I move: That, pursuant to subsection 2° of section 2 of Article 25 of the Constitution, Seanad Éireann concurs with the Government in a request to the President to sign the EirGrid, Electricity and Turf (Amendment) Bill 2022 on a date which is earlier than the fifth day after the date on which the Bill shall have been presented to him.

On what is International Day of Parliamentarism I join Senator Hoey in calling for us to redouble our efforts to ensure that members of staff in the Oireachtas, in particular secretarial assistants, receive an urgent pay upgrade.

That is something we in this Chamber should all keep to the forefront of our minds. I would welcome a debate on transport, as requested by other Senators. This morning, the NTA published, for public consultation, details the preferred route options for the 12 sustainable transport corridors under BusConnects in Cork. The consultation period begins today and will run until 9 September. It is about increasing the bus corridor from 14 km to 93 km. I hope the public consultation process will be wide-ranging and engagin…

Hear, hear.

I move: That Seanad Éireann agrees to the amendment made by the Dáil consequential on its agreement to Seanad amendment No. 48.

I move: That, pursuant to subsection 2° of section 2 of Article 25 of the Constitution, Seanad Éireann concurs with the Government in a request to the President to sign the Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022 changed from Regulation of Providers of Building Works Bill 2022 on a date which is earlier than the fifth day after the date on which the Bill shall have been presented to him.

I have a question on the process of removing the chief executive. Why did we not go with a provision for a two thirds majority of the board? I appreciate that section 22(4)( b ) there is the issue of natural justice, which I support fully. I am nonetheless curious why we did not go with a two thirds majority rather than a simple and straight majority, which could potentially split the commission. For example, a GAA congress requires a two thirds majority. I am curious as to why we did not go down that avenue here t…

I apologise if I have not read this right here. In the appeal of the dismissal or removal of a chief executive, I presume the board members who are party to the appointment initially may not be part of that process.

I am curious about that. It is not an important point but I know that, for example, in the GAA the people who made the decision about the suspension of a person do not sit on the appeals board. Is that the process here?

A Chathaoirligh, Senator Craughwell should withdraw that remark.

The remark ill behoves him.

No. I am sorry, a Chathaoirligh, but your job is to protect people who are not here.

On a point of order, Senator Craughwell is making a political statement. I know that this is a political chamber-----

-----but he is making a point about a Minister who is travelling the world.

Come on, a Chathaoirligh.

You are the Chair. The Minister is not here. You know the rules about people who are not here to defend themselves better than I do. Or you should know them.

That is not correct. The Senator should withdraw that.

I ask the Deputy Leader to invite the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, or the Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection, Deputy Joe O'Brien, to the House. I welcome the reforms announced today by the Minister with regard to the community employment, CE, scheme, the Tús scheme and the rural social scheme. Being immersed in our local communities, we all know the work experience given to the men and women in our local communities - there are 27,000 - is absolutely powerful. We see the e…

I have a question in the context of two parts of section 5. I hear the points made by Senator Gavan. To me, the idea of protecting both the employer and the employee is important. I am asking the question in the context of pro rata sick pay. I accept that an employee who works a certain number of days, weeks and months will build up entitlements and an indemnity in terms of cover. To me, the bulwark of our social protection system is that we protect both the employer and the employee. Casting my mind back to the da…

I would hate for people watching and listening in to think that this is not an extraordinarily positive day. I take Senator Gavan’s points on board. The Minister of State is right that Senator Gavan should acknowledge that we are beginning a new chapter. As Senator Dolan rightly said, this is about access to sick pay. We must strike a balance. Senator Gavan should acknowledge that this is a positive outcome that has been reached by means of a process of consultation and engagement. We all come to the debate with di…