I too welcome the Slovenian ambassador. It was lovely to meet him and of course his team. I know that when James Joyce lived in the nearby city of Trieste, there were many visits across the border. I spent a night or two in Slovenia - not unexpectedly - and had a really lovely experience. Happy Independence Day to all of you and to all the Slovenians who live here in Ireland.

The Order of Business today is Nos. 1 and 2, motions regarding the continuance of certain provisions of the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998, No. 39 of 1998, and the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009, No. 32 of 2009, to be taken at 11.30 a.m. or on conclusion of the Order of Business, whichever is the later, and to conclude after 90 minutes if not previously concluded, with the motions to be discussed together with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed six minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed six minutes, and all other Senators not to exceed six minutes, time can be shared, and the Minister to be given no less than six minutes to reply to the debate; No. 3, Domestic Violence Judgments Register Bill 2026 - Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 1 p.m. and adjourn at 3 p.m., if not previously concluded; No. 4, Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026, changed from Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 - Committee Stage (resumed), to be taken on the conclusion of No. 3, and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion at 5 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 the Government.

Before I call Senator Fitzpatrick, I welcome the pupils from St. Patrick's National School from Bray who are guests of the Tánaiste. I hope you enjoy your visit here today. I know you are coming to the end of the school term, but it is customary here to say there is no homework for the rest of the week. I am sure you are getting your holidays tomorrow anyhow. Enjoy your visit. You are very welcome.

I join the Leas-Chathaoirleach and the Leader in welcoming the ambassador and the staff from the embassy. I wish them and all Slovenians everywhere a very happy Independence Day. The girls from Bray are very welcome too.

Yesterday the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Drugs Use launched its final report. The report is a culmination of nine months of work, with 25 public meetings and many more private meetings, not all of them harmonious and many of them quite contentious. We had 150 witnesses and out of those expert witnesses and that lived experience we have brought forward 161 recommendations. I thank everybody who worked with us and everybody who worked on the committee. We worked very constructively. I believe that our report is a comprehensive report and gives strong recommendations that will help guide us to move even further towards a health-led response to drugs and addiction. There are 161 recommendations and unsurprisingly the one recommendation that has caught the headlines, of course, is the decriminalisation of drugs. There is a level of alarmist commentary on it. In a certain respect I really welcome that because it means our report is provoking discussion and it is provoking debate. The report needs to be read in the round. The report needs to be considered in the round. The report needs to be engaged with. I would appreciate if the Leader would arrange a debate in this House on that report so we can have a constructive debate on how we achieve a health-led approach.

I wish everyone a very happy Pride weekend. Pride is going to fill our city and country with colour this weekend. It is a moment for us to celebrate our LGBTQI community.

I recognise the incredible work done by representative organisations like Outhouse, Belong To and LGBT Ireland. I wish to take a moment for us to stop and think about all of those who struggle, have struggled and continue to struggle, and be mindful of that. More importantly, over the weekend, enjoy Pride safely and in an inclusive way. Here in Dublin, Dublin Pride is leading with the parade. It will take place on O'Connell Street from 12.30 p.m. on Saturday, and I encourage everybody to get out, enjoy it, and celebrate all it is to be in Ireland and of the LGBTQI community.

I acknowledge and welcome the ambassador of Slovenia and his team to the Public Gallery.

We had a discussion on the way in about extreme weather events. I want to raise the extreme weather events we are seeing across the Continent of Europe. While we love to talk about the weather in Ireland all of the time, obviously we are experiencing very high temperatures here. I am raising this in the context of the opportunity for tourism in Ireland during the summer months. While we have warm weather by our standards, it is a lot better than the extreme heat of Spain, Portugal and other countries across the continent of Europe. I suggest we can do more in terms of attracting people on "coolcations", as it is called when people go on holiday to a better, more refreshing climate. There is a great tourism opportunity there. It is something I will raise with the Minister, Deputy Burke, as Minister for tourism. I call on Tourism Ireland to do more in terms of campaigning on that. We are a very well connected island and we have a very good tourism story. We see fatalities due to extreme weather events across Europe, which put difficulty and pressure on vulnerable and elderly people. In this great country, we have a much safer weather system that we can use to attract visitors from Slovenia and across Europe. There is a story to tell. With the support of the House and the Minister, we can do more.

