I ask the Leader for a debate in the House on Uisce Éireann. It is a gripe of mine. I am not denigrating the authority, but there are issues with its capacity, financial support and ability to deal with the demands for water from our ever-growing population. In my lifetime, there has been substantial building of houses and apartments. I have come to Dublin since I was a student; I will not say for how many years but it is in excess of 40. There have been major developments in Dublin. Does Uisce Éireann have the cap…

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for selecting my Commencement matter. I was chuffed by the fact that the office of the senior Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, rang to say he was not able to take it and that the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, would deputise. The Minister of State is quite welcome to deal with this and I am sure he is very competent as well. My issue relates to SEAI grants and the considerable delay - sometimes up to two years - for house wrapping in particular. It probably also applies to the underf…

I have no doubt that these are extraordinarily good schemes. I put my hands up and applaud what is being done, but I think there should be greater interaction with and more explanation given to the customers who ring up and ask where their applications are at and what is delaying them. I refer to those customers being told it was going to be six months down the road. Perhaps the Minister of State will convey my next point back to the Minister and the personnel in the Department. I still cannot understand why the SE…

I rise briefly today to raise the issue of the Irish basketball team travelling today and playing the team from Israel. I listened this morning with interest to Mr. Kieran Donaghy, the former great Kerry footballer who, unfortunately, broke our hearts on a few occasions. The point he made was that the team should not go; they should not play. I would endorse that position because what is happening here is that this team of basketball players are being taunted and abused by people in Israel before the game starts an…

I rise today with some degree of sadness to address the Seanad and the Cathaoirleach on the farewell to my colleague of approximately 25 years, Senator Norris. Apart from anything else, I would also consider him a good friend.

As a university and Independent Senator, you had a remarkable but sometimes - at the start, certainly - difficult career. I started in 1989. You came into the House sometimes swimming against the tide. In that regard, it reminds me an aguisín a lady living close to where I grew up said to my mother: you were the lily among the briars for a long time. In fairness, you stood out and the lily survived. Looking back over approximately 50 years or more, when you came out openly as gay, which at that time was very courag…

I hope you did. You loved your lobster, crab and caviar, and I hope you will have a lot of that when you are out of here. You may not have time to respond but I have two final questions. What has been your most outstanding success in this Chamber? I know you have had many but is there one that sticks out in your mind? Second, what is the most upsetting and possibly deplorable kick in the teeth that you, as an independent and powerful voice in this Chamber, have had? I am not sure if you have time to elaborate on th…

At the outset, I also welcome the Minister back to the House, and I wish her well in her future life and work in the Oireachtas. My concerns with this Bill mostly relate to legal and constitutional issues. I am deeply concerned about Article 38.1 of the Constitution of Ireland, which states that, "No person shall be tried on any criminal charge save in due course of law." I have concerns about the shift in the burden of proof here, and I will have difficulty in supporting it. Article 40.6.1° states that citizens ha…

First, I acknowledge the fact that in recent years there has been considerable spending on infrastructure and equipment. Everyone across the board wants to acknowledge that. However, the €5,000 retainer fee is derisory. I know a young fellow who was looking for a loan. The credit union does not take into account the call out-fee, which, as my colleague said, works out at approximately 99 cent per hour. The pension for firefighters is also derisory. Many employers do not want to take firefighters on in a full-time j…

I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach for his indulgence. The commitment and dedication of firefighters in unparalleled. Firefighting is a vocation rather than just a job because if a person did not have the appetite for that job, he or she would not be doing it. They would want to be, as we say in west Cork, as tough as táthfhéithleann. One example that worried me recently was when a young councillor colleague, not my friend who is here today, told me of a case of young man who went for a job in a local authority. H…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach. She and I acknowledge the amazing work done in the past year through the €2 million granted in the last budget. I hope she has a foot against the door on this occasion and that she will get another €2 million, or maybe more, because the money is extremely well spent. The Minister of State mentioned that many people wear glasses. I believe I will be going down that road as well. I spent three quarters of an hour this morning in south Dublin getting my eyes tested. The Min…

I am glad to share time with my good colleague, Senator Buttimer. I will outline the facts from letters I received. Cork University Hospital, CUH, is the south-west region's centre for neurology but is short of neurology nurse specialists. Patients are unnecessarily waiting longer for diagnosis and treatment. Based on the catchment area, national and international guidelines recommend that there should be 20 neurology nurse specialists, but there are only four in Cork. This is a disgrace. I have already confessed t…

I thank the Minister of State for coming in. He is basically the messenger. It reminds me of somebody in a football game who is 20 points to four down at half-time. I do not think we will win this match, but I stress that the situation is serious. In my view, what is happening is not tolerable. I hope the Minister of State will convey to the senior Minister that Senator Buttimer, I and others cannot stand for this. It is deplorable.

I belatedly congratulate my Sinn Féin colleagues on their amazing success in the North. I was up there in the 1970s a few times and this outcome was never envisaged. Therefore, I wish them well in this regard. Turning to the issue of the new national maternity hospital, I am delighted it is getting the green light. There has been procrastination in this area for almost a decade. It is about time we got off our backsides and got this hospital built for the women of Ireland, particularly those of childbearing years, …

Next Tuesday.

I join in the welcome to the Lithuanian ambassador. Cuirim fáilte roimhe. I had the pleasure in my previous life as Cathaoirleach to visit his country and had an exceptionally good time there. I will not go into details.

The Cathaoirleach mentioned the Lithuanian community in Ireland. I eat a lot of fish and the man who looks after my fish is a lovely Lithuanian man. If I have a problem I ring him and he makes sure he has fresh cod, hake or whatever is on the menu. Even though the fishmonger is Lithuanian, the fish are Irish. I wish the ambassador well. There are long-standing good relations with his country and I am sure they will continue. I rise on three issues. I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on an excellent occasion yesterday…

Thank you, a Chathaoirligh, for facilitating this debate. I acknowledge the presence of Deputy Cahill, whose excellent stewardship of the agriculture committee has brought us to this point. I compliment him on his hard work and welcome him to the Upper House. It is nice to be upgraded occasionally. I am glad Deputy Cahill is here. My contribution will be brief and I will not dwell too much on the report and its 12 points or recommendations. There has been no cohesion in respect of afforestation. Historically, there…

I rise to ask the Leader to facilitate a debate on the issue raised by my learned colleague, Senator Wall, namely, the recent report on the Defence Forces. It is sad to realise that the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, the Minister and the conclusions of the White Paper all basically acknowledge the serious shortcoming in the Defence Forces. Numbers are declining. The Chief of Staff mentioned this morning that some Naval Service vessels have put to sea without a full complement of men or women. There are decli…

I welcome the Minister to the House. No fishing representative would like to see any sort of penalty points or other system that might in any way adversely affect their work. However, I note the European Commission has issued a reasoned - I like the word "reasoned" - opinion against Ireland for failure to implement the system by 1 January. It states "2012" but that might be an error. It crossed my mind that what the Minister is dealing with is probably a fait accompli . We are in Europe, even though sometimes many …