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.