The Order of Business is No. 1, motion re the appointment of the member of the Joint Committee on the Irish Language, Gaeltacht and the Irish-speaking Community, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; No. 2, the Industrial Development (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2026 - Second Stage, to be taken at 3.45 p.m. and to conclude at 5 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes each, all other Senators not to exceed five minutes each and the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate; and No. 3, Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2026 - Second Stage, to be taken at 5 p.m. and to conclude at 7 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes each, all other Senators not to exceed five minutes each and the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate.

On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Seanad group, I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of our former colleague, Gerry Collins. Through the decades of his public service, Gerry made an enormous contribution to Irish public life, serving as Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Justice and Minister for Posts and Telegraphs. His legacy will certainly be remembered with great respect. Only about six months ago, I had the opportunity to have a chat with him and he remained as interested in political life and what was going on in Leinster House as he ever was. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

I also want to mention how shocked and deeply saddened we all were to hear of the passing of the outstanding athlete Ciara Mageean, a much-loved and absolutely inspirational figure. Ciara touched the lives of so many, particularly in relation to all the interviews she did talking about how she was coping, and she was coping, with her terminal illness. Her courage, her warmth and her spirit will remain with many of us for a long time. While she certainly had extraordinary achievements and success on the track, her legacy extends far beyond her sporting achievements. Her tragic death from bowel cancer highlights the urgent need to improve awareness and early detection. While the national bowel screening programme is currently available to those aged from 57 to 71, obviously, we must do more to raise awareness of symptoms, encourage people to seek medical advice and examine whether the screening age should be lowered.

I wish to pay a tribute to renowned musician and Newbridge native, Dónal Lunny. As a founding member of influential Irish folk groups including Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts, he really did so much for the traditional Irish music revival. He made an immeasurable contribution to Irish music and culture and I know that his work helped shape the sound of Irish traditional music for many generations. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Today is an important milestone. The Leader has heard me speak many times about the second bridge that is badly needed for Newbridge. The procurement process opened this morning and will be open for contractors until 30 November. It is a milestone day and something we have looked forward to for a long time.

Finally, I want to raise an issue following The Script’s call at the 3Arena for greater protection for artists whose work is being used by AI companies without their permission. Many of us have received many emails. Danny O'Donoghue revealed that more than 120 of his band’s songs had appeared in AI training datasets without knowledge or consent.

I have previously met Danny to discuss this issue. It is concerning and highlights the urgent need to protect the rights of our creative community. I would like a debate in this House on that with the Minister of State with responsibility for AI, Deputy Niamh Smyth.

I want to use my time this afternoon to pay tribute, on behalf of everybody in the Fine Gael group and, I am sure, everybody in the Seanad, to the late, great Ciara Mageean. Ciara has been spoken about a lot in the past few days. When you met, spoke to or bumped into Ciara, you would instantly feel better for meeting her. She was a woman of pure joy and a unique person who was able to be a ferocious competitor while also being fiercely warm and bubbly. She was a unique role model for young girls and boys in sport. She was an incredible ambassador for Northern Ireland and for Ireland. She wore the Irish vest with unbelievable pride, but she also competed at the Commonwealth Games with huge pride. That was an important part of her identity growing up in Portaferry. She described herself as "the wee girl from Portaferry" and she was so proud of that.

She was so proud of her tradition on the camogie pitch. Her camogie skills and her camogie nous got her out of some tricky situations as a middle-distance runner. We saw that best of all in her European gold medal win in 2024. It is special and brilliant that she had that day because shortly after that she had to pull out of the Olympic Games. After that, she got this awful diagnosis. It was not a fair fight. Ciara would win a fair fight. This was not a fair fight. Her battle with bowel cancer humbled us all because she carried the generosity of spirit she had shown her whole life through her diagnosis and treatment. She was so open and did so much for so many people who are suffering from cancer by being so open during her illness. She was taken away far too soon, both from her athletics career and from life. What happened is not fair. So many people are broken-hearted, not just people who are from Portaferry, know Ciara and love her so much, but people who have never met Ciara are heartbroken all over this country and the world. I guarantee that if we were in Portaferry today, which I would be if I were not standing here, we would meet people from all over the world who have encountered Ciara Mageean. That is a tribute to her.

To finish, I want to read out a message I got. I was in conversation with some of the people who have been working with Ciara over the past few days. Everybody is heartbroken. This is from her resilience coach, who has been working with her for an awful long time. I had just passed on my condolences to her. She said:

Thank you, Evanne, it's just heartbreaking. I have worked with Ciara since she was 17, but the last 16 months through this period of her life was an absolute privilege for me. Her wedding was probably the physical performance of her life, as she wanted everyone she loved to have a celebration. She was so ill but was the last person to leave the dance floor as she wanted to experience every minute. It was probably one of the most profound experiences of my life to witness her courage and tenacity and care for others.

That sums up Ciara Mageean. I want to pay my respects to her family and pay tribute to the amazing woman she was. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam. Ní bheidh a leithéid ann arís. Go mbeidh leaba i measc na naomh agat, a Chiara.

I am sure all Senators would join with Senator Ní Chuilinn in her generous, heartfelt and honest comments about a true athlete, a competitor and a great Irishwoman. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam dílis.

I too would like to support the comments of my colleague, Senator Ní Chuilinn.

