Before I call Senator McCarthy, I welcome his guests, Ms Emma Kelly and her son, Adam Egan. They are most welcome to Seanad Éireann. I call Seanadóir McCarthy.

I extend the welcome to Emma and Adam. I first met them through our homeless services at the Lighthouse Homeless Café. They came to access services. Adam is a bright lad. He is studying away. He is a fanatic when it comes to basketball and I hope that one day, he will play for Ireland, if not in the NBA in the US. Like so many others, his biggest obstacle is not his lack of ability on the basketball court. It is his lack of somewhere to call home. When I have Adam here as my guest, it is hard to allow talented young people to have their future determined by our housing crisis. He deserves the same opportunities as any other young person to pursue his education and follow his dreams. I hope that all of us in the Seanad, as Members of the Oireachtas, are remembered for removing and not creating barriers. I hope we ensure that people such as Adam are given every chance to fulfil their dreams. I wish Emma and Adam every success. I thank Emma for volunteering at the Lighthouse with my manager, Mr. Rob Byrne. It is something special.

I welcome the Belgian Ambassador to the House. He is a wonderful representative of his country. His wife, Mrs. Poy Petklai Nihon, and son, Mr. Ananda Nihon, are very welcome to Ireland. I wish them a happy Belgium Day next week.

I want to mention employment opportunities. We hear a great deal in this House about the shortage of staff and the difficulties when people are trying to recruit. Perhaps we do not spend enough time looking at the many thousands of people who are willing to work but remain locked out of employment because of the way we recruit. I met a lady in this House yesterday called Ms Edel McSorley, who is one of the directors of Mr Price. Over the past 16 years, it has built 75 stores around Ireland and employs 2,000 people. Some 90% of the staff come through community employment partners rather than the traditional recruitment channels. What impressed me the most is that this is not just a corporate social responsibility project but its model of business. Instead of asking who fits a particular job, it looks at the person and asks how to build a role around them. It replaces barriers with opportunities. It recognises that interviews and certain work environments do not suit everybody and works hand in hand with community partners to make it work.

As someone who has spent over two decades in Tiglin, trying to get people from homelessness, addiction and domestic abuse back into employment and education, I can say that the Mr Price model works very well. The dignity that comes with earning your own wage, being part of a team, feeling included and knowing that you are valued cannot be overstated. A job changes far more than just giving an income. It changes confidence and independence. I congratulate Ms McSorley and everyone at Mr Price on having the courage to think differently when it comes to recruitment and also proving that inclusive employment is the right thing to do and makes good business sense. I hope that many other employers across Ireland look at this model and ask themselves why they are not doing the same thing.