As I did not expect to get in, I am delighted to be able to contribute. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, to the House. He is doing a great job in the Department of Foreign Affairs. While I was in a committee meeting from 1.30 p.m. until just recently, I was paying attention to this debate and I heard quite a few of the contributions. I welcome the motion and thank Senators McDowell, Craughwell and Boyhan and their group for putting it down. It is a useful motion for us to debate. When I became a Sena…

I send my sympathies and best wishes to the Ceann Comhairle, who has Covid. I hope he is not affected too badly by it. I will continue on the theme to which Senators Conway, Carrigy and Fitzpatrick and others referred on Covid and next month. Here we are on 23 November and the month of December is traditionally the most important for the licensed trade and hospitality business, at between 2.5 and three times the normal month. It is not like closing in March, November or October. It is a significant month. Of course…

I wish to comment briefly on this. If I do not do so now in respect of amendment No. 18, amendment No. 19 will have been discussed. I will move amendment No. 19, but I will speak to it now. The amendments are similar in nature and are grouped together. I was a member of a local authority for 12 and a half years and many Members were members of local authorities for various periods of time. It is vital that councillors have their say and an involvement, but I take on board that the Minister is going to reflect on th…

I move amendment No. 19: In page 9, to delete lines 13 to 17 and substitute the following: “ “(1B) Where a planning authority receives an application for permission to which section 32A(1) applies it shall-- (a) notify the elected members of the planning authority of the making of the application, of where the application is available for inspection, and of such other information as may be prescribed, and (b) at the next meeting of each Area Committee concerned, or of the municipal district members for each municip…

I propose to withdraw the amendment based on the Minister's comments.

Now.

Hear, hear.

I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive, almost 20-minute, contribution. Senator Craughwell has a great deal of experience in the area of defence and the Air Corps, and in regard to this particular incident. At a meeting of the Joint Committee of Transport this morning, we spent a great deal of time discussing the Irish Coast Guard in general, as well as other issues. We barely touched on the issue of the R116, but it was mentioned. I want to put on record my perspective and that of the Fianna Fáil Part…

We have reached the time of 5.15 p.m. so I must ask the Senator to report progress.

Normally, I stay to the end of the Order of Business because it is polite to listen to the Leader's response. In the light of the figures we have seen, however, I will return to my office and pay attention when I watch her response on the monitor. I mean no offence to the Leader. I opened the window here a minute ago when I heard Senator Garvey talk about clean air week. We need more ventilation. We need get back to the basics and focus on them. We know the figures are going up and doing so in the wrong way but we …

I am sorry, but I am not sure the Senator is speaking to the right amendment.

To clarify, they do not have to be moved now. Is that not right?

We can discuss those two but nothing else.

For clarification, are the periods of 60 years and 40 years not the subject matter of amendment No. 7, which we are not speaking to now?

I am just trying to clarify.

Now.

I thank the Minister of State for his engagement and all Senators for their engagement. It was a very time-sensitive Bill. It got through this House in a timely fashion and I hope that will be the case in the Dáil also. I thank the Minister of State and his officials. While the Bill is a quite technical one, it is important. I thank everybody for their co-operation, in particular the Acting Chair.

I welcome the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to the House.

Amendment No. 1 is in the names of Senators Higgins and Black, amendments Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed. I remind Members there are 45 amendments and we will continue the business until the amendments have been dealt with.

Senator Higgins, what do you want to do with amendment No. 1?