I call on the Minister of State to speak and congratulate him formally.

Can we allow Senator Gavan to speak, please?

I congratulate and welcome the Minister. The biggest challenge is the one on which she embarked yesterday and she has made a great start. Could the Minister address the issues raised by Mr. John McGowan of the Teachers Union of Ireland, TUI, today? It was disturbing to hear him talk about staggered opening. I ask the Minister to try to minimise that. It is great to hear that we will have another 1,000 teachers at post-primary level. I would ask the Minister to comment on the question of supply in her response. Any …

I congratulate the Minister on her appointment. This is my first chance to do so in a public forum. We are particularly proud of her in the region I come from, as we are near neighbours. I also endorse the remarks of Senator Martin, as echoed by Senator Ardagh, on the Chief Justice. He is a very reforming Chief Justice and it merits recognition here. Senator Martin is my near neighbour in Carrickmacross, and I also congratulate him on his appointment. We know each other a few years now. There are good aspects to th…

Ireland's leadership in the battle against Covid-19 and our continued vigilance is something to be proud of but I recommend to the Leader that we would have a rolling debate on it in the Seanad and that we keep it under constant review. In particular, it is about the way we will cope with the dreaded second surge. We will have to be ready for that possibility and for the winter flu season, etc. There should be a radical improvement in the carer's allowance, a radical upping of the status of our carers and a celebra…

If one issue emerged clearly from Covid-19, it is that we must readdress how we do care of the elderly. That is incumbent on us now. In that context, I ask our Leader to arrange a debate with the relevant Minister or Ministers, as the case may be, regarding having a coherent approach to this matter. There are three dimensions to this issue. First, there is the question of the accommodation of the elderly. We will have to explore more imaginative solutions in residential villages for older persons and look at the gr…

I wanted to rise to join in the support of and the good wishes to Senator Buttimer. At the outset, I acknowledge the presence in the Chamber of his husband, Conchobhar, whom I briefly met today and I had met briefly in the past. I want to wish him well today. It is a big day for both of them. I also want to pay tribute to the rest of Jerry's family. I know that Jerry's brother, John, was a councillor for many years and his father has been a great supporter of his down the years too. It is a big day for the family a…

Ar dtús báire, déanaim comhghairdeas leis an gCathaoirleach. Níl amhras ar bith agam ná go ndéanfaidh sé jab den chéad scoth agus go mbeidh sé díograiseach, ionraic agus féaráilte agus é á dhéanamh. Táim cinnte faoi sin. Guím rath Dé ar a obair. I congratulate you on your election to this prestigious high office and I wish you well in it. I worked with you on the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement for a long time and found your work there impressive and committed. I wish you well in …

I think it is a universal view, thankfully, but I pay tribute to the Taoiseach and Tánaiste for their leadership in this extraordinary time. The Minister for Health has been doing a huge job. As the Leader said earlier, many people regard what he is doing very highly. I commend my constituency colleague, the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Humphreys, on the work she is doing in supporting small businesses. It is correct that we identify and pay particular tribute to the Minister for Employm…

Now.

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I wish to start where he left off in his remarks. I want to thank him for the pleasure of working with him and the guidance and leadership he has given the Seanad over the last few years. As the Cathaoirleach said, he and I do go back a long time. We began here, I think, together, and hopefully we are not finished here yet. It has been a pleasure to work with him and he is accepted across this House as an exemplary Chair, and a man of personal integrity. In that regard I would echo the ki…