Amendment No. 25 in the names of Senators Higgins, Ruane and Black arises out of committee proceedings.

Amendment No. 26 in the names of Senators Higgins, Ruane and Black arises out of committee proceedings.

How stands the amendment?

Amendment No. 27 in the names of Senators Warfield, Boylan, Gavan and Ó Donnghaile arises out of committee proceedings. Amendments Nos. 27 and 28 are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.

We are making Ballinasloe shine for the cycleway. It is the newest town in Ireland and we are ready to welcome the Dublin to Galway cycleway. There has been multimillion euro investment in our town. We had an incredible paint scheme. Many businesses participated. This Sunday, our incredible Christmas lights will illuminate the town. Many will visit to admire how well our town looks. There are luxury hotels and fine restaurants to tempt those on the cycleway on weekend breaks to explore our region of unique landscap…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach and I welcome the Taoiseach to the House. I welcome his comments on the importance of this House in the scrutiny of legislation and in having independent voices. Based in the west, we are a region in transition. We are already at a disadvantage in the west of Ireland. We have startling levels of inequality in this country in respect of investment across a number of key areas, namely, health, education, infrastructure and transport. That means we have underinvestment in the we…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. The issue I raise is similar to the matter raised by Senator Conway. November is national diabetes month and Sunday was World Diabetes Day. Many buildings were illuminated in blue, including the University of Limerick. People in all stages of life, from young children to older people, get diabetes. The good news is that we can combat the effects of the disease through insulin and the risks can be reduced, especially with type 2, by making lifestyle changes, which can ha…

I thank the Minister of State for her response. These delays happened because of Covid-19. The Minister of State talked about different virtual registries. What is the timeline for these? When does the Minister of State think we will see them? Some work was done. We invested in e-health Ireland. As part of our programme for Government and of the budget this year, will there be an allocation specifically for these registries? I mentioned the impact of 28,000 people with type 1. However, a HSE type 2 cycle of care pr…

There was a celebration in Mountbellew-Moylough on Sunday when the club won the county final in Galway for the first time in 35 years. Many Members might know Paul Connaughton Snr. and Paul Connaughton Jnr. Many people from Mountbellew have been Members of this House. It was a wonderful celebration. There were lots of black and amber flags flying and bonfires. I was also in the Mountbellew mart yesterday listening to farmers. It is important we hear farmers' voices and stand side by side with them. Every Senator ha…

Senator, regarding these amendments -----

I join in saying that I very much support these amendments. It is important that we are making improvements on what has existed in the past. The Minister will find there is much support for what he is doing, even in the early hours of the morning.

This is Science Week, which takes place from 7 to 14 November. Creating our Future is a national conversation that is taking place. It has been great to see the broadcasters going to towns around the country in a few key areas trying to get good feedback from the public about current research that is taking place. We have had virtual Science Week with magicians and scientists and events happening all around the country. It is possible to log on and find an event happening close to where you are based. Events includ…

I welcome the Minister of State, Senator Hackett. We are quite close in location and she is conscious of the serious concerns on this topic. A forestry company, in which people are employed, is working in Ballinasloe and is struggling. It is dealing with farmers and its clients. What can it do? It is stuck in no man's land. I met with them during the year and last year and we have raised this in a number of fora. It is good to hear a higher number of 27 ecologists have been recruited, who are dealing solely with th…

That is it.

I welcome the Minister to the House on this great week, Science Week. I was speaking earlier this morning about the activities that are going on for Science Week and I might mention some of them because they have astounded me. I was wishing we had Science Week when I was in school. Our Science Week involved the things we did around Hallowe'en and crazy experiments we came up with. Science Week is on from 7 November to 14 November so we have another few days left this week. As has been mentioned, events are happenin…

Cuirim fáilte roimh Aire Stáit na Gaeltachta. Feabhsóidh Bille na Teangacha Oifigiúla (Leasú), 2019 seirbhísí poiblí trí Ghaeilge agus tabharfaidh sé tacaíocht do chainteoirí Gaeilge. Tá mé ag tnúth go mór leis an gcoiste comhairleach um sheirbhísí Gaeilge. Mar a dúirt an tAire Stáit, tá sé an-tráthúil gurb é inniu breithlá Phádraig Mac Piarais. Bhí sé ina fhile, ina mhúinteoir agus ina scríbhneoir. Bhí an-ghrá aige do Ghaeilge Ros Muc na Gaillimhe. Tá sé an-tábhachtach go mbeadh an rogha ag daoine agus daltaí an G…

After a decade of fundraising, coffee mornings, tractor runs, quizzes, cycles and marathon runs by clubs, schools, businesses and everyone, the Mayo Roscommon hospice, in Roscommon, will be officially launched this Friday. It is due to incredible fundraising over decades. It is phenomenal. The hospice will cost an estimated €6 million to complete and is an eight-bed inpatient unit with full day care facilities. The Mayo Roscommon hospice has been fundraising for these community palliative care facilities for famili…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, to the Seanad. We met recently in Athlone at the launch of the new bridge across the River Shannon connecting the east to the west for the Dublin to Galway cycleway. In fact, as the Minister of State mentioned on the day, we will be able to cycle from Moscow to Galway. This is an incredible piece of infrastructure that shows the progress of the national development plan. Those pieces of infrastructure are absolutely crucial, particularly coming into the west which l…

I welcome the Minister's approval for the new Connacht-Ulster technological university for the west. This is an incredible achievement by the presidents, staff and students of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Letterkenny IT and IT Sligo. The new university will have eight campuses located in Killybegs, Letterkenny, Sligo, Castlebar, two locations in Galway city, Letterfrack and the agricultural college in Mountbellew. These towns will now become university campus towns. Students will be able to study course…

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Ryan, to the Seanad today. It is great to have him here to speak about security of our energy supply, which is so crucial. In his opening statement, the Minister spoke about some of the challenges we face, such as the closure of stations, power stations not coming online and the impact of geopolitics. Energy security is defined as the uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price. In Ireland, as the Minister mentioned, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, …