I reiterate my call to the National Transport Authority, NTA, to support the Straide community on the reinstatement of the bus that passes by Straide village. It has the investment of two bus stops. The Citylink bus route took over the public service obligation from Bus Éireann after it ceased. It is the Ballina to Galway bus. It is a simple ask. I acknowledge Jimmy Mulroy and the whole Straide community, along with Councillors Neil Cruise and Donna Sheridan, who have campaigned alongside myself and others to have this bus reinstated. It is a simple ask but it would make the world of difference to vulnerable people who are otherwise disconnected from the major populations in each direction. It is very important for young people who are not driving, and people going for education, medical appointments or work. I call on the NTA to do this. It is very important for the Straide community that it listens and makes this happen.

Dobro jutro, Dobar Dan; good morning to the ambassador. He is very welcome. From Ljubljana to Maribor and beautiful places like Portorož, Slovenia is a beautiful country. I was in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the end of the war in 1996. We travelled from Prijedor through Banja Luka up to the border with Slovenia. I remember that Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina were in complete darkness. When we crossed the border into Slovenia, it was lit up. All the lights were on. It was beautiful. Slovenia enjoys that peace, as we do here. We can never take peace for granted. We have so much in common with Slovenia. We have powerful neighbours and great friends. I wish Slovenia a very happy Independence Day.

On this day last year, 25 June 2025, I came in here and presented the Disability (Personalised Budgets) Bill 2024. For the first time in the history of the State, a Bill was prepared by one of the major international law firms based in Dublin along with the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers. As part of its pro bono corporate social responsibility, that international law firm gave me a legal team pro bono for almost two years to work on this legislation. It took every bit of Government policy and every Government consultation that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael and their coalition partners had done, right up to and including the disability action plan of the then Minister of State, Senator Rabbitte, and the then Minister, Deputy O'Gorman. Everything the Government wanted to do and had set out in policy for personalised budgets is in this Bill. The only thing that is missing is the passing of the legislation. I presented it on this day last year. The Minister, Deputy Foley, time-delayed it for 18 months. According to the Order Paper, the Disability (Personalised Budgets) Bill 2024 is ordered to be read a Second Time on 25 December 2026. I wonder if I should come in before or after the Christmas dinner. Maybe Senator McCarthy will come up from County Kildare and support me. We could share some cranberry sauce over a little bit of reheated turkey.

That time delay was cynical, to be perfectly honest. I was told by the Minister that she had to delay it because she needed to consult her officials on the pilot project. She said she would come back to me in good faith and work with me to progress this legislation. Here I am, exactly one year later, and what have I heard from the Minister, Deputy Foley? I have heard nothing, and I have written to her several times seeking the meeting she promised me. All the while, disabled citizens around this country are locked into grinding, enduring poverty, a cost-of-living crisis and a cost of disability that is up to €28,000 per annum. All I can say is, to quote Scrooge from Dickens's A Christmas Carol, "no space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunity misused". That is what happened on this day last year, 25 June 2025. I hope we can have some sort of a debate about the cost-of-living crisis as it applies to disabled citizens.

I welcome Deputy Lawlor and his guests to the Gallery. I hope they enjoy their visit. They are very welcome.

I echo Senator Fitzpatrick's good wishes to the Pride community. Happy Pride to everyone; it is going to be a great celebration.

