I was delighted last week to join the local and national Deaf and hearing community for the official opening of Deaf Village Ireland in St Josephs on the Navan and Ratoath Road. This is a fantastic development not just for the deaf community but also for the local hearing community. Well done to everybody involved in making it a reality. Mary

Protection of Retail Workers Bill
In April 2025 Mary introduced the Protection of Retail Workers Act 2025, a Bill aimed at amending the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 to create specific offences for assaulting, threatening, harassing, or abusing retail workers while they are carrying out their employment. Retail workers across Ireland are on the