers of State in that Department on pulling the strategy together and publishing it. It has been published for some time but has been updated.

The recurring theme is the local government task force. I ask the Leader to ascertain something from the Ministers in the Department. The local government task force was established and submitted a final report to the Government in which it made certain recommendations and suggestions for reform in relation to local authority structures, finance, government and additional matters. I understand the Minister was to bring this report to Cabinet. It is now June 2026. The Minister only received the report in March. It would be timely to publish the report or, possibly, have a briefing for Senators. I would have no difficulty with that. It is a matter for the Minister, ultimately. I acknowledge the work of the Cathaoirleach, Senator Mark Daly, in convening the commission on local democracy in the previous Seanad. Much of that fed into this report. I have raised a number of issues, all of which are positive. I hope we can make progress on all of them.

I raise again the issue of STEM funding for the engagement officer in County Laois and concerns for the future of STEM education programmes. The last time I raised this matter in the Chamber, the Leader told me to submit a Commencement matter. I have done so three times and three times a Minister has refused to come into this Chamber to address why this STEM funding is being discontinued and what we are going to do about replacing it. This is really important, not just in rural schools but in urban schools as well.

Education is not just about academics and sport; it is also about other curriculum activities. Some children do not engage with sports and there are all of these other fantastic opportunities out there. This funding has been in place, and the STEM engagement officer has been coming into schools and helping children. I have spoken about the success of Rosenallis National School so many times in this Chamber and its students winning the VEX Robotics competition in Missouri. That is absolutely fantastic. The same goes for the Swan National School, which is a 29-pupil school. The schools are going to be absolutely devastated by this loss. I am furious that I have submitted a Commencement matter on this three times and I have been refused each time. I ask Leader to call on the Minister to give me an answer because I am not giving up on this. It is not acceptable that a Senator would submit a Commencement matter three times and still not have an answer. This funding and role are due to end on 23 June and I need to go back to these principals and local pupils to explain what is happening. I am hoping the Leader can get me an update or I will be in here next week raising it again.

Before I call on the next speaker, I welcome the guests of Senator Cathal Byrne, Maeve, Marian and Angelina and the Senator's intern Charlie. I welcome them to Seanad Éireann. I call Senator Mary Fitzpatick.

The word "ICE" is a really negative word with very negative connotations, but when I said the word "ICE" this morning I was saying it in the north inner city. It is a very positive thing because ICE stands for the Inner City Enterprise. For those who do not know, it is a social enterprise referred to as the hub on the hill. Going up Constitution Hill towards Broadstone, it is on the right hand side. It is the old Dublin City Council Coleraine Street housing depot. It used to be an old housing depot and it became a regeneration project. Critically, it is now a social enterprise hub and a place in the north inner city where individuals with ideas, entrepreneurial spirit and innovation in their hearts can go. They can receive training and mentoring and there are workspaces available. It is a great collaboration between the social enterprise, Inner City Enterprise, with Dublin City Council providing the property. Roughly €500,000 was provided by the Minister, Deputy Dara Calleary, in the most recent tranche of funding to launch phase 2 this morning. Critically, businesses in the city have come on board and are supporting it. Very large enterprises in Dublin like Meta, Accenture and Bank of New York are all supporting individuals and small groups of people to explore, develop and succeed with their entrepreneurial activities.

The hub on the hill is a place of hope, ambition and opportunity. I congratulate everybody at Inner City Enterprise, including Evanne Kilmurray, CEO, Vincent Crowley, chairperson, and the whole team. Most importantly, I congratulate the people who go there daily and are making their dreams come alive. They have written outside "Dream big, start small, act now", and that is what is happening there. It is a great innovation and they all deserve to be congratulated.

I welcome my office staff, Maeve, Marion, Angelina and our intern, Charlie, to Seanad Éireann. I know from experience that I would be lost without the work they do, day in and day out, in my offices in Enniscorthy and Wexford. I am very grateful to have them working for me and it is a great honour to be able to host them and bring them to Seanad Éireann. I know I speak for all Senators, if I might be so bold, in saying that we would all be lost without the staff we have in our offices. We are lucky and fortunate to have them.

Hear, hear.

