This is what people ask me all of the time: how can it be that when the wholesale prices go up, the bills go up straight away, but we are told by Electric Ireland that when wholesale prices come down, and they are now lower than they were before the war, it cannot be done for 18 or 24 months? It cannot always be the Government that people fall back on.

These companies and these people need to step up at this time of crisis.

I commend my colleague, Senator Martin, on this amending legislation, which I fully support. I agree with comments made by Senator Chambers. It is hard enough to convince people, particularly women, to report a crime but it is worse if, at the end of the process, they and the public see justice has not prevailed. It is disheartening for the individual, at the very least. It will put people off in the future if those who commit the crimes are not brought to justice – to real justice. This is the sort of subject on w…

I echo Senator Murphy's comments. It is impossible not to be touched by the text message he received. One cannot help but be affected when one sees videos of little children being dragged out of rubble. Those are the good stories, the ones being saved. It is an awful thing. More than 11,000 people have died so far and the figure is still rising. We all have troubles and difficulties in life but they are nothing compared to this. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on childcare with the Minister for Children, Equal…

I will not rehearse what Senator Seery Kearney said, but I echo both every single word and the passion with which she spoke. I have been raising this matter since April 2021. In other words, for almost two years. It seems that either no one is listening or that people are moving to some degree but are doing so while kicking and screaming. We are getting to the point where Hyperemesis Ireland is incredibly frustrated. Individuals such as Sabrina Hill have to go on Instagram and talk bravely about their experiences o…

I thank the Minister of State for the response, but this is the response I would have received a year ago. There are women listening to the debate today to hear what answer is going to be given from the Department. Basically, the response today is a load of rubbish. How many Ministers are there in the Department of Health? People will ask me today why no Minister from the Department of Health was here. Of course, it is no reflection on the Minister of State, Deputy Collins. He is a great Minister of State in his De…

I suspect the Leader is quite similar to me in that, as the parent of a young child, she has seen the work done by childcare providers across the country. Sometimes we have an old perception that they just mind children for a couple of hours until the parents return. In fact, they are educators and they do phenomenal work. Many times when my child comes home I am amazed at what he has learned during the day. The Government has recognised this and the challenges for parents with regard to costs of childcare and supp…

I thank my colleagues, Senators Maria Byrne and Conway, for bringing forward this motion. As the Minister knows, this matter is the biggest issue in the region of counties Clare, Limerick and Tipperary. It has been the biggest issue for the last couple of months. I listened to what was said by Senator Boyhan. He was very critical of previous Governments so he must have forgotten that he was a member of a political party where the leader of that party was the Minister for Health in a Government the Senator has criti…

I welcome the news today from Germany on what seems to be the Chancellor's change of strategy with regard to giving tanks and weapons to Ukraine and allowing other countries to do the same. Germany has been put under considerable pressure with regard to this over the past number of days and weeks, especially from the Baltic countries about showing solidarity and support to Ukraine. It has been quite difficult politically for Germany to do this, but it is important it is done. However, it needs to be done in high nu…

Today, I am thinking of all of the councillors and former councillors throughout the country, including my father, who are watching television today. They will be saying what most councillors say when Senators excel in their role, which is that they would not be there only for their votes. Many councillors are thinking this today. It is their wisdom in voting for Senator Buttimer to be a Senator that has given him the position today more so than us voting for him. I wish the Cathaoirleach well. When he spoke, it wa…

I also compliment the Cathaoirleach and all the team here, including Martin Groves and Bridget Doody and everyone who put the event yesterday together. It was a very memorable day and there were fantastic contributions by all, especially by all the current Senators. Hyperemesis gravidarum is a very debilitating condition for women during pregnancy. It is essentially, for want of a better description, a much more severe form of morning sickness. It affects approximately 2% of women going through pregnancy. Kate Midd…

I join with others to pass my sympathies to Bridget on the sad passing of Pat. It is difficult for her and it is a difficult time coming up to Christmas as well. Our thoughts are with her. I agree with Senator Seery Kearney and others on Commencement matters. Senator Boyhan was correct in saying that it is more about the content than the people. He is correct because there are some Cabinet Ministers who are very good to come in here. There are other Cabinet Ministers who I suspect would nearly need directions to fi…

-----when they are going through the worst period they have ever gone through in 100 years. Chief executives and councils had a meeting recently, and it seems they came home from it with this idea. It should not be about-----

I also welcome the class from Swords. A day will come as the teachers know, when it will be a compliment rather than an insult to be classed as younger than you are. In time, they will see that as a big compliment. I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber and thank him for taking the matter. I hoped the Minister, Deputy Foley, would be able to take it but obviously she is busy. It is a busy time. I know she is aware of this school in Tipperary and I hope she will do what she can in her remit to support it. I …

I thank the Minister of State for his detailed response. He is correct. As I stated, significant funding has been allocated to school building across the country. In that regard, County Tipperary has been no different from the Minister of State's own county of Limerick, or anywhere else. He is correct that in the area there are two special schools - Scoil Chormaic Special School and Scoil Aonghusa - and there are ASD units in Thomastown as well, but there is still very high demand and Golden National School has rec…

I welcome the announcement by the Minister, Deputy Charlie McConalogue, of the €15.5 million that is being given in advance payments for the sheep welfare scheme. In Tipperary, 374 farmers will receive a total of just under €500,000. It is a substantial amount and I know they are grateful for it. Would it be possible to have a debate with the Minister on lamb prices? They are much lower than they are in France and other European countries. It is a real challenge. People who are not too familiar with farming would t…

The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Humphreys, is in Waterford this morning to announce rural regeneration development funding in Waterford and other places across the country. I almost feel like I need to apologise to my colleagues because, possibly unknown to the Minister, she has pretty much given all the money to Tipperary. We have received funding this morning of more than €30 million to go into three projects. We got all three projects for which we applied. There is €4.5 million going to …

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber. This is technically a Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science issue, but this project incorporates the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage as well. Kickham Barracks was closed in 2014 and since then a plan has been put forward by Tipperary County Council to revitalise the town of Clonmel. Kickham Barracks plays a key role in that. It was successful in its first phase of funding, which will be completed in …

I thank the Minister of State for his response. He is right that the Minister, Deputy Harris, has been to the fore and supportive of the proposal put forward by Tipperary County Council. It is about making sure the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science steps up and gives the funding it needs to give. That is what the Minister of State's Department requested us to do. I do not know if the Minister of State has a date for when the URDF applications will be open. Will the Ministe…

There were an awful lot of good announcements in the tax measures brought forward in the budget a number of months ago, including the €500 tax relief credit that renters can apply for this year, next year and so on. The first time they apply for it, they can get two tranches, which will equate to €1,000 in credit. The good thing about that is that if someone is renting a house with two or three other people or with a partner, all the tenants can apply for their own credit, amounting to €1,000 each. Can we get an up…