I thank the Minister of State very much for her response. This brings me to the confusion the school has. That meeting with the project manager is happening this evening, which is fantastic and very welcome. This is the problem, which I hope the Minister of State's office might be able to help with before that meeting happens this evening. The project manager is of the understanding that five classrooms are approved, the school is of the understanding that 12 are approved and the Department is of the understanding …

I agree with what Senator Flynn says about someone who agreed to pair with someone who is on maternity leave.

I am only commenting on what another Senator said in this room five minutes ago.

The only point I am making is that everyone is under pressure in respect of how to vote. People in Clare would understand if the person in question said to them that the reason she cannot vote is because she is covering someone who is on maternity leave. We are trying to change the dynamics in this building to help women, in particular, but also to help everyone with families to be able to work in a better environment and attract people to politics. It is important to say that. I welcome back the Cathaoirleach from…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for taking this important Commencement matter. It is my first opportunity to congratulate the Minister of State on his new role. We in County Tipperary call him, "the Tipperary Minister", because a region of ours is in his constituency. I know from mutual friends we have in Newport and Birdhill that they are very proud of the Minister of State's elevation and he is regarded as an incredible worker in that area. I have brought up Irish Water numerous times w…

I thank the Minister of State and appreciate his update on Poulavanogue. The problem is the quality of water from the Monroe source, which will now be used instead of Poulavanogue for a period. Monroe was established in the 1990s as a temporary measure and now it looks like it will exist for another ten years. The quality of water that comes from Monroe, which is going to service the town of Clonmel, and the businesses in particular, is not up to scratch. Businesses will be caught with an expense through no fault o…

I also welcome International Women’s Day. I was laughing to myself when I heard Senator Davitt talking about how he is in a house of women and is reminded how lucky he was. I was reared in a house of all boys. You only need one woman to remind you how lucky you are. My mother did that for many years. Now I am in a house with my wife and two boys and we are reminded once again how lucky we are to have that woman. I ask that we have a debate with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Coveney. We h…

I welcome the visitors to the Chamber from the UK Embassy. I am sure they were glad to be here for Senator Currie's contribution. I made a wonderful contribution yesterday, for which they were not in attendance. They will be pleased, for obvious reasons, to have been here to listen to Senator Currie's contribution. I ask that the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, come to the House for a debate on energy costs. A number of Ministers and Members of the parties in Government …

I thank the Minister for coming to the Chamber and taking this important Commencement matter. When I speak about Clonmel Garda station, I must first recognise that the Minister is responsible for two Departments. Kickham Barracks plays a key role in both Departments. Before I outline my frustration with the Department of Justice and the Government regarding Clonmel Garda station, since I have not had an opportunity to do so in a public forum such as this, I acknowledge and thank the Minister for his support, and th…

I appreciate the response and I accept wholeheartedly the Minister's genuine will to get this done. When the new Government was formed in December, the Taoiseach appointed Deputy Donohoe to a new role in public expenditure and delivery on national development plan projects. This is a clear recognition that while we are announcing things and putting money towards things, for some reason some projects are simply not being delivered. Clonmel Garda station is a prime example of this and is a project we announced eight …

I concur.

Today is a very good example of how success has many fathers. I want to echo what was said by Senator Seery Kearney. If we are going to acknowledge the Windsor Framework and the work that has been put into it, we need to acknowledge all the people who have played their part. I acknowledge the Tánaiste's role in it but the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Coveney, held the foreign affairs portfolio for five and a half years. The Leader was Opposition spokesperson on this area when the Minister, …

Everyone is great.

I was listening to some of the earlier contributions. I have been here three years, but it has just dawned on me that if a Member comes into this House with a prepared speech he or she can speak as long as he or she wants, but if not, he or she gets to speak for two minutes. What is most frustrating is that if someone comes in with a prepared speech, he or she surely knows how long one will speak for, so it is insulting to everyone else when time is exceeded. A lot of Members do that.

I never said anything about the Chair. I just said that if I have a prepared speech, I will get five minutes to speak. Along with others, I mark the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine. As others have said, the House has played a key role in condemning it and I thank people for putting their name to today's motion. However, there is a presentation at 11.30 a.m. with the Ukrainian ambassador featuring pictures of the first days and weeks of the war. They were pictures shown to people in the church in Bucha. M…

I seek a debate with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, some time soon. I also thank the Leader for getting the Minister to meet the hedgerows group that was protesting outside Leinster House last week. Those involved were highly appreciative of the fact that the Minister came out to meet them. I want to welcome the announcement of the new targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, by the Minister. I remember when the scheme started it was very restricted to different sect…

I thank the Minister of State for taking this Commencement matter. The Minister of State is in a neighbouring constituency quite similar to mine. She was with us recently and I thank her for that positive visit to Cashel. I have raised this because of the frustration in my office, and I am sure in hers and others across the country, of people who are not getting medical cards, even though when we deal with them we know they deserve them. I will speak to a couple of examples, and then about how it particularly falls…

Out of the many responses I have heard in this Chamber, the last minute was one of the most frank and honest responses I have had on a Commencement matter. I thank the Minister of State for that. If we could keep her in the Department of Health for a couple of years she could sort out all of the problems there. On a serious note and as the Minister of State herself said, people in this situation have enough to be worrying about and they have experienced tragedy. To then feel as though the State is not supporting th…

I ask for a debate with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, on Irish Water on a couple of fronts. The staffing of Irish Water and the moving of staff to it from local authorities is not going quite well, to say the very least. It could have been predicted a number of years ago that this would not go quite well because of differing terms and conditions for staff who move from local authorities to Irish Water. Senator Dolan talked about small businesses in rural areas. Goo…

I want to let the House know there is a protest starting at 12 noon today at the front of Leinster House in Kildare Street. It is a group of hedge growers who are protesting about the amount of hedging that has been cut in recent years with the instruction or acceptance of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The group that is here today has written to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and is looking to meet him today to present him with a letter about its genuine concerns. Obviously,…