I request that we bring the Minister for higher education before Seanad Éireann to speak about our technological universities and get an update on where things are at. I am speaking specifically about the Wexford campus for the South East Technological University, SETU. Earlier this week, we had a significant announcement of funding which will open up a 1.3 km link road from Ballynagee in Wexford town out to where the new campus will be located. The funding will allow Wexford County Council to construct that road, which will open up land it owns for housing and for the new stadium for Wexford Football Club.

While this is a welcome announcement, we need the Higher Education Authority and the Department of higher education to come forward with an update on where exactly the Wexford campus is. The link road will be built. It will open up access to the land. We need to know whether the money is available to progress to the next phase of planning permission for the Wexford campus. I would like the Minister for higher education to come to the Chamber to give an update on that and many other issues in the technological university space.

I raise the issue of the cost-of-living crisis. Earlier, I attended a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Disability Matters. Again, we had disabled citizens in tears describing their abject living conditions and the enduring and grinding poverty that they are forced to live in in this country. We are outliers in the European sense in that throughout the European Union, the disability allowance as we know it is disaggregated or not connected to income. It is a non-means-tested universal payment. We means-test. This year, the ESRI released figures for the cost of disability. This is not the cost of buying clothes or paying for groceries, rent or heating. This is before a person puts their hand in their pocket. The actual extra cost of having a disability of Ireland is between €488 and €550 per week. That is between €25,000 and €28,000 a year in extra costs such as medical costs, equipment, extra heating and transport. In total, the disability allowance is less than half of that. We need to have a non-means-tested universal payment of disability allowance.

While I welcome the discussion at government level on introducing a cost-of-disability payment, these are not hidden costs. They are quantified. What is not quantified is the moral distress, suffering, fear and anxiety that disabled person experience every day unnecessarily. According to one of the contributors this morning - a beautiful young man who is disabled with an honour's degree in history and a first-class master's degree - he experiences structural penalties on a daily basis. That is evidence of an ableist state. I ask for a debate in the House on the cost-of-living crisis, specifically as it applies to disabled citizens.

In May 2018, the Irish people decided to repeal the eighth amendment to the Constitution. We all fully accept the decision of the people on that date. Forming a huge part of that decision was the three-day mandatory reflection period or cooling-off period from one consultation to the next. I am disappointed that Sinn Féin is the latest party to come forward to propose to remove that three-day mandatory wait. We are moving the goalposts on the people. We asked them to vote for something. We gave them the detail and they voted. We accept that, but now we are moving the goalposts by removing the three-day mandatory wait. I came across statistics from the HSE recently, which were enlightening. It stated that between 17% and 18%, which is roughly about one in every six women, who attend a first consultation with their GP do not attend the second. Surely, our time would be better spent reflecting and interrogating that data to see exactly what is going on here. We all have our opinions on it. I fully accept the decision that was made on that date but I have a problem with us changing what the Irish people were asked to vote for on that occasion.

Hear, hear.

I wish to discuss the issue of social media. It has been discussed many times in this Chamber and by various committees. It has been an ongoing national conversation for a number of years. I welcome news that the UK is introducing a ban to those under 16. Whether a "ban" is the right word or not, I do not know. I welcome the words of the Tánaiste yesterday where he outlined that it is going to be a priority of his and the Government during our EU Presidency to put the issue on the agenda and that if the EU does not act, Ireland needs to stand alone. It is a real strong conversation. I have been contacted by a number of parents in recent days again seeking that we do the same in this country. It is a public health issue.

Social media has its merits and positives in terms of clear information and explaining matters, but it also has its negatives. It is affecting people. It is affecting our younger generations in particular. As politicians, if we asked ourselves whether we like social media in the work that we do and answered honestly, we would probably say "No". It is a conversation that we need to have. It is changing the world that we live in. I think to a time when we used to do mathematics in primary school and recall the introduction of calculators. I say it all the time. If I was asked to do a long division or long multiplication in my mind or down on paper, I would struggle to do it. My fear is that phones and social media are taking away our art of conversation. That is the art of who we are as Irish people and what we are good at. If we go into any establishment now, we will see people on their phones, and I worry about that. We need to act. We have a responsibility as public representatives to do something about it. That is why we are here. We need to have the courage to speak out, put policies in place and challenge those within institutions, be it the EU or our Departments, to make sure there is clear policy. I would welcome a discussion on it. We need to act sooner rather than later.