Many of us know about the SuperValu stores across the country that had their fridges and freezers hit by a suspected cyberattack yesterday. I was in SuperValu last night in Greystones. The chilled and frozen food was all taken off the shelves and put in the bin. I looked into it further. It did not just happen in Ireland. It happened in Belgium and in Coop and ICA stores in Sweden. At one Swedish supermarket, staff came in and found the freezers running at 50 degrees. Only three weeks ago, 700 supermarkets across France were hit in the same way. The food was destroyed and fires were started as well.

We have to ask ourselves what is going on here. Hackers used to steal credit card numbers and that was how they caused devastation but now they are getting into the machines that keep our food fresh and are switching them off. They want to cause devastation in our lives. This goes beyond supermarkets. Look at what the FBI said last week about links between North Korea and the $6 billion lost through Binance. Customers were covered because the company gave back the money but the criminals did not do so. Back in May 2021, the HSE was hacked. That crippled Ireland and cost over €100 million to fix. I know that something big will happen again in Ireland, whether involving banks, hospitals, the HSE or Departments. The question we must face is not if it will happen, but when.

What do we do? The EU set a deadline for the transposition of the NIS2 cybersecurity directive and Ireland missed it. In July, the European Commission referred Ireland to the European Court of Justice but the Bill has still not been published. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for justice to the House for a debate on cybersecurity and to give us a firm date for the Bill before Christmas. I also ask that the National Cyber Security Centre contact every business that has internet-based equipment, including SMEs, to make sure that we have some cover. Food in a fridge can be replaced but, as we found with the HSE, patient records, savings and public trust cannot. We need to be on top of our game. We can see very clearly that the hackers have an agenda, which is to cause devastation in Europe, and it is working. This morning, there were bomb threats affecting certain flights in Europe and Ryanair has been affected. We need to be prepared.

I concur with the remarks made by other Seanadóirí on Ciara Mageean. Her death is awful, tragic news. I come from the same part of the world as her and she articulated her pride in wearing the Irish jersey and hearing Amhrán na bhFiann sang to reflect her win for Ireland. People in the Six Counties may not get to experience this acute sense of pride or to be part of the Irish nation, which is so often a challenge for people, and this really resonated. She was such a wonderful person and a great example, not only to young women in sport, but to everybody in life. No doubt a light has gone out in Portaferry and the Ards Peninsula but also across Ireland, and not only in the sense of sport. The people of Ireland recognise a genuine and wonderful person.

I welcome the Government's initiative announced by the Taoiseach about the body he intends to set up to scope out potential constitutional futures. This is the first time a Government has undertaken such an exercise and, therefore, it has significance. Coming on the back of the proposed blueprint by Fine Gael, the other Government partner, which I understand will be released this weekend, there is a sense that things in this institution are beginning to gather momentum and move. That is very welcome. The announcement referred to scoping out various options but I remind the Government that it is not neutral on the idea of Irish reunification. Bunreacht na hÉireann commits the Government to being active in terms of the Irish people pursuing the unity of Ireland. We have argued for this development for some time and for work to begin on the necessary preparation for constitutional change and to fulfil the promise of the Good Friday Agreement regarding referendums on Irish unity.

I have been privileged, as I am sure have many Senators, to be part of the conversation and to have witnessed and participated in conversations with people from all parties and all national and international communities. I have not witnessed any of these conversations being partisan or involving back slapping. They have involved people who understand and are fully aware of the challenges that lie ahead in relation to constitutional change but who are fully committed to seeing there is inclusive engagement with people from all communities, respecting everybody's identities, rights and concerns about what constitutional change may bring. There is also recognition of the opportunities it can bring for our entire island.

There is an opportunity to reset not just the Six Counties but also the Twenty-six Counties - the entire island - and to build something better for the future. A growing number of people are interested and encouraged by this endeavour. They are delighted to see the Government finally taking the initiative in this regard. I very much welcome that initiative. I look forward to seeing the scope of the initiative in question and to the opportunity for all Members who have an interest in this area to engage with it.

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, namely that No. 11 be taken before No. 1.

I also wish to offer my condolences to all the family and friends of Ciara Mageean in Portaferry. Ciara was like a breath of fresh air. I thank Senator McLoughlin for leading the tributes to her.

I want to return to the topic of funding for local authorities. I know that the Leader agrees with me on this matter. In recent months, probably for a year now, we have seen an effective reduction in funding for local authorities because of the escalating price of materials. We in Sligo were told in June that there had been a 25% or 30% increase in the cost of materials, specifically oil- and petroleum-based materials. In an area like mine, probably similar to the Leader’s area, the footpath and road budgets are ring-fenced together. The cost of road maintenance has increased to such a degree that there has been a significant knock-on impact on footpaths. The Central Statistics Office wholesale price index indicates that the price of ready-mixed mortar and concrete have increased by more than 6.5% this year. We have not seen a reduction in the price of oil or of petrol at the pumps. Our local authorities are really struggling.

We previously discussed asking the Minister to introduce some form of emergency fund in order that local authorities could keep up with their planned works. We can all see that footpaths around the country are falling into a state of increasing disrepair. Climate impacts and flooding are making matters worse. A lot of the money in rural constituencies is spent on roads. As a result, there is none left for footpaths.

