I thank the Cathaoirleach. We do, indeed, have the executive committee of the Network Ireland here. I was delighted to host its members earlier and to have this opportunity now to recognise the leadership, the expertise and the diverse experiences each one of them brings to the organisation, and not just to the organisation but to public life and to our wider society. From my work, the network's commitment to supporting one another, to championing one another and to opening doors for the next generation is hugely i…

The Order of Business is No.1, statements on Irish Water and water quality, to be taken at 2 p.m. and to conclude at 3.30 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes, all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, time may be shared, and the Minister is to be given not less than ten minutes to reply to the debate; No. 2, Irish Film Board (Amendment) Bill 2025 - Order for Second Stage and …

We certainly had a busy Order of Business. We know it is World Toilet Day and World COPD Day. Nobody mentioned it was International Men's Day. I wish all the gentlemen remaining in the Chamber a very happy International Men's Day.

You are very welcome. That is why I am delighted to have my guests from Kildare, Tony O’Halloran, Colm Somers, Alex Byrne and some more, joining us. It is a special day for me, apart from it being International Men's Day. If my dad was alive, he would have been 90 today. Many met him and knew him or knew of him. It is a very special day. I am going to have lunch with Kildare men and have a glass of wine, celebrating International Men's Day. Senator Fitzpatrick spoke about the horrific situation in Ukraine once agai…

I do not.

Senator Pat Casey is calling a vote.

We will rise.

I thank the Minister of State for being here. I am used to having him give me responses and he always genuinely does so with such heart and in a very helpful manner. I know it is not easy when it is a Minister with another portfolio altogether who should be here answering. The issue I raise is a really important one that I came across about two weeks ago. We all know we need a consistent childcare service. Childcare, of course, takes many different forms. We can talk about crèche or preschool, but people who mind c…

I thank the Minister of State for his answer. I still believe there are a lot of grey areas. I accept Tailte Éireann is independent in the exercise of its functions. It would appear that there needs to be an amendment to the legislation regarding the exemption, which I am prepared to work on. The Act makes reference to activities not conducted for the purpose of making a private profit. Registered childminders who care for children in their homes will of course be paid an amount of money for that. If a childminder …

I also welcome our special guests from Iceland. I was privileged to be there for the fourth summit of the Council of Europe. I was the rapporteur, so I worked closely with my colleagues on PACE. I had a wonderful and interesting time, and had the privilege of meeting Vigdís Finnbogadóttir a few times, the first female president in the world. We all have a lot to learn from her. They are welcome. Sunday was a day of two halves. We woke to the shocking and horrific news of five young people killed on their way for a …

We have a small Chamber this morning. The Order of Business is No. 1, Electricity Supply (Amendment) Bill 2025 - Second Stage, to be taken at 12.15 p.m., with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, those of group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes, those of all other Senators not to exceed four minutes, time may be shared, and the Minister to be given not less than ten minutes to reply to the debate.

We started the Order of Business with Senator Fitzpatrick, who spoke about the publication of the updated housing plan. She is correct in saying it is a very important plan. She mentioned the key issue of State investment in homes. That is not to forget that under Housing for All 137,000 new builds were put in place and 500 new mortgages for first-time buyers were drawn down every week. I have not read all the detail - as Senator Boyhan said, there is a lot of detail in it. It takes time to absorb it. Every time I …

I add my voice to the welcome for Councillor Gary Prior. It is wonderful to see Gary and his guest Seán. This is the people's Parliament, and it is very important that we have our public representatives and, of course, citizens of the country coming to Leinster House to see how we do our business. There are a number of issues I wish to raise. First, it is really good to see a satisfactory outcome for those who have been on hunger strike outside the gates of this building. We are all quick to criticise when things a…

I second the motion. The Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, is very welcome to the Chamber. I acknowledge his work as Minister of State with responsibility for special education and the very reforming work he is undertaking, while acknowledging that this particular motion is under the brief of the Minister, Deputy McEntee. It is a very important motion. I commend my colleague, Senator Curley, our education spokesperson, on all the background work he has been doing in this area. Senator Crowe has been very vocal al…

The Order of Business is expressions of sympathy on the death of former Senator Billy Lawless, to be taken at 11.45 a.m. and to conclude at 12.45 p.m. if not previously concluded; and No. 1, statements on international development and the diaspora, to be taken at 1 p.m. and to conclude at 2.30 p.m. if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes each, all other Senators not to exceed five minutes e…

We started this morning with Senator Blaney who spoke about the N2 and A5, particularly the A5. This has been ongoing for a long time. I think the agreement was made in 2009. The Senator has brought this up several times and I thank him for being a champion for it. We need champions for different infrastructure projects in different forums. My understanding is that a commitment has been made by the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. I read somewhere a few weeks ago that he recommitted to that financial commitment. Commitmen…

I thank Senator Ahearn for allowing me to go before him due to another appointment. It is really appreciated. The Minister of State is very welcome. This discussion is timely. It is also important that we had the opportunity to discuss it yesterday at the European affairs committee but our voices need to be heard in every Chamber and committee. I acknowledge the Minister of State's commitment and the Government's commitment to firmly pledge, with our international partners, that we need to tackle issues that affect…

I welcome the women from Templeogue Women's Shed whom I met on the way in. It is wonderful to hear that the women's shed is thriving in Templeogue. I want to speak generally about the women's shed and men's shed movements. They are a wonderful asset to communities in both urban and rural Ireland. The men's shed movement originated in Australia and came to Ireland in about 2011. I have the good fortune to work with a number of the men's sheds in my own county of Kildare. The women's shed movement started at a later …

The Minister of State is very welcome. He takes this matter very seriously and is committed to supporting our post offices in all of the communities that they serve. I understand there are 960 post offices. When I was a child growing up in Rathangan, the highlight of any day or week was the possibility of calling in to Mollie Forde, our local postmistress. She knew every single child and adult. She knew if somebody was doing exams. When someone turned 18, she would put them on the electoral register. She was a trea…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, to the Seanad. Rarely have we had an opportunity to have a Minister of State so well matched to his brief. I acknowledge the former Minister of State, Senator Noonan's same passion, commitment, dedication and, indeed, expertise and knowledge. I welcome the Minister of State's speech, in which he showed his clear commitment to where we were now and where we needed to go. It is quite incredible to think that, in 2020 when Senator Noonan came into the position, there…