On Saturday last in Cavan, the first Pride march was held in the county town. I congratulate those who organised it and took part. It was a very colourful and vibrant celebration of people from the LGBT+ community. I put up an ad online beforehand wishing it well. The commentary on that ad was absolutely vile. Laura, in my office, turned off the comments. It is absolutely outrageous what people feel they can say to others online.

After the parade, I attended Cavan's Africa Day. Nationally, Africa Day was celebrated in May, but in Cavan, they had the celebration last Saturday. It was another celebratory event full of music, song, colour and vibrancy. It celebrated the diverse cultures within Africa and their contribution to our country. It was attended by people from this country and other countries outside of Africa. Again, there were concerns about that event and advertising it too much in case of the backlash they would get on social media and an expectation of a backlash when the reports go into the local paper. I wish to say to both communities, and indeed many other minority communities who suffer this on a regular basis, that it is a minority of people who do this. The majority of people do not think like that. I ask them to remember that some of the people who are putting up comments do not even live in this country. Some of them are not even people; they are bots. It is vile and outrageous that social media companies are not doing more about this spread of hate. It is something that is being pushed by right-wing agendas, both nationally in this country and internationally and it just needs to stop. More people need to stand up and call it out for what it is, which is pure racism and homophobia. That is not representative of the majority of the people of this country.

I wish to raise the topic of local radio stations around the country. It has been brought up here previously. I cannot express the importance of having a radio station like LMFM in our community enough. The staff call themselves the voice of the north-east. They reach up to 300,000 people on a daily basis. What has happened with local radio stations over the past month is that we have learnt that there are going to be lots of job losses and directors of different stations, like LMFM, will not be there in the future. I fear for how we will get local news and hear about community events if this is what happening to local radio stations.

LMFM provides amazing GAA coverage, strong local journalism and champions local communities. It gives the north-east its own voice. It supports local businesses. I wish to give a shout-out to the Adrian Kennedy show with Katie and the lunch time show with Gerry and Louise. My own mam and dad, who are not with us anymore, had LMFM on every morning without fail.

That is where they got a lot of their local news. It is also where they got the death notices, which are really important to people who cannot access them somewhere else. My mam and dad never would have been able to use smartphones and there are still so many people who cannot use them. We are expected now to be an ultra-modern IT country that can access everything online, and we cannot. It is the same as Senator Kennelly talking about sport being online and big GAA matches. People just want to be able to watch it regularly on their TVs. They want to be able to listen to local news regularly on their radios and not always have to tune into something on a smartphone or a smart device. This needs a bigger conversation. The last thing we need to see is local, good radio stations like LMFM being threatened into not being able to survive in the future and cutting jobs because of the pressures they are under due to costs and different people getting news in different ways. Just as we support our local newspapers, we need to support our local radio stations as well, particularly LMFM.

I welcome my intern Noel Monahan and his mother and grandmother, Nessa Teehan and Angie Teehan. Noel has been an intern in my office over the last six to eight months. He has been a valuable asset to my team and I thank him for his contribution.

I want to raise an issue that warrants urgent attention from the House and from the Minister. Last week a young mother named Grace died by suicide after spending more than a year trying to be reunited with her infant son who was removed into care shortly after his birth. Her death is a tragedy and I extend my sympathy to her family. It compels us to look more closely at a broader issue that receives remarkably little scrutiny. International research has found that parents, particularly mothers, whose children are taken into care face significantly elevated risks of self-harm and suicide. A study published in The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry found that such mothers are almost three times more likely to attempt suicide and more than four times more likely to die by suicide. Similar findings have also been documented in the UK. This raises a very basic question. What do we know about this in Ireland? Does Tusla have data on the deaths, including deaths by suicide, of parents whose children are in care or subject to care proceedings? If not, how can it meaningfully assess the impact of child removal on parental well-being and mortality? Has any independent research been commissioned in this jurisdiction to examine this issue? If the answer to these questions is "No", then we must accept that Ireland currently has no reliable way of knowing how many parents may have died following the removal of their children from them, and that is not an acceptable position. In light of Grace's heartbreaking death and the clear international evidence, I call on the Minister to commission an independent national report into the mental health and mortality outcomes of parents whose children are removed into State care.

I agree with Senator Keogan. It is important that more research is done and that there is more transparency around suicide and the impact of children being taken into State care.

