I appreciate the line that the Government has progressively increased the rate of collective bargaining. To truly do that properly, we just need that three things that I set out: the legislation to support it; stronger protection for workers' representatives - it is very important that people are not disadvantaged in this sphere for seeking to represent their colleagues; and a clear right of access for workers to the bargaining process and their trade unions. Those are the objectives. I ask the Minister of State to…

Unfortunately, we are still dining out on 1947.

Cavan will be back shortly. We nearly did it this year. I wish all colleagues in the House a wonderful summer and great recess after a year of multiple elections and frenetic levels of activity. I wish our wonderful staff of the House a great summer also. Our ushers and all of the staff of Leinster House do a great job and provide such wonderful support. One cannot help but remember with fondness today the great Martin Groves who has now been very brilliantly replaced by Bridget, but we do miss Martin. He was a gre…

Retailers are the lifeblood of all our communities, sponsoring virtually everything and creating local jobs, particularly for students during the summer holidays, etc. We should support our small retailers in every way possible. One of the biggest threats to them is smuggling of illicit goods and selling them outside the normal retail chain. The biggest example of this is in the tobacco sector. Separate to the retailers and their losses, approximately €540 million is lost to the Exchequer every year from contraband…

I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this Commencement matter, which is important to the people I represent. I thank the Minister for coming in to take the question in person and give it the seriousness it deserves. I have lived in the Bailieborough area for more than roughly 30 years and in all of that time, there has been a speech and language service available to parents in Bailieborough, Shercock and Mullagh. I understand that this would have been the case in most areas throughout the county. It is my unders…

I thank the Minister for that. I accept her bona fides and accept that she is doing everything possible to increase the number of speech and language therapists. The issue here, however, is that this has been centralised and moved from the villages and the small towns. The Minister might say that is because of a lack of speech and language therapists. There are enough there at the moment to deliver the services. It will take the speech and language therapist, unless he or she is walking, only a short time to commut…

I want to raise a matter that is very important to the community from whence I come and the surrounding area. I am anxious that the Leader speak directly to the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, on foot of this intervention. The Leader is aware that Wellman International, which based in Mullagh in County Cavan, has gone into examinership. The company employs approximately 240 people, many from Meath but also a good number from east Cavan and County Louth. It is an important local employer in an area to which it is not …

I welcome the Minister of State and acknowledge the fact the Chair of the foreign affairs committee, Deputy Lahart, has been at most of this debate. As I serve on that committee, it is good that he is taking the matter so seriously. I acknowledge the Tánaiste as a politician who, from day one, has been strong on this issue and is not a newcomer to it. This is a story of depravity. It is a story of inhuman activity. It is unquestionably genocide, with 55,000 dead by 14 May last. It is complicity in famine with the 8…

The Minister is very welcome. It is good to have him back in the Seanad, and I thank him for his management of the economy, which has left us in such a shape and position that we were able to cope with Covid; deal with the outcome of the Ukraine war in terms of inflation and the effect on families, etc.; and be in a strong position coming into the Brexit scenario. His management of the economy has left us in a strong position consistently, and that remains the case as we face new challenges. I acknowledge that and …

It is an occasion of great sadness to stand here and express sympathy to the family and colleagues of Garda Kevin Flatley, who lived in Balbriggan. He was 49 years old and a father of two, and our sympathy goes to his wife Una and his daughters Aoife and Erin. He was coach of the under-10 girls' team at O'Dwyers GAA club in Balbriggan, and there were huge tributes there about his positivity and the affection he was held in by people. The phrase used was that he had a great grá for the GAA. He spent 26 years working…

I welcome my very good personal friend, Deputy Canney, to the House. We served on committees together in the past. I have not had the opportunity to either welcome or congratulate him before now. It was a privilege to work with him in another capacity previously and it is great to see him here today as a Minister of State. I know he brings a lot of skill and dedication to the role. I support my good friend and colleague, Senator Boyhan, on this important matter. It is a huge issue. We have had the banks close all o…

The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the First Report of the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight on Orders of Reference and Establishment of Committees, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business without debate; and No. 2, motion regarding the proposed approval by Seanad Éireann of a proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2015/848 on insolvency proceedings to replace its annexes A and B, to be taken at 12.15 p.m. and t…

I am happy to accept the amendment proposed by Senator Keogan and seconded by my neighbour and colleague, Senator Sarah O'Reilly. I will revert presently to the substantive issue raised in the proposed amendment. I thank colleagues for their many and varied contributions on a range of issues, all of which were pertinent and topical. Senator Ní Chuilinn raised one of the biggest contemporary issues, namely, the ongoing discussion regarding the wearing of skorts by camogie players. There is a nice piece on it by Miri…

Of course not. Please do.

I concur with that. I welcome the students. It is great to have visitors here in the people’s House – it is their House. I return to Senator Boyle. As I said, I was a member of Cavan County Council for 20 years. Senator Sarah O’Reilly followed me onto Cavan County Council some years later, and she may tell me, formally or informally, if this continued to be the case, but the question of planning, including one-off planning, and the capacity to build houses in rural areas was always on the agenda. It nearly arose mo…

Paul Brady has brought honour and distinction to himself and his family, to Mullahoran, to Cavan and to Ireland in handball. I wish him well yet again. He is teaching in a school where I previously taught in Cavan town, St. Phelim's school. He is a wonderful asset to that school and to that community because of his sporting prowess and his being a wonderful role model for young people. Senator Keogan proposed an amendment to the Order of Business relating to sugary drinks, etc. She makes that point very well. It is…

I move: That, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders— (1) the Select Committees as contained in the report of the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight entitled ‘First Report of the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight on Orders of Reference and Establishment of Committees’, laid before Seanad Éireann on 7th May, 2025, are hereby appointed pursuant to Standing Order 78, with the Orders of Reference as contained in the report, including the remit, powers, number of members and quoru…

I welcome the Tánaiste and thank him for his clear, focused leadership in this area. When you look at a challenge, you look to the built-in resilience you have to deal with it. We have that built-in resilience, in that we are attractive for investment given that we have industrial peace, an educated workforce, a budget surplus, full employment and a rainy day fund. We also have a recent history that should encourage us. With Covid, we overcame what was probably the greatest challenge of contemporary times, and inde…

No, I think my colleague Senator Nelson Murray is using her own time.

I will see how I go.