Can we have a debate on this issue? I am not sure which Department has responsibility, but it is probably the Department of housing. I wonder if we could have a debate about having some emergency fund to address this problem. I spoke to engineers in Sligo County Council yesterday. They said they have been receiving the same allocation since 2025. The council does not have the funding to complete its works for 2026, which means that it will be playing catch-up in 2027. I would appreciate it if we could have a debate of this specific issue.

I want to begin by paying tribute to two incredible people. The first is Dónal Lunny, a colleague of mine in the music industry. Dónal was an inspiration to so many people. He was like a ray of sunshine. That is the only way I can describe him. When he walked into a room, it lit up. He was always smiling and encouraging people to play. He loved when somebody was only learning and would sit with the person and play chords. It is hard to believe he is gone, to be honest. It really is. I watched an interview last night in which Andy Irvine and Neil Martin discussed performing with Dónal next year. The programme was recorded only a few months before Dónal passed away. I send my condolences to Dónal’s family, to all who loved him and to my good friend Sharon Shannon, who loved him dearly.

I also want to pay tribute to the beautiful Ciara Mageean from Portaferry, County Down. Her death is shocking. Ciara, as the previous speaker indicated, was a European champion and Commonwealth medalist. I watched her on an RTÉ programme earlier this year. I am not sure if any other Senators saw it. She was incredible in how openly she spoke about her diagnosis and fears. She said, "I keep seeing beautiful things and I can't help but wonder if I will have an opportunity to see them again." She also said, though: "I won’t give up; I’m not going to give up". Her honesty, warmth and sheer determination to live every day to the fullest moved everybody. It certainly moved me. I never met her, but I thought she was an incredible human being. I do not think anybody who saw that programme will forget her. I extend my condolences to her family.

I want to speak briefly about the families who gathered outside Leinster House for a vigil organised by Family Addiction Recovery Ireland, FARI, along with the Family Addiction Support Network, FASN, and many other organisations. They came to remember the loved ones who have been lost to alcohol, drugs and gambling.

They came too for the families who are still living with it every day, still waiting and still living in hope. Also we remembered the family who recently were murdered in Waterford in relation to intimidation and drugs. It is just horrific.

The group today came to celebrate recovery. The reality is that recovery happens and when somebody finds their way back then the whole family comes back with them, and we have to remember that. I want to say a huge thank you to Breda and Phil of FARI, and Jackie and Gwen of FASN, for their passion and dedication to families. Much of the work is done by community groups with little or no funding. We have real recognition now of the harm caused by the impacts of alcohol and drug misuse, and gambling, but we still have no proper national data on the family members who are affected and what we do not count then we cannot plan for. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate with the Minister of State with responsibility for the national drugs strategy. A debate should cover gathering data on affected family members and make family outcomes part of how we report on substance use, and should put a whole family recovery and community family support groups at the heart of how we plan and fund ourselves.

I, too, offer my condolences to the family and friends of Ciara Mageean. She was an inspirational woman and human being. We can all learn from her, such a beautiful human being. Do not take life for granted and she never did. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam.

November is Diabetes Awareness Month. In Ireland today, one in 18 people live with diabetes. My own niece is inspirational. She was diagnosed with diabetes when she was just eight years of age. She is great. Cara is courageous and never lets it stop her. She plays camogie, dances, sings, swims, etc. She does everything and she is fabulous. I want to give a shout out to Cara and to everybody suffering with diabetes, their parents siblings, schoolmates, SNAs, teachers and everybody. Diabetes is a serious illness and people like Cara show that it is not an illness that will stop people.

I wish to commend the Minister for Health. Earlier this year she launched a national diabetes strategy. It is a world-class strategy. However, a strategy without funding will not treat one single patient. Therefore, I would appreciate if the Leader would arrange a debate with the Minister on her national diabetes strategy, specifically to address the calls made by Diabetes Ireland for regional diabetes clinical leads to be appointed across all of the six HSE regions, for continuous glucose monitoring technology to be expanded to all type 1 patients and for specialist nurse posts to be funded so that youth clinics can be put in place and protect teenagers as they transition to adult services so that all young people will have an equal transition and equal support. My niece, Cara, has benefited from Temple Street hospital, where amazing work is being done. I would really appreciate if the Leader could ask the Minister for Health to come here and address the issues of funding for the national diabetes strategy and outline the progress that has been made with its implementation.

Coming from Ulster, I too would like to be associated with the kind words about Ciara Mageean. To be honest, I do not think that I can say any more than my colleague who paid a lovely tribute to Ciara. I say very well done to Senator Evanne Ní Chuilinn.

Today, I want to mention the Killybegs Community Hospital and the Leader has probably heard me mention the hospital before in here. On 19 May, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, told me that beds were going to be reopened and staff would be put back in place. To my knowledge, only six beds are open and seven beds are lying empty, which I have been told is down to a staffing issue. We really need to get this matter sorted. The community hospital serves a region that spans Ardara, Glenties, Kilcar, Carrick, Killybegs, Dunkineely, the Mountcharles area and the whole south west of Donegal. My phone rings every day with people looking to get elderly people into the hospital.

It would break your heart to try to tell them that there is, as the man says, no room at the inn. We need to get these beds open and get a plan and a timeline in place. The Minister of State came in and said this was going to be done. I need to be able to go back to the people of south Donegal and tell them it is going to be done at such-and-such a time. We need a clear pathway here. Maybe the Leader could get a couple of answers for me because I do not seem to be getting any place with it and the people of Donegal are getting fed up.