I have previously raised the issue of Rathmines post office being sold off, as well as the closures in recent years of post offices on Baggot Street, Kevin Street and in Donnybrook and Ballsbridge. That has had a hugely negative impact on those communities, particularly among the older members. It was announced recently that Rathmines post office is likely to be on the market in the middle of next year. Yet, there is no plan for what is going to happen to this historic building. It is really important that it stays in public hands. Rathmines post office could and should be at the heart of the community. It a vibrant community. It is a unique part of Dublin. The building itself is in the community since 1934. It is an art deco building and a building that cannot be replaced. If it is allowed to be sold off to a private developer, it would be a huge loss. It is beyond me how we could sell off such a beautiful building that has so much potential. It must and should be kept in the ownership of the State and, by extension, in the ownership of the local community. When the post office transfers to a new location, the Government needs to ensure the property remains in public ownership by facilitating the transfer of ownership to Dublin City Council, which has been engaged on the issue. There are some proposals from local community activists and different community groups on what might go in this space. In the future it should be a central hub for Rathmines community. It could be the heart of cultural and community activities as a venue for events, meetings and clinics. There is so much potential for this building and it would be a massive loss to find it turned into a café or a hotel. We need to see ambitious, forward-thinking action taken by the State to ensure this property remains in public and community use, and that the long-term good of Rathmines is not left to chance on the market.

I was shocked at the comments of Deputy Richmond last night. After attending the annual conference of the International Planned Parenthood Federation on Monday, he has committed to doubling its funding from the Irish taxpayer. There is something incredibly colonialist about the West's tendency to eagerly fund abortions in developing countries. I remember a time when Ireland would send food, water and clothing, but now we pay for impoverished mothers to abort their children. The constant push for more abortions from the Government and the Opposition is really regressive and I cannot figure out where it is coming from. Yesterday, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste said they would be supporting Sinn Féin's Bill to remove the three-day wait period safeguard. This could be the first time in the Thirty-fourth Dáil that either the Taoiseach or the Tánaiste has voted for something coming from the Opposition. They are happy to support more abortions but voted against the emergency winter payment for people with disabilities, against paid leave for women going for cancer screening, and against sanctions for Israel. They will not remove the means test for carers, they refuse to introduce a second rate of child benefit and they fail to protect vulnerable children in State care. What is the Government offering young women? It is offering fake pity and weak apologies. It is saying "sorry you cannot afford a home, sorry you cannot afford groceries, sorry you have to live in your childhood bedroom but do not worry about raising a baby in your mam's house because we will just pay for an abortion for you." I was sitting my junior certificate when I was pregnant with my first child. Yes, it was tough at times but my life was not over. Instead of telling women their life is over if they get pregnant, how about we provide options for them to be able to keep their babies and raise them to be proud citizens of this country?

Hear, hear.

That is a hard act to follow. I commend Senator O'Reilly on every word she said. I also commend Senator Gallagher on his words earlier. I ask today for a debate on Ireland's spiralling abortion figures. The Sinn Féin Bill proposing to abolish the three-day waiting period is wrong in every respect. It will deny the very women who might need it the required guaranteed space to think and reflect about the irrevocable step that is abortion. Many women have benefited from that space and have kept their babies after the first appointment. This measure would also give comfort and assistance to those who would hustle women towards abortion, as we know sometimes happens. I am sorry to say that the leadership of the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Health on this issue is truly lamentable. I do not know why Micheál Martin, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Simon Harris find it so difficult to empathise with the cause of a little human being at the earliest stage of his or her development in the womb. Perhaps it is because the child in the first trimester is so physically small. We know that in the first trimester the embryo develops into a foetus, which itself is Latin for the words "little one", with a functioning heartbeat, brain activity and distinct limbs. In the words of Spike Milligan: "Small, but I WAS!". These same politicians will wring their hands at spiralling violence in our society and rightly lament the destruction going on in Gaza and the Middle East. However, by their indifference to our spiralling abortion rates, and their refusal to ever consider the need to encourage a culture of life, they give momentum to the rising culture of violence in our society where the strongest exert power over the weak.

We all urgently need to rethink this issue together, to acknowledge that every abortion is a tragedy, and to at least commit together to working to reduce the number of abortions. I am reminded of a phrase in a song by Paul Simon "Why deny the obvious child?". Why is there such denial in our Oireachtas about the obvious child?

