I will briefly raise a matter we have discussed recently, one that is a significant topic for many Senators. I welcome Councillor Charlie Farrelly and his good wife to the Chamber. It is lovely to see them. I have been discussing councillors’ pensions since before the Moorhead report, which recommended that a commission be set up in May 2024 after the local elections. Since then, I have been dealing with the Minister, Darragh O’Brien, and the line Minister of State, Deputy Dillon. In fairness, both have taken on bo…

Hear, hear.

Those of us who are returned to the next Seanad – please God, I will be one of them – might be able to address this issue.

I want to raise councillors' pensions. I know we discussed this recently. I refer to the Moorhead report and its full implementation. The report contained the recommendation that councillors be given grade 4 civil servant status and the pay and all other associated benefits linked to that grade. That is very welcome, progressive and was hard fought for at the time. One part of that report, however, has not been implemented. It states: "Councillors do not currently receive a pension nor do they make compulsory reduc…

We have discussed the issue of councillors’ pensions in the past. As we are all aware, councillors are paid weekly. They pay class S PRSI, which is 4% of their remuneration. It is totally illegal. They get no pension on retirement or when they cease office although they do get a modest lump sum. It is no more than anyone in the public or Civil Service who has put in the years, such as teachers, gardaí, members of the Army and TDs who get a lump sum and their pension. Most are paying similar type rates of around 4% …

I am delighted to welcome the Minister of State on this busy day. It is a good news day for the Government today. I am sure it is good to be here with all the good news that is coming from the Department at present. As Senator Craughwell has mentioned, it will be a search and rescue mission for a lot of the Opposition after such a considered budget. Given that this debate focuses on the public expenditure aspect of the budget, I would like to speak about the cost of living, which has been quite extensive since the …

I also listened intently yesterday evening and again today to Senator McDowell. The point he makes, which was verified and corroborated by Senator Burke, is that the retrospective part of the measure is where the complications seem to lie. If somebody knowingly does something going forward, that is a different kettle of fish. In cases where people have done something previously and got an undertaking as a fact, it would be inherently unfair to punish people retrospectively.

I also welcome our newest Seandadóir, Nikki Bradley, to the House and congratulate her on her appointment. We wish her well. This is a very collegial House and we all work in harmony together, so I am sure she will fit in and get the run of it quite quickly. Today, I would like to raise the issue of the moratorium on data centres. This is a very Irish solution to an Irish problem. We have been so proud of, and our economy has excelled owing to, our IT and pharmaceutical sectors. The whole world looks to us because …

Today, I request the Leader ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Peter Burke, to come to the House to discuss the cost of doing business in Ireland at present, particularly for small business owners. We have discussed this matter before and I know different grants and rebates have been of help. So much change happened at once with the increase in the cost of wages, additional sick leave and pension auto-enrolment. A plethora of different measures came in all at once. Prior to that, we had t…

Since nobody is voting, I am going to vote anyway.

I got a smile out of the Minister of State there.

I would like to request a debate in this Chamber on the future of sustainable transport in Ireland. As bus gates are introduced along Dublin's quays, more streets become pedestrianised and more people live further away from their work, consciousness of cost arises. We need to imagine a transport system that is fit for all. We know Ireland is ranked as one of the highest EU emitters per capita . We heard all the figures this morning. As part of our climate action plan, this would also be a welcome help. In calling f…

I am seeking a debate on the matter.

The Senator fired a few of them in here.

I raise a parochial or county matter about an organisation that has come in for a lot of heat over the past few weeks. I am curious because the GAA gets quite a lot of funding from the Government. It came up in general conversation with some members recently in the Mullingar area how Cusack Park is constantly overlooked as a venue, particularly for certain Leinster games. We had teams from Longford and Dublin pass by Mullingar to go to Tullamore to play a minor final last night. Congratulations to the Longford team…

The Member would not be picked again for a good while, a Chathaoirligh.

I welcome the Minister to the House. He is a Mullingar man the same as me. We soldiered on the town council and county council together and last week was a great week for the town as we now have a senior Minister. I wholeheartedly welcome the Minister to the House and congratulate him on his elevation. As the Minister knows, I am involved in running a business and employ quite a lot of people, so I have quite a vast knowledge of what goes into running a business. There are a lot of things to mark. The easy answer i…

"Cutting" being the operative word.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, to the House. He is a very active Minister of State in the area of agriculture. I heard him on the TV and the radio over last couple of days where he explained very well the angst that is being experienced by farmers. He has a great understanding of it. However, this is extremely unfair. In my time, and I have been here as long as the Acting Chairperson, Senator Victor Boyhan, I have rarely seen so many Ministers coming to the Chamber to field so many different topics…

I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate the response. As I said from the outset, there are many other elements in this that would be nice to thrash out with the Minister for public expenditure but we are where we are. I appreciate the Minister of State's response and thank him.