The Leader would have to do that.

The mayor has travelled a long way to bring a message of peace and is very welcome. It was a pleasure to hear him address the Seanad today. I too have links with Japan. My niece is married to a man called Taco Takizawa. I recall my mother meeting her grandchildren, turning to us and saying it was marvellous they had learned to speak Japanese so young. It would be wrong of me today not to mention Nihon Hidankyo - I believe that is the correct pronunciation, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to ensu…

I apologise. Have I come to the end of my time?

I tend to go over time.

At the end of the day, we need people like Mr. Matsui speaking out for peace. We need to hear his voice loud. I thank him for being here.

I second the motion. I will speak shortly.

This House is notoriously known for cronyism. I know because I was elected in 2014 and I believe I was one of the first people to break the pattern of cronyism in this House. Members might recall that my election hit all the headlines at the time. The Government wanted to put in one of its favoured sons and at the end of the day it failed to do that. What is wrong with democracy? Many Members of this House will put themselves before the public in the coming weeks and months seeking to be elected, and they will do t…

Over the past week or two I watched a video from the Leader’s home town made by a family that was quite disgruntled. We are in the middle of an electoral cycle now and I have to say, for social media to publish such videos to attempt to damage politicians in their home towns is outrageous. It is something that the regulator or whoever needs to act on. It is grossly unfair to follow politicians and try to highlight them doing their job. That is all that the people in question did; their job. From my perspective, we …

The Minister is welcome to the House. My first encounter with the Minister was watching her on the "Six One News" being hammered in this House over the by-election that saw me elected to the House. She behaved herself with dignity on that occasion. She took everything that was thrown at her in style. I have always admired her way of handling these things.

I am disappointed we are running all Stages of the Bill through the House. I would like to see amendments. There are things in the Bill about which I would like to talk. The Minister has delivered a great deal for a lot of people not just in this budget but in the five budgets she delivered in my time here. It is not good enough to start throwing things at the Minister just for the hell of it. She has done a good job. She has been a tough Minister, clearly, to have gotten the funds she has over the years. She has d…

I second-----

I am glad the clock was stopped. I second Senator Martin's very worthy Bill and move my motion for a by-election to the Seanad.

Do I need to move an amendment to the Order of Business?

I move that No. 160(3) be taken before No. 1. Why am I doing so? As the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have said, there will be no election in the near future. This House cannot be allowed to operate without its full complement of Senators, so I am moving this amendment. I hope the Leader will accept it. The attack on Israel by Iran is bringing us one step closer to a repeat of 1914. All we need now is some idiot to make a mistake and we will find ourselves in war. We have war all over the Middle East but when I say "in wa…

Sure it is just to give you a dirty look for Sunday.

They should have put €5 on them.

I move: That the Clerk of Seanad Éireann do send to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage notice of a vacancy in the membership of Seanad Éireann occasioned by the election to the European Parliament of Senator Lynn Boylan, a member elected from the Oireachtas Sub-Panel of the Agricultural Panel at the General Election for Seanad Éireann, April, 2020.

I join with my colleague, Senator O'Loughlin. Andrew was a very fine soldier and his wife, Deirdre, was a very fine soldier. It was very sad being in Kildare on Sunday and seeing a number of people outside his house. It was a massive gathering. I could not make it to the funeral yesterday. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam. Iran looks like it is about to make an attack on Israel. It looks like it will be ballistic missiles. My mind is with the men and women of the Defence Forces who are serving out there in this most in…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. It is a happy day for people in the Government because there is something for everybody in the audience and we should all be cheering. However, it would be remiss of me to stand here today and not find something wrong. From that point of view, budget 2025 has proved to me that Ireland is not a poor country by any measure. Indeed, our economy outperforms the economies of our EU peers for the most part. The question is this: are we good Europeans? Let me begin with my nor…

This is the first time I have addressed the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, since he was elevated to the role of Minister of State. He must be delighted with this budget today. I am dreading his Instagram account. He will be standing in front of housing estates all over south County Dublin talking about the great job he has done. In fairness, the budget is a good one. It would be remiss of me to say it is a great budget, but it is a good one. I am a bit disappointed, however, with the across-the-board €12 incre…