Hear, hear.

I welcome the guests of Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice to the Public Gallery. You are most welcome to Seanad Éireann. Anois, we will have Senator McCarthy.

I thank the Cathaoirleach and the Acting Leader. I just want to reiterate first of all what Senator Robbie Gallagher said when he mentioned legislation that we decided on, and we all agreed on to be accepted in the referendum that was approved. It seems disingenuous that we are revisiting that legislation in such a short time period.

I want to raise something that is affecting every town and is certainly affecting even my own family, which is the slow squeezing out of the small Irish business owner. I saw a post last week in The Irish Times about a café owner whose café is charging €4.25 for a latte. He did the economics on it and it showed that he is making 18 cent on each cup of coffee. The reality is that the margins are very thin and the margins are tight. The cost of insurance has exploded. Commercial rates and wage costs are rising. Everybody deserves a standard of living but small employers are trying to absorb all of this perfect storm of rising costs. They are trying to stay faithful and loyal to staff they have had for many years. I know because I recently closed a business of my own. I had kept it going because it was in the family for many years. Pride kept it going. It was there since 1967 but you realise there is only so much you can subsidise and it is a bit ridiculous doing it out of your own pocket when it is not making money. The worrying thing is that I believe we are losing the backbone of Ireland quietly. It is being done one business at a time. It is the local baker, the hairdresser and the café owner. We are the people who sponsor the local football team, the local field day etc. The people in the small businesses in Ireland feel abandoned. I know it is hugely important to support foreign direct investment such Pfizer and Intel, etc., but small and medium-sized enterprises employ hundreds of thousands of people across this country and are the social glue of our towns and villages. We need to seriously examine what we are doing for small businesses because when they disappear, it is not easy to get them back. If they are going, the community will go with them. Ireland cannot become a country where we only support larger corporations.

Hear, hear.

Anois, the Acting Leader to respond on the Order of Business.

I thank the 16 Senators who contributed this morning. Senator Comyn spoke about the increase in shoplifting and mentioned the 41 court cases at the moment in Dún Laoghaire. That is replicated right across the country. If you speak to owners of shops like Centra and Spar, they will tell you that shoplifting happens on a daily basis and nearly on an hourly basis. The kinds of things that are taken are normally day-to-day items that people just need. It is important that we have a debate in this House on the matter because it has been an ongoing issue for the last two to three years, at least. It has a real impact and it is a real cost to those businesses. It has an impact on the managing of those businesses. We will try to have a debate on it in this House.

Senator Ní Chuilinn raised an issue involving Rowing Ireland that has been in the public domain for many years. It relates to the conditions that some of the best sportspeople in our country have had to deal with. It is hugely welcome that an independent inquiry has been launched by the Minister, and that there is hopefully a completion date by the end of this year. Senator Ní Chuilinn has done a lot of work in the committee on this matter to try to give our athletes an opportunity to have a real, independent assessment of how they are being treated. Like the Senator, I hope that everyone who wants to speak up feels as though they are safe so that they can speak up and give their opinions. The Senator is right, hopefully, that we will accept any recommendations or any findings from the independent inquiry headed up by Amanda Bennett. I think there needs to be a broader scope across all sports and not just rowing. Having something like a sports integrity unit, as the Senator has advocated for a long time, would be a good base to work from.

Senator Boyhan is right that we have a busy schedule over the next number of weeks. It is always the case, as he knows because he has been here for quite some time, that coming up to the summer recess a lot of Bills have to go through the House. I am in an acting role at the moment so I cannot say for certain but I am more than happy to facilitate. As Senators are aware, we will sit early next Tuesday. I am more than happy to sit earlier on Tuesdays and later on Thursdays to make sure we can give people the opportunity to speak on important legislation that comes before the House. I am very flexible and I am sure the Senator knows that as well. I am very flexible in terms of our sitting times, when we start or when we finish.

The Senator also mentioned local government and the statement of strategy. That feeds into the local task force. Senator Davitt raised that last week and, like Senator Boyhan, he asked for a debate on it. Once that is published, this House in particular should have good opportunities to debate that issue with the Minister.

