I have no control of what the office does-----

The Senator may take up the issue with the Cathaoirleach's office himself.

I have been very generous with time.

I am sorry I interrupted, but I let Senator go way over on time. Can the Minister of State make a short response, please?

Obviously, the Senator will take this matter up again. I wish to express my thanks to the Minister of State for taking the four Commencement matters. I know some of them were not in his area. I also thank Senators Garvey, Warfield and Kyne for being with us. As always, I thank the staff of the House for their assistance and co-operation, and the ushers as well.

I agree with the comments Senator Kyne made about securing funding for Galway County Council. I am well aware of the efforts the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, have made to solve this situation but we need a general debate in this House. Today, I want to concentrate on the N5 route that runs from Strokestown to Ballaghaderreen and which, unfortunately, has seen huge loss of life over the years. As a result of the war in Ukraine, the roads contract has fallen through…

This amendment has already been discussed.

If I may, I will dedicate most of my time to the wonderful successes of Lisa O'Rourke and Amy Broadhurst. Lisa O'Rourke was the winner of the women's world elite boxing championship in Istanbul. Castlerea, County Roscommon, was alive and kicking at the weekend. Thousands of people turned out. Tears of absolute joy were shed for a beautiful young woman who is very involved with her community. She is a leader in that community and has a quiet manner. Of course, her sister, Aoife, also has had great success in Europe.…

I thank the Minister. Before I invite Senators back in, I want to welcome all our guests to the Gallery on behalf of all the Senators, ministerial staff, officials and ushers. We always like to see people here. As our guests can gather, we are discussing Committee Stage of the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022. I hope they enjoy the rest of their day.

Is the amendment being pressed?

I strongly support the comments of Senator Black, my party colleague, Senator Dooley, and Senator Gavan on the appalling killing of Shireen Abu Akleh and the carry-on of the Israeli police at her funeral. It galled me. The police alleged they had an arrangement with the mourners that the remains would be transferred from the hospital to the church without the coffin being carried but the fact people felt so strongly and carried the coffin meant it should have been allowed. The brutality of the police who forcefully…

The Acting Chair referred to the excitement of elections, and that was a very true statement. The Minister of State is welcome to the House. It is always a pleasure to be here with him because he engages with us and listens to us. That is important in our process. I commend Senator Pauline O'Reilly. We are having this discussion because she brought it before us. It is important. As speakers from various sides spoke I thought of my election periods and all the times I was told I had better get a poster up because th…

I was not here on certain days for the Order of Business so it is possible that the issue of high energy prices has been discussed this week. If so, I apologise for bringing it up again. We learned recently that householders are paying €250 more for electricity than the EU average. We are told by journalists like Charlie Weston and others involved in the media, including Daragh Cassidy of bonkers.ie , that our electricity prices are between 26% and 28% higher than the EU average. Only a small number of countries, D…

Before I call the Minister of State, I remind everybody of the time slots. They have four minutes each and then one minute after that. That is not aimed at Senator Byrne because he has been excellent in that regard. I welcome the Minister of State.

You were. That was aimed at everyone. I am just pointing it out.

As always, the Senator is exemplary on time.

Senator, I have been more than generous with the time.

Senator, the same rules must apply to everyone.

I apologise for cutting across Senator Mullen but I am trying to keep to the show on the road.

I thank the Minister of State for coming in to respond and appreciate Senator Mullen's co-operation.