That was a nice exposition of the thrust of the Bill. I will address a couple of issues that have been raised. There is a level of urgency in looking at this. I want to advert to the incidence of a serious and major fish kill in Waterford and Cork last summer. Something like 40,000 fish were killed in the River Blackwater. As far as I know, to this day, nobody has been found culpable and, as a result, nobody has been taken to task over it. The matter now seems to be shrinking away into oblivion as an unsolved crime…

Tacaím leis an rún atá ardaithe ag Fine Gael. Rinne siad sárjab an t-ábhar seo a chur os ár gcomhair sa Teach seo anocht. Many years ago, I remember watching a little road safety cartoon in the classroom. It lasted four or five minutes. I remember showing it to a third and fourth class on an old projector. Those things have long since disappeared. It involved two characters. One was Mr. Walker, who was a very benign lovely old gentleman. He walked along the streets, picked daisies, patted dogs and spoke to the neig…

I would like to use my few moments to beseech the Deputy Leader - she will know where I am coming from - to ask the Minister for Education and Youth to come to the Seanad to talk about what is now becoming a critical issue of teacher supply, particularly in our cities and bigger urban areas. In this month's INTO magazine InTouch , the editorial states that an increasing multiple of teacher salaries on point 5 of the scale is going to finance the buying of a house. As all of us in politics probably know, it makes th…

Táim fíorbhuíoch den Chathaoirleach gur roghnaigh sé seo mar cheann de na Nithe i dtosach suíonna ar maidin. Tá mé fíorbhuíoch chomh maith leis an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Feighan, as a bheith i láthair le déileáil leis an gceist thábhachtach seo. Ní féidir liom an cheist seo a phlé ar bhealach níos gonta ná trí cheann de na litreacha a fuair mé ó dhaoine i bPort Láirge a léamh. Léifidh mé amach é, ach déanfaidh mé píosa eagarthóireachta air chun aon aitheantas a cheilt. I will read it almost in its entirety and it w…

Last night I read that consideration is being given to increasing the cap from 10,000 to 20,000. I wonder whether the Minister of State can confirm whether this is the case. With regard to the statute bar on seven-year usage on Airbnb and the like, will it still apply under the mooted new regulations?

Ar an gcéad dul síos, tacaím le Senator Cosgrove and Senator Harmon in front of me on this enlightened and, as always, timely motion for the House to consider regarding the arrival of new life on our planet and country and all that goes with that. Back in the day, when I was being educated in St. Patrick's College in Drumcondra to befit me for a life of teaching, one of the most weighty tomes we had on our library shelves was a book called Child Development and Personality . I am sure Senator Clonan will probably r…

Ar an gcéad dul síos, cuirim fáilte chaoin roimh an Aire Stáit atá i láthair anocht agus roimh na cuairteoirí sa Ghailearaí thall ansin. In adverting to the people in the Distinguished Visitors Gallery, I draw attention to the blueprint for what we would see as a successful apprenticeship. It is novel in some ways. I thank Samantha Long, our capa in the Seanad Independent Group, for suggesting and organising the invitation to Katelyn to be here. We can advertise and promote apprenticeships at great expense and at s…

-----but I am delighted to have a Minister of State here who is of the Independent persuasion. She is doing an amazing job. Long may it continue.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I wish to raise a number of issues related to the recent weather problems that we had, particularly in the south east. The Minister has already adverted to that and God knows, the people of Wexford have been well scourged with the weather events of late. In Waterford we also had some notable difficulties. I was out in the community last Sunday morning meeting with the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, who visited. It was very good of him to come down. He spent his time on the road over l…

I move: That Seanad Éireann: acknowledges that: - shingles affects one in three people in their lifetime; - adults aged 50+, especially those with weakened immune systems, are much more likely to develop severe disease; - post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), a complication causing severe nerve pain lasting months or years, can significantly undermine mobility, sleep, mental well-being, social participation and independent living; - the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) 2024 public consultation on the additi…

We are sharing time. Senator Boyhan is not greedy. Ar an gcéad dul síos, gabhaim buíochas le Active Retirement Ireland, go háirithe Alison Bough, agus mé ag eagrú an rúin seo don Seanad. Gabhaim buíochas leis na Comhaltaí a chuir a gcomhshínithe síos chun tacú leis an rún atá faoinár mbráid inniu. The full wording of the motion is substantial so I am presuming that all will be familiar with it or with the substance of it at least. For that reason I am going to move ahead with the actual debate points. All the Senat…

Some months ago, we had a Commencement motion down about shingles and coincidentally, on that occasion it was the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor.

I recall at the end of it, she definitively said to me she would go back to the Minister and gave me her word that she would put her points to her. I have no doubt that she did because I can see we have come a good way from that Commencement motion some months ago.

People will ask what is the purpose of the Seanad, and this is a wonderful example of the efficacy of the House, that people who are lowly backbenchers like myself can work with the Government Senators. It was a very enlightened approach by the Government and I am immensely thankful to Government and the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, because I know she has an almost impossible job to do, as does the Minister of State. I am in great admiration of her can-do attitude in her work and I have no doubt her efforts w…

Last week, I am sure many of us in the House were gratified when we saw the Minister for housing, James Browne, make a ruling that from now on the process that was going to be used for the collection of the derelict sites levy was being handed over to Revenue and taken away from the local authorities. This has come about as a result of the Minister's perception that the local authorities have been largely a failure in collecting derelict sites levies that have been outstanding on derelict properties. I commend the …

I express my support for Senator McCarthy's motion. Anything in this very troubled business of buying and selling property that streamlines it or makes the whole engagement more efficient and leaner is to be recommended. This is what we are talking about here. I do not see any direct contradiction between the amendment and the motion. They are both pushing at a door they want to open. This is illustrated by a personal experience I had. I came into possession of a property prior to the crash which was financed by a …

I second the amendment.

I want to formally second Senator Clonan's amendments.

Yes, I have a couple of things to say. They mainly centre around what Senator Clonan was talking about and that is, unfortunately, how we have hollowed out our reserve forces to a great extent, to the current abysmal figure of under 2,000. Senator Clonan mentioned the Finnish model and the huge amount of reserve talent it has and the forces there in Finland. Equally, another neutral country in Europe, Switzerland, has an active reserve force of 200,000 troops. This military service is obligatory for men and then vo…

Hear, hear.