I, too, commend the Minister of State and her team in the Department, all the stakeholders who engaged with her in the public consultation period and the individuals and organisations that fed into the mammoth piece of work before the House now. I acknowledge the contributions made by colleagues in the House today and commend the Minister of State on her openness to going through and debating the amendments proposed for Committee Stage and later Stages. I acknowledge the work the Minister of State has been doing in…

I rise to make my final contribution on my first term in the Seanad. During my time so far in Leinster House, I focused on highlighting the trolley crisis at University Hospital Limerick. I turn my attention to the other burning issue for us in Limerick which is the challenge of affordable housing. That term "affordable housing" is often misunderstood. When I say "affordable housing" in this context, I am talking about the Government scheme to support people who earn over €40,000, as the threshold is in Limerick, t…

I welcome the Aire Stáit to the Chamber and thank him for coming in to listen to us today. I also thank the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, for his opening remarks and for his intense listening when he was here in the Chamber. When I thought about today and what I would like to speak about, I had a multitude of projects that I could have chosen to focus on. I could have spoken about the junction 28 Mackey roundabout improvement scheme that is badly needed in Limerick to open up access to the IDA business park there and t…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir. Anois, Seanadóir Tom Clonan.

Apologies, Senator. If that is all, I ask the Minister-----

They are not being withdrawn. I thank the Senator for clarifying.

Senator Keogan has clarified it now.

The Aire Stáit is very welcome to the Chamber for this important discussion. I rise to support the many statements that have been made by my colleagues across the Chamber and the very good points they have raised. I know the Minister of State comes from a rural constituency and, with his portfolio in the previous Government and his familiarity with agriculture and rural communities, he is all too aware of how important our post offices are to the fabric of society in rural communities. I am from a hybrid constituen…

I request that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage come before the House to outline the policies and procedures that govern how local authorities receive gifts such as buildings or other assets from philanthropists. Too often, generous offers to give back to a town, village or county are met with red tape and a lack of clarity. We need a clear and supportive framework to ensure that where someone wishes to gift something of value to their home community that gesture can be accepted and put to me…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, to the Chamber. I ask that speakers be as brief as possible in their contributions because we will need to stop at 3.30 p.m. for the Order of Business. My apologies. It is the impact of the vote in the Dáil. Does Senator Nelson Murray wish to proceed? I apologise; we need to proceed as the Minister of State is here.

I am sorry to have to stop the Minister of State there. We have gone over time, unfortunately.

An tAire Stáit is welcome to the Chamber, and I thank him for coming to take this matter. I raise this matter once more. It is the number one priority for people living in Limerick and a huge concern for people across the mid-west, including in Limerick, Clare and Tipperary. It came up at more doors than housing in Limerick during the general election campaign. That is how sincerely people in Limerick feel about the issue. If the Minister of State lived in Limerick, he would feel this way too. To recap, there are 4…

I appreciate the Minister of State coming to the House to give me that information but, with the greatest respect to him and the Minister, I have heard all of this before. I know all of those figures and about all of those initiatives. Other than the extension of the medical assessment unit hours in Ennis and Nenagh, they are not specific to UHL. What is the Minister considering for this winter? I am not hearing about short-term interventions specifically for UHL, that the Minister is considering a temporary reopen…

I wish to draw the attention of Senators to a very positive day of visits that we had with the Minister, James Lawless, in Limerick recently. He started his day at the University of Limerick where he met Professor Shane Kilcommins and the executive committee of the university to discuss recent events there. We next attended the launch of the new iBio masters programme at the university, which is the latest of UL's immersive courses. The university is famous for its disruptive nature in the way that education is del…

I thank the Cathaoirleach.

I welcome the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Heydon, to the Chamber, and thank him for his time.

Before I bring the Senator back in, I welcome students from Shellybanks Educate Together National School in Sandymount to the Visitors Gallery. They are very welcome. They are here in the Seanad for Commencement Matters. This is where Senators get to pose in-depth and detailed questions to Ministers. Ministers provide longer than usual detailed answers. The Minister, Deputy Heydon, has just provided an answer to Senator Boyhan and the Senator is going to respond.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, to the Chamber. I thank her for her time.

I rise to highlight an exciting new venture taking place in Limerick tomorrow evening. It is the first of what we hope will be a run of successful Twilight Thursday initiatives. Limerick was chosen to be one of nine pilot towns and cities around the country to pioneer this initiative. It is being led by our night-time economy manager. It is all the work of the Government to ensure we are stimulating greater economic development in our towns and cities in the evenings and promoting them as safe and enjoyable spaces …

The Minister is very welcome to the Chamber. I am delighted to be speaking to him today because I know he gets it. I know from industry and enterprise perspectives that he is well informed. I wish him success in his role and thank him for his opening remarks. I was really pleased to hear about the action plan for competitiveness and productivity and that the Minister is not only considering the vital area of the SME sector, which is indeed our largest employment sector, but also recognising the crucial role multina…