My colleague, Senator Flaherty, and I wish to share time.

Yes.

I wish to share time with my colleague, Senator Flaherty. I wish to speak for six minutes and my colleague will have four minutes.

The Minister of State bounced in here with his usual boundless energy and enthusiasm. It is great to see somebody who really is genuinely passionate about the role they serve. I know he does that in the community element and, of course, around rural transport. The two are also interlinked. That viability and connectivity, particularly in rural communities, is hugely important. Senator Scahill quoted Churchill whom I always like to hear being quoted but I will mention another one attributed to him which is equally f…

I thank the Cathaoirleach for his lovely words about former Senator and councillor, Larry Butler. He was a very gregarious character and his sartorial elegance was always absolutely spot on. He always had the nicest and the best of suits and immaculately polished shoes. He was an absolute gentleman any time I met him and I know everybody who met him had the same experience. Our deepest sympathy to his family. The Order of Business is No. 1, address to Seanad Éireann by Members of the European Parliament representin…

I thank the 15 Senators who contributed on the Order of Business this morning. We started with Senator Comyn, who spoke about Ash Wednesday and its importance in our calendar, heralding a time not just to abstain but to reflect and take up some type of positive habit. Kindness was the one she suggested. I think we can never have enough kindness in the world, including in this Chamber at times. Senator Comyn also spoke about two housing estates in Drogheda that have particular issues. In Bryanstown Wood, sadly there…

The NCSE is obviously part of the whole story. Part of the problem is that the NCSE seems to have taken the decision to send out these communications unilaterally. That was very regrettable. I am sure there will be conversations about that. That is the end of my response to the Order of Business.

I move: That Seanad Éireann – - expresses its deep sadness on the death of Larry Butler; - conveys its sincere condolences to his family; and - expresses its gratitude for his notable contribution, as a member of Seanad Éireann, to Irish public life and for his dedicated service to the people of Ireland.

The Minister, Deputy Calleary, is very welcome to the House. Of course, he is always welcome to Kildare. I know he has been there a number of times and if he would like to come to see the area I will talk about, he would absolutely be more than welcome. It is just a small detour on the way home to lovely Mayo. I raise a Commencement in relation to the Moore Abbey estate in Monasterevin, A monastery was originally founded on the Moore Abbey estate in the 6th or 7th century by St. Evin, whom Monasterevin is called af…

I thank the Minister for his response. We were delighted to welcome him to Athy to the Shackleton Experience, which I know he found enthralling. It is fantastic and I would recommend everybody to come to visit it. Of course the Monasterevin town square regeneration project funding was very much welcomed, along with the funding allocations for Clane and Athgarvan. I want to come back briefly to Moore Abbey. I believe this would be a vital regenerative source for the public in Monasterevin and would bring new life an…

I support the Order of Business as outlined by the Leader. Last Wednesday, in the debate on a Commencement matter I raised regarding proposed cuts in the allocation of special needs assistants, SNAs, I described those cuts as indefensible. I was really glad to hear of the decision by the Cabinet this morning that this review of SNA allocations has been paused. Some 200 schools were impacted by the proposal. I spoke last week about Patrician Secondary School, Newbridge, County Kildare, which is absolutely renowned f…

I add my voice of welcome to the ambassador and the convenor. Lithuania is a beautiful country and I always received a very warm welcome from the Lithuanian people when I had the honour and opportunity to visit their country. I look forward to future visits with Deputy Dempsey.

The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the address to Seanad Éireann by MEPs representing the European Parliament South constituency, to be taken on conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; and No. 1 a , on the Supplementary Order Paper, Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 - Second Stage, to be taken at 11.45 a.m., with the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes, any other Senators not to exceed five min…

We started this morning with Senator Fitzpatrick, who spoke about the importance of our capital city and said that Ireland deserves to have a capital that is safe to live in and safe to visit. She also spoke about the Dublin city task force and the importance of its work on revitalising the city. Senator Fitzpatrick has put a lot of work into the development of the task force and brought forward legislation a number of years ago with Deputy Lahart, which pre-empted this task force. The point of it is to bring all s…

I never mentioned anything about people caught up with sex trafficking being innocent. I am talking about Epstein's tentacles in terms of social gatherings. People who got caught up attending social gatherings had no idea of the horrific activities that he was responsible for. Of course, there were those who attended gatherings and were complicit - absolutely. The point I am making is that not everybody who is now being associated with Epstein is guilty of this type of crime. We have to remember that. I know one gi…

I move: That, in accordance with Standing Order 63(1) and the approval of the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight, Seanad Éireann agrees that, in respect of the European Parliament South Constituency, Ms Kathleen Funchion MEP, Mr. Billy Kelleher MEP, Mr. Seán Kelly MEP, Mr. Michael McNamara MEP, and Ms Cynthia Ní Mhurchú MEP, may attend and be heard in Seanad Éireann on Wednesday, 18th February, 2026, and that the following arrangements shall apply: The proceedings shall commence at 2:30 p.m., shall…

As somebody who rented for 16 years I know only too well the vulnerability of being a tenant. There is the lack of security of tenure and not knowing month to month if a place will remain home. It is important to point out that this is the first time that any Government has introduced a national system of rent control, which I welcome. One of the earlier speakers said that this legislation will not fix the housing crisis. It will not. It was never meant to fix the housing crisis because a lot of measures need to wo…

Next Tuesday at 2.30 p.m.

I thank the Minister of State for being here to take this Commencement matter. I acknowledge his commitment and compassion in relation to special education. The Minister of State visited the school across the road from the one I am going to speak about a number of months ago when we went to the Patrician Primary School in Newbridge. He will recall it is an old building. It needs a special ASD class. The physical element of the school is not leading to that at the moment but we are working together to provide same. …

I acknowledge that the NCSE allocation and review process are important to ensure SNAs are provided where they are most needed. I also acknowledge that the number of SNAs in County Kildare has increased to 989 this year. That is significant, along with the 74% increase in the number of special classes in Kildare from 2021 to today. That is all really important. However, it does not take away from the cut that the Patrician Catholic Secondary School has been told to expect. I know that the Minister of State's vision…