-----but I did not get any answer on why he refuses to meet residents in respect of the Irish Glass Bottle site.

I am sorry.

Well, maybe next time the Minister can give some insight into why he will not meet the residents in Ringsend.

I thank the Senator. Before the Minister of State replies I welcome guests of Senator Cosgrove's office. They are an ecumenical group which includes Fr. Laurence Cullen who is parish priest of Geevagh and Highwood in Sligo, Mark Flener who is visiting from the US and Celia Dunne and her husband, the Right Reverend Dermot Dunne, dean of Christchurch Cathedral, who will be retiring from his role this September. We wish you the very best in your retirement and I hope you are all enjoying your visit. The Minister of St…

The next Commencement matter was submitted by Senator Boyhan, but we are waiting for the Minister of State to arrive as there is a vote in the Dáil. While we are waiting on the Minister of State, Deputy Emer Higgins, I welcome the guests of Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee. They are very welcome. When students visit the House, we usually give them the day off homework, but I think there are only one or two guests who have homework.

Exactly. They are very welcome. I hope they have been well-looked-after. I am sure they are. Will Senator Murphy propose that the House suspends for the duration of the vote in the Dáil?

Is that agreed? Agreed.

The Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, is outside, so we will just swap over now.

I thank the Minister of State for coming in today. I call Senator Ruane.

I welcome the visitors and guests of Deputy James O'Connor. You are very welcome. I hope you are being well looked after in the Dáil restaurant and the bar.

I extend my congratulations to Deputy Daniel Ennis and to the former Senator, Deputy Seán Kyne, who was particularly patient with Members from this side of the House. He was very accommodating and easy to work with and I wish him well. Personally, I feel very glad for him. Last week, an elected member of Dublin City Council posted a video on social media which could only really be described as Nazi propaganda. The video praises Adolf Hitler and openly expresses support for the Holocaust, in which 6 million Jewish p…

Amending the Dog Breeding Establishments Act has been on the legislative programme since autumn 2020. Nearly six years since policy change in this area was first considered by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, all that has emerged is a general scheme that has not even been published. The changes currently outlined appear remarkably limited. The most significant oversight in these proposals, and one that cannot be overstated, is the complete absence of a cap on the number of breeding females permitted within a dog breeding…

Senator Gallagher must be the luckiest Senator around.

His Commencement matters get drawn every week. I will have to watch the lotto numbers he picks as well.

Before we continue with Commencement matters, I want to welcome the group from St. Mary's in Dunmanway in Cork. You are all very welcome and I hope you are enjoying your day. They are guests of Deputy Holly Cairns. The tradition when you visit the Seanad is that you do not get homework for the rest of the week. Enjoy your trip.

As the Minister of State has said, you will be back every week now doing a tour of the Dáil and the Seanad.

Private rents have hit their highest level in 25 years according to the latest Daft.ie rent report. That is courtesy of the Government’s rent hike Bill. Since the Government’s residential tenancies Act and market rent reset, landlords have been able to hike up rents to the highest possible market rate regardless of what they were before. That means that this quarter, average rent hikes have jumped a staggering 7.8% in just three months. That is the highest quarterly rent increase since 2002. In Dublin, a two-bedroo…

First, I wish to put on the record that Sinn Féin is completely opposed to this legislation and we will vote against it on every single Stage. I commend my colleague and former Member of this House, MEP Lynn Boylan, as well as her staff, on the work they have done on this Bill. They have shone a light on the potential impact of both this legislation and CETA on this country. This is a Bill with far-reaching implications. If enacted, it will undermine the sovereignty of our courts, workers’ rights and environmental …

I thank the Minister of State. As there has been a vote in the Dáil, we may have to wait for the next Minister of State, who I understand is on the way.

Before we move on, I will break with the normal rules of the House and ask Members to join me in giving a warm céad míle fáilte to an incredible young man, Austin Appelbee, aged 13. Members may have heard Austin's story from February of this year, when he undertook an incredible act of bravery in Western Australia in order to save the lives of his mother Joanne, his brother Beau and his sister Grace. Austin undertook a four-hour, 4 km swim, followed by a 2 km run, to contact emergency services, which ultimately led…