I wish to address a deeply disturbing matter of governance, specifically the recent revelations surrounding the Liberty Recycling scandal. We must be restrained in commenting as this is ongoing but it is our duty to demand accountability when public funds are compromised. The emerging details involving frozen bank accounts, liquidators and a Garda money-laundering probe must not be treated by this House as an isolated, exceptional edge case. I fear we are looking at a much larger systemic failure across an opaque and highly dependent NGO sector. For years this State has outsourced vital services to sprawling networks of non-profits. It has poured billions in taxpayers' money into these entities while completely blinding itself to their internal controls. We have created a regulatory vacuum in which the State blindly hands out funding while lacking any rigorous centralised oversight. To understand how we arrived at this point, we might home in on a catastrophic error of judgment made by this Government; namely, the abolition of Benefacts, which was established precisely to bring transparency and public accessibility to Ireland's massive non-profit sector. It provided a vital window into where public money was going. Rather than building on that essential work, the Government pulled the plug on its funding. It actively dismantled the very mechanism designed to ensure financial clarity, leaving us all to rely on sporadic, post-crisis regulatory interventions after the damage is already done. The collapse of Liberty Recycling is a symptom of a broken model. I call on the Leader to schedule an urgent debate on NGO governance, to address the profound accountability gaps left by Benefacts, and to ensure robust financial scrutiny is permanently restored to protect public funds.

Before I call on our next speaker I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and his guests, including I believe Mary Angland, and friends from Kanturk. Thank you for being here. I look forward to seeing you at the commemoration of a former Member of this House, Seán Moylan, which I believe is on this month. We might see you at that. Anois, an Seanadóir Lynch.

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. I would like to be associated with the votes of sympathy to the late Ciara Mageean and her family. She was a true inspiration to many women and girls in sport.

I congratulate the Cork federation of the Irish Countrywomens Association, which celebrated its 90th anniversary at an event two weeks ago that I was delighted to be invited to speak at. The Irish Countrywomens Association was founded in 1910 with the Cork federation being founded in 1936. It plays a massive role in rural areas by promoting women in leadership and skills development and saving many rural and traditional skills that would no longer be there without the association's efforts.

I also wish to raise the vacant over-the-shop living grants which fall under the croí cónaithe towns fund. I would like the Minister for housing to come in here to discuss this. It is a fantastic grant that provides up to €95,000 for a unit in a building above a shop that has been vacant for two years to bring it back into use. That could be for the owner to make it into a home or to rent it out as a home for somebody else. The scheme is working quite well. It is between €95,000 and €135,000 depending on whether you make one or three homes out of the above-the-shop space. However, the problem I see with Cork County Council, which is a problem across many local authorities, is that this scheme is confined to sole traders and individual owners. Access to this needs to be extended to companies, especially in our smaller towns and villages.

If you have a chemist, butcher's shop or grocery shop, the most practical thing you can do nowadays is have it in the name of a company rather your own name. If you own a property that is functioning as a shop in the name of your company, you cannot avail of the above the shop grant for bringing derelict properties back into circulation. I know it is a problem in Cork county, and from speaking to councillors across the country, it is a massive problem. If we really want to tackle dereliction and bring these vacant buildings back into use, we need to extend the scheme to ensure that it allows properties owned by companies as well as those owned by sole traders and individuals.

I welcome any move to improve road safety, in particular trying to clamp down on the use of learner permits. However, I fear that we are overlooking in this the very small cohort of people who simply cannot cope with the driving test. In many cases, it is down to illiteracy. They are in the age range of approximately 35 to 65, and their illiteracy is in part due to not getting education and supports at the time. When I talk to the Road Safety Authority, it tells me that there are great supports for doing the theory test, but the reality is these people simply cannot do that. Many of them are living in isolated areas in rural Ireland. I know of one man who is confined to a tiny village. It does not have a shop any more and has no public transport. I would like to see something done for what is a very small cohort. I know we had a successful amnesty for driving licences in the past. I am not proposing anything on that scale again, but I am proposing something that will look at these people. Modern society is about a glass floor through which we allow nobody to fall, but there is a small cohort of people out there who are being overlooked.

I woke up this morning and was delighted to listen to "Morning Ireland", which told me it was broadcasting from America. You wonder sometimes if RTÉ ever listens. Nobody in Longford this morning mentioned the mid-term elections in America to me. I do not think anybody is talking about it except a small cohort of media people in RTÉ. When RTÉ sent a crew over from the newsroom in 2008, it cost €160,000. I am sure Mr. Bakhurst will have learned and RTÉ will not have spent that much this time. An old boss of mine, Eugene McGee, once asked me if I knew what news was. I told him I did not. He said it was anything that two people talked about. As I said, I heard nobody in Longford this morning talking about the mid-term elections in America. I do not know what RTÉ has staff over there for.

I express my condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Gerry Collins. I also send condolences to the friends and family of Ciara Mageean. It was devastating for the entire nation. She was clearly an elite athlete. Unlike a lot of elite athletes, she was not afraid to raise her voice, call out genocide and stand up for the Palestinians. It was a huge credit to her. She was a courageous athlete, but she was equally courageous in life. I acknowledge that.

