On behalf of Fianna Fáil, I express our sadness on hearing of the passing of Sr. Stanislaus Kennedy, who was rightly revered for her lifelong dedication to social justice, especially her work with the homeless, immigrants and marginalised communities in Ireland. She earned deep respect and admiration. We can look back at the organisations she co-founded: Focus Ireland, the Immigrant Council of Ireland, and the Sanctuary. I took one quote from her many wonderful sayings, that belonging is a basic human need. Without…

On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party, I too extend my voice of welcome to the Austrian ambassador. I also extend condolences to the Calnan family and to the Labour Party. Tomorrow is an important day, not just in Brussels but across Europe, for an Irishman Séamus Boland who is the first Irish person to take the presidency of the European Economic and Social Committee, EESC. Many of us got to know Séamus through Irish Rural Link. He is an Irish community leader and a farmer. He is to be inaugurated tomorrow as preside…

I second that proposal.

I am sharing time with Senator Paul Daly.

I welcome Councillor Caroline O'Reilly, who is with us this morning. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Taoiseach. Gabhaim buíochas leis as a chuid focal. Last Friday, thanks to national and local funding, we had the opportunity to open the Shackleton museum in Athy. Shackleton, as the Taoiseach knows, was from Kilkea, just a few miles away. He is famous for having demonstrated great leadership skills on three Antarctic expeditions, including the famous Endurance expedition. Endurance is an important strength that is sometimes…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, for being here. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, was keen to be here but she had a prior commitment and I appreciate that the Minister of State is here on her behalf. The issue I raise relates to Jigsaw and my disappointment at the fact that we did not get a Jigsaw service for Newbridge and surrounding areas in the budget announced last week. I will prove the need for it. I will also refer to the fact that, having raised this matter several times in this …

I thank the Minister of State. I acknowledge that I spoke to the Minister's adviser yesterday. I am not at all happy with that response. I went through the statistics earlier. County Kildare has the highest rate of youth suicide in Leinster. That has to stand for something. I always try to be positive about my town and my county because I believe in being positive. I do not believe in being negative. but I am so disappointed by this response and the budget allocation. I accept that no new physical location has been…

On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party, I extend our deepest sympathies to the family of the former Senator, Professor James Doolan. I remember him coming to my house when my father was a councillor. There were lots of visitors and, living out in the country, one always looked forward to those who came canvassing for the Seanad election. He stood out. There was just something very special about him. I think part of that was because of his sister, Lelia, who was the most wonderful actress. My parents were big into theat…

First, I extend the sympathies of the Fianna Fáil Party to our colleague, Senator Teresa Costello, on the sad passing of her father, John Francis, and to Teresa's mother, Marian, and sister, Eileen. One of the issues I want to bring up today is in relation to an article I read over the weekend about the results of the autopsy of a young 14-year-old girl in County Clare. Her name was Sarah Mescall and by all accounts she was a lovely, bright, athletic individual. Very sadly, she passed away two years ago. That was f…

Yes.

I move: “That Seanad Éireann: agrees that: - in February 2022, Russia - a founding member of the United Nations (UN) and a permanent member of its Security Council - launched a full-scale, illegal invasion of Ukraine, in defiance of international law, and in defiance of the UN Charter; - Russia has prosecuted the war with a wilful and reckless indifference to its human consequences; - tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been killed and maimed, millions have been forced to flee their homeland and millions more have…

I thank all who participated in the debate, including my colleagues, Senators Daly, Ahearn, McCarthy, McCormack, Stephenson and McDowell. I thank the Minister of State for his response. Senator McDowell was perfectly correct in what he said about calling out the United States and President Trump. When we see the efforts the EU has gone to in supporting Ukraine and trying to plan for the future, it is quite unconscionable that the US has done so little but humiliated President Zelenskyy to try to defeat his morale a…

Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.

The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on budget 2026, from the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, to be taken at 1 p.m. and to conclude at 3 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to 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 five minutes, time may be shared and the Minister to be given not less than ten minutes to reply…

We started today with Senator Rabbitte, who spoke about Portumna Forest Park, which is a beautiful place, in the context of Storm Éowyn. She acknowledged the good work done by Coillte in the clean-up after the storm. There is, however, still debris with fallen trees. From a safety point of view, it is important they be removed. The Senator was right to say that is the case across the country. Priority should be given to such issues. We are lucky to have those beautiful recreational trails and it is important that w…

I also welcome the ambassador. It is a pleasure to meet him once again. We met on St. Patrick's Day in Newbridge as a result of the very active twinning we have with Bad Lippspringe. I wish all German citizens living in Ireland and those with links to Germany a happy independence and commemoration day. Before moving to the Order of Business, I propose to read out a statement. I want to address the House on the subject of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a fleet of almost 50 vessels aiming to deliver humanitarian aid and …

The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on growing and building resilience in Ireland’s small business and retail, to be taken at 12 p.m. and to conclude at 1.30 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated for the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed seven minutes each, all other Senators not to exceed four minutes each, time may be shared, and the Minister to be given not less than ten minutes to reply to the debate.

I have so many notes in front on me now, and I am trying to rearrange today's schedule, so forgive me if I do not get every single piece. We started off with Senator Rabbitte expressing solidarity with Senator Chris Andrews and others. I understand from Senator Ruane that Deputy Heneghan is about three days behind. He is on the next flotilla.

We have to acknowledge Deputy Heneghan because we cannot just acknowledge one Oireachtas Member not the other. That is important. Senator Rabbitte rightly called out the genocide that is happening in Gaza. It is absolutely heartbreaking. We are all on the same page. Sometimes it frustrates me when there is a sense that it is one side against the other. We all agreed on a motion under Fianna Fáil's Private Members' Bill last Thursday. I was really appreciative of everybody working together and of us, as a party, acc…

It is because it is a national route. Priority has been given to schools in every single county by the local authorities. Obviously, there is a particular situation with this, but we certainly would echo our support. Every child going to school should have a safe route to school. Senator Brady spoke about the Ryder Cup and what a great achievement it was for Europe and the Irish players. The behaviour was appalling. I remember going to the last Ryder Cup in Ireland. I am not a golfer and do not know a lot about gol…