He did.

Does the Minister of State want to speak on the amendment?

Amendment No. 17 has already been discussed with amendment No. 8.

It has already been discussed with amendment No. 8.

It has already been discussed. Does the Senator wish to comment generally?

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, namely, that the Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021 be taken before No. 1 on the Order Paper. We all know the Bill is really important. I commend the Leader on her work on it. It is necessary to stop the hypocritical practice of importing peat. I wish to highlight the report of the Ombudsman, Mr. Peter Tyndall, called Grounded: Unequal access for people with disabilities to personal transport schemes. I have stood here on many a morning raising the ina…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2021 and the Environmental Protection Agency Acts 1992 to 2011 to make exceptional provision for peat extraction for the purpose of horticulture for a temporary period in the public interest in order to mitigate the adverse consequences resulting, or likely to result from an interruption to supply and to provide for a just transition.

Next Tuesday.

The Minister is very welcome. It is a very important issue and Senator Keogan really highlights it. I always enjoy listening to her on this issue because she teaches us all an awful lot. I was struck by her commentary last week on the Order of Business in respect of the lives we are losing under State care. The Minister has a great responsibility. It is almost relentless. There are constant issues and for me they almost seem greater than any of us because there are so many barriers and pitfalls to creating a State …

I welcome the Minister of State. I will be brief, given much has been said. The fact is we are again talking about this issue in the House but we should not be. We should not have to stand here, time and again, on behalf of families and make phone calls on their behalf. As Senator Maria Byrne noted, their children are becoming disabled because of a failure of the State and the HSE to do their duty and undertake these critical operations. This has been going on for so long. There are many different reasons, excuses …

The Taoiseach is welcome to the House. It is an incredible privilege for me to be standing here as his nominee to Seanad Éireann and also as a Fianna Fáil representative. I had a few dreams as a child. One of them was to be a mother and the other one was to be a Member of one of these Houses. I was always in awe of our fellow party member, Constance Markievicz. I thought if she could do it back then, I could surely do it in the future. If a girl from the Cooley Peninsula, from an isolated Border area of County Lout…

The Minister of State is very welcome for what is an incredibly important debate. Not only is it about recognising the lives lost and grieving families but it is also important so the Government can listen and implement all the recommendations. We must listen to the expertise in this House as well, as Members have clearly highlighted and articulated some really valid points. We must create a legacy from this so it does not happen again. I want to remember the individuals who died in this tragic accident. The crew m…

I acknowledge the publication of the mother and baby homes institutional payment scheme. I welcome the scheme, and I ask that we have a debate on it, its importance and what went into the making of it. The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, undertook a great deal of work to get that scheme published yesterday. I refer as well to the consultation he has been doing since he took up office to get this scheme over the line. I reiterate the importance of the church payin…

First, I thank Senator Hoey for sharing her story. I am sorry that this country failed her and thousands of women and men throughout the country. I am deeply moved and humbled to be in the Chamber with her today. I thank her for her bravery. It seems condescending to thank her for her bravery. I am blown away. I thank her for sharing her story, because it will make a huge difference to people. To follow on from that, I must say that this report is most important. This issue deeply impacts people. It affects their l…

The Minister is welcome. His presence in the House is timely and important. As a resident of County Louth and a Border community, I am always anxious about talks relating to Northern Ireland and the safety and security of those of us who live near the Border. We are always conscious of the reckless and manipulative manner in which the actions of the British Government always end up affecting us on the Border and across the island. On Saturday next, I will stand on the Border, in solidarity with all citizens of this…

I support Senator Seery Kearney's comments. I was also at the meeting of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters this morning. I wish to highlight the words of the lady who had a stroke when she was in her 30s about the inflexibility of our public system in terms of providing employment. If there is one area in which we should be able to meet targets in terms of the employment of people with disabilities, it is the public sector. It should be a welcoming employer, but it is so inflexible in terms of supporting pe…

I welcome the Minister of State. We also had statements on forestry last year. I hope that the next time we see the Minister of State here talking about forestry, we will actually be implementing legislation to improve the situation. Members have spoken about the crisis we have and the long delays, with 5,000 applications in the system at the moment. This proves that there is an incredible interest and a want for what we are discussing. The media like to think we are dragging farmers by the scruff of the necks into…

The Minister of State is welcome. I have a question for him and his Department. I am seeking an update on the Department's plan for the viability of the sheep sector, along with an update on the wool feasibility study. As the Minister of State knows, sheep farming is a sustainable sector. I hope the Department will pay more attention to it and see it is a strong, sustainable sector. It has demonstrated time and again that it plays an integral role in protecting and enhancing the diverse habitats that are commonly f…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. The Government has been doing a lot of work on finding markets for sheep meat. With regard to the sheep improvement scheme and the €2 increase, agricultural schemes are open to every farmer but the sheep improvement scheme is specifically for sheep farmers. I am glad to hear that there will be some movement on the wool feasibility study. Instead of studies, pilots and reviews I would rather see some action very soon. Because it is so far back, the reference year often…

I, too, wish to pass on my condolences to the family and friends of Austin Currie and, indeed, to our colleague, Senator Currie. It must be remembered that in the face of so much adversity and strife in the North, Austin Currie stood against bullies. People on both sides went against him yet he stood up for what was right and never faltered. He always positively disrupted the status quo of injustice and inequality. In terms of the legacy of real activists from Northern Ireland, I wish to emphasise that this is an i…