Yesterday, my colleague Claire Lambert and I were on Rathmines Avenue. There are approximately 80 flats there. There are four blocks. There are boarded up flats in the middle of a housing crisis. There is a serious infestation of mice. One resident has caught 25 mice in the past couple of months. The lack of maintenance at Rathmines Avenue is unacceptable. There is mould. There is dampness. There are leaks. There is sewage.

For the honour of living there, the council has put up the rent. It is extraordinary to expect people to pay extra rent to live in increasingly worse conditions. The maintenance by Dublin City Council is unacceptable. We need to ensure that residents like those at Rathmines Avenue have decent, quality accommodation. Dublin City Council and the Government have failed to deliver quality housing for residents on Rathmines Avenue. People assume that because Rathmines is in Dublin 6, it is affluent.

However, within Dublin 6, the residents of four blocks of flats are living with an infestation of rodents. It is unacceptable. We need the Minister to come to the House to explain the plans for proper regeneration of flat complexes around Dublin.

Before I call the next speaker, I welcome to the Gallery the guests of Deputy Ivana Bacik, a former Member of this House, from the Teresian School. They are on a tour and are most welcome to Seanad Éireann.

I would like to be associated with the offers of sympathy to the families of the late Ciara Mageean and Gerry Collins, including his wife, Hilary, his sister, Mary Carroll, and the extended Collins family, including our colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins. Gerry served for over 30 years. He was a Minister, TD and MEP. It did not matter where you were from, you were always treated with the greatest of respect by him. He was to the forefront. He was a lovely man. I pass on my sympathies to his extended family. I know what an impact he had on the whole family.

Senator Fitzpatrick raised the fact that it is Diabetes Awareness Month. I will add to her call for a debate on diabetes awareness and highlight the issue of income protection. Many people who have chronic illnesses find it difficult to get income protection. In the UK, people can get income protection but the majority of people who are going for mortgages and other things cannot avail of income protection in Ireland. We in Ireland need to look at that issue. The person does not choose to be sick. Many of these chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, are treatable and people respond well to the treatment. We cannot discriminate against someone who has a chronic illness. We need to consider that issue. I support the call from Senator Fitzpatrick for a debate on chronic illness and diabetes, and I look forward to it.

I acknowledge the vacant to vibrant programme that the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, announced yesterday. The thought is of regenerating and revitalising the high streets of many of our rural towns nationwide and bringing businesses back into the centre of towns with supports for business planning, financial planning, mentoring and access to digital e-certificates. All of these initiatives should create more jobs in our rural communities. They are backed by continuous investment in town regeneration, which has happened over a number of years.

I welcomed the inclusion by the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, of Strokestown in Roscommon. That is a town currently undergoing town regeneration, under the town and village scheme, that is going to completely change the landscape and, I hope, increase the footfall on the street. The only way you will increase footfall is by having the businesses there to support it. It is great to see multiple Departments linking initiatives with each other and supporting those measures.

The footfall and businesses come on the back of the just transition funding that was announced yesterday. There will be an investment of over €4 million in walks and greenways in the wider Strokestown area. I highlight that initiative to show that the Government is not forgetting, and has never forgotten, rural Ireland. In the second phase of this vacant to vibrant programme, Castlerea, my own home town, is included. Money was also allocated yesterday to a river walkway for tourism and to try to open our town park for people visiting the town.

I highlight the point that the revitalisation of rural Ireland does not happen overnight. It takes multiple different actions over a number of years. I recognise the former Ministers, Michael Ring and Heather Humphreys, for their investment in rural Ireland in their roles down through the years.

I second the motion from Senator Cosgrove to amend the Order of Business. I wish to send my condolences to the husband and family of Ciara Mageean. She was a wonderful person and athlete.

I want to raise the issue of Cork University Hospital, CUH. We have seen many developments there over recent weeks. To be honest, a lot of what I am hearing absolutely stinks. Yesterday, there was a report in The Irish Times that the CEO of CUH, Jennifer Kearney, who raised the alarm over the summer about understaffing at the hospital, was essentially threatened with a performance review by senior figures in the HSE. It was also said in the same publication that political pressure was being applied. I have questions in this regard for both the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. Was there political pressure put on Andy Phillips in the HSE? Why is a competent and brave woman, who is CEO of a hospital, being threatened with a performance review because she raised understaffing issues at CUH? She said that there is a need for over 1,000 posts to be filled, 172 of which are for this winter. We need an independent review of staffing at the hospital. I know Fine Gael has its Ard-Fheis in Cork this weekend. I encourage the Minister for Health to meet CUH staff while she is in Cork. This is a huge issue for Cork, for Munster and nationally.

I also want to put on the record what a farce the new surgical hub, which is badly needed at CUH, has been. Despite being two years late, it still opened prematurely. It was opened to great fanfare and celebration on 28 September with the Taoiseach and Minister for Health in attendance, but it closed a number of days later because of air contamination fears. It failed environmental testing. I have questions in this regard. What testing was carried out on that? Due to understaffing levels, the surgical hub has seen fewer than ten patients since it opened, and this is a hospital that has massive waiting lists. Again, what is going on here? The Government is happy to go down for the photoshoot, but not to engage meaningfully with the hospital. It needs to do so urgently.

