The Minister is welcome to the House. I welcome the report of the commission and the Government's response to it. It is tremendously important that we take this issue seriously. For too long it has been left on the back burner. I have heard criticisms of the inflationary effects of the current environment. We hope those effects will not be permanent. I welcome the fact the Government has committed to providing the funding necessary to get to the level identified. I have an American intern working with me at the mom…

Bullock Harbour, as the Senator knows, needs work and is too small to take these coastal patrol vessels. I hope the Minister will give that serious thought as we move forward because there is great potential there for Dún Laoghaire Harbour.

Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh na scoláirí ó Choláiste Naomh Póil freisin. Ba mhaith liom labhairt faoi thalidomide agus na marthanóirí thalidomide atá fós ina gcónaí anseo in Éirinn. Tá a fhios againn go bhfuil níos lú ná 3,000 duine acu ar fud an domhain agus níos lú ná 36 nó mar sin dóibh atá ina gcónaí in Éirinn fós. Dé Máirt seo chugainn beidh clár teilifíse, "Scannal" ar siúl ar RTÉ 1. Aithneoidh gach éinne anseo an obair a dhéanann an clár teilifíse "Scannal" faoi chúrsaí reatha. Nuair atáimid ag féachai…

Hear, hear.

I welcome the Minister of State. This is a great debate on an important subject if for no other reason than it puts in the spotlight this incredibly important issue. Young people are not just young people today. They are the people who will occupy this House is a few years' time. In a few decades' time, they will be running this economy and country and contributing in businesses, lecture theatres, classrooms, hospitals and courtrooms all over this country. We can never place too great a value on the importance of p…

Senator Mullen said that the test for welfare was not what Senator Buttimer outlined. What is the test? How is it assessed?

Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Aire Airgeadais as ucht an bhuiséid a chonaiceamar inniu. Tá a lán rudaí ann is féidir linn a cheiliúradh. Welcome as they are, I am amused when I hear Senator Keogan talk about how important change is, notwithstanding the fact that we can look at so much good news today. Change is not always necessarily a good thing, in particular when it is change for change's sake. When things are going well it is important to stick with what we know and the proven success that we saw today. I want …

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber this morning. I absolutely recognise the need for lending control and guidelines from the Central Bank on the importance of that lending control. We all learned an important and very hard-learned lesson over a decade ago when exactly the kind of lending we are trying to prevent allowed things to get out of control and create huge economic problems. In raising this matter, I am in no way seeking to undermine the importance of those measures or many of the tenet…

I totally understand the week before the budget is not a good time for officials or Ministers in the Department of Finance, therefore, I have no difficulty with the fact that the Minister could not be here. I recognise what the Central Bank said about the improvement in the credit quality of new mortgage loans by guarding against a return to lending at high loan-to-income and loan-to-value rates, such as those observed in the past. I recognised the importance of the limits and the Minister of State kindly acknowled…

Not for the first time in this House I want to raise the issue of water quality in Dublin Bay and the coastal waters off Dublin. For the last two weeks there has been a "No bathing" advisory notice at Killiney beach because of an overspill from a sewage treatment plant there. That should not happen and it has had serious consequences for people who had events planned. I know of swimming events planned for Killiney beach last weekend which could not take place. The advisory notice will remain in place until tomorrow…

I join the Cathaoirleach in welcoming our Maltese friends and the Speaker. I have a family connection with Malta insofar as my mother's great aunt was a Little Sister of the Poor who went out to Malta aged 16 years, believe it or not, and was in the convent in Hamrun near Valletta. I visited her grave some years ago. It was a tremendous commitment on her part but it was also a very sad story. She left Ireland as a young woman at 16 years and she never returned. At some stage in the 1950s or 1960s, a group of our fa…

An issue has arisen with regard to these amendments, which apply to a number of sections in the Bill. The issue is academic freedom, how much it can be applied and how much an t-údarás can do to deal with that issue. The Minister will be aware of the issues that have arisen. I am not talking about any specific institution. We have to be careful about how the objects laid out in section 8 apply throughout the Bill. In what way will an t-údarás take serious action to ensure that we maintain academic freedom within un…

I welcome three of our four MEPs. I am always heartened by the fact that 50% of the Dublin MEPs are former Dún Laoghaire Deputies. It shows the importance of that constituency in leading the debate in the European Union. I welcome Ms Frances Fitzgerald, a former Tánaiste and Minister for Justice. I am very proud of the fact that we send very high-calibre representatives to the European Union. I am, however, disappointed that the fourth MEP has, presumably, chosen not to be here. I believe this is very disappointing…

Very good, but no mention was made in the Cathaoirleach's remarks at the beginning of this session as to any apology or anything like that. There are issues that I wanted to raise. I do not want to criticise Ms Daly in her absence.

She did, okay. In that case, I acknowledge that. There are issues, however, that I wanted to raise with her that I tried to raise with her on the last occasion also. With regard to the subject on today's Order Paper, again I welcome the comments that have been made. I would like to take up one issue with Mr. Cuffe, which is the dependence on semiconductors from Taiwan. I believe that the much greater issue is the dependence on semiconductors from China than those from Taiwan. We should have positive trading agreeme…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I am conscious that, as we speak, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, is launching the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces in McKee Barracks. I am very grateful to the Minister of State for coming here today. I welcome that report and the fact that the Government has taken on this issue and dealt with it in a concrete way, putting forward proposals that will ensure the future of all three branches of the Defence Forces. We can be proud of what is going to come from that repor…

The capital of Ireland, indeed. However, I am sure he will recognise that the maritime capital is, in fact, Dún Laoghaire. Dún Laoghaire has a great maritime heritage. We obviously have the National Maritime Museum in Dún Laoghaire but the harbour itself, which recently celebrated its bicentenary, is a tremendously important asset strategically and historically. At the moment, it is less used than it could be. Since the departure of the ferry services, there is no substantial commercial activity within the harbour …

I thank the Minister of State. I was on the council when many of the events he described took place. We are tremendously proud of our connection to the Naval Service. For many years, Creidne , the Naval Service training vessel, was moored in Dún Laoghaire. I do not think it is in the Naval Service anymore. The Atlantic Youth Trust is moving to base sail training vessels in Dún Laoghaire too. Dún Laoghaire has immense maritime heritage and connections with the Naval Service. Leaving that aside, I am grateful for the…

As this House rises for the summer recess tomorrow, that day will also mark 140 days of hostilities by Russia against Ukraine. That is 20 weeks during which ordinary Ukrainian citizens have suffered, have been displaced and have been killed in their homes, towns and communities. One of the issues our Ukrainian friends face is keeping the war imposed upon them by Russia to the forefront of the news. The real danger is we will forget what is happening on a daily basis throughout Ukraine, and eastern Ukraine in partic…

I move: That notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders or the order of the House today, that No. 2a on the Supplementary Order Paper, motion regarding a reasoned opinion of the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage under Standing Order 116 on the proposal for a Council regulation on the election of Members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, be taken now without debate.