Senator McCormack has brought up STEM research and funding a number of times. It is getting very close to 23 June. I can understand her frustration. She said she has put it down as a Commencement matter but the Minister has not come in. We will try to sort that out. I am not sure of the full details of it. I know the Senator is very genuine on the matter. The Senator raised the incredible achievements of a school and said that wants to make sure the funding continues.

Senator Fitzpatrick spoke in relation to Inner City Enterprise, or ICE as she called it. I was worried about what she was going to talk about when she mentioned the word "ICE", but it is in a positive sense for once. They do phenomenal work. The social enterprise fund is there, in conjunction with Dublin City Council, to support people who have ambition and want to achieve their dream. It is great that phase 2 was launched this morning by the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and is supported by big tech companies here in Dublin to support that area. The Senator has always been an advocate for that.

Senator Cathal Byrne welcomed his staff. I think we all agree that we would be lost without our staff. That is for sure. He called for a debate in the Seanad with the Minister for higher education. I do not think we have had such a debate for quite some time, so I think there is an opportunity to do that. He outlined a really good example. Due to the housing infrastructure fund that has been put in place, and the fact that the Government is prioritising infrastructure right across the country, there is now approval for a 3 km road from Wexford town to the site where the Wexford campus of the South East Technological University is going to be. Now the responsibility is obviously on the college to deliver that campus. We need to have an update on that. It is not ideal if we are building the infrastructure around it but we still do not know when the actual campus is going to be built. I know this is a key priority for the Senator and for Wexford town.

Senator Clonan referred to the cost-of-living crisis in the context of this morning's meeting of the disability committee. I understand his genuine concern about the disability payment. As the Senator said, as public representatives we all understand the fear and distress that people go through when they are literally trying to make ends meet and have so many payments and costs because of a particular disability. We have done quite a lot but as a State we need to do better. We can do better and we will do better in supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our country. I will make sure that we ask for a debate with the Minister on that for the Senator.

Senator Rory Gallagher - sorry, I was thinking of the musician - Senator Robbie Gallagher spoke about-----

Get him a guitar.

If he could sing like Rory Gallagher-----

That would be an electric contribution, in fairness.

Senator Gallagher, along with Senators Sarah O'Reilly, Mullen and McCarthy, spoke on the eighth amendment. There is a vote on a Bill on this matter in the Dáil tonight. We do not have a vote on it in the Seanad, but it might come at some point. Senator Gallagher and the other Senators raised some very valid personal views they have on tonight's decision. We all know it is a personal decision for everyone and we have to respect everyone's view on it. It is very hard to disagree with some of the points that were expressed here in this Chamber. Senator Mullen spoke about leadership and lack of leadership. When we are talking about this issue, it is a personal viewpoint.

Whether we agree or disagree we have to respect that it is a personal view. It is difficult for everyone to come to a conclusion on that. I would not disagree with the statements that were made here today. There are a lot of people in the country who voted in that referendum with the assurance that there were things in place. That is something that needs to be-----

And a few who are alive because of the three-day waiting period.

On the referendum, people certainly felt protected by having that three-day cushion in place but that is a wider debate we can have. The vote tonight is one for it to continue to Committee Stage. Perhaps it is at that point where those discussions can be had. However, at all times we need to be respectful of everyone’s personal opinions on that. We are always good to do that in this House.

Senator Noel O’Donovan spoke about social media and the UK ban, which was brought in because of what happened in the last number of weeks. As he said, parents are just asking for some sort of comfort because of the fear they have of social media, their lack of understanding of what kids are using and how they can become addicted to it. It is a real worry. The media committee, which I sit on along with Senator Mullen, produced a report on that. It did not include a recommendation that those under 16 years should be banned from social media but it had a lot of recommendations about algorithms, restrictions on use and age verification. That is all very well but there is a very strong case for having under-16s banned from social media. The point is always made that it is very hard to implement but that is not a reason not to do it. Implementing it is a decision afterwards but putting it into law is very important too. Senator Comyn was also very active on that debate at the committee too.

Senator Pauline Tully spoke about the first Pride march in Cavan and gave two really good examples, which lead in to what Senator O’Donovan spoke about in terms of social media. You try to be inclusive and welcoming to different groups and parts of society, and people from different walks of life and different countries. There was also an African event held in Cavan. These are all positive things about welcoming good people into the community. There is a fear of what social media can do. It is very worrying. As Senator Tully said, those of us in politics are all used to having terrible comments made about us but it is being done to people for whom it is very undeserved. As Senator Tully said, it is very distressing when it is prejudiced or racist in nature. As loud as they are it is a very small minority. We see that come election time. When we talk to reasonable people on the doors, from my experience, people are always very welcoming and very supportive of people coming into this country, as well as people from different backgrounds and interests.