Last Friday, a small group of people gathered at the London Irish Centre in Camden to mark the successful passage and coming into effect of Philomena's law. This private members’ Bill began over a year and a half ago, promoted by the UK Labour Party MP, Liam Conlon. I am glad to say that he is here in the Houses this afternoon. Some Members may get an opportunity to see him. He is over in the Dáil currently. Philomena's law was named after Philomena Lee and it stops people in Britain from losing their social welfare entitlements and other state supports if they receive a payment from the Irish Government’s mother and baby home redress scheme. I acknowledge the significant work of various Government Departments on this, and I particularly acknowledge the enormous support, encouragement and background work of our former Irish ambassador in London to make this all happen. Up 13,000 people in the UK are potentially eligible for this package of supports. It is an important initiative. I thank the Irish in London and the strong Irish community there who have collaborated with Members of our Parliament. It is fitting that Liam Conlon comes here today to meet Dáil Deputies and be around the House. Well done to the UK Labour Party MP for pursuing this and well done to Philomena Lee for her work. She was brave and courageous and did not take “No” for an answer. She kept asking the question and knocking the doors. She believed there was something bigger to expose, and she did so. She did not stop when she got her own case and set of circumstances some way sorted. Rather, she became a champion and an advocate for the Irish people in Britain. I salute her for that work.

First, I share in the condolences being offered to Ciara Mageean on her sad and untimely passing. She was an incredible athlete and advocate and someone we are all proud of. In my community, in Ballina, County Mayo, we are also mourning the loss of an incredible disability advocate and community person, Avril Greham.

Avril was the founding member of the Mayo Disabled Persons Organisation, which was officially launched during the past number of weeks. She was the beating heart of community life right across Mayo and the rest of the country. She made contributions in Leinster House to Oireachtas joint committees. She was an active member of Ardnaree Sarsfields GAA, the Ballina One Act Drama Festival, the Ballina community clean up, the Ballina autism-friendly town group and the Ballina Darkness into Light organisation.

From birth, Avril had a difficult and severe physical disability, but she turned that physical disability into an ability by using her voice, story and journey to break down barriers, break glass ceilings, fight for those with disabilities, and advocate in a constructive way for better outcomes for those with disabilities, in particular those with accessibility issues, be those physical, in the public realm or in terms of employment opportunities. She brought life, enthusiasm and positivity to all of her advocacy and volunteerism. She was always there to support all community life and events and to try to help other people. She did not use her disability in a negative way to feel like she was a victim. She used the ability she had in an inspiring way to help other people. To her mother Deirdre, brother Julian, the wider Greham family and the community who are mourning her loss, and she was a friend of mine as well, ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam. I thank her for everything she has done and left behind. She left the world and her community in a better place.

I, too, would like to be associated with the tremendous tributes that have been paid in the last couple of days to Ciara Mageean, a wonderful sportsperson and Irish person. May she rest in peace.

I thank the Leader for his support with Uisce Éireann on the Lahinch-Calluragh water treatment scheme that essentially just appeared as a solution to the difficulties with water and sewage being experienced in the Lahinch and Ennistymon communities. This proposal appeared in an area that is not appropriate and has serious environmental challenges without the consent of and proper consultation with the local community. I raised this issue here on two separate occasions with the Leader and he very kindly agreed to write to the Minister supporting my call for a non-statutory public consultation to take place on this proposal. I am delighted to say that Uisce Éireann has agreed to a non-statutory public consultation, which will take place later this month. I thank the Leader for writing to the Minister supporting this call because I have no doubt it helped, along with the campaign that the local community and I have been running. I also appreciate the Leader's suggestion about sitting down with the Minister to discuss the unsuitability of this scheme, but I suggest that we postpone that until after the non-statutory public consultation, given that it may resolve the problem anyway.

It is a result, it is welcome, and the people will now have the opportunity to make their case directly to Uisce Éireann as to why the proposed location of this badly-needed treatment facility is not appropriate and how Uisce Éireann needs to go back to the drawing board.

I, too, express my condolences to the family of Ciara Mageean. It is a terrible way to leave this world.

Co-operation is the name of the game in the world we now live in and we are very fortunate, as we hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, that we are able to call on our colleagues in the UK and France to provide security for this State off the coast of the State.

I think that co-operation needs to be marked by the State when the Presidency ends. The Royal Navy and the French navy need to be thanked for the time and effort they have put into providing security for this State, particularly the Royal Navy, which is not from a member of the EU but is here off the east coast of Ireland and is providing security 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is a sad reflection on the State that we had to call on close friends to provide that security but we are not unique in that. Cyprus and Denmark had to do the same and I have no doubt, given the world we are now living in, that every country that takes over the European Presidency will find themselves in the same boat.

That is something we need to reflect on as we debate the Defence (Amendment) Bill, which will come before this House in the not-too-distant future. The days of acting alone are gone. Co-operation, transparency and friendship are what will be important in the world we now live in.

The Leader will now respond to the Order of Business.

I thank all the Senators for their contributions.

Senator Fiona O'Loughlin acknowledged the sad passing of a former Member of these Houses, Gerry Collins, who served with distinction for many years. His family has a proud record of serving their community in Limerick for a long time. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Collins family, and Deputy Niall Collins in particular.

