An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-26
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Noel O'Donovan (FG), Nominated by the Taoiseach

I wish to share in the comments made by my colleagues congratulating Deputies Seán Kyne and Daniel Ennis on their election to the Lower House. The comments about our former colleague, Seán Kyne, from across the floor have been a tribute to him as a man of sincerity and decency and a man willing to work with all of us in this House. The vote, and the transfers, showed that over the weekend as well. I genuinely wish him the best of luck. It is a symbol of the man he is that he has promised to be a better and more hard-working TD than he was the last time. This is a reflection of the man he is.
I also agree with the contribution from Senator Craughwell in terms of the triple lock debate. I look forward to having that debate in this House because it is an important one. Some extremely important issues will be discussed. The Senator laid it out straight, in terms of Irish generals not being able to make decisions themselves on where Irish peacekeeping forces go. We should be making those decisions ourselves as a Government and a nation, rather than asking others to do so.
I also want to raise the issue of our income tax policy. A discussion of this issue is needed in this House. As a proud member of Fine Gael, I believe strongly in rewarding hard work, encouraging initiative and supporting those trying to build a better life for themselves and their families. Increasingly, though, there is a concern that our tax system is sending the opposite message. It was a message that came through quite clearly on the doors in west Cork in recent weeks when a young family set out their situation. There are two good jobs in the household, with one person working in a semi-State and one working for a pharmaceutical company. Yet the family is struggling. There is a need to look at our tax system in the upcoming budget and in the budgets to come. I would welcome a debate in this House on this matter before the upcoming budget.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-26