I welcome the fact we will hopefully see the framework for the life carbon farming project. That framework will help farmers, foresters and other landowners take climate actions, reduce greenhouse gases and enhance carbon capture. We need EU-wide co-ordinated monitoring of ratification and reporting methods. I ask for a debate in the House on how the Minister is working with his EU counterparts on how we ensure an accurate measurement of what farms are carbon capturing currently, how we can enhance that, and how th…

I welcome the announcement yesterday that the DART will be extended to Drogheda, County Louth. I commend the previous decision by the shared island unit to fund additional cross-Border Enterprise train services from Belfast to Dundalk. It is now time, with all that investment in our rail system along the east coast, to look properly at the reopening of Dunleer train station. I also request a debate in the House on the all-Ireland rail review and an update from the Minister on progress, actions taken and the short- …

I welcome the Minister of the State to the House. I very much welcome the opportunity to contribute. I wish I had the opportunity to sign to Senator Clonan's Bill but I was not asked to sign it. Members were reading out the list of colleagues who are signatories to this Bill, but I was not asked to sign it. I absolutely would have signed it and when it came in on Second Stage, we supported it. I hope this Bill will assist the Minister of State to make her job a little easier because we need investment in and delive…

Sorry, that is not right.

I will come in briefly. I absolutely agree with what Senator Keogan has said. We went against the Cabinet on the day in question and it was a victory for disability rights.

All of us on this side of the House risked our necks a little because we are in this together.

That was what I wanted to say. We did not put forward tellers on that occasion and were delighted to have that loophole and not to get a slapping.

The Order of Business today is No. 1, Employment (Collective Redundancies and Miscellaneous Provisions) and Companies (Amendment) Bill 2023 - Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 11.45 a.m.

Thank you, Senator. I congratulate the Minister of State on his elevation and wish him the best of luck in his new role.

We are always excluded from conversations about Cork.

I welcome Terry Leyden, a former Senator, to the House. He is in and out in half a minute and is very welcome today.

No.

I thank the Minister of State and welcome the Minister, Deputy McConalogue.

I thank the Minister for his support. We all know he is there.

I welcome the Minister of State.

I welcome the Minister. It is always important and welcome to have statements on agriculture. We all want to shine a light on those we are meeting day in, day out. We are living it and we are hearing from farming families from throughout our constituencies about how hard it is. We can see it. We are fairly miserable here when the rain is pouring down around us, and we have to be cognisant that that is farming families' shop floor. I acknowledge the Minister's work for farmers in the Cooley Peninsula after the despe…

I add my welcome to our newest Member, Senator O'Hara. He is very welcome and I look forward to working with him. It is a great day and I hope he has a nice celebration going into the weekend because it is wonderful to be elected to Seanad Éireann and have one's voice heard here. Congratulations. I ask for a debate on agriculture. We are all down because of the amount of rain we are having. It is all right for us because we can use an umbrella or decide not to go out but farmers are caught. I have never seen a time…

I echo the calls for the continuation of the waiver of development fees. It was a hugely successful scheme and it is really important that we continue it. I hope that sense will prevail and that those very worthwhile waivers will be continued. I also want to raise an issue that is very important for Border counties, particularly Louth. It is about the increase in excise duties on fuel that will happen from 1 April. I am disappointed the Government is refusing to look at this. In particular, I want to highlight the …

It is great to have the Minister of State in the House. I highlight the importance and the successes of the THRIVE programme and ask that his Department engage directly with the management of the programme to ensure it receives funding and can continue beyond this June. I emphasise the crucial importance of continuing to fund this truly innovative initiative that is specifically designed to support women who are striving to bring new products and services to the market within the science, technology, engineering an…

I thank the Minister of State. He has made several fantastic visits to County Louth, and north Louth in particular. He is always very welcome. I am very grateful for his response and his Department's recognition of what we all want to see succeeding, namely, improving entrepreneurship for women and across all the sectors. What I am hearing from the Minister of State, and forgive me if I am wrong, is that no application has been put in. The THRIVE programme should apply to the Louth LEO. That is where the funding sh…