I think every Senator who contributed spoke about Ciara Mageean and the person that she was. I know everyone in this House was extremely upset about her passing at the young age of 34. From her previous career, Senator Ní Chuilinn would have known Ciara very well as she was coming through athletics at a young age. She achieved many great things as a runner, particularly winning the European Championships in 2024. When people talk about her fight in her last 18 months, it was similar to her fight to get through a gap that did not exist to win that gold medal in 2024. Her determination has been inspirational for so many people. It was said that people who have never met her are so upset. I have never met Ciara Mageean. I have watched her running numerous times. I have seen so many interviews with her. I remember when she was running in the World Championships and came fourth, which is the worst position you can come in, she did a five-minute interview constantly smiling and talking about how disappointed she was but trying to be positive. She put that positivity into her last two years of a fight that was impossible to win. She has left a huge legacy and we all should thank her for that.

Senator Aubrey McCarthy spoke about the 13 SuperValu stores that experienced a cyberattack. Obviously food was affected by that. This is not the first incident; it has happened quite a bit across Europe. We have had cyberattacks on the HSE as well. I will ask the Minister for justice to come in for a debate on cybersecurity. When we talk about security and defence, it is actually online and around cybersecurity where most countries are most vulnerable at the moment. I will ask the Minister for a debate on that.

Senator Conor Murphy spoke in relation to the constitutional future, which is being published. Fine Gael is publishing a unified Ireland document this weekend at its Ard-Fheis in Cork. This is about having a pathway to a unified Ireland. Everyone in this House agrees with that, but it is about how we get there. As Senator Murphy said, this is an opportunity to put forward a proposal not only for having 32 counties but having opportunities for the 26 Counties currently in the Republic of Ireland, and not seeing it as a burden—as some might see taking on the Six Counties—but as an opportunity for the whole island of Ireland. We should all support and welcome that.

Senator Nessa Cosgrove asked that No. 11 be taken before No. 1, which was seconded by Senator Harmon. I am happy to agree to that.

Regarding funding for local authorities, I know it very well. I got a letter yesterday from Tipperary County Council about the struggle it is going to have in its forthcoming budget in terms of the lack of funding. Local authorities, even Tipperary itself, are proposing an increase of over 10% on rates, which is not the way to do it. It is putting huge pressure on councillors - I am sure Sligo is the same - to make tough decisions on where that funding can be got. There are supports there from the Department of housing and local government. I will speak to the responsible Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, and see if he can come in on this. However, there are huge challenges. It all comes back to roads and the increase in costs in road maintenance. As the Senator knows as a former councillor and most of us in this building know, particularly in rural constituencies, road maintenance is one of the biggest requests from constituents regarding improved road conditions.

Senator Black spoke in relation to the very sad passing of Dónal Lunny. We spoke about Ciara Mageean from a sports perspective. From a musician and culture perspective, Dónal left an incredible legacy for this island of Ireland. When we talk about new musicians coming through and that culture of Irish music, we are rebuilding and changing slightly that proud of sense of Irish culture and music that there at the moment, particularly in young people. It would not be there if it was not for people like Dónal and others. It is very sad to see him pass but he has left a huge legacy.

In relation to Families in Addiction Recovery Ireland, it had a vigil outside. It was a vigil of positivity where people recover. Often in this House and others, we speak about people who are having challenges and supports that need to be there but there are always positivities and people recover from whatever addiction they have. It is huge for the individual but it is massive for a family and the people who love them most to see someone recover. The Senator asked for a debate on drugs. I happy to do it. It has been asked by other colleagues to have a debate on drugs following the committee's report on drugs. I was willing to do that before Christmas but we will not see findings of the drugs committee report until after Christmas. It has been requested to push that back further by Opposition colleagues. I am happy to push it back to after Christmas, so we will see if there are some tangible results from that report. If the Senator is happy to wait until after Christmas, it might be beneficial to have it then.

Senator Fitzpatrick spoke about Diabetes Awareness Month and gave a great example of her niece, Cara, who has proven that it does not matter if one has diabetes or not, but you can achieve anything you want in the world. That is a great credit to her, and I wish to acknowledge that. I will ask for a debate with the Minister on that in relation to funding and the progress of the national diabetes strategy because that is a very important strategy going forward for the future, but there is an opportunity for Senators to discuss that. I will try to get the Minister available for that.

Senator Boyle raised Killybegs Community Hospital and the promise that all beds would have been opened. Only six out of 15 have been opened at the moment and nine more have not. Community hospitals are hugely important, whether it is for Killybegs or anywhere else across the country. When people go into hospital, they want to be in their local communities to ensure that loved ones can visit them without too much hassle. I will speak to the Minister on the Senator's behalf to see if we can get some credible timelines. The timelines that the Senator was given previously obviously were not the case and that is not acceptable. I will speak to the Minister to see if we can get more realistic timeframes.

Senator Keogan spoke in relation to the Liberty Recycling scandal. We do not know all the facts, obviously. I do not know all the facts. I am not doubting what the case is. I am certainly not doubting that it is the only NGO that has challenges like that. There needs to be more scrutiny on it. The Minister for Finance said that a number days ago and that we need to have more scrutiny on how money is spent. Let us see where that goes. There are good NGOs as well. If those NGOs are being blackened due to a view of how other NGOs act or how they spend their money, then it is in everyone's interest, including all NGOs, that more scrutiny, as the Senator suggested, should be put in place.