I raise again the FAI's shameful intention to support apartheid Israel’s sportswashing. It recently announced that its upcoming fixture with genocidal Israel will be played at a venue abroad instead of at the Aviva Stadium. Using some bizarre, twisted logic, the FAI has tried to make this out to be some sort of concession to appease pro-human rights and pro-Palestinian activists, as if playing Netanyahu's fascist state behind closed doors in Hungary somehow makes this sordid affair morally better. In reality, this is a cynical move intended to prevent the hassle of the protests in Dublin which would no doubt meet the Israeli team. The vast majority of Irish people are opposed to this game going ahead. The vast majority of sportspeople and sporting communities absolutely disagree with it going ahead. This game needs to be stopped. If it had gone ahead here, there would have been huge anger facing the Israeli team and the FAI. The FAI had a chance to stand up for the footballing community, not just in Ireland but across the world, along with young children in the Gaza Strip who have been shot in the legs to stop them playing. There have been targeted attacks on them. The Israelis have turned sports facilities into graveyards and killing fields as a deliberate tactic. The FAI made this decision to take the easy way out and avoid looking the Irish people in the eye. Even more shameful than that cowardice is the FAI's deliberately deceptive attempt to warp reality and pretend that this move is an example of its solidarity with Palestine. The Palestinian Football Association has made it very clear that it does not endorse Ireland playing Israel. It has confirmed that it has not issued any statement endorsing, approving or supporting the decision to proceed with this match, and that it will not be party to any effort to normalise or contribute to the sportswashing of crimes committed against the Palestinian people.

The FAI is clearly trying to misrepresent the voices of Palestinian people as cover for their own spinelessness. There is a lot of commentary and a lot of it includes the word "neutral". The reality is that the FAI says that it is going to play in a neutral venue and commentators use that word "neutral". Any country that hosts Israel in football is not a neutral venue. It is facilitating sportswashing and genocide. Hungary is not a neutral venue. It is pro-Israel, pro-apartheid, pro-genocide and it is unacceptable to use the term "neutral", when clearly it is not a neutral act to allow and facilitate Israel playing in its country.

I also welcome the Slovenian ambassador and his delegation. I know they have left now, but we had a fruitful engagement led by the Leas-Chathaoirleach. There is certainly huge scope for developing tourism and business links with Slovenia, and I wish them all the very best on their national day.

I call for a debate on the emergency services, particularly the Coast Guard, because it is largely a volunteer-led organisation in this country and the remuneration its members get is very little. There has been a long-term campaign for them to be brought up to the level of retained firefighters and given the same remuneration. That is reasonable because throughout this country there are Coast Guard volunteers on call on a regular basis, particularly during this type of weather because people are swimming, using boats and so on. The Coast Guard is always alert and available to do its duty at a moment's notice. We need to examine the volunteerism element of this, and we need to look at upgrading at least some of our busy Coast Guard units to the same remuneration as retained firefighters.

While I am speaking and given the weather we have, I encourage people to heed the advice of the lifeguards who are doing fantastic work on our beaches the length and breadth of the country. People should listen to them because they have everyone's best interests at heart and they will keep them safe.

Finally, I also encourage people to be careful around forests and gorse at the moment because it is very dangerous. Using barbecues and that type of thing near trees can have catastrophic consequences. I call on people to be careful and most importantly they should enjoy this spell of fine weather and be safe.

An article this week revealed that at least 346 third level students reported being homeless in the last academic year. Student representatives believe that the figures are higher and describe this as being only the tip of the iceberg. The article was on thejournal.ie this week. As someone who has worked with homelessness, I have seen the demographics and face of homelessness change. Even though this article disturbed me, it was not surprising.

When most people think of homelessness, they have a picture of a person on cardboard with a sleeping bag and a cup. They do not picture a young person who is in the middle of their university degree and is now living in a car or having to quietly drop out of college because they cannot guarantee somewhere affordable to live. It is hidden homelessness, and it is growing. I see that through our homeless cafe, the Lighthouse. Education has always been a way out of poverty. It is one of the greatest routes that I have seen to transform lives, but what chance does a student have it they are finding it difficult to know where they are going to sleep at night?

At Tiglin, we have seen countless people turn their lives around through stable accommodation, and we have supported many people into further education and employment. We have a wonderful initiative that is funded through the South East Technological University, SETU.

For the past year, I have spoken in this House about the shortage of student accommodation and it is no longer a higher education issue. It is a homelessness issue. It places enormous pressure on the private rental market, and it is pushing vulnerable students into insecure living arrangements. One of my colleagues recently talked in this House about sex for rent, etc.

