Now.

Now.

I merely want to welcome the passing of this Bill. I thank the Minister of State and her officials. Obviously, this is emergency legislation which had to be prepared at short notice. It is important to recognise that. In the overall context, I encourage the Minister of State and the Department to take an in-depth look at the enduring power of attorney system. The point was made earlier that so many solicitors have clients come in to them to make a will who should be also getting an enduring power of attorney prepar…

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 Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2026 on a date which is earlier than the fifth day after the date on which the Bill shall have been presented to her.

I join the Leas-Chathaoirleach in welcoming the guests from Raheen National School to the Chamber. It is a coincidence that I am speaking when they are present. I wish them the very best on their visit to Dublin. I hope they really enjoy their tour around Leinster House and get to see what we do here as representatives of the people through passing laws and trying to make decisions that benefit the lives of all those back home who sent us here. In that vein, I would like to raise some of the issues that Raheen, a s…

I am grateful to Senator Conor Murphy. I agree with the point he makes about the need for any long-term future electoral planning to incorporate the ultimate consideration of what will hopefully be a successful reunification referendum. I just want to make contribute on two points. I thank Senator McDowell for bringing forward the motion. My understanding is that it is not being opposed by the Government. It is very important that we remind ourselves of the role of the Dáil, which is to represent the people who hav…

I want to raise the issue of the urgent need for emergency funding following the recent storm that affected roads in County Wexford. Wexford County Council has submitted an emergency application for just over €20 million, which is based on the scale of the devastation that was caused by the recent storm. I support the county council's application for emergency funding. I recall that in December 2021, when there was similar storm damage, the Government at that time came forward with a €5 million package to help addr…

I raise the enormous impact the war taking place in Iran is having on the day-to-day lives of people across the country. I will speak to the impact it is having in Wexford. I was contacted by a constituent who had agreed to purchase a lorry load of home heating oil for her house about three weeks ago and had paid upfront for it. The date it would arrive was agreed with the delivery company. Two days before it was due to arrive, she was asked to pay an extra €800 to ensure the delivery was made. Unfortunately, this …

Today, I rise to speak about the plight of families living in Ballyhealy in south Wexford, an area that has been devastated by coastal erosion. The Wexford coasts are currently eroding at a rate of about 1 m to 3 m a year but unfortunately, in Ballyhealy at the moment, it is eroding at about 5 m to 6 m a year. You can imagine the devastation and fear that is causing for families living in that area. About 200 m upstream, there is Seaview, an area that has been protected to the tune of €657,000 by the OPW, where 14 …

I begin by putting on the record the importance of this legislation that has been introduced by my colleagues in the Fine Gael Party and particularly by Senator P.J. Murphy, who has been a victim of this crime of tool theft in the past and who, having worked in the industry, has dealt and engaged with so many victims of this crime over the past 20 years in his work as a joiner. I want to read for a moment the words of somebody from Duncormick in my own area of south Wexford who described the impact that tool theft …

In 2017, then Taoiseach Enda Kenny, together with others, secured a commitment from the EU that if Ireland were to be reunified, the North of Ireland would be automatically subsumed into the EU. The estimated cost at the moment is in the region of approximately €20 billion per annum. As a republican and someone who wants to see a referendum on the unification of Ireland, but also a referendum that passes, there is an important role for the EU in this. My question is for all the MEPs. In the next round of budgets, w…

The Minister of State is most welcome to Seanad Éireann this evening. I will be supporting this legislation. I want to focus specifically on the part of it that deals with amending the litter Act. Unfortunately, as in many Senators' counties, County Wexford has a serious issue with illegal dumping. It is a scourge. The county is absolutely blessed with a beautiful coastline, immaculate mountain ranges and scenic beauty throughout. Unfortunately, though, people take it upon themselves to dump illegally. Figures just…

I welcome the Minister of State. I acknowledge the presence in the Gallery of guests Barry Murphy and Ian Moran from Wexford. I welcome this debate on the important topic of road safety. I fully support the motion put forward by my colleagues. Last year, six people lost their lives on Wexford roads, with a nationwide total of 185. Every single one of those losses is a severe tragedy for the families, communities and all the people whose lives will never be the same after experiencing that loss. We in this Chamber c…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this very important debate. First and foremost, we have to recognise the important contribution the private rental sector makes in providing accommodation right across the country, whether to people who have moved out of their house for the first time or people who are moving for study or work purposes. One of the most common experiences people have when they start out at third level college is moving out of their parents' home and into a rented house. It is important that…

There is a need for a once-off emergency roads budget for County Wexford. We have suffered enormous devastation from flooding, and I have previously raised the Enniscorthy flood relief scheme in this Chamber. I want to reflect for a moment on the impact of the floods on our roads network right across County Wexford. On Christmas Day 2021, when I was a county councillor, five bridges in my parish vanished as a result of flooding. There was devastation across the roads network. The then Minister for Transport provide…

I acknowledge our guests in the Gallery, in particular the 2025 Rose of Tralee. She is most welcome here this evening. Her story serves as an inspiration for so many people across the country who are currently considering going down the apprenticeship route. Being from Wexford, I highlight the important work the South East Technological University, SETU, does there and in the south-east. Indecon recently completed a report, which showed that 37% of the people who take up college courses through the SETU continue to…

I thank the Minister of State for coming in for this important discussion. My home county of Wexford was devastated by flooding in the past two weeks and I have to highlight a number of issues. I spoke about the Enniscorthy flood relief project previously, but we saw the impact of heavy rainfall in counties Carlow and Wicklow making its way down the River Slaney, first, with the devastation that was caused on the Ryland Road in Bunclody upstream and then making its way down to a major flooding event in my home town…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber to discuss this important issue. Last Tuesday morning, I stood on Island Road in Enniscorthy, where yet again the River Slaney, which goes through the town, burst its banks and the water spilled out. I saw the residents of Island Road place all their belongings onto their kitchen and living room tables and get out jacks to jack them up to the ceiling in anticipation of the water coming in. We saw flooding that was unprecedented in our town. That is saying some…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I welcome the fact the €51 million allocated is still in place, but I have to stress the urgency of this. The residents and businesses in Enniscorthy are beyond frustrated at the lack of progress to date. I appreciate that there are significant regulatory concerns about the freshwater pearl mussel, but we need to rebalance the prioritisation here. The residents and the businesses in a town that has been flooded 16 times since 2000 have to be put as a priority ahead of…

I welcome the Minister of State. The section is very important as it provides for the new changes that are being made to the credit reviewer committee process, including that the credit reviewer will be accountable to appear before Oireachtas committees, which is very important. I am a member of the Oireachtas joint committee on finance, as are some of the Senators present this evening. It is important that it is within the power of a committee of the House to call the reviewer to appear before it. It could happen …