Senator Lynch spoke in relation to the vacant above the shop grant, which is a very positive grant, but she made a very valid point.

That grant can only be used if the premises to be redeveloped is for a sole trader or individual owner who can rent it, but it cannot be used by companies. There are a lot of one-person businesses that are companies. They do it for tax purposes. They should be allowed to use that grant. I will speak with the Minister. A Commencement matter on it might be the best approach to take. It is a very credible suggestion that it should be changed.

Senator Flaherty spoke about driving tests and the challenges people had in that regard. Again, that is a matter on which I will speak to the Minister directly. It is only a small number of people. We always need to be sensitive to those sorts of things.

Regarding "Morning Ireland" broadcasting from the USA, I do not know how much it costs or why the programme is there. A lot of people in Tipperary, if not in Longford, are talking about the US elections. For the Senator's information, RTÉ is in before the sports and media committee tomorrow. Any Member is allowed to attend. It is normally a full house when RTÉ appears before the sports committee. The Senator can put that question to Kevin Bakhurst if the Chair of the committee gives him an opportunity.

Senator Andrews spoke about the flats on Rathmines Avenue and the fact that the rents had increased. He is looking for a debate with the Minister on it. That is a matter for Dublin City Council and its councillors to deal with. I know he has spoken about it before. The tenants deserve a good standard of quality accommodation and if that is not happening, it is not right or appropriate. However, as I said, it is a matter for Dublin City Council.

Senator Maria Byrne also spoke about Diabetes Awareness Month, but in the context of income protection. One can get income protection in the UK but not in Ireland. We have done it for people who are survivors of cancer to ensure that it does not affect them when they apply for a mortgage. This is another example of where something should be done. As I said previously, I am happy to have a debate with the Minister on that. I will contact the Minister's office.

Senator Scahill spoke about the vacant to vibrant programme launched by the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon. This is one of a range of measures that have been brought forward in the last ten years in terms of rebuilding rural Ireland, and rural towns in particular. He gave the great example of Strokestown, which applied for funding for different things through the Department of rural affairs and the former Ministers, Heather Humphreys and Michael Ring. The town is now seeing tangible results and benefits from that. As a result, there is even more eagerness to apply for more funding and to continuously upgrade the town. Every one of us in constituencies right across the country can point, if we want to be positive, to huge investment going into rural towns.

Senator Harmon spoke about the report on Cork University Hospital and Jennifer Kearney being put under pressure. I do not know if that is the case. What I can say is that it certainly would not be coming from a Minister to put pressure on someone senior in Cork University Hospital. I have had the opportunity to be in Cork University Hospital a number of times and the staff, as the Senator noted, are incredible people, but there is understaffing and we do not want that to affect the service that is being provided to the people there, whether that is through the surgical hub or any other type of service that is needed for people in Cork. The Senator is right that a number of politicians will be down in Cork this weekend. We might see her there or we might not. I do not know. On a serious note, Cork University Hospital is seen as one of the best hospitals across the country, but that does not mean it does not have its own challenges and need for support. I will talk to the Minister on that.

Senator Boyhan spoke in relation to Philomena's law being passed in the UK. This was due to incredible work done by a number of individuals in particular. It enables people to access the supports and entitlements they were otherwise not getting.

Senator Duffy spoke about Avril Greham, who passed away. She was an incredible activist in the town of Ballina. When we spoke last night about it, he was really upset about her passing and inspired by the work she did in the community. Those things will not be forgotten, but it is a sad day where someone has left such a legacy in their own community and town and did it with so many other personal challenges.

I presume she never talked about it and never showed she had challenges that I or other Senators might not have. She led a life of huge credit to her. I am sure her family, as sad as they are, are incredibly proud of the life she lived.

Senator Martin Conway spoke about Irish Water and the Lahinch water scheme. It is good that a non-statutory public consultation is to take place. For the past couple of months, the Senator has been pushing non-stop for the public in Lahinch and Ennistymon to be given an opportunity to have such a consultation. I am happy that it is happening. I can inform the Senator that when I leave this room, I will meet the CEO of Irish Water so I will be able to pass on his appreciation that this is happening. It has taken a little time - I will pass on that message as well - but there needs to be a bit of common sense in relation to some of the schemes that have been put forward. The Senator has raised that numerous times. Thankfully, Irish Water has seen the wisdom to open up a public consultation.

Senator Craughwell spoke about security co-operation. When this Presidency ends, the Minister for foreign affairs will thank all of the countries that have been supportive from a security point of view or on any other level of diplomacy, particularly the Royal Navy and the French navy. As the Senator said, this is not unique, as much as people talk about getting support from other countries from a security or defence perspective. A lot of other countries have to do it. Almost every country in the EU has to get co-operation and support from their neighbours and friends in the EU, and we are no different. I will pass on to the Minister the Senator's appreciation on that. As he said, we will have an opportunity in the coming weeks to debate defence and security in this Chamber. I will make sure there will be ample opportunity within that debate to talk about how things have changed in this country, and how we need to change our own perspective on defence and security.

Senator Nessa Cosgrove has moved an amendment No. 1 to the Order of Business, "That No. 11 be taken before No. 1", seconded by Senator Harmon. The Leader has indicated that he is willing to accept the amendment. Is the amendment agreed? Agreed.