If we genuinely believe in equality of opportunity for our students, we need to make sure that we do not accept this. Every student deserves the chance to learn, flourish and fulfil his or her potential. Students should not spend their college years worried about where they are going to sleep at night.

The rather confused issue of the triple lock is finding its way through the Houses as we speak. During a debate I listened to, it was claimed that the removal of the triple lock will mean that the Defence Forces can never serve in a peacekeeping role again. This is incorrect. Irish peacekeepers have been participating in peacekeeping operations, wearing the blue beret of the United Nations, the Óglaigh na hÉireann beret or the Glengarry caubeen, while serving overseas. That was in an EU mission sanctioned by the UN. If the UN sanction a mission on a regional basis, there is no blue beret. You wear the beret of your unit, regiment, army or whatever it is.

The second issue is the issue of war fighting. There is no war fighting in peacekeeping. There is peacekeeping or there is peace enforcement. Ireland has been involved in peace enforcement since 1999. It is very clear. Chapter VII of the UN Charter allows for peace enforcement and that is what we do when we go overseas.

We need to take the emotive language out of what is going on with respect to the triple lock. The triple lock is mutually exclusive from our neutrality, although everybody in this House knows that I have serious issues with us declaring ourselves a neutral state. How the hell can we be neutral when we find ourselves in the situation where we are unable to provide security for the forthcoming EU Presidency? An article that broke on thejournal.ie yesterday reported that the Attorney General was forced - five days before we take over the Presidency of the EU - to come in and advise the security services that the use of foreign troops is contrary to Article 15.6 of the Constitution. I wonder how we are going to square that circle in the next couple of days? We need to be more upfront about how things are done, particularly on the peacekeeping side and the triple lock. For God's sake, let us stop making it emotive and just get rid of the thing.

I want to discuss the commercial outlook for our marts around the country. Can we request that the Minister, Deputy Heydon, comes in to discuss this? Many marts are now reporting a loss in sales of up to 13%, which is huge. Anyone who is from a rural area knows the importance of the mart. It provides employment, which is obviously very important, but it is also a social outlet for many farmers. They may not meet anyone else for the rest of the week whereas they meet up there and discuss farming issues. They could also go for the spuds or a few pints or whatever. There is a big social aspect as well. I would like the Minister, Deputy Heydon, to come before the House to discuss his awareness of the issue and whether he has any plans to help them out.

I was pursuing Senator Fitzpatrick because I thought she would be interested in what I have to say, but I think she is gone. I am going to talk about the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin in her neck of the woods. For the Members who do not know, in this House stands one of the most magnificent oil paintings. It is of John Foster, the Speaker of the House of the Irish Parliament in 1790. He was the man who granted the Dublin Society, now the Royal Dublin Society, the consent to establish a public botanic garden. The gardens were eventually established in Glasnevin in 1795. The painting of John Foster holding the map hangs on a wall in Leinster House. Members might have a look at it if they have time before they leave for the day.

It is particularly relevant. Most people do not know that the map that is in front is actually the map of this great site at Glasnevin. I raise this very important issue to give thanks to Dr. Matthew Jebb, the director of the National Botanic Gardens, who has retired. He is a long-standing significant individual. I congratulate the new appointee, Dr. Noeleen Smyth. It is the first time a woman has been appointed as director of the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland, renowned as perhaps one of the best botanic gardens in the world. It ranks second to Kew in London. It is an amazing garden. Dr. Smyth will take up residence in the magnificent house in the centre of that wonderful estate. She will also have charge of Kilmacurragh Estate, County Wicklow, on behalf of the State and of course the magnificent John F Kennedy Arboretum in County Wexford. I wish Dr. Smyth well as she leaves the UCD school of agriculture and food science to take up this prestigious role. She brings enormous experience in horticulture, agricultural science and botany. It is a good appointment so I wish her well and of course I wanted to put Dr. Matthew Jebb on the record of this House.

