Two weeks ago the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste talked about transgender education in primary schools. I come from a generation, as do quite a number of others here, where we hardly got any sex education in secondary school, so we have come quite a long way. I think that the Seanad would be a good forum for the Minister for Education to come and discuss her plans. It would be a nice open forum for people to see what she is proposing. It would be good to have a look at her proposals and what she intends to do in primar…

Like my predecessors who have spoken, I wish to mark International Women's Day. I am blessed to live in a house full of ladies and it is great. This morning, before I left home, I was informed how lucky I am to be blessed with two women and my wife. On a serious note, International Women's Day is very important and it is great that women are recognised. I hope that we keep going forward with equality and that more women are elected to positions in the political arena. I wish to refer to 58 school building projects …

I raise the issue of planning permissions. Under some of the catch-all legislation that was brought in recently, the duration of planning permissions can no longer be extended. Planning permission is valid for five years, and that is that. Heretofore, during the previous recession and briefly during the Covid pandemic, a planning permission on which a person did not get an opportunity to act could be extended by five years. The intention of the recently introduced catch-all legislation was to force developers to bu…

I will pick up where Senators Wall and Eugene Murphy left off in referring to the shocking incident in Ballyfermot. The viciousness of the attack beggars belief. The community is terrified by the actions of these cowboys and their total disregard for gardaí. If we have a debate on this matter, which I hope the Leader agrees to, we must look at strengthening laws in respect of people who attack gardaí, stop them from doing their word or record them and distribute the video on social media. These are areas that need …

I wish to follow up on a matter that was in the news yesterday, namely, the great success of the Garda in disrupting the flow of cocaine, a class-A drug, into the country. That has to be welcomed, and the resources the Minister for Justice has been putting into this area must be welcomed. I am concerned about another issue. Perhaps the relevant Minister could come to the House to address it. I have had some alarming conversations recently with developers and builders. They are being heavily intimidated into paying …

I had a meeting this morning with the Georgian ambassador. It is a little before my time but he told me that the friendships between Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas and our counterparts in Georgia will, in the coming few days, have been in existence for 25 years. Following that meeting, I want to stress the hardship people in the countries bordering Russia are under at present. Our continued support is most necessary, particularly for Ukraine. As we know, Georgia has suffered greatly at the hands of the Rus…

Beannachtaí Lá Fhéile Bríde, a Chathaoirligh. I raise the issue of 44,000 pensioners who are due back pay. Most worked as nurses or in social care. There are some doctors as well and many carers. An increment of €500-odd was to be paid on 1 October 2021 and again in 2022, and there is another increment to be paid in February. In most of these pensions I would say there is a minimum of €1,500-plus, which is quite a considerable amount of money. Many of them could be up to €2,000 coming into February. The excuse that…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell. He is one of the hardest-working Ministers of State in the House. I am sure he will have no problem in taking over the big shoes of Deputy Peter Burke in what is a tough portfolio. I am also sure we will see a lot of the new Minister of State here. I raised this issue with the Minister of State's predecessor. I acknowledge that the new Minister of State has put a great deal of work into it because we have talked about the local representation allowance that council…

When the Minister of State is tightening up on the little bit of legislation-----

Yes, directions on it. When he is on it, I implore the Minister of State to look at the full cost of paying an alarm company. To have only 20% allowable is not 20% security. Mainly, the security is tied to the person's position as an elected representative. I would implore the Minister of State to allow the 100% grant of the monthly expenses. The expenses are €4,200 plus the €80 per month. If they want to claim it for security and they think it is the most important thing for that particular councillor to do, they …

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. As he can anticipate, I will be fully backing this Bill. It would be remiss of me this morning not to mention the member of Óglaigh na hÉireann who was killed in Lebanon last night. I know this is not the appropriate juncture, but I could not get to my feet as a Government Senator without mentioning the very tragic incident that happened in Lebanon. My thoughts and those of the Government are with his family this morning. Anything that can be done on behalf of the State…

He has the tar tractor outside.

Absolutely.

Hear, hear.

And he is hardworking.

Now.

Now.

Now.

I move: That, pursuant to subsection 2° of section 2 of Article 25 of the Constitution, Seanad Éireann concurs with the Government in a request to the President to sign the Appropriation Bill 2022 on a date which is earlier than the fifth day after the date on which the Bill shall have been presented to him.

I am delighted to have the Minister of State here. This is a worthwhile Bill. Senator Higgins has done a lot of work on it. The couple of amendments she has tabled have been fully thrashed out already. Senator Higgins certainly has our support on it. I am sure the Bill will see speedy passage to the Dáil, depending on the Minister of State.