I might just say a couple of things - not that I want to steal Senator Clonan's thunder. I have absolutely no idea what he was about to say or enliven the debate with. There are two matters I want to address. They came up in the course of the Minister of State's contribution. The first is that he had the great fortune to share an aircraft with the Longford team returning to the west midlands. As a proud Longford man loaned to Waterford for the past 40 years, I have no doubt that he was richly entertained both in so…

Ba mhaith liomsa ar an gcéad dul síos tagairt a dhéanamh do thuarascáil ar dhéanadh le déanaí ar the National Asset Management Agency. This publication came to light recently and was submitted to the Taoiseach. It is a report on the National Asset Management Agency's disposal of its Northern Ireland loan portfolio, Project Eagle, and was submitted to the Taoiseach pursuant to section 32 of the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 by the Commission of Investigation (National Asset Management Agency) on 4 October 20…

Ar an gcéad dul síos, tacaím go hiomlán leis an Seanadóir Cosgrove as an méid a dúirt sí faoin saghas stailce atá ar siúl inniu maidir le comhphobal na Gaeilge agus muintir na Gaeltachta. The ad hoc strike of 40 or more organisations is taking place today mar tá a ladar curtha isteach ag an DUP i Rialtas Thuaisceart na hÉireann. It has stuck its oar in to obstruct the payment of €820,000 to Foras na Gaeilge. Effectively, unless there is cross-Border unity on this matter, the money will not be disbursed. I am asking…

The Minister of State is welcome to the Chamber. I will give a tiny bit of historical perspective to this debate on Storm Éowyn. Looking around the Chamber, I do not think anybody else here is venerable enough to remember Hurricane Debbie in the middle of September 1961. I do. It was a ferocious storm. I remember standing in the clump in our front garden watching mature beech, oak and elm trees - we had elm trees in Ireland at that stage - being ripped and tossed out of the ground with gay abandon. There were 15 fa…

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas ó chroí a ghabháil leat agus tú tofa mar Chathaoirleach an Tí stairiúil seo. Ina theannta sin, déanaim comhghairdeas le gach duine. Tá sé tuillte ag gach duine anseo a togadh. Last week at the start of the Twenty-seventh Seanad, many Members from throughout the country celebrated the great heterogeneity of the Membership. It is wonderful that we have such a broad perspective and depth of experience from all arts and parts of the country. Gura fada b…

I wish to very briefly register my dissatisfaction with the way the ballot is being conducted in public and to reiterate, notwithstanding the great worthiness of both candidates, that I will not be participating in the election today for the reasons outlined by Senator McDowell.

In 1981.