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…

It was Senator McCormack who proposed the amendment first.

I thought she seconded it.

Apologies. I will outline No. 1 a on the Supplementary Order Paper. Statements on the Global Sumud Flotilla will be taken at 1.30 p.m. and conclude at 3 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister of State 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 of State to be given not less than ten minutes to reply to the debate. On the conclusion o…

I wish to share time with Senator Alison Comyn.

We have already had an opportunity to discuss this issue briefly this morning. I welcome the fact that the Minister of State made himself available to come to the Seanad Chamber to discuss this. Even though he has a heavy schedule, he changed other commitments in order to come here because he appreciates, as we do, that this is a very important area of discussion and we need to have the loudest voice possible in terms of supporting those civilians who are on the flotilla and condemning the actions of Israel. It is …

It was me.

I add my voice of formal welcome on the behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party to the ambassador from Cyprus. It was lovely to meet him earlier. I wish all Cypriots living in Ireland a good and happy independence day. Jennie Poole would have been 29 today. She should have been celebrating her birthday with her two young children, her parents and her family. Sadly, as we know, she was murdered by a former partner in April 2021. Her brother, Jason, has been campaigning tirelessly for the establishment of a domestic register…

It will not come as any surprise to hear me talking about this Commencement matter. Coming from south Kildare, it is a topic that is very close to my heart. The military and defence family are very much part of the whole social, economic and professional fabric of Kildare and right around the country. Over the years, we have seen a lack of investment in our Defence Forces and we have a recruitment and retention problem, or challenge, I should say. It is really important that Government invests in recruitment and re…

I acknowledge the work that has been done on recruitment and retention. I am disappointed that there is not anything in the response the Minister of State received from the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence's office in relation to the Curragh Plains. This is absolutely a key part here. We are halfway through the period from 2022 to 2028 to which the Minister of State referred and only one third of the recommendations have been implemented. Further to that, the programme for Government agreed in 2025 went further, p…

On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party, I extend our sympathies to our colleague Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee on the passing of her mother, Mary, at the very untimely age of 67. Our deepest sympathy to Lorraine, to her dad, Mossie, and to all her family. There will be further opportunities to speak about the wonderful and great man that Martin Mansergh was, and my colleague Senator Goldsboro, will speak further about him. From all of the conversations I had with Martin over the years him and from what I heard, I know …

I thank the Leas-Cathaoirleach. First, I formally welcome Martin Hughes to the Chamber following his appointment to his new role. I look forward to working with him. We also send our best wishes to the outgoing Bridget Doody. She did an an incredible job while she stepped into the role in an acting capacity. The Order of Business today is No. 47(1) on the Order Paper, motion regarding the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, to be taken at 12.15 p.m., with the time allocated to this debate not to exceed two hours.

We started this morning with Senator Comyn and I share her tribute to Kevin Geraghty from Collon. Having people in one's life who are stalwarts, as the Senator described Kevin, is so important. As every single one of us know in this Chamber and in the other Chamber, putting your name up to run for election can be a lonely business no matter whether you are a member of a party or running as an Independent. Having these good people in your life is so important. We send our condolences to Kevin's family. The Senator a…