Senator Linda Nelson Murray spoke on the importance of local radio stations. I was on LMFM once about three years ago. I got a good grilling but I came through it all right. It has a great listener base just like every local radio station across the country. They are invaluable to our local communities and give trusted news, reports and discussions that are not always had on national radio stations. They are a great platform for small, local businesses or community groups to promote themselves. They obviously do the GAA and death notices but the important thing is that they are a trusted source for people in the area. The fear over the broadcast levy that is being introduced, which will see an increase of 69% over the next two years, is that it has the potential to have a dramatic impact on local radio stations. As the Senator said, we are seeing it already with people losing their jobs or cuts being made. That was not what was envisaged with this broadcast levy. The Minister has asked his Department to do a report to see what the impact would be on local radio stations. He has asked Coimisiún na Meán to assess what can be done going forward. He is not in a position to do anything on this particular increase but we need certainty for local radio stations into the future because of the really good work they do. I will ask the Minister to come to the House on the subject. It is an issue that affects everyone across the country.

Senator Keogan spoke of the sad passing of Grace who died by suicide. She was a young mother who was going through a traumatic time after losing custody of her child. The Senator has done good work as a foster carer over many years and has a keen understanding of people going through trauma and care and kids being taken from their mother or father. I will ask the Minister about what information Tusla has, not just on this particular case but on how many cases it has like this across the country. It is very distressing. Senator Keogan called for a commission to do an independent report and Senator Andrews agreed. We will see if the Minister is willing to do that.

Senator Andrews spoke about the closure of the post office in Rathmines. There has been closure of a number of post offices across the country. Sometimes, you feel as if it is just rural ones but it is not – it is urban ones as well. It does have a real impact. Post offices are not being used to the same extent as before but some of them are in beautiful buildings and are a key element to a village or town, or a key area of Dublin such as Rathmines. The onus is on Dublin City Council to purchase it, make sure they get value for money, and do with it as it pleases with the agreement of the councillors. It is not something we should lose when it has such historic importance and is so important to the community and groups in the area. I support the Senator’s advocacy on that.

Senator Sarah O’Reilly spoke about the comments of the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, on doubling funding aid for planned abortions abroad. I did not hear the comments but I know the Minister of State has been a real advocate for increasing funding for aid to developing countries in general. We are only one of two European countries at the moment, I think, which has increased international aid support. That is something all countries, particularly in Europe, need to do because of the reduction in aid from America, which has had a real impact on Third World countries.

Planned Parenthood is a very discreditable organisation.

I did not hear the comment on that-----

The Acting Leader without interruption.

-----but I know the Minister of State is very supportive of international aid.

It has been involved in the trading in body parts and all of that horrible stuff.

The Acting Leader without interruption.

If the Senator wants detail on that, she can put down a Commencement matter on it.

Senator Mullen spoke on the eighth amendment. I spoke on that at the start. He spoke about empathy for little children. I think most people have empathy in general but people have different viewpoints. Some people have empathy for women going through difficult pregnancies.

Both.

I have both. However, I understand and take the Senator’s view and concerns genuinely, and his consistency on the matter.

Senator McCarthy spoke about small businesses and rising costs. That is a real challenge for businesses. A lot of businesses are under huge pressure but want to continue because they do not want their staff to lose their jobs. Often, they are hardly making ends meet and just surviving. We have made a lot of changes for employees in recent years in relation to the minimum wage, sick pay and pensions. All these are the right things to do. They support people on a lower wage and support people to have a pension. We should do this and it is the right thing to do, but we have to remember that it comes at a massive cost to employers. That is why the Minister, Deputy Burke, has made some changes in relation to pausing sick pay in particular and not putting it up to ten days. It is why he is introducing the 9% VAT rate in the hospitality sector, including hairdressers and others. We need to have a balance in that and make sure we support people on low pay, in particular, and make it worthwhile to work. At the same time, we need to recognise these costs have a huge impact on businesses and they need to be supported as well. The Senator asked for a debate on that and I am more than happy to do that.