The Order of Business is No. 67(5), Private Members’ business, motion regarding reports under Seanad Standing Order 87(1)(b) - report of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media entitled "Report on Inclusion in Sport", to be taken at 11.45 a.m. and to conclude at 1.30 p.m., if not previously concluded; and No. 1, statements on the Irish naturalisation and citizenship system, to be taken at 1.30 p.m. and to conclude at 2.45 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the openi…

We started with Senator Fitzpatrick, who spoke about the horrific tragedy of five young people being killed over the summer in a horrific car accident in which four innocent people were caught up. She spoke also about the need for provision of a national prevention strategy and said the Minister for education should take that on board. During the summer, I was at a presentation by a collective group of people about caring for communities. It sought to address some of these issues. It was a pilot study really becaus…

Senator Clonan also spoke about the personalised budget Private Member's Bill he has introduced and which has been time delayed. I know the Minister with responsibility for disability is working on personalised budgets. There was an issue with the pilot project. It was very much undersubscribed which was a shame for the efforts to try to assess responses. We are looking for debate on a number of issues which were raised today which are related to disability. We have reached out and are looking for a debate next wee…

Having just come from the Chambers Ireland briefing on businesses, I want to take the opportunity to wish the new Kildare Chamber CEO, Cliodhna O'Byrne, well. We have a very active chamber. It does an excellent job under the leadership of Ruth Murphy and it excels in representing the many businesses we have, small as well as large. It is very conscious of the cost of business and what we need to do to support our indigenous businesses in particular. I note the publication during the summer of the cost of business a…

I second the motion.

I also welcome the delegation. I took the opportunity in the House yesterday to mention the important work the Committee of the Regions does and the fact it had the bureau in Mullingar yesterday. I also congratulated the leader of the Irish delegation, Gillian Coughlan, on being the incoming leader of the Renew group. It is the first time an Irish councillor has taken this position. It is great to see Gillian. I hope all our guests have an excellent evening and a really good trip. I thank the Minister for being her…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, for being here. I know he is very committed to rural transport and making sure we have connectivity, which is so important. It does not matter what age somebody is; there is a need for connectivity. The town buses are a wonderful example of that. We have had successful pilot schemes in places like Drogheda, Mullingar, Carlow and Portlaoise. Newbridge, the town I am making the case for, is now one of the largest towns. It is growing and developing rapidly. We have quit…

I thank the Minister of State and I appreciate his supportive words. I am pleased to hear him say that the NTA is planning new town bus services in Newbridge and in Naas, which is another growing town, and that public consultation will begin in October. It is important that the NTA does a briefing for all public representatives. We all get a lot of responses in relation to this. I look forward to that piece and to the implementation. Once we have that, I will be looking for a service for Kildare town, which is anot…

Woo-hoo.

I am always tripping up with it as well.

Go raibh maith agat a Chathaoirligh. I thank the Leader for the Order of Business as outlined, which I support. I extend on behalf of the Fianna Fáil group our deepest sympathies to Phyllis, Elaine, Patrick and Elizabeth on the passing of Enda, who was an exemplary Senator but also a very effective and committed county councillor for the Glenties area for 20 years. He was incredibly committed to his community and to his political family. He excelled in everything he did, whether that was at a community level, a pol…

I thank the Minister of State very much for being here to respond to my Commencement matter. She and I have spoken both publicly and privately in relation to it. She is an incredibly strong advocate for preventive measures and for positive mental health, which we always need to focus on. We must ensure that everybody's, and particularly every young person's, mental health is valued and supported, and that where a young person needs early intervention, he or she can get that. That is the motto and the value of the o…

I thank the Minister of State for her positive response. In terms of premises, I had meetings with Jigsaw over the years in Newbridge and we did look at various premises. No later than yesterday, I spoke to the chief executive of Kildare County Council in relation to this. Local councillors Noel Heavey and Rob Power had a motion tabled in Kildare County Council regarding premises. As we all know, the population of Kildare has really expanded. We are actually short on space for existing services. Having said that, I…

I join the Cathaoirleach in welcoming both the Belgian ambassador and my friends Joeleen and James. Anyone who has visited Chat N' Chew in Newbridge will have met Joeleen. I certainly hope her lunch today will be up to the usual standard at Chat N' Chew. It was lovely to meet with our former colleague Catherine Martin last night. She brought in a group of musicians, artists and representatives of the Irish Music Rights Organisation, IMRO, including Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Danny O'Donoghue, Tom Dunne and others. They …

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That Seanad Éireann:" and substitute the following: “acknowledges that: - supporting rural Ireland is a top priority for Government; - a whole of Government approach to rural development is in place under the umbrella of Our Rural Future; this approach has been strongly endorsed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in its recent review of Irish rural development policy; - since its launch in 2021, Our Rural Future has delivered vital investm…

-----there are a lot of excellent initiatives. We can always do better and we always should.

I extend my welcome to our esteemed visitor, and wish him well for the celebrations this evening. Many of us were hoping to get there. Unfortunately, we are going to have votes but I have no doubt there still will be an excellent representation from the Houses of the Oireachtas. The Order of Business is No. a 1 on the Supplementary Order Paper, motion regarding Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) (No.3) Regulations 2026, referral to committee, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of …

Senator Rabbitte.

I thank the Cathaoirleach. We have had 26 Senators today. I think that is a record, certainly in my time taking Order of Business. I will try to be as quick as possible while, in fairness, giving respect to all of those who did raise issues and deserve a reply. I will also add my voice of welcome to the ambassador and our distinguished guests from Canada, particularly to Mr. James Maloney, MP, who was so very kind to us when the foreign affairs committee visited just before Christmas. We certainly look forward to a…

I move: (i) That, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders relating to Public Business, the Order of the Seanad of 9th July, 2026 in relation to approval in draft of the Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) (No.3) Regulations 2026 is hereby discharged. (ii) That the proposal that Seanad Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) (No.3) Regulations 2026, a copy of which was laid in draft form before Seanad Éireann on …