The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the restoration of Bills to the Order Paper, to be taken at the conclusion of the Order of Business without debate, and No. 2, statements on Ireland's national plan under the Common Agricultural Policy, to be taken at 1.15 p.m., with the time allocated for the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, those of group spokespersons not to exceed ten minutes and those of all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, with the possibility to share time, …

On International Day of Happiness, I wish everybody a very happy weekend.

We started off the Order of Business this morning with Senator Linda Nelson Murray, who spoke about the report that showed that a lot of people who are making claims are going towards litigation, rather than going for mediation. There has been a 17% increase in the number of cases going through litigation. Basically, the insurance claims that are being paid out are higher than those in England and our other neighbours across the water. Senator Nelson Murray has asked for a debate. There are four different Ministers…

I am responding that, to the best of my knowledge, that is the way that works. It is very regrettable when we have a situation like that. If there is something that can be done at a national level, certainly that should be done. The Senator might bring that to our attention. Senator Fitzpatrick spoke about the issues of vexatious claims impacting on retail workers. It is shocking. We see from reports and surveys that the level of shoplifting has increased year on year. The fact that 94% of retailers are impacted is…

He wants a year of celebrations. We could have that as well. In fact, his birthday is on Thursday so we are having lunch in Leinster House because this is the place he felt he would want to be to celebrate. All here are welcome to come in and sing “Happy Birthday”. Senator Davitt also spoke about national roads and that we need a debate on TII. When it comes to roads and transport, we are in a difficult situation because we have TII and we have the NTA, which, to a certain extent, operate at a remove from the Depar…

We will get an update on that. The Senator is right about rural housing. It is hugely important in my own county and throughout the country. We need to see rural communities survive and thrive. We cannot do that at the moment with the stringent conditions there are on rural housing. I acknowledge former Deputy, Eamon Ó Cuív, who did a lot of good work and put a lot of good policies in place. I understand there is a big celebration in Galway on Saturday night of his many years of service to Leinster House, to the pe…

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:

I am sharing time with Senator Clifford-Lee. I welcome the Minister. I have had the opportunity to congratulate him privately but it is nice to be able to do it in a public forum. The electorate of Kildare South was certainly very pleased to see a Cabinet Minister from the constituency, so I wish him well in his onerous role. I know that, as a practising farmer, he brings a lot of expertise and experience to his brief. In case there was anything lacking, I have no doubt that Denis Halpin, Thomas O'Connor and the go…

The Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, is very welcome to the Chamber. It is the first opportunity I have had to welcome her here. I wish her well in her role as Minister of State. I have no doubt she will do an excellent job. The Commencement matter I am raising today is not new to this House. I have debated it ad nauseam within the Dáil and the Seanad. Like countless others, I believe public transport should be affordable, accessible, reliable and safe. In recent years, there has been a total discrepancy in the op…

The Minister of State did not get to say it, but I saw when I read ahead that the key element is that it will happen by the end of April 2025. The answer to my question on the start is that it is not being delayed further. I am very glad to hear that. It is important. I acknowledge that the NTA is responsible for the day-to-day operations, but it is not implementing Government policy. I have led delegations to the previous Minister of State at the Department at the Department of Transport, Jack Chambers, and to Jam…

I accept and support the Order of Business, as outlined. I hope that everybody had a good and enjoyable St. Patrick's Day, wherever they celebrated it. I thank all of the amazing volunteers around the country who put so much time and effort into ensuring that towns and communities had their own parades. It is important to note the very many missions across the world that celebrated St. Patrick's Day. It is truly incredible for us as a small country to have our country and Irishness celebrated across the globe and t…

I think the Minister of State is missing us a lot. He is back in the House very regularly. It is always good to have him here. The Commencement matter I have concerns the Curragh Plains and the management of the area. In his time as Cathaoirleach, the Minister of State will know this is an issue I have raised quite a bit. Indeed, I brought forward a Private Member's Bill on the protection of the Curragh. It is a unique place, consisting of 5,000 acres in the heartland of the country and is of great cultural, herita…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. He spoke about accessibility for people who live in the area. This is very important, and it is something we certainly do not want to take away from them. The illegal encampments to which I referred earlier are causing great problems and financial expense for the Department and Kildare County Council. I thank both entities for their help. I also thank the local gardaí. I appreciate that the Chief State Solicitor is looking at the legislation. I was very heartened when…

This time two years ago I hosted the Network Ireland national executive here in Leinster House. It was a really good opportunity to engage with them about their vision and plans. It is an excellent networking group for women. At the time, the then president, Emma Early Murphy, spoke about her plans for developing an all-island programme of events for women in business and culture and the arts. On International Women's Day this coming Saturday, the first all-island business women's network day will take place in Cro…

The Minister of State is very welcome. I congratulate him and wish him well with this portfolio, which absolutely suits him very well in terms of the experience he has gained and the wisdom that he will bring to the role. It is really important that we are having this debate in the week prior to St. Patrick's Day when practically all of our Ministers will be travelling abroad as ambassadors and representing Ireland on a very important day. So few countries in the world have this opportunity, and we are absolutely r…

Absolutely, I will do that.

I have a proposal that, notwithstanding the Order of the House today, statements to mark International Women's Day, shall conclude at 4.45 p.m., if not previously concluded.

Yes.

I wish the Minister well in all the challenges that she faces. On this day, I also thank the former Minister, Stephen Donnelly, for all the tremendous work that he did in starting a revolution around women's healthcare. I am conscious that this is about International Women's Day as well as about women's health. I am also conscious that women comprise 45% of Seanad Members, which is fantastic. I say well done to everybody who worked hard to get here, but we stand on the shoulders of all of those who went before us. …

With the permission of the Leader and with the kind support of the Minister I put forward to the House that notwithstanding the Order of the House today, the statements to mark International Women's Day shall now conclude at 5 p.m. if not previously concluded.