It keeps us all on our feet, and it is not every year; we have given the Government a bit of leeway there. Every three years is fairly reasonable to ensure it is doing what it needs to and is not going the wrong way.

I move: “That Seanad Éireann: acknowledges that: - - rural communities are central to the social, economic, cultural and environmental wellbeing of the State; - family farms, fishing communities, small businesses, schools, childcare services, community organisations and voluntary groups are the foundation of rural life; - many rural areas continue to experience population decline, reduced public services, inadequate transport links, limited access to healthcare, childcare and housing, and declining frontline Garda …

I welcome the Minister. It is great to have him here. I know he too is passionate about rural Ireland, and it shows in the work he does. This motion is important to each of us because it touches on every walk of life, including healthcare and justice. It is about rural communities and farming. It is environmental. Being from a rural community in County Limerick, I thought it fitting to lay out what we see as lacking within our communities, or what has been brought to our attention if we have not seen it ourselves. …

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive response and all the Senators who contributed. However, I am more confused after this debate. I think every Senator in this House touched off an issue in rural Ireland, including Garda numbers making our communities feel safer. We never once said we wanted a garda in every house but, yes, we do want greater Garda numbers. We referred to GAA clubs not having enough players, which is another part of it. Senator O'Loughlin welcomed the wind energy guidelines being released, w…

I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for being here today. I want to discuss school transport, in particular rural schools more than city schools, and the different reasons certain children would go to different schools and not to the one that is geographically closest to them. There is a school in County Limerick called St. James’ National School, Cappagh. Its closest secondary school is Coláiste na Trócaire, Rathkeale and St. James' National School is the main feeder school. A lot of children who go to t…

I thank the Minister of State. My apologies; I probably should have given the specifics but I have been back and forth to the Minister of State's office a bit on this. My one ask is that he might look at the criterion about the closest school geographically. The closest school for these children is the school they are most connected to, which would be Rathkeale. That is where their sports and social clubs are and where all their friends go. A lot of these children would have been eligible for and would have used tr…

I thank the Minister of State.

I move amendment No. 2: In page 10, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following: "Report on impact of amendments related to Judicial Reviews 4. The Minister shall lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas within 12 months of the commencement of this Act detailing the impact of the amendments to Part 4 of the Principal Act related to Judicial Reviews and detailing whether the procedural changes have resulted in a speeding up of planning related Judicial Reviews or increased the volume of planning litiga…

I move amendment No. 3: In page 10, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following: “Report on impact of amendments related to alteration of existing planning permissions 4. The Minister shall lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas every 6 months from the commencement of this Act detailing the impact of the amendments to Part 4 of the Principal Act related to alterations of existing planning permissions and detailing the location, nature and volume of such alterations by project and local authority are…

To save time I will speak to sections 61 and 62 together because it is the same point. We feel that both sections will allow developers who have planning permission to request an alteration to their permission based on inferior design standards, which we do not agree with. It is not necessarily going to make units of apartments smaller but it will change rules around communal spaces and the amount of natural light that they have to let in. We feel it will make the apartments inferior compared with what the develope…

I will speak to amendments Nos. 20 and 22, which are grouped with amendment No. 2. Amendment No. 20 requires the publication of the national aviation policy that supports regional balance, strengthens regional airports and adopts the all-island approach. I understand what Senator Scahill said to the effect that it is not one above the other. I get that, but would it not be great, on the back of this, when we are talking about Dublin Airport, to have a report to show what we are doing for regional airports? I am all…

I move amendment No. 3: In page 8, between lines 27 and 28, to insert the following: “(4) The Minister shall, not later than 12 months following commencement, lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report reviewing daa’s compliance with the directions of the Minister.”. Amendment No. 3 is basically a review of compliance being held up by the DAA. It is really just monitoring again. The amendment introduces a simple measure of accountability. Where the Minister is given powers to direct the DAA, it is entirely r…

Yes.

I move amendment No. 4: In page 8, between lines 27 and 28, to insert the following: “Community engagement obligations 7. (1) The Minister direct the daa to establish a formal mechanism for ongoing and meaningful engagement with local communities affected by airport operations, including those impacted by the north runway. (2) The Minister shall open a public consultation concerning daa’s engagement with local communities and lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas no later than 12 months following commen…

I move amendment No. 8: In page 23, after line 34, to insert the following: " Review of compensation buyout scheme 24 . The Minister shall, within 9 months following commencement of this Act, conduct an independent assessment of the daa’s noise mitigation schemes, including insulation and voluntary buyout schemes. The assessment shall evaluate whether: (a) valuation reflects current market prices; (b) compensation includes disturbance and reinstatement costs; (c) there is transparency and fairness in eligibility cr…

I move amendment No. 13: In page 26, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following: “(14) The Minister’s power under this Act shall be limited solely to the amendment or revocation of a planning condition relating to the maximum number of passengers permitted to use Dublin Airport annually, and shall not extend to any other planning condition. (15) The Minister shall, not later than 12 months following commencement, lay before the houses of the Oireachtas a report reviewing the exercise of this power. This amend…

I know we only have another week before recess. I ask that, when we come back in the autumn, we add to the agenda something about Garda numbers, particularly in rural areas. I refer especially to roads policing and community gardaí. Last Thursday, I received a phone call from a constituent in County Limerick who had been in a car accident. She was okay. There was not a huge amount of damage done. Like myself, she had always been told to stay at the scene of the accident and not to leave. When she rang An Garda Síoc…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Energy security is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of any government and people rightly expect, when they turn on the lights or when they open the doors of their businesses, that the electricity will be there for them. Unfortunately, that confidence has been undermined for years and it is down to Government failure. We find ourselves debating legislation because of successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments that have failed to properly plan for Irelan…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 16, after line 20, to insert the following: “Review of Act and of smoking cessation supports 21. (1) The Minister shall, within 18 months of the passing of this Act, conduct a review, to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas within 24 months of the passing of this Act, to— (a) examine the operation and effectiveness of this Act, (b) examine more broadly the effectiveness of public health laws and cessation supports relating to tobacco and nicotine products, and (c) recommend me…

It is great that enforcement is mentioned in the Bill but we need to do more than simply having it in the Bill on its own without having staff to enforce the legislation. The reason I say that is because I have spoken to representatives of The Sunbed Council of Ireland who have told me about scenarios. They told me about one or two incidents where they were in salons and saw underage people going in to use sunbeds but when they reported it they were told, "Yes, we kind of know that goes on sometimes but we do not h…