The parallel and the significance with the Irish Speaker in 1790 and the fact that we have the portrait of the first Botanic Gardens site here in this House is a nice and significant link. I will finish by saying, what a magnificent day today is. I urge whoever in these Houses has an opportunity, or people listening in, to go and visit this magnificent botanical oasis that is free to go into. It is an amazing place. We do not go there enough and I commend everyone to it.

I call on the Deputy Leader, Senator O'Loughlin, to respond.

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. We are getting away lightly this morning. Senator Fitzpatrick spoke about the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Drugs Use and the report it brought out yesterday. Many meetings took place and 161 recommendations were made, which hopefully will help to guide us to a health-led approach, which is important. I thank Senator Fitzpatrick and to all who served on that committee. I also thank the members of the citizens' assembly, chaired by Paul Reid, for their work. I thank all those who gave of their lived experience and the different agencies that have been involved. I spoke during the week about Cuan Mhuire and about the support it gives to those who suffer from addiction. I also acknowledge the work that Senator McCarthy is doing in that area.

I appreciate there has been a lot of discussion and debate. We need to have a debate here in relation to it. Senator Fitzpatrick is right in that everybody is focused on one of the 161 recommendations. There needs to be a balance struck. We need to do everything we can to support those in addiction but more importantly, to help to prevent addiction happening in the first place. Senator Fitzpatrick also spoke about Pride weekend and how important it is that we celebrate our LGBT community and to think of those who struggle with their sexuality so that we will be mindful of them. I wish that everybody enjoys the LGBT celebrations around the country safely and inclusively. I certainly look forward to participating in the Dublin parade on Saturday as I always do.

Senator Mark Duffy spoke about the extreme weather events and the tourism opportunities that are there. When we see the level of heat around Europe and that 40 people sadly died in France, it is quite shocking. Other countries are obviously having their own issues. It is important that we market Ireland as a cool location for holidays. I have no doubt that Tourism Ireland will take that up.

Senator Clonan talked about his Disability (Personalised Budgets) Bill, which the Minister, Deputy Foley, is considering at this point. As there is an ongoing pilot project, it is important to allow that time and space in order to have the conclusions and recommendations from that. I will seek a meeting for the Senator with the Minister, Deputy Foley. However, it is also important to recognise the work that the Minister, Deputy Calleary, is doing on the cost of disability and on employment opportunities for those with disabilities. That is going to be a key element of our Presidency. It is not fair to say that nothing is happening while we have this stay on coming to the next Stage of the Disability (Personalised Budgets) Bill. I support personalised budgets on a personal basis.

Senator Andrews is consistent in relation to the issue of the Israel-Ireland match. He spoke again today about the decision the FAI has made. It is a very difficult position for the Irish players. We have to recognise that. The FAI at least has brought clarity to it because for quite some time there was a "will they - won't they" situation in relation to it. It has stated it intends to fulfil the fixture against Israel in accordance with its obligations as a member of the UEFA. We know, as a matter of record, that it had objected to Israel playing in the first place. It is important that we acknowledge the FAI's independence and autonomy in arriving at this decision. The performance and the integrity of our top athletes on the international stage has a very positive representational impact for Ireland, as Irish sport provides the world with a window into our country in many different ways. If our athletes and players are competing we need to support them. Ultimately, it is for international sporting federations to make the decisions in carrying out their competitions and who may participate in them.

Senator Martin Conway looked for a debate in relation to our emergency services, particularly the Coast Guard. Interestingly, last Friday I had the opportunity to visit a Coast Guard station in Westport. Being from Kildare I do not have many such opportunities. It was really interesting. This is a new station that the Minister, Deputy Jack Chambers, turned the sod on a number of years ago. He went back to visit it when it was finished and I had the opportunity to accompany him there. We had some of those who work nationally on Coast Guard operations and are based in Dublin. I asked about volunteerism versus having the possibility of retained people. This was one of the most enlightening engagements I had. There are 27 volunteers in Westport. We saw where every one of them has the gear they must wear, we saw the boats and the patrol vehicles which are needed and used. The most interesting part was from the lead, whose name I cannot recall at this moment. They are such committed individuals. He himself is one of the 27 volunteers. He reckoned that if we brought in a retained service now, that he does not believe he would have any. Volunteerism suits the job and the role that they need to do. If they went down the road of retained firefighters, everybody would have to live within ten miles. If they are on call they absolutely have to drop everything and be available. Over the past number of years, in terms of being able to send the call out to the 27 volunteers they have now, they are absolutely well able and have managed every single time to get the manpower in that they needed.

