I thank the Deputy.

I add my voice of welcome to Deputy Cahill and his guests from beautiful Kerry. I was lucky to be there about three weeks ago when I enjoyed an all-too-short visit. I am thankful that this debate has been tabled. It is great to have the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs in the Chamber. It is a privilege to be able to address this matter on behalf of Fianna Fáil. As today is Poetry Day Ireland, I thought I would try to find a verse or stanza that could reflect Europe. I thought the one I fou…

On this fine sunny morning, I am mindful to think of the Punchestown racing festival which started yesterday and brings so much into the economy of Kildare. I know that there is a great welcome for everybody who goes there. Well done to David Mongey, the chair of the board, and Conor O'Neill, the manager. Anyone who wants tips should listen to Councillor Daragh Fitzpatrick on Kfm every morning. He has been giving all of the runners and riders and the very hot tips.

I have not put a bet on so I genuinely do not know. There are two issues I wish to raise with the Leader. The first is Intel in north Kildare, which also provides employment for much of south Kildare and many surrounding counties. It has given so much to the country. Of course, Kildare County Council depends an awful lot on its rates as well. Some 4,900 people work there. There is much concern now for the workers and their families due to the announcement that the company's workforce globally will be cut by 20%. It…

Directly after the Order of Business we will be moving a motion of condolence on the passing of His Holiness the Pope. My party, Fianna Fáil, wants to be associated with that. We acknowledge the late Pope's humility and compassion and, above all, his great empathy and understanding. Since we met just before Easter, we received an e-mail from the Clerk, Martin Groves, to say he was retiring during the Easter break. I sincerely hope there will be an opportunity to note our appreciation and gratitude for his help and …

The Tánaiste is very welcome to the Seanad. On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party, I wish him well in his brief, which has suddenly become more challenging. Commuting to the House this morning, I looked at people on their daily commute to their places of study and work, or wherever they were going. I genuinely wondered whether this is a moment in time where there is a before and an after in terms of things changing in all of our lives. I was also buoyed by a sense of confidence that we will get through this. Then I th…

I thank the Minister of State for being here to answer this question. My query relates to Ballymore Eustace, a beautiful small town in County Kildare between Naas and Blessington. It has a population of 1,700 people and is growing all the time. In fact, it has the highest number of older people in Kildare, according to the most recent census. The issue I raise relates to the lack of adequate GP clinics. There was a full-time clinic in Ballymore Eustace and about 15 years ago, a GP based in Blessington, whose name I…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. He stated that additional emergency appointments are provided in Ballymore Eustace as required, with appointments also available at the Blessington practice. My understanding is that additional emergency appointments are not being given. There are no same-day appointments in the Blessington practice. Some people have had to wait weeks for that. I appreciate there are some areas where there is a shortage of available GPs. The Minister of State's response was that while…

I welcome the Minister to the Seanad. We are pleased to have the opportunity to talk to him about some of the most pressing issues in our communities and throughout the country. I join my colleagues in wishing the Minister well with the arduous task ahead of him. He has hit the ground running and I have no doubt he will continue to work 24-7 on this difficult area with ingenuity and with many stakeholders. Housing cannot be siloed within the Department of housing. Working with local authorities, Irish Water and man…

I support the Order of Business. I, too, wish Jeremy well. I had the opportunity to do so outside the Chamber. Of course, I wish George well too. He has big shoes to follow in terms of the excellent work that Jeremy has done. Today is a good news day for commuters from Kildare and Newbridge because the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, announced that the fair fares scheme will be implemented on 28 April. What does that mean? It means an incredible amount. For commuters from Newbridge, fares will go down by 45% on a…

The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding establishment of the Seanad Select Committee on Subsidiarity (European Union Legislative Scrutiny), to be taken without debate on conclusion of the Order of Business; No. 2, motion regarding the restoration of Bills to the Order Paper, to be taken without debate on the conclusion of No. 1; No. 3, motion regarding proposed approval by Seanad Éireann of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (Section 4(2)) (Scheme Termination Date) Order 2025, to be taken at…

I totally endorse all the comments that have been made about Aisling and I absolutely approve of the suggestion by Senator Wilson that we invite Aisling back for a day to give us the opportunity to acknowledge her and show that we value and appreciate all the work she has done. Senator Kennelly spoke about the lack of respite care in Kerry and about St. Francis school in Beaufort and the gap in service provision there. He also said it would seem that there possibly could be some work done with St. Mary of the Angel…

If that has not come up yet, I would suggest that she puts it down again. It is clear that engagement with the stakeholders is needed. We will write to the Minister for Education to say that. Senator Gallagher raised his grave concern about the ambulance service in Monaghan. He explained how, this week, 16 12-hour shifts were not covered and it will possibly be 19 next week. There is concern about the four vacancies given these have been found to be difficult to fill. As the Senator said, the solution is certainly …

I move: That, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders- (1) the Committee standing established under Standing Order 125 shall be called the Seanad Select Committee on Subsidiarity (European Union Legislative Scrutiny), and shall consist of twelve members, of whom five shall constitute a quorum; (2) the Select Committee shall meet where necessary to perform the following functions: ( a ) to consider the potential requirement for a reasoned opinion that a draft legislative act does not comply with the principle of…

I move: That, in pursuance of Standing Order No. 180 of the Standing Orders relative to Public Business, the Bills which lapsed by reason of the Seanad General Election, January, 2025, and are set out in the Schedule to this motion, shall be restored to the Order Paper at the stage specified in the Schedule below: SCHEDULE

I thank the Minister for being here and I wish her well in her new position. I have no doubt that she will serve with the same energy, enthusiasm and integrity as she did in her previous portfolio. I welcome this important debate. The Fianna Fáil group supports the motion. I pay tribute to the Helping Irish Hosts organisation, including Angie Gough, Aideen Gough and Jill Robinson, who are a fantastic team of committed people who did an incredible amount of work in preparing hosts and communities and matchmaking. Th…

I thank the Minister of State for being here to take this Commencement matter. Last August, the then Minister of State with special responsibility for sport, Deputy Thomas Byrne, launched the national swimming strategy. This was the first such swimming strategy. Its purpose was to show the determination to make swimming a key focus in respect of giving everybody the opportunity to learn to swim and to be able to swim. Indeed, swimming is a very popular sport and we have seen this through our successes in the Olympi…

I thank the Minister of State for his response, which I am disappointed with because I hoped for some new information. I raised this issue previously as a Commencement matter and, as outlined in the response, I have been in contact with Department officials on a regular basis. When we have such a good community asset in an area where there is no public swimming pool, it is regrettable and completely wrong that schools and other swim clubs cannot use this pool due to a situation where no lifeguards are there. I cann…

I support the Order of Business as outlined by the Leader. As our population grows and ages, we increasingly have people living longer, which is very much to be welcomed. People in Ireland live longer than in any other European country. However, more challenges and health issues come with that. One area where we see a lot of growth is the number of people presenting with dementia. The Alzheimer Society of Ireland does incredible work supporting people with dementia to live as independently as long as possible and s…

About three weeks ago, I went to see a play called The Ferryman in the Gaiety. It is an excellent play. It is about three hours long but it lays out in a bare way the trauma for families who have a disappeared among them. This trauma is generational. It is important we talk about the news last night that the disappeared commission has confirmed the body exhumed from a grave in County Monaghan was not the remains of Joe Lynskey. I listened to some of his family members who thought that, 53 years after he disappeared…