It was interesting to have the conversation and I am reflecting on it now. Senator Conway has asked a very pertinent question. It was the question I asked and that was the answer I got. It is no harm to have the conversation on a wider, more national basis. I thank the Coast Guard station in Westport for facilitating my visit. It was really interesting. I also thank everybody who works nationally as part of the services. Senator Conway also spoke about respecting lifeguards by heeding their safety advice. He also called on people to be careful when using barbecues on warm days.

Senator McCarthy spoke about homeless students. Very recently we learned that there are around 345 students who have reported being homeless. It is awful to see that. It is particularly difficult when students are estranged from their families and that situation is not taken into account when SUSI grants are being allocated either.

Only yesterday, I had an interesting conversation with a professor who spoke about how a lot of colleges are changing to providing three-day modules to ensure students only have to find accommodation for two nights. It is not just accommodation that is a problem but it certainly helps that if a student must travel quite far from home or pay for expensive digs that he or she will only have to do that for two nights. More importantly, students want to work. Two of those days will probably be spent in college and one day will be spent online. Interestingly, students will now have between four and five days to work and earn. We always talk about the ability to work and earn in terms of apprenticeships but now it also seems to be coming into universities. To be fair, the Minister, Deputy Lawless, has unveiled an ambitious plan for student accommodation. It will take some time to get there but we are certainly working towards a situation where no students or, indeed, anybody should be homeless.

Senator Craughwell spoke about the triple lock and some of the incorrect information that is floating around. He also spoke about the assumption that the triple lock is broken. It is not that we are getting rid of the triple lock. The proposal is to change it to a double lock and that is the type of language that we need to use. He mentioned the assumption that peacekeeping would cease. The opposite is the case. At this point in time, other countries like the UK, Russia, America and China have the veto. Are we, as a country, comfortable with that? I do not personally believe that we are. However, we need to take the emotive language out of it. By having more autonomy to make ethical and responsible decisions, there may be more opportunities for our soldiers. I know that soldiers gain valuable experience when they serve abroad and that opportunity is hugely important for their careers and experience. Finally, I agree with Senator Craughwell that the triple lock is completely separate from Irish neutrality and after the recess we will have an opportunity to debate it further.

Senator Murphy O'Mahony spoke about the commercial outlook for marts and how many marts have reported a loss in sales of up to 13%. The Senator is right that the marts play a really important part, not just in terms of business but as a social point for farmers and their families. A visit to a mart is always enjoyable. We will invite the Minister, Deputy Heydon, to speak about the issue. The former Minister for agriculture, Deputy McConalogue, visited every single mart in this country. On those occasions he held a meeting with all public representatives and those within the IFA and farming communities. That was an important initiative because it brought Oireachtas Members and councillors from all parties in to marts. These politicians may never have been in a mart before but it gave them a sense of the value of marts to the community. We certainly need to put in supports to ensure that marts are valued and viable.

I thank Senator Boyhan for drawing our attention to the National Botanic Gardens. He has reminded me that I have not been there in quite some time and I need to visit. The Senator is right that the gardens are an incredible asset, as is the arboretum in New Ross, which I visit regularly.

It was good of the Senator to tell us about the appointment of Dr. Noeleen Smyth. She sounds like a very qualified lady. We have some wonderful State assets in the form of gardens and parks and it would be good to have a debate about all of them. Avondale Forest Park is an example. I take pride in the fact that my grandfather studied forestry in UCD. He was one of the people who stayed at the location and planted the trees that are there now. The recreational value of all the gardens and parks is important. Finally, we thank the retiring director.

The Senator also mentioned the painting of John Foster that is on display in Leinster House. Certainly, all Members will look for that.

I thank all of the Senators for